Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, November 16, 2025

Don’t you hate it when people cheat and succeed? Or when a team wins because a referee makes a bad call? Or when a bully takes advantage of another person or of a situation? When these things happen, we are likely to call out, “That’s not fair!” Human beings love a fair process and despise cheaters. Fairness helps us to cooperate with one another. Without cooperation, we would fail. So, when children whine, “That’s not fair,” it’s because our brains are wired to find fairness uplifting and to find self-serving behavior unpleasant.

That’s why many of you will cheer when you hear these words in the First Reading, “The day is coming…when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble” and were even happier to hear that “The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.” Paul reminds us and the Thessalonians that, in a fair process, people who do the same work should get the same reward. He tells the Church that “if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should he eat.” No one likes free loaders. It’s not fair if some people work hard while others don’t do anything.

I’m sure that the Jews who heard Jesus predict the destruction of the Temple thought that life wasn’t fair. They were already under the control of the Romans, now they hear that their Temple will be destroyed. Yet, Jesus wasn’t trying to upset them as much as to encourage them to look beyond the stones of the structure to what really matters. Instead of focusing all of their attention on the temple, they needed to keep things in perspective and to realize that their relationship with him and God the Father was far more important than a building.

Buildings will come and go, our lives here on earth will be a mix of fairness and unfairness, of joy and tragedy. For the most part, we can’t control that and we certainly can’t change the past. But we can control our eternal future by focusing on eternal life with God. We need to focus NOW. It will do us no good to cry, “That’s not fair!” when we are turned away from heaven at the end of our lives. Let’s pray for the grace to move forward together toward an eternity that will be perfectly loving, perfect peaceful, and perfectly fair.

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, November 9, 2025

The Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel

In 1884, Pope Leo XIII, after a vision of demonic forces attacking the Church, ordered that several prayers, including the St. Michael Prayer, be recited at the conclusion of “Low Masses” (Masses without music). In 1965, the Second Vatican Council removed the requirement to recite these prayers at the end of Mass. During COVID, parishes began reciting the St. Michael Prayer at the end of every Mass. More recently, parishes have stopped this practice entirely or recite the prayer only after daily Mass, after the priest has left the altar.

The trajectory of each Mass moves us to the joyful and glorious moment when we receive Jesus into our bodies and souls, allow Jesus to transform us, and enter into our most intimate prayer with Him. The Prayer After Communion reinforces this sacred moment. The Final Blessing and Sending Forth remind us that we must take our transformed selves out into the world to “glorify the Lord with our lives.” At Masses with music, this is followed by an uplifting Recessional song which joyfully sends us forth. In my humble opinion, reciting the St. Michael Prayer at the end of Mass shifts our attention from joyful intimacy with Jesus and inspired mission, toward the “battle” we face and the “wickedness” we will encounter.

The Diocese advised me that the prayer was permitted, but not required, and that each pastor may decide whether the parish recites the prayer after dismissal. After praying and seeking advice, it seems best that we discontinue the practice of the congregation reciting the St. Michael Prayer after the end of Sunday Masses and any other Masses with music. At the conclusion of daily Masses, the congregation may recite the prayer after the priest bows to the altar and proceeds down the aisle.

When Saint Pope John Paul II spoke of the prayer, he said, “Although the prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass, I ask every one not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the forces of darkness and against the spirit of the world.” I agree and encourage us to continue to pray the St. Michael Prayer privately whether after Mass in silence, in private devotion, or when experiencing temptations. St. Michael, defend us!

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, November 2, 2025

This weekend we take time to focus on all who have gone before us. On Saturday, we celebrate All Saints Day, followed by All Souls Day on Sunday.

All Saints Day celebrates all those who are in Heaven. “Sancti” is the Latin word for “holy ones” and is the root word from which we get the word “saints.”  The Catholic Church teaches that all souls in heaven are saints. However, the Church also officially recognizes a smaller group of saints through a formal process called canonization, which involves declaring that specific individuals are not only in heaven, but also are worthy of veneration. These canonized saints are specifically recognized by the Church for their very special contributions here on earth. In any event, the Feast of All Saints is a joyous celebration. During mass, the priest wears white vestments to reflect that joy.

All Souls Day is a memorial for all those souls who were not admitted to Heaven upon their death and are undergoing a period of “purification” in Purgatory. The Church teaches that we should not only pray for those souls, but that our prayers may have the effect of shortening their time in Purgatory. All Souls Day is a more somber feast. The readings and prayers for mass are selected from those that we would select at a Funeral Mass. This is also reflected in the use of purple vestments on this day.

On both days, our prayers are focused upon those who have died. On All Saints Day, we pray to those who have died and who are now in Heaven. The Church teaches that those who are free from all sin at death enter Heaven immediately. This includes (but, of course, is not limited to) all named saints, all those anointed with the Sacrament of the Sick in anticipation of death, and every Baptized child who dies before reaching his or her 7th birthday.

Since we cannot be absolutely certain about the eternal fate of everyone else, we pray for them and entrust them to the mercy of God. Those in Purgatory are assured a place in heaven after their purification. We pray that they may soon be with God in heaven. As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “We live by faith and hope in the God of mercy and love.”

Fr. Mike