Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, September 13, 2026
Updated: Sep 21
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
I am writing this just before boarding a plane for vacation to spend time with my family at a cottage that my wife’s grandfather built nearly 80 years ago. As you read this, I will be celebrating Sunday mass on a tiny island in view of passing Great Lakes freighters. Yet, we are in communion with one another because, for Jesus, the Catholic Church is not a building, like a temple, but is, instead, a way to bring together those who love Him and love one another.
A biblical definition of love must start with God. Whether that love is romantic, or the bond between friends, love that is genuine comes from God because, “God is love.” If God is love, then we love others best by loving Him most.
The Psalmist tells us not to harden our hearts to God’s voice. That’s one beautiful concept of Church. It’s a place where we can hear God’s voice and, hopefully, respond to it with our actions. If we are Church, we should both accept and reflect God’s perfect love. Agapē love is sacrificial, unconditional love. It is the human version of the perfect love that God has for us as well as our attempt to mimic that love as we deal with one another.
Jesus commanded His followers: “Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The word Jesus used for love is the verb form of agapē. The pattern of our love is as He has loved us. In other words, we are to be known by our self-giving, sacrificial, unconditional love for one another.
As Jesus also tells us, this love must be forgiving. We must not harden our hearts against someone who has offended us. We must forgive and also seek to correct that person. Jesus lays out the steps in the Gospel this week. If the offender ultimately refuses to listen, Jesus says, “treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” Just remember, Jesus cured Gentiles and forgave them. He ate with tax collectors and invited one of them to become an apostle. As I mentioned above, His view of love is unconditional.
Fr. Mike
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