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From the Pastor – 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sep 22, 2019

From the Pastor – 25 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

After today’s readings, we can’t say we have not been warned about the dangers of mixed up priorities. God’s Word is so very clear today on the necessity of putting Him first in all areas of our lives.

We see this in the First Reading from Amos. The Lord has harsh words for those who would take advantage of the poor, and whose priorities are not aligned with God’s.

In the Second Reading from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy, Paul gives us the antidote to the self-centeredness condemned in our First Reading. The antidote is to imitate Christ, “who gave Himself as a ransom for all.” Rather than thinking of Himself and how to “get ahead,” Christ gave Himself away — completely — for our sake. That is how we are to live.

In our Gospel passage from Luke, the Lord shows us how to bridge the gap between worldly thinking and priorities, and eternal thinking and priorities. Jesus tells the parable of the corrupt but clever steward who is about to get fired when the master discovers the steward has been squandering his property. Realizing his imminent unemployed status, the clever steward reaches out to the various debtors of his master to wheel and deal with them, making friends who would look out for him when he became jobless.

What if we put that kind of effort into our own tasks as good stewards of all God’s gifts to us? Into our ministries and apostolates, into the ways we could make more time for prayer as individuals, as couples, as families and as a parish? What if we got as creative as the “bad steward” in the use of our finances so that we could give more generously to the poor and to the advancement of God’s kingdom on the earth?

That’s our lesson and our challenge. ©Catholic Stewardship Consultants

Pastoral Pondering

As I am writing this, we just concluded our 15 th Eucharistic Congress in the Diocese of Charlotte. I have been on the Steering Committee of the Congress since the beginning, and it seems strange that so many years have passed. There was a tremendous participation this year with about 7,500 people assisting at the Closing Mass on Saturday. The estimates are much higher than that for the procession and the average for the event overall.

In recent weeks there has been in various news and social media outlets a discussion of the lack of belief in the Eucharist among those who identify themselves as Catholic based on a recent Pew Research Center Survey. The survey found that 69% said that they personally believe that the bread and wine are only “symbols of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.” Just 31% (one-third) affirmed their belief in the Church’s perennial teaching. The survey also found that the 69% noted above, also believe that the Church teaches that the bread and wine are only symbolic, and 22% know the Church’s teaching on transubstantiation and still reject it.

The Church teaches clearly and authoritatively that at the consecration the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Their appearance remains unchanged, but their substance is transformed. This is central to our understanding of who we are. In fact, for those who know the Church’s teaching and reject it, they cease to be Catholic, and their reception of Communion would be a sacrilege.

While the results of the survey are certainly upsetting, it should be a wakeup call for all of those who have responsibility for formation and catechesis. It also highlights the utter failure over the past several decades to pass on authentic Catholic teaching on this essential matter. While some of the blame rests with parents and guardians who have not passed on the faith to their children, the Lion’s share of the blame can be lain at the feet of Bishops, priests, deacons and religious who have failed to teach authentically and have often played “fast and loose” with the Sacred Liturgy.

Our Eucharistic Congress is one response to this crisis, but it is incumbent on every parish to respond as well. Bishop Jugis, a number of years ago, issued liturgical norms for the Diocese to bring the parishes into conformity with the liturgical laws of the Church. The obligation to implement these norms is entrusted especially to pastors but also to all of those entrusted with pastoral care and faith formation.

At Saint Mark, we have been intentional in our desire to celebrate the Mass reverently and faithfully to what the Church expects. At times, this has resulted in complaints and opposition from some corners. Nonetheless, our commitment is to be faithful to who we are and what we believe as Catholics. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church indicates in #1333:

At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration are the bread and wine that, by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ's Body and Blood. Faithful to the Lord's command the Church continues to do, in his memory and until his glorious return, what he did on the eve of his Passion: "He took bread. . .." "He took the cup filled with wine. . .."

With this in mind, we ask the Lord to renew within us and within the Church throughout the world, belief in this fundamental teaching so that we might never be separated from Christ who comes to us in every Mass hidden in the small white host.

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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