23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) - 6 September 2026
6th September 2026
“To correct the wrongdoer is a spiritual almsdeed. But almsdeeds are works of charity … Therefore, fraternal correction is an act of charity … The correction of the wrongdoer is a remedy which should be employed against a man’s sin.” – St Thomas Aquinas
A reflection on today's Gospel taken from the Angelus Address by Pope St John Paul II at Castel Gandolfo on Sunday, 8 September 2002:
In today's Gospel passage, Jesus says to His disciples: "If two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by My heavenly Father" (Mt 18,19). These words, received in faith, open the heart to confidence. God is a merciful father, Who listens to the prayers of His adopted children.
When believers pray, they move God's heart, for Whom nothing is impossible. As I wrote in Novo Millennio ineunte, for this we need to be distinguished "in the art of prayer" (n. 32), so that Christian communities become "genuine schools of prayer" (n. 33).
Unfortunately, we experience not a few earthshaking and tragic events that sow dismay and anxiety in public opinion. Modern man seems sure of himself and yet, especially on critical occasions, he must come to terms with his powerlessness: he feels his incapacity to intervene and, consequently, lives in uncertainty and fear. The secret for facing not only emergencies, but, day after day, fatigue, personal and social problems lies in prayer made with faith. Whoever prays is not discouraged even in the face of the most serious difficulties because he feels God at his side and finds refuge, serenity and peace in His open arms. Then, in opening himself with confidence to God, he opens himself with greater generosity to his neighbour and becomes capable of building history according to the plan of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, "may education in prayer become a key-point of all pastoral planning" (Novo Millennio ineunte, n. 34). It is very important to pray every day, personally and as a family. May prayer, and prayer together, be the daily breath of families, parishes and of every community.
May Mary help us to understand the great value of prayer, the intimate union of the soul with God. Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to open our hearts to greater confidence in the Lord Who in her, the humble and docile handmaid, worked great wonders.
Prayer for Grace
O my God and my all, in Thy goodness and mercy, grant that
before I die I may regain all the graces which I have lost
through my carelessness and folly.
Permit me to attain the degree of merit and perfection to which
Thou didst desire to lead me, and which I failed by
my unfaithfulness to reach.
Mercifully grant also that others regain the graces which
they have lost through my fault. This I humbly beg through the merits
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Virgin Mary. Amen.
Art: The Vision of St Columba of Iona taken from Vita S. Columbae, biography of St Columba, written by St Adamnan (book 3, chapter 8).