From the Pastor – 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

June 28, 2020

From the Pastor – 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s readings take us back to some basics of stewardship living and demonstrate the genius of this way of life.

Our First Reading, from 2 Kings, shows us the necessity and power of hospitality. It recounts the story of a woman who showed loving hospitality to a visitor, inviting him to dinner with her family and arranging a room for him in their home so that he would have a comfortable place to stay during his travels through her town. She reached out to the man in a simple and practical manner to make him feel welcome and was rewarded in an extraordinary way.

In our Second Reading, from the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul reminds us of the power of our Baptism and how this sacrament makes us disciples. What does that mean for us here and now? St. Paul tells us very clearly: “You must think of yourselves as dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.” We must live for Christ! Nothing less will do.

Our Lord proclaims this same instruction in a rather shocking way in our Gospel passage from Matthew: “Whoever finds his life [by living for oneself] will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” But how do we lose our life? Precisely through loving actions towards others, loving them as if they were Christ. “Whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple… he will surely not lose his reward.”

The simple brilliance of stewardship living? Only our infinitely creative, compassionate God could conceive it! © Catholic Stewardship Consultants

Pastoral Pondering

Over the past several weeks, we have been striving to be able to provide sacramental ministry by being somewhat creative and doing those things that are recommended by the CDC and others. During the course of that same time, I have had discussions with those who will not come to Mass because everyone is not wearing a mask as well as those who will not come to Mass because they are offended by being asked to wear a mask. At the same time, we have been using enhanced cleaning protocols to kill germs, but even this is problematic for some who are sensitive to smells and chemicals in general.

Being caught in a “catch 22” is nothing new for the Church and nothing new for most pastors. Nonetheless, it can be frustrating when you are trying to do your best to address the situation before you. Being reminded that you can’t please everyone is helpful, but desiring the greatest possible access for people also weighs heavily. Suffice it to say that we are trying to do our best based on the current guidelines that we have. Mask wearing is recommended in general but required when a safe physical distance cannot be maintained. We will continue to monitor the situation and the changing guidance (sometimes daily) to make the most prudent and reasonable decisions as we move forward. We are discussing the possibility of having a “Mask-only” Mass that would provide for those who are especially concerned about this. We will continue to look at this possibility

Many questions have arisen concerning Perpetual Adoration. Our desire of course is to open the chapel as soon as possible. Perpetual Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament is a great blessing and source of strength for our parish. Nonetheless, because of the chapel’s size, limiting the time of adoration and making it available in the church has been our practice for the last several weeks. As our schedule of weekday Masses returns to normal, we may need to move adoration into the Kerin Center. As soon as conditions allow, however, we will reopen the Adoration Chapel.

We have made some operating priorities as we move forward with reopening. Our first priority has been and continues to be offering sacramental ministry to our people. It is for this reason that other groups, gatherings and meetings are not being held on campus with the exception of some outdoor youth ministry activities. By phases we will gradually open the facilities up to more activities and apostolates; although, those activities that are specifically elder-focused may continue to be curtailed due to the risk that they pose for that population. Many of our councils and commissions continue to utilize technology for their meetings, and this has proven to be helpful and convenient.

Be assured of my prayers as we continue to navigate this strange new reality. Please continue to pray for me and the parish clergy and staff as we strive to address our current situation and move forward in faith, hope, and love.

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • October 3, 2025
Our readings today show us that living a stewardship way of life, that is, a life focused on serving God and His Kingdom, is not easy. They also show us that our lives belong to God, not to us, and that God will indeed bring about the fulfillment of His kingdom., We just need to have faith that He can do it and commit to our small part in His grand design. This is both our privilege and responsibility as Christian stewards. Jesus makes this privilege and responsibility clear in today’s Gospel passage from Luke. When the apostles as the Lord to increase their faith, He tells them that even a mustard-seed sized faith is all that is needed to move mountains (because it is God who does the heavy lifting). We need to only take the tiniest step forward, and He will do the rest. But living our lives in His service is also very much our responsibility, as Jesus explains through the parable of the unprofitable servant later in the passage. Our Lord describes a scene in which a servant has just come from tending to the master’s affairs and asks whether it would be reasonable for the master to begin waiting on the servant. Of course, it would not be reasonable! The servant would be expected to continue to serve his master until he has completed the work the master has given him that day. Jesus says that we should have the same attitude before God. The time, talents, and treasure entrusted to us are all God’s. Our very lives belong to Him. Whatever we do on God’s behalf with our lives and our gifts is simply our God-given responsibility. The stewardship way of life makes the privilege and responsibility of serving Christ and His kingdom a reality. ©Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering  As we move into autumnal colors, with shorter days and cooling weather, the late weeks of the liturgical year always provide us with an opportunity to reflect on faith and life. It is also that time of the calendar year when we start thinking about those who are less fortunate among us. In the coming weeks, we have a number of efforts to assist the least of our brethren with life’s basic needs including the coat drive, thanksgiving food drive and the Christmas giving effort (formerly known as the Angel Tree ©). There are no shortage of demands placed on all of us these days, but the spiritual and corporal works of mercy remain the bedrock of our Catholic lives. Thank you in advance for responding with a generous heart.

From the Pastor - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • September 26, 2025
We have all been given great power by God in the form of Time, Talents, and Treasure. Today’s readings remind us that this power is meant to be used for great good. And that failure to do so has eternal consequences. We see the urgency for us to put our powers to good use in today’s Gospel passage from Luke. Our Lord tells the rather chilling parable of the rich man who ignored poor Lazarus during their lifetimes. At the moment of the rich man’s death, he goes down to the netherworld, while Lazarus is taken to the eternal joy and comfort in the bosom of Abraham. The rich man keenly regrets his indifference towards the needs of Lazarus, but it is too late for regret. His choices have played out, and now the rich man will face the consequences of his failure to use the gifts God gave him. Pursuit of God’s kingdom and care for the poor are not trifling matters. Our Lord makes this clear to us over and over in the Scriptures and the constant teachings of our 2,000-year-old Church. We are free to ignore these teachings and live instead for ourselves. But there will be tragic results for us in the end. And, because we are made for eternity, living selfishly on this earth doesn’t really bring us true happiness anyway. So how can we use our great powers for great good? By embracing stewardship way of life. By putting God first in all areas of our lives — in the way we spend our time, the ways we share our talents, the ways we give of our financial resources. Stewardship living calls us out of our comfort zone and into commitment to the Lord and the things that matter to Him. ©Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering Even though this year is not a presidential or mid-term election, local elections are quite important, and we often don’t take them as seriously as we should. This year we have two parishioners running for office, Dan Boone is running for town council, and Bill Fountain is running for school board. To some these positions may seem insignificant, but it is at the local level that we, as Catholics, can have the greatest impact. I thought it might be helpful then to give a reminder of the duties of Catholics in political life. The Church teaches that lay Catholics bear primary responsibility for temporal affairs, including politics, as an extension of baptismal vocation (CCC 1913). Key duties include:  Forming Conscience : Study Church teachings to discern moral priorities; avoid reducing faith to single issues but prioritize intrinsic evils like abortion. Active Involvemen t: Vote informatively, run for office, join parties or advocacy groups, and dialogue with officials to apply Gospel values. Pope Francis stated, "A good Catholic meddles in politics," offering the best of oneself to help leaders govern justly. Non-Partisan Advocacy : The Church engages issues (e.g., life, family, peace) but avoids partisanship to focus on principles. Parishes can host voter education but not endorse candidates. For Public Officials : Catholic politicians must align actions with Church moral teachings; supporting grave evils like abortion risks scandal and cooperation in evil. Separation of church and state protects, rather than hinders, faith-based action in public life. Challenges and Encouragement In polarized environments, Catholics may feel disenfranchised, but the Church calls for renewed engagement to transform society incrementally toward justice. Resources like the USCCB's Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship (updated periodically) guide voters on applying Catholic Social Teaching. Ultimately, political action flows from love of neighbor, proving faith through works (James 2:14–17).