October 24 Gospel and Rosary: the barren fig tree gets one more year
The Gospel for October 24 brings the barren fig tree and the extra time the vinedresser requests. The day closes with the 10 p.m. Rosary and its intentions.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The Gospel for October 24 and the 10 p.m. Rosary
Saturday, October 24. Today's Catholic liturgy offers a Gospel from Luke that leaves no room for complacency: the parable of the barren fig tree. An owner has spent three years looking for fruit and orders it cut down; the vinedresser asks for one more year, to dig around it and spread manure. The reading is accompanied by the letter to the Ephesians, where Paul distributes gifts —apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers— and sets the goal: to reach «mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ». Psalm 122 sets the tone: «Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord».
The day is completed by the call to pray the Rosary at 10 p.m., trinc from Lourdes in Spanish, with litanies, the Salve Regina and a sung Ave Maria. The gathering includes the promises attributed to the Marian apparitions and a list of intentions ranging from the unity of Spain to young people, taking in priests, the Pope and the defense of life.
What the parable of the barren fig tree says
The text of Luke 13, 1-9 opens with an uncomfortable scene: some Galileans slaughtered by Pilate as they offered sacrifices. Jesus rejects the easy reading —they were no greater sinners— and extends it to the eighteen killed by the tower of Siloam. The conclusion is the same for everyone: «unless you repent, you will all perish as they did».
Then comes the parable. Three years without fruit, an order to cut it down, and a plea. The vinedresser does not promise success: he asks for time and work. Digging, fertilizing, waiting. The fig tree remains in the ground, but with a review date.
The gifts distributed and the unity of the body
Ephesians 4, 7-16 works as a counterpoint. Each is given grace «according to the measure of Christ's gift», and the ministries exist to build up the body until unity in the faith. Paul warns against spiritual childhood: not to be «children tossed by the waves» nor carried along by every wind of doctrine.
The Sunday reflection sums it up in two words: truth and love. Together, it holds, they stir any conscience. Apart, they become noise.
The 10 p.m. Rosary and its intentions
The daily gathering keeps its format: between 25 and 30 timed minutes, mysteries of the day and prayer for a repeating list. Reparation for offenses, priests and their families, the Pope, life from conception to natural death, children, families and the protection of the Cross of the Valley of the Fallen.
The Rosary is broadcast from Lourdes in Spanish and is accompanied by the promises of the Rosary, a fifteen-point catalog ranging from divine protection to release from purgatory. For those who prefer the written format, the commentaries of the Dominicans of Villava and Father Pedro Brassesco are added.
The day thus leaves two registers that are not always looked at together: the Gospel's warning —there is a deadline, there is a fig tree, there is an axe waiting— and the Rosary's insistence that the deadline can be negotiated. The vinedresser asks for a year. The question is what is done with it.
Saturday, October 24. Today's Catholic liturgy offers a Gospel from Luke that leaves no room for complacency: the parable of the barren fig tree. An owner has spent three years looking for fruit and orders it cut down; the vinedresser asks for one more year, to dig around it and spread manure. The reading is accompanied by the letter to the Ephesians, where Paul distributes gifts —apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers— and sets the goal: to reach «mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ». Psalm 122 sets the tone: «Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord».
The day is completed by the call to pray the Rosary at 10 p.m., trinc from Lourdes in Spanish, with litanies, the Salve Regina and a sung Ave Maria. The gathering includes the promises attributed to the Marian apparitions and a list of intentions ranging from the unity of Spain to young people, taking in priests, the Pope and the defense of life.
What the parable of the barren fig tree says
The text of Luke 13, 1-9 opens with an uncomfortable scene: some Galileans slaughtered by Pilate as they offered sacrifices. Jesus rejects the easy reading —they were no greater sinners— and extends it to the eighteen killed by the tower of Siloam. The conclusion is the same for everyone: «unless you repent, you will all perish as they did».
Then comes the parable. Three years without fruit, an order to cut it down, and a plea. The vinedresser does not promise success: he asks for time and work. Digging, fertilizing, waiting. The fig tree remains in the ground, but with a review date.
The gifts distributed and the unity of the body
Ephesians 4, 7-16 works as a counterpoint. Each is given grace «according to the measure of Christ's gift», and the ministries exist to build up the body until unity in the faith. Paul warns against spiritual childhood: not to be «children tossed by the waves» nor carried along by every wind of doctrine.
The Sunday reflection sums it up in two words: truth and love. Together, it holds, they stir any conscience. Apart, they become noise.
The 10 p.m. Rosary and its intentions
The daily gathering keeps its format: between 25 and 30 timed minutes, mysteries of the day and prayer for a repeating list. Reparation for offenses, priests and their families, the Pope, life from conception to natural death, children, families and the protection of the Cross of the Valley of the Fallen.
The Rosary is broadcast from Lourdes in Spanish and is accompanied by the promises of the Rosary, a fifteen-point catalog ranging from divine protection to release from purgatory. For those who prefer the written format, the commentaries of the Dominicans of Villava and Father Pedro Brassesco are added.
The day thus leaves two registers that are not always looked at together: the Gospel's warning —there is a deadline, there is a fig tree, there is an axe waiting— and the Rosary's insistence that the deadline can be negotiated. The vinedresser asks for a year. The question is what is done with it.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (21 replies).
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