Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, October 19, 2025

We teach our children to pursue their goals even if they initially fail to achieve them. We place high value on those who overcome adversity and failure. When someone diligently works toward a goal that he or she does not achieve, we applaud their effort and praise their persistence. We are markedly less impressed by those who give up easily. This week, we hear about the value of being persistent in life and in prayer.

In the first reading, Israel ultimately wins the battle because Moses refuses to give up on his people. He was exhausted and needed help, but he did not give up. Instead, he asked Aaron and Hur to help him to hold up his arms. Doing something great for others often takes both commitment and the humility to seek help from others when we are tempted to quit. Our most important relationships involve persistently supporting others and being supported by them.

Paul tells Timothy to be faithful and to be persistent “whether it is convenient or inconvenient.” This is the same message that Jesus gives us in the Gospel as He tells a parable about the woman who repeatedly approaches the judge and asks for justice even though he has no intention of helping her. She had no prospects of a job, or money, or someone to look after her so she refuses to give up. He could have simply thrown her in jail for being annoying. She was willing to take that risk. On the surface, her cause appeared hopeless because the judge cared about no one but himself and she had absolutely no status. However, each day she re-committed herself to her cause of justice and she ultimately forced the judge to care about her. Jesus praises the widow for being relentlessly persistent.

Jesus told this parable because He knows we are prone to give up on prayer even though God expects us to keep on asking, seeking, knocking, and praying until He responds. We must learn that the Lord will answer our prayers when, where, and how He chooses. Effective prayers are solidly rooted in absolute trust and faith in God. We pray for God’s will to be done. When we feel that God is not responding to our prayers as we would like, we must remember that effective prayer also requires persistence.

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, October 12, 2025

The Gospel passage for this weekend recounts the Lord’s healing of ten lepers. Leprosy frightened people in ancient times, just as contagious and mysterious diseases frighten people today. Throughout human history, there have been many instances when large populations were overwhelmed by contagious diseases. Most recently, we faced the devastating impact of COVID. Many people were so afraid to potentially associate with those who had COVID, that they refused to associate with anyone. The “healthy” people feared catching the disease from those who were infected. As a result, the infected were forced to isolate themselves.

In ancient times, lepers were greatly feared and ostracized because leprosy was thought to be both highly contagious and uncurable. Yet, Jesus not only notices and loves the lepers, but he engaged with them and cured them. He broke through the fear and isolation of lepers. He welcomed them the same way that he welcomed Jews, Samaritans, tax collectors, sinners, and saints. One clear message for this weekend is that we must not treat people as invisible because of their disease, or how they look, or who they are, or where they come from.

There is also a message that hits closer to home, right here, in Dana Point, in our very parish. I recently attended the first meeting of our “Welcome Ministry.” I explained that, here at St. Edward and San Felipe, we will be known for our intentional, radical hospitality, to EVERYONE. All should truly feel welcome here. No one worshiping with us should feel invisible.

Making people feel welcome is the goal of our Welcome Ministers. I encourage them to use every possible method to make this a reality. From greeting people in the parking lot, helping people (and walkers, wheelchairs, strollers, etc.) out of cars, and accompanying them as they enter the church. We will not only make room for people in the pews, we will greet them warmly. The ministers will introduce themselves to everyone – folks that have been here 30 years and folks that have been here 30 seconds. If this sounds like fun, please join us as we build our team.

As we encounter both new and old friends at worship, let’s do everything that we can to enrich that worship experience by engaging with our fellow worshippers in a warm and friendly way!

Fr. Mike

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