Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, June 14, 2026

Last Monday, I flew to New York to visit my 94-year-old dad in the hospital.  I feared that his illness would not end well.  However, as he grew increasingly restless in the hospital, he became more determined to spend his final days here with his son, grandson, and great grandson. He willed himself out of the hospital and on to a plane. I truly admire his determination! In today’s Gospel, Jesus is speaking about needing that same kind of relentless determination to recruit enough “laborers” to get His Word to the “lost sheep” of Israel.  He cannot rest, and cannot allow his disciples to rest, until there are more laborers tending to the sheep.

While I was in New York, I ran the streets of Staten Island where I grew up and noticed the large number of Catholic Churches. As Staten Island grew during the early and middle parts of the 20^th Century, each neighborhood, and each ethnic group within that neighborhood, had its own Catholic church, school, and a minimum of three priests. While the population of Staten Island has doubled, there are now fewer parishes and substantially fewer priests. In fact, the entire Archdiocese of New York ordained only two priests this year.  The harvest is indeed “abundant,” but, unfortunately, the laborers are few. Here in the Diocese of Orange, the story is much brighter, but the need for laborers remains significant.  We must never cease asking the master of the harvest to send more laborers.

When Jesus instructs us to “ask,” He means that we should pray.  Prayer is His answer to the problem of a great harvest and few laborers. We must remember only God can give the increase. We can do all the planting and watering we want but God is the one who provides the growth. Prayer is a critically important step. Prayer is the first way that we participate in evangelism in our church.

The other critical step is to go.  He sends His disciples to the lost sheep to tend to their needs.  The are transformed from followers to leaders, from spectators to participants.  When we pray for an increase in laborers, we must also consider that Jesus may be calling us, or those we love, to be laborers in the harvest as priests or religious sisters or brothers. 

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, June 7, 2026

The Feast of Corpus Christi celebrates the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This doctrine is derived from the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and several of Paul’s letters. In the 13th Century, a German priest, who doubted the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist, experienced a Eucharistic Miracle in which drops of blood dripped from the body of Christ immediately after the consecration. Pope Urban IV established this feast to commemorate that miracle and to reinforce belief in the real presence.

We believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist because of His words and deeds. Whether He says, “I am the bread of life” or distributes bread saying, “this is my body,” He is clear that He is truly present in the bread. From His words at the Last Supper, to the work of the apostles, to the sacrifice of martyrs, to the teaching of the early Church Fathers (and continuing for nearly twenty centuries), our belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist has never been diminished or changed in any way. Given this reality, our attitude of faith must also be an attitude of deep reverence for this long held truth.

People attempt to show reverence for the Eucharist in a variety of superficial ways: kneeling instead of standing, receiving on their tongues instead of in their hands, receiving from the priest instead of the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. However, as the Lord often reminded the Pharisees, superficial reverence means very little to our Lord. Deep reverence cannot be seen, it is in one’s heart.

Unfortunately, while many people admit that they are sinners, they tend to minimize the severity of their sins, rarely go to Confession, but still receive the Eucharist. We cannot reverently receive the Eucharist if we angrily take the Lord’s name in vain while driving to mass or if we gossip outside the church before mass. We manifest a deeply reverent attitude toward the Eucharist by being in a state of grace when we receive it. That means being fully reconciled with God through Confession and/or contrition. We cannot reverently receive the Eucharist if we are guilty of mortal sin and have not been absolved of that sin or if we are guilty of venial sin and have not made a sincere act of contrition.

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, May 31, 2026

Today is Holy Trinity Sunday. When we studied the Trinity in seminary, our instructor said that the Father could not be the Father without the Son and the Son could not be the Son without the Father. He described the Spirit as the love between the Father and the Son. He then reminded us that the Father was not the Son, the Son was not the Father, and neither the Father nor the Son was the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is all about the loving relationships between the three distinct persons in our one God.

In our Sacred Heart Adoration Chapel, there are a series of icons on the back wall that depict major events in salvation history. The icon farthest to the left is based on a 15th-century painting by Andrei Rublev. Widely considered the most famous Russian icon, it depicts the biblical story from Genesis in which three men visited Abraham and Sarah. Often, the men are seen as angels, but Rublev interpreted the men as the three persons of the Holy Trinity. The three identical angels represent the Father (left), the Son (center), and the Holy Spirit (right). They sit in a circular arrangement, symbolizing eternity and equality. The visit of the Holy Trinity is the first event in salvation history because it reveals, for the first time, the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in relationship with God the Father.

Relationships build on each other. Being a good son helps a man to be a good husband. Being a good husband helps a man to be a good father. My loving relationships with Rosemary and John taught me to be a better man, shaped me in a particular way, and enriched my priesthood. Without the influence of those relationships, there would have been no reason for God to call me to the priesthood. Nearly 30 years with Rosemary and more than 30 years with John, have provided the Holy Spirit with an excellent foundation upon which to build, shape, and refine my priesthood.

In our families, our careers, and our faith journeys, relationships are everything. Our Church is built on the loving relationship of the Holy Trinity and upon all of the relationships that enable us to hear and follow the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Fr. Mike