From the Pastor - 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 14, 2023

In today’s Gospel from Matthew, our Lord shares the Parable of the Sower who scatters seed on many different kinds of land. This is a wonderful analogy for the stewardship way of life, demonstrating the slow and steady, yet powerful effect this lifestyle will have on those who fully embrace it.


In this parable, some of the seeds land on a path where birds carry them off before they can begin to take root. Other seeds land on rocky ground with little soil. As soon as things begin to heat up, they get scorched and die. Then there are seeds that land on soil cluttered with thorns which choke the seeds just as they are beginning to grow strong.


Finally, there are seeds that land on deep and healthy soil. These seeds produce abundant fruit.


This is where the stewardship way of life comes in. When we give the best of our time, talent and treasure to serve God and others, we create lives filled with that rare “good soil” needed for the Kingdom of God to thrive.


How does this happen? Stewardship living removes the “rocks” of mistrust from our lives as we develop an unshakeable faith that God will always provide for our needs. It clears away the “thorns” of worldly ambition that make us self-centered, fill us with needless anxiety and stifle our focus on God. Stewardship living requires a deep reliance on the Word of God and the sacraments which continuously nourish and fertilize the soil of our lives.


Let us deepen our commitment to this way of life, allowing the Sower to do His work in us, slowly and steadily. The Master Gardner will surely produce miraculous fruits through us. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2023


Pastoral Pondering

This past week, the parish welcomed Father Chinonso Nnebe Agumadu. He’s decided to go by “Father Chinonso” to make everyone’s life easier 😊. We also bid a fond farewell to Father Yumo. Keep him in your prayers as he begins his new assignment, and thank you for being so gracious and welcoming to him during his service at St. Mark. He shared with me before he left that this assignment has been the best part of his priesthood. I did remind him that he will always have a home here.


I will be leaving for Fatima this coming Wednesday. As in the past, I am happy to take petitions over for anyone who would like me to do so. They would just need to be turned into the office by the close of day on Tuesday. This will be the first time I have been able to go back since before COVID.


I wanted to return briefly once again to the Eucharistic revival. Back in 2021 before the plan for the revival was approved by the United States Bishops, one of their number, Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, KY, criticized the plan openly. In an essay printed in Commonweal magazine, Bishop Stowe opined: “It does not strike me as coincidental that much of the Eucharistic Revival focuses on eucharistic adoration, passive in nature, and so offers an easy alternative to the active engagement of walking together synodally.” The intimation is that such a revival, which came about due to the lack of belief in the reality of the Holy Eucharist, needs to be more focused on social outreach and community engagement.


In truth, one should flow out of the other. We cannot be a Eucharistic people who know, love, and adore our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, if we do not also allow that love and devotion to overflow into our outreach to the poor and marginalized. It’s not an either/or but a both/and situation. This is why the conclusion of Holy Mass reminds us to go on mission. The Mass is ended, go! What we are to go out and do is evangelize and be the hands, feet and voice of the Lord in a needy world.



In the same essay, Bishop Stowe cited Pope St. John XXIII as a model for the Church today. One Twitter follower in commenting on this, shared one of the Good Pope John’s statements about the Eucharist: “When Eucharistic fervor is attenuated or extinguished, then it is very difficult for men to understand each other, love grows cold, sin invades minds and hearts.” If we don’t believe in the God who gives us Himself in the Eucharist, then we certainly will not be inspired to go out and look for Him in our brothers and sisters who suffer.


From the Pastor

From the Pastor - Fourth Sunday of Easter

By John Putnam • April 24, 2026
Today’s readings on this fourth Sunday of Easter offer us a glimpse into the heart of our loving Savior. He is the Good Shepherd and we can confidently place our trust in Him as we live the stewardship way of life. This endearing image of Jesus as our shepherd, and His personal love for each one of us, is described in our Gospel passage from John, through the words of Jesus Himself. Here we read Jesus’ description of Himself as the “Good Shepherd.” He says of Himself, “The sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.” This aspect of our Lord’s tender and personal love for each one of us is a compelling reason to embrace the stewardship way of life — in the offering of our time, talent, and treasure to Him, we can express our gratitude to Him for the incomprehensible love He has for us. Embracing this way of life certainly requires trust on our part. But Christ has proven Himself worthy of our trust. He “bore our sins in His body.” He calls Himself our shepherd and He offers Himself as the guardian of our souls. He has withheld nothing of Himself and His goodness from us. He would never ask anything of us that would bring us harm. He tells us “I came so that [you] might have life and have it more abundantly.” This Easter season, let us resolve to entrust ourselves and our lives gratefully to Him. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2026 Pastoral Pondering As we continue our treatment of the basics of the faith and following up on last week’s discussion of cohabitation, this week I wanted to focus on Natural Family Planning which some people misconstrue as Catholic contraception. Natural Family Planning: The Catholic Way to Responsible Parenthood Natural Family Planning (NFP) consists of moral, scientific methods that help married couples achieve or postpone pregnancy by observing a woman’s natural signs of fertility—such as cervical mucus and basal body temperature—without drugs, devices, or surgery. The Catholic Church fully supports NFP because it respects God’s design for marital love, which is both **unitive** (bonding) and **procreative** (open to life). Unlike artificial contraception, which deliberately blocks fertility, NFP works with the body’s natural cycles through periodic abstinence when needed. Church Teaching In Humanae Vitae (1968), Pope St. Paul VI taught that couples may use the infertile periods for serious reasons, while always remaining open to the gift of children. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2370) affirms that methods based on self-observation and infertile periods are morally acceptable because they respect the dignity of the spouses and promote authentic freedom. NFP is not “Catholic contraception.” The difference is in the heart: contraception rejects fertility in the act itself; NFP involves responsible discernment and periodic continence when there are just reasons (health, financial, emotional, or other proportionate circumstances). Couples should prayerfully discern together, ideally with a priest or spiritual director, avoiding a selfish “contraceptive mentality.” NFP can also help couples conceive by identifying the fertile window. Benefits for Catholic Couples - Strengthens marriage through better communication, mutual respect, and shared sacrifice. - Respects the woman’s body and natural rhythms. - Highly effective when properly learned and used. - Supports monitoring of reproductive health. Popular Church-approved methods include the Sympto-Thermal Method , Creighton Model , and Marquette Method . Instruction from a certified teacher is strongly recommended. A Parish Invitation As the domestic Church, families thrive when they live God’s plan for love and life. If you are preparing for marriage, newlywed, or seeking to grow in this area, contact your diocesan Family Life Office or visit the USCCB Natural Family Planning page for resources and local classes.  May the Lord bless all married couples as they cooperate with God in the beautiful vocation of responsible parenthood!

From the Pastor - Third Sunday of Easter

By John Putnam • April 17, 2026
Today’s readings focus on a theme of “sojourning.” As Christian stewards, we know our lives are a sojourn toward the ultimate destination of heaven. Our Gospel passage today describes the sojourn of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. The two are dejected and despondent after Jesus’ death. They knew Jesus personally. They had heard the Gospel message directly from His lips. They heard the testimony of the women who discovered our Lord’s empty tomb and saw a vision of angels announcing He was alive. They had been informed by other disciples who went to the tomb that all was exactly as the women reported. How much more obvious could the Good News be? And yet, at times, the reaction of the two disciples describes our own stewardship journey, doesn’t it? We have the fullness of the Catholic faith, the power of the sacraments, and the support of our parish family. Yet, we often lose our way. We fail to see all the gifts we have been given. We lack trust in the perfect goodness and almighty power of God. But notice what happens to the two men when their eyes are opened once again, and they recognize Jesus in the Eucharist — the “breaking of the bread.” They are transformed! Their hearts are set on fire with love for the Lord and for their faith. They recall that their hearts began “burning within” as the Lord was explaining the Scriptures to them. When we find we have lost our way, we can go to the same sources as the two disciples on the road to Emmaus — the Scriptures and the Eucharist. In this Easter season, resolve to feast deeply on these two sources of grace. They are the fuel that will propel us on our journey toward heaven. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2026 Pastoral Pondering Returning to a review of Catholic teaching basics, as we move into Spring, we often see an increase in the number of weddings requested. Sadly, it is not uncommon these days to find couples choosing to live together prior to their marriage. Hence, I thought it would be a good idea to lay out the Church’s teaching on this matter in a concise way. Living Together Before Marriage: A Catholic Perspective From the Catholic Church’s teaching, living together (cohabitation) before marriage is morally wrong, primarily because it typically involves fornication —sexual relations outside of marriage—which is gravely sinful (CCC 2353). Human sexuality is a sacred gift ordered by God to the unitive and procreative purposes of marriage alone. Sexual intimacy outside marriage cannot express the total, faithful, and permanent self-giving that spouses vow in the sacrament. Instead, it says with the body what is not yet true in commitment: “I give myself to you completely and forever.” This makes the act a contradiction, contrary to the dignity of persons and God’s plan for love (see CCC 2391; USCCB resources on marriage preparation). Cohabitation also: Creates a near occasion of sin , placing the couple in a situation that strongly tempts them toward grave immorality. Gives scandal , leading others—especially the young—to doubt or dismiss the Church’s teaching on chastity and the sacredness of marriage. Treats marriage as a “trial” rather than the definitive covenant it is meant to be. True love “demands a total and definitive gift of persons to one another” and cannot be an arrangement “until further notice.” Additionally, studies cited by Catholic sources show that couples who cohabit before marriage face higher risks of divorce, instability, and weaker commitment compared to those who do not. The Church calls engaged couples to practice chastity in continence during preparation for marriage—an “apprenticeship in fidelity” that builds mutual respect and prepares them to receive the grace of the sacrament (CCC 2350). Priests, deacons and pastoral ministers accompany cohabiting couples with mercy and truth, encouraging them to live separately or chastely while preparing for a valid sacramental marriage. In a culture that often views cohabitation as practical or normal, the Church invites couples to witness the beauty of God’s design: chastity before marriage, followed by a joyful, lifelong union blessed by the sacrament. For more, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church (esp. 2331–2400).