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From the Pastor - 1st Sunday in Lent

Feb 16, 2024

Today's readings remind us why we partake in this 40-day Lenten journey — to prepare our hearts for the resurrection of Christ on Easter.


St. Peter reminds us in our Second Reading of the blessings we receive from Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection — “Christ suffered for sins once… that he might lead you to God.” And again, “[Baptism] is… an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”


To receive the blessings more readily from Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, we too are called to endure 40 days “in the desert.” In our Gospel, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert where He was tempted by Satan. Jesus was called to face trials and to confront evil. During this time, He committed to intense prayer and fasting. It was not necessary for Jesus to go into the desert so that He might be purified, but rather, to endure the temptations of man for our sake. He was fully man, and experienced temptations just like us, yet responded to them perfectly, never falling into sin.


We should strive to fully participate in this Lenten season by mirroring Jesus, the model steward by Whom we are called to imitate. Through our time in the desert, we will confront evil by weeding out the roots of sin in our lives through fasting. And we will be sustained and nourished in the desert by prayer.


Let us strive to purify our hearts so that we might be ready to receive the glorious gift of Christ and partake in the riches that pour forth from this Gift. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024

 

Pastoral Pondering

During my time here at the parish, I have had a few occasions when I was asked my opinion of or to give permission for various readings and devotions related to the Servant of God, Maria Piccarreta and devotion to the Divine Will. To be transparent, I have long had concerns about this devotion and have generally discouraged folks from following it and have resisted requests to allow groups to be associated with the parish.


With this in mind, a 2022 communication from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to the president of the French Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Benoit Bertrand, is helpful and puts into words some of my own misgivings about this particular devotion and Luisa’s writing. This information is taken from a daily publication from Pillarcatholic.com, Starting Seven: February 2, 2024:


  • “I have the duty to inform you that after a detailed and in-depth examination of them, this dicastery — without prejudging the exemplary conduct of the life and exercise of the virtues of the Servant of God — concluded that it was not possible to grant the nihil obstat for the continuation of the cause of beatification and canonization,” he wrote.


The cardinal described the cause as being “on hold,” due to theological, Christological, and anthropological issues in her writings:

  • “Theological: the conception of the Divine Will proposed by the Servant of God is too rigid, mechanical, and obsessive, and seems not to leave Man the possibility of exercising his free will.”
  • “Christological: the doctrine of reparation and victim spirituality developed by the Servant of God does not integrate the primacy of the merciful, unmerited, and unconditional love of God, and risks canceling or at least relativizing the free and gratuitous offering of the Redeemer.”
  • “Anthropological: this same spirituality is marked by a deep pessimism about human nature. There is little or no reference to the Resurrection of Christ, Christian hope, sanctifying grace, the goodness of creation, and ecclesial communion.”


In a Jan. 24, 2024, letter to French bishops, Bishop Bertrand noted that Piccarreta’s writings were spreading in several dioceses.

  • Her spirituality, he said, must “be presented in the perspective of the mystery of glory and merciful love, to avoid heterodox and misleading interpretations of the Christian message.”


‘Confusion and division’ A day after Bertrand wrote his letter, Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick issued a decree banning a group inspired by Piccarreta’s spirituality in his Seoul archdiocese.


He withdrew permission for the God’s Will Spiritual Research Society to hold meetings and revoked a license to publish more than 10 volumes, including Piccarreta’s “The Book of Heaven.”

  • He said: “In the current situation of the Church in Korea, where private revelation is spreading indiscriminately, it is very likely that it will spread false piety among the faithful, and cause confusion and division within the Church.”


UCA News noted that the Korean bishops’ doctrine committee expressed concerns about Piccarreta’s writings in 2023, urging priests and lay people to distance themselves from the group promoting her works.


When dealing with any case of Private revelation in the Church, one must always evaluate such phenomenon and writing with the Church’s Public revelation. This involves Scripture and Tradition both of which provide the foundation for the magisterium of the Church. Thankfully, we have access to the Church’s magisterial authority to guide us and keep us within the proper bounds on matters of faith and doctrine.

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - Sixth Sunday of Easter

By John Putnam • 03 May, 2024
Our readings today call us to love as Christ loves. In our Gospel, Jesus says, “Love one another as I have loved you.” The ways Jesus has loved us and continues to love us are endless. We are called to imitate this love. And He tells us the greatest way to do this when He said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” It is difficult to live that out in our humanity. Yet, it is made much easier when we faithfully love Christ. The fact of the matter is, as our love for Christ increases, so too does our capacity to love others. There are countless moments when we can do just that — for instance, waking up Saturday morning to attend daily Mass instead of sleeping in, or talking to God in the car on the way to work instead of listening to music. These are simple ways to express our love for the Lord by laying down our lives for Him. The more we find ways to love the Lord, the more we will find it easier to put aside our selfishness and serve others. Christ’s command to love others may seem daunting. Yet, Christ would never ask something of us that we cannot live out. All we need to do is take baby steps. Ask yourself, "How can I better love Jesus right now?" for it is in loving Christ that we will better love others, and it is in loving others that we love Christ Himself. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024 Pastoral Pondering  Last week I had the opportunity of spending the afternoon with my childhood pastor, the Reverend Fred Thompson. He served as the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Newton, NC for over 30 years. He is now 91 years old and continues to live a fairly independent life. We lost touch when my family moved from Newton to Hickory as I began grammar school but reconnected during my undergraduate studies at Lenoir-Rhyne College. We have stayed in touch since then. Such connections from the past are very important. At least in my case, Fred knew things about my parents and my adoption that I never did, and he is always happy to share a story or two. I bring this up because memory, what we refer to in the Mass as anamnesis, is essential not only to our faith but to society as a whole. Our collective memory is important. Significant events of the past are passed on from one generation to the next, and we hopefully learn from our mistakes so that we don’t repeat them. In the Catholic context, we are being obedient to Christ’s command at the Last Supper, do this in memory of me.” And it is through that remembrance that we cannot the past with the present and look with hope to the future – Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. This is why Sacred Tradition is so very important to our understanding of the Faith. That which is handed over (traditio) is essential because it forms the framework upon which the Church travels throughout the centuries. The same is true in families. In the past multiple generations would live together or in close proximity to each other. Children learned about life from a variety of family members with varying degrees of lived experience and a wealth of memory. With our society becoming more transitory and human interaction being impoverished by the reality of technology, families need to be very intentional about connecting with the past. It helps us all understand who we are, why we are here and for what we were made.

From the Pastor - Fifth Sunday of Easter

By John Putnam • 26 Apr, 2024
Our readings today teach us what it means to bear fruit as disciples of Christ. We hear in each of our readings that it is from the Lord that good effects will be produced in our lives. In our first reading, we hear about disciples who were preaching the Good News and defending the faith. The work they were doing was “with the consolation of the Holy Spirit.” It was not their work alone, but the work of God. We must ask ourselves, ‘how is God bearing fruit in my life?’ and ‘have I invited the Holy Spirit to work in me?’ The more we try to produce good effects in our lives, the more we will become disappointed if all we are relying on is our own efforts. It is only by inviting the Holy Spirit into our everyday moments that we will see goodness poured out. Jesus clearly tells us how to do this in our Gospel. He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.” We can remain in Christ by staying faithful to His commandments and frequently receiving the sacraments. And our day-to-day moments should be a reflection of those commitments. That could mean opening our day with a prayer of thanksgiving, smiling at those we see on the street, asking God for help as we begin our workday, praising God in moments of trial, taking time to listen to our spouse after a long day. To remain in Christ means, in all that we do, we do it with the Lord. When we live a life like that — as a branch never separated from its vine — God will produce bountiful fruit in our lives. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024 Pastoral Pondering I have had a few folks interested in what exactly occurs when a diocese received a new bishop, so I thought I would outline the process a bit for a contribution to your knowledge of Catholic trivia. Before a new bishop can be appointed, the diocese in question has to be vacant. A vacancy occurs through death, retirement, resignation or removal. In our case, Bishop Jugis submitted his resignation based on his deteriorating health, one of the reasons that a bishop can ask to be relieved of the administration of a diocese. Once the Holy Father accepts the resignation, the See becomes vacant. During the interim or sede vacante (vacant seat) period, the diocese needs to have someone to keep things going. This is done by either a priest, who is appointed administrator or by a bishop, who is known as an apostolic administrator. In our case Bishop Jugis continues as the apostolic administrator. Since his successor has already been named, Bishop Jugis can help prepare for the new bishop’s transition. As soon as a see is vacated, several offices and one advisory body cease to function. Any vicars general or episcopal vicars lose their office and the Presbyteral Council ceases until reconstituted by the new bishop. Both the Judicial Vicar and the Chief Financial Office of the diocese continue in office to insure the ongoing functions of their offices. Bishop Jugis, as Apostolic Administrator, has asked those priests who were serving as his vicar general and episcopal vicars to continue performing their functions in the interim. When the new Bishop is installed, he can reappoint the vicars or appoint others to take their places. If a priest is appointed as the new bishop, he must be ordained a bishop before he can assume the office. Once ordained, a ceremony occurs, usually a Mass, during which the newly ordained bishop takes possession of the diocese and assumed the full pastoral care of the Diocese. Hence, Bishop-elect Martin will be ordained on May 29 th and then will take possession of the Diocese on the following day.  A lot of work can be done to prepare for the new bishop’s arrival prior to his coming. Nonetheless, the first few weeks of his administration will be taken up with settling into his new position and getting his bearings. This is very similar to a new pastor coming to a parish; albeit, on a larger scale. During these early days of the new administration, the new bishop decides on vicar appointments and reconstitutes the Presbyteral Council and makes any other decisions that he deems appropriate for pastoral care. Often new bishops spend a good bit of time visiting the new parishes of the new Diocese to get to know his priests and meet his people. In Bishop-elect Martin’s case, he will be ordaining transitional deacons on the Saturday following his own ordination and then ordaining priests two weeks later, so he will indeed “hit the ground running”. Keep him in your prayers.
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