Responsorial Psalm
You had a vine you brought from Egypt.
You drove nations out, to plant it in their land.
Its branches reached out to the sea
and its shoots to the River.
Why, then, have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass by pluck its fruits?
The beasts of the forest ravage it
and all creatures of the field feed on it.
Turn again, O Lord of hosts,
look down from heaven and see;
care for this vine, and protect the stock
your hand has planted.
Then we will never turn away from you;
give us life, and we will call on your name.
Restore us, O Lord, God of hosts;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
2nd. READING (Phil 4, 6-9)
Do not be anxious about anything. In everything resort to prayer and supplication
together with thanksgiving and bring your requests before God. Then the peace of
God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, fill your minds with whatever is truthful, holy, just,
pure, lovely and noble. Be mindful of whatever deserves praise and admiration. Put
into practice what you have learned from me, what I passed on to you, what you heard
from me or saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.
GOSPEL (Mt 21, 33-43)
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: Listen to another example:
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a hole
for the winepress, built a watchtower, leased the vineyard to tenants and then went to a
distant country. When harvest time came, the landowner sent his servants to the
tenants to collect his share of the harvest. But the tenants seized his servants, beat one,
killed another and stoned another. Again the owner sent more servants, but they were
treated in the same way. Finally, he sent his son, thinking: 'They will respect my son.'
But when the tenants saw the son, they thought: 'This is the one who is to inherit the
vineyard. Let us kill him and his inheritance will be ours.' So they seized him, threw
him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now, what will the owner of the vineyard do
with the tenants when he comes?" They said to him, "He will bring those evil to an
evil end, and lease the vineyard to others who will pay him in due time." And Jesus
replied, "Have you never read what the Scriptures say? The stone which the builders
rejected has become the keystone. This was the Lord's doing; and we marvel at it.
Therefore I say to you: the kingdom of heaven will be taken from you and given to a
people who will yield a harvest.