Frankston Catholic

06/09/2026

Homily For Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year A
Promoting Reconciliation Through Dialogue And Mutual Love

This Sunday, the holy mother church reminds us of our responsibility to towards one another and our society. Most importantly, she reminds us that dialogue and mutual love is the best method to promote reconciliation.

The common theme of today's readings is God's command concerning our spiritual responsibility and individual accountability for others in our families, parishes and community. This accountability arises from our identity as God's children. As brothers and sisters in Christ, then, we become each other's "keepers," and take on a painful, triple responsibility. We must lovingly and prudently correct each other when we err, forgive those who offend us, and ask forgiveness from those we have offended.

In the first reading, God reminds us through Prophet Ezekiel, that we have a responsibility towards one another. This is especially, with regards to counselling and warning others of the consequences of their actions in other to save them. It takes love to warn, counsel or advice someone. So, we are to do this with love.

To say that we have a responsibility towards others, is also to say that it has its own consequence for us too. Therefore, the Lord says: "I will hold you responsible." It is our duty to speak out, counsel, and even warn our brothers and sisters, children, friends and relatives when they are missing their path. Being indifferent to the decay (especially, moral, cultural and spiritual) in our family, society, or community could be to our own detriment in future. So, the onus lies on us to be our brother's keeper. This is what God is saying.

Unfortunately, today while things go wrong, some of us prefer to keep quiet, join the majority, or pretend that nothing is wrong. We must make ourselves heard. This is because the indifference or silence we display today might haunt us tomorrow. However, we must be mindful that God says: "I do not delight in the death of a sinner...let him repent and live" (Ezek 18, 23). So, whatever action we are to take, must be in order to correct, to rebuild, and to bring back the one who is on the wrong path.

In the second reading, St. Paul hits the nail right on the head: "Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love." We must take note of the adjective, "mutual" with which St. Paul qualified love. The quality of this love is not just a mere selfish feeling or desire to satisfy oneself. Rather, it is that which thinks and cares about the good and welfare of the other.

It can ultimately be known through the actions it prompts in us. This simply means, that it must be a relational love that cares, love that is ready to give, and love that reasons. It is mutual love because, it takes and shares responsibility. It counsels, and accepts good counsels. It corrects, and accepts corrections. It is generous and helps the other see clearly. It is love at its best in 1 Cor. 13. It is simply, responsive and responsible.

In the gospel, Jesus gives us the principles of reconciliation. This means that conflicts are inevitable, they must come. They are inevitable in relationships, in families, and in communities. However, the question is how do we resolve them amicably? Suffice to note that at the center of Jesus' principle is, dialogue. That is; ability to counsel and talk over issues, to see things from the perspective of others or the ability to empathize with others.

Hence, Christ gives us a three-dimensional principle of reconciliation. First, we must sit down and dialogue it one on one, and face to face. Then, seek the mediation of a good friend, and finally, seek the mediation of our community or family. As Christians, how do we resolve our problems today? Take a pound of flesh from the other, or go straight to the court of law? We must take note of the three basic steps that Christ gives us today.

Finally and unfortunately, today, we neglect all these basic steps and go straight to: "treat him like a tax collector." Before this, if at all it is necessary, we must make all efforts to reconcile with others through dialogue. Dialogue fosters mutual respect for the other, it saves us a lot of energy and time and the cost of law suits. Finally, it fosters mutual love and restores relationships when we dialogue and to agree, God seals it with a great Amen.

Fr. Jude CSSp

05/09/2026

TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YR. A

First Reading Ezekiel 33:7-9
A reading from the prophet Ezekiel
If you have not warned the wicked man, then I will hold you responsible for his death.

The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, 'Son of man, I have appointed you as sentry to the House of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, warn them in my name. If I say to a wicked man: Wicked wretch, you are to die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked man to renounce his ways, then he shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death. If, however, you do warn a wicked man to renounce his ways and repent, and he does not repent, then he shall die for his sin, but you yourself will have saved your life.'

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm 94:1-2, 6-9
R. O that today you would listen to his voice!
Harden not your hearts.

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord. R.

Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand. R.

O that today you would listen to his voice!
'Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work.' R.

Second Reading Romans 13:8-10
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans
Love is the fulfilment of the Law.

Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. All the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and so on, are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbour as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
God was in Christ, to reconcile the world to himself;
and the Good News of reconciliation he has entrusted to us.
Alleluia!

Gospel Matthew 18:15-20
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
If your brother or sister listens to you, you will have won that person back.

Jesus said to his disciples: 'If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.

'I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.

'I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. See less

05/09/2026

Saturday of the twenty-second week in Ordinary Time, Yr. A

First Reading 1 Corinthians 4:6-15
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians
We hunger and thirst and are naked.

Take Apollos and myself as an example and remember the maxim, 'Keep to what is written'; it is not for you, so full of your own importance, to go taking sides for one man against another. In any case, brother, has anybody given you some special right? What do you have that was not given to you? And if it was given, how can you boast as though it were not? Is it that you have everything that you want - that you are rich already, in possession of your kingdom, with us left outside? Indeed I wish you were really kings, and we could be kings with you! But instead, it seems to me, God has put us apostles at the end of his parade, with the men sentenced to death; it is true - we have been put on show in front of the whole universe, angels as well as men. Here we are, fools for the sake of Christ, while you are the learned men in Christ; we have no power, but you are influential; you are celebrities, we are nobodies. To this day, we go without food and drink and clothes; we are beaten and have no homes; we work for our living with our own hands. When we are cursed, we answer with a blessing; when we are hounded, we put up with it; we are insulted and we answer politely. We are treated as the offal of the world, still to this day, the scum of the earth.

I am saying all this not just to make you ashamed but to bring you, as my dearest children, to your senses. You might have thousands of guardians in Christ, but no more than one father and it was I who begot you in Christ Jesus by preaching the Good News.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm 144:17-21
R. The Lord is near to all who call him.

The Lord is just in all his ways
and loving in all his deeds.
He is close to all who call him,
who call on him from their hearts. R.

He grants the desires of those who fear him,
he hears their cry and he saves them.
The Lord protects all who love him;
but the wicked he will utterly destroy. R.

Let me speak the praise of the Lord,
let all mankind bless his holy name
for ever, for ages unending. R.

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the way, the truth, and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father, except through me.
Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 6:1-5
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Why are you doing something that is forbidden on the Sabbath?

One sabbath Jesus happened to be taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples were picking ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands and eating them. Some of the Pharisees said, 'Why are you doing something that is forbidden on the sabbath day?' Jesus answered them, 'So you have not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry - how he went into the House of God, took the loaves of offering and ate them and gave them to his followers, loaves which only the priests are allowed to eat?' And he said to them, 'The Son of Man is master of the sabbath.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. See less

05/09/2026

Friday of the twenty-second week in Ordinary Time, Yr. A
Amber, September 4, 2026.

First Reading 1 Corinthians 4:1-5
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians
The Lord will reveal the intentions of our hearts.

People must think of us as Christ's servants, stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God. What is expected of stewards is that each one should be found worthy of his trust. Not that it makes the slightest difference to me whether you, or indeed any human tribunal, find me worthy or not. I will not even pass judgement on myself. True, my conscience does not reproach me at all, but that does not prove that I am acquitted: the Lord alone is my judge. There must be no passing of premature judgement. Leave that until the Lord comes: he will light up all that is hidden in the dark and reveal the secret intentions of men's hearts. Then will be the time for each one to have whatever praise he deserves, from God.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm 36:3-6, 27-28, 39-40
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

If you trust in the Lord and do good,
hen you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart's desire. R.

Commit your life to the Lord,
rust in him and he will act,
so that your justice breaks forth like the light,
your cause like the noon-day sun. R.

Then turn away from evil and do good
and you shall have a home for ever;
for the Lord loves justice
and will never forsake his friends. R.

The salvation of the just comes from the Lord,
their stronghold in time of distress.
The Lord helps them and delivers them
and saves them: for their refuge is in him. R.

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 5:33-39
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
When the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast.

The Pharisees and the scribes said to Jesus, 'John's disciples are always fasting and saying prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees too, but yours go on eating and drinking.' Jesus replied, 'Surely you cannot make the bridegroom's attendants fast while the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come, the time for the bridegroom to be taken away from them; that will be the time when they will fast.'

He also told them this parable, 'No one tears a piece from a new cloak to put it on an old cloak; if he does, not only will he have torn the new one, but the piece taken from the new will not match the old.

'And nobody puts new wine into old skins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and then run out, and the skins will be lost. No; new wine must be put into fresh skins. And nobody who has been drinking old wine wants new. "The old is good" he says.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

05/09/2026

Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great,
September 3, 2026

05/09/2026

Thursday of the twenty- second week in Ordinary Time, Yr. A
Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great.

First Reading 1 Corinthians 3:18-23
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians
All things are yours, but you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.

Make no mistake about it: if any one of you thinks of himself as wise, in the ordinary sense of the word, then he must learn to be a fool before he really can be wise. Why? Because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As scripture says: The Lord knows wise men's thoughts: he knows how useless they are: or again: God is not convinced by the arguments of the wise. So there is nothing to boast about in anything human: Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life and death, the present and the future, are all your servants; but you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 23:1-6
R. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.

The Lord's is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all its peoples.
It is he whop set it on the seas;
on the waters he made it firm. R.

Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord/
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not worthless things. R.

He shall receive blessings from the Lord
and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob. R.

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come follow me, says the Lord,
and I will make you fishers of my people.
Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 5:1-11
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
They left everything and followed him.

Jesus was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats - it was Simon's - and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.' 'Master,' Simon replied 'we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.' And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.

When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, 'Leave me Lord; I am a sinful man.' For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's partners. But Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.' Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

01/09/2026

Wednesday of the twenty-second week in Ordinary Time, Yr. A
September 2, 2026

First Reading 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 (
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians
We were fellow workers with God; you are God's farm, God's building.

Brothers, I myself was unable to speak to you as people of the Spirit: I treated you as sensual men, still infants in Christ. What I fed you with was milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it; and indeed, you are still not ready for it since you are still un-spiritual. Isn't that obvious from all the jealousy and wrangling that there is among you, from the way that you go on behaving like ordinary people? What could be more unspiritual than your slogans, 'I am for Paul' and 'I am for Apollos'?

After all, what is Apollos and what is Paul? They are servants who brought the faith to you. Even the different ways in which they brought it were assigned to them by the Lord. I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God made things grow. Neither the planter nor the waterer matters: only God, who makes things grow. It is all one who does the planting and who does the watering, and each will duly be paid according to his share in the work. We are fellow workers with God; you are God's farm, God's building.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm 32:12-15, 20-21
R. Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own.
From the heavens the Lord looks forth,
he sees all the children of men. R.

From the place where he dwells he gazes
on all the dwellers on the earth,
he who shapes the hearts of them all
and considers all their deeds. R.

Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
In him do our hearts find joy.
We trust in his holy name. R.

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord sent me to bring Good News to the poor
and freedom to prisoners.
Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 4:38-44
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
I must preach the Good News to other towns as well, because this is what I was sent to do.

Leaving the synagogue Jesus went to Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever and they asked him to do something for her. Leaning over her he rebuked the fever and it left her. And she immediately got up and began to wait on them.

At sunset all those who had friends suffering from diseases of one kind or another brought them to him, and laying hands on each he cured them. Devils too came out of many people, howling, 'You are the Son of God.' But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.

When daylight came he left the house and made his way to a lonely place. The crowds went to look for him, and when they had caught up with him they wanted to prevent him leaving them, but he answered, 'I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.' And he continued his preaching in the synagogues of Judaea.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

31/08/2026

Tuesday of the twenty-second week in Ordinary Time, Yr. A
September 1, 2026.

First Reading 1 Corinthians 2:10-16
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians
The unspiritual person does not receive the gifts of God; the spiritual person judges all things.

The Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God. After all, the depths of a man can only be known by his own spirit, not by any other man, and in the same way the depths of God can only be known by the Spirit of God. Now instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us. Therefore we teach, not in the way in which philosophy is taught, but in the way that the spirit teaches us: we teach spiritual things spiritually. An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God: he sees it all as nonsense; it is beyond his understanding because it can only be understood by means of the Spirit. A spiritual man, on the other hand, is able to judge the value of everything, and his own value is not to be judged by other men. As scripture says: Who can know the mind of the Lord, so who can teach him? But we are those who have the mind of Christ.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm 144:8-14
R. The Lord is just in all his ways.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures. R.

All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God,
to make known to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of your reign. R.

Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to age.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and loving in all his deeds.
The Lord supports all who fall
and raises all who are bowed down. R.

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 4:31-37
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
I know who you are: the Holy One of God.

Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority.

In the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean devil, and it shouted at the top of its voice, 'Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.' But Jesus said sharply, 'Be quiet! Come out of him!' And the devil throwing the man down in front of everyone, went out of him without hurting him at all. Astonishment seized them and they were all saying to one another, 'What teaching! He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.' And reports of him went all through the surrounding countryside.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

31/08/2026

Monday of the twenty-second week in Ordinary Time, Yr. A

First Reading 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians
I have announced to you the knowledge of Christ crucified.

Brothers, when I came to you, it was not with any show of oratory or philosophy, but simply to tell you what God had guaranteed. During my stay with you, the only knowledge I claimed to have was about Jesus, and only about him as the crucified Christ. Far from relying on any power of my own, I came among you in great 'fear and trembling' and in my speeches and the sermons that I gave, there were none of the arguments that belong to philosophy; only a demonstration of the power of the Spirit. And I did this so that your faith should not depend on human philosophy but on the power of God.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm 118:97-102
R. Lord, I love your commands.

Lord, how I love your law!
It is ever in my mind.
Your command makes me wiser than my foes;
for it is mine for ever. R.

I have more insight than all who teach me
for I ponder your will.
I have more understanding than the old
for I keep your precepts. R.

I turn my feet from evil paths
to obey your word.
I have not turned away from your decrees;
you yourself have taught me. R.

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me;
he sent me to bring Good News to the poor.
Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 4:16-30
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
He has sent me to bring the Good News to the poor. No prophet is ever accepted in his own country.

Jesus came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:
The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,
for he has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
and to proclaim liberty to captives
and to the blind new sight,
to set the downtrodden free,
to proclaim the Lord's year of favour.

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, 'This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.' And he won the approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips.

They said, 'This is Joseph's son surely?' But he replied, 'No doubt you will quote me the saying, "Physician, heal yourself" and tell me, "We have heard all that happened in Capernaum, do the same here in your own countryside." ' And he went on, 'I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.

'There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah's day when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to anyone of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town. And in the prophet Elisha's time there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these was cured, except the Syrian, Naaman.'

When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

31/08/2026