August 19, 2026
A reading from
the holy Gospel according to Matthew20:1-16
Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ 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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
August 19, 2026
Saint Who?
Saints Who Took Detours in Life
Blessed Villana de’ Botti
Married laywoman († 1361) Feast: January 29
Villana ran away from home as a teenager, hoping to become a nun. But she was sent back to her home in Florence, and her father quickly arranged for her to marry. Villana seemed to enjoy her new, comfortable life as a married woman. One day, as she was preparing to go to a party, dressed in a gorgeous gown covered with precious stones, she asked a servant to bring her a mirror so she could admire her appearance. Instead of her own reflection, Villana saw a horrible demon. She asked for two more mirrors, but they revealed the same frightening sight.
Cut to the heart, Villana took off her beautiful clothing. She sought out a community of Dominican friars, made a general confession, and turned her life around.
Under the guidance of the friars, Villana began a regimen of prayer and spiritual reading, and she became a Dominican tertiary. She was careful to perform her expected household duties, although she also looked for ways to care for the poor. Villana’s devotion to the Eucharist increased dramatically, and she was sometimes seen rapt in spiritual ecstasies during Mass. At the time of her death at the age of twenty-eight, she was known as a mystic and for her gift of prophecy.
God of truth, help us to see ourselves as you see us.
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©Image : Christ on the Lake of Galilee, Jacopo Tintoretto (circle, 1518-1594), NGA, Washington D.C., USA. Photo Courtesy NGA Washington.
