The Courage to Forgive: The Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2026

                                                    The Courage to Forgive:

The Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2026 

September 13, 2026

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Sirach 27:30-28:7; Psalm 103; Romans 14:7-9; Matthew 18:21-35

 

 

The first line of the first reading is jarring, “Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet we hug them tight.” With the Gospel imperative, we are not in a place to forgive until we tend to the open wound that will not heal. For each person this wound is different. Something happens to violate us whether it is rejection, betrayal, humiliation, injustice, abandonment, loss, or being treated as insignificant. We have to see that the wound is painful and it is caused by someone else’s actions. Some measure of balance or stability has been taken from us. 

 

What are some of the fears that we deal with when we are wounded? We fear being hurt again or more deeply. We fear losing control or being disregarded or discarded. We fear being fundamentally rejected or exposed as weak or vulnerable, or we fear losing something or someone important. What is our response? We act out in anger. We nurture anger.

 

We can see anger as a positive indicator. It tells us that there is an imbalance in the status quo, that something is wrong, or something needs to be corrected. Anger is not sinful. It is not evil. It is our soul’s way of telling us that we need to pay attention and act to restore balance. Experiencing anger is good or at least neutral. Nurturing anger is where the problem arises.

 

We do we do in our mind? We replay the injury or rehearse what happened or we think about what we should have said or done. We build a case against the person who hurt us. This injury becomes part of our identity. We build resentment and we move from a statement like, “You hurt me,” to “You are a person who deserves to suffer.” Your anger moves towards wrath and rage. You are now saying, “You must pay for what you have done.” This is where we lose sight of the larger goals of justice, compassion, or truth. We seek retribution or revenge. We then demonize the person and no longer see the person as human. The person is the personification of “wrong itself.”

 

Isn’t this what we do in our political world too? We no longer look at what one needs or how one is hurt. We want to hurt the other person and treat them as an enemy to be vanquished. The human heart has great power. If I can make you less than human, I do not have to feel again the pain that happened to me. Hate provides an illusion of power and it protects us from being vulnerable. 

 

Beneath it all is a person who does not know how to carry the hurt. What does Jesus tell Peter? He says explore the hurt underneath the anger. He wants his disciples to deal with human hurt and suffering. He calls them to name the wound they have experienced and face the associated fear. He wants them to acknowledge the injustice and release the person for the desire for revenge. Forgiveness recovers the humanity of the one who hurt you and allows God to heal what anger was trying to protect. Forgiveness never says the wound did not matter. It does. It hurts badly. Forgiveness tells us that the wound will not heal unless we examine it with Christ. Forgiveness tells us that the wound will not be allowed to determine the kind of person I want to become. 

 

Christian love requires vulnerability. Forgiveness and reconciliation require vulnerability. Justice requires us to remain open enough to see the other person as a human. It recognizes that both of us are remarkably fragile and need each other’s mercy. This work is not easy. We are called to forgive from the heart. Courage my friends. We can reshape the world if we have the courage to forgive.  

 

Scripture for Daily Mass 

Monday: (Numbers 21) With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!"

 

Tuesday: (1 Corinthians 12) As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

 

Wednesday: (1 Corinthians 12) Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.

 

Thursday (1 Corinthians 15) I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

 

Friday (1 Corinthians 15) If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching.

 

Saturday (1 Corinthians 15) Someone may say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come back?” You fool! What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (John 3) Jesus said to Nicodemus: "No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.

 

Tuesday: (Luke 2) “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

 

Wednesday (Luke 7) For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’

 

Thursday (Luke 7) A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.

 

Friday (Luke 8) Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities.

 

Saturday (Luke 8) But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”

 

Saints of the Week

 

September 13: John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor (347-407) was a gifted homilist and was called "Golden Mouth" because his words inspired many. He was raised in Antioch and joined a community of austere hermits but the lifestyle damaged his health. He became the archbishop of Constantinople where he introduced many conservative and unpopular reforms. He fled to escape an uprising from the people and on the way to exile he died.

 

September 14: The Triumph of the Holy Cross remembers the finding of the true cross by the Emperor Constantine's mother, Helen in early 4th century. Two churches were dedicated in the name of the cross on this day in the 4th century. Therefore, the feast was applied to this day. In the 7th century, the feast was renamed, "The Triumph." The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in 335 was also dedicated on this day.

 

September 15: Our Lady of Sorrows was once called the Seven Sorrows of Mary as introduced by the Servite Friars. After suffering during his captivity in France, Pius VII renamed the devotion that encapsulates: Simeon's prophecy, the flight into Egypt, searching for Jesus at age 12 in the Temple, the road to Calvary, the crucifixion, the deposition, and the entombment.

 

September 16: Cornelius, pope and martyr (d. 253) and Cyprian, bishop and martyr (200-258) both suffered in the Decian persecutions. Cornelius was being attacked by Novatian, but since Novatian's teachings were condemned, he received the support of the powerful bishop, Cyprian. Cyprian was a brilliant priest and bishop of Carthage who wrote on the unity of the church, the role of bishops, and the sacraments. Cyprian died under Valerius after supporting his church in exile by letters of encouragement.

 

September 17: Robert Bellarmine, S.J., bishop and doctor (1542-1621) became a Jesuit professor at the Louvain and then professor of Controversial theology at the Roman College. He wrote "Disputations on the controversies of the Christian faith against the Heretics of this age," which many Protestants appreciated because of its balanced reasoning. He revised the Vulgate bible, wrote catechisms, supervised the Roman College and the Vatican library, and was the pope's theologian. 

 

September 19: Januarius, bishop and martyr (d. 305), was bishop of Benevento during his martyrdom during the Diocletian persecution. He was arrested when he tried to visit imprisoned Christians. Legend tell us that a vial that contains his blood has been kept in the Naples cathedral since the 15^th century liquefies three times a year.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• September 13, 1773. Frederick II of Prussia informed the pope that the Jesuits would not be suppressed in Prussia and invited Jesuits to come. 
• September 14, 1596. The death of Cardinal Francis Toledo, the first of the Society to be raised to the purple. He died at age 63, a cardinal for three years.
• September 15, 1927. Thirty-seven Jesuits arrived in Hot Springs, North Carolina, to begin tertianship. The property was given to the Jesuits by the widow of the son of President Andrew Johnson. 
• September 16, 1883. The twenty-third General Congregation opened at Rome in the Palazzo Borromeo (via del Seminario). It elected Fr. Anthony Anderledy Vicar General with the right of succession. 
• September 17, 1621. The death of St Robert Bellarmine, bishop and doctor of the Church. 
• September 18, 1540. At Rome, Pedro Ribadeneira, aged fourteen, was admitted into the Society by St Ignatius (nine days before official papal confirmation of the Society). 
• September 19, 1715. At Quebec, the death of Fr. Louis Andre, who for 45 years labored in the missions of Canada amid incredible hardships, often living on acorns, a kind of moss, and the rind of fruits.

El coraje para perdonar: Vigésimo cuarto domingo del tiempo ordinario de 2026

                                                    El coraje para perdonar:

Vigésimo cuarto domingo del tiempo ordinario de 2026

13 de septiembre de 2026

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predmoresj@yahoo.com | 617.510.9673

Eclesiástico 27:30-28:7; Salmo 103; Romanos 14:7-9; Mateo 18:21-35

 

 

La primera línea de la primera lectura es impactante: «La ira y el enojo son cosas odiosas, 
pero nos aferramos a ellas». Con el imperativo del Evangelio, no estamos en condiciones de perdonar hasta que no hayamos sanado la herida abierta que no cicatriza. Para cada persona, esta herida es diferente. Algo sucede que nos hiere, ya sea rechazo, traición, humillación, injusticia, abandono, pérdida o ser tratados como insignificantes. Debemos reconocer que la herida es dolorosa y que es causada por las acciones de otra persona. Se nos ha arrebatado cierto equilibrio o estabilidad.

 

¿Cuáles son algunos de los miedos que afrontamos cuando nos sentimos heridos? Tememos volver a sufrir o que la herida sea más profunda. Tememos perder el control, ser ignorados o descartados. Tememos ser rechazados fundamentalmente o quedar expuestos como débiles o vulnerables, o tememos perder algo o a alguien importante. ¿Cuál es nuestra respuesta? Reaccionamos con ira. Alimentamos la ira.

 

Podemos ver la ira como un indicador positivo. Nos dice que hay un desequilibrio en el statu quo, que algo anda mal o que algo necesita corregirse. La ira no es pecaminosa. No es mala. Es la forma en que nuestra alma nos dice que debemos prestar atención y actuar para restablecer el equilibrio. Experimentar ira es bueno, o al menos neutral. El problema surge al alimentar la ira.

 

¿Qué hacemos en nuestra mente? Revivimos la herida, repasamos lo sucedido o pensamos en lo que deberíamos haber dicho o hecho. Construimos un caso contra quien nos lastimó. Esta herida se convierte en parte de nuestra identidad. Cultivamos el resentimiento y pasamos de decir: «Me lastimaste», a «Eres una persona que merece sufrir». Nuestra ira se transforma en furia y rabia. Ahora decimos: «Debes pagar por lo que hiciste». Es aquí donde perdemos de vista los objetivos más elevados de justicia, compasión o verdad. Buscamos retribución o venganza. Demonizamos a la persona y dejamos de verla como un ser humano. La persona se convierte en la personificación del mal en sí mismo.

 

¿Acaso no hacemos lo mismo en el ámbito político? Ya no nos fijamos en las necesidades de los demás ni en cómo sufren. Queremos herirlos y tratarlos como enemigos a vencer. El corazón humano tiene un gran poder. Si logro humillarte, no tendré que volver a sentir el dolor que sufrí. El odio nos da una ilusión de poder y nos protege de la vulnerabilidad.

 

Debajo de todo hay una persona que no sabe cómo sobrellevar el dolor. ¿Qué le dice Jesús a Pedro? Le dice que explore el dolor que subyace a la ira. Quiere que sus discípulos afronten el dolor y el sufrimiento humanos. Los llama a nombrar la herida que han experimentado y a enfrentar el miedo asociado. Quiere que reconozcan la injusticia y liberen a la persona del deseo de venganza. El perdón recupera la humanidad de quien te hirió y permite que Dios sane lo que la ira intentaba proteger. El perdón nunca dice que la herida no importaba. Importa. Duele mucho. El perdón nos dice que la herida no sanará a menos que la examinemos con Cristo. El perdón nos dice que no permitiremos que la herida determine la clase de persona en la que queremos convertirnos.

 

El amor cristiano exige vulnerabilidad. El perdón y la reconciliación exigen vulnerabilidad. La justicia exige que permanezcamos lo suficientemente abiertos como para ver al otro como un ser humano. Reconoce que ambos somos sumamente frágiles y necesitamos la misericordia del otro. Esta tarea no es fácil. Estamos llamados a perdonar de corazón. Ánimo, amigos míos. Podemos transformar el mundo si tenemos el valor de perdonar.

 

Lecturas bíblicas para la Misa diaria

Lunes: (Números 21) Agotada su paciencia por el viaje, la gente se quejó contra Dios y Moisés: «¿Por qué nos habéis sacado de Egipto para morir en este desierto, donde no hay comida ni agua? ¡Estamos hartos de esta comida miserable!»

 

Martes: (1 Corintios 12) Así como el cuerpo es uno, aunque tiene muchos miembros, y todos los miembros del cuerpo, aunque muchos, son un solo cuerpo, así también Cristo. Porque por un solo Espíritu fuimos todos bautizados en un solo cuerpo, sean judíos o griegos, esclavos o libres; y a todos se nos dio a beber de un mismo Espíritu.

 

Miércoles: (1 Corintios 12) Esfuércense por obtener los dones espirituales más grandes. Pero les mostraré un camino aún más excelente. Si hablo en lenguas humanas y angélicas, pero no tengo amor, soy como un metal que resuena o un címbalo que retiñe.

 

Jueves (1 Corintios 15) Hermanos, les recuerdo el Evangelio que les prediqué, el cual recibieron y en el cual permanecen. Por medio de él también son salvos, si se aferran a la palabra que les prediqué, a menos que hayan creído en vano.

 

Viernes (1 Corintios 15) Si se predica que Cristo resucitó de entre los muertos, ¿cómo pueden algunos de ustedes decir que no hay resurrección de los muertos? Si no hay resurrección de los muertos, tampoco Cristo resucitó. Y si Cristo no resucitó, vana es también nuestra predicación.

 

Sábado (1 Corintios 15) Alguien podría decir: «¿Cómo resucitan los muertos? ¿Con qué clase de cuerpo volverán?» ¡ Insensato ! Lo que siembras no cobra vida a menos que muera.

 

Evangelio: 

Lunes: (Juan 3) Jesús le dijo a Nicodemo: «Nadie ha subido al cielo sino el que ha descendido del cielo, el Hijo del Hombre. Y así como Moisés levantó la serpiente en el desierto, así es necesario que el Hijo del Hombre sea levantado .

 

Martes: (Lucas 2) “He aquí, este niño está destinado a ser causa de caída y de levantamiento de muchos en Israel, y a ser señal de contradicción; y a ti mismo te traspasará una espada, para que se revelen los pensamientos de muchos corazones.”

 

Miércoles (Lucas 7) Porque vino Juan el Bautista, que ni comía ni bebía, y vosotros decíais: «Está poseído por un demonio». Vino el Hijo del Hombre, que comía y bebía, y vosotros decíais: «Mirad, es un glotón y un borracho, amigo de publicanos y pecadores».

 

Jueves (Lucas 7) Un fariseo invitó a Jesús a cenar con él, y Jesús entró en su casa y se sentó a la mesa. Había en la ciudad una mujer pecadora que se enteró de que Jesús estaba cenando en casa del fariseo.

 

El viernes (Lucas 8), Jesús viajó de pueblo en pueblo, predicando y anunciando las buenas nuevas del Reino de Dios. Lo acompañaban los Doce y algunas mujeres que habían sido sanadas de espíritus malignos y enfermedades.

 

Sábado (Lucas 8) Pero la semilla que cayó en tierra fértil son los que, al oír la palabra, la reciben con generosidad y bondad, y dan fruto con perseverancia.

 

Santos de la semana

 

13 de septiembre: Juan Crisóstomo, obispo y médico (347-407) , fue un predicador talentoso y conocido como «Boca de Oro» porque sus palabras inspiraban a muchos. Se crio en Antioquía y se unió a una comunidad de ermitaños austeros, pero este estilo de vida perjudicó su salud. Llegó a ser arzobispo de Constantinopla, donde introdujo numerosas reformas conservadoras e impopulares. Huyó para escapar de una revuelta popular y murió camino al exilio.

 

14 de septiembre: El Triunfo de la Santa Cruz conmemora el hallazgo de la Vera Cruz por Elena, madre del emperador Constantino, a principios del siglo IV. Dos iglesias fueron consagradas en honor a la cruz en este día durante el siglo IV. Por lo tanto, la festividad se estableció en esta fecha. En el siglo VII, la festividad pasó a llamarse «El Triunfo». La Iglesia del Santo Sepulcro, en el año 335, también fue consagrada en este día.

 

15 de septiembre: Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, antiguamente conocida como los Siete Dolores de María por los frailes servitas, fue renombrada por Pío VII tras sufrir durante su cautiverio en Francia. Esta devoción abarca la profecía de Simeón, la huida a Egipto, la búsqueda de Jesús a los 12 años en el Templo, el camino al Calvario, la crucifixión, el descenso a los cielos y el entierro.

 

16 de septiembre: Cornelio, papa y mártir (m. 253), y Cipriano, obispo y mártir (200-258), sufrieron las persecuciones de Decio. Cornelio era atacado por Novaciano, pero, dado que las enseñanzas de este último estaban condenadas, recibió el apoyo del influyente obispo Cipriano. Cipriano fue un brillante sacerdote y obispo de Cartago que escribió sobre la unidad de la Iglesia, el papel de los obispos y los sacramentos. Cipriano murió bajo el reinado de Valerio, tras haber apoyado a su Iglesia en el exilio mediante cartas de aliento.

 

17 de septiembre: Roberto Belarmino, S.J., obispo y doctor (1542-1621), se convirtió en profesor jesuita en Lovaina y posteriormente en profesor de Teología Controversial en el Colegio Romano. Escribió «Disputas sobre las controversias de la fe cristiana contra los herejes de este siglo», obra que muchos protestantes apreciaron por su razonamiento equilibrado. Revisó la Vulgata, escribió catecismos, dirigió el Colegio Romano y la Biblioteca Vaticana, y fue teólogo del Papa.

 

19 de septiembre: Januario, obispo y mártir (m. 305) , fue obispo de Benevento durante su martirio en la persecución de Diocleciano. Fue arrestado cuando intentaba visitar a los cristianos encarcelados. La leyenda cuenta que un frasco con su sangre se conserva en la catedral de Nápoles desde el siglo XV y ^que se licúa tres veces al año.

 

Esta semana en la historia jesuita

 

• 13 de septiembre de 1773. Federico II de Prusia informó al papa de que los jesuitas no serían suprimidos en Prusia y los invitó a venir.
• 14 de septiembre de 1596. Fallece el cardenal Francisco Toledo, el primero de la Compañía de Jesús en ser elevado a la Orden de Toledo. Murió a los 63 años, tras haber sido cardenal durante tres años.
• 15 de septiembre de 1927. Treinta y siete jesuitas llegaron a Hot Springs, Carolina del Norte, para comenzar su tercer año de estudios. La viuda del hijo del presidente Andrew Johnson les había donado la propiedad.
• 16 de septiembre de 1883. La vigésimo tercera Congregación General se inauguró en Roma, en el Palazzo Borromeo ( via del Seminario ). En ella se eligió al padre Anthony Anderledy como vicario general con derecho de sucesión.
• 17 de septiembre de 1621. Fallecimiento de San Roberto Belarmino, obispo y doctor de la Iglesia.
• de septiembre de 1540. En Roma, Pedro Ribadeneira, de catorce años, fue admitido en la Compañía de Jesús por San Ignacio (nueve días antes de la confirmación papal oficial de la Compañía).
• 19 de septiembre de 1715. Fallece en Quebec el padre Louis Andre, quien durante 45 años trabajó en las misiones de Canadá en medio de increíbles penurias, viviendo a menudo de bellotas, una especie de musgo y la cáscara de frutas.

Photo: Mary

 

Prayer: Margaret Mary Alocoque

Be humble towards God and gentle with your neighbor. Judge and accuse no one but yourself, and ever excuse others. Speak of your neighbor only with respect.

Photo: The Abbey

 

Spirituality: Six Recognitions of the Lord (Mary Oliver)

2. Lord God, mercy is in your hands, pour me a little. And tenderness too. My need is great. Beauty walks so freely and with such gentleness. Impatience puts a halter on my face and I run away over the green fields wanting your voice, your tenderness, but having to do with only the sweet grasses of the fields against my body. When I first found you I was filled with light, now the darkness grows and it is filled with crooked things, bitter and weak, each one bearing my name.

Photo: Adorned Altar

 

Prayer: Cardinal Joseph Bernadin

Active waiting for the Lord means not allowing ourselves to be lulled into purely private interests in our homes and apartments, but donating our attention, time, and talents. It implies sharing our strengths and accepting our weaknesses in our parishes, schools, community work, and in society at large.

Spirituality: from The Lost Sutras of Jesus, ed. by Ray Riegert & Thomas Moore

People can live only by dwelling in the living breath of God. Only in this way can they be at peace and realize their aspirations. From sunrise to sunset, they dwell in the living breath of God; every sight and thought is part of that breath. God provides a place for them filled with clarity and bliss and stillness. In the silence, we are moved by this wind, which blows everywhere in the world.

Photo: Yellow Roses

 

Establishing Meaningful Conversations and Building Healthy Relationships with Parish Priests

Some Catholic parishioners experience situations in which pastors make liturgical and pastoral decisions without wide consultation of the parish community. Some priests have introduced outdated but permitted rituals like kneeling, altar railings, head coverings, Latin as the liturgical language, and communion on the tongue. Without wide consultation or input, parishioners feel disconnected and powerless. If they speak of their dissatisfaction to the pastor, they experience being silenced or dismissed. Many feel unwelcome in a church that was once their spiritual home. 

 

How can we create a positive document as a teaching guide for laity who wish to help a priest who is not ready to promote synodality or develop the communion of the faithful?

What are some concrete steps that parishioners can take that would make the pastors responsive to their experiences?

 

An important shift.

 

Parishioners should move from expressing individual dissatisfaction to creating a respectful, organized, documented way for the experience of the parish community to be heard.

 

There is a legitimate Catholic basis for doing this. The Code of Canon Law does not envision laypeople as passive recipients of clerical decisions. 

 

• Canon 212 §2 says that the faithful have the freedom to make their needs and desires known to their pastors; 
• Canon 212 §3 goes further, saying that they have the right, and sometimes the duty, to express their opinion about matters concerning the good of the Church. 

 

The main issue is whether the pastor is using legitimate options pastorally, collaboratively, and with sensitivity to the people entrusted to his care. This is a strong argument.

 

1. Stop arguing primarily about "traditional vs. progressive"

 

Rather than saying, "Father is too conservative," say:

 

"These pastoral decisions are having these effects on the people of this parish."

 

For example:

• People who previously felt at home now feel like outsiders. 
• Older parishioners feel their experience and contributions are being disregarded. 
• Young families are becoming less engaged. 
• People feel uncomfortable approaching the priest. 
• Parish ministries are losing participation. 
• People no longer feel that their voices matter. 
• There is an increasing sense of "Father has decided, there is nothing we can do."
•  

The conversation moves from ideology to pastoral effectiveness.

 

2. Gather experiences rather than grievances

 

A small group of parishioners could quietly conduct a listening process. This has to be formulated well. Instead of saying, “We don’t like what the pastor is doing,” ask questions such as:

 

• Do you feel welcome in our parish?
• Do you feel that your voice is heard?
• Do you feel comfortable approaching the pastor with a concern?
• What changes have strengthened your experience of parish life?
• What changes have made you feel less connected?
• What would help our parish become a more welcoming spiritual community?
• Do you believe parishioners have meaningful opportunities to participate in decisions affecting parish life?

 

The results could be summarized without identifying individuals. This creates something much more powerful than complaints: a pastoral picture of the community.

 

3. Use the parish pastoral council 

 

This is particularly important.

 

Canon 536 provides for a parish pastoral council, when the diocesan bishop judges one appropriate, in which the faithful participate in fostering the pastoral activity of the parish. It is consultative rather than governing, so it does not give parishioners a veto over the pastor, but it provides an established structure through which the experience of the community can be brought into pastoral deliberation. 

 

If a parish has a pastoral council, parishioners should ask: Is the council functioning as a vehicle for pastoral listening, or has it become merely ceremonial?

 

If there is no council, parishioners can ask the diocese what the norms are for establishing one. The goal should be to make the council a place where questions such as these can legitimately be discussed:

 

• "How are our liturgical changes affecting participation?"
• "How are we welcoming people who have different spiritual sensibilities?"
• "How are we listening to young adults?" older adults? Women? 
• "How do we know whether parishioners feel spiritually nourished?"
• "What does our parish need in order to become a stronger community?"

 

4. Create a parish listening forum

 

If the pastor will permit it, ask for an evening that has one purpose: Listening to the experience of the parish community.

 

It should not become a debate about ideology.

 

A facilitator could establish rules:

 

• Speak from personal experience. 
• No attacks any person.
• No attacks on traditional or progressive Catholics. 
• Everyone gets an opportunity to speak. 
• The purpose is listening, not winning. 
• The pastor listens without responding to every comment.

That last point could be extraordinarily important. A pastor who is accustomed to answering every criticism can unintentionally turn "dialogue" into another occasion for exercising authority. Sometimes the most transformative thing a pastor can do is simply listen for an hour without defending himself.

 

5. Put concerns in writing

 

If individual conversations are repeatedly dismissed, parishioners should begin documenting concerns respectfully.

 

Write something like this: 

 

“On three occasions parishioners requested an opportunity to discuss the changes in the Sunday liturgy. Each request was declined. We are concerned that there is currently no mechanism through which parishioners can communicate their pastoral experience.”

 

It is factual, specific, and difficult to dismiss as merely emotional.

 

6. Build a relationship with the diocesan bishop's office

 

This is perhaps the most important escalation. A pastor does not exist independently of the diocese. Canonically, a parish is entrusted to a pastor under the authority of the diocesan bishop. 

 

If the pastor consistently refuses meaningful dialogue, parishioners can respectfully communicate their concerns to the appropriate diocesan office.

 

The message should be a constructive request.:

 

"We need assistance in establishing a healthy pastoral process for listening and dialogue within our parish."

 

They can ask the diocese for:

• a facilitated parish listening session; 
• a meeting with a diocesan representative; 
• assistance establishing or strengthening a pastoral council; 
• clarification of diocesan policies; 
• mediation between parishioners and the pastor; 
• pastoral visitation or assessment. 

 

7. Distinguish liturgical preference from pastoral harm

 

This is crucial. 

 

A parishioner saying, "I don't like Latin" is one thing. A community saying this is much different:

 

"The manner in which liturgical changes are being introduced is causing significant numbers of people to withdraw from parish life, and there is no opportunity for dialogue"

 

Likewise, Communion on the tongue is a legitimate practice. Kneeling is a legitimate posture in appropriate circumstances. Latin is a legitimate liturgical language. The question should therefore not be "Are these practices allowed?"  The better question is:

 

"How are legitimate practices being used, and what pastoral consequences are they producing?"

 

That keeps the discussion within Catholic ground.

 

8. Do not allow the pastor to make this about obedience

 

There is a danger that parishioners will be told: 

"The priest is the pastor. You are supposed to obey."

 

Canon 212 provides a remarkably important counterbalance. Catholic obedience does not eliminate the laity's right to express their needs, desires, and considered opinions concerning the good of the Church. 

 

The appropriate response is not rebellion. It is responsible participation.

 

In fact, parishioners might say:

 

"We respect the pastor's authority. Precisely because we love this parish and want to support its mission, we believe we have a responsibility to tell you honestly what we are experiencing."

 

9. Create a coalition that crosses ideological lines

 

Coalition building might be the most effective strategy.  Do not only organize people who dislike traditional practices. Find people who might say:

 

• "I love the Latin Mass, but I don't think people should feel excluded." 
• "I prefer receiving Communion on the tongue, but I don't want others judged for receiving in the hand." 
• "I appreciate kneeling, but I don't want liturgical practice to become a source of division." 
• "I respect the priest's authority, but I believe he needs to listen." 
• "I am traditional in my spirituality, but I don't want clericalism." 

 

Now the issue is no longer traditional Catholics versus progressive Catholics.

It becomes: What kind of parish do we want to be?

 

That is a much larger and more compelling question.

 

10. Ask the bishop to evaluate pastoral fruit

 

Ultimately, the most compelling question is not: "Does Father have the right to do this?"

but: "Is this pastoral leadership producing the fruits that the Church expects from a parish?"

 

Canon 529 describes the pastor's responsibility to know the faithful entrusted to him, to visit families, to share their joys and especially their difficulties, and to make every effort to ensure that the faithful receive the Eucharist and participate consciously and actively in the liturgy. 

 

That gives parishioners a very different vocabulary.

 

They can ask:

 

Are people being drawn into deeper communion, or are they withdrawing?

• Are people becoming more engaged, or less?
• Are people experiencing the parish as their spiritual home, or as an institution from which they feel increasingly alienated?
• Are differences in spirituality being integrated, or are they becoming sources of division?
•  

These are pastoral questions—not political ones.

 

 

11.         We can always include a discussion about the power of money. Withholding money can cause the pastor to stop and ask questions. 

 

 

 

Power and Belonging

 

The fundamental Issue is about power and belonging.

 

A parish is not simply a place where a priest performs the sacraments for an audience. Canon law itself describes a parish as a stable community of the faithful entrusted to pastoral care. 

 

The Church's current discussion of synodality is moving precisely toward the question of how clergy and laity listen to one another and discern together. Recent U.S. Catholic discussion has emphasized that synodality needs to become something ordinary Catholics experience rather than something reserved for specialists. 

 

So perhaps the most constructive goal for these parishioners is:

 

"How do we create a parish culture in which the pastor can exercise legitimate authority while parishioners genuinely experience themselves as participants rather than subjects?"

 

That is a much more profound challenge to clericalism.

 

Parishioners should not have to become angry, rebellious, or anti-clerical in order to recover their voice. They can claim their legitimate place in the Church precisely by acting as mature, responsible members of the Body of Christ—organized, respectful, persistent, and unwilling to disappear quietly.

 

We have a very fruitful theological framework: authority, listening, synodality, the dignity of the baptized, and the parish as a spiritual home rather than simply an institution governed by a priest.