September 6, 2026

⭐⭐⭐ Pope Leo XIV

INTRODUCTIONFRANCISBENEDICT XVIJOHN PAUL IICATECHISM

23rd Sunday of Year A

Theme of the Readings

FROM THE ARCHIVES (1999)

On the basis of Vatican Council II, the Catechism presents various symbols of the Church: sheepfold, cultivated field, building of God, temple, family, Mystical Body of Christ, People of God (cf. 753-757). Today’s liturgical celebration introduces one more symbol, the Church as communion. The Gospel text chosen for this Sunday is taken from the so-called ecclesial discourse, whose core is fraternal love. In the first reading, Ezekiel, having been appointed watchman for the People of Israel, feels it is his responsibility to correct the wicked in order to be faithful to his vocation. In addressing the Christians of Rome, Saint Paul has no doubt in asserting peremptorily “Love is the fulfillment of the Law.”

Doctrinal Messages

The Church as communion is first and foremost the sacrament of the intimate union of humans with God

This communion with God is the purpose of the Church. In the Gospel, Jesus says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name [to pray to the Father], there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18: 20). Ezekiel’s voice must resound among the people in order for the wicked to correct their conduct and convert to God (first reading). Therefore, the Church is responsible for inviting individuals to union with God, and all legitimate and effective means must be used to achieve this. There would cease to be communion without this vertical dimension, which emphasizes both the instrumental nature of the Church and its universal vocation (no man or woman is excluded from the Church’s calling to communion with God). The Church must become more conscious of its vocation as an instrument of communion. She does this first of all in relation to her children, to whom she offers God’s Revelation in Jesus Christ and the means to give an adequate and generous response. Secondly, she does this by means of ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue with those who are not visible members, two contemporary forms of this ecclesial conscience.

The Church is also a sign and instrument of union among people

The communion with God almost spontaneously leads to fraternal union. It is the union of love, as we are all brothers and sisters in the Faith, but each fulfills their own task. Those who are watchmen and guides express their love by leading, and if necessary, correcting those who have lost their way. The Church as communion compels us to foster union and love, to seek the good of others, to love them and wish them the best. In some circumstances, excommunication may become a requirement of communion, to preserve unity and peace among the faithful. “If he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector,” Jesus teaches us in the Gospel. In fact, it is not the Church that excommunicates one of its members. Rather it is the individual who freely excludes himself from communion. Indeed, it is well known that the Church has made great efforts to maintain communion whenever positions of dissent arise in connection with essential points of dogma or morality. The Church as communion always opens her arms to welcome the brother or sister to make them part of the ecclesial family once again. The stories in the press that portray the Church as being anchored to its power, closed-in, backward, authoritarian, and an enemy of progress are anachronistic and stereotypical cliches, and as such are not worthy of our attention.

Pastoral Suggestions

Love is the fulfillment of the law

Each parish is authentic if there is a true love for God and a true mutual love among its members. Each parish must be, before anything else, a visible plan of our love for God and of God’s love for us. The first concern of the parish priest and the parishioners should not be whether the Sunday Mass works well, or that the ceremony of First Communion is perfect. Rather each parishioner should open his or her mind and heart to God, and listen to him in his or her inner conscience. Everything else will follow: assistance during Sunday Mass, the reception of the Sacraments, sincere love for others, charitable actions and solidarity towards the needy, spirit of collaboration, etc.

Fraternal correction

In Christ’s teachings fraternal correction gives concrete shape to the love for one’s brethren. In a diocese, parish, or religious community not everything or everyone will be perfect. There will always be things and attitudes capable of being improved. Fraternal correction finds its raison d’etre here: to respond in the best possible way, as individuals and as a community, to the Christian vocation that we have received. How? It is not the path of malicious gossip, slander, or rebellion, which are certainly far from Christian. The answer to this question allows for many variations, which will all be good if they are carried out with respec

SOURCE: YEAR A DICASTERY NOTES (1999)

P. Antonio Izqeuirdo, L.C., Copyright © Dicastery for the Clergy, The header image is an AI-generated visual concept illustrating the central themes, scripture quotes, and visual motifs from this week’s Mass readings.

23rd Sunday of Year A

Fraternal Correction

6 September 2020 Saint Peter’s Square (Angelus)

The Twofold Dimension of Christian Existence

This Sunday’s Gospel passage (cf. Matthew 18:15–20) is taken from Jesus’ fourth discourse in Matthew’s account, known as the discourse on the “community” or the “ecclesial” discourse. Today’s passage speaks about fraternal correction, and invites us to reflect on the twofold dimension of Christian existence: community, which demands safeguarding communion—that is, the unity of the Church—and personal, which obliges attention and respect for every individual conscience.

Jesus’ Pedagogy of Rehabilitation

To correct a brother who has made a mistake, Jesus suggests a pedagogy of rehabilitation. Jesus’ pedagogy is always a pedagogy of rehabilitation; He always tries to rehabilitate, to save. This pedagogy of rehabilitation is articulated in three stages.

In the first place He says: “tell him his fault, between you and him alone” (v. 15), that is, do not air his sin in public. It is about going to your brother with discretion, not to judge him, but to help him realize what he has done. How many times have we had this experience: someone comes and tells us, “Listen, you were mistaken about this. You should change a little in this regard.” Perhaps in the beginning we get angry, but then we say “thank you,” because it is a gesture of brotherhood, of communion, of help, of rehabilitation.

It is not easy to put this teaching of Jesus into practice, for various reasons. There is the fear that the brother or sister may react badly, or at times you may lack sufficient confidence with them, among other reasons. But every time we have done this, we have felt it was precisely the way of the Lord.

The Second Step: Involving Witnesses

However, it may happen that, despite good intentions, the first intervention may fail. In this case, it is good not to give up and say, “Make do, I wash my hands of it.” This is not Christian. Do not give up, but seek the support of some other brother or sister. Jesus says: “if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses” (v. 16).

This is a precept of Mosaic law (cf. Deuteronomy 19:15). Although it may seem a disadvantage to the accused, in reality, it served to protect him against false accusers. But Jesus goes further: the two witnesses are called not to accuse and judge, but to help. “Let us agree, you and I, let us go talk to this person who is mistaken, who is making a bad impression. Let us go as brothers and speak to him or her.” This is the attitude of rehabilitation that Jesus wants from us. In fact, Jesus explains that even this second approach with witnesses may fail, unlike Mosaic law, for which the testimony of two or three witnesses was enough to convict.

The Third Step: The Community and Entrusting to God

Indeed, even the love of two or more brothers or sisters may be insufficient because that person is stubborn. In this case, Jesus adds: “tell it to the church” (v. 17), that is, the community. In some situations, the entire community becomes involved. There are things that can have an impact on other brothers and sisters: it takes a greater love to rehabilitate the brother.

At times even this may not be enough, and Jesus says: “and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (v. 17). This expression, seemingly so scornful, in reality invites us to put the brother in God’s hands: only the Father will be able to show a greater love than that of all brothers and sisters put together. It reflects the love of Jesus, who embraced tax collectors and Gentiles, scandalizing the conformists of the time. It is not a final condemnation without appeal, but a recognition that at times our human attempts may fail, and that only standing before God can bring the brother to face his own conscience and responsibility for his actions.

The Danger of Gossip and the Call to Prayer

This teaching of Jesus helps us a great deal. When we see a mistake, a fault, or a slip in a brother or sister, usually the first thing we do is recount it to others—to gossip. Gossip closes the heart to the community and disrupts the unity of the Church. The great gossiper is the devil, who always goes about saying bad things about others because he is the liar who seeks to divide the Church, distance brothers and sisters, and prevent community.

Please, brothers and sisters, let us make an effort not to gossip. Gossip is a plague more awful than Covid! Let us make an effort: no gossip. If our attempts at correction do not work, then let there be silence and prayer for the brother or sister who has made a mistake, but never gossip.lled to imitate him, expending our life unreservedly out of love for God and neighbor.

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Note: The header image is an AI-generated visual concept illustrating one of the central themes, scripture quotes, from the pope’s homily.

September 6, 2020

MORE HOMILIES

In the Eucharistic Celebration We Relive the Mystery of the Cross

3 September 2017 | Saint Peter’s Square

Should my Christian brother commit a sin against me, offend me, I must be charitable toward him

7 September 2014 | Saint Peter’s Square

23rd Sunday of Year A

Love Your Neighbor As Yourself

4 September 2011 | Courtyard of the Papal Summer Residence, Castel Gandolfo

The Prediction of the Passion and Peter’s Resistance

In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains to his disciples that he must “go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Mt 16:21).

Everything seems to have been turned upside down in the disciples’ hearts. How could “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16) suffer unto death? The Apostle Peter rebels; he refuses to accept this route and rebukes the Teacher, saying: “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you” (v. 22).

God’s Plan versus Human Expectations

The divergence between the Father’s loving plan—which went so far as the gift of the Only-Begotten Son on the Cross to save humanity—and the disciples’ expectations, wishes, and projects stands out clearly.

Today too, this contrast is repeated: when the fulfillment of one’s life is geared solely toward social success and physical or financial well-being, one no longer reasons according to God, but according to men (v. 23). Thinking as the world thinks sets God aside, refusing his plan of love and attempting to prevent his wise will.

For this reason, Jesus directs harsh words to Peter: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me” (ibid.). The Lord teaches that “the way of discipleship [is] the way to follow him [walk behind him], the Crucified. In all three Gospels he also interprets this ‘following’ on the way of the Cross” as “the indispensable way for man to ‘lose his life’, without which it is impossible for him to find himself” (Jesus of Nazareth, English edition, New York, p. 287).

The Call to Take Up the Cross

Just as he invited the disciples, Jesus addresses an invitation to each of us: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt 16:24).

A Christian follows the Lord by lovingly accepting their own cross—which in the world’s eyes appears as defeat and loss of life (cf. vv. 25–26)—knowing it is not carried alone, but alongside Jesus in his journey of self-giving.

The Redemptive Obedience and Glory of the Cross

The Servant of God Paul VI wrote: “In a mysterious way, Christ himself accepts death… on the Cross, in order to eradicate from man’s heart the sins of self-sufficiency and to manifest to the Father a complete filial obedience” (Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete in Domino, 9 May 1975). By willingly accepting death, Jesus carries the cross of all human beings, becoming the source of salvation for all humanity.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem commented: “The glory of the Cross led those who were blind through ignorance into light, loosed all who were held fast by sin and brought redemption to the whole world of mankind” (Catechesis Illuminandorum XIII, 1: De Christo crucifixo et sepulto: PG 33, 772 B).

Note: The header image is an AI-generated visual concept illustrating one of the central themes, scripture quotes, from the pope’s homily.