09/05/2026
Father Sean Weeks' Pastor's Note on the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time:
"When Saint Paul says that we are to 'owe nothing to anyone except to love one another,' he is not referring to something sentimental. The love that the apostle enjoins on us is summed up by the Lord's words through Ezekiel: 'If you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, I will hold you responsible for his death.' Our love must extend to those attitudes and actions that would prevent our neighbors from truly loving and embracing their own call to holiness. 'If your brother listens to you, you have won him over.' The salvation of a soul is the greatest 'victory' imaginable." (Magnificat, September 2026, pgs. 82-83)
Over the past couple of years, we have been hearing a statement that goes something like this, “if you see something, say something.” Often, this is used in matters of security and identifying possible security risks. However, beautifully, lately it is being used to identify the lonely sufferings of co-workers or neighbors. Sometimes in our journey, we will experience changes in those around us. We see someone who normally is pretty squared away and successful in their lives and work. However, we see a change, they are no longer thriving, they seem distracted, and perhaps less joyful as before. What can we say when we see this? “Hey, John, you seem distracted and upset today. You good?” Maybe I won’t be the right person to ask the question. Who would be a better couple of people to ask the question? Maybe, Fr. Sean or Fr. Chi-Nhan can help the person? Or maybe, we need to pray for them, treat them like one of the Gentiles or tax-collectors...as Jesus did. How did he treat the Gentiles and tax-collector?
