24th Sunday in Ordinary Time 9/13/20 – Fr. Carlson homily

In today's Gospel from Matthew 18 we continue on in this discourse between Jesus and His disciples. Peter asks how many times he must forgive someone. Jesus really puts His answer into perspective! Can you imagine owing someone trillions of dollars (or 60 million days of wages) and being forgiven that debt?! But then how does this forgiven person act when HIS servant owes him a MUCH smaller amount (100 days wages)? Hmmm I think we can relate to BOTH situations in this story. We are called to forgive one another as God has forgiven us.

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time 9/6/20

All of the readings today have a common theme - what it means to love someone and how to give/receive correction. It is difficult to correct someone and sometimes even MORE difficult to be corrected. True friendship (and brotherly love) is the ability to care so much for someone that you want to see them in heaven. So let us pray that we not harden our hearts but rather to receive correction and repent of our sin.

Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 16:21-27 is quite the contrast from last week. Jesus rebukes Peter for being a stumbling block to God's will. Peter was thinking as a human - and who can blame him? I think we can all relate to that. Who voluntarily signs up for suffering?!

Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Christ. Being a Christian, a follower of Christ, means that we must lose our life in order to gain eternity with God. And it is very much worth it!

If you have ever been asked about why the Catholic Church has a pope, then listen up to the Biblical tradition in the first reading from the prophet Isaiah (Is 22:19-23) and the Gospel reading from Matthew (16:13-20). It's all right here - the "office" of the position, the succession, the authority, and even the renaming of Peter. Let us pray for our Holy Father and his role to lead us closer to God.

Today's Gospel can seem a bit harsh. A Canaanite woman asks for Jesus' help and He ignores her at first! What we can learn from Him testing her faith is her example of persistence and patience. Can you relate to God not always answering your requests in YOUR time frame? We should be as ready to receive what the Lord has for us with a simple prayer like hers - Lord, help me.

In today's Gospel, we hear the conclusion of Matthew 13 in which we hear three different accounts of what the kingdom of heaven is like. It is a treasure, a pearl - something that we long for! But we must give up things we are attached to in order to attain this great treasure. Listen as Fr. Carlson reads part of the very inspirational book "The Weight of a Mass: A Tale of Faith" and let your heart be transformed!