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From the Pastor – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Nov 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 - 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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