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From the Pastor - 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Oct 22, 2021

Our Psalm today, “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy,” sheds light on our glorious Gospel reading about the healing of the blind man, Bartimaeus.

We can learn a lot from Bartimaeus when it comes to our own personal relationships with Jesus. Many of us struggle with something from which we need healing — physical blindness, illness, addiction, bad habits, anger, sin. In our weakness, do we confidently cry out to Jesus knowing that He will help us?


Oftentimes we begin to, but then a voice in our thoughts tells us to doubt and encourages us to stop trying, like the crowd in our Gospel. Although that voice is persistent and strong, we are called to cry out all the more. If Jesus can hear one voice in a crowd of many, then He can hear our direct prayer to Him in our hearts.


Our Gospel story closes with the miraculous moment when Bartimaeus is healed. The conversation with Jesus was simple. Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he would like Him to do. This man, blind for who knows how many years, desired sight. Jesus responded, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” He was healed and continued to follow Christ.


There was not much that Bartimaeus had to do to become healed. All he needed was his undoubting faith.


Whatever it is that we are struggling with in this life, all Jesus asks of us is to have faith in Him. As a result, we will remain steadfast in our relationship with Christ and will have the strength to keep going. And although we might not be healed in this life, Jesus still hears our confident cries. And through our faith we will surely be healed in the next. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2021


Pastoral Pondering

I hope that everyone is enjoying the beautiful fall weather. It is one of my favorite times of the year. I wanted to update you on a few things.


Priest Personnel - Father Bean has been dealing with some ongoing health issues. He has requested and been granted a medical leave from fulltime ministry so that he can focus on his health. He will continue to live with us and help as he is able. Please keep him in your prayers. In light of Father Bean’s situation, Father Carlson will be delaying his return to school in Canada. Father Yumo has stepped in to the chaplaincy at St. Mark School, and Father Carlson is assisting with chaplaincy at Christ the King.


Diocesan Golden Jubilee – The Diocese of Charlotte is celebrating 50 years in 2022. Celebrations and activities will be planned throughout the year, and the Eucharistic Congress will especially focus on this milestone. As more information comes out, I will pass it on.


Synod on Synodality – As you may have seen in the news, the Holy Father has called for a Synod on Synodality to meet in Rome in 2023. The first phase of the preparations for the synod takes place on the local and diocesan level. The Bishop’s office is presently working on a plan to move forward with this, and each parish will have its own role to play. I will call on the Pastoral Council to be of special assistance with the effort once we have a clearer understanding of what is involved.


Seminarians – We have been blessed with a number of men from the parish who are at present discerning the priesthood. Several of our Diocesan seminarians, including Christian Goduti, were studying in Rome. Due to ongoing COVID restrictions in Italy, the men decided it was best to come back to the states. The four who were studying in Rome will continue their studies with the other seminarians in Cincinnati on January. As always continue to pray for vocations.


Rectory Living – As I have mentioned here before, due to the unexpected increase in building expenses last summer, we had the opportunity to purchase a home away from campus that provides adequate space for each of the priests and also accommodates the seminarians and priests that often come our way for various events. This was an investment approved by the Finance Council and the Diocese that, should it be advantageous in the future can be sold and the proceeds used to provide a rectory either on the main campus or closer to it. The “Parish House” as distinct from “Ranson Road” is being used for classrooms and meeting rooms so as to accommodate our various ministries and apostolates.


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.
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