Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, June 29, 2025

I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation…I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.

What does it take to be fully committed to something, to succeed at the highest level? When my son was young, he wanted to be a professional baseball player. Yet, he also wanted to play football, spend time with his friends, watch TV, and do many other things in his young life. He was committed to baseball, but he also had a few other interests which prevented him from being “all in.” On the other hand, when Paul says that he “competed well,” he means that he gave every ounce of his being to Christ. He has been “poured out” and there is not a drop left. He held nothing back. When he says that he “finished the race,” he means that he literally collapsed at the end because he had nothing more to give. Throughout it all, he never gave up – he “kept the faith.” What about our relationship with Jesus Christ? As someone once asked, “If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Jesus is very clear about the ideals of discipleship: Love your neighbor and your enemy; welcome the stranger; visit the sick and imprisoned; help the hungry and thirsty; clothe the naked; and, forgive. That’s what it takes to be fully committed to Jesus. Most of us probably agree in principle with those ideals. But it’s much harder to follow Jesus in real life than in principle. Love, hospitality, and forgiveness, are great until we actually meet a stranger or are hurt by someone. Then it’s a different story. That’s when we are likely to say, “Yes, I know how He wants me to act, but I can’t follow Him in this situation.”

We all want to run the race for Jesus, with Jesus, and to Jesus. Yet, sometimes we face moments when it’s easier to take a break, do something else, stop training and racing. We may want to “save something” of ourselves just in cast this “Jesus thing” doesn’t work out. Those are the moments when we have to dig deeply, eliminate distractions, and remind ourselves that the pain and distractions are temporary. We are committed to winning the crown that is eternal.

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for Pentecost - Sunday, June 22, 2025

In 1944, Catholic theologian Henri de Lubac famously said, “The Eucharist makes the Church!” While that may have been clear during the first 1,000 years of the Church, many Catholics seem to have forgotten that premise. Yet, the Eucharist has been and continues to be essential to who we are as Catholics. If you ask me why I became a priest or even why I remained a practicing Catholic given all of the problems that the Church has faced, I would say: “I’m a Catholic priest because the Eucharist makes the Church.” It’s not made of the mistakes and sins of the leaders, or the clergy, or the faithful. NO, the Eucharist makes the Church.

This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi or the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ! This feast celebrates the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It asserts that, in the Holy Eucharist, Jesus is literally and wholly present—body and blood, soul and divinity—under the appearances of bread and wine. On this day, more than any other, we tell the world that Christ really meant the words, “This is my body” and “This is my blood.”

Christ gives us the words that Catholic priests have repeated for nearly 2,000 years to transform simple bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood: “Take and eat, THIS IS MY BODY” and “Take and drink, THIS IS MY BLOOD” and “DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.” Through those words of consecration, bread and wine become the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus. Not a symbol, not a re-creation, not a re-enactment, but the actual body and blood of Jesus.

St. Augustine said that we must, “believe what we see, see what we believe, and become what we are: the Body of Christ.” When we leave this mass, we must be transformed just as the bread and wine are transformed. The Eucharist makes the Church and the Eucharist makes US.

I smile when I distribute the Eucharist because it is a joy to say, “The Body of Christ.” When you joyfully respond with a loud and convincing “AMEN” (“YES!”) you should smile as well. Then, one with Christ, we must all go out and live that AMEN!

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for Pentecost - Sunday, June 15, 2025

Feast of Holy Trinity/Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day! It’s pretty easy for those of us who have fathers to take them for granted. At 93 years old, my dad is still present in my life. My dad was a NYC firefighter for over 30 years. He was also a house painter, worked at a fish market, helped a house builder. He taught me the value of hard work and being happy in each moment. My dad’s father died when my dad was only four years old. So, my dad had to figure out how to be a father even though he didn’t have a father in his life. He did a heck of a job. I’m blessed that he inspired me to be a better father to my son.

It is fitting that we celebrate Father’s Day on the feast of the Holy Trinity when the Church celebrates one God who exists as three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus refers to God as “Father” over 165 times in the Bible. Just in John’s Gospel, Jesus uses the phrase “My Father” 34 times. The Trinity reflects the perfect love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Last week we celebrated the presence the Holy Spirit in our lives to inspire and to motivate us to perform “great deeds.” Jesus emphasizes God as both his Father and our Father. Fathers are often driven by love to perform great deeds for their families. We tend to throw around the word “love” rather casually these days. We “love” pizza or we “love” the Dodgers or the Angels. More than pizza or sports teams, we love our Lord, our spouse, our children, our parents, and our dear friends. Unfortunately, we use the same word “love” for those relationships as we do for teams and snacks.

Yet, even the best of our human love a small and imperfect representation of the infinite and perfect love that God our Father feels for each of us. There is no comparison between our human ability to love and the love that God feels for us. No matter what we say or do, God can never stop loving us and He invites us to experience His love through the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. May we always feel that love!

Fr. Mike