Evangelical Reflections - Saturday of the 3rd Week of Lent - March 13, 2021

March 13, 2021

Saturday of the 3rd week of Lent


In today’s 1st reading, we hear the words: “it is love that I desire, not sacrifice”; our Responsorial Psalm says, “It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice” and our Gospel illustrates an example of what God expects this to look like.

Jesus tells a Parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector. To the Jews back then, the Pharisee would’ve been held in high esteem and honored, while the tax collector would’ve been seen as a horrible sinner and no one would have wanted to associate with him. Jesus says that these two men both went to the Temple and had very different prayers. The Pharisee praised all of the good deeds that he himself did, while the tax collector quietly asked for God’s forgiveness. Jesus says that the tax collector was the one who was justified, was seen as forgiven and worthy in God’s sight, not the Pharisee.

The beginning of this Gospel also says that Jesus addressed this parable to “those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else”. This is what we call “spiritual pride”. This is a temptation that can come upon those who have sought to draw closer to the Lord and then begin to take a moral high ground. They then begin to look down upon those who are not as good or as holy as they are (or they think they are).

We can see this play out in every church, in every religious tradition across the world. As Catholics, as Christians, we are called to not fall into that trap. Jesus warns us about this right here in this parable. Just because the Pharisee was doing all of the right things on the outside, his interior disposition was not like that of the tax collector’s. The Pharisee was looking down on the tax collector for the outward but had no idea what was happening on the inside, which is where God looks.

We all need to take a serious look at our interior dispositions: do I look down upon or judge others who may not be on the same spiritual “level” as myself? For example, when someone comes to Church and they may not be dressed the way I think they should be, am I throwing them dirty looks and thinking, “well, thank God I’m not dressed like that”? We are no better than a Pharisee when we do that. That’s one example, but there are many others.

What is our interior voice saying when we see others maybe not doing what we think is moral? Is it immediately to judge them and thank God I’m not like that? If so, we need to begin to change our thoughts because our thoughts become our actions. We should instead say a prayer for that person and ask God to expand MY heart to love them like He does.

Let’s strive everyday to be repentant tax collectors, not self-righteous Pharisees.

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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