Scripture Reflections for Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"I was once talking with a priest during confession, talking about things I had done that were bothering me and had offended God – things I hated that I kept doing, that I needed forgiveness for. He then said something that I will always remember. He said, “All of those things you just said, they’re just fluff. What we need to do is get to the root of the problem. We need to find out..."

Joseph LaCombe. "Resist." A Catholic Moment. September 30, 2018

🙶 But to talk of sin is to identify a further depth to wrong and to evil, based on an explicit involvement with God and a turning away from him. 🙷

Fr. Robert Ombres. "Better to Enter into Life." Torch. September 26, 2018

"We should not underestimate the influence that Christ and the Christian faith has had on the world and on the lives of even those who are not Christians. One of the most famous and admirable of people of the twentieth century was Mahatma Gandhi, the man who led the Indian people to independence and who in doing so sought always to promote the value of non-violent struggle. Gandhi’s non-violent approach to resolving political and social..."

Fr. Martin Ganeri. "The Witness of Love." Torch. September 24, 2015

🙶 In cutting out the causes of sin, we shouldn’t start with other people – we should start with ourselves. 🙷

Fr. Robert Verrill. "Cutting Out the Cause of Sin." Torch. September 29, 2012

🙶 inasmuch as we try to exclude others unfairly from Christ, we exclude ourselves. Thankfully, this is not the last word because, although we are often exclusionary, God is not. 🙷

Fr. John O'Connor. "Not one of us?." Torch. September 28, 2003

"I had the good fortune to study Scripture with Rabbi Asher Finkel. What made his lectures intriguing was that his specialty was the New Testament, specifically the teachings of Jesus. Rabbi Finkel offered insights into Jesus that most of us Gentiles could never imagine. One day he launched into an impromptu explanation of the Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, saying that, to the Jewish mind, it made perfect sense for the Messiah to be..."

Fr. Joseph Veneroso, MM. "Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time." Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. September 26, 2021

"There is a lot of work to do. The kingdom of God needs more spirit-filled men and women. Though it may seem that the kingdom of God is suffering more violence everyday but the power of the Holy Spirit is in a continuous work in the Church. God calls men and women from every nation and language to propagate the message of the Kingdom. This is the message that runs through the readings of today...."

Father Lawrence Obilor. "God’s generosity with His Spirit." A Catholic Moment. September 25, 2021

"In today’s extract from St Mark’s Gospel John, one of the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples, complains about the success of an unauthorized person who has been driving out demons in Jesus’ name. There is a parallel in the Old Testament in the Book of Numbers, which we read in the first reading. The Book of Numbers tells of the gift of the spirit to the 72 elders of the people that followed on a..."

Fr. Allan White. "Offcuts." Torch. September 23, 2021

"The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that we are baptized into Christ’s prophethood, but if you cornered any typical Catholic coming out of mass on a Sunday morning, they would vehemently deny having any prophetic gifts, because “I’m not Charismatic.” Well, the prophetic role of the Christian is not limited to people involved in the Charismatic Renewal. The Readings for this mass are, in a sense, united by a theme of prophethood, discussing what..."

John Bergsma. "Living as Prophet of God." The Sacred Page. September 20, 2021

🙶 When the grace of our baptism is renewed, at Mass, in confession, or by any growth in charity, we drown away the enemy of God in us. 🙷

Fr. Francis Gaine. "It's a Scandal." Torch. September 27, 2009

🙶 The Word which is sown in the minds and hearts of man may be found both in individuals and in the rites and customs of different peoples. It is brought by the Spirit into unity of faith in Baptism.It does not stop there. 🙷

Fr. Jonathan Fleetwood. "Seeds of Faith." Torch. October 1, 2006