Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection - October 20, 2024

In the second reading this weekend, Paul explains that we have a “high priest” in Jesus Christ who is able to “sympathize with our weaknesses…” and “who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.” In other words, because our God became man, He understands how difficult it is for us to have faith, to follow the commandments, and to avoid whatever leads us to sin. There is no limit to His compassion.

The word “compassion” is the combination of two Latin words “com” which means together or with and “passio” which means to suffer. After my wife recovered from cancer, she made it her personal mission to speak with anyone who was diagnosed with cancer, who was undergoing treatment for cancer, or who had someone in their family who was battling cancer. She believed that her own battle with cancer gave her a unique perspective on what other cancer patients were facing or feeling. All with whom she spoke appreciated the sincerity and depth of her compassion. Her own battle with cancer gave her the ability to “suffer with” those whom she was trying to support.

Jesus understands us and our human struggles, weaknesses, and failings because He walked among us. Throughout the Gospels we see the depth of His compassion each time he encounters someone in need. Whether he is forgiving sinners, speaking with taxpayers, Gentiles, or Roman soldiers, exorcising demons, or healing those suffering from physical disabilities like leprosy, blindness, deafness, or lameness, He gives His complete attention to each afflicted person whom He encounters. In His compassion, He turns no one away.

Jesus carried a heavy burden of knowing that He would face a cruel death. Some of us carry that same burden when we receive a diagnosis of a terminal illness. But even those of us who are healthy are burdened by concerns that our beliefs, thoughts, words, and actions may be leading us further away from God rather than closer to Him. We forget that Jesus, who is both our high priest and a human being, understands our struggles and extends to us His infinite love, mercy and forgiveness. If we turn to Him in our struggles, He is there for us. If we seek His help, He helps us. If we suffer, He suffers with us.

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection - October 13, 2024

Our psalm response this week is, “Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!” It perfectly describes the amazing StEdFest event that we had this past Saturday. The love of our parish filled our celebration and I am so pleased to joyfully thank God that our event was a tremendous success!

Planning for StEdFest began long before I arrived here. Our dedicated planning team worked diligently to ensure that every detail was considered, every potential problem was anticipated, and every opportunity to bring joy to our parish was seized. Upon my arrival, as I pelted them with questions and ideas, they did an outstanding job fending off my barrage and staying on track! I sincerely thank them for their hard work.

The event would not have been nearly as successful without our very generous sponsors who donated about $50,000 to support the event. Those funds enabled us to reduce food prices, have great musical entertainment, and give the children many game tickets. Our sponsors helped us to afford such a large event while also keeping ticket prices very low.

It is impossible to host such a large event without a huge number of volunteers. From folks at the welcome tables, to those cooking and serving food, to those managing the game booths, to the clean-up crew, our team was absolutely devoted to ensuring that folks were having a great time. I especially want to thank numerous employees from both the church and the school who helped our guests to have the best possible experience.

Finally, THANK YOU to all chose to spend your Saturday at StEdFest! The atmosphere was especially joy-filled thanks to the large number of small children in attendance trying their skills at the games, eating pizza and hot dogs, and just having fun spending time with each other. I even got dragged out onto the dance floor for a brief and humiliating attempt at dancing.

A parish is only as strong as the relationships that exist within it. First among these is our relationship with God, followed by our relationships within our own families. Finally, our parish is driven by our relationships with one another. We saw those beautiful relationships fully on display at StEdFest. It truly made me want to “sing for joy.” God bless you!

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection - October 6, 2024

This week the first reading and the Gospel focus on marriage.  As many of you know, my wife, Rosemary, passed away unexpectedly in 2012.  We were married for 27 years.  I was Italian, from New York.  She was English and Irish, from Michigan.  I was the son of a fireman.  She was the daughter of a business executive.  On paper, our relationship had little chance of succeeding, yet, it did succeed.  However, even successful marriages have disagreements from time to time, but we did not allow those disagreements to define our relationship.  Our sacred covenant was much more important to us than the day-to-day issues over which we sometimes disagreed.  Interestingly, when we were first married, we even disagreed about how to resolve disagreements.

Where I came from, arguments quickly escalated into very loud exchanges and then quickly de-escalated.  In Rosemary’s family, disagreements often led to silence.  They would somehow be resolved after not talking for a day or two.  We each had to put our past aside so that we could agree on a strategy for resolving most disputes with civil conversation. Our marriage succeeded because we learned to communicate with each other “in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health…”  We passionately talked through problems that, in retrospect, seem insignificant, as well as the dreaded diagnosis of cancer.  Of course, we also had thousands of joy-filled conversations about John as he grew.

Today, sacramental marriage seems to be regarded as a quaint novelty.  Most couples, even Catholic couples, opt for secular weddings on the beach or at a fancy venue.  They disregard the idea that God established marriage as a sacred bond.  They laugh at the statement, “What God has joined together, no human being must separate.”  The past 12 years of being a widower, studying to be a priest, and counseling couples, have given me a more informed perspective on marriage.  There is no doubt that I could have been a far better husband – more patient, less critical, more generous, and less controlling.  I urge those of you who are married to appreciate what you have, keep things in perspective, always keep communicating, and never forget that your love for one another should be at the core of everything that you say and do.  May God bless the sacred bond of marriage.