THIRD MEDITATION FOR LENT
"And the lord of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him.' But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned one with another, saying, 'This is the heir: let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.' And they cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him." (Luke 20:13-15)
The sense of this sad parable was only too literally accomplished in the person of Jesus Christ, whom the Jews treated in that manner; but is not the accomplishment of this same parable renewed every day among Christians in the unworthy manner in which they treat Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament?
Could the Eternal Father employ a means more proper to acquire for Himself faithful servants among men than by sending them His own Divine Son? And could Jesus Christ finds a means more proper to make Himself honored and loved by instituting the Blessed Eucharist? However, do people love Jesus Christ more for it? Is He not on the contrary worse treated on account of this? The ingratitude of the Jews makes us indignant, but why are we not concerned about our own ingratitude? Is it indeed surprising that the presence of Jesus Christ, His meekness, His generosity, His miracles had no effect on the hearts of the Jews, but is it not more strange that the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, His abasement, His silence, His liberality, and all the favors which He is ready to confer on us should have no little effect on the hearts of Christians?
[From 'The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus' by Fr. John Croiset, SJ]
The sense of this sad parable was only too literally accomplished in the person of Jesus Christ, whom the Jews treated in that manner; but is not the accomplishment of this same parable renewed every day among Christians in the unworthy manner in which they treat Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament?
Could the Eternal Father employ a means more proper to acquire for Himself faithful servants among men than by sending them His own Divine Son? And could Jesus Christ finds a means more proper to make Himself honored and loved by instituting the Blessed Eucharist? However, do people love Jesus Christ more for it? Is He not on the contrary worse treated on account of this? The ingratitude of the Jews makes us indignant, but why are we not concerned about our own ingratitude? Is it indeed surprising that the presence of Jesus Christ, His meekness, His generosity, His miracles had no effect on the hearts of the Jews, but is it not more strange that the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, His abasement, His silence, His liberality, and all the favors which He is ready to confer on us should have no little effect on the hearts of Christians?
[From 'The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus' by Fr. John Croiset, SJ]
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