From the Pastor 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 9, 2018

From the Pastor 14 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The First Reading from the prophet Ezekiel tells of how Ezekiel was called by God. The Lord speaks to him and says, “Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you.” God knew He was not giving Ezekiel an easy task, but that is part of what being called by the Lord sometimes involves.

Being called is something to which we often make reference, as each of us is called in Baptism. St. Paul once wrote that we are “called to belong to Jesus Christ.” The United States Bishops issued a document a few years ago titled Disciples Called to Witness. That is what we are all to do as baptized Catholics.

In that treatise the Bishops say, “To create a culture of witness, we must live explicit lives of discipleship. Being a disciple is a challenge. Fortunately, one does not become a disciple of Christ on his or her own initiative. The work of the Holy Spirit within the Christian community forms the person as a disciple of Christ.”

God does not forsake us when we are called, just as He did not abandon Ezekiel. He is with us through the Holy Spirit to strengthen us and assist us. We must allow the Lord to help us. At the same time, we must strive to be disciples of the Lord. We are called to spread the light of the Gospel in everything we do.

Pastoral Pondering

Due to the necessity of getting bulletin submissions in early for July 4 th week, I am writing this as I am returning from a retreat for priests at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. There were about 200 priests, deacons and seminarians in attendance. Deacon Louie, Deacon Rich, Father McNulty and Father Casey Coleman attended from our Diocese. It was a truly renewing experience.

The overall theme for the conference was United based on Jesus’ words in John 17:20-21 “I pray… that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you.” The talks focused on the importance of unity in the Church, in families, in society, and being united to Christ. It was certainly a timely topic considering all of the division we see all around us.

Ultimately, as Christians, we are called to be united with Jesus Christ. In order for that union to occur though, we have to sincerely seek a relationship with Him. When I was growing up, there was a lot of discussion and focus on developing a personal relationship with Jesus. Some Catholics get nervous with that kind of language because it seems “very Protestant”. However, in order to really know someone, we have to have a personal relationship with the person. It is fairly easy to form a superficial opinion of someone, but to really encounter them and know them, we have to go much deeper.

One of the profound insights that I gained from the retreat was how easy it is to live with a divided heart. We can all go through the proper motions of being Catholic: going to Mass, praying more or less, and trying (at least more times than not) to love God and our neighbor (or at least say that we do). However, going through the motions is not really an expression to true love. All of us can get side-tracked by worldly concerns and allow the most important thing, our relationship with the Living God, to take a back-burner.

If we truly want to be intentional disciples and form a culture of witness, we have to truly get to know Jesus Christ and fall in love with Him. There is no other way. We all fall short, but with the Holy Spirit to help us, every one of us can come to know and love the Lord. True disciples who love Jesus Christ are the ones who will be able to change the culture of division and hatred that we seem to be living in. The Holy Spirit is the manifestation of the love that exists between the Father and the Son, and He wants to draw each one of us into the very life of the Trinity. Take some time this week to ask yourself what is keeping me from encountering Jesus? What is causing me to hold back from Him? Then take some time in prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to remove whatever obstacles might be in the way so that we can all develop a personal and loving relationship with the One who loved us first.

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.
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