How good the Lord is to each one of us! When we catch the sunrise or sunset; when we watch the Harvest moon, we can almost hear God saying, "And you are more precious than all of this!" How blessed we are!

Unfortunately, we often have to look up to the sky to see all the beauty God has set before us. If we look down ---we’re liable to see only what we have done with that beauty. It’s not far different from the Vineyard owner in today’s Gospel; He, himself, had planted the seed, dug the vat, placed the hedge, erected the tower. He had done all the hard work and then handed it to some tenant farmers to tend. The hard work was done — all they had to do was take care of it. But greed, laziness and a lot of other different things soon took over and farmers forgot the responsibility they had -to take care. Maybe, we’ve done the same.

When we walk around our neighborhood and see the broken glass, the litter and graffiti ---it’s not that easy to recognize the splendor of these October days. It is easy, however, to start the blame game. It’s everyone’s fault but mine! And, you know, blaming---never makes anything better. It just allows the cycle to go on and on.

Perhaps the people of Our Lady of Mount Carmel can be the leaders in breaking the cycle. Someone has to do it --why not us? Why not make being good stewards of God’s creation a priority in our lives? When we see children tossing bottles or trash ---just ask yourself---who set that example for them? The cycle has to stop and it can easily happen when each one of us decides to stop it. When we’re able to have pride in our homes, our neighborhood, our church --- we feel better about ourselves. When we feel better about ourselves, we tend to treat others better. When we treat others better, they tend to do the same. The ripple effect could be astounding!

This week, let’s show our appreciation for God’s gift of creation. Let’s take care of it! Let’s be the good example our neighbors and our children need. Let Our Lady of Mount Carmel lead the way!