Beloved in Christ,

Let’s do the Father’s will. We find in this Sunday’s Gospel a parable that calls us to do the Father’s will. What is the Father's will? What does it entail to do his will? In the parable, the father approached his two sons and asked them to go out to his vineyard to work that day. The first son refused but later on changed his mind and went to work. The second son said, “Yes, sir, but did not go”(Mat. 21:30).  Doing the father’s will is a fundamental requirement to be part of his Kingdom. Doing the will of the Father, in the case of this parable, is an invitation to go into his vineyard and work productively. It demands a change of mind, of attitude, and repentance. 

God invites us to do his will on earth as the angels in heaven carry out his will. The invitation calls us to holiness and to commit to keeping the divine law. Our response to the Father’s will must begin with conversion. John the Baptist came to preach this conversion to Israel. The worst examples of sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes, listened to John the Baptist by repenting and following the Lord. The Pharisees, on the contrary, chose not to repent but, with a prideful attitude, thought themselves good enough and in no need of repentance to receive God’s mercy and grace. 

To do God’s will, to live a productive holy life by working in his vineyard, begins when we listen to the invitation to repent, to change from evil ways to good. It means following Jesus closely every day. It requires embracing Christ's attitude: a humble heart. “Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus,” St. Paul reminds us in Phil. 2:5. It takes humility to admit our need for repentance and God’s mercy. Once we choose a humble attitude, we will come to understand God’s mercy and justice. God is just and merciful. As Ezekiel says, if someone “turns from the wickedness he has committed, and does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life, since he has turned away from all the sins that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die” ( Ez. 18:28).

Today, let’s choose to do the Father’s will: be humble to accept that we are sinners in need of God’s gracious mercy, turn away from our sins, and begin to cultivate a virtuous, holy life that demands a daily obedience to God’s word. Let’s strive to understand and do the Father’s will, now and always.

The World Day of Migrants and Refugees is observed today. As we remember our brothers and sisters who fall into this category, let us reflect on the four verbs that express our response to their dire condition: to welcome. to protect, to promote, and to integrate.”

Next Sunday is traditionally observed as the feast of St. Francis, and an appropriate day for the blessing of pets and animals. As we have done in the past, we will bless pets and animals in front of the historic church next Sunday at 2pm.

Also, remember that October is the month dedicated to the Holy Rosary of the BVM. We should pray the rosary thirty minutes before each Sunday Mass in October. We will pray the Rosary a lot in October as we pray for the unborn and all the vulnerable on Respect Life Sunday next Sunday.

Thank you for praying with me on my priestly ordination anniversary on September 23. I am filled with joy and gratitude for your love and support. You are one of the reasons I am a joyful priest!
​Mo dupe, mo m’ore.

In Jesus, through Mary,
Fr. Alayode, OP

​Beloved in Christ,

"Great is the LORD and highly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable" (Ps. 145: 3). The Psalmist's words praising  God for his unsearchable greatness took ownership of my mind, thoughts, and spirit as I read through this Sunday's liturgy of the word in preparation for my homily. While the parable of the Lord's Vineyard from the Gospel for this Sunday's Mass from Matthew is outstanding, especially in its emphasis on God's generosity and warning against envy- and demands our reflection- the ultimate disposition of my spirit is to let the words of praise and thanksgiving flow from my lips. Why, you may inquire? I will get to it after dwelling first on the message the Gospel has for us.

The parable of the Lord's Vineyard highlights the contention between workers who put in a full day of labor in sweat and drudgery and those hired at the eleventh hour and worked only for an hour.  The vineyard owner paid the same wage, a denarius, to all the workers irrespective of the hours they put into the work. In the human sense of moral justice, the owner's action is unfair. Is God unfair? Absolutely not! God is just. He paid each one what they agreed to receive when hired: "Did you not 
agree with me for the usual daily wage?" The grumbling workers do so because of envy, jealousy, and selfishness. The envious workers failed to see, and this is the parable's point, that God's generosity is not a calculated giving and is not merited. God lavishes his grace as he deems fit. Who are we to question or query God on how he dispenses his graces? "What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?" All our good deeds result from God's grace, not human power or capacity. Indeed, as Isaiah says of God, his thoughts are not our thoughts nor are his ways our ways (see Is. 55:8).

In light of this Sunday's Gospel message about grace, I will now return to the verse from Psalm 145 I began this homily with: “Great is the Lord; and highly to be praised.” I invite you to join me in praising the greatness and goodness of the Lord for the gift of my priestly vocation. It will be twenty-six years of my priestly ordination on Wednesday, September 23, 2026! Whatever good that has come from my priesthood all these years is not as a result of my goodness or merit; it is primarily the fruit of God's generosity. God is great indeed!

What a roller coaster it has been, a journey of ups and downs, with its ebb and flow, yet a joyful one. For the last six days or so, I have meditated on the words of St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) posted on my office door: "My past, O Lord, to Your mercy; my present, to Your love; my future to Your providence." I am a joyful priest; I am filled with joy at God's gracious choice of me from his people. I continue to ask for your continuous prayers and support. "Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord and highly to be praised" 

I invite you to join me for the 8:00 am daily Mass on Wednesday, to offer thanksgiving to God for His blessings. I also invite you to join me later that day at the National Center of Padre Pio, Barto, PA, where I will concelebrate the Center’s 1:30 pm Mass.

Our Parish’s Picnic comes up next Sunday at 2 p.m. Christ calls us into this one family of St. Peter’s; let's come together to celebrate our oneness and love as we gather to eat, drink, play, dance, and glorify God in all we do. Our contemporary music group, Forgven, will provide lively music for us to enjoy. Please join us in this major parish celebration.

In His Joy,
Fr. Alayode, OP

​Beloved in Christ,
We must forgive those who offend us; it is an obligation. If we do not forgive those who sin against us, we should not expect God to forgive us. If God does not forgive us our sins, we face eternal condemnation. That is not a pleasant truth. A cursory reading of some verses from this Sunday’s readings from Sirach 27 and Matthew 18 clearly buttresses the challenging divine order to forgive: “Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself, can he seek pardon for his own sin? (Sir 28:4 ). “So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:35). To forgive is at the heart of Christian living, yet it is not an easy choice to make. Nevertheless, Jesus teaches that God’s forgiveness of our sin depends on forgiving our brothers and sisters when they sin against us.

What is the basis of our obligation to forgive? We forgive not only because God ordered it and because of the advantage we derive from it, but because, by forgiving, we echo and replicate God’s love and mercy. Our Lord is kind and merciful. Our God gave His Son, Jesus, for the salvation of our souls. By the shedding of His innocent blood, Jesus redeemed us from the debt of sin we are incapable of paying, as illustrated in the parable of this Sunday’s gospel. Jesus satisfied the debt of sin we are eternally incapable of satisfying. The least we can do is to imitate Him by forgiving without limitation. We must forgive without limitation, and from the heart.

Now, to forgive is hard. It must be a movement of grace and a response of choice. It does not demand that we feel good about it; it is not based on emotions. It is an act of will inspired by grace. We may never forget the act inflicted on us by the one we forgive, but we must never let our remembrance of the ill done to us revive sentiments of hate, malice, or anger. We need God’s grace to forgive. We must pray for that grace because we need to forgive to say the Lord’s Prayer and ask God to forgive our sins. We need to forgive to experience freedom and peace of mind. Unforgiveness enslaves us to the person who wronged us. The process of forgiveness may be long, but it must begin immediately. Is there someone we need to forgive? Is there someone we have forgiven verbally but not from the depth of our heart? Forgiveness must be genuine and unlimited. May we be instructed by God’s Divine Mercy in our holy choice to forgive, because to forgive is to be godly and liberated.

Two major feasts this week should draw our attention. We have the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross and the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. I encourage you to schedule time to attend both Masses. Since September is traditionally devoted to Our Lady of Sorrows, consider adding to your prayers the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary as instructed by Our Lady of Kibeho in Rwanda.

In His Cross,
Fr. Alayode, OP

​Beloved in Christ,

Jesus says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20). Let us talk about the church as a community that manifests Jesus and how important it is for that community to remain united, even when there is frequent rancor and disagreement among its members. The Gospel for this Sunday Mass, Mt. 18:15-20, speaks to how to address the problem of a recalcitrant member, remedy it, and gain that member back. We pray that we listen to the voice of God, who speaks through the church, whenever we fall away from the truth. 
I want us to look further into the Greek word for the church, ekklesia. In the context of this reflection, the church is constituted by people who have been called by grace out of the world to form a people of the new covenant, members of Christ's kingdom. As members of God's family, the church, we must work toward unity of heart and purpose. In matters of faith, we cannot do our "private" things; we do what God commands us to do as one people. In like manner, when it comes to what the institution of the church has legislated, whether it has to do with doctrine or liturgy, we cannot do our own thing, but we must follow the directive of the voice of Christ speaking through his body, the Church. 

We can see the importance of acting as one, with unity of purpose, as the church in the life of prayer, both public and private. Jesus emphasizes "symphonein," a Greek word meaning "in accord" or "agreement," indicating a harmony of voices. For instance, when we come together as a church to participate in the Mass, we should be one in mind and heart; we should leave no room for discord in our intent and purpose. Beyond praying with affirmation as we come together, we should also stress the importance of a unified understanding of what we are doing and how we are doing it. What is the Church's intention for us in how to celebrate and participate in Mass? Are we of one accord? 

As we reflect on the importance of reconciliation and unity in the Body of Christ, the Church, we must carry Mary, the Mother of the Church, with us. In this regard, I would like us to keep in mind the traditional liturgical devotion for September: Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows. We celebrate the memorial on September 15. Before this memorial are the celebrations of her Nativity on September 8 and the Exaltation of the Cross on September 14. All these memorials and feasts are linked, and they help us meditate on the Seven Sorrows of Mary as an aid in accepting sufferings and spiritual healing. Have you ever prayed the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary? This ancient devotion was revived in the apparition of Our Lady to the visionaries at Kibeho in Rwanda in the '80s. Consider supplementing your daily rosary with the chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary.


Happy Labor Day!

In Christ's Cross,

Fr. Alayode, OP