Sunday Gospel Reflection, September 6, 2026: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another...

Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another…

What are our responsibilities toward one another? 

    No one exists independently of others. If there is one consistent message in Scripture, it is that human existence is about relationships. No one is on their own; no one is to live in isolation for themselves only, but for each other, with responsibility to maintain connection in all circumstances. 

    Thus, in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, the prophet is appointed watchman for the house of Israel as they try to maintain their identity as community while in exile. The Lord calls Ezekiel to speak to the wicked, those whose behavior is inappropriate, to call them to change; the salvation of the people is in his hands. The people’s covenant with God should tell them what is just and what is not; so long as they remain focused on the community and act justly toward one another, so long as their hearts are not hardened, as Psalm 95 states, the people shall not die to God and to relationship. All are called to find their identity in community and, as community, to do better. 

    Similar wisdom can be found coming from Jesus, in Matthew’s Gospel, as Jesus explains to his disciples that the consequences of one person’s choice affect those around them, and may be damaging to relationship. And so the disciples are called to embrace their responsibility for each other in community: If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault. The community is meant to be in unity with one another; we tell another his faults not be superior but to come together on equal footing and connection. And if that person chooses not to connect, you still love him. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am in the midst of them, Jesus says. Jesus is the connection, the source of all unity. 

    Paul sums up these teachings nicely in the Letter to the Romans: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another. The only debt we have is that of love: we owe it to one another to love one another because Jesus showed the depth of God’s love for us in dying for all for our salvation. As we enter into union with one another, we are drawn into union with God and become the Body of Christ. And so we are called to be Christ’s followers, to model ourselves on the love he has revealed, modeling our love on his love, that we might live justly and one day know perfect union, eternally, with him. 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

So that others might have life (St. Thérèse de Lisieux / Fr. Ron Rolheiser)

The only way I can prove my love
is by scattering flowers,
and these flowers are every little sacrifice,
every glance and word,
and the doing of the least actions for love.

--St. Thérèse de Lisieux

     There is a quality I see in the great, selfless people that I have met. They have made peace with the inadequacy of life, no longer demanding that others make them happy, and find real joy in being able to sacrifice their time, their dreams, and their lives so that others might have more life. 

     Our faith needs to give us the tools to handle that, namely, to help us come to grips with the fact that we live and die in incompleteness. 

--Fr. Ron Rolheiser OMI

Image source: https://seedsheets.com/when-does-wisteria-bloom-a-simple-growers-guide/?srsltid=AfmBOoqDga1pc82b7ikcP627HzUkVdFXWjP-MI8_aZDzPtQ3a2pSlaQi
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Letting go (Fr. Patrick van der Vorst)

   Before a tree can produce its leaves, it must grow, shed and nurture. When it sheds them, it makes way for new leaves and new life. In the same way, those who desire closeness to Christ must be willing to let go of certain things in order to embrace new life in Him. This ongoing process of sacrifice and renewal is at the heart of the Christian journey. Peter... is told precisely this: whatever has been left behind will be returned in the form of new, abundant life. 

    Philip McKay, a Liverpool-based digital artist, began creating digital works in 1996. Strongly influenced by René Magritte and the Surrealists, his art often weaves together the surreal and the spiritual, evoking a profound sense of mystery. In our image, the leaves being swept away from the tree subtly take on the shape of a face, a striking visual metaphor. It serves as a reminder that who we are is often revealed in what we give away! 

--Fr. Patrick van der Vorst 

Image source: Philip McKay, In Spirit (2022), https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/mark-10-28-31-2025 (Quotation taken from this same page.)

Imaginal cells (Richard Hooker / Mirza Inayat Khan)

Change is not made without inconvenience.

 --Richard Hooker,
16th-century theologian

    Midway through its life, the caterpillar withdraws into a chrysalis. After weeks of hidden transformation, it emerges as a butterfly. We might imagine it slowly growing wings. But what happens is far stranger. 

    The caterpillar dissolves. Tail, limbs, head, and body break down into a pool of cells. 

    And yet, within that dissolution, small clusters survive. Biologists call them imaginal cells. They have been there from the beginning, carrying the pattern of the butterfly. From these cells, a new winged body takes shape. The butterfly emerges and takes flight. 

    Perhaps our true self has always been there, hidden within us. Awakening is the remembering of who we really are, transcendent and beautiful. 

--Mirza Inayat Khan,
March 4, 2026

Image source 1: https://a-z-animals.com/animals/butterflies/how-does-a-caterpillar-turn-into-a-butterfly/
Image source 2: Phoebe Anna Traquair, Progress of a Soul, detail (1895-1902), https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/progress-soul-phoebe-anna-traquair/
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What cross will you choose? (Paulo Coelho)

     A man in a certain village was always complaining about his lot in life. He was a Christian and found the weight of his “cross” much too heavy to bear. 

    One night, before going to sleep, he begged God to help him find a way to change his burden. 

    That night he had a dream; the Lord led him to a warehouse. “Go ahead and change it,” God said. The man saw crosses of all sizes and shapes, each with the names of their owners. He picked an average size cross. But when he saw the name of an old friend written on it, he left it aside. 

    Finally, as God had permitted, he chose the smallest cross he could find. To his surprise, he saw his own name on it. 

--Paulo Coelho 

Image source: This image is taken from a thirteen-minute animated, slightly more developed version of this story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP0J2eDPIjU
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Let us turn this thirst into a step stool (Pope Leo XIV)

    We continually aspire to something 'more' that no created reality can give us; we feel a deep and burning thirst that no drink in this world can satisfy. Knowing this, let us not deceive our hearts by trying to satisfy them with cheap imitations! Let us rather listen to them! Let us turn this thirst into a step stool, like children who stand on tiptoe, in order to peer through the window of encounter with God. 

--Pope Leo XIV 

Image source: https://www.spscreens.com.au/blog/guide-keeping-children-safe-around-windows/
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Sacrifices and suffering (Pope Francis / Fr. Louis Brisson)

The sacrifices and sufferings required by
[our] acts of love of neighbor
unite us to the passion of Christ.

 --Pope Francis, Dilexit nos

    When we suffer pain, we must cut short all reflections, all murmurings and say, ‘I accept it.’ When we are tempted to pride or sensuality, we must cut short again. Someone causes you pain or expresses disdain for you. Why do you stop there? ‘Why do you listen to your own thoughts?’ says St. Francis de Sales. Couper court! [Cut it short!] 

    Sacrifice, thus understood and practised, is extremely pleasing to God. Cut short whatever binds you to your own will, whatever makes you look back, whatever enchains you and holds you captive. 

    By practicing the couper court, you acquire a considerable amount of strength and energy… Day by day, hour by hour, you will develop the habit of sacrifice. And when a formal order of God will ask of you something difficult, something which will seem impossible to nature, you will accept it completely and courageously. 

--Fr. Louis Brisson,
Founder of the Oblates
of St. Francis de Sales

Image source: https://www.antidote.info/en/blog/reports/couper-court-et-finement
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