Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us about two sons. The father asks both of them to go and work in his vineyard. One says, "No," but later changes his mind and goes.

The other says, "Yes," but never goes. Jesus reminds us that discipleship is not simply about saying the right words; it is about doing the Father's will.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

Jesus tells us today the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Some work the whole day; others arrive at the last hour. Yet the landowner gives them all the same generous wage.

At first, this seems unfair. But Jesus is teaching us that God does not measure us according to comparison, competition, or human calculation. God measures us according to love and generosity.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

Today, as we celebrate our 2026 International Festival, we celebrate much more than food, music, traditions, and the richness of our different cultures. We celebrate who we are as one family of God.

The Church teaches us that diversity is not an obstacle to unity. In fact, diversity is part of God's beautiful plan.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

In today's Gospel, Jesus teaches us something essential about Christian discipleship: we are responsible for one another. Christianity is not lived in isolation. To follow Jesus means to belong to a community and to care for the spiritual well-being of our brothers and sisters.

Jesus says: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone." 

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

Jesus' words in today's Gospel are among the most challenging words of discipleship: "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."

Peter has just confessed that Jesus is the Messiah. But when Jesus explains that the Messiah must suffer, be rejected, and be killed, Peter cannot accept it. He wants a Messiah without the cross. Jesus reminds him that God's way is different from human expectations.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

Today we rejoice as a parish and school family because we celebrate our patroness, Saint Rose of Lima, a woman who discovered that holiness is possible in every circumstance when the heart belongs completely to Christ.

Saint Rose of Lima lived in Peru in the seventeenth century. From her earliest years, she desired to give herself entirely to God.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

Today's Gospel presents us with a woman who comes to Jesus with a desperate heart: "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." She is a Canaanite woman-an outsider, someone whom the disciples would not naturally consider part of the people of God. Yet she approaches Jesus with remarkable faith.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

After feeding the multitude, Jesus sends His disciples ahead by boat while He goes up the mountain to pray. During the night, the sea becomes rough, the wind is against them, and fear fills their hearts. Then Jesus comes to them walking on the water and says, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

Today’s Gospel presents one of the most beloved miracles of Jesus: the multiplication of the loaves and fish. Yet the true miracle begins even before the bread is multiplied. Jesus sees the crowd, is moved with compassion, heals their sick, and then invites His disciples to participate in His saving work.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a treasure hidden in a field and to a pearl of great price. In both parables, those who discover the treasure joyfully sell everything they have in order to possess it. The message is simple but demanding: once we truly encounter Christ, nothing else compares to Him.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the weeds reminds us that the Kingdom of God grows in the midst of a broken world. We often wish that God would immediately remove all evil, yet the Lord is patient. He gives time for conversion, allowing the wheat to mature without being uprooted along with the weeds.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus compares the Word of God to a sower who scatters seed generously over every kind of soil. The sower does not discriminate. He trusts that the seed has the power to bear fruit wherever hearts are open. The question is not whether God continues to sow His Word, but what kind of soil we choose to be.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus invites us: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” At first, this may sound like an invitation to step away from responsibility. Yet Jesus is speaking precisely to those who are called to follow Him in discipleship and mission.