August 13, 2025 // Optional Memorial of Saint Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and Saint Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 18:15-17
Reflect on the Word //
Directly going and speaking with someone who has hurt us is difficult. There have been many times when I have thought it would be much easier to go to an arbitrary judge and demand a person be exiled from the community rather than talk to someone about a problem. There is also a perennial temptation to gossip, slander, and malign publicly people who have harmed and sinned against us. It requires no small amount of self-control to rein in our tongues in difficult circumstances, especially when we know we are in the right.
The words of Jesus in today’s Gospel give us fundamental directions in how Christians are to deal with problems with other people. He tells us, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone” (Matthew 18:15). In telling us to go directly to the person who has sinned against us, Jesus calls us to live with integrity.
The idea is that we treat each other with respect and give each other a chance to explain what is going on personally—we don’t need to air all of our problems with others to the whole world if we can resolve them with Christian charity and mercy. And when we do this in a place of prayer, Jesus promises that He is with us as we work to resolve conflicts: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).
Failing to live with integrity can have lasting consequences to us as individuals and our own failure can ripple out into the wider Church. We do not have to look far to see how complex relationships can be, and how difficult it can be to resolve issues in healthy and constructive ways. Our difficult relationships can be a source of discouragement in our lives, but today’s simple and clear word from Christ can reorient our hearts and keep our focus on this simple call to integrity.
Relate to the Lord // Ask for the grace to live a life of integrity, starting with today.
Christy Isinger is a cradle Catholic, wife, and mother of five teenagers from western Canada. During the short Canadian summers she tries to garden and grow flowers, while in the long cold winters she reads a lot of books, writes, and homeschools. Her Substack newsletter can be found at christyisinger.substack.com.
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