Fr. Nilesh Parmar, SJ

The true measure of a pilgrimage is not what we carry home in our suitcases, but what we carry home in our hearts and souls.

If you have drifted away, if fear or pride has held you back, know this: your first home of faith is still yours. The story of returning home is not just Michael’s, but all of ours. The Father remains, the table is still set, and the invitation endures: “Welcome home.”

Take a step, give to the Church, to the poor, to the missions. Your offering will travel to places you cannot imagine, bless people you will never meet, and return to you in ways only heaven understands.

At its core, the parable urges us to look past people’s anger to their pain, continue loving without recognition, and remember that both we and others are healed by Christ’s patient, restorative love.

The aroma of Christian life is love.

Christian teachers are more than wage-earners; they are lantern bearers who guide souls through life’s tunnels. Their true reward is not in salary slips, but in following their Guru, Jesus Christ’s command to love. They are called to a silent but sacred mission: to lead every soul to the truth.

Jesus teaches us that true virtue is not determined by how others act, but by choosing what is right simply because it is right. We are called to do good not merely in response to others’ goodness, but because it is the right and necessary thing to do, regardless of how others behave.

St. Benedict, in his Rule, urged abbots to correct with both firmness and compassion, so that “the strong may have something to strive after and the weak may not be discouraged.”