From the Pastor – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 27, 2019

From the Pastor – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In last week’s readings, we were encouraged to remain persistent and constant in our prayer life. Today, we focus on the proper attitude of a steward at prayer.

In the Gospel passage from Luke, Jesus illustrates the humble attitude we must have as we approach God in prayer through a parable of two praying men. One is a Pharisee, a man with respected status, theological training and all the right credentials. He marches right up to the front of the temple to speak a prayer “to himself,” thanking God for making him just a little bit superior to everyone else!

The other man is a tax collector, known by those of his day to be a cheater and a sell-out to his fellow Jews. In contrast to the Pharisee, he stands near the back and cries out to God in a simple and honest way: “Be merciful to me a sinner.”

Jesus tells us that it is the tax collector and not the Pharisee who leaves the temple justified. Why?

The Pharisee was full of self as he approached God. He felt no real need for God as he rattled off his resume of good works and spiritual practices. He was simply going through the motions of prayer. His lack of humility prevented him from entering into a real dialogue with the Father. The tax collector, by contrast, emptied himself as he approached God. He recognized who he truly was (a sinner) and asked for mercy, leaving all the rest up to God. This is the kind of attitude God can work with! This is how a good steward prays — with trust, with complete openness to God’s will, with a listening mind and heart, ready to serve as God leads. Catholic Stewardship Consultants ©

Pastoral Pondering

Recently, I mentioned the Pew Research Poll regarding belief in the Eucharist among Catholics. I’ve been asked to clarify what is meant by sacrilege, a term which I referenced in the previous bulletin. I’m happy to do so here and perhaps expand a bit on our understanding of the Eucharist.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church sacrilege is profanation of or irreverence toward persons, places, and things which are sacred, i.e., dedicated to God; sacrilege against the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, is a particularly grave offense against the first commandment (2120). When one intentionally commits sacrilege against the Eucharist, e.g. intentionally desecrating the Eucharist or stealing the Sacred Host for an occult purpose, it results in the most serious of ecclesiastical penalties. As canon 1367 of the Code of Canon Law states: a person who throws away the consecrated species or takes or retains them for a sacrilegious purpose incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; moreover, a cleric who does so, can be punished with another penalty, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state.

Hence, it can be seen that an intentional desecration of the Sacred Eucharist results in the most severe of penalties. Because of this it can also be said that everything that can be done should be done to also protect the Holy Eucharist from unintentional desecration. As the instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum points out: “In an altogether particular manner, let everyone do all that is in their power to ensure that the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist will be protected from any and every irreverence or distortion and that all abuses be thoroughly corrected. This is a most serious duty incumbent upon each and every one, and all are bound to carry it out without any favoritism (RS, 183).

Obviously, the Church insists on this because the Eucharist is central to who we are and what we believe as a Church. The author Flannery O’Connor once wrote to a friend in 1955 explaining what had occurred in a discussion with a woman who had abandoned the faith as a teenager. It’s very informative and puts the matter rather succinctly. She writes:

Well, toward morning the conversation turned on the Eucharist, which I, being the Catholic, was obviously supposed to defend. Mrs. Broadwater said when she was a child and received the Host, she thought of it as the Holy Ghost, He being the ‘most portable’ person of the Trinity; now she thought of it as a symbol and implied that it was a pretty good one. I then said, in a very shaky voice, ‘Well, if it’s a symbol, to hell with it.’ That was all the defense I was capable of but I realize now that this is all I will ever be able to say about it, outside of a story, except that it is the center of existence for me; all the rest of life is expendable.”

This statement is quite profound and informative. It summarizes very clearly what the Church believes in very simple terms. As a priest I can say that I did not give my life for a symbol but for the very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. There is no reason to do so otherwise.

Our time at Holy Mass and our time before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in adoration are times of grace during which we should ponder His Divine Presence. We should also do all that we can to show Him reverence and devotion by our outward words and actions.

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - Seventh Sunday of Easter

By John Putnam • May 30, 2025
On this Feast of the Ascension, we celebrate Christ’s triumphant return to the Father after perfectly accomplishing His mission on earth. But we also can also view this Feast as a celebration of the “launch day” of our commissioning as Christ’s disciples. Today’s Gospel draws our attention to the clear instructions that Jesus gave His disciples (and to us) just before ascending to the Father: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." Embracing a stewardship way of life, with its emphasis on the use of time, talent and treasure, helps us to live in such a way that our very lives speak as a witness of the Good News of the Gospel. While we take time to reflect and renew our commitments in these three areas annually as a parish family, it is of great benefit to take some time individually throughout the year to take stock of the commitments we have made — looking at both our strengths and our need for continued growth in each area. On this Feast of our "launch day," take some time to celebrate your victories as Christ’s disciples and renew your commitment to remain faithful to Him and the unique mission He has entrusted to you! © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering In Matthew 28:20 Jesus reminds the apostles, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” I have always taken great strength and consolation from these words. They are foreshadowed in the Old Testament in Isaiah 41:20: “Fear not for I am with you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand.” These are words from a God who loves us and who desires our good. A God who desires to make His dwelling with us and to inspire us to live lives worthy of Himself. They are words that help us prepare ourselves to celebrate Pentecost and to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit in us and among us.  Next Saturday evening, we will celebrate the Rite of Confirmation and Reception into Full Communion with our candidates who have been participating in the OCIA process. Please keep them in your prayers and help them find their place within our parish community. In the morning next Saturday, we are privileged to host the diaconate ordination for seven of our diocesan seminarians. As noted previously, one of them, Michael Lugo, will be with us for the summer. This parish is phenomenal in helping these young men find their “ministerial feet” so to speak. And we always welcome the opportunity to be blessed with their enthusiasm and energy. Finally, the Diocese has approved our moving into the construction phase for the rectory project. The prep work has already been done, and the actual building phase should begin in the next few weeks. This weekend, we are making a final push to reach our campaign goal. If you have not done so, we need your help and participation. The goal is doable and, together we can accomplish much. Assuming our fundraising keeps apace our hope is to begin the main-campus project next summer. Between now and then we will be doing some evaluations and, where necessary, value engineering to help us stay on track with the plan.

From the Pastor - Sixth Sunday of Easter

By John Putnam • May 30, 2025
The concept of hospitality is fundamental to a stewardship way of life. When we envision hospitality, we naturally think of offering a sincere and warm welcome — to those new to our parish, for instance. We picture inviting them in and making them feel at home and at ease in our presence, communicating to them that they are highly valued. Today’s Gospel reading from John invites us to think of hospitality in a slightly different way. In it, we hear Jesus speaking this to his disciples: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” Jesus is asking that we permit the Blessed Trinity to come and dwell within us. This is a stunning request. It tells us that our first and most privileged form of hospitality should be directed towards God Himself. How does one show hospitality to God? How do we make God “at home and at ease” within us? How can we communicate to God that He is “highly valued” by us? Jesus tells us how: we are to keep His word, to follow HIs teachings. To keep His word, we must know His word. This takes discipline and effort on our part. We must make the study of Scripture and Church teaching a priority in our daily lives. If we want our parish to be a place of genuine Christian hospitality, we must be sure that our own hearts are hospitable dwelling places for the Blessed Trinity. Then our smiles and words, our greetings and ministries will radiate with the warmth of God’s love. And our parish family will become at least a little bit like Heaven on earth. This is the simplicity and glory of a stewardship way of life . © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025
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