Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection - March 23, 2025

"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” That’s great advice, but how do we know when we are hearing God’s voice. It’s probably not coming to us from a burning bush or from a cloud. It might come through our families, friends, neighbors, priests, or teachers. However, sometimes it comes to us unexpectedly from surprising sources. We’re happy to call any voice, “God’s voice” when it agrees with our own plan for our lives. The problem arises when God’s voice is trying to lead us in a completely different direction. That’s when our hearts get hard and the grumbling begins.

The Israelites are master grumblers. They started grumbling against Moses in Egypt and continued in the desert. Remember, this is the man who parted the sea so that they could walk through it on dry land. Yet, they grumbled against him. They were grumbling because they thought that they had a better plan than God. In their minds, there were only two possibilities: dying reasonably comfortably in Egypt or dying somewhat painfully in the desert. They rejected God’s voice and hardened their hearts.

Opening our hearts takes a great deal of faith. Faith is built on trust. We must trust that God has a plan and that the plan is the absolute best thing for us. We truly must surrender to the voice that spells out God’s plan because our plan could never be as perfect as His plan. Each day, we face the pressures of family, finances and faith. We complain and grumble when our lives are different from our expectations. We like our plan. It makes sense to us. It’s comfortable. On the other hand, God’s voice can come to us unexpectedly. It can be disruptive and make us uncomfortable. It can seem crazy and be frustrating because it moves us in a new direction.

Yet, we must always search for, and be open to, God’s voice. It comes to us from both expected and surprising sources. Sometimes it confirms what we are thinking; sometimes it challenges us to think differently. We must listen for it, discern it carefully, be open to it (even if it’s uncomfortable), and then act on it. One thing is certain, whenever and wherever we hear God’s voice we must not harden our hearts.

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection - March 16, 2025

In the story of the Transfiguration, Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain to see Him with Moses and Elijah as the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. His face shone like the sun and his clothes were dazzling white. We read this Gospel during Lent because it reminds us that the fasting and repenting of Lent are meant to lead us to the glory of the Lord at Easter. On this mountain, Jesus was temporarily transformed into His glorious presence. Then, the apostles heard God’s booming voice telling them, “This is my chosen Son, listen to Him.”

Just as God spoke to the apostles on the mountain, He speaks to us here today. His words clearly instruct both the apostles and us to listen to Jesus. If we really listen, we will be transformed by His words and by His presence. After being transformed, we invite Jesus to be with us in our hearts. Just as the disciples were accompanied by Jesus when they returned to their daily lives, so Jesus also accompanies us when we receive Him in the Eucharist. Then, as we leave church and “come down the mountain,” He accompanies us as we face the harsh reality of the world around us.

Although the apostles were walking with Jesus every day, they may have grown too comfortable with His presence, maybe even taken Him for granted. Perhaps, they were too comfortable seeing and hearing Him teach or, more likely, they were not really listening to His message. The Transfiguration strengthened their faith so that they would be better able to endure the confusion and grief they were about to experience at the crucifixion.

The Transfiguration wakes up the apostles and reminds them that it is an amazing privilege to accompany Jesus each day. Like the apostles, we know that Jesus is always in our midst. Yet, many of us also take His presence for granted. Like the apostles, maybe we need to see God’s glory or to hear God’s booming voice to remind us of who Jesus is and what he has done for us so that we wake up and listen to Jesus. If we truly appreciate this great gift, we will leave each Mass amazed, energized, and transformed by our experience.

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection - March 9, 2025

Lent is a period of forty days. During the Great Flood, heavy rain poured down on the earth for forty days. After Jesus was baptized by John, the Spirit led Him into the desert for forty days.

The forty days of the flood allowed Noah to prepare for the new world that would await him. The forty days of fasting and temptation by Satan in the desert allowed Jesus to prepare for the ministry that he was about to undertake. The forty days of Lent allow us to prepare for the great feast of Easter. We cannot properly approach Easter and joyfully share in the great mystery of Christ’s resurrection unless we prepare. We do this in two ways – we recognize our sinfulness and we take steps to overcome that sinfulness.

Before the flood, God looked over the earth and saw a lot of sinfulness. If we are honest with ourselves, we would also see a lot of sinfulness if we look carefully at how we live our lives. A good examination of conscience helps us to identify sinful behaviors.

When we identify sin, we can confront it and try to overcome it. We don’t overcome anything by running away from it. We have to recognize our demons and then face them. That is what Jesus did in the desert. He faced the devil. By facing our demons, like Jesus did in the desert, we can conquer them.

One way to conquer our demons is to introduce good behaviors into our lives. During Lent, we have the chance to become better people by praying more, doing more for those who are less fortunate, focusing on others instead of ourselves. Our Lenten Outreach program gives us the ability to financially support important charitable causes. Alternatively, entire families can come together to perform good works in support of those in need.

We also pray the “Way of the Cross” during Lent. This is also called “Stations of the Cross.” If you look on the back wall of the church, you will see fourteen images of end of Jesus. We focus on these images to prepare for Easter by reminding ourselves of His great sacrifice. Join us each Friday as we pray the Stations and then have a light dinner of soup.

I wish you all a blessed time of Lenten preparation.