Spiritual teachers tend to repeat themselves, and to repeat other teachers. Maybe there really aren’t that many different truths to tell. Just a lot of slow, sleepy human beings—like us—who need to hear the basics over and over. Consider today’s readings.

People complain God isn’t “fair,” and Ezekiel answers that God is more than fair. People choose their own fates, and people can change. Even evildoers can turn, do right, and live. “Actions speak louder than words.” A fresh new insight? Hardly.

Paul tells the Philippians that he would truly be encouraged if those who claimed to be believers would, in fact, look to others’ interests and not their own. “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” A novel idea? I don’t think so.

Isaiah tells us something that we already know, and yet seem to forget every now and then. He tells us, essentially, that God is God and we are not. When we’re confused and troubled and can’t figure everything out, it might be wise to recall Isaiah speaking on the Lord’s behalf and explaining that God—who is on a much more, well, Godly wavelength than we are—moves in ways we can’t even imagine.

Saint Paul, by comparison, has everything figured out. Kind of. At least he understands his calling in life—to magnify Christ in everything he does. That should give all of us the direction we need. Jesus gives us direction, too, explaining to us once again in the parable of the workers in the vineyard that the last will be first, and the first, last.

Nearly ten years before, a son and father had parted ways when the business they shared went bankrupt. The son blamed the father. They did not speak to each other again. Then the father became seriously ill. The mother called the son and told him he had better come soon. The son walked sheepishly into the hospital room. The father motioned his son to him and whispered: “Did you ever think you could do anything that would keep me from loving you?” Resentment and anger are foul things, the first reading from Sirach tells us. Remember the last things. Stop hating. Live by the commandments. As St. Paul writes to the Romans, we are to live for the Lord and die for the Lord. Jesus’ parable in today’s Gospel reminds us of God’s compassion. The immense sin of humanity has been forgiven and stricken from the record. We are to forgive others in the same way.

Dear St George parishioners,

I am so thankful to all of you for being so welcoming. This is my third week in the parish, but I already feel like I have been here for a long time. I was born in Nogales, in the state of Sonora, Mexico. I am 34 years old, the oldest of four siblings. I have one sister and two brothers. I also have two nieces and two nephews. I am close to my family, where I received my faith and religious values. Without a doubt, home has been my first seminary, and I am infinitely grateful to my parents for teaching me to become a man of faith and good values.

I got all my education in my hometown, and I was able to work as a schoolteacher in a catholic school before joining the seminary. At the age of 15, I also joined the youth group in my home parish. I was a little hesitant at the beginning, but this group would change my perspective on the Church and would bring me closer to God. At this time, I also met a young and joyful priest who with his love for his ministry and vocation inspired me to start thinking about being a parish priest.

In the final verses of today’s Gospel reading Jesus says that when two or three are gathered in his name, “there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). So we understand that fraternal correction is always undertaken with Jesus present to us.

Likewise, encouraging the good in others is not only the right thing for us to do, it is a necessity. The Lord tells the prophet Ezekiel that if he “does not speak out” to dissuade a person from evil, then he too will be held responsible.

We live in a “do your own thing” age when moral objectivity is often ignored. Clearly when the message we share with others is one of love, our motives cannot ever be misinterpreted. As St. Paul writes, “Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10).