From the Pastor – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

November 13, 2017

From the Pastor – 32 nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

If you pay attention, you are aware that our Church year is drawing to a close. Today is the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Next Sunday is the Thirty-third, and the last Sunday in November is the Feast of Christ the King. With December come Advent and the new Church liturgical year. Throughout this year most of our Gospel Readings have come to us from Matthew, which is the norm for Cycle A, our current year. With the new Church year we will hear Gospels largely from St. Mark.

As we approach the end of the Church year, we also reach the end of the Book of Matthew. Today’s Gospel comes from Chapter 25. Chapter 26 begins with the Last Supper and Jesus’ final hours before His Crucifixion. Most scholars feel that Matthew’s Gospel presents the fullest account of Christ’s teaching. What we have heard in recent weeks confirms that as Christ has presented us with several teaching parables, including today’s Parable of the Ten Virgins.

The Holy Word as we hear it in scripture and at each Mass is filled with wisdom. Today’s First Reading is drawn from the Book of Wisdom. Written only 50 years or so before the coming of Christ, the primary purpose of the book is basically indicative of its name — the author extols the splendor and worth of divine wisdom. Today’s reading, as is the case with many in Wisdom, is intended to provide background for Jesus’ teaching. “For taking thought of wisdom is the perfection of prudence.” Throughout the year we are called to listen carefully and to hear and assimilate the Holy Word of the Lord. Doing that and making an effort to understand the messages of wisdom found therein do bring us wisdom.

In all of his various letters there are four occasions when St. Paul cautions those to whom he is writing, “We do not want you to be unaware…” In other words Paul wants to make sure that they (we) are not ignorant about something. Today Paul writes “We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep.” Paul is speaking about the Second Coming of Christ, and his reminder leads very well into Jesus’ message in today’s Gospel. (The other three times Paul uses the phraseology are when he writes the Romans not to be ignorant of God’s plan for Israel; in First Corinthians Paul says do not be ignorant about spiritual gifts; and in Second Corinthians he says not to be ignorant of the suffering and trials in Christian living).

The phrase “fallen asleep” was common at Paul’s time to refer to death. Were you aware, for example, that the word “cemetery” meant, “sleeping places?” Paul’s point is that we who are living must also be prepared. And there is hope because the reward for being prepared is that “…we shall always be with the Lord.” That is the great reward of heaven — to be with Jesus forever. Paul points out that not even death can break our unity with Jesus and other Christians.

Jesus could not be clearer about the necessity of preparedness on our part. The Lord reminds us in the Gospel from St. Matthew “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Jesus wants His followers, His disciples, to be ready and prepared. He also makes it clear the price for failing to be ready is high: “Amen, I say to you I do not know you.”

Holy Scripture prompts us often to be aware and ready. In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul paralleled Christ’s message, stating, “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than we ever believed.” Disciples of Jesus need to think often about the fact that He may come any time. We will stand before Him and give an account of our lives, of our stewardship really. He has entrusted us with many gifts. Are we ready to justify how we have used those gifts?

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - Pentecost

By John Putnam • June 6, 2025
Today we reach the finale of the Easter season with the celebration of the great Feast of Pentecost. Reflecting on today’s readings, inspires a sense of awe as we consider the mighty power of the Holy Spirit at work giving birth to and sustaining our Church. Just as awesome — the same Spirit is calling to us this day to take up our part in the Church’s saving work. In the first reading, from Acts, we see the creative genius of the Holy Spirit moving through the newly confirmed Apostles “who began to speak in different tongues as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” The large crowd, gathered from all over the world were “amazed” and “astounded” that each one could understand the Apostles speaking in their own language. Each one of us, young and old alike, is personally called today by the Holy Spirit into the same mission as that of the first Apostles — to advance the Kingdom of God in our corner of the world. Just as He did on that Pentecost day, the Holy Spirit speaks to us in our “own language” to give us the Good News of the Gospel and urge us to share it. We can think of our own language as the particular gifts, talents, and passions we possess. We experience the presence of the Holy Spirit through them and we are meant to put them to work in grateful service of the Kingdom of God. When we consider the stewardship way of life we are called to live, we often focus on the challenges it poses. Surrendering ourselves to God is indeed a challenging way to live. But it leads to a life that is exciting, creative, and deeply rewarding. Stewardship allows us to experience life as a great adventure because it is a life guided and directed by the very source of power and creativity— the Holy Spirit! © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering At the dawn of creation, the Spirit hovered over the waters (Genesis 1:2). In that very moment, God breathed life into the world. That same breath, that same Spirit, was breathed into the apostles when Jesus said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22) The Holy Spirit is not an abstract force. He is the breath of God , the Giver of Life, who animates the Church and renews our hearts. Without the Spirit, we are like dry bones in a desert. With Him, we are brought to life and made new. In the Acts of the Apostles, the Spirit descends upon the disciples like tongues of fire, and they begin to speak in different languages. But notice this: though they spoke in many tongues, they all understood one another . The Spirit doesn’t cause confusion—He brings unity. In a world divided by language, culture, politics, and pride, the Holy Spirit builds communion. He makes us one body in Christ. He does not erase our differences, but He harmonizes them. As St. Paul says, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.” We are each unique, with our own gifts and personalities. But the Holy Spirit brings those together for the common good of the Church. Unity in diversity—that is the hallmark of the Spirit. The apostles were afraid and hiding before the Spirit came. But when the Spirit descended, they were transformed. Cowards became courageous. Fishermen became preachers. Ordinary men became saints. That is what the Holy Spirit does. We too are sent—into our families, our workplaces, our communities. We are sent to proclaim the Gospel not always with words, but with our lives. We are called to be witnesses of mercy, joy, and truth in a world desperately thirsting for God. And the good news is: we are not alone . The Spirit is our Advocate, our Helper, our Strength. He prays in us when we do not know how to pray. He inspires, guides, convicts, and consoles. Let us open our hearts more fully to the Holy Spirit. Invite Him into your life daily. Ask Him to stir up in you the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Let us not treat the Holy Spirit as a distant mystery, but as a close companion. Let us walk by the Spirit, live by the Spirit, and be on fire with the Spirit.  Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Amen.

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.
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