From the Pastor – 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 22, 2018

From the Pastor – 29 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings today are wonderfully consoling and wildly challenging. If we take them to heart, they just might change our lives. For they should call us to profound gratitude for all that God has done for us and inspire us to live lives of thanksgiving and obedience to Him in response to His overwhelming love and mercy.

In the Gospel Reading, from Mark, Jesus tells us in His own words how we can thank Him and how our lives can reflect greatness in His eyes — we can imitate Him. He tells us, “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Our God has ransomed our lives. In truth, this “ransom” means our lives are not our own but belong to God. We must do what He asks us to do with them. And He has told us clearly what to do — serve others in love as we have been served in love by Him.

This is why service for the Christian Steward is not an add-on to our already busy lives. It is our life.

Over the course of the next week, take these readings to heart. Reflect on the remarkable love God has shown for you. Then look carefully at your daily life. Is it an imitation of the servant-love of your Brother and Savior? What changes do you need to make, perhaps just in attitude, or perhaps to the trajectory of your life as a whole, to live in grateful service to the One who loves you so?

Pastoral Pondering

This past week (assuming everything happens as it’s supposed to) the Ascension window has been installed. There has been a very positive response to our stained glass project, but there is still a good way to go in order to get all of the windows funded and installed. As of now, we have nine (9) windows fully sponsored and three (3) more in process.

Over the past several weeks, I have had a number of friends (Catholic and non-Catholic) asking me about the various headlines and scandals that seem to be popping up all over. Some have been an expression of genuine concern and others have bordered on incredulity that in light of such revelations how I would want to continue the life to which I have been called.

In all honesty, over these past weeks there have indeed been some difficult and sou-searching moments. Nevertheless, I am reminded in prayer and through the mediation of faithful friends, that the Church is far more than the sum of her wayward members. When Jesus asked the apostles at the end of the Bread of Life discourse if they were going to leave Him too, Peter responded, “Lord to whom should we go? You have the words of everlasting life.” (John 6:67-68)

As flawed as her leaders and members might be, the Church herself is indefectible. She is divinely established and has been entrusted with the sacraments of salvation. The sacraments, thankfully, neither depend on the sanctity of the ministers nor the members of the flock. The Church is holy because her Spouse is holy. Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday and forever. He continues to make Himself present in the Eucharist and allow Himself to be mocked, ridiculed and debased by our unworthiness. But He does this out of love for us and for the world.

I am greatly inspired by some of the young men I work with in the seminary. In my discussions with them about these sad events, while they admit a certain trepidation in the face of the unknown, they express a more concrete commitment to holiness and persevering in a call to serve the Lord. True discipleship is not for the faint of heart. One has to be willing to give it all even when victory seems unattainable and bleak. Even when others seem to be abandoning the truth because of the failings of some, those words of St. Peter are a constant reminder of the unchanging truth. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Him, and He has chosen the Church has the means through which to access that path.

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - Fourth Sunday of Advent

By John Putnam • December 19, 2025
As our Advent preparations draw to a close and Christmas fast approaches, it is fitting that today’s readings demonstrate the intensity of the Father’s perfect and passionate love for each of us, culminating in the gift of His own Son, Jesus Christ, on Christmas Day. As we reflect on the enormity of this gift, let us ask ourselves what we can offer in return. In our first reading, from Isaiah, the Lord invites King Ahaz to “ask for a sign from the Lord, your God.” And not just any sign. The Lord says, “let it be deep as the nether-world, or high as the sky!” Ahaz, though, cannot arouse himself from his bleak and limited outlook, and actually refuses this invitation. Undeterred by his negativity, the Lord says through the prophet Isaiah, that he himself will provide the sign: “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” and his name will be Emmanuel which means, “God with us.” What great love and patience our heavenly Father has shown his people throughout all ages! In the second reading, from Paul’s letter to the Romans, St. Paul sends a blessing of “Grace…and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This — grace and peace — is precisely the gift we celebrate on Christmas Day. Through his incarnation, Jesus brings the intimate love of God right into our midst; and through His death and resurrection, He saves us from our sins and restores us to right relationship with the Father. This is the peace that the world cannot offer. In response to such an overwhelming gift, what can we do except offer our lives as a gift in return, embracing a stewardship way of life with all the love and strength we have to give? In our Gospel passage from Matthew, we find an unparalleled example of one who embraced this way of life in St. Joseph, as he responds to God’s call to him through the message of an angel. St. Joseph immediately and humbly obeys the instruction from the angel: “Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Open to this extraordinary role, he did as the angel commanded and “takes Mary into his home.” We never hear St. Joseph speak, but the Scriptures tell us he was always listening, attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit for his family. It was Joseph who found the stable where the baby Jesus would be born. No doubt it was Joseph who cleaned it up and prepared it for Mary and Jesus since we know that Mary was about to give birth. Joseph protected the family, guarded them, and tended to their safety, their comfort, and their well-being at the expense of his own plans and preferences. Though we do not hear any words from St. Joseph his actions clearly show that he offered himself, his whole life, as a gift to his family through his strong guidance, protection, and service. Let us imitate St. Joseph, then, as good stewards, giving our very lives to those around us in love and gratitude to God who has given us everything we have, especially His own Son, Jesus Christ. We will no doubt find that the more we give ourselves away, the more our generous Father will fill us with His grace and peace — these are truly the best Christmas gifts we could receive. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering Christmas is upon us and as we enter into these last days before the celebration of the Lord’s birth, I wanted to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude for the myriad ways each one of you makes St. Mark a wonderful place to pray, to worship and find a parish home. As I speak to people who visit us from other parts of the country or parishioners who, due to trips away, visit other parishes, it is nice to hear that St. Mark has something special about it. That “something special” has a great deal to do with the people who call St. Mark home. Christmas is a time to share the love of Christ, and over the past several weeks, you have done just that in our various charitable efforts, most recently our Christmas Giving Tree. Lives have been impacted for the better because of your generous response, and I know that God will bless you because He is never outdone in generosity.  Finally, please know that Fathers Angermeyer, Martinez, Huber and I wish each and everyone of you a very merry and blessing-filled Christmas!

From the Pastor - Third Sunday of Advent

By John Putnam • December 12, 2025
Good news, Christian stewards — we are gaining ground on our Advent mountain climb and it is time to take a moment to rejoice in the Good News that our Savior will come again in triumph one day. Today’s readings on this Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday are filled with reminders of God’s final victory over suffering and injustice, and encouragement to remain steadfast in our mission to live as faith-filled disciples. Such a day almost seems too good to be true, especially when we look around at the dire circumstances we face in our world at present. But by faith, we know this day is coming. Lest we grow weary as we await the glorious day of Christ’s return, St. James, in our second reading, offers wise counsel. “Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord.” “Make your hearts firm… Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another, that you may not be judged.” This is excellent advice for us Christian stewards as we face the challenges of everyday life in our broken world, especially in the hectic days that precede Christmas when stress can make us and those around us less than our best selves. St. James reminds us that we can choose our response to both the great strains and the minor annoyances of life. In other words, we can be good stewards of our attitude, “making our hearts firm” by practicing patience with others and refusing to give in to the temptation to complain. We can choose to see and rejoice in God’s presence with us, no matter the circumstances surrounding us. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering Prior to the Hamas attack in Israel of October 7, 2023, I was planning to lead a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with our seminarians. The events of that day put that pilgrimage on hold even though we had already raised funds for the pilgrimage. Now that relative peace has been restored, we will be embarking on the pilgrimage on December 26 th . I wanted to thank all of you who supported the effort and wanted to let you know that we are finally preparing to go. Pilgrimages to the Holy Land are very special opportunities for everyone, but such a pilgrimage is especially significant for a man preparing for priesthood because it provides a completely different perspective on the Scriptures and is able to inform his preaching and teaching. Christopher Cross is organizing this for us, and I would recommend one of his trips to anyone who would like to go. Chris brings a unique blend of humor and deep faith that makes the experience come alive in a wonderful way. I have been on a number of pilgrimages, and those with Chris have been the most impactful by far.  Please keep all of us in your prayers as we prepare for the pilgrimage and certainly know that you all will be in ours as we spend the Christmas Octave in the Holy Land.