The Same Reward

I grew up in St. Louis MO. My remaining three siblings and their families still reside in the area. When Mom and Pop married, Pop had to sign a paper that he would raise the children as Catholic. He did. All five of us went to Catholic grade school and Catholic high school. Pop was not Catholic and he never became Catholic. In 1987, my youngest sister, Deb, called and indicated that Pop was dying. He had about three weeks to live. I flew up to St. Louis for about 3-4 days to be with him. We talked about a variety of items. One time, I asked Pop if he had ever thought about becoming Catholic. He responded yes. But he never did. I asked him if I could send him some information and books on being a Catholic. Again, he indicated that I could. Once I return back to San Antonio, I mailed him 3-4 books about what it meant to be a Catholic. Within the three week period, Pop died. I again flew up to St. Louis for the funeral. As I entered the house, Pop’s familiar chair was there in its usual place. And beside the chair, was the table with the books I had sent up from San Antonio. Of course, there was not enough time for him to read through all of them. But there were several bookmarks in some of the books I had sent up. We had the funeral at one of the Catholic parishes in St. Louis. His burial was also at a Catholic cemetery…The gospel story of this weekend prompted me to share this experience. Those workers in the vineyard who came in late received the same reward as those who came early. Pop was one of the late workers in being Catholic. Some of us – my brothers and sisters and myself – were early workers in the vineyard of faith. Yet, the time of entrance is less important than the willingness to respond to the call. Pop’s reward is the same that any of us who have been life-long Catholics are hoping to receive – the gift of eternal life. Is there someone in your family or friends who you might consider inviting to look at becoming Catholic? Or is there someone who “has left the vineyard” and needs to be re-invited to come and be a co-worker once again? Or even, do you need to renew your own commitment to working in the Lord’s vineyard? The reward is the same. It is a reward that lasts an eternity!

Msgr. Mike