From the Pastor – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

November 6, 2020

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From the Pastor – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time


Wisdom is a central theme in our readings today. It is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, key to living the stewardship way of life in our complex world. As Christian stewards, we should rely on this gift and ask the Holy Spirit to increase it within us.


Jesus teaches the importance of wisdom in our Gospel passage from Matthew. He tells the parable of ten virgins awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom who will welcome them in to the wedding feast. Five of the virgins were foolish and five were wise. The foolish virgins failed to bring oil along with their lamps when they went to meet the bridegroom. The wise ones, however, had prepared and brought sufficient oil to keep their lamps lit when the bridegroom came. The foolish virgins, caught off guard, ran off to buy more oil, but they were too late. The door to the wedding feast was locked to them. Jesus cautions, “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”


The stewardship way of life — with its daily and weekly commitments to giving God the best of our Time, Talents and Treasure — is the “oil” that we keep with us at all times. When we have this plan in place and we rely deeply on the Holy Spirit to guide us through the twists and turns of each day, we are free, we are ready to answer the Bridegroom when He calls us. We live in wisdom. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants 2020


Pastoral Pondering

For the last couple of weeks, questions have been raised regarding remarks released via video by Pope Francis regarding civil unions for same sex couples. These comments have caused wonderment not only among Catholics but among Christians in general; even garnering a public rebuke by the Reverend Franklin Graham. Because of this I thought it prudent to offer some explanation that might be of assistance in dealing with this particular matter. In looking for a concise explanation, a parishioner shared with me a document written by Father Dave Heney of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (www.daveheney.com). I found it to be a concise response, and I am happy to share it with you.


Recent Statements from the Pope on civil unions by Fr. Dave Heney

There has been some misunderstanding about the Pope’s recent comments about homosexual children within families and about homosexual adults living in a committed but chaste relationship.


He actually said nothing new. In fact, Pope Benedict said these same ideas almost 20 years ago in a more formal document in 2003. Pope Francis made some casual remarks over several years that were recently combined together for a new documentary movie. Casual remarks are often misunderstood when taken out of their original context …and then always by the news media!


This is what the Pope said about homosexual children within a family: “They have a right to be a part of their family. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it.”

Children may arrive in the world and grow up with various issues, some physical, some mental, and some moral. Just as Jesus came to save all people through love, families should also strive to love all their children and help them to grow physically, mentally, and morally to become the person God wants them to be. We believe that same sex attraction is a disorder only in the common sense that it is not the normal order, as our many-million-year history as a human species affirms. Same sex attraction is not a sin, only the behavior of simulating intercourse outside of marriage.


There is nothing new here. After all, everyone no matter who they are is called to refrain from sexual intercourse outside of marriage. The Church never condones bad moral behavior but also does everything it can to help the person through love repent and change for the better.


The Pope affirms that marriage is always and only between one man and one woman, and that intercourse only belongs within that relationship. He has not changed our view of marriage at all. The Pope also affirms that in no way can our faith acknowledge homosexual behavior or marriage as it is contrary to all of scripture, the words of Jesus, and thousands of years of church teaching that have been faithful to His words.


See my articles: Same Sex Couples & Marriage, and A Non-Religious View of Same Sex Couples & Marriage, at our parish site at stbrunochurch.org or my website, daveheney.com.


This is what the Pope said about same-sex couples: “What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered. I stood up for that." The pope recognizes that married couples also enjoy many legal benefits from their relationship, such as inheritance laws, hospital visitation rights, tax laws, health insurance benefits, surviving partner inheritance benefits, medical decision-making, and funeral decision-making. The pope simply affirmed that any two people can use the laws of their state or country to enter into a legal contract to ensure as many of those of helpful benefits as they can, independent of acknowledging any marriage. Our Catholic faith has no problem with these kinds of simple legal agreements.

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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