Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Monday of the ninth week in ordinary time, June 1st, 2026, Memorial of Saint Justin, Martyr

Delivered by Josephine Mercy Ho from the Parish of Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. 2 Peter 1: 1-7; Rs psalm 91: 1-2.14-15ab.15c-16; Mark 12: 1-12.BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD FRUIT Our meditation today has the theme: Between bearinggood and bad fruit. The Gospel of St. Mark that we have just heard describes aparable of the workers or tenants, which refers to the religious leaders ofJesus' day. The point is to warn them to accept Jesus as the Son of God and notto accuse and slander with various negative perceptions. Jesus himself experienced firsthand how they resistedthe love that He taught and did. They were so hostile, then persecuted, andeven killed all of God's messengers, including Jesus himself. They felt theyhad done good by upholding their Judaism law.  That was in the days of Jesus Christ. What's happeningnow? We do not have the same attitude as the brutal tenants toward the LordJesus. Instead, we accept and acknowledge Him as a real God. We do not let ourhearts betray Him, because if were to deny Him, in vain we persevere every dayto hear and meditate on His words. One thing so important is this, that after we havebeen poured out by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, Jesus wants toremind us that under the guidance and teaching of the Holy Spirit we should beable to bear fruit and that the fruits are expected to be good, not the otherway around. If the Holy Spirit lives with us, our fruits must indeed be goodand useful both for ourselves and for others.  The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit must be the targetof what kind of fruits we are. May we strive to bear good fruit in wisdom,understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, piety, and the fear of God. If weneglect one or two of these gifts, we may become as brutal and wicked as thosevineyard tenants.  For example, if you don't have good wisdom,understanding and knowledge, it's very likely that you'll replace it withanger, win yourself and act blindly towards others. If a person may appear tobe pious, but has no fear of God, he may become a vengeful who will secretlyexplode and be very dangerous.  So the gift of the Holy Spirit, at least one of theindications that if we want to bear good fruit, we have to submit and bediligent in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Letus pray. In the name of the Father... O almighty God, thank you for this newday that gives us the opportunity for one more day to pursue this life in theguidance of Your Spirit. May our minds and hearts always be open to welcomethrough the words conveyed to us. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to theHoly Spirit ... In the name of the Father ...