St. Joseph Catholic Church Perkins, MI

09/13/2026

SUNDAY READINGS ANALYSIS
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) – 13 September 2026

THE MERCY YOU RECEIVE MUST BECOME THE MERCY YOU GIVE
“Have you ever forgiven someone, only to find yourself remembering the offence again and again? What if Jesus told you that forgiveness is not something we do only when the other person deserves it? This Sunday, Christ takes us into the very heart of Christian forgiveness and asks us to remember something we often forget: before we were people who forgive, we were people who needed forgiveness.”

Today’s readings present one powerful message woven through all four texts: God’s mercy toward us must transform the way we treat others. Sirach warns us against holding on to anger and revenge. The Psalm reminds us that the Lord is compassionate and merciful. St. Paul reminds us that whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Then Jesus gives Peter—and all of us—the unforgettable command to forgive not merely seven times, but “seventy-seven times.”

Together, these readings ask us a deeply personal question:
WHAT DO I DO WITH THE MERCY GOD HAS SHOWN ME?

1. THE FIRST READING: LET GO OF ANGER
(Sirach 27:30–28:7)
The first reading speaks directly to something many of us struggle with: anger, resentment and the desire for revenge.
Sirach asks how anyone can expect forgiveness from God while refusing to forgive another person.

It is a difficult question because holding on to an offence can sometimes feel justified. Someone hurt us. Someone betrayed our trust. Someone said something that wounded us deeply. And we may feel that forgiving them means pretending that what happened was acceptable.

But biblical forgiveness is not the same as saying that evil does not matter.
Forgiveness means refusing to allow another person’s wrongdoing to become the master of our heart.
Sirach gives us a powerful reason to forgive: we ourselves stand in need of God’s mercy.

“Forgive your neighbour’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.”

The reading therefore invites us to remember our own last days, our own weaknesses, our own need for God’s mercy and to release the anger that keeps our hearts imprisoned.

2. THE RESPONSORIAL PSALM: THE LORD IS KIND AND MERCIFUL
(Psalm 103)
The Psalm gives us the answer to the harshness of human anger:
“The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger and rich in compassion.”

This is not simply a beautiful description of God.
It is also the standard by which Christians are called to live.
God does not treat us according to the full weight of our sins. He is patient with us. He gives us opportunities to repent. He lifts us when we fall and calls us back when we wander.

The Psalm reminds us that God’s mercy is greater than our failures.
And when we truly understand the mercy we have received, something should begin to change within us.
We should gradually become more merciful people.

3. THE SECOND READING: WE BELONG TO THE LORD
(Romans 14:7–9)
St. Paul reminds us:
“None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord.”

This may seem at first like a different message from forgiveness, but it connects beautifully with the Gospel.
If I belong to Christ, then my relationships with other people cannot be governed entirely by my personal feelings, pride, anger or desire for revenge.

I belong to the Lord.
The person who hurt me also stands before God.
The person who disappointed me is also someone created by God.
And I too am a sinner who continually depends upon God’s mercy.

Christian forgiveness therefore begins when we stop making ourselves the final judge and allow God to transform our hearts according to the example of Christ.

4. THE GOSPEL: HOW MANY TIMES MUST I FORGIVE?
(Matthew 18:21–35)
Peter approaches Jesus with a question that sounds generous:
“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?”

Peter probably thinks seven times is already an extraordinary amount of forgiveness.
But Jesus responds:
“Not seven times but seventy-seven times.”

Some translations render this as “seventy times seven.”
The point is not that Christians should literally count to 77 or 490 offences.
Jesus is telling Peter to stop keeping a scorecard.

Then Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant.
A servant owes his master an enormous debt that he could never possibly repay. He begs for mercy, and the master does something extraordinary: he forgives the entire debt.
But after receiving such enormous mercy, the servant encounters another servant who owes him a much smaller amount.
Instead of showing the same mercy he had received, he demands payment and refuses to forgive.

And this is where the parable becomes a mirror.
How often do we beg God for forgiveness while refusing to forgive someone else?
How often do we ask God to be patient with our weaknesses while becoming impatient with the weaknesses of others?

Jesus is not saying that what people do to us does not matter.
He is teaching us that the mercy we receive from God must become the mercy we extend to others.

THE GOLDEN THREAD
All four readings point toward one profound truth:
FORGIVEN PEOPLE MUST BECOME FORGIVING PEOPLE.

Sirach tells us to let go of anger and revenge.
The Psalm reveals a God who is compassionate and merciful.
St. Paul reminds us that we belong to the Lord.
Jesus teaches that forgiveness cannot be reduced to a number.
The Christian life is not simply about receiving God’s mercy.
It is about allowing that mercy to change us.
We come before God carrying our sins, failures and weaknesses.

And God says to us:
“I forgive you.”

Then He sends us back into the world with another question:
“Can you now forgive?”

THE CATHOLIC CONNECTION
Forgiveness is at the very heart of Christian prayer and sacramental life.
Every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we say:
“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

These words are not merely a prayer request. They are also a commitment.
The Catechism teaches that this petition of the Our Father goes to the heart of Christian prayer because God’s mercy can enter our hearts only when we learn to forgive others.

This does not mean that forgiveness always removes consequences, restores trust immediately, or requires us to remain in harmful situations.
Forgiveness can coexist with justice, prudence and appropriate boundaries.

But the Christian is called to surrender hatred and vengeance and to desire the good of the person who has caused the injury.

In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we experience personally the mercy of Christ. Having received that mercy, we are called to become witnesses of the same mercy in our relationships with others.

LIVING THE WORD THIS WEEK
This week, ask yourself:
* Is there someone whose offence I keep replaying in my mind?
* Am I asking God to forgive me while refusing to forgive another person?
* Have I confused forgiveness with pretending that the hurt never happened?
* Is there someone I need to begin praying for, even if reconciliation is not yet possible?
* What would change in my heart if I stopped keeping a scorecard of people’s offences?

Perhaps there is someone you cannot yet forgive completely.
Begin with a prayer.

“Lord, I am struggling to forgive this person. I give You my anger, my pain and my desire for revenge. Teach me to forgive as You have forgiven me.”

Sometimes forgiveness begins not with a feeling, but with a decision to place the wound into God’s hands.

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, You are kind and merciful, slow to anger and rich in compassion. Thank You for the countless times You have forgiven us when we did not deserve it. Give us the grace to forgive those who have hurt us. Heal the wounds we continue to carry, free our hearts from anger and resentment, and teach us to show others the same mercy You have shown us. Help us to forgive from the heart, while also giving us wisdom to pursue justice, peace and healthy reconciliation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

MEMORY VERSE
“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

Jesus answered:
“Not seven times but seventy-seven times.”
- Matthew 18:21–22

NOW WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Jesus tells us to forgive “seventy-seven times.”
If forgiveness is not about keeping a scorecard, what do you think makes forgiveness so difficult for us?
And what has helped you let go of anger and choose forgiveness?

Share your thoughts respectfully in the comments.

SOURCES
* Sacred Scripture: Sirach 27:30–28:7; Psalm 103; Romans 14:7–9; Matthew 18:21–35
* Catechism of the Catholic Church (1422–1498; 2838–2845)
* Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum
* General Introduction to the Lectionary

Be Prayerful. Be Inspired.
© Catholic Dailies

09/13/2026

Confession tomorrow at 8:30am
Before the 9:00 am Mass

09/12/2026

Sundays Bulletin:

09/12/2026

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of The Most Holy Name of Mary. For today's daily Mass readings, visit: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/0912-memorial-most-holy-name-mary.cfm

09/12/2026

09/11/2026

Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen will be beatified on September 24, 2026, at 2:00 PM Central time at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

To learn more about his cause for canonization and information about attending or streaming his beatification, visit: https://www.celebratesheen.com/

09/11/2026

25 years later, we remember the 2,977 innocent lives lost on September 11, 2001, and honor the heroes who gave everything in the days that followed.

We will never forget. 🇺🇸

09/10/2026

PARTS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH CALENDAR
Understanding How the Church Organizes the Liturgical Year

Have you ever opened a Catholic calendar and wondered why some days are marked “Solemnity,” others “Feast” or “Memorial,” while some are simply ordinary weekdays? Why does Easter move every year? Why does Advent begin the Church’s year? And why can the celebration of a saint appear on one calendar but not another?

The Catholic liturgical calendar can seem complicated at first, but there is a beautiful structure behind it. It is not simply a list of dates and saints. It is the Church’s way of ordering time around the mysteries of Christ, the Paschal Mystery, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints.

1. THE LITURGICAL YEAR: THE BIG PICTURE
The liturgical year is the framework within which the Church celebrates the mysteries of Christ throughout the year. It begins with Advent and unfolds through Christmas Time, Ordinary Time, Lent, the Sacred Paschal Triduum, Easter Time and the second period of Ordinary Time.

The purpose is not merely to remember historical events. Through the liturgy, the Church sacramentally celebrates and enters more deeply into the mystery of Christ. The Catechism therefore describes the liturgical year as the celebration of the whole mystery of Christ, from His Incarnation to His return in glory. (CCC 1163–1173)

2. ADVENT: THE BEGINNING
Advent begins the liturgical year.
It is a season of preparation and expectation, looking both toward the celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas and toward His second coming. It consists of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, although its weekdays are also part of the season.

So the Catholic liturgical year does not begin on January 1.
It begins with the First Sunday of Advent.

3. CHRISTMAS TIME: THE MYSTERY OF THE INCARNATION
Christmas Time celebrates the mystery of the Son of God becoming man.
It begins with the celebration of the Nativity of the Lord and continues through the Christmas season, including celebrations such as the Holy Family, Mary the Mother of God, the Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord.

The Church therefore does not treat Christmas as merely a single day.
The mystery of the Incarnation unfolds through a liturgical season.

4. ORDINARY TIME: THE LIFE AND TEACHING OF CHRIST
“Ordinary” does not mean boring, unimportant or less holy.
Ordinary Time is the period in which the Church walks through the life, ministry and teaching of Christ outside the principal seasonal cycles of Christmas and Easter.

It occurs in two sections: the first after the Christmas season and the second after Pentecost until Advent.

It is a time of continued growth in discipleship; learning to live the Gospel in the ordinary circumstances of life. The USCCB describes it as a time in which the mystery of Christ penetrates more deeply into the life of the faithful.

5. LENT: THE JOURNEY TOWARD EASTER
Lent is the season of preparation for the celebration of Christ’s Paschal Mystery.
Beginning with Ash Wednesday, the Church calls the faithful to prayer, fasting, almsgiving and conversion of heart.

Lent has a particularly strong connection with Baptism and penance, preparing both catechumens and the faithful to enter more deeply into the celebration of Easter. (CCC 540, 1095; Sacrosanctum Concilium 109)

6. THE SACRED PASCHAL TRIDUUM: THE HEART OF THE YEAR
The Sacred Paschal Triduum is the summit of the Church’s liturgical year.
It begins with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, continues through Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and reaches its culmination in the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday.

Here the Church celebrates the central mystery of our salvation: Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection.

This is why the Triduum is not simply three unrelated ceremonies.
It is one great celebration of the Paschal Mystery.

7. EASTER TIME: FIFTY DAYS OF JOY
Easter is not over when Easter Sunday ends.
The Church celebrates Easter Time for fifty days, from Easter Sunday until Pentecost.

The season celebrates the Resurrection of Christ and leads toward the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

The Catechism calls Easter the “Feast of feasts” because the Resurrection stands at the heart of the entire Christian faith. (CCC 1169)

8. SUNDAYS: THE FOUNDATION OF THE LITURGICAL YEAR
Every Sunday is important.
Sunday is the Lord’s Day and the weekly celebration of Christ’s Resurrection. The Second Vatican Council calls Sunday the “original feast day” and describes it as the foundation and kernel of the whole liturgical year.

This is why even when a saint’s celebration falls on a Sunday, the saint does not automatically replace the Sunday celebration. The Church has specific rules determining which celebration takes precedence.

The calendar therefore has an order.

9. SOLEMNITIES, FEASTS AND MEMORIALS: HOW CELEBRATIONS ARE RANKED
Not every celebration on the Catholic calendar has the same liturgical rank.
The principal categories include solemnities, feasts and memorials.

Solemnities are the highest-ranking celebrations. They commemorate the most important mysteries of the faith and certain particularly significant saints.

Feasts are celebrations of a lower rank, including celebrations of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles and other saints.

Memorials commemorate saints or particular mysteries and may be either obligatory or optional according to the liturgical calendar.

This ranking matters because when celebrations coincide, the Church has rules determining which celebration takes precedence.

10. THE GENERAL ROMAN CALENDAR: WHAT IS CELEBRATED UNIVERSALLY?
The General Roman Calendar contains celebrations observed throughout the Roman Rite.
But this does not mean that every Catholic everywhere has exactly the same calendar.
The Church also recognizes legitimate particular calendars.
This distinction is extremely important.

A celebration may be included in the calendar of the universal Roman Rite, while another celebration may be proper to a particular country, diocese, religious institute or other ecclesial community.

11. PARTICULAR CALENDARS: WHY DO LOCAL CALENDARS DIFFER?
This is why you may see a saint or celebration on one Catholic calendar that does not appear on another.
Dioceses, nations and religious communities can have approved celebrations proper to them.
This is not a contradiction.
The Church’s liturgical calendar has both a universal dimension and legitimate local dimensions.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal itself directs the priest to follow the calendar of the church where Mass is being celebrated in the circumstances specified by the liturgical norms.

So when discussing a Catholic calendar, it is always wise to ask:
“Which calendar?”

12. THE LITURGICAL DAY: AND WHY DATES CAN MOVE
Some celebrations occur on fixed dates every year, while others move because they are connected to Easter.
Christmas, for example, is celebrated on December 25.
Easter, however, is a movable feast, and many celebrations connected to Easter therefore move as well.

This is why the Catholic calendar cannot be understood simply as January through December with the same celebrations appearing on exactly the same weekdays every year.

The calendar is structured around the mystery of Christ.

13. THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR HAS A HIERARCHY
This may be one of the most important things to understand.
If two celebrations appear to fall on the same day, the Church does not simply choose whichever one seems more popular.
There are established rules governing the precedence of liturgical days.

The Church gives particular priority to the mysteries of Christ and to the proper cycle of the liturgical year. Vatican II explicitly taught that the proper of the time should receive its due precedence over celebrations of the saints so that the mysteries of salvation may be appropriately recalled.

This is why a saint’s feast can sometimes be transferred, omitted from the liturgical celebration, or commemorated in another permitted way when it coincides with a higher-ranking celebration.

14. SO WHAT IS THE CATHOLIC CALENDAR REALLY DOING?
The Catholic calendar is doing much more than telling us what saint is remembered today.
It is leading the Church through the story of salvation.
Advent teaches us to wait.
Christmas reveals the Incarnation.
Lent calls us to conversion.
The Triduum brings us to the Passion and Death of Christ.
Easter proclaims the Resurrection.
Pentecost celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Ordinary Time teaches us to live the Gospel in the concrete circumstances of daily life.
The saints then appear throughout this journey, not as competitors with Christ, but as witnesses to what God’s grace can accomplish in human lives.

The entire calendar ultimately points in one direction:
Christ.

So the next time you open a Catholic calendar and see a season, solemnity, feast, memorial or ordinary weekday, remember that you are not simply looking at dates.
You are looking at the Church’s way of sanctifying time and walking through the mystery of salvation.

THE CATHOLIC CALENDAR IN ONE GLANCE:
ADVENT → CHRISTMAS → ORDINARY TIME → LENT → TRIDUUM → EASTER → ORDINARY TIME → ADVENT

And throughout the year:
CHRIST → MARY → THE SAINTS → THE CHURCH → THE JOURNEY OF FAITH

The calendar changes from year to year.
The celebrations move.
Some saints appear on universal calendars, others on particular calendars.

But the purpose remains the same:
To lead us through time toward Christ.

What part of the Catholic liturgical calendar did you understand for the first time today?

SOURCES
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC 1163–1173
• Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium, especially nos. 102–111
• General Instruction of the Roman Missal, especially nos. 352–358
• Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar
• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Liturgical Year”
• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Ordinary Time”

Be Prayerful. Be Inspired.
©Catholic Dailies

09/10/2026

“The Bible in a Year” podcast hosted by Father Mike Schmitz became a global sensation after its debut in 2021, helping millions around the world encounter the word of God. Now, the popular podcast from Ascension is back — but with a twist: “The Bible in a Year: Family Edition,” hosted by Father Josh Johnson, launches on Jan. 1, 2027.

The new podcast is designed for families with children ranging in age from 7 to 12. Using both video and audio, families will be guided through the story of salvation in 365 daily episodes using readings from Ascension’s upcoming “The Great Adventure Catholic Bible for Beginners."

Read more: https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/the-bible-in-a-year-podcast-is-back-this-time-for-the-whole-family