Master·evangeli.net
Today's Gospel + short theological explanation
Speculation
EDITORIAL TEAM evangeli.net (based on texts by Benedict XVI) (Città del Vaticano, Vatican)Today, the explanation of the Lord —that touches the subject matter of work— discovers a highly topical issue: in the picture an outbreak of tension materializes, just the outcome of the speculative reckoning of some laborers. Rather than complaining and grumbling at the householder, those hired in the first hour should have been pleased because some other "co-citizens" could also work.
Individual rights, when detached from a framework of duties which grants them their full meaning, can run wild, leading to an escalation of demands which is effectively unlimited and indiscriminate. The current tendencies towards a short-term economy —sometimes very short-term— consequence of selfish speculation are morally unacceptable and need to be carefully evaluated. This requires further and deeper reflection on the meaning of economy and its goals, in addition to a profound adjustment with a broadminded criterion of the model to be developed.
—O Jesus, my Redeemer, you have come to save me because you have not thought of your rights but of my needs: your love —which spreads out "for free"— did not bear in mind the cost of my liberation.
September 1st
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Gospel and commentary video
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