Privileges, Not Rights

by Fr. Jason Laguerta

I once spoke with a lady who told me that she has lost everything.  She was very sad, depressed, distressed, disappointed, to say the least, with what was happening in her life.  When I asked her what she meant by “I have lost everything,” she shared that she had been abandoned by her children, who were all grown up and never took the time to visit her.  She had also been abandoned by her husband, who left her for another woman.  Now, she lives alone in the house with her cat.

“I’ve lost everything,” she said, because she had also lost her job and no longer had a source of livelihood; she feels like everything had been taken from her – she had lost them all.  I could feel the sadness in her heart, see it in her eyes, and hear the desperation in her voice as she wondered what to do, and I told her, “Perhaps it has not been lost..”  For, indeed, there is another way of looking at it – it may not have been lost, but it was taken back.

Sometimes, we think we lose what we are entitled to have, when in fact it was never ours.  Because if we really think about it, in our lives, what can we truly say is ours?  When something is gone, we immediately call it a loss, but could we not also look at it differently?  Perhaps nothing was ever truly ours to begin with, and when it is taken away, it is not lost but simply taken back.

This is exactly the theme of our Gospel today – the Parable of the Tenants.  The workers thought that they were the owners of the vineyard, and when the vintage time came, when the owner of the vineyard came to collect what was due to him, they refused to give back the vineyard.  Even the harvest that came from the vineyard, they would not surrender, and the servants, whom the owner sent were driven away, stoned, and killed.  Then even the son, whom he sent, was put to death.  Why?  Because the tenants said, “This is ours.”

Many of us live with the mindset of “This is ours” or “This is mine,” becoming so attached to what we have that we forget much of it is not a right but a privilege.  As a professor in the seminary often reminded us, disappointment begins when we mistake a privilege for an entitlement and claim ownership over what has only been entrusted to us through the goodness and generosity of others.  Life becomes lighter and happier when we recognize that everything we have is a gift to be received with gratitude.  In truth, all that we possess is only on loan, and when the time comes for it to be taken back, we must remember that it was never truly ours, but merely entrusted to us for a while.

This is precisely what the Parable of the Wicked and Selfish Tenants is about.  Sometimes we think, “That should be mine,” but the real question is: What is truly yours?  Is there really something or is there really anything in our life that we consider as our own, when in fact all of them are just lent to us for some time.  Family – you think it is a right to have a family?  No, it is a privilege.  It is just a gift to you that anytime can be taken away.  Job, work, employment; you think you are already tenured?  Is there really such a think as my job?  It is really a right or is it just a privilege that is so generously disposed upon you?

Parents, your children are only on loan to you; they are a gift for now, so love them and enjoy them, because one day they, too, will be taken back.  Earlier, someone messaged me about Fr Tristan, the young priest from Bataan, who passed away before reaching the first anniversary of his ordination.  He was ordained in October 2025 but did not live to see October 2026.  And looking at my own life, I thank the Lord for the great honor and privilege of reaching 27 years of priesthood, knowing that I do not deserve it.  Of course, I am happy and grateful, yet realistic enough to know that the day will come when even my priesthood and privileges will be taken away, and I believe the same is true for all of us.

I also remind our young people, especially the scholars of Sta Maria Goretti Parish, that a scholarship is a privilege, not a right.  While education is a right, a scholarship is a gift made possible by the goodwill and generosity of others, and so it must be treasured and cared for because privileges can be taken away when circumstances, policies, or leadership change.  The same is true for me in Sta Maria Goretti Parish; much as I love serving here, I know that one day I will have to leave because this parish is not mine.  Sta Maria Goretti has only been entrusted to me, and in due time I must return what was entrusted to my care.  That is why I am learning the grace of detachment and acceptance, recognizing that many things in life are gifts deserving of gratitude rather than possessions we can claim as our own.

Good health is only on loan; beauty and youth are only on loan; strength is only on loan; even life, itself, is only on loan, and one day all these will be taken back.  Thus, when we look closely, nothing is really lost.  We often think that life is full of losses, but in truth, what we call “lost” is often simply being taken back by its rightful Owner.  Our mistake is that we assume it is ours when it never truly was.  For no person can claim ownership over anything forever, because God alone is the real Owner and we are merely His tenants, entrusted for a time with His gifts.  

Therefore, let us enjoy the privileges that have been entrusted to us, but let us never become complacent, because every privilege given to us can be taken away at any moment, for we are mere tenants of the vineyard.  We are mere caretakers of the graces and blessings that heaven has distributed on us.  At the end of the day, we are still NOT the real owners of all these things.  So, let us live each day with grateful hearts, saying,

“Thank You, Lord, for entrusting to me these blessings that I do not deserve.  They are never mine; they are Yours.”

Transcribed by Agnes Riel