From the Pastor - Epiphany

January 7, 2019

From the Pastor - Epiphany

As we continue our celebration of the Christmas season, we observe today the great Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. The word “epiphany” means manifestation and throughout the Christmas readings we have seen that the newborn King is eager to reveal Himself to all those willing to accept His presence in their lives. From poor and humble shepherds to the international group of magi featured in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus makes it clear that He offers Himself as a gift to everyone.

We also see throughout the scriptures that God uses what is familiar to us to draw us to Himself. In the case of the magi – astrologers – He uses a star. Our Lord continues to speak to each one of us today. But we must be alert to “hear” and “see” Him in our daily lives.

How can we become better attuned to the ways God is speaking to us? We must strengthen our spiritual “senses” by spending time with the Lord in prayer every single day. In the same way that we set professional goals or exercise goals, we can set spiritual goals to ensure that we are taking the time to listen intentionally to God daily.

When we establish a regular, intentional time for prayer, we will find that the Lord continues to speak to us throughout the day. We will more easily recognize the “stars” He places before us to draw us into closer relationship with Him. We will begin to see that He is indeed present in our lives at every moment.

Pastoral Pondering

Christmas and the Christmas season is my favorite time in the Church calendar. The days of the Christmas Octave and the various feast days before Epiphany always bring me great joy. As I have been reflecting on this I am also conscious of the many folks who, especially at this time of year, struggle with faith in one way or another. While there are any number of reasons that explain this, one of the fundamental reasons that we struggle with faith is because we do not spend enough time developing an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. We also spend too much time focusing on how we “feel” rather than focusing on a true interpersonal friendship with the Lord.

This difficulty is not limited to the spiritual realm. It also infects relationships across the board. A married couple, for example, cannot hope to develop a meaningful bond if the spouses do not spend time getting to know one another and practicing charity with one another. Spouses come together to form a true marital union that is consummated in the marital embrace, after they truly commit themselves “for better or worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health…” Anything else is simply a cheap imitation and a subversion of God’s plan.

We often hear folks say that they don’t get anything out of Mass, or they don’t feel God’s presence. And yet, when you probe them a bit, it is clear they really have little or no knowledge of God and the faith, and they have invested very little, if anything, in their relationship with Him.

In all honesty faith is tough. It requires work. not because it depends on us, but because it depends on Christ who teaches us about the necessity of the Cross. We can never separate the wood of the manger from the wood of Calvary. Our society prides itself on instant gratification, but that is not reality. Faith requires nurture and time. Like marriage our faith life will only be successful when our love becomes sacrificial.

This sacrificial love is abundantly evident during the days of Christmas. The saints we celebrate all knew the reality of the Cross. The Holy Innocents, St. John the Apostle, St. Stephen, St. Thomas Becket, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. John Neumann experienced sacrificial love firsthand. Meditation on this miraculous connection between the manger and the Cross can do much to remind us that faith can only grow in the crucible of life’s challenges and difficulties just as the strongest marriages are often those which have weathered the storms of life and made it through to the other side.

As we conclude the Christmas season with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord next week, let us ask the Lord to help us truly love Him, know Him and serve Him. It is only by following this path that we will come to know Him as He desires us to know Him.

One of my favorite Christmas Carols is What Child is this? The traditional refrain following the second verse says: “Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, the Cross be borne for me, for you. Hail, hail the Word made flesh, The Babe, the Son of Mary.” This beautifully shows the connection between the Manger and the Cross and hopefully reminds us that the child in the manger and the God-man on the Cross are united expressions of God’s love for each of us. It is a love that is worth embracing even when it is difficult.

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • August 7, 2026
Stewardship spirituality invites us to surrender control of our lives to God in grateful recognition that everything we have is a gift from Him. Today's readings remind us that God is always in control of His creation and His people. They also reveal what can happen when we fully entrust our lives to Him — in other words, when we embrace the stewardship way of life. When we take our eyes off God, we lose sight of the fact that all is gift. We begin to rely on ourselves instead of trusting in Him, and we fail to make our lives a grateful response to His generosity. Peter experiences this in today's Gospel from Matthew. Jesus sends the disciples ahead of Him by boat. Later that evening, Jesus comes to them, walking on the water, and invites Peter to join Him. Peter steps out of the boat and begins walking toward the Lord. But when he notices the strong wind around him, instead of keeping his eyes on Christ, he begins to sink. Imagine if Peter had never looked away from Jesus. What an extraordinary adventure he would have experienced walking on the water with his Lord. The same is true for us. When we take our eyes off Christ, His countless blessings, and His faithful love for us, we begin to sink as well. But when we embrace the stewardship way of life, loosening our grip on our time, talents, and treasure and placing our trust in God, life becomes a great adventure rooted firmly in the One who never fails us. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2026. Pastoral Pondering First of all I want to thank all who participated in our meal packing effort last Friday and Saturday. What a gift it is to be able to come together as a community and unite for the sake of our brothers and sisters in need. These events cannot happen without the efforts of numerous people. To each of you who made it possible, THANK YOU! As we move into August and our lives begin reorienting from lazier summer months towards fall, it is an opportunity to reflect on the blessings that we were afforded to rest, refresh, and renew during these past weeks. Hopefully, family were able to spend some quality time with each other without the demands of school, work and the day to day demands that impact many of us.  For me, I was privileged once again to participate in the Te Deum Peace Pilgrimage to Fatima. This year we were able to invite and sponsor nine (9) seminarians from various dioceses including Charlotte, NC; Charleston, SC; Cleveland, OH; and Youngstown, OH. They along with a wonderful group of non-seminarian pilgrims were able to grow in our love for the Lord and Our Lady. It was a true blessing, and I was so impressed with the seminarians who were a part of our pilgrimage family for our time in Portugal and Spain. Along the same lines, please pray for parishioner Mark Pressley who is entering St. Joseph College Seminary. Mark’s family has been a part of the parish for many years. Keep him and the other nine (9) young men who are beginning their formation this fall.

From the Pastor - 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • July 31, 2026
Today’s readings should inspire the Christian steward with deepened gratitude for our God, who loves us with both fierce and tender love. We must make an intentional response each day, returning love for Love. In our Second Reading from Romans, St. Paul reminds us that nothing and no one can separate us from the love of Christ. No anguish, distress, persecution, famine — and we might add illness, financial hardship, family struggles, or uncertainty about the future — nothing can keep our God from loving us. God holds us securely in the palm of His hand. And yet, this reassurance is only the beginning of God’s gifts to us. Our Gospel from Matthew recounts the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish. This miracle foreshadows the gift of the Eucharist, where Christ feeds us not simply with bread, but with His own Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Notice how the Gospel begins. "His heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick." What generous and compassionate love our Lord shows. But even that is not enough for Him. He remains with the people, teaching and ministering to them until evening. When the disciples suggest sending the crowds away to find food, Jesus instead invites them to become part of His plan. He tells them to feed the people, then miraculously multiplies the few loaves and fish they offer. What a privilege it was for the disciples to participate in Christ's work. That same privilege is ours as Christian stewards. Let us respond with grateful hearts to such amazing love. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants,