This reflection was first written for and posted in a parish bulletin. 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
As days in September go by, the leaves start changing and the air starts getting cooler. September has always been one of my favorite months, but not just because the season of fall starts. The month of September brings the start of a new school year, and with that comes something fresh and exciting. As someone who loved school and the environment filled with learning and growing in knowledge, starting a new year brought so much joy. It’s been several years since I’ve started a new school year as a student in a classroom and I sometimes find myself wishing I could go back to those days. Maybe you do too.
While many of us may not be sitting in classrooms anymore, we still remain students, long after we graduate. We remain as students of the Lord, learning and growing in what it means to live out our Catholic faith and be a disciple of Jesus Christ. And that is a lifelong process. We are reminded of this in the Gospel this weekend, The Parable of the Two Sons. The first son initially tells his father that he will not go out and work. However, he then changes his mind. This shows a moment of repentance and conversion. We too are called to conversion, a continual turning toward Christ, and this is a long and slow process. The more we learn about Jesus, the more we come to know who He is, and the closer we will be drawn to Him. And the closer we are to Jesus, the more good choices we will make, including the choice to do His will, just like the first son. May each of us continue to grow as students, learning how to walk more closely with Jesus, doing His will always.
