From the Pastor – 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 1, 2018

From the Pastor – 26 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our Gospel passage and the Second Reading from the letter of St. James urge us to examine our lives for anything that is keeping us from loving God above all else.

Jesus says, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off… If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.”

St. James warns, “Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you.”

The urgency of our need to detach from all that is not God is clear. When we hold onto possessions too tightly, they come to possess us. The “stuff” can easily become the focus of our energy and attention. Attachment to material things slowly and steadily corrupts.

The spiritual discipline of tithing — or stewardship of treasure — can help us with this. Tithing leads us to let go of unhealthy attachment to material things and leads us to attach instead to God, relying on Him as our true source of security and happiness. We come to understand that all that we have is a gift from our loving Father and we use it to bless others and glorify Him.

Amazingly, we actually enjoy material gifts, and all other gifts, more as a result because we realize where they really came from and are using them as God intended. What wonderful freedom there is in living this way!

Pastoral Pondering

I would like to thank all of those who helped in making September Fest such a wonderful event for the parish. Having opportunities to simply come together and enjoy fun and fellowship is essential to forming an Amazing Parish. Obviously, events of this type require a great deal of planning and a tremendous amount of effort on the part of staff and volunteers alike. However, all the effort is worth it, when we see our parish families coming together to form one family in Christ.

I also want to thank all of those who have responded so generously to our appeal for the victims of hurricane Florence. Our brothers and sisters in the Eastern part of the state will be recovering from the devastation for months (and maybe longer) to come. Direct financial donations may continue to be made through the parish or catholiccharitiesraleigh.org/giveflorence.

Next Sunday is Respect Life Sunday. From 2 – 3 pm we will have our annual Life Chain in front of St. Mark along Stumptown Road. We will meet near the Memorial of the Unborn and peacefully and silently pray for an end to abortion in our country. All parish families are encouraged to attend. A $100 prize will go to the parish ministry which brings out the most members. For more information please contact Mike FitzGerald at respect.life@stmarknc.org.

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • August 7, 2026
Stewardship spirituality invites us to surrender control of our lives to God in grateful recognition that everything we have is a gift from Him. Today's readings remind us that God is always in control of His creation and His people. They also reveal what can happen when we fully entrust our lives to Him — in other words, when we embrace the stewardship way of life. When we take our eyes off God, we lose sight of the fact that all is gift. We begin to rely on ourselves instead of trusting in Him, and we fail to make our lives a grateful response to His generosity. Peter experiences this in today's Gospel from Matthew. Jesus sends the disciples ahead of Him by boat. Later that evening, Jesus comes to them, walking on the water, and invites Peter to join Him. Peter steps out of the boat and begins walking toward the Lord. But when he notices the strong wind around him, instead of keeping his eyes on Christ, he begins to sink. Imagine if Peter had never looked away from Jesus. What an extraordinary adventure he would have experienced walking on the water with his Lord. The same is true for us. When we take our eyes off Christ, His countless blessings, and His faithful love for us, we begin to sink as well. But when we embrace the stewardship way of life, loosening our grip on our time, talents, and treasure and placing our trust in God, life becomes a great adventure rooted firmly in the One who never fails us. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2026. Pastoral Pondering First of all I want to thank all who participated in our meal packing effort last Friday and Saturday. What a gift it is to be able to come together as a community and unite for the sake of our brothers and sisters in need. These events cannot happen without the efforts of numerous people. To each of you who made it possible, THANK YOU! As we move into August and our lives begin reorienting from lazier summer months towards fall, it is an opportunity to reflect on the blessings that we were afforded to rest, refresh, and renew during these past weeks. Hopefully, family were able to spend some quality time with each other without the demands of school, work and the day to day demands that impact many of us.  For me, I was privileged once again to participate in the Te Deum Peace Pilgrimage to Fatima. This year we were able to invite and sponsor nine (9) seminarians from various dioceses including Charlotte, NC; Charleston, SC; Cleveland, OH; and Youngstown, OH. They along with a wonderful group of non-seminarian pilgrims were able to grow in our love for the Lord and Our Lady. It was a true blessing, and I was so impressed with the seminarians who were a part of our pilgrimage family for our time in Portugal and Spain. Along the same lines, please pray for parishioner Mark Pressley who is entering St. Joseph College Seminary. Mark’s family has been a part of the parish for many years. Keep him and the other nine (9) young men who are beginning their formation this fall.

From the Pastor - 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • July 31, 2026
Today’s readings should inspire the Christian steward with deepened gratitude for our God, who loves us with both fierce and tender love. We must make an intentional response each day, returning love for Love. In our Second Reading from Romans, St. Paul reminds us that nothing and no one can separate us from the love of Christ. No anguish, distress, persecution, famine — and we might add illness, financial hardship, family struggles, or uncertainty about the future — nothing can keep our God from loving us. God holds us securely in the palm of His hand. And yet, this reassurance is only the beginning of God’s gifts to us. Our Gospel from Matthew recounts the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish. This miracle foreshadows the gift of the Eucharist, where Christ feeds us not simply with bread, but with His own Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Notice how the Gospel begins. "His heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick." What generous and compassionate love our Lord shows. But even that is not enough for Him. He remains with the people, teaching and ministering to them until evening. When the disciples suggest sending the crowds away to find food, Jesus instead invites them to become part of His plan. He tells them to feed the people, then miraculously multiplies the few loaves and fish they offer. What a privilege it was for the disciples to participate in Christ's work. That same privilege is ours as Christian stewards. Let us respond with grateful hearts to such amazing love. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants,