From time to time, a priest will hear something like this in the sacrament of Confession: "Bless me Father, for I have sinned. Father, I didn’t put in a full day’s work last week. I admit it. I slacked off. I took too many breaks. I wasted time. I called in sick one day, even though I felt fine. I cheated my employer, and I’m sorry."

As the content of that confession indicates, it’s possible for a person to be a laborer and still not do any labor! This man, for example, had a job; the problem is he failed to "do" the job he had.—which means he was absolutely correct in bringing the matter to Confession! "Thou shalt not steal" is the seventh commandment of the Decalogue. This man violated that commandment by his laziness. He took money for what he didn’t do. By any other name, that’s called stealing!

Consider, now, the parable we just heard, the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. Some people might make the mistake of thinking that this story is simply about being a laborer in the employment of the landowner, the master. That is not the case! It’s also about doing the master’s work; it’s about actually LABORING in his vineyard! Praise God, this landowner was incredibly generous in giving the same reward to those who worked an hour that he gave to those who worked the entire day. But please notice: all of them worked! That’s a crucial aspect of the story. It doesn’t say that he gave any money to those who were hired, and then stood around doing nothing!

Obviously Jesus is not giving us an economics lesson here; he’s giving us a spiritual lesson. The Jews were called by God centuries before the Gentiles were (in a sense, they were called at an "early hour")—but salvation in Jesus Christ is equally possible for all. And the person who converts on his deathbed (literally in his "last hour") can still go heaven just like the person who never committed a single mortal sin his entire life. This parable makes it clear that our God is incredibly generous in these ways.

But let’s not forget: a true conversion always manifests itself in activity, in laboring for the Lord. Even a person who has a deathbed conversion (if it’s genuine) will at least have the intention of doing the Lord’s work. He may never get to follow through on that intention—except, perhaps, by offering up his sufferings for the salvation of others—but the intention will be there in his heart!

After experiencing a deep conversion in her life, a young teenage girl wrote these words: "Now I know I am called to serve Jesus just like every person is, and I am going to live my life for Christ. I want to be exhausted from serving Jesus on earth, so that I just fall into his arms in heaven."

What a beautiful image!

I sincerely wonder how many Catholics are currently exhausting themselves in this way. How many Catholics, in other words, are truly doing the Lord’s work in the vineyard of the world at the present time? Now that’s not the same as asking, "How many Catholics have received all their sacraments and go to Mass every Sunday?" It’s possible for a person to be in Church all the time and still not be doing the Lord’s work. It’s possible for a priest not to be doing the Lord’s work (aside from celebrating the sacraments, which he is obligated to do).

The Lord’s work includes what are traditionally called "the corporal works of mercy": feeding the hungry; giving drink to the thirsty; clothing the naked; burying the dead; visiting those in prison; visiting the sick (like those in our local nursing homes. How many of us do that? Our Legion of Mary does, and I commend them for their charity! They are very faithful in visiting the sick and elderly in our community.).

The Lord’s work also includes what are called "the spiritual works of mercy": admonishing sinners; counseling the doubtful; instructing the ignorant; bearing wrongs patiently; forgiving all injuries; and praying for the living and the dead.

Doing the Lord’s work, in other words, means bringing our Catholic faith and our commitment to Jesus Christ with us wherever we go—even into the voting booth! What a different country it would be if Catholics simply took their faith with them to that location! In this state—which is 60% Catholic, yet consistently elects pro-abortion politicians to office—it’s clear that the majority of Catholics are quite content to leave their faith in church on Sunday. Well, let’s be clear about it: That’s like being a laborer in the Lord’s vineyard, and then slacking off on the job.

St. Paul says to us in today’s second reading from Philippians 1: "Conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ."