Fr. Roger J. Landry

Conversations with Consequences Podcast

Homily for the Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, A, Vigil

September 9, 2023

 

To listen to an audio recording of this short Sunday homily, please click below: 

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/catholicpreaching/9.9.23_Landry_ConCon_1.mp3

 

 

The following text guided the homily: 

* This is Fr. Roger Landry and it’s a privilege for me to be with you as we enter into the consequential conversation the Risen Lord Jesus wants to have with each of us this Sunday, when he will discuss with us two important realities in our faith: prayer and fraternal correction.

* The first is prayer. Jesus says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there will I be in their midst.” This is an incredible promise given to us by Jesus, yet we have to understand first what it means and why he said it. It does not mean that whenever two or more Christians are in the same place doing anything whatever that Jesus is automatically there. It doesn’t mean that whatever we ask him together will be heard when we want and the way we want, which is why, sometimes, when family members gather to pray for a loved one’s recovery from a terminal illness, the person does not always get better in this world. Jesus, rather, promises to be present when we are gathered “in his name.” To gather in Jesus’ name means to gather in his person seeking what Jesus seeks. While we can obviously pray to Jesus when we’re alone and should, Jesus particularly incentivizes gathering together in his name. Many people today think it’s sufficient to have a so-called “private” relationship with Jesus, to pray on their own and sometimes claim that’s an adequate substitution for coming to Mass or praying as a family. It’s very clear, however, that Jesus wanted us to come together to pray. When his disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, he taught them to pray “Our Father,” not “My Father” … “who art in heaven,” for the obvious reason that he wanted us to pray it with others. Even when we pray the “Our Father” alone, he wants us to remember others, which is why he taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive…,” etc. Jesus came down from heaven to earth to found a family, and he wants us to live and to pray as a loving family.

* This leads us to the second thing he teaches us in the Gospel this Sunday, which is what the saints have traditionally called “fraternal correction.” Whenever we gather together with others in the name of the One who saves us from our sins, as a family whose members deeply love each other, then it’s obvious that we should always desire lovingly to help the other members of the family to overcome any obstacles flowing from sin that prevent communion with God or each other. Jesus tells us, “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. … 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.” These stages show us the effort the Lord asks of us to accompany those who make mistakes, those who sin, so that they’re not lost. Whenever a brother or sister has wandered through sin, whenever he or she is going off the deep end, Jesus tells us to gather with that brother or sister in his name and try to help that sibling realize and begin to overcome his or her sin.

* Jesus’ teaching on fraternal correction is challenging. We are living in a culture that thinks the greatest value is to be “nice.