From the Pastor - 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 2, 2024

Our readings today remind us that Christ came to serve. Jesus’ entire life was focused on others. He came to fulfill His Father’s mission — the salvation of mankind. He labored for this mission by becoming the humblest of servants.


In today's Gospel, Simon says to Jesus, “Everyone is looking for you.” Jesus did not seek after the praise. Rather, He responded by saying, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also.” Jesus was already looking to whom He could serve next.

As Christian stewards, we are also called to be humble servants who labor for our Father’s mission. We should strive to imitate the Perfect Steward, Who was constantly aware of the needs of those around Him and put His gifts to good use. For us, this begins right here in our home, parish, and community. We are called to live each moment in awareness of our Father’s mission and in gratitude for all He has given us.


Jesus tells us that the way to be attentive is through prayer. Before Jesus made the decision to go to the nearby villages to preach, He first went off to pray. It is through prayer that Jesus could hear what His Father was asking of Him. We, too, are called to spend time in daily prayer — we will then become aware of the opportunities to serve the Lord.



Let us commit to finding some quiet time this week to pray. Let us ask the Lord — how can I serve You better throughout my days? And let us pray, ‘Make me humble, Lord.’ © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024


Pastoral Pondering

It has been said that blood is thicker than water; however, for Christians, it is good to remember that there is one water that is thicker than blood; the waters of Baptism. Over the last several months, I have encountered families that wait, for various reasons, to have their children baptized. In addition to being contrary to the Church’s teaching (the Church indicates that a child should be baptized in the first few weeks after birth) all too often families allow secular or sentimental concerns to delay the baptism of children. Baptism is the only means that the Church knows for salvation. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church indicates:

Baptism, the gateway to the sacraments and necessary for salvation by actual reception or at least by desire, is validly conferred only by washing of true water with the proper form of words. Through baptism men and women are freed from sin, are reborn as children of God, and, configured to Christ by an indelible character, and are incorporated into the Church (c. 849). Furthermore, parents are obliged to take care infants are baptized in the first few weeks; as soon as possible after the birth or even before it, they are to go to the pastor to request the sacrament for their child and to be prepared properly for it. (c. 867, §1).


Baptism pulls the child out of the dominion of the Lord of this world and places him back in the dominion of the Lord of Heaven. Baptism is powerful and necessary. It was at his baptism in the Jordan that the Lord was prepared for the temptation in the desert. Baptism fits the Christian with the defenses necessary to fight Satan and his minions.


Nevertheless, remember, sacraments are not magic. They are a work of God’s grace. While they effect what they signify, the full benefit can only be realized when baptism is followed by and joined to a Sacramental life. This is why it is so important for parents who have their children baptized to actually raise them in the faith. It is a great sadness for us priests to celebrate first Reconciliation with our second graders only to hear that Mom and Dad are too busy to bring me to Mass. This is spiritual neglect, and it can be deadly.


There is a spiritual battle raging all around us. Unless we engage in the battle by taking on the full armor of God, we open our families and our parish up to spiritual attack and calamity. Hence, if you have family members or friends who have neglected the baptism and upbringing of their children in the faith, pray fervently for them. Ask the Lord to do whatever is necessary to save their souls and to preserve and protect the children.


Prayer and the leading of a sacramental life is the best and most effective way of strengthening our parish families, repulsing evil, and building the Kingdom of God. We must never forget this. It’s a matter of life and death!


From the Pastor

From the Pastor - Fifth Sunday of Easter

By John Putnam • May 16, 2025
Today’s readings on this fifth Sunday of Easter contain inspiring but challenging messages for us Christian stewards. The Gospel from John includes this well-known verse: “My children…I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” What a succinct description of a stewardship way of life. It sounds so simples. But simple does not necessarily mean easy. How exactly is Jesus Calling us to love? As He, Himself loved. Jesus loved (and loves) by serving us and by making a sacrifice of His very life for us. That is a tall order. Living a life of service and self-sacrifice is not easy because it requires us to continuously fight against our selfish inclinations. But the more we empty ourselves of “self” by serving others, the more room we make in our hearts for God to pour His grace into us. Amazingly, the more we give our lives away to others, the more He fills us up with Himself who is love itself. And amid the inevitable challenging moments this way of life entails we can be assured that the Lord who loves us so much that He died for us and established the Eucharist to be our strength and nourishment, is right here with us every step of the way. As we face the hardships that come with living as Christian stewards, we can continue to rejoice in the wonder of the Resurrection this Easter season, finding great joy in following in our Lord’s footsteps and in loving as He loves. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering  As you have probably noticed, the original St. Mark building, the old rectory on Ranson Road, has been torn down. Preparatory work has begun on the lot for the new rectory. In the next couple of weeks, we will be meeting with the Diocese and doing some value engineering. Once that is accomplished it will be decided when we can move forward with groundbreaking and construction. On the Campaign front, we thank all of those who have extended their pledges or moved a one-time gift into a multi-year pledge. In order to reach the goal of $9.7 million, we still need to raise a little over $400K before June 30 th . Percentagewise, there are still a large number of parish families who have not participated in the Campaign. We need your help to reach the goal. Whether we accomplish that goal will determine what we can do next. As June approaches, we are preparing for the ordination of some of our seminarians to the Diaconate and then the ordination of our transitional deacons to the Priesthood. Please keep all of them in your prayers. One of those to be ordained deacon, Seminarian Michael Lugo, has been assigned to St. Mark for the summer. We look forward to working with him and know you all will make him welcome.

From the Pastor - Fourth Sunday of Easter

By John Putnam • May 9, 2025
Throughout the Easter season, our readings have given us glimpses into the life of the newborn Church and the bold witness of the early disciples in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to all who would listen. The disciples were the first to live a stewardship way of life, and their example is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago. In the First Reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, we catch up with Paul and Barnabas in Antioch. While they certainly have some success in reaching many people there with the message of salvation, others are downright infuriated by their words and send them packing. Yet, we read that “the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” Overall, it seems as if Paul and Barnabas had failed in Antioch. But seeing failure has not robbed them of their joy. What’s more, they are filled to the brim with the abundant gifts of the Holy Spirit. How is this possible? It is only possible because Paul and Barnabas saw themselves as nothing more and nothing less than stewards of Christ and His Good News. This realization brought them freedom — to offer themselves and their lives to others for the sake of the Gospel. The “results” of their efforts were up to God. This Spirit-filled, joy-filled life is available to us all today. It can be achieved when we recognize, as did Paul and Barnabas, that all we have and all we are is a gift from God, meant to be shared with others for His glory. Of course, living as God’s stewards does not guarantee a life of ease or a life free of sacrifice. Sometimes the steward’s life involves challenges, requiring all the strength and love one has to give. In the end, there is simply no more satisfying way to live. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering Because of the time limits placed on us by the bulletin company, this is being written before the conclave begins but will be published after the fact, so we may actually have a new pope (and I hope we do) by the time you are reading this. It is a good reminder that there are still limits on our modern efficiency. Over the past couple of weeks, in addition to praying for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis, we have also had the opportunity to celebrate confirmation with Bishop Martin with a little more than half of our confirmands (99), the remaining 80 or so will be confirmed this week. We have also celebrated two of our First Holy Communions with the remaining two being celebrated next Saturday. May is always busy!  It is always a great blessing to celebrate these sacraments with our young people. Celebrating with the second graders is a special joy because they are so open to God’s presence in their lives. We are also praying for those candidates (folks baptized in another Christian church) who will be received into the full Communion of the Catholic Church on the Vigil of Pentecost. Please keep all of these folks in prayer as they grow in the sacramental life and in their walk with Christ.
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