09/05/2026
Glory to Jesus Christ!
In today’s Gospel (Mt 22:35–46), on this 15th Sunday after Pentecost, the Lord reveals that the whole Law and the Prophets hang on two commandments: to love God with our entire being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Christ then asks the Pharisees a question about the Messiah that they cannot answer, gently exposing that true understanding of God is not merely intellectual but relational—rooted in love, humility, and communion.
This call to love resonates deeply with Bishop Robert’s teaching on Eucharistic Communion and the Parochial Community. He reminds us that the Eucharist forms us into one Body, a people who live missionary discipleship, godly fellowship, authentic worship, and sacrificial stewardship. Our yearning for unity, “to be one with ourselves, one with each other, and one with God”, is fulfilled in Christ, and it is expressed most concretely in the parish family. When we receive the Eucharist, we are not only united to God but also to one another; if we leave church “without kindness, without mutual love, and without mutual forgiveness, something is amiss”.
Jesus’ command to love God and neighbor is not abstract. It becomes flesh in the way we worship, the way we treat one another, and the way we commit ourselves to our parish community. Bishop Robert teaches that healthy parishes grow through fellowship, shared responsibility, and sacrificial giving—mirroring the early Church, which “devoted themselves to the communal life… and to the breaking of the bread”.
Love of God naturally flows into love of neighbor, and love of neighbor draws us back to the Eucharist, where Christ makes us one.