August 12
Saint Jane Frances de ChantalGospel:
Matthew 18:15-20
Today's Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20 (A Brother Who Sins)
“If your brother or sister
sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If
you are listened to, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened
to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed
by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If that person refuses to listen to
them, tell it to the church, and if the offender refuses to listen even to the
church, let such a one be to you as a gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell
you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose
on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree
on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in
heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
Reflection:
Jane Frances de Chantal was a wealthy widow with
four children when Saint Francis de Sales became her spiritual director, and
together they founded a religious order for women who, for reasons of health or
family, couldn't join the stricter orders of the time. She spent her life doing
exactly the quiet, patient work this Gospel describes, not public
confrontation, not scandal, but the slow, humble work of correcting and
gathering people gently, one at a time, in charity instead of anger.
That's a much harder discipline than it sounds. Most of us either avoid
conflict entirely or handle it loudly, publicly, in a way that humiliates
rather than restores. Jesus lays out something different here: go to your
brother alone first. Protect his dignity even while you're correcting him. The
goal was never to win. The goal was always to gain him back.
Our Lady never had to correct anyone the way this Gospel describes, because sin
never touched her, but she understood better than anyone what it means to hold
someone gently through their weakest moments without ever abandoning them,
standing beside the apostles after the Resurrection as they wrestled with their
own failures and fears.
Correction offered with that kind of gentleness is rare, and it's exactly what
today's Gospel and Jane Frances de Chantal's whole life were built around.
Who do you need to go to alone, gently, instead of avoiding? Is there
anyone in your life that needs a gentle nudge back in the right direction
spiritually?
Rosary Man Jim 🌹
Freely given. Freely shared.
