Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection - February 2, 2025

When my son was young, he loved to fish. He could stand on the dock for hours waiting for a bite. It took extreme patience for a 7-year-old to stay still, hoping to get the big one. I’m glad that he got patience from Rosemary, because he certainly did not get it from me.

Yet, even those of us who are generally impatient can be patient when we are helping our young son or grandson learn a new skill or when we are working on a craft project. Sometimes we forced to be patient because time has to pass for a problem to be solved. Other times, we must be patient because a situation is not within our control.

Simeon has devoted his life to “looking for the consolation of Israel.” He has been patiently waiting because the situation was not within his control. He also had to be diligent, always keeping a close eye on activity at the temple to be present for the moment promised to by the Holy Spirit. Day after day, over many years, he has continuously prayed, hoped, and suffered disappointment. BUT THIS DAY IS DIFFERENT. This day he finally encounters Jesus! God has fulfilled his promise and has rewarded Simeon’s waiting. Simeon not only thanks God for allowing him to finally see salvation, he also tells God that he is ready to “go in peace.”

Simeon’s prayer defines his life: he has lived for this moment. Simeon trusted in the Lord and kept faith while pursuing his mission. Now, his work is done. As best we can tell, Simeon did nothing else in his life EXCEPT to wait to see the Lord. Yet, his life has been worthwhile. When he did that, he was content. Simeon doesn’t react with regret or fear of the end of his life; instead, he praises God and humbly submits his life to the Lord.

Simeon put aside distractions and focused solely on seeing the Lord. If we allow our lives to be filled with distractions, we will not see the Lord even when He is right in front of us. While we may not be able to devote ourselves totally to prayer and waiting, we can always be searching for Jesus, recognizing Him when we see Him, and serving Him when we recognize Him.

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection - January 26, 2025

In this weekend’s passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul continues to remind us that we must be united in Christ despite our differences. Last week, he wrote about the different gifts that we have all received. This week, he uses the analogy of the body to describe the Church. He reminds the Corinthians, that they “are Christ's body, and individually parts of it.” He explains that, just as the body has and needs many diverse parts, the Church also relies on its diverse membership to carry on the work of Jesus.

This weekend, I will be speaking at all the masses about our 2025 Pastoral Services Appeal (“PSA”). It is a time when I ask our diverse congregation to rally in support of this particular cause as one united body. I will be sending all parishioners a letter with more details regarding PSA. I just wanted to highlight a few things at this time.

The PSA is an annual appeal led by Bishop Vann to fund critical aspects of Diocesan work such as Catholic Education, Catholic Charities of Orange County, Vocations and Seminarian Formation, the Permanent Diaconate Formation, and Priest Retirement. Each year, after reviewing the financial condition of each parish, the Bishop asks each parish to raise a specific amount for the PSA as part of its fair share in supporting the Diocese. Our goal for 2025 has yet to be announced but has been $242,000 for a couple years. Every dollar that we raise above that goal will come back to us to be used within our parish at my discretion with the advice of our parish leadership. As a result, the PSA will have both a local and global impact.

Last year, we exceeded our goal by $100,000. This year, I am hoping and praying that we can do even better. As you will see in more detail in my PSA letter, we have plans for every dollar of the surplus that we receive back from the Diocese. Among the projects that we hope to fund through PSA are improved lighting for the front of the church and plaza area, creation of an Adoration Chapel, improvements to our outdoor meditation and statue area, improvements to our child-friendly worship space, additional classroom space at the school, and ongoing improvements to our athletic field. May God bless you as you consider your PSA contribution.

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection - January 19, 2025

On every sports team, the players are assigned roles based upon their individual talents as well as upon the needs of the team. For example, in football each team has eleven players on the field for each play. Each of those players has a specific job to perform during each play. If every player executes his job well, the team is likely to succeed. If not, it will likely fail. Some positions tend to garner a lot of attention; others are rarely noticed. Nonetheless, no team would prefer to play with only the five or six “stars” and leave the other players on the sidelines. Each of the eleven players is essential to the smooth operation of each play.

When Jesus formed His team, He surrounded Himself with twelve very average men. From our human perspective, we might even think that they had no obvious skills or talents that would enable them to even contribute to the formation of a church, much less to lead that effort. Yet, Jesus saw things differently. He chose each apostle carefully to fit a particular need. He used both talents and flaws to form a strong and successful team.

In his letter this week, St. Paul tries to explain this concept to the Corinthians. First, he wants the Corinthians (and us) to know that every Christian is essential to the success of Christianity as a whole. That’s why the Holy Spirit has bestowed upon each of us one or more very specific, but often very different, gifts which we need to use in the service of our Lord and His Church (our fellow teammates). Whether we are great speakers, compassionate consolers, passionate givers, or those devoted to prayer, we are essential to the success of our Church.

As we contemplate the gifts that the Spirit has bestowed upon us, we must be careful not to worry about who might have other “better” talents or whether we are recognized or rewarded for sharing our talents. We shouldn’t quit and go somewhere else or stop worshipping entirely because we are disenchanted with our talents. When we are down, the members of our team are called to use their talents to help us. Similarly, we are called to use our Spirit-given talents to the fullest extent of our abilities for the benefit of the team.