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Daily Readings from the USCCBTwenty-third Sunday in Ordinary TimeJesus 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 won over your brother.” Matthew 18:15When someone sins against us, especially in a grievous way, anger and condemnation can quickly arise as strong temptations. Our natural sense of justice often takes over, and we may find ourselves rationalizing a response rooted in judgment rather than compassion. In today’s Gospel, however, Jesus offers the much better path—to seek reconciliation, not division. The ultimate goal...

Dr. John BergsmaI don’t like personal conflict. I try to avoid it as much as possible. Probably most Americans do. I’m not sure what it’s like in other cultures, although I’ve heard of others where open social confrontation is more common. This Sunday’s readings deal with situations in which Christians have a duty to confront one another. They don’t make for comfortable reading in a culture that puts a high value on keeping the peace and minding one’s own business. The First Reading is the great “Watchman” passage from the prophet Ezekiel: Reading 1: Ezekiel 33:7-9Thus says the LORD: You,...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV Proves the “Prophets of Doom” Correct: Has the Church Abandoned the Reign of Christ? The “prophets of doom” were supposed to be wrong. But what if they saw exactly where Vatican II was taking the Church? Leo XIV’s latest catechesis on Gaudium et Spes reveals a Church increasingly concerned with water, poverty, pollution and worldly peace, while the old Catholic proclamation of Christ the King has quietly disappeared.On September 2, Leo XIV began his series of catechism lessons on Vatican II’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes. Oddly, he opened...

Daily Readings from the USCCBWhile Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?” Luke 6:1–2Though Jesus’ public ministry was still in its early stages, confrontations with the religious leaders had already become frequent. This episode marks the fourth recorded instance of such tension. In the previous days, the Pharisees had accused Jesus of blasphemy for forgiving the paralytic before healing him, of scandal for eating with tax collectors...

[Catholic Caucus] St. Pius X: Defending Tradition Without Abandoning the Church On the feast of St. Pius X, Catholics face a familiar battle: defending the integrity of the Faith while remaining faithful to the Church and the Papacy. In an age of Modernism, TLM restrictions, and deepening divisions, the great pope's example offers a powerful lesson in truth, charity, and Catholic fidelity.On September 3, the 1962 Roman Calendar exhorts Catholics to commemorate St. Pius X, a pope whose very name has become a banner for those who believe the one true Catholic Faith must be preserved and defended in its...

[Catholic Caucus] Catholicism’s Surrender to Maoism: Beijing Chooses Communist Bishops. Rome Says Yes. Beijing has chosen a new Catholic bishop who promoted Communist ideology, participated in Maoist political “re-education,” and dismissed reports of persecution against Catholics in his own diocese. Rome approved him anyway. The consecration of Paul Liu Honggang, argues Gaetano Masciullo, is a shocking example of what the Sino-Vatican agreement has produced: The Communist regime chooses, and Rome goes along with it.The diplomatic farce of the Vatican’s Ostpolitik has reached a new, desolate peak. Last August 31, Paul Liu Honggang was consecrated bishop of Datong. The appointment had...

On the Legitimacy of the Novus Ordo Missae: A Legitimate Question? (Op-Ed) In his article À quand la paix liturgique ? (When will there be liturgical peace?), in the July-August 2025 issue (no. 382) of La Nef, Christophe Geffroy raised a question to which the consecrations recently conferred within the Society of Saint Pius X give particular prominence. In it, he championed the equality in "value and holiness" of the two forms of the Roman rite, and reproached the "priests who refuse any celebration of the new ordo" for contesting this value and holiness "because they judge this liturgy to...

[Catholic Caucus] Professor Ratzinger Criticizes the Council The following essay was published in German on July 4, 2020, by Michael Charlier at Summorum Pontificum but the topic is relevant again, so we have made it available in translation.—PAKFor all those who feel committed to the entire Catholic tradition, the Second Vatican Council is a difficult topic. On the one hand, we know that Vatican II could not have turned anything the Church has always taught upside down. On the other hand, we live in an environment where much seems to have been turned upside down—and we are told that this...

We have known since the 1980s, when Stanley Rothman published the first of his research on media elites, that those who occupy the command posts in the media are overwhelmingly on the abortion-rights side. That is why they are already lionizing Gloria Steinem, who died at 92. But there is another side to her, one that the media will not discuss. Is it possible to be “pro-choice” and not anti-Catholic? Of course. Is it possible to be a rabid “pro-choice” activist and not anti-Catholic? Possible, but not likely. That’s because these activists see the Catholic Church as the enemy—they are...

4 September 2026 Friday of week 22 in Ordinary Time St. Rose of Viterbo Convent, La Crosse, WisconsinReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First reading1 Corinthians 4:1-5The Lord alone is our judgePeople must think of us as Christ’s servants, stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God. What is expected of stewards is that each one should be found worthy of his trust. Not that it makes the slightest difference to me whether you, or indeed any human tribunal, find me worthy or not. I will not even pass judgement on myself. True, my conscience does not reproach me at...

Daily Readings from the USCCBThe scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.” Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” Luke 5:33–35Though most of the scribes and Pharisees rejected the ministry of John the Baptist, here they attempt to use his discipline of fasting as a weapon...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Schneider: Leo XIV’s Liturgical Catechesis Reflects Neither Reality Nor History Bishop Athanasius Schneider has criticised Pope Leo XIV’s August 26 presentation of the post-conciliar liturgical reform. He argued that the Novus Ordo does not correspond to what the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council intended.Speaking to AdVaticanum.com on September 2, Schneider also argued that non-definitive teachings of Vatican II can be amended or corrected.Conciliar Formulations Can Be CorrectedBishop Schneider referred to the Council of Florence (1431 to 1449), citing two doctrinal statements that were later discussed and corrected by the Church.One concerned Holy Orders. Florence identified the...

Daily Readings from the USCCBWhile the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Luke...

[Catholic Caucus] Spain awakens for Ceuta and not a single bishop in the squares One thousand squares filled at the same time, a forest of Spanish flags from Cibeles to the Pilar, and a single cry from north to south: “Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta defends itself.” Nothing like it had been seen since the autumn of 2017, when the separatist challenge brought a seemingly dormant nation into the streets. The Spanish people are slow to react. But when they are put in check, they react. Yesterday they did so again — alone, without their shepherds.There are images a...

3 September 2026 Saint Gregory the Great, Pope, Doctor on Thursday of week 22 in Ordinary Time St. Gregory the Great Church, Bellerose, NY Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: A(II).Readings for the feriaReadings for the memorialThese are the readings for the feriaFirst reading1 Corinthians 3:18-23The wisdom of the world is foolishness to GodMake no mistake about it: if any one of you thinks of himself as wise, in the ordinary sense of the word, then he must learn to be a fool before he really can be wise. Why? Because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican claims Mass is ‘ecological school’ in ‘climate change’ document The Vatican’s International Theological Commission said the Eucharist can lead to ‘the ecological conversion that we so urgently need to undertake as a human family,’ in a new document on Wednesday. A lengthy document published by the International Theological Commission entitled “Caring for our Common Home – A Responsible and Fraternal Response to the Triune God” refers to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as an “ecological school.”In the September 2 document focusing on the environment, “ecological conversion,” and so-called “climate change,” the Theological Commission devoted an entire...

From Dante’s Inferno to Erasmus’s In Praise of Folly: Papal Magisterium in Support of Satire and Invective Against Popes We thank Fr. Romano Tommasi, the pen name of a theologian, for this guest article.Writers on this site often inveigh against hyper-papalism or ultramontanism, evaluated as vices. Pre- and post-Vatican II popes agree in principle and have even taught it magisterially in a way unfortunately overlooked.Like a journal editor who tears to shreds a scholar’s blood, sweat, and tears, the taskmaster’s list of errata and objections to unsubstantiated, innovative arguments can move a scholar toward self-reflection on his method and call...

[Catholic Caucus] China’s Patriotic Church and Leo’s Synodal Church are driving faithful Catholics underground Both are puppet institutions that serve a higher power while betraying those who want to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ.The High Priest of Hypocrisy, Leo XIV, has once again given Catholics another reason to ask who is really directing the Church in Communist China.Any observer with two eyes and one brain cell can, of course, guess the answer.On August 31, Paolo Liu Honggang was consecrated Bishop of Datong in Shanxi province. The Vatican confirmed that Leo had “appointed” Liu on August 10 after approving his...

2 September 2026 Wednesday of week 22 in Ordinary Time Saint-Just in Lyon, France Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First reading1 Corinthians 3:1-9Neither the planter nor the waterer matters, only God, who makes things growBrothers, I myself was unable to speak to you as people of the Spirit: I treated you as sensual men, still infants in Christ. What I fed you with was milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it; and indeed, you are still not ready for it since you are still unspiritual. Isn’t that obvious from all the jealousy and wrangling...

Daily Readings from the USCCBAfter Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her. He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them. Luke 4:38–39In today’s Gospel, we encounter the first mention of Simon—whose name Jesus would later change to Peter—in Luke’s account. Simon was likely present in the synagogue and witnessed Jesus cast out a demon from a possessed man. With a simple command, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”, Jesus revealed His...