From the Pastor – Second Sunday of Lent

February 26, 2018

From the Pastor – Second Sunday of Lent – February 25, 2018

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) posts notes regarding all the Books of the Bible. In its introduction to Paul’s Letter to the Romans (our Second Reading), the USCCB says, “Of all the letters of Paul, that to the Christians at Rome has long held pride of place. It is the longest and most systematic unfolding of the apostle’s thought, expounding the gospel of God’s righteousness that saves all who believe; it reflects a universal outlook.”

Paul’s Letter to the Romans is in fact the longest of his letters in the New Testament (Romans is more than 7,000 words; that is much shorter, of course, than the shortest Gospel, Mark, which is still more than 11,000 words.) However, as stated by the Bishops, the Letter to the Romans explained in a more detailed way Paul’s theology and spirituality than any other letter.

Regardless the length, today’s reading contains a statement with which many of us are familiar, but which has great meaning: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The significance of that is that if we are on the side of righteousness, which should be a major goal of our Lenten experience, there should be nothing to threaten us.

We understand that we will be judged. Paul’s point is if we are judged “not guilty” by God, who can bring an additional charge with any merit? Or, if Jesus is our advocate, promoting our benefit, then who can condemn us? This is the time to place our trust in God, and in His love.

Pastoral Pondering

Since New Year’s Day a group of men in the parish has been participating in Exodus 90 and a group of women in Proverbs 90. The purpose of both is to help those participating focus on what Scripture calls “the higher gifts” (1 Cor. 12). It is very easy for us to get caught up in the “things of the world” (1 John 2:15) and to forget those things that are eternally important.

In the men’s program, participants receive daily email messages with a passage from the book of Exodus and a brief reflection. The meditation for Day 45 focused on the Sense of the Sacred. In Exodus 19:1-15 the Lord instructs Moses to teach the people of how they are to prepare for their encounter with Him at Sinai. The people are to wash themselves and their clothes, fast, and pray. They are also warned not to come close to the mountain or even touch it under pain of death. They are also told that they are to be God’s “own possession”.

In the reflection, the writer ponders how important it is to realize a sense of the sacred in our lives, especially in the way in which we approach Holy Mass and the House of God. The Israelite took great pains to observe God’s instructions to Moses. We too are called to realize that what we do at Mass is different from anything else that we do in the world.

Unlike the Israelites who were forbidden to even touch the mountain, we are invited to actually receive God into ourselves through the Eucharist. However, we have to be mindful that such an august gift requires an appropriate response on our part. How we prepare to assist at the Holy Sacrifice should be no less important for us than preparing for their encounter was for the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai. This is the point of the meditation I mention above. As the meditation’s author points out:

“Americans have lost the sense of the sacred. Rarely do we stand in awe before the Lord and ponder our insignificance before Him.  Consider for a moment our own parish Churches; in most places, the days are gone when people treated the sanctuary with great sensitivity and respect; days when people rarely entered the sanctuary unless properly vested and prepared. The Hebrew people were advised to wash their garments and prepare to receive the Lord. Today, grown men can be see attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass ungroomed, wearing flip flops, shorts and a tank top and, God forbid, if they are questioned or challenged about their appearance, they scowl and are incensed, demanding they not be judged. ‘At least I am here,’ is the shallow defense presented.

In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we are presented to God, who abides spiritually in the Sacred Scriptures and substantially in the Eucharist, present “under the appearance of bread and wine”. A Catholic who desires the relationship given above, to be “my own possession” as God said above, will properly discern what is before him and will humbly present himself to the Lord properly prepared and as ready as he can be. Anything else is an offense against God and is a sacrilege!”

Over the next few weeks, I will be writing about different aspects of reverence that will help us all more fruitfully experience our encounter with God.

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - Pentecost

By John Putnam • June 6, 2025
Today we reach the finale of the Easter season with the celebration of the great Feast of Pentecost. Reflecting on today’s readings, inspires a sense of awe as we consider the mighty power of the Holy Spirit at work giving birth to and sustaining our Church. Just as awesome — the same Spirit is calling to us this day to take up our part in the Church’s saving work. In the first reading, from Acts, we see the creative genius of the Holy Spirit moving through the newly confirmed Apostles “who began to speak in different tongues as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” The large crowd, gathered from all over the world were “amazed” and “astounded” that each one could understand the Apostles speaking in their own language. Each one of us, young and old alike, is personally called today by the Holy Spirit into the same mission as that of the first Apostles — to advance the Kingdom of God in our corner of the world. Just as He did on that Pentecost day, the Holy Spirit speaks to us in our “own language” to give us the Good News of the Gospel and urge us to share it. We can think of our own language as the particular gifts, talents, and passions we possess. We experience the presence of the Holy Spirit through them and we are meant to put them to work in grateful service of the Kingdom of God. When we consider the stewardship way of life we are called to live, we often focus on the challenges it poses. Surrendering ourselves to God is indeed a challenging way to live. But it leads to a life that is exciting, creative, and deeply rewarding. Stewardship allows us to experience life as a great adventure because it is a life guided and directed by the very source of power and creativity— the Holy Spirit! © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering At the dawn of creation, the Spirit hovered over the waters (Genesis 1:2). In that very moment, God breathed life into the world. That same breath, that same Spirit, was breathed into the apostles when Jesus said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22) The Holy Spirit is not an abstract force. He is the breath of God , the Giver of Life, who animates the Church and renews our hearts. Without the Spirit, we are like dry bones in a desert. With Him, we are brought to life and made new. In the Acts of the Apostles, the Spirit descends upon the disciples like tongues of fire, and they begin to speak in different languages. But notice this: though they spoke in many tongues, they all understood one another . The Spirit doesn’t cause confusion—He brings unity. In a world divided by language, culture, politics, and pride, the Holy Spirit builds communion. He makes us one body in Christ. He does not erase our differences, but He harmonizes them. As St. Paul says, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.” We are each unique, with our own gifts and personalities. But the Holy Spirit brings those together for the common good of the Church. Unity in diversity—that is the hallmark of the Spirit. The apostles were afraid and hiding before the Spirit came. But when the Spirit descended, they were transformed. Cowards became courageous. Fishermen became preachers. Ordinary men became saints. That is what the Holy Spirit does. We too are sent—into our families, our workplaces, our communities. We are sent to proclaim the Gospel not always with words, but with our lives. We are called to be witnesses of mercy, joy, and truth in a world desperately thirsting for God. And the good news is: we are not alone . The Spirit is our Advocate, our Helper, our Strength. He prays in us when we do not know how to pray. He inspires, guides, convicts, and consoles. Let us open our hearts more fully to the Holy Spirit. Invite Him into your life daily. Ask Him to stir up in you the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Let us not treat the Holy Spirit as a distant mystery, but as a close companion. Let us walk by the Spirit, live by the Spirit, and be on fire with the Spirit.  Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Amen.

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.
More Posts