Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, November 23, 2025

Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. For as long as I can remember, my father had a statue of Jesus on his dresser. He was wearing a red robe and a crown; quite a contrast to the Jesus that we see each week in the church - half naked, hanging on a cross in agony.

In the time of Jesus, during the Roman occupation, Caesar was the king. He wielded absolute power on earth and was worshipped as a son of the gods. The Jews longed for the day that God would send them a messiah as their king who would deliver them from this oppression. Yet, they also recognized that any challenge to Caesar’s authority would be dealt with quickly and harshly.

This was made clear as Jesus hung with criminals on the outskirts of Jerusalem, bleeding from his wounds, a pitiful sight meant to instill fear among the Jewish population. The sign on the cross, proclaiming Jesus as “The King of the Jews,” was a sarcastic joke and an insult. Simply put, it labeled Jesus as a traitor and reminder to future rebels what awaited them if they resisted the Roman Empire. To the average person, Jesus was no king, but a man whose life and ministry were violently cut short.

Yet, that is precisely the point. Our King is not an earthly king dressed in regal roles and placed far above humanity. Jesus turned the concept of kingship on its head by first becoming a servant of all. Although He was God, Jesus did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but became human and lived among those deemed unworthy and marginalized by society. Because His kingdom is not of this world, He did not wield power but, instead, told his disciples, that if they wanted to become great in the Kingdom, they must first become servants in this world.

He extends this challenge to us as well. If we desire to be with Him in the Kingdom, we must accept His challenge to follow His earthly example and to serve “the least” in this world so that we can be with Him and them in the next. This Advent Season we will once again partner with four charitable organizations who are answering His challenge. Please consider generously supporting these partners.

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, November 16, 2025

Don’t you hate it when people cheat and succeed? Or when a team wins because a referee makes a bad call? Or when a bully takes advantage of another person or of a situation? When these things happen, we are likely to call out, “That’s not fair!” Human beings love a fair process and despise cheaters. Fairness helps us to cooperate with one another. Without cooperation, we would fail. So, when children whine, “That’s not fair,” it’s because our brains are wired to find fairness uplifting and to find self-serving behavior unpleasant.

That’s why many of you will cheer when you hear these words in the First Reading, “The day is coming…when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble” and were even happier to hear that “The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.” Paul reminds us and the Thessalonians that, in a fair process, people who do the same work should get the same reward. He tells the Church that “if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should he eat.” No one likes free loaders. It’s not fair if some people work hard while others don’t do anything.

I’m sure that the Jews who heard Jesus predict the destruction of the Temple thought that life wasn’t fair. They were already under the control of the Romans, now they hear that their Temple will be destroyed. Yet, Jesus wasn’t trying to upset them as much as to encourage them to look beyond the stones of the structure to what really matters. Instead of focusing all of their attention on the temple, they needed to keep things in perspective and to realize that their relationship with him and God the Father was far more important than a building.

Buildings will come and go, our lives here on earth will be a mix of fairness and unfairness, of joy and tragedy. For the most part, we can’t control that and we certainly can’t change the past. But we can control our eternal future by focusing on eternal life with God. We need to focus NOW. It will do us no good to cry, “That’s not fair!” when we are turned away from heaven at the end of our lives. Let’s pray for the grace to move forward together toward an eternity that will be perfectly loving, perfect peaceful, and perfectly fair.

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, November 9, 2025

The Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel

In 1884, Pope Leo XIII, after a vision of demonic forces attacking the Church, ordered that several prayers, including the St. Michael Prayer, be recited at the conclusion of “Low Masses” (Masses without music). In 1965, the Second Vatican Council removed the requirement to recite these prayers at the end of Mass. During COVID, parishes began reciting the St. Michael Prayer at the end of every Mass. More recently, parishes have stopped this practice entirely or recite the prayer only after daily Mass, after the priest has left the altar.

The trajectory of each Mass moves us to the joyful and glorious moment when we receive Jesus into our bodies and souls, allow Jesus to transform us, and enter into our most intimate prayer with Him. The Prayer After Communion reinforces this sacred moment. The Final Blessing and Sending Forth remind us that we must take our transformed selves out into the world to “glorify the Lord with our lives.” At Masses with music, this is followed by an uplifting Recessional song which joyfully sends us forth. In my humble opinion, reciting the St. Michael Prayer at the end of Mass shifts our attention from joyful intimacy with Jesus and inspired mission, toward the “battle” we face and the “wickedness” we will encounter.

The Diocese advised me that the prayer was permitted, but not required, and that each pastor may decide whether the parish recites the prayer after dismissal. After praying and seeking advice, it seems best that we discontinue the practice of the congregation reciting the St. Michael Prayer after the end of Sunday Masses and any other Masses with music. At the conclusion of daily Masses, the congregation may recite the prayer after the priest bows to the altar and proceeds down the aisle.

When Saint Pope John Paul II spoke of the prayer, he said, “Although the prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass, I ask every one not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the forces of darkness and against the spirit of the world.” I agree and encourage us to continue to pray the St. Michael Prayer privately whether after Mass in silence, in private devotion, or when experiencing temptations. St. Michael, defend us!

Fr. Mike