The Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Dallas, Texas shared a note from the rector on Sept. 20. 

Rev. Stephen Bierschenk wrote that the parable of the vineyard owner has an important lesson, connected to the concept of God’s justice and mercy. 

“He goes out all through the day looking for workers, because the vineyard needs to be taken care of. People who need work are given the opportunity even near the end of the day. But when it comes time to pay the workers, our sense of justice is offended,” Rev. Bierschenk wrote. 

While we may want God’s mercy bestowed generously upon us, we cannot help but feel some sense of injustice when those who have only been working for a few hours are paid the same as those who have worked the entire day. 

The point of the parable is that God’s love is a gift and that it is fully unmerited. We do not lose it simply because we have disobeyed God and we do not earn it because we decide to do good things. 

“Nothing we do can change the nature of God,” Rev. Bierschenk wrote. 

God’s love is also limitless, like any parent experiences — regardless the number of children you have, each of them is loved just as much as the other. There is no limit on the love we who are parents have for each of our children and the same is true of God’s love and mercies. 

“It is easy to be jealous because someone else’s life seems easier of happier to decide that God must be angry or ignoring us because we suffer or face troubles in our life,” Rev. Bierschenk wrote. “Our life is not a contest. The love of God for us is unbelievable. It is a gift we do not earn or deserve."