09/06/2026
Text of the homily by Fr. Bryan Brooks for the Mass on the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A), Church of Saint Benedict, September 6, 2026 (Labor Day Weekend)
Scripture Readings: Ezekial 33;7-9, Psalm 95, Romans 13:8-10, Matthew 18:15-20
Welcome to all as we gather for the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass on this first Sunday in September. We are gathered to hear the voice of the Lord speaking to us today. He speaks to us in the Scriptures, in our prayers, in this act of worship we call the Mass. He speaks to us in the quiet moments of this day, in the words and actions of grace and mercy that we give and receive.
Welcome to all guests. Thank you for making Mass at St. Benedict part of your Labor Day weekend. You are always welcome here. Welcome to all who are new to this area and looking for a parish to call your home. There is a place for you here. Welcome to all who are returning Mass today in person for the first time in a long time. Welcome Home! It is a blessing that we are all here together.
Do we love someone enough to tell them the truth? Will we speak the truth even when it is a difficult truth to speak and even more difficult one to hear? Will we speak even if truth may not be well accepted, may lead to disagreements or even risk breaking relationships? If we love someone, then we are not to tell them the truth, in love?
For “Love is the fulfillment of the Law” as St. Paul the Apostle tells us today. In this one sentence, he summarizes the purpose of the Ten Commandments. They are the foundation of what was known as the Law of Moses, given by God on Mount Sinai, which we hear in the Old Testament.
The Ten Commandments, along with the Beatitudes in Matthew’s Gospel, are not restrictions on our personal freedom. They are guides to how to love God and our neighbor as ourselves, that Great Commandment which Jesus gives us.
As Catholics we are to understand that love is not an emotion, what can come and go. Love is an action, a verb. It is a deliberate choice. To love is to desire the good of another person. The greatest good that we can desire for another person is that he or she becomes a saint in heaven. Authentic love calls for sacrifices made for the good of others.
This is the love that St. Paul tells us that we owe to each other as disciples of Jesus Christ. It is a sharing of the Divine Love that God has for us. This is the Love that is manifested, made flesh, in the Person of Jesus Our Lord. He is the Love is that we owe to each other.
Do we love someone enough to tell them the truth? Can we speak the truth not in frustration or anger, but in Divine Love to help each other to become saints in heaven?
To speak the truth is not judgmental. When Jesus warns against judging others it is about that person’s eternal salvation. Only God knows what lies within our hearts. Speaking the truth in love is about someone’s actions, attitudes and beliefs. Some are good and some are bad. Just look at the Ten Commandments. Loving and worshiping God is good. Respecting parents is good. Lying, stealing, killing and infidelity are bad.
Do we love someone enough to tell them the truth? To speak the truth is call each other to contrition, repentance and conversion when we have gone astray, when we have lost our way, often without knowing it. The Prophet Ezekiel warns us that remaining silent is not an option, knowing that we have no control over whether the one who has gone astray will listen and repent.
Do we love someone enough to tell them the truth? When we do speak it is not just what is said but how we say it. Jesus in today’s Gospel tells us how to speak the truth, especially to fellow members of the Church who have lost their way.
Speak first one-on-one, then bring in a few others and as a last resort go public. As the Church, this is how we are to hold each other accountable, call each other to conversion, to forgive and restore. It is the “binding and loosing” as Jesus calls it.
How tempting it is, especially today, to make the last resort the first thing we do. Make it public, name, shame and shun. We seek to cancel, to mock and reticle. But in doing so, do we bring home those who have lost their way, or drive them away for good?
It may be that even when we have spoken the truth in love as Jesus directs it is rejected. Hearts can remain hardened. It can be with individuals, even with family members. Can also be with groups. The recent schism with the members of the Social of St. Pius X is an example.
If a break in relationships happen, our reaction should not be, “goodbye and good reddens”. Such a break is cause for mourning. We need to remember that Jesus loved tax collectors and Gentiles. He called them to repent and believe in the Gospel.
Do we love someone enough to speak the truth and to do so with humility? Before pointing out the sins and faults of others we must be honest about our own sins. We acknowledge when we have gone astray. In doing so we will speak with greater authenticity and more likely to be heard. Speaking the truth in Love is not about winning the argument but winning the soul for Christ.
Msgr. Mark Landry, a priest of the Diocese of Falls River, puts it in a beautiful way. Speaking the truth in Love, to bring back those who have lost their way, is not about exerting control over them. It is not done believing that we are better and holier than others. Rather, it is a sick person telling another sick person about the medicine that will heal them. The medicine is Jesus Christ.
Speaking the truth is a two-way street. Yes, we are to love someone enough to tell them the truth. But do we also love them enough to listen to the truth they speak to us? Are we willing to listen to a truth that is difficult to hear, that makes us uncomfortable, even angry?
Do we have the humility to accept that what is spoken is a truth we need to hear because we have lost our way? Are we open to believing that our loving God is speaking to us through that person who loves us enough to tell us the truth, who desires that we become saints in heaven? Or will we harden our hearts?
To authentically love is to desire the good of another person. The greatest good is to become a saint in heaven. God created us to be saints. For this reason, God the Son, became one of us in all things but sin in the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the Cross and rose from the dead so that we may become saints.
He continues to pour out His divine life for us in the Sacraments, most profoundly in the Eucharist, the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Savior that is shared with us at the Mass. All this is offered so that so the life of Jesus can enter more into ours, that our lives be transformed and be made complete in His.
This includes what we owe to each, to speak and listen to the truth in love. It is a Divine Love that desires our greatest good. It is this love that is the fulfillment of God’s commandments.
God bless and keep you safe.
