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

This week’s Gospel is a continuation of “The Sermon on the Plain” in which Jesus lays out many of His expectations about how we should act toward one another. It is more detailed version of “Love one another.” He apparently does not trust his followers (or us) to understand what “Love one another” actually looks like in real life, so he gives some very clear examples.

Jesus immediately gets our attention by telling us to love our enemies and pray for those who mistreat us. That is not exactly what most of us have in mind. It is even more troubling when we realize that He is just getting started. The teachings that follow challenge us to act exactly contrary to how we might instinctively act and He is not just talking about being more courteous to one another in the parking lot after mass (although that would be nice). Jesus makes it very clear that He is a disruptive force; that the same old ideas and actions are not good enough; and, that we need to listen carefully and make some serious adjustments to the way that we think, speak, and act.

Considering that the Jews were hoping that their Messiah was going to free them from Roman oppression, this was not a welcome message at all. I’m guessing that most of them felt angry and betrayed. Yet, if we fail to take His message seriously, we are missing one of the three essential Catholic beliefs about Jesus: He rose from the dead; He is really present in the Eucharist; and, He expects us to love one another. None of these is easy to accept. In fact, His message of love is completely counter-cultural. Yet, He never waivers from His very clear instructions.

What exactly does that mean for all of us? Our Lord’s message today is nearly impossible to follow. Does that mean we should ignore it totally and just go about our lives like everyone else? Perhaps a better approach would be to work harder every single day to aspire to be the kind of man or woman that Jesus describes. We give glory to God in our striving to follow His teaching. Of course, we will fail often, but if we try relentlessly, we will ultimately succeed when we are called to eternal life.

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

This weekend our readings focus on being “blessed:”

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD.

Blessed the man who…delights in the law of the LORD.

Blessed are you when people hate you…on account of the Son of Man.

Clearly, trusting, hoping, and delighting in the Lord are the paths to being blessed. On the surface, that sounds pretty easy. However, while hoping in the Lord may be easy, truly trusting in the Lord is not. Even harder is being hated because of our love for the Lord. After the Superbowl, players who thanked God were criticized by those who oppose Christianity. Can’t we “delight” in the Lord without being hated?

Others say that we are not “blessed” just “lucky.” I admit that, before I became a priest, I would say how “lucky” I was: “I am so lucky to have a great wife and son,” or “I am so lucky that my career is going so well.” Now that I am a priest, I talk about how “blessed” I am, how blessed my son and daughter-in-law are, how blessed St. Ed’s is, etc. Many people see blessing as the religious version of luck, but the two concepts have nothing in common. Luck is something that randomly happens to one and not to another. Blessings are the direct result of our decisions and actions.

Here is the Google AI response to the difference between being blessed and being lucky:

"Blessed" is often used to describe a state of happiness or good fortune that comes from divine intervention, while "lucky" is used to describe a state of happiness or good fortune that comes from chance.

Bobby Schuller, grandson of the great Dr. Robert Schuller, says it this way:

Friend, you are not just lucky…you have inherited blessings too numerous to count. When you wake up each day, you have good fortune — not because of luck — but because of who your Lord is…When you approach each day with your confidence securely grounded in your Savior, good things will abound in your life!

Finally, James 1:17 beautifully explains the concept of being blessed: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” We must thank God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us!

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

“Oh Lord, I am not worthy!”

At every mass, before we receive Communion, we recognize our unworthiness. This is a common theme throughout scripture. In the first reading, Isaiah says, “Woe is me; I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips…” In the second reading, Paul refers to himself as “one born abnormally.” He believed that he was unworthy for Christ to appear to him and to call him to represent Him. Finally, in the Gospel, Simon tells Jesus, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

Certainly, on our own, we could never be worthy to encounter God, to be loved by God, or even to serve God. Yet, we are all called to do just that. The Lord cleanses the lips of Isaiah so that he is able to say, “Here I am…send me!” Jesus accepts and strengthens Simon saying, “Do not be afraid…from now on you will be catching men.”

In each case, the proper starting position is one of humility. A position that acknowledges that we are unworthy and that no amount of earthly success can change our human condition. The answer is not found in ourselves, but, rather, in the Lord. In our humility, we call upon the Lord and He answers our call, but we do not dictate the terms or the conditions of how or when He answers us. Yet, he gives us the strength to say, “Here I am…send me” and the courage to surrender like Simon, James and John, leaving our version of our lives behind and following the life that Jesus gives to us. Jesus promises to make the first disciples, “fishers of men.” They likely had no idea what that meant, yet, in their humility, they were drawn to Jesus and were open to the idea of following Him. They recognized something special about Jesus and were willing to give up EVERYTHING to follow Him.

We also must respond willingly to God’s call and do His bidding whenever and wherever it leads us. Often, this can be inconvenient or difficult or downright contrary to our own plans, expectations, desires and goals. On the other hand, if we “drop our nets,” follow Jesus enthusiastically, and allow Him to teach us His ways, we will be worthy to be on His path toward a goal that is eternal.