From the Pastor – 3rd Sunday of Lent

March 15, 2020

From the Pastor – 3rd Sunday of Lent

Today’s readings on this third Sunday of Lent present us with the theme of “thirst” and show us that a stewardship way of life can both satisfy our spiritual thirst for Christ and help us to satisfy Christ’s thirst for souls.

Our first reading, from the book of Exodus, begins with the words, “In their thirst for water, the people grumbled against Moses.” What little faith and lack of trust they show after all God has done to free them from slavery. But Moses cried out to God for help, and sure enough God provided generously to satisfy thirst. He continues to provide generously for us these many centuries later.

Our Gospel passage from John recounts the life-changing encounter Christ has with the Samaritan woman at the well beginning with His words to her, “Give me a drink.” Then, He adds, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

Christ is speaking the very same words to us to us today. These two verses encapsulate the call to stewardship. Christ asks us to “give him a drink” by sharing what we have with Him and with others for His sake. Yet, it is Christ Himself who provides the water — the living water that is His grace.

God has chosen to include us in His plan for bringing all people to salvation through Him. We live out our part in His plan through a stewardship way of life. This Lent, let us resolve to respond to His call with passion and commitment. Let us do our part to quench His thirst.

Pastoral Pondering — The final pillar of Lent to consider is that of almsgiving. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes it this way: “Money or goods given to the poor as an act of penance or fraternal charity. Almsgiving, together with prayer and fasting, are traditionally recommended to foster the state of interior penance…Fasting indicates conversion in relation to oneself, penance indicates conversion in relation to God, and almsgiving indicates conversion in relation to others” (CCC, 1434).

St. Peter reminds us in his first letter that “love covers a multitude of sin” (1 Pt. 4:8). Hence, actively pursuing the corporal works of mercy as an expression of love for our neighbor becomes on outward expression of interior conversion. Father of Mercy Wade Menezes says it this way:

Works of mercy are those charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbors in their bodily and spiritual needs (cf., Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2447).  And while such actions are surely many, the Church’s traditional listing includes fourteen very important ones:  seven for the body (called the “corporal works of mercy” after the Latin word “corpus” which means “body”), and seven for the soul (called the “spiritual works of mercy”).  It’s precisely because the human person is a body-soul composite that the fourteen works of mercy are so important in the life of the Christian who is ready to aid his fellow man.  As human persons, we not only have bodies, we are bodies; and we not only have souls, we are souls.  And both the corporal and spiritual aspects of man need to be nurtured and maintained.

Deeply rooted in Sacred Scripture, the corporal works of mercy are to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and bury the dead.  The spiritual works of mercy are to admonish the sinner, instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, comfort the sorrowful, bear wrongs patiently, forgive all injuries and to pray for the living and the dead.

One more important point:  we all know that the liturgical season of Lent is about increased prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  The seven-corporal works of mercy, especially, serve as a wonderful guide to almsgiving whether as an act of penance or fraternal charity.  As Pope St. Gregory the Great teaches us, “When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours.  More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice.” fathersofmercy.com/fourteen-works-mercy

Hence, when we participate in the three pillars of Lent, we enter into a process of intentional conversion. Just as sin damages our relationship with ourselves, with God and with others, so too our observance of the traditional Lenten practices of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving helps heal the woundedness of these relationships and remain steadfast on the path to heaven.

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • October 3, 2025
Our readings today show us that living a stewardship way of life, that is, a life focused on serving God and His Kingdom, is not easy. They also show us that our lives belong to God, not to us, and that God will indeed bring about the fulfillment of His kingdom., We just need to have faith that He can do it and commit to our small part in His grand design. This is both our privilege and responsibility as Christian stewards. Jesus makes this privilege and responsibility clear in today’s Gospel passage from Luke. When the apostles as the Lord to increase their faith, He tells them that even a mustard-seed sized faith is all that is needed to move mountains (because it is God who does the heavy lifting). We need to only take the tiniest step forward, and He will do the rest. But living our lives in His service is also very much our responsibility, as Jesus explains through the parable of the unprofitable servant later in the passage. Our Lord describes a scene in which a servant has just come from tending to the master’s affairs and asks whether it would be reasonable for the master to begin waiting on the servant. Of course, it would not be reasonable! The servant would be expected to continue to serve his master until he has completed the work the master has given him that day. Jesus says that we should have the same attitude before God. The time, talents, and treasure entrusted to us are all God’s. Our very lives belong to Him. Whatever we do on God’s behalf with our lives and our gifts is simply our God-given responsibility. The stewardship way of life makes the privilege and responsibility of serving Christ and His kingdom a reality. ©Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering  As we move into autumnal colors, with shorter days and cooling weather, the late weeks of the liturgical year always provide us with an opportunity to reflect on faith and life. It is also that time of the calendar year when we start thinking about those who are less fortunate among us. In the coming weeks, we have a number of efforts to assist the least of our brethren with life’s basic needs including the coat drive, thanksgiving food drive and the Christmas giving effort (formerly known as the Angel Tree ©). There are no shortage of demands placed on all of us these days, but the spiritual and corporal works of mercy remain the bedrock of our Catholic lives. Thank you in advance for responding with a generous heart.

From the Pastor - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • September 26, 2025
We have all been given great power by God in the form of Time, Talents, and Treasure. Today’s readings remind us that this power is meant to be used for great good. And that failure to do so has eternal consequences. We see the urgency for us to put our powers to good use in today’s Gospel passage from Luke. Our Lord tells the rather chilling parable of the rich man who ignored poor Lazarus during their lifetimes. At the moment of the rich man’s death, he goes down to the netherworld, while Lazarus is taken to the eternal joy and comfort in the bosom of Abraham. The rich man keenly regrets his indifference towards the needs of Lazarus, but it is too late for regret. His choices have played out, and now the rich man will face the consequences of his failure to use the gifts God gave him. Pursuit of God’s kingdom and care for the poor are not trifling matters. Our Lord makes this clear to us over and over in the Scriptures and the constant teachings of our 2,000-year-old Church. We are free to ignore these teachings and live instead for ourselves. But there will be tragic results for us in the end. And, because we are made for eternity, living selfishly on this earth doesn’t really bring us true happiness anyway. So how can we use our great powers for great good? By embracing stewardship way of life. By putting God first in all areas of our lives — in the way we spend our time, the ways we share our talents, the ways we give of our financial resources. Stewardship living calls us out of our comfort zone and into commitment to the Lord and the things that matter to Him. ©Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering Even though this year is not a presidential or mid-term election, local elections are quite important, and we often don’t take them as seriously as we should. This year we have two parishioners running for office, Dan Boone is running for town council, and Bill Fountain is running for school board. To some these positions may seem insignificant, but it is at the local level that we, as Catholics, can have the greatest impact. I thought it might be helpful then to give a reminder of the duties of Catholics in political life. The Church teaches that lay Catholics bear primary responsibility for temporal affairs, including politics, as an extension of baptismal vocation (CCC 1913). Key duties include:  Forming Conscience : Study Church teachings to discern moral priorities; avoid reducing faith to single issues but prioritize intrinsic evils like abortion. Active Involvemen t: Vote informatively, run for office, join parties or advocacy groups, and dialogue with officials to apply Gospel values. Pope Francis stated, "A good Catholic meddles in politics," offering the best of oneself to help leaders govern justly. Non-Partisan Advocacy : The Church engages issues (e.g., life, family, peace) but avoids partisanship to focus on principles. Parishes can host voter education but not endorse candidates. For Public Officials : Catholic politicians must align actions with Church moral teachings; supporting grave evils like abortion risks scandal and cooperation in evil. Separation of church and state protects, rather than hinders, faith-based action in public life. Challenges and Encouragement In polarized environments, Catholics may feel disenfranchised, but the Church calls for renewed engagement to transform society incrementally toward justice. Resources like the USCCB's Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship (updated periodically) guide voters on applying Catholic Social Teaching. Ultimately, political action flows from love of neighbor, proving faith through works (James 2:14–17).