From the Pastor - Fourth Sunday of Lent

March 12, 2021

Our readings today identify the most unlikely individuals for the most extraordinary tasks. These individuals are examples to us in our lives. 

In our First Reading, the Lord appoints Samuel to declare the next king of Israel. The Lord’s words to Samuel about who should become king cut right to the heart of what matters in God’s eyes, “man sees the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart.” We often embrace the misconception that things like status and appearance are what carry importance in life. Yet, God clearly states that it is what is in our hearts that matters most. So how do we cultivate hearts worthy of God? It starts in prayer — giving God undivided attention each day. Through this time set aside for our Lord, He will work on our hearts so that they will become more like His.
 
Our Gospel resounds what was proclaimed in our First Reading, “not as man sees does God see.” Jesus heals a blind man who people assumed was born blind as a punishment from sin. Yet, Jesus says, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” 

Jesus often worked through the most vulnerable people to show His greatest works. Like the blind man, we must recognize our need for healing and give God the authority to work through us. 

During these final weeks of Lent, let us ponder God’s words, “not as man sees does God see.” May we become dependent on our Lord so that He might work through us and transform us. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2021

 

Pastoral Pondering

 

For the past several weeks I have been dealing with obstacles to the spiritual life, those activities and practices that have been shown to open one to spiritual oppression. Today I want to speak about more common sources of spiritual issues that can benefit from some process of spiritual healing.

 

As I have said previously, and as St. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12: For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. This struggle is common to all of the human family and, more often than not, occurs in every day temptations. These temptations are the lowest (and most common) works of Satan and his fallen angels. Fighting against temptations in our daily lives through prayer, penance and works of charity helps to build virtue in us and makes us more receptive to God’s grace. The converse is also true. Regularly giving into temptation, through a habitual sin, for example, increases our capacity for vice and hinders or cuts off the work of grace in our souls.

 

For sins that become habituated in our lives, it is often helpful to participate in some type of interior healing process. When such sins approach a level of addiction, counseling and even some type of 12-step program might also be in order. Each situation generally requires discernment in order to determine the best course of action. Obviously, confession is essential but when a particular sin keeps occurring over and over again, without any indication of improvement, it could be a form of diabolical oppression. The evil one, while he cannot read our minds, is able to use particular temptations, to target our weak points. The most common examples of this occur in the area of purity, especially with pornography and masturbation. However, it is certainly not limited to this one area of vice.

 

Admitting that we are not capable of overcoming the spiritual obstacle on our own is the first step to healing and conversion. All of the priests at St. Mark are familiar with the spiritual healing process. The one we most commonly use involves the use of the rosary over a period of time and concludes with a session of healing and deliverance using Neil Lozano’s methods in Unbound. In some cases, something more is required, and we deal with those cases as they come our way.

 

The most important thing to remember is that God desires healing and liberation for each of us. These things are allowed at times to lead us to a greater dependence on God and growth in holiness. Our goal and desire as followers of Christ should always be to attain the highest level of holiness and freedom so that we can serve Him more faithfully and hope for the glories of heaven. Don’t be afraid to reach out. God loves you and so do we.

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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