Optional Memorial of Saint Rose of Lima, virgin

O God, you set Saint Rose of Lima on fire with love

So that, secluded from the world

In the austerity of a life of penance,

She might give herself to you alone;

Grant, we pray, that through her intercession,

We may tread the paths of life on earth

And drink at the stream of your delights in heaven.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, forever and ever.

Lectionary: 421

He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?' Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Monasticism, like that of Saint Rose of Lima, has never lost its appeal, despite the feverish activism which society imposes upon us. If we justify the isolation of hermits and the rigorously scheduled life of monks and nuns we suppose their work is their prayer. "God forbid they might indulge in idleness!"

But, as today's Gospel reminds us, the Lord of the Vineyard gives different gifts to different disciples; and he might give some men and women the singular life of continual prayer.

Nor should they attempt to justify it to those who think not being frenetically busy is probably sinful, if not downright evil. When we put our trust in the Lord and let him be our savior and champion, we quit trying to justify our lives and decisions to the world.

Retired persons -- like this author -- sometimes have nothing to do. (OMG!) They might feverishly find something -- Anything -- to DO! The more pious will start reciting the rosary, reviewing the Stations of the Cross, or praying a mantra. But sometimes it serves God's purposes to listen to the traffic outside or the wind on the roof. Or let one's mind wander into the storehouse of memory.

Should the Spirit take us by the hand in those moments, we might find ourselves forgiving old enemies, praying for their souls or wishing them well despite ourselves. We might remember past sins and surrender once again to the dreadful imperfections of a life not as well lived as it might have been.

Rather than making excuses for the past by blaming others or by relegating it to the foolishness of our youth, we might let our past stand as naked as the sinful Adam and Eve.

We surrender our shame to an all-seeing God, and let Psalm 139 roll through our minds and purify our hearts:

LORD, you have probed me, you know me:

you know when I sit and stand;

you understand my thoughts from afar.

You sift through my travels and my rest;

with all my ways you are familiar....