Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, October 5, 2025

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

The above phrase is from this weekend’s Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 95). The same language is also found in Hebrews 3:15. The instruction serves as a warning and an encouragement to be receptive to God's word today rather than becoming stubborn or rebellious. It emphasizes that God's invitation to a relationship with Him requires an immediate and willing response. We are warned that, when we harden our hearts, we resist God’s guidance and will face consequences, just as the Israelites in the desert faced consequences for failing to trust God.

Before praying the Office of Readings each day, I recite Psalm 95 which is called the “Invitatory” Psalm reminding me not to harden my heart when I hear the “voice of the Lord.” After repeating this Psalm over 4,000 times since I started seminary formation, I should know how to approach God with a receptive heart. Yet, each day I struggle to fully open my heart to not only hear God’s voice, but to listen to it, to receive it, to accept it, and to act upon it. Hearing is only the first step. Our hearts might be softened enough to hear God’s voice, but they harden pretty quickly when His message directs us to act in a way that conflicts with our own thoughts, dreams, desires, and plans.

How do we know that we are actually hearing God’s voice? After all, it is unlikely to come to us through a burning bush as it did for Moses, or through a cloud on a mountain as it did at the Transfiguration. Admittedly, it can be difficult to hear God’s voice through all the noise and distractions of life. It reminds me of my mother yelling from the front of the house to tell my father something while he was watching a way-too-loud TV in the back of the house. It didn’t work. We are so overwhelmed with the voices of this world that we fail to set aside any quiet time to listen for God’s voice.

A great way to ensure that we hear God’s voice is to take a few moments of silence to clear our minds of the daily grind and to seek Him. Then, we must follow through on what we hear Him saying.

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, September 28, 2025

The prophet Amos writes: “Woe to the complacent in Zion” where the people were living the good life without concern for anyone except themselves and having no relationship with God. Paul reminds Timothy to pursue righteousness and faith and keep the commandments so that he can “lay hold” of eternal life. To “lay hold” of eternal life means to take proper steps to actively pursue and obtain it. There is nothing complacent about “laying hold” of a relationship with God or doing everything possible to achieve eternal life.

In the Gospel, the rich man was complacent about his situation. He saw Lazarus every day in front of his home. Yet, he never did anything to care for him. Lazarus receives his eternal reward, the rich man does not. His wealth did not cause his demise. It was caused by his complacency and selfishness. When he pleads for mercy, Abraham tells him that it is too late.

But how can it be too late? After all, Jesus “welcomes sinners and eats with them.” He doesn’t dwell on our past, but on our future. Eternal life is available to anyone who overcomes his complacency and seeks to follow God’s commandments. However, we must actively change our lives and become the people that Jesus inspires us to be.

The good news is that being prepared for eternal life is actually quite easy. It’s like taking a test that has one question and a single five-word answer: Q: What do we need to do to gain eternal life? A: Love God, Love one another. That’s it. We know the question and the answer. We simply have to do those two things. However, like the rich man, we can let our complacency prevent us from living the answer.

God has given us all that we have and all that we are. Our success, wealth, and health are all gifts from God. If we serve God and use our gifts for God’s purposes, we will enjoy the blessings of eternal life with God. The story of Lazarus reminds us that our relationships matter. A solid relationship with God will guide us toward right relationships with one another. That means that, unlike the rich man in the parable, we will do the right things in this life so that we can enjoy eternal life with God.

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, September 21, 2025

In this week’s Gospel, Jesus is quite clear that we “cannot serve both God and mammon (wealth).” He does NOT say that we cannot love God and have wealth. They can certainly co-exist, but we will fail if we not try to serve them equally.

To illustrate His point, Jesus tells the story of the dishonest (or perhaps simply incompetent) steward who has been “mismanaging” the owner’s affairs and is losing his job as a result. Initially, the steward is accused of “squandering” the master’s property, not stealing it. When his incompetence leads to losing his job, the steward decides to lie to and steal from his master. The lying occurs when he signs fraudulent promissory notes supporting reduced amounts payable to the master. The stealing occurs when the debtors follow the advice of the steward and cheat the master out of what they properly owe to him. Interestingly, when the master discovers the scheme, the master commends him! What point could Jesus possibly be making?

The master recognizes that the while the steward is certainly dishonest, he is also clever. The master appreciates his cleverness. The parable illustrates that this world is a free-for-all when it comes to business ethics. Both the master and the steward are “children of this world” who are experts at double-dealing each other. Because there is “honor among thieves,” the master had to recognize a clever strategy when he saw one. If the dishonest “children of this world” can work together for earthly goals, it is vital that “children of light” be “trustworthy” in their pursuit of the heavenly kingdom.

Both the steward and the master are completely absorbed in having or losing temporal wealth. However, as we heard several weeks ago, all things of this world are “vanity” that will go to others when we die. Therefore, they are ultimately unimportant. Jesus is trying to teach His disciples (and all of us) to be as focused on preserving eternal wealth as the steward and master are with regard to earthly wealth. It’s time to set our sights and hearts on the higher gifts.

Are we trustworthy in our desire to serve God and to push aside earthly “masters” or distractions? Are we trustworthy in our desire and our efforts to achieve the “true wealth” of the Kingdom of God?

Fr. Mike