September 27, 2026: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Once Jesus Christ began His ministry, He called people to repentance.

As the first reading from Ezekiel indicates, lack of repentance leads to death, whereas repentance, turning away from sins, leads to life.

Even when we stumble in sin, we still have the opportunity to embrace God's mercy and grace that lead us into the abundant Life.  While they were seemingly cast out of society, the tax collectors and prostitutes recognized their sins and how God could restore them, and they embraced His mercy and grace.  The religious authorities thought they had it right, and weren't open to the mercy and grace of God.

These are great gifts of God, made available to us because Christ emptied Himself and humbled Himself in obedience, even to death on the Cross. We now honor Him for what He has done, and we seek to abide by the model He gave us, following His way of humility and serving others.

Christ indeed emptied Himself so we could be raised up to newness of Life in which we reflect God's presence at work in this world.

On September 27, 2015, Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the Conclusion of the World Meeting of Families.  It was an extraordinary time to behold how God is at work in our lives through the ways we share and experience love in our families.

September 21, 2026: Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

The Gospel according to St. Matthew is bookended by an important reality:  God is with us, as the promise of Emmanuel indicates.  Jesus sends His apostles forth, promising to be with them, and with us, always.

This abiding presence of God comes to us in our lives and summons us to live with wholehearted devotion to our God, giving the honor due to Him, as Matthew 22 states, for God frees us from sin and directs our lives with purpose toward Him, as He directed the Magi by the light of a star.

May St. Matthew, whose Cathedral is in Washington, D.C., intercede for the USA, that our 250th anniversary of Independence will inspire us to live with purpose.

September 20, 2026: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The words in the reading from Isaiah set the tone well for the Gospel reading, when God declares, in Isaiah, that His ways are above our ways, as high as the heavens are above the earth.

The parable in the Gospel reading doesn't make sense economically.  It's a story that reveals the abundant generosity of our God.  When our sins broke our relationship with Him, He saved us, offering us abundant grace and mercy so we could live the abundant life of faith in Him.

While we may feel that some are undeserving, like those who come to faith toward the end of earthly life, what counts is that our God is generous in giving us what we don't deserve.  His grace is enough to lead us to Heaven, and to transform us so that we reflect His image in this world while on the way to Heaven.  By embracing His grace and mercy, we can live a life with great purpose in devotion to God, magnifying Him by living out the gifts He has given us.

On this Catechetical Sunday, I'm grateful for the ways I experience Heaven as I lead my students to encounter God and grow in relationship with Him.

September 14, 2026: Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

By faith, we experience a great triumph in Christ.

He was crucified upon the Cross, a terrible instrument of suffering and death.

He did so in fulfillment of the Father's plan. He has exalted the Son and redeemed even the Cross to be the means of salvation and glory.

Indeed, Jesus Christ was lifted up, and now we praise Him as our Savior, in Whom we have Eternal Life.

September 13, 2026: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God has offered us the great gift of forgiveness for our sins and calls us to extend it to others as part of putting our faith into action.

The first reading from Sirach directs us to remember God's commandments and to forgive others so that we can experience forgiveness.

Jesus tells a parable in which a servant is forgiven a great debt but then is oblivious to the gift he was given and shows no mercy to a fellow servant who owes him a much smaller debt.

By growing in faith, the implications of forgiveness enter more deeply within us, enabling us to show mercy and grace to others as a reflection of what God has done for us.

We recognize that God has created us all, and that, by faith, we live and die for the Lord.

So we seek to live out our relationship with God by sharing these great gifts with others.  St. Peter asks if it's enough to forgive someone 7 times, a number that was thought to symbolize perfection in Judaism. Jesus calls him, and all of us, to go further and reflect the perfection of God Who has forgiven us, as we live out our faith by extending His gift of forgiveness to others.

September 8, 2026: Nativity of the Virgin Mary

Mary the Blessed Mother is a marvelous example of God working wondrously in someone who displays great faith.

The prophecy of Emmanuel, God with us, is fulfilled through the power of the Holy Spirit when Mary said yes to God's plan.

God has called of us, His people, to be part of His plan. As we say yes, may we marvel at the wonders we encounter.

September 6, 2026: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

God desires for us to care for our brothers and sisters, seeking to support them in steering them from wrong to right.

The reading from Ezekiel indicates that God holds us responsible for doing our part to give warning to our brothers and sisters.

Jesus in the Gospel reading lays out an approach for responding to those who have wronged us.

Ultimately, it's about living out the command to love.  Indeed, as St. Paul writes, all the commandments are about expressing our love for God by living that love toward our neighbor.

This first weekend of September marks the anniversary of multiple canonizations, including the 10th anniversary of St. Teresa of Calcutta and the first anniversary of St. Piergiorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis.  Their lives are great examples of how we can put our faith into action by loving others.