Learning to Say Yes:
The Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2026
September 27, 2026
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Ezekiel 18:25-28; Psalm 25; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32
This Gospel passage continues the discussion on the qualities of God’s divine project and how God’s justice is radically different from human justice. Jesus addresses the chief priests and the elders about a low-level response to the question about the actions of the two brothers. It is easy to show that there is a great distinction between what one says and what one does. That is easy to figure out, so what is the deeper layer here? Jesus is trying to move them beyond a sin-retribution or reward-punishment spirituality and is focusing upon the need for conversion in one’s way of seeing, judging, and living. God’s justice allows for the possibility that a person can change and is concerned about where the person may be going, not where a person has been. God does not hold us back in the past. We do that. Why? No one is asking you to do that.
The beginning of our conversion is recognizing our need for God. In this story, the tax collectors and prostitutes believed in Jesus and changed direction. The religious leaders saw what happened with the former sinners and still refused to change their minds. This parable is aimed for those who remain closed and refuse to open their minds and hearts. The refusal to change holds good people back. When we hold onto, “What we always taught,” we are no longer open. There is nothing wrong with being wrong; What is wrong is one’s refusal to change. This statement was shocking for religious leaders who saw that those they regarded as sinners were capable of becoming disciples, while they, whom they considered righteous, were made incapable of hearing God's invitation. Those who were societally rejected were included into God’s project, while the sacred and prominent religious leaders were not there yet. Notice what God says to the religious leaders. “You have gone in the wrong direction; will you turn around and come home?” God does not punish or reject.
For so many years the church has preached “avoid sin, make amends.” It has focused upon one’s individual salvation, personal actualization, and doing all one can to make it into heaven. Some have written about the perfection of the soul and one’s individual piety. That type of preaching misses the mark. It does not hear what God is saying. Today’s preaching has to be about transformation, which is about reflecting on God’s message and being ready to pivot to a greater understanding of God’s purposes for us. We have to see rightly and then profess our faith through action.
Remember that faith is not simply professing what we believe about God. Faith is allowing God to change what we do. We may have to ask ourselves this question: Where have I become so certain that I no longer allow God to change my mind? Certitude is the enemy of faith. Conversion is not only for people who have done regrettable things. Conversion is for us all whenever God shows us that we have misunderstood something or that we have to deal with new concepts in an increasingly complex world. It is for those times when our hearts have become hardened or we no longer think we have to learn or listen.
So, we have to put before ourselves today, “What am I doing now with the grace that is being offered to me?” What is God asking of us as a community today? God sometimes asks us to expand our consciousness. The question is whether we can hear God’s voice and remain open to change our minds and go deeper into the vineyard. It does not matter if you once said “no.” “No” does not have to be the final answer. It is about learning, and relearning, and being open to say “Yes.” When you say “Yes,” the possibilities seize your imagination and affects everything. It will help you decide the important moments of your day. It will re-teach you, especially about where to seek God’s values, and it amaze you with joy and gratitude.
Scripture for Daily Mass
Monday: (Job 1) One day, when the angels of God came to present themselves before the LORD, Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, "Whence do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming the earth and patrolling it." And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you noticed my servant, Job.
Tuesday: (Daniel 7) One like a son of man coming on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, He received dominion, glory, and kingship.
Wednesday: (Job 9) I know well that it is so; but how can a man be justified before God? Should one wish to contend with him, he could not answer him once in a thousand times. God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
Thursday (Job 19) Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has struck me! Why do you hound me as though you were divine, and insatiably prey upon me?
Friday (Job 38) The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said: Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place For taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface?
Saturday (Job 42) I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.
Gospel:
Monday: (Luke 9) An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Tuesday: (John 1) Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him." Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?"
Wednesday (Luke 9) As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
Thursday (Luke 10) Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.”
Friday (Matthew 18) The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Saturday (Luke 10) The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power.”
Saints of the Week
September 27: Vincent de Paul, priest (1581-1660), was a French peasant who selected to be chaplain at the Queen's household after his ordination. He provided food and clothing to the poor, including prostitutes, the sick, disabled, and homeless. He founded the Congregation of Missions (Vincentians) to preach and train clergy and he co-founded the Daughters of Charity with Louise de Marillac.
September 28: Wenceslaus, martyr (907-929), was raised a Christian by his grandmother while his mother and brother were opposed to Christianity. His brother opposed him when he became ruler of Bohemia in 922. He introduced strict reforms that caused great dissatisfaction among nobles and political adversaries. His brother invited him to a religious ceremony where he was killed in a surprise attack.
September 28: Lawrence Ruiz and 15 companion martyrs, (seventeenth century), were killed in Nagasaki, Japan during 1633 and 1637. Most of these Christians were friends of the Dominicans. Lawrence, a Filipino, was a husband and father. He and these other missionaries served the Philippines, Formosa, and Japan.
September 29: Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels are long a part of Christian and Jewish scripture. Michael is the angel who fights against evil as the head of all the angels; Gabriel announces the messiah's arrival and the births of Jesus and John the Baptist; and Raphael is a guardian angel who protects Tobias on his journey. Together, they are venerated to represent all the angels during a three-day period.
September 30: Jerome, priest and doctor (342-420), studied Greek and Latin as a young man after his baptism by Pope Liberius. He learned Hebrew when he became a monk and after ordination he studied scripture with Gregory Nazianzen in Constantinople. He became secretary to the Pope when he was asked to translate the Bible into Latin.
October 1: These of Lisieux, doctor (1873-1897), entered the Carmelites at age 15 and died at age 24 from tuberculosis. During her illness, Pauline, her prioress, asked her to write about her life in the convent. These stories are captured in "The Story of a Soul." He focused on her "little way" of pursuing holiness in everyday life.
October 2: The Guardian Angels are messengers and intermediaries between God and humans. They help us in our struggle against evil and they serve as guardians, the feast we celebrate today. Raphael is one of the guardians written about in the Book of Tobit. A memorial was added to the Roman calendar In 1670 in thanksgiving for their assistance.
October 3: Francis Borgia, S.J. became a duke at age 33. When his wife died and his eight children were grown, he joined the Jesuits. His preaching brought many people to the church and when he served as Superior General, the Society increased dramatically in Spain and Portugal. He established many missions in the new territories.
This Week in Jesuit History
- September 27, 1540. Pope Paul III signed the Bull, Regimini Militantis Ecclesiae, which established the Society of Jesus.
- September 28, 1572. Fifteen Jesuits arrived in Mexico to establish the Mexican Province. They soon opened a college.
- September 29, 1558. In the Gesu, Rome, and elsewhere, the Jesuits began to keep Choir, in obedience to an order from Paul IV. This practice lasted less than a year, until the pope's death in August, 1559.
- September 30, 1911. President William Howard Taft visited Saint Louis University and declared the football season open.
- October 1, 1546. Isabel Roser was released from her Jesuit vows by St Ignatius after eight months.
- October 2, 1964. Fr. General Janssens suffered a stroke and died three days later. During his generalate, the Society grew from 53 to 85 provinces, and from 28,839 to 35,968 members.
- October 3, 1901. In France, religious persecution broke out afresh with the passing of Waldeck Rousseau's "Loi d'Association."
