***
Gospel: Matthew 18: 15-20
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 won over your brother.
If he does not listen,
take one or two others along with you,
so that every fact may be established
on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church.
If he refuses to listen even to the Church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen, 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, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth
about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
One of my favorite Saints is Damian of Molokai.
As a young priest, he felt called to be a missionary. So, he left his family and friends in Belgium behind and spent the rest of his life living in a leper colony on the Hawaiian island of Molokai.
At the time, people didn’t know how leprosy was contracted, only that it caused immense suffering and, ultimately, death. So, when a person contracted leprosy – or, at times, was even exposed to it – they were sent away.
Molokai was a place of despair, which is why Father Damian felt called to live, serve, and ultimately die there. He wanted to be light where there was darkness.
***
Once a month, a fellow priest would sail to Molokai and throw supplies overboard for Father Damian and the other residents. Damian also seized this opportunity to confess his sins.
Because the other priest was too afraid of contracting leprosy, Damian had to wade out into the water and literally shout out his sins before receiving absolution.
You can imagine how humiliating that might’ve been.
But Father Damian recognized his need to be reconciled – not only with his brothers and sisters on the island, but also with God.
As Saint James tells us, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
***
This is the essence of Christ’s teachings in today’s Gospel – be reconciled with one another at any cost, even if it means shouting out your sins to a priest on a boat.
Do I need forgiveness? Is there someone whom I need to forgive?
“Whatever you loose on earth, will be loosed in heaven,” Jesus says, meaning whatever you forgive on earth shall be forgiven in heaven.
What an opportunity! May we seize it.
Saint Damian of Molokai, pray for us.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Southern Living, Bryant McGill (2) Damian High School (3) CBN