Blog Layout

From the Pastor – Palm Sunday

Apr 15, 2019

From the Pastor – Palm Sunday

This Palm Sunday represents one of the great liturgical dichotomies. We begin the liturgy with a procession of celebration, and we continue to the reading of the Passion, which reaches its zenith with the Lord calling out, “ ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit’; and when he had said this he breathed his last.” It is as if we move from joy and celebration to utter defeat and emptiness. However, that is the essence of our entire Lenten journey, and our beginning of Holy Week, which is today. One of the important aspects of our sense of stewardship is gaining an understanding of our Faith, some of the details relating to what we do and why we do it.

The steward understands that she/he travels with the Lord every step of the way, from the highs to the lows, from triumph to evident disaster. Like Peter, nonetheless, we may become reluctant. What are we really following and what are we really believing and practicing? We may proclaim Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Throughout Lent we have been striving to deepen our relationship with Him. Nevertheless, when it comes right down to it, we may resist His invitation to us because it can mean pain, sacrifice, and suffering. That is why we must experience Lent. That is why we must experience His Passion. And that is why next week on Easter Sunday we will arise with the Lord in triumph, joy, and celebration. Truly, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Pastoral Pondering

Diocesan Support Appeal — We have exceeded our goal when donations received and pledges made are added together. Remember anything over our parish goal comes back to the parish to support our charitable giving efforts.

Stained Glass — All 22 windows are now sponsored. Thanks to all who supported this effort. The installation will take place over the coming months as each window is completed.

Matters of Faith — The following is taken from the Exodus 90 manual. As we begin Holy Week, I thought it a helpful reflection to share.

The use of incense is common to both the Hebrew and Christian liturgies, and has been for thousands of years. There are many reasons for the use of incense in worship: its smell, its “otherworldly” movement about the sanctuary, and its ability to lift the eyes and the mind toward God. Incense also has a connection to the realms of heaven.

The Psalmist petitions the Lord, crying, “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you” (Psalm 141:2). In Revelation, it is written that “another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God” (Revelation 8:3–4). If the smoke of incense is used to accompany the prayers of the saints to the seat of God, how much more important is it for us, the Church on earth, to make use of such a powerful sacramental.

Horns protrude from the altar as part of the Israelites’ earthly liturgy. In the description of the heavenly liturgy in the Book of Revelation, we read of “four horns of the golden altar before God” (Revelation 9:13). Both the earthly altar and the heavenly altar are ornamented with horns. This shows that the liturgy in which we participate on earth—the structure, the rubrics, the smells, the bells, the colors, and the actions—is designed to mirror as closely as possible the perfect worship of God, the heavenly liturgy. So the next time you encounter incense at Mass, as the smoke pours out into the sanctuary, know that you are joining your ancestors, the angels, and the saints in one universal offering to God.

Today, take some time to consider the sacred liturgy. Give God time to tell you all about each part, its function, and its fruits. If you have unanswered questions about certain parts of the liturgy, write them down and seek out the answers. Like the use of incense, other parts of the liturgy, when properly used, have much to teach us about God, ourselves, and our relationship with him.

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.
More Posts
Share by: