From the Pastor - Fourth Sunday of Advent

December 25, 2017

From the Pastor - Fourth Sunday of Advent

Reflection on the Readings

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to Your word.” With those words, our Blessed Mother Mary places her total trust in God. We are called to do the same, and this final Sunday of Advent is the time for us to do that, if we have not previously. Mary’s response to God is the same response we need to offer the Lord. It is most appropriate that we hear this message at this time and on this day.

This took much more trust in the Lord than we might imagine. Mary agreed to receive a pregnancy that would be suspect in a culture which had a potential death penalty for adultery. Spiritually speaking, there are similarities between the Lord’s work in Mary and His work in all of us. Jesus lives within each of us spiritually. He lived in Mary not only spiritually but also physically.

Jesus was made visible to the world through Mary physically, but He should be made visible to the world through us as well. Who we are and how we relate to and treat others is a sign to the world of Who Jesus is and what a Christian is and should be. Are we showing the world what it means to be His disciple? Is there a better time than this to do so?

The entertainer and comedian Bob Hope once said, “My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?”

Pastoral Pondering

When the fourth Sunday of Advent occurs on Christmas eve, it creates a unique challenge to parish priests. Two distinct celebrations require two distinct homilies (sometimes in multiple languages), and changing from Advent to Christmas in a few hours can cause “liturgical whiplash”! At the same time, while I am happy it only happens every 11 years (the next occurrences being 2023 and 2034), it does provide us an opportunity to connect Mary’s fiat in the morning with the Birth of the Lord in the evening in a rather dramatic way.

For Catholics, the Liturgical cycle helps us to connect more intimately with the history of Salvation. Living our lives in union with the solemnities and feasts of the liturgical year helps us to have an eternal view of things rather than being trapped by attachment to earthly realities. The eight days following Christmas make up the Christmas Octave during which the Church continues its celebration of the Birth of the Messiah in a profound way. The feasts of St. Stephen, St. John the Evangelist and the Holy Innocents are celebrated on December 26 th , 27 th and 28 th respectively. The Church does this to remind us that the mysteries of Jesus’ life must always be seen together. You cannot separate the crib from the Cross.

Please know that as we celebrate this holy season, Father Becker, Father Carter, and I are praying for each of you in a very special way but especially when we approach the altar for Holy Mass. I pray that this Christmas may bring you a deeper awareness of God’s blessings in your life and give you a grateful heart with which you can impart those blessings to others.

From the Pastor

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.

From the Pastor - Sixth Sunday of Easter

By John Putnam • May 30, 2025
The concept of hospitality is fundamental to a stewardship way of life. When we envision hospitality, we naturally think of offering a sincere and warm welcome — to those new to our parish, for instance. We picture inviting them in and making them feel at home and at ease in our presence, communicating to them that they are highly valued. Today’s Gospel reading from John invites us to think of hospitality in a slightly different way. In it, we hear Jesus speaking this to his disciples: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” Jesus is asking that we permit the Blessed Trinity to come and dwell within us. This is a stunning request. It tells us that our first and most privileged form of hospitality should be directed towards God Himself. How does one show hospitality to God? How do we make God “at home and at ease” within us? How can we communicate to God that He is “highly valued” by us? Jesus tells us how: we are to keep His word, to follow HIs teachings. To keep His word, we must know His word. This takes discipline and effort on our part. We must make the study of Scripture and Church teaching a priority in our daily lives. If we want our parish to be a place of genuine Christian hospitality, we must be sure that our own hearts are hospitable dwelling places for the Blessed Trinity. Then our smiles and words, our greetings and ministries will radiate with the warmth of God’s love. And our parish family will become at least a little bit like Heaven on earth. This is the simplicity and glory of a stewardship way of life . © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025
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