St. Michael & St. Peter's Youth Ministry

09/07/2026

Sunday Scripture 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Ezekiel 33:7-9; Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20

These words of St. Paul on love of neighbor are placed squarely between the words of Ezekiel and Jesus which hold us responsible for confronting others about their behavior! One might add to St. Paul's famous words about love in First Corinthians 13 that "Love is tough!" Ask anyone who has participated in an "intervention" with a family member or friend who has become addicted! The sad thing about the necessity of an intervention is that if friends and family had said something earlier, the drama of an intervention would not have been necessary. Is it a matter of saying, "Well, I don't want to hurt his/her feelings?" Or is it a matter of "Oh no! He or she will get mad at me and won't be friends with me anymore," or "Who am I to judge?"
"Fraternal correction" is an obligation of love, but it does require wisdom. Parents learn when to "let it go" and when to make it stop, but this does not happen overnight - rather, only after successes and failures. The same is true in situations of employer/employee or, say, pastor/parishioner. I recall a pastoral situation in which I was visited by a couple of members of one of the choirs at Sunday Mass. These ladies objected to what they considered immodest dress by the director of the choir, who was a much younger woman. After much hemming and hawing, it became clear that they wanted ME to talk to her about her wardrobe. Wisdom came to my rescue and I suggested to the ladies that this was something that would be best handled woman-to-woman. They exclaimed, "Oh no! She'll get mad at us!" I replied, "You're probably right about that, but it's still something best dealt with in the choir itself."
The Gospel According to Matthew today has Jesus offering a very practical but difficult method of "fraternal correction" that honors the obligation to love one's neighbor. I have suggested it any number of times to parishioners of all ages. I often get the same reaction I got from the choir ladies! But Ezekiel and Jesus and Paul (cf. Letter to the Galatians) all remind us that "Love is tough!" AMEN

Word to the Wise: Daily Reflections, Fr. Richard B. ("RB") Williams, O.P.

09/05/2026

Funny Friday

08/31/2026

Sunday Scriptures 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Jeremiah 20:7-9; Psalm 63:2-6, 8-9; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27

Do Something Good

There is a difficult line in today’s gospel. Jesus says, “If you wish to save your life, you will lose it. But if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it.” Now what are we to make of this saying? Are we not supposed to try to save our lives, and how can we find something by losing it? There are many ways than one might try to understand this passage, but here is the one that makes most sense to me. If we try to save our life by turning inward, it will lead us nowhere. But if we lose our life in service to others, we can find happiness.

I was probably ordained about two years and serving at St. Clare parish in Lyndhurst, when a woman of the parish made an appointment to see me. She was in her late fifties, with two grown children who were living out of town. She came into my office, and the first thing that she said was, “Father, tell me why I should go on living.” Now that was a dramatic opening, and she caught my attention. “Why, what’s wrong?” I said. “My life is empty,” she replied, “It has no meaning.” As we talked, it became clear that she had no crisis in her life. There was nothing wrong with her health or her marriage or her finances—just emptiness. As she continued to talk on and on about her search for meaning, I thought, “This woman is bored!” But I was not sure I should say that to her. Yet I was becoming more and more frustrated trying to figure out what I should say. As my impatience with myself grew, I heard her say, “Father what should I do?” Without thinking I blurted out, “Do something!” Shocked by my blunt remark she said, “But do what?” Again, without much reflection, I said, “Do something good!”

Now you can tell by this brief description that I am not a very good counselor. But we had stumbled into a direction, and I followed it through. I suggested maybe she find some volunteer work, and see if that helped. It made some sense to her, and she left. But I had no idea whether I had helped her in any way. A couple months later after Mass she told me that she had begun to bring food to people who were homebound through Meals on Wheels. She said that she felt much better. If we try to save our life by turning inward we may only find emptiness. But if we lose our life in generosity to others, we can be happy. Jesus’s words in today’s gospel are a reminder that the true meaning of life is found in giving ourselves to something beyond us. Losing our life in doing good is the surest way to happiness.

Now at many periods of our life the good thing before us is clear. When we are raising children, when we are in the midst of a demanding and satisfying career, when we are dealing with family problems, there is no doubt that we have a direction and a purpose. But as the children grow up and move out, as our career comes to an end, as health issues begin to limit our possibilities, we can find ourselves falling into an empty routine and begin to ask, “What am I living for?” Jesus’ words in today’s gospel tell us that when we face this kind of emptiness, it is not time to turn inward, to watch more television and drink more beer. It is the time for us to lose ourselves in some kind of new service, to find something good and do it. This is the way to happiness. This is how we find our life again.

Fr. George Smiga, Building on the Word, Homily from Sept. 3, 2017

08/24/2026

Time for some rest and relaxation. I'll be back in September!

08/24/2026

Sunday Scriptures 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Isaiah 22:19-23; Psalm 138: 1-3, 6, 8; Romans 11:33-36, Matthew 16:13-20

The Power to Touch the Moon
There’s a story that is popular in the Dominican Republic about a king who wanted to touch the moon. Now, the story never tells us why he wanted to touch the moon, it simply has the king state, “I want to touch the moon. I am the king and I get what I want.” So the king called the royal carpenter and said, “Build me a tower that is high enough to touch the moon.” The carpenter said, “Your majesty, this can’t be done.” “It will be done,” said the king, “or I’ll find myself another royal carpenter.” So, the carpenter came up with an idea, “If we could collect enough wooden boxes, they could be stacked on top of one another and perhaps make a tower that was high enough to touch the moon.” “Let it be done,” said the king, and he sent out his soldiers to collect all the wooden boxes in the kingdom—boxes that were used to store books, boxes which were used for food or clothing, even boxes in which people had been buried. All were collected and built into a high tower. It was high indeed. But of course, it was not high enough to touch the moon.

“We need more boxes,” said the king. “Cut down all the trees in my kingdom and use the lumber to make more boxes to add to the tower.” And it was done. Now the tower was immensely high, and the king began to climb it. He climbed up higher than the birds, higher than the clouds to the very top of the tower. But, he could not touch the moon. “We need more boxes,” cried the king to the carpenter below. “There are no more boxes,” said the carpenter, “you’ll have to come down.” “Never!” said the king, “I am the king and I want to touch the moon. If there are no more boxes, then I command you to start bringing up the boxes that are at the bottom of this tower.” It was done. And, of course, everything then collapsed in utter ruin.

Now, the story is an absurd one, but it resonates with the sad experience of many people throughout the world, people whose countries are ruled by a dictators or despots who are only concerned about their own power. Look at Libya, or Syria or Bahrain or many other countries where political leaders are willing to expend the country’s resources and do violence against their own people in order to stay in power. They want to touch the moon, and they are willing to go higher and higher regardless of the cost.

In today’s gospel, Jesus presents to us another vision of power, another kind of authority. He gives Peter authority in the church. But, Peter’s authority is not to be the highest of all, but rather the lowest of all. Peter’s role is to be the rock—the rock on which the church will be built. So, instead of climbing higher and higher over the resources and the lives of others, Peter’s role is to be the solid foundation upon which the lives of others can be built. In Jesus’ vision, true authority is not the authority of importance. It is the ability to ground and enhance the lives of others.

This teaching of Jesus should lead us to thankfulness and commitment. Let us begin with thankfulness. Who are the people in your life who gave you the foundation to be who you are? Who are the people who thought not of their own importance and status but rather gave themselves for your benefit. Who are the people who showed you what wisdom is, what responsibility is, what integrity is, what love is. Are they parents? Grandparents? Friends? Teachers? Mentors? None of us can stand without a foundation provided by someone else. This truth should always make us thankful. If these people in your life are still alive, why not take some time this week to thank them for what they have done for you. If they are already with the Lord, then say a prayer that the Lord might hold them close. Our first step is thankfulness.

But, that leads to commitment. For, if others have given a foundation to our lives, we must be people who are committed to provide a foundation for others. As parents, as friends, as spouses, as teachers, we should see that true authority is not seeing how high we can get, but rather the willingness to lay down our lives as a foundation of generosity, responsibility, and care for others, so that their lives can grow.

True authority is not the power to touch the moon. It is the sacrifice and love of laying down one’s life for the sake of another. Even as we are thankful for those who have given this gift to us, let us also commit ourselves to live our lives in such a way that others will see in our witness, a foundation on which their lives can stand.

Fr. George Smiga, August 11, 2021 homily
Image credit: "Who Do You Say That I Am?" by By Lauren Wright Pittman

08/20/2026

Tomorrow Youth Ministry hosts the Doug's To Go Food Truck on the corner of Velasko Road and West Seneca Turnpike in the church parking lot. Grab a meal and stop by the bake sale table for some sweet treats! 🍪🍰 Thank you for supporting Youth Ministry!!

08/20/2026

Wednesday Wisdom
Hoping that summer has given you some opportunities to REST.

08/19/2026

I don't believe God has stopped preforming miracles, I think we've stopped looking for or expecting them.

Official lyric video for "Eve Of A Miracle" from The AftersStream...

08/18/2026

Monday Meditation: Come to Him Openly

It is one thing to feel loved by God when our life is together and all our support systems are in place. But what happens when we sin and fail, when our dreams shatter, when our investments crash, when we are regarded with suspicion? What happens when we come face-to-face with the human condition?

God calls us to come openly to Him.

God is the Father who ran to His prodigal son when he came limping home. God loves who we really are — whether we like it or not. God calls us, as He did Adam (Genesis 3:8–9), to come out of hiding. No amount of spiritual makeup can render us more presentable to Him.

“Come to Me now,” Jesus says. “Acknowledge and accept who I want to be for you: a Savior of boundless compassion, infinite patience, unbearable forgiveness, and love that keeps no score of wrongs. Quit projecting onto Me your own feelings about yourself. At this moment your life is a bruised reed and I will not crush it, a smoldering wick and I will not quench it. You are in a safe place.”

~Brennan Manning
Devotionals Daily from Faith Gateway
Excerpted with permission from Devotions for Grandmas, copyright Zondervan.