Sunday Reflections, 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, 20 September 2026

 

The Grape-Picker

Bernhard Keil [Web Gallery of Art]

The kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard (Matthew 20:1; Gospel).

Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India)

Gospel Matthew 20:1-16 (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India)

At that time: Jesus told his disciples this parable, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market-place, and to them he said, “You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.” So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, “Why do you stand here idle all day?” They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You go into the vineyard too.”

‘And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, “Call the labourers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.” And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” So the last will be first, and the first last.’

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

 

Jacques Fesch

[Wikipedia; photo]

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is one of the top soccer teams in Europe. It gets its name from the suburb of Paris where it is located, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, named after Saint Germain (Germanus), a bishop of Paris who died in 576. It is also the birthplace on 6 April 1930 of Jacques Fesch. He died on 1 October 1957 in Paris. In 1987 Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, Archbishop of Paris, opened a diocesan inquiry into the life of Jacques and in 1993 formally opened the process for his beatification. 

Police Officer Jean-Baptiste Vergne

Murdered on 25 February 1954

Widower and father of a four-year-old daughter

[Source of photo; it has been replaced by a different one]

This caused considerable controversy in France because Jacques Fesch had been executed by guillotine for the murder of Jean-Baptiste Vergne, 35, a widowed policeman and father of a daughter aged 4, on 25 February 1954. There was no doubt whatever of Jacques Fesch's guilt nor did he show any remorse at his trial or after being sentenced.

How did this man come to be proposed for beatification by a French cardinal who was born Jewish and whose mother was murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz in 1943?

During the more than three years that he was in prison, in solitary confinement, Jacques Fesch experienced a profound religious conversion. We know this from the letters he wrote and from the diary he kept during the last months before his execution. Two persons who influenced him were the prison Catholic chaplain, Fr Devoyed OP and his lawyer, a devout Catholic, named Baudet who expressed his concern for his client's immortal soul.

Jacques Fesch's conversion - he had been baptised a Catholic as an infant - was a gradual one, beginning with reading a book about Our Lady in October 1954 and coming to fruition by the following March, Around that time he wrote: At the end of my first year in prison, a powerful wave of emotion swept over me, causing deep and brutal suffering. Within the space of a few hours, I came into possession of faith, with absolute certainty. I believed … Grace came to me. A great joy flooded my soul, and above all a deep peace.

The Prophet Isaiah in the First Reading today speaks precisely to the situation in which Jacques Fesch found himself through his own sins: Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:6-7).

In the light of that we can interpret the parable in today's gospel as telling us that God's mercy extends to all who will accept it, even to the eleventh hour, to the very end of our lives. This is not something to take for granted so that we can carry on sinning until the last moment. That is the sin of presumption. But neither is it something to see as impossible, that we are beyond God's mercy. That is the sin of despair.

A month before his death Jacques wrote: The Lord continues to fill me with gifts and I feel my heart overflow with love, and my lips with thanksgiving. Shortly before his execution he wrote: In five hours I will see Jesus.

Kyrie Eleison, Missa Luba

Setting by Fr Guido Haazen OFM

Sung by Les Troubadours du Roi Baudouin

Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison

Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy

Traditional Latin Mass

Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 09-20-2026 if necessary).

Epistle: Ephesians 4:1-6. Gospel: Matthew 22:34-46.

Apostle Paul in Prison

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called . . . (Ephesians 4:1; Epistle).

      

 

 

Sunday Reflections, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, 13 September 2026

St Peter in Penitence

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art] 

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Matthew 18:21-35 (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India)

At that time: Peter came up and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.

‘Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, “Pay what you owe.” So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.’

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Paddy (Patrick) Coyle

15 June 1946 - 5 September 2026

My heartfelt thanks for your prayers for the repose of the soul of my brother Paddy. Solas na bhFhlaitheas air - the Light of Heaven upon him.

Stretcher Bearers, Passchendaele, Belgium, 1917

[Wikipedia; photo]

Today's gospel brings us in touch with what is perhaps the most difficult demand for Christians: to forgive. El Greco's painting shows us St Peter praying with hope and trust in God's merciful and forgiving love.

An example of forgiveness is found in an extract from a letter of Fr William Doyle SJ, an Irish priest who died in August 1917 in Passchendaele, Belgium, while serving as a chaplain in the British Army in World War I. The extract is taken from a post on the website The Father Willie Doyle Association, the official site for the canonisation cause of the Servant of God Fr Willie Doyle SJ. 

Father Doyle wrote to his father in Dublin about events of 5 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme in France [emphasis added]:

In the bottom of one hole lay a British and a German soldier, locked in a deadly embrace, neither had any weapon, but they had fought on to the bitter end. Another couple seemed to have realised that the horrible struggle was none of their making, and that they were both children of the same God; they had died hand-in-hand praying for and forgiving one another. A third face caught my eye, a tall, strikingly handsome young German, not more, I should say, than eighteen. He lay there calm and peaceful, with a smile of happiness on his face, as if he had had a glimpse of Heaven before he died. Ah, if only his poor mother could have seen her boy it would have soothed the pain of her broken heart.

To Father Doyle no German soldier was an enemy. Indeed, one of the remarkable things in the literature that came out of the Great War, as the First World War was known until the Second World War began, is that soldiers didn't seem to have hatred for the official 'enemy'. It was more often against their own generals and bullying corporals. Photos and videos from the war show prisoners of war, especially wounded ones, being treated with the same kindness and consideration as others.

Father Doyle's description of the British and German soldiers holding hands in death illustrates poignantly and powerfully what Jesus asks of us in this Sunday's Gospel. Pray for the souls of all who died in that terrible conflict.

The Banks of Green Willow

Composed by George Butterworth

Played by the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields

Conducted by Sir Neville Marriner

George Butterworth, an officer in the British army, was killed in the Battle of the Somme. 5 August 1916, a month before the event described by Fr Willie Doyle in his letter to his father. Pray for the souls of all who died in that terrible conflict, The Great War / First World War.

Madonna of Mercy

Blessed Fra Angelico [Web Gallery of Art]

Traditional Latin Mass

Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 09-13-2026 if necessary).

Epistle: Ephesians 3:13-21. Gospel: Luke 14:1-11.

The Preaching of St Paul at Ephesus

Eustache Le Sueur [Web Gallery of Art]

 

     

          

Sunday Reflections, 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, 6 September 2026

 

Fr Rufus Halley

1944-2001

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)  

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) 

Gospel Matthew 18:15-20 (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India)

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.’

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

 Death of my brother

Please pray for the repose of the soul of my brother Paddy, baptised Patrick Nicholas after our two grandfathers, who died peacefully at 00:30 today, Saturday, Irish time. He turned 80 on 15 June this year but had been ill for a long time. May he rest in peace.

+++

Fr Rufus Halley with friends in Mindanao

It is 25 years since the death of Fr Rufus Halley in the Philippines on 28 September 2001.  He was from County Waterford in Ireland and was one year behind me in the seminary. We both worked in the Philippines. After working in Luzon for many years, where he had become fluent in Tagalog, he asked to be transferred to the predominantly Muslin Prelature of Marawi in Mindanao where we Columbans had worked for many years. There he became fluent in two more Filipino languages, Cebuano-Visayan, spoken by the Christians in the Prelature, and Maranao, spoken by the majority of Muslims in that area. Over the years he built up great trust with many Muslims. There was a long history of mistrust between the two communities. At times this broke out into warfare.

Because of the trust he had built up he received an extraordinary request: to mediate in a dispute between two Muslim clans that could become violent. This was an extraordinary request at three levels: he was a foreigner, a Christian and a priest. He agreed to the request but sought the advice of a Muslim elder who wasn't involved in the dispute.

There was much going back and forth between the two leaders, and visits to the elder for guidance, but it finally reached the point where the two leaders agreed to meet in the presence of Father Rufus. There was still an air of tension when they came together. However, they agreed to end the dispute. A few days later the Columban priest happened to drop by the house of one of the two leaders. He found the other there, the two of them drinking coffee and laughing together. 

This whole event was one of the highlights of Father Rufus's life and his face would light up whenever he would recount it.

For me, Father Rufus was living out today's gospel in a very difficult situation. His goal was, with God's grace, to bring about peace and reconciliation. The leaders of the two clans were also men of faith and the words of Jesus were realised: For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

On the afternoon of 28 August 2001, the feast of St Augustine, Father Rufus was ambushed while on his way home on his motorcycle from an interfaith meeting with Muslim religious leaders and shot dead. 

Where did Father Rufus draw his strength from? His close friend Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, Archbishop Emeritus of Manila, wrote in an article for Misyon, the magazine of the Columbans in the Philippines of which I was editor at the time. In the last two paragraphs of his article Cardinal Rosales wrote:  

I knew of the intensity with which Father Rufus lived his own Christian faith, how he began each day with an hour of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, the centrality of the Mass in his life. A big influence on him was the life of Blessed Charles de Foucauld, 1858-1916, beatified on 13 November 2005. This Frenchman was also from a privileged background. Unlike Pareng Rufus, he lost his Catholic faith and became a notorious playboy before re-discovering it, partly through the example of Muslims living in North Africa. He spent many years as a priest living among the poorest Muslims in a remote corner of the Sahara, pioneering Christian-Muslim dialogue by discovering himself as the Little Brother of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and as the Little Brother of the Muslims who came knocking at his hermitage door.

(Pope France canonised Charles de Foucauld in 2022. Pareng is a Tagalog word expressing respect for a male friend.)

St Charles de Foucauld, c.1907

[Wikipedia; photo]

The Cardinal continued: 

On 1 December 1916 Charles de Foucauld died at the hands of a young gunman outside his hermitage and on 28 August 2001 Pareng Rufus died at the hands of gunmen who ambushed him as he was riding on his motorcycle from a meeting of Muslim and Christian leaders in Balabagan to his parish in Malabang. The local people, both Christian and Muslim, mourned for him deeply. The grief of the Muslims was all the greater because the men who murdered my Pareng Rufus happened to be Muslims. The death of this great missionary priest brought both communities together in their shared grief for a man of God, a true follower of Jesus Christ.

Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Lá Breithe na Maighdine Beannaithe Muire

High Altar of St Mary

St Mary’s Church, Kraków, Poland

Veit Stoss [Web Gallery of Art]

What a magnificent and worthy setting for the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!

Tuesday 8 September is the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Below is a setting of the Hail Mary and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Litany of Loreto, by Sam C. Ezugwu, and performed by Trinity Choir and Amemuso Choir in St Luke's Catholic Church, Kubwa. The full credits are at the end of the video. Kubwa is located in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.

Traditional Latin Mass

Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 09-06-2026 if necessary).

Epistle: Galatians 5:25-26; 6:1-10. Gospel: Luke 7:11-16.

The Raising of the Young Man at Nain

German Miniaturist [Web Gallery of Art]

And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother (Luke 7:15; Gospel).

Sunday Reflections, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, 30 August 2026

Landscape with Christ and St Peter

Goffried Wals [Web Gallery of Art]

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) 

Gospel Matthew 16:21-27 (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India)

At that time: Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.’

Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.’

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

 

A Man for All Seasons is a movie made in 1966, written by Robert Bolt and based on his stage play with the same title. It is based on the life of St Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England during the time of King Henry VIII. His position would be similar to that of Prime Minister today. More refuses to  sign a letter asking Pope Clement VII to annul the marriage of the King to Catherine of Aragon who had not borne him a son. Eventually More is found guilty of high treason and sentenced to death.

Continue at Bangor to Bobbio.