From the Pastor – First Sunday of Advent

December 3, 2018

From the Pastor – First Sunday of Advent

We have arrived at the powerful season of Advent, a season to prepare with awe and wonder for the Feast of the Incarnation of Jesus — born to us as Savior and Brother. It is a season to prepare for His return at the end of time.

It is also a moment to remind ourselves that that our individual judgment day is coming, too, when we will be called to give an account for all that God has given to us during our lifetimes. In other words, Advent is a steward’s season!

Our readings for the first week of Advent waste no time in calling our urgent attention to these themes of reflection and preparation. They seem to shout, “Wake up! Get ready!” and offer us some practical advice as we enter into this season.

The Gospel, from Luke, warns, “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life.” How easy it is to lose focus on our Lord either by too much indulgence in our lives or by too much worry about our lives. Both extremes are easy to fall prey to. To avoid these traps this we are told to “be vigilant” and “pray for strength to sustain us.”

During Advent, we Christian stewards must ask ourselves some hard questions. Am I staying faithful to my prayer life? Am I using my energy and skills to serve others? Am I overly concerned about material gain? Am I relying on my “stuff” or my investments as my source of comfort or security? Am I living for the moment or for the coming of the Lord?

Get ready Christian stewards! He’s coming! Let us prepare with awe and wonder.

Pastoral Pondering

With the First Sunday of Advent we begin a new Liturgical year, the year of St. Luke. It is also an opportunity to begin again to follow the Lord in a more intentional and committed way. True discipleship has never been a passive thing. It requires an active response on the part of the disciple. Simply being a spectator is not being an intentional disciple. Many of you have very intentionally responded to our Angel Tree outreach and to our call for Room in the Inn volunteers. These are just two ways intentional discipleship can take flesh in our lives.

We are surrounded by opportunities to be an intentional disciple of the Lord. For example, I was recently on the Lynx from downtown Charlotte to UNCC. A friend was in from out of town, and we thought riding the train would be a good way to see the surrounding area while avoiding the highway. During the course of the journey, we met a man by the name of Clarence. As far as we could tell, Clarence was homeless, but he had a joy and serenity about him that was contagious. He was quick to say hello to everyone and share a bit of his story.

I could not help but think about the character of Clarence from It´s a Wonderful Life. Ín that story Clarence was an angel who was assigned to help the main character, George Bailey, realize the blessings in his life and the impact he had made on those around him. In many respects the Clarence we encountered on the train did the same for us. In his poverty, he was joyful. In the midst of the struggles of life, he still exhibited a deep and abiding love for his fellow human beings. He taught us, and especially me, that regardless of how difficult life may seem, there are always blessings, seen and unseen. The letter to the Hebrews reminds us “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (13:2). I’m not sure if our Clarence was trying to earn his wings as was the Clarence from the story, but he certainly played the part of an angel in reminding us the beauty of life and the abundance of God’s blessings.

As we begin this new Liturgical year, let us one an all recommit ourselves to intentionally following the Lord and to pray for the opportunity to entertain angels in service to His glory and majesty.

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).