Fraternal correction, sometimes it is needed, it helps others and society, judging with love to improve humanity and have more peace in this world!

September 06, 2026

Fraternal correction, sometimes it is needed, it helps others and society, judging with love to improve humanity and have more peace in this world!

Fraternal correction, sometimes it is needed, it helps others and society, judging with love to improve humanity and have more peace in this world! This week, the mass readings for Sunday talk a lot about being a good person, upright, holy, and to offer fraternal correction when needed. I know I do a lot of preaching here on this blog, often interjecting my concerns with the ills of society. I am not crazy about haters, potheads, and F-bombers at all. Nor am a crazy about selfish, greedy, corrupt, fraudulent, evil, wicked, bully-like, and aggressive people. Sometimes you have to point out or call them out on bad behavior. Today's mass talks about this somewhat. I agree. Sometimes people get public rebuke for bad behavior, I still remember when I saw Pope Francis slap a lady who just wanted to kiss his hand, he was mean and aggressive, not nice to her. It was sad to see. He got a lot of bad press for that. Yesterday when we went to church, I saw the deacon push/shove a man who was just holding the door for all of them to start the procession of the mass. The deacon aggressively shoved this poor skinny, older, bearded man, it was not a nice image for anyone to see from clergy, being so aggressive, assaulting someone like that inside a church for that matter. I see a lot of this hypocrisy from the clergy. We had a priest at our old church, he would never look at us or have anything to do with us at church or when we would see him at the gym too. He never spoke to us, we switched to a different church closer to our home with a more loving priest who invited us to his happy hours and was loving and kind. The old priest one time at the gym came up to us a few months after we stopped going to his church and asked us if we still went to his church, we said no, we switched. We were honest to him, spoke only to him, but told him, he ignored us, showed no love, and we found a church with love and kindness and a priest who cared, so we had switched. He was offended and not nice, he did not like the truth, was snapping and sarcastic, but still continued to be the same way. He did apologize once to us a few months later, but we thought it seemed insincere, but we just pray for him now and for all clergy. We did as the Gospel reading today told us to do, spoke only to him when he asked. Sometimes you have to offer fraternal correction, praying he thinks about how he treated us and others. As for the deacon yesterday at the Saturday morning mass, I would love to tell him the image I have seeing him shove someone at church did not resonate well with me. I hope the poor guy who was shoved speaks up to him to correct the bully like behavior from the deacon, sometimes power goes to their heads I think. It was unkind and not nice for the public to see him act so aggressively. We all can learn a lot from this. We all need to treat all people with love. We need to live with alacrity to always do God's will showing love for all quickly and at all times! It is all about love, not emotion or sexual love, but the love God wants us to have for all our brothers and sisters, for all people, the love that Jesus spoke about, the love in the Ten Commandments. We need to love all people and show it, do the will of God, do it with alacrity. It is all about fraternal love for all, that is what we need in humanity today. We see a lot of hate, haters, people with TDS, so many make so many excuses for sin, hate, and lawlessness. We need to call them on it. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts! That is what my blog tries to do, to spread the love Jesus wants us to promote, even if it includes some fraternal correction, that is what this blog does as well as sharing the miracles of God with all, the love of Jesus is the greatest miracle of all! We need to do all with love for others in mind always! Love is what really matters and makes a difference in this world!

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 127

Reading 1

Ezekiel 33:7-9

Thus says the LORD:
You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel;
when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.
If I tell the wicked, "O wicked one, you shall surely die, "
and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way,
the wicked shall die for his guilt,
but I will hold you responsible for his death.
But if you warn the wicked,
trying to turn him from his way,
and he refuses to turn from his way,
he shall die for his guilt,
but you shall save yourself.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Reading 2

Romans 13:8-10

Brothers and sisters:
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery;
you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet, "
and whatever other commandment there may be,
are summed up in this saying, namely,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Love does no evil to the neighbor;
hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

Alleluia

2 Corinthians 5:19

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Matthew 18:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples:
"If your brother sins against you,
go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.
If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
If he does not listen,
take one or two others along with you,
so that 'every fact may be established
on the testimony of two or three witnesses.'
If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.
If he refuses to listen even to the church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen, I say to you,
whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, amen, I say to you,
if two of you agree on earth
about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them."