Message from Our Pastor Fr. Aaron Pierre, S.J.
As we enter September, many of us are immersed in the "back-to-school" season, a time when students and teachers return to the classroom. For us as people of faith, this season reminds us that we are lifelong students in the school of Christ. Being a student means admitting we don't have all the answers and being open to growth. The best students are even willing to have their beliefs and ideas challenged.
This month’s Gospel readings encourage us to rethink how the world should function in light of God's Kingdom. In the parables found in the Gospel readings of the Sundays of September, we learn that God's ways are not our ways. Where we might expect strict adherence to human standards of fairness and reward, God shows us a different path—one that values mercy, generosity, and repentance over rigid justice.
These parables invite us to embrace the radical values of God's Kingdom, which often turn our expectations upside down. Instead of holding grudges or seeking retribution, Jesus calls us to forgive as we have been forgiven. Rather than insisting on our rights or what we believe we are owed, Jesus asks us to rejoice in the blessings given to others. And instead of relying on empty words or mere appearances, Jesus encourages us to demonstrate genuine obedience through our actions and repentance. Let us pray for the grace to embrace our identity as students of Christ, continually growing in our understanding and practice of faith, and strive to align our hearts and lives with the radical values of God’s Kingdom.
| 
