23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - 08/31/2026

This week on Be Not Afraid, Fr. Fabian and Fr. Bruce Riebe open the show by noting that September 1st marks the start of the new liturgical year in the Byzantine Catholic tradition, a good reminder of the richness within the universal Church's many rites. The main conversation centers on fraternal correction, prompted by both the upcoming memorial of Saint Teresa of Calcutta and Sunday's Gospel reading, Matthew 18:15-20, in which Jesus instructs his disciples on how to address a brother who sins: privately first, then with witnesses, then before the Church. The hosts trace fraternal correction through the example of John the Baptist, who confronted Herod's immorality and paid with his life, and through Mother Teresa, who confronted world leaders and built bridges between believers and non-believers while never losing her charity and humility. Fr. Bruce shares a personal story of a friend whose attempt at fraternal correction with his adult daughter, over the baptism of her son, went painfully wrong, illustrating how correction offered without a shared foundation of faith can backfire. Fr. Fabian returns throughout to the theme that correction without humility, charity, or love is not true correction, and that reconciliation itself is an act of fraternal charity rooted in seeing the face of Christ in the other person. The episode closes with a reflection on Mother Teresa's own words to "do small things with great love" and a challenge to listeners to find the "Calcuttas" in their own lives: family, coworkers, and community members in need of compassion and presence. Learn more at IowaCatholicRadio.com Hashtags #BeNotAfraid #IowaCatholicRadio #CatholicPodcast #FraternalCorrection #MotherTeresa #SaintTeresaOfCalcutta #SundayGospel #GospelOfMatthew #OrdinaryTime #CatholicFaith Listen Live · Program Schedule · Our StationsLINKSYou can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok! More on our website.If you would like to support Iowa Catholic Radio you can donate Here! More from Iowa Catholic Radio:Sunday Dive with Katie PatrizioMan Up! with Joe StopulosCatholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie NelsonThe Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud MarrBe Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce RiebeBe Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián MoncadaMaking it Personal with Bishop William JoensenFaith and Family Finance with Gregory WaddleThe Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos Liturgy & DevotionsThe Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick SmithThe Daily Mass from St. Francis of AssisiThe Daily Mass from St. Pius XThe Daily Mass from St. TheresaSunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint JohnWant to support your favorite show? Click Here Iowa Catholic Radio - Connecting People to Christ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.