One possible way to view the parable in today’s Gospel passage is to consider yourself to be the owner of the vineyard and God to be the Gardener. As the owner, we want to discard the fig tree which has not produced any fruit for three years. God is the Gardener (see Gn 2:8), and He never gives up on any person. Think of a person you would like to remove from the garden of your life. This person never does anything productive for you. He or she clutters up your life and exhausts your energy (see Lk 13:7, NAB), and so you want to discard this person.

As the owner of the vineyard, we are tempted to say, “Kill it! Rid the garden of the likes of it! It’s not worthy to live!” (see Acts 22:22) Yet God, the Gardener, is ever patient, ever caring, ever “fertilizing” (see Lk 13:8). God’s patience is always focused on salvation (2 Pt 3:9; 1 Tm 2:4). God “descends” (see Eph 4:9) to give special care to what we, the owners, want to discard. But God the Gardener won’t even let us “pull up the weeds,” for He knows that, mysteriously, we ourselves might also be uprooted (see Mt 13:29).

How patient God is! How much He longs to seek and save the lost (Lk 19:10). He sends fertilization in the form of His nourishing Word (Mt 4:4) and His Sacraments, especially His Eucharistic Body, to those most in need. Ask the Lord to give you His own mind (1 Cor 2:16) and His heart of love for the unlovable.

Rescript:  "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for One Bread, One Body covering the period October 1, 2026, through November 30, 2026, by Presentation Ministries. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio April 1, 2026"

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