From the Pastor - 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

January 28, 2022

How do I know if the Time, Talent and Treasure I offer God in grateful return is “enough?” What is the measure?

 

St. Paul tells us in the Second Reading today — the “measure” is the love that we put into each of these aspects of our lives. “If I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own and hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.” God is not after a particular number. What He wants us to give over to Him is our very selves.

 

Real love is not a sentiment. Real love is manifested in living a virtuous life. We read later in St. Paul’s letter that real love takes strength: it is patient, kind, humble, other-centered, truth-seeking, and long-suffering. Love is the heroic giving of oneself even when it is uncomfortable; especially then. Love looks like Jesus. It lives like Jesus.

 

Sometimes, living like Jesus is difficult. We see this in the Gospel Reading today where we find Jesus in action, preaching in the synagogue in His hometown. He speaks truth to the people He loves, the ones He grew up with and shared His early days with. How do they respond? They are filled with fury and run Him out of town, intent on throwing Him from a cliff! Yet Jesus is undeterred. He passes right through them and presses forward with the mission His Father has entrusted to Him.

 

We are called to live with this same strength and determination, fueled by the power of love and by gratitude for all God has given us. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2022

 

Pastoral Pondering – Continuing our consideration of parish apostolates that strengthen marriage and family, this week I would like to highlight Teams of Our Lady. The following description is taken from their official website (www.teamsofourlady.org):

 

Teams of Our Lady is an international lay movement in the Catholic Church, designed to enrich marriage spirituality and make good marriages better. Teams provide a proven method of increasing and improving prayer life, which will help couples grow closer to God and each other. At the same time, their family will reap the benefits as well.

 

A team is comprised of five to seven couples whose marriage is recognized in the eyes of the Catholic Church. The team meets one time per month, rotating from one home to another. If a couple’s home cannot accommodate the entire team, the group can meet in a church meeting room or outside, if possible. Some teams might have a spiritual counselor or Priest Spiritual Counselor as part of their team. The Priest Spiritual Counselor comes to the meeting to provide his theological knowledge and expertise. The team shares a simple meal, prayer, sharing on the endeavors, and a study topic. The endeavors are the heart of the spirit of Teams. The team becomes a close community that can inspire one another through their living examples of faith, and share with one another their struggles and successes on their way to holiness.

 

"The Teams of our Lady, a gift of the Holy Spirit, is offered to couples throughout the world in order to help them live out their married spirituality.” (The Guide of the Teams of Our Lady). Couples from all stages of life (newly married, child rearing and empty nesters) can be part of Teams. It is not parish-based, but it is advisable for couples to live in the same geographic vicinity. Since this is a lay association, lay couples hold all positions of responsibility.

 

The Blessed Mother
 

The Blessed Mother is the Patroness of the Movement. We strive to follow and imitate Mary’s “yes” to God through prayer, scripture and the sacraments. Mary is the perfect disciple and follower of Christ. She takes everything and everyone to her Son. The Magnificat prayer is Mary’s proclamation of God’s greatness. Teams couples say the Magnificat prayer daily in communion with fellow Team members worldwide.

 

What Teams of Our Lady is Not

1.   It is not a Marian Movement, but Mary is our patroness.

2.   It is not a Bible study, but we read Scripture and learn about God.

3.   It is not a therapy group, but we share and support each other on our life journey toward Christ.

4.   It is not for counseling. Everything is held in strict confidence and all sharing is voluntary. We offer advice only if it is requested (usually done in private).

5.   It is not for troubled marriages. The Church offers other programs to help with serious marital issues. One such recommended program is Retrouvaille.

6.   It is not a supper club.

 

For more information about Teams of Our Lady, contact Tom and Danielle Mathis at tmathis3@me.com.

 

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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