Creating a New World:
The Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time 2026
September 6, 2026
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Ezekiel 33:7-9; Psalm 95; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20
The Gospel passage speaks about the necessity and the mystery of reconciliation. Too often, we hear about forgiveness and we think it is a quick, magnanimous action to take. This passage is about so much more. Forgiveness is something I can choose to give to another person. Reconciliation is something two people must build together.
Many people have trouble with forgiveness because they have been taught that it is a singular act to be completed in one sitting. That is not so. Forgiveness has many layers and dimensions to it. We also have a notion that forgiveness is all or nothing, and we end up choosing nothing and we cause such great chasms in our relationships. How many of us are estranged from someone important in our lives? We are wrongly taught that forgiveness means to overlook a transgression or to act as though an action has not occurred. That is not true either. When we forgive, we make room for God to transform the wound rather than allowing the wound to transform us. It is our free choice.
Forgiveness says, “I release you from my need for revenge.” Reconciliation says, “Let us see whether we can rebuild what was broken.” Christian love says, “Whether or not we are reconciled, I will not stop praying for your good. I still want the best for you.”
As we are reflective people, we can ask ourselves, “What does Jesus actually ask of me when someone has hurt me?” It is good to acknowledge the hurt to Jesus in prayer and say, “I will not allow what you did to me to determine the kind of person I want to become.” I can surrender my anger to God and I can stop demanding that the other person suffer because I have suffered. We will face many times when the other person will not apologize or acknowledge their hurtful words or actions. Forgiveness is a gradual process, and I have to move forward.
Reconciliation requires the participation of at least two people because it aims to restore a broken relationship. It is hard work and requires some level of truth, acknowledgment, repentance, trust, and a promise of changed behavior. There has to be some glimmer of wanting to rebuild trust. Reconciliation does not return to the past status quo. While forgiveness looks backwards, reconciliation looks forward. We have to decide what might have to change for us to move forward together with the existing wounds. Reconciliation creates something new – a relationship built on a stronger foundation of honesty and a deeper awareness of each other’s vulnerability.
God forgives us all the time. God calls us into right relationships that reconcile through mercy. Forgiveness is freely offered by God with an outstretched hand and a desire for us to step forward. Reconciliation happens when we reach back to God. Reconciliation is the courageous work of rebuilding trust, telling the truth, accepting responsibility, and creating a new future together. Reconciliation helps us transcends our human condition and we create something far beyond what we could imagine. What is the type of world in which we want to live? What is the new creation of our dreams? God believes this is possible. What do you believe?
Scripture for Daily Mass
Monday: (1 Corinthians 5) It is widely reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of a kind not found even among pagans–a man living with his father’s wife. And you are inflated with pride. Should you not rather have been sorrowful?
Tuesday: (Micah 5) He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; And they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.
Wednesday: (1 Corinthians 7) In regard to virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. So this is what I think best because of the present distress: that it is a good thing for a person to remain as he is.
Thursday (1 Corinthians 8) Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up. If anyone supposes he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if one loves God, one is known by him.
Friday (1 Corinthians 9) If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it! If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
Saturday (1 Corinthians 10) I am speaking as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I am saying. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?
Gospel:
Monday: (Luke 6) On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him.
Tuesday: (Matthew 1) The Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Wednesday (Luke 6) Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.
Thursday (Luke 6) To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic.
Friday (Luke 6) "Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.
Saturday (Luke 6) A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
Saints of the Week
September 7: Stephen Pongracz (priest), Melchior Grodziecki (priest), and Mark Krizevcanin (canon) of the Society of Jesus were matyred in 1619 when they would not deny their faith in Slovakia. They were chaplains to Hungarian Catholic troops, which raised the ire of Calvinists who opposed the Emperor. They were brutally murdered through a lengthy process that most Calvinists and Protestants opposed.
September 8: The Birth of Mary was originally (like all good feasts) celebrated first in the Eastern Church. The Roman church began its devotion in the fifth century. Her birth celebrates her role as the mother of Jesus. Some traditions have her born in Nazareth while others say she hails from outside of Jerusalem.
September 9: Peter Claver, S.J. (1580-1654) became a Jesuit in 1600 and was sent to the mission in Cartegena, Colombia, a center of slave trade. For forty years, Claver ministered to the newly arrived Africans by giving them food, water, and medical care. Unfortunately, he died ostracized by his Jesuit community because he insisted on continuing the unpopular act of treating the slaves humanely.
September 10: Francis Garate, S.J. (1857-1929) was a Basque who entered the Jesuits and became a doorkeeper at the Univeristy of Deusto in Bilbao. He modeled his ministry after Alphonsus Rodriguez and became known for his innate goodness, humility, and prayerfulness.
September 12: The Name of Mary was given to the child in the octave that follow her birth on September 8th. Mary (Miriam) was a popular name for a girl because it means "beloved."
This Week in Jesuit History
· August 30, 1556: On the banks of the St. Lawrence River, the Iroquois mortally wounded Fr. Leonard Garreau, a young missionary.
· September 6, 1666. The Great Fire of London broke out on this date. There is not much the Jesuits have not been blamed for, and this was no exception. It was said to be the work of Papists and Jesuits. King Charles II banished all the fathers from England.
· September 7, 1773. King Louis XV wrote to Clement XIV, expressing his heartfelt joy at the suppression of the Society.
· September 8, 1600. Fr. Matteo Ricci set out on his journey to Peking (Beijing). He experienced enormous difficulties in reaching the royal city, being stopped on his way by one of the powerful mandarins.
· September 9, 1773. At Lisbon, Carvalho, acting in the king's name, ordered public prayers for the deliverance of the world from the "pestilence of Jesuitism."
· September 10, 1622. The martyrdom at Nagaski, Japan, of Charles Spinola and his companions.
· September 11, 1681. At Antwerp, the death of Fr. Geoffry Henschen (Henschenius). A man of extraordinary learning, he was Fr. Jan von Bolland's assistant in compiling the Acts of the Saints.
· September 12, 1744. Benedict XIV's second Bull, Omnium Sollicitudinum, forbade the Chinese Rites. Persecution followed in China.
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