Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, November 1, 2026

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders…and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 

Recently, I traveled to Michigan with Bishop Freyer, Bishop Thanh, and eight priests from our Diocese to attend the “Jesus Conference” with nearly 1,000 other people.  It was quite an experience.  At the very beginning of the conference, they showed a video of a packed stadium and, using some very cool technology, made us feel as if we were surrounded by the roaring crowd.  Fr. John Riccardo, who led the conference, told us that the crowd was the “great cloud of witnesses” that is mentioned the 12th Chapter of the letter to the Hebrews.  Chapter 12 refers to the witnesses who are described in Chapter 11 as well as all of the souls in heaven because of their faith. 

Catholics include all believers as part of one spiritual family (the Communion of Saints) connected across Heaven, Purgatory, and Earth.  The word “saint” comes from the Latin sanctus, which simply means “holy.” While the Church formally “canonizes” certain individuals whose lives inspire us to embrace our faith more deeply, the Church also recognizes that countless everyday people—including family members and friends who passed away in God’s grace—are also saints in heaven. Because everyone in heaven is united with God in a state of complete holiness, they are considered saints.  The point is that, as we run the race of our lives, all of these saints in heaven are the “great cloud of witnesses” cheering us on and urging us to complete the race. 

As Fr. John told us, nobody goes to a college football game to watch the game.  They could watch the game more comfortably at home.  They go to a football game to participate, to give the edge to the home team with their loud cheers, to hopefully alter the outcome by creating the “home field advantage.”  The saints in heaven are not there to merely watch us struggle through this earthly existence.  They are there to participate in our faith journeys; to cheer us on, to support us, to intervene for us.  They truly want us to “win” this race and to join them in the heavenly kingdom. 

Fr. Mike