Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, May 10, 2026

Happy Mother’s Day!  

May is the month when we celebrate both our earthly mothers and our Heavenly Mother.  In fact, May is known as “Mary’s Month.”  At our school each May, we have a beautiful May crowning ceremony for our statue of Mary.  We recognize Mary as the Mother of God as well as our own Blessed Mother.  We revere her as the Queen of Heaven! 

There is a scene in the movie The Passion of The Christ where Jesus is carrying the cross and Mary sees Him fall with the cross landing on top of Him.  The scene flashes back to Jesus as a toddler running. Mary sees Him trip and fall.  She drops what she is holding and frantically runs to Him, scoops Him up in her arms, and says, “I’m here.” We then see Mary is pushing her way through the crowd to get to Jesus laying under the cross. She reaches Him and says, “I’m here,” but this time it is Jesus who consoles Mary.  He says to her, “See Mother! I make all things new.” 

Our mothers know us better than we know ourselves.  They would never let us go astray and always hope that we will hear their voice. Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”  Often, we show our love for our mothers through our actions – by listening to them and following their instructions.  By respecting our mothers, we show our love for them.  How can we tell our mothers that we love them and then reject or disobey everything that they tell us? 

All of us have reached an age or will reach an age where, like Jesus, we will have to take the wisdom imparted upon us by our mothers and go out into the world to fulfill our purpose, our mission. Jesus knew His mission and persevered.  Hopefully, we all eventually learn our purpose and accept it, even if - especially if - that purpose means carrying a cross.  

Jesus remembered His Mother from the cross when He told John and us that she was now his Mother and ours. As we celebrate Mother’s Day, let’s all say one Hail Mary and ask our Blessed Mother to help us to be the best sons and daughters to our mothers. 

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, May 3, 2026

Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the Way.”  This means that He is the way to God; not one of many ways, but the one and only way.  In fact, in the early Church, followers of Christ were called followers of “The Way.”  We believe that we are saved through Him, as we read in Acts 4:12: “there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Jesus is also the Truth.  Bishop Robert Barron explains it this way, “Whatever elements of truth there are to be found in various religions, these partial elements participate in the fullness of truth found in Jesus, [T]hrough Christ, we…become participants in God’s own life.” The Truth of the Father is revealed in His Son. 

Thomas wanted to know where Christ was going and how he could get there.  Christ answers both these questions with two simple words “I am.”  The apostles simply had to trust and follow Jesus. Through our own efforts, without Jesus, we cannot discover the way, the truth or the life.  Beginning with Baptism, and continuing through Reconciliation, the Eucharist, and Confirmation, our relationship with Jesus provides both the way to reach our destination as well as the destination itself.  These sacraments, which are given to us by Jesus, are the way to eternal life. 

Christ is not merely showing us the way through His words and example as if he were a prophet. He is the way of salvation itself by his obedience and sacrifice.  He is the way to His Father because His Father appointed him to that role.  He is the way to all the blessings of the covenant of grace given to us by the Father.  He is the way to heaven which He has opened for us by his own blood.

Jesus didn’t say that He would show us a way; He said that He is the Way. He didn’t promise to teach us a truth; He said that He is the Truth. Jesus didn’t offer us the secrets to life; He said that He is the Life. 

Jesus is the answer to the trials of this life:

· When we are lost, Jesus is the way.

· When we are confused, Jesus is the truth.

· When we are hopeless, Jesus is the life.

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, April 26, 2026

In this weekend’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Peter says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you…you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…For the promise is made to you and to your children.”  Three thousand men, women, and children were added to the Church that day.  By way of comparison, since I arrived here at St. Edward the Confessor, about 300 persons have been Baptized.  Don’t get me wrong, adding 300 people to the Church is impressive, but it is not close to adding 3,000 in a single day.  How did Peter do this?  I think that he touched their hearts by emphasizing several important relationships that exist within the Church.

1.     Evangelization: Peter preached the Good News of Jesus Christ.  He drew the people into a personal relationship with Jesus by telling them stories about His life, death, and resurrection.  He wanted people to know Jesus!

2.     Education: Peter taught the people that their own scriptures foretold of Jesus.  He wanted them to a better relationship with those scripture passages so that they could fully embrace Jesus as the one who the prophets foretold.

3.     Fellowship: Peter emphasized that his relationship with Jesus was based on love and invited them into that same kind of relationship with Jesus and with all those who were called on that day to be members of the Church which would become the Body of Christ.

4.     Worship: Peter invited the people to be in relationship with God through communal worship.  As members of the Church, people felt a more intimate connection to God when they worshiped together.

5.     Service: Peter inspired the people to serve one another and even to serve those in need who were not members of the Church.  Jesus expected His followers to be in relationship with friends, strangers, and even enemies.  The tougher the relationship, the more we depend on the light of Christ to navigate and nurture that relationship.

Peter was not just preaching, he was testifying.  Through his witness to Jesus, he was able to persuade the people to change their lives and to recognize the importance of these relationships.  His preaching was based on the love of Jesus, not information about Jesus. The people joined the Church because they felt an emotional connection, more than an intellectual connection.  It’s about relationships!

Fr. Mike