From the Pastor - 4th Sunday in Lent

March 25, 2022

For too many of us, Lent is a season of doom and gloom, a time to feel bad about all the ways we are not “measuring up” in our spiritual lives. But this view could not be further from the truth. Lent is a season of refreshment and love, of awakening and rebirth. The Gospel Reading, the parable of the Prodigal Son, is filled with this theme of awakening and the extravagant, life-changing love that the Father has for each one of us.


We are all familiar with this amazing story — the bratty younger son who has the audacity to ask his dad for his inheritance early, only to squander it sinfully away. It makes us bristle instinctively at his nerve when we read it. But isn’t that exactly what we do when we selfishly turn away from God (in big or small ways) in our own lives? We squander away the inheritance of grace He has given us.


In desperation from the mess he had made of his life, the son finally “comes to his senses” — awakening to the truth that he is a beloved son of a loving and merciful father — and decides to return home. His contrition is faltering and imperfect and seems motivated in large part by his growling stomach. But it is enough for the loving father.


In fact, as soon as the father catches sight of his son he is “filled with compassion for him” and immediately sets about preparing a feast and fine clothes for this son. What an extravagance of love! What a beautiful picture Jesus gives us of our Father’s love and mercy. Oh, how this should fill us with gratitude for such a Father!


And how it should inspire us — with just the tiniest bit of spiritual “spring cleaning” we can be sure we will be swept up in our Father’s loving embrace and find ourselves feasting in His presence. That is what lent is all about. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2022

 

Pastoral Pondering

This week we conclude our consideration of Eucharistic renewal. The third task of this renewal is service or Diakonia. In the context of the history of the liturgical movement in the Church, there was a clear connection made between the Eucharistic sacrifice of the altar and taking that experience of Christ out into the world via social action. In Deus caritas est, Pope Benedict states: “a Eucharist that does not lead to charitable actions towards one’s neighbor is intrinsically fragmented.” Love, both the love that we receive at the altar, and the love that we return to Him, must overflow into the world in which we live; otherwise, what we believe (lex credendi) and how we pray (lex orandi) fails to truly express the way we are called to live (lex vivendi).


Jesus tells the apostles to go into the world and make disciples. While that call has special import for those entrusted with the proclamation of the Gospel, it is a call that is shared by all the faithful. When the Lord offered Himself on Calvary, He did so as an act of self-giving love. Our experience of that Sacrifice at Holy Mass and our reception of Him who died for our sake out of love, is to transform us from the inside out and spur us into our own act of self-offering in the way we give of ourselves, our substance, to a world in need. Each communicant then is called to be a living example of the life and love of God.


Roland Millard in his article in the Adoremus Bulletin notes that: “The ultimate fruit of a Eucharistic renewal is a Eucharistic life, which is marked by a selfless and loving diakonia.” We see this transformation in the lives of countless saints throughout the ages. Love for the Most Holy Eucharist drew them to love others with abundant generosity. In Jesus of Nazareth, Ratzinger indicates that this charity (caritas) it is not something that is added on to our worship. Rather it is part and parcel of it. He states: “Caritas, care for their other, is not an additional sector of Christianity alongside worship; rather, it is rooted in it and forms part of it. The horizontal and the vertical are inseparably lined in the Eucharist, in ‘the breaking of the bread.’” As Christians we are not simply called to assist at Mass on Sundays and Holy Days. We certainly are expected to fulfill this Precept, but the reason this is the case is because participating in the living sacrifice of Christ is essential to helping us live a truly Christian life. If we separate what we do at the altar from the way we live, then we become what St. Paul calls, noisy gongs and clashing symbols or what the Lord describes more severely as white-washed tombs with filth and decay inside.



The goal of any Eucharistic renewal is to clearly connect Sunday worship and daily life. Each member of the mystical body is called to be a living witness of Christ in the world. We are nourished by the Sacrifice of the Altar which in turn invites us to make our own living sacrifice in the way we live our lives for others. We can only do this when we learn to connect what we believe (kerygma), how we worship (leitourgia) and how we are called to live (diakonia).


From the Pastor

From the Pastor - 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • October 23, 2026
Today's readings are all about love - God's faithful love for His people and the love we are called to return to Him and to one another. The stewardship way of life is simply the daily practice of these two greatest commandments. In today's Gospel, Jesus is asked which commandment is the greatest. His answer is both familiar and endlessly challenging. He says, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind ... The second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself." Why are these two commandments inseparable? Because both are rooted in love. When we love God above all else, we begin to see others as He sees them. And when we genuinely love our neighbor, we reflect the love we have first received from Him. This is the heart of Christian stewardship. It is simple enough for a child to understand, yet rich enough to spend a lifetime putting into practice.© Catholic Stewardship Conference, 2026 Pastoral Pondering - Remembering the Saints and the Souls As October ends, the Church gives us two feasts back-to-back that show who we are as one family in Christ, living and departed. On November 1, the Solemnity of All Saints, we honor all the holy men and women now in heaven. That includes the famous names on our calendar, and it also includes the countless quiet saints no one ever canonized: grandparents, neighbors, and friends who loved God and others faithfully. Their lives remind us that holiness isn't only for a few. It's the calling of every baptized person. All Saints is a Holy Day of Obligation and since it falls on Sunday this year, it is easy to remember the times for Mass. On November 2, the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls' Day), we pray for everyone who has died, especially our own loved ones. We trust in God's mercy and ask Him to bring them fully into the joy of His presence. Praying for the dead is one of the oldest Christian practices and a real act of love. The Church teaches that "all who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030). Purgatory isn't a second chance, and it isn't a smaller version of hell. It's God's mercy finishing what He began in us. Most of us leave this life still carrying some attachment to sin, and God lovingly purifies us so we can see Him face to face. Everyone in purgatory is already saved and on the way to heaven. The souls in purgatory can't help themselves, but we can help them. Since the earliest days, Christians have prayed for the dead (see 2 Maccabees 12:46). Our prayers, sacrifices, works of charity, and above all the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass can speed their way to God. This is the Communion of Saints at work: the Church in heaven, the Church on earth, and the Church being purified, all united in Christ and helping one another. Ways to take part Complete an All Souls envelope with the name of your deceased loved ones so it can be placed on the altar throughout November. Have a Mass offered for someone who has died. Visit a cemetery and pray for the faithful departed. A plenary indulgence for the souls in purgatory is available, under the usual conditions, to those who visit a cemetery and pray for the dead from November 1 to 8, or who visit a church and pray the Our Father and the Creed on All Souls' Day. Ask a favorite saint to pray for you and your family. These days remind us that death doesn't break the bonds of love. We pray for the souls, we ask the saints to pray for us, and we look forward to the day we'll all be together in God's kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, 0 Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

From the Pastor - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • October 16, 2026
Today's readings remind us to be mindful not only of who we are, but also Whose we are. In today's Gospel, the Pharisees attempt to trap Jesus by asking whether it is lawful to pay the tax to Caesar. Their question is meant to force Him into choosing sides. But Jesus refuses to be drawn into their narrow way of thinking. Instead, He asks whose image appears on the coin. When they answer, "Caesar," Jesus responds, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." Those words remind us that while we have responsibilities in this world, our first allegiance belongs to God. Everything we have comes from Him, and through Baptism we have become His sons and daughters. Our time, our talents, our treasure, and our very lives are gifts entrusted to us by the Lord. May we use them each day in grateful response to His goodness, remembering that we belong to Him above all else. © Catholic Stewardship Conference, 2026 Pastoral Pondering With the mid-term elections coming up and early voting beginning this past week, I thought it would be a good idea to remind everyone the importance of Catholics voting and engaging in civil life. On November 3 we will elect members of Congress, state officials, and many local officeholders. Midterm elections draw fewer voters than a presidential year, yet they shape the laws under which we live: the protection of human life, the freedom of the Church to teach and serve, the strength of the family, the care of the poor, and the education of the young. To stay home is not neutrality. It leaves those decisions to others. The Church has long taught that citizenship is part of charity. The Catechism says that co-responsibility for the common good makes it “morally obligatory… to exercise the right to vote” (CCC 2240). Pope Francis put it plainly: a good Catholic does not stand apart from politics, but offers the best of himself so that those who govern may serve the good of all. Voting is one ordinary way we do that. It is also a moral act, not a team sport. Our identity in Christ comes before any party label. The U.S. bishops, in *Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship* (scan code), remind us that we form our consciences by the Gospel and the Church’s teaching, then vote in light of that formation. A well-formed conscience does not support a program that contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals. Some acts are always gravely wrong: the direct taking of innocent human life, including abortion and euthanasia; attacks on the nature of marriage; religious persecution; and the deliberate degradation of the poor. Other issues—immigration, wages, housing, care of creation, criminal justice—also belong to the common good and require prudent judgment about what will help people. Not every issue carries the same moral weight, and rarely does one candidate embody the whole of Catholic social teaching. We weigh, we pray, and we choose the path that best protects human dignity and advances the common good. A few practical steps help. Read the bishops’ guidance and, where available, nonpartisan comparisons of candidates’ records and stated positions. Pray before you vote, perhaps with the family. Discuss the issues with charity, remembering that the person across the aisle is also made in the image of God. Then vote. If you cannot get to the polls, use whatever law the state provides. Participation does not end at the ballot box: write your representatives, serve the poor, and keep the Church’s voice in the public square after Election Day. Here at St. Mark we will not tell you whom to support. That judgment belongs to your conscience, formed by the faith. We will urge you not to surrender that conscience to habit, fear, or party. The Lord who will judge nations also judges how we used the freedom we were given. May we use it well.