From the Pastor - 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 28, 2025

Today’s readings exhort us Christian disciples to form ourselves — mind and heart — in imitation of Christ so we can better reflect His goodness in our daily lives.


The first reading from Sirach offers timeless counsel: “the fruit of a tree shows the care it has had: so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind. Praise no one before he speaks.” Jesus uses the very same analogy in today’s Gospel reading from Luke: “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit.”


Everything we have is a gift from God to be used for His honor and glory. This includes the gift of speech and, even more broadly, all forms of modern-day communication — email, text, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and the rest. What comes forth from our mouths, or keyboard, or phone, reflects what is in our minds and hearts. Our ability to communicate with each other is itself a gift which we must steward well.


In the same Gospel passage, Jesus reminds us, “No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” The more time we spend with Jesus, our teacher, through regular prayer and a strong sacramental life, the more we will become like Him. Then all that we do and say (and tweet and post) will bring others to closer to Him. This is the life’s work of the Christian steward. It is privileged work indeed. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025


Pastoral Pondering

If I had to give this post a name, it would be Of Hosts and Hymnals. The reason for that name will become clear in a moment.


Most Catholics have some degree of awareness that the Most Holy Eucharist is central to our Catholic faith. The Church, in fact, describes the Eucharist as the source and summit of our faith. The Eucharist is the saving flow from the temple described to Ezekiel from which all the treasures of the sacramental life flow and the ultimate goal of every faithful Christian life. Nonetheless, at times, we all need to be reminded of this awe-inspiring reality. As human beings, familiarity can breed contempt, and we can allow Holy Mass, and even reception of Holy Communion, to become habitual and common place. In so doing, we run the risk of stripping the Most Holy Sacrament of its sublime reality.


Recently, a parishioner discovered a presumably consecrated Host stuck between two pages of a hymnal. While this is certainly shocking and scandalous, I don’t share it with you to cause shock and scandal but to remind us all of the need to be vigilant. We first need to guard ourselves so that we never become indifferent to what occurs at Holy Mass, and second, always insure that we show the Eucharist the proper reverence and respect that is right and just. We do ask our ushers and security volunteers to be mindful of the importance of insuring that communicants receive and consume the Host, but they, along with both the ordinary and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, cannot observe everything. Hence, it is always a good idea for all of us to be mindful.

My hope and prayer is that such sacrilege only occurred due to ignorance rather than malice. On any given Sunday, those who have no experience of the Mass find themselves here for one reason or another. This is even more the case at funerals and weddings during the week. If we invite non-Catholic friends (or non-practicing Catholics) to Mass, and we certainly should, it is incumbent upon us to make sure that they understand the norms for the Reception of Holy Communion. These norms are usually published each week in the bulletin. Along the same lines, it is always appropriate, if you see someone who appears confused, uncertain, or is walking away with a host, to lovingly speak to them and help them in the moment.


A few reminders might also be helpful:

  1. Reception of Holy Communion is reserved to practicing Catholics who are properly disposed and in a state of grace. On a practical level this means he or she is not conscious of mortal sin and has been actively practicing the faith through participation at Mass and in the sacramental life of the Church.
  2. When approaching to receive Holy Communion, the communicant may receive on the tongue or on the hand. Those who choose to receive on the hand should make a sign of reverence (normally a bow) and consume the Host before walking away from the minister.
  3. Those choosing to receive on the hand must have both hands free. The Host is never taken from the minister. It is always received. Hence, for those who do not have the use of both hands, for whatever reason, should receive on the tongue. All ministers of Holy Communion are instructed to follow this norm. This protects the host from falling.
  4. Following the reception of Holy Communion, it is proper to return to the pew and offer a prayer of thanksgiving. Leaving Mass immediately after reception is not only disrespectful but can be sinful if it is done without necessity. After all Judas Iscariot was only apostle to leave the Last Supper early, and we know how that ended up.


Being conscious of these simple norms and aware of the great gift that we have in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, will not only help to protect and preserve the Blessed Sacrament but will also help each of us have a more fruitful reception of the Sacrament and benefit more fully from this sublime gift that the Lord provides for us.

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • September 18, 2026
Though we can never fully comprehend the perfection of God and His ways, Sacred Scripture reminds us that God's ways are often very different from our own. In our First Reading from Isaiah, the Lord declares, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways." As His disciples, we are called to see life from God's perspective, using our time, talents, and treasure with eternity in mind. In today's Gospel, Jesus illustrates this divine perspective through the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Some labor all day, while others are called only near the end of the day. Yet the landowner gives each worker the same wage. Those who worked the longest grumble because they are thinking according to human standards rather than God's generosity. The same temptation can affect us. We may compare ourselves to others and wonder whether everyone else is contributing as much as we are at home, in our parish, or in our community. Instead, we should remember what a privilege it is to have been invited into the Lord's vineyard. Living the stewardship way of life fills our lives with meaning, purpose, and lasting joy. May we thank God each day for calling us to share in His work. ©Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2026 Pastoral Pondering Why the Church — and Society — Should Welcome Children God’s first blessing on man and woman was not a burden: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). The Catechism calls children “the supreme gift of marriage.” They are not an accessory to married love. They spring from the spouses’ gift of self. Marriage is ordered to the good of husband and wife and to the procreation and education of children. The Church does not assign a number. She teaches a truth: married love, by its nature, is open to life. A gift, not a possession A child is a person, never a product. Couples do not have a “right to a child.” The child has rights: to be received as a gift, to be the fruit of his or her own father and mother, and to be respected from conception. When we welcome children we cooperate with the Creator. Responsible parenthood is generous discernment before God — not selfish delay, and not closing the marital act against life. For serious reasons a couple may space births. Natural Family Planning honors both the unitive and procreative meanings of marriage. Large families, received with joy, remain a sign of blessing. Couples who cannot conceive are not forgotten: their marriages can still be fruitful in charity, hospitality, and spiritual fatherhood and motherhood. Good for the Church. Good for the city. The family is the first school of the Gospel — and the foundation of the common good. Nations endure when men and women marry, stay faithful, welcome children, and raise them in virtue. Children are not a private hobby. They are tomorrow’s neighbors, workers, caregivers, citizens, and saints. A culture that treats fertility as a problem, delays marriage, or is indifferent to the unborn mortgages its own future. Advocates in public life Families also need a voice beyond the parish. The American Principles Project works to place the family at the center of public debate: parental rights, the protection of childhood, the defense of life, and policies that make it more possible for the young to marry and raise children. A bulletin is not a campaign flyer. The Church baptizes no political organization. Catholics may differ on particular tactics. We may not differ on this: marriage, children, and a parent’s duty are not partisan inventions. They belong to the natural law and to the Gospel. Here at Saint Mark’s Encourage the young couples in the pews. Thank the families who fill our Masses with life. Walk with those who wait for a child. Learn NFP as the Church teaches it. Speak and vote as people who believe every child is a gift. And if God is asking your household for another act of generosity, do not be afraid. He who blesses does not abandon. Children are not a threat to our future. They are our future — and a living sign that God has not finished creating.

From the Pastor - 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • September 11, 2026
Today's readings remind us of the importance of our relationships. God created us to live in communion with Him and with one another. Our families, neighbors, friends, and parish community need us, and we need them as we grow together in holiness. In today's Second Reading, St. Paul gives us a simple but profound guide for living in relationship with others. Echoing the words of Christ, he writes, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love is the guiding principle that helps us become good stewards of every relationship God has entrusted to us. In today's Gospel, Jesus shows us what that love looks like, even when relationships become strained. He tells His disciples, "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother." Rather than ignoring conflict or allowing resentment to grow, Jesus teaches us to approach one another with humility, charity, and a sincere desire for reconciliation. This is faithful stewardship of our relationships. He also reminds us of the strength found in Christian community: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." God never intended us to journey to heaven alone. May we care for the relationships He has entrusted to us and help one another grow as faithful disciples. ©Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2026 Pastoral Pondering Next Saturday the Diocese of Charlotte celebrates the annual Eucharistic Congress at the Convention Center in Charlotte. Events begin on Friday evening, with the majority of activities happening on Saturday and culminating with the Congress Mass in the afternoon. I encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity to come together as a Diocesan family and celebrate the source and summit of our faith. Our own Father Kevin Martinez will be the homilist for the Holy Hour on Saturday morning at the conclusion of the Eucharistic procession. Public processions of the Eucharist and the saints (especially their relics and images) are ancient and enduring expressions of Catholic faith. They combine liturgical prayer, public witness, communal pilgrimage and public piety. They visibly proclaim core doctrines—the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the communion of saints—while symbolizing the Church as a pilgrim people journeying toward the heavenly Jerusalem. These types of processions are found in the Old Testament when the Ark of the Covenant was processed on different occasions, e.g. the conquest of Jericho or the joyful entrance of the ark into Jerusalem. In the early Church processions developed by the 4 th century in both the East and the West. They marked festivals, thanksgivings, penance, the translation (solemn transfer) of relics, the consecration of churches, funerals and times of calamity. Eucharistic processions arose later, in the high Middle Ages, amid intensified theological reflection on the Real Presence (Fourth Lateran Council 1215; development of the language of transubstantiation) and growing devotion to the Eucharist outside Mass. The elevation of the Host during Mass became common around 1200. The Solemnity of Corpus Christi originated in the visions of St. Juliana of Liège (early 13th century), who saw the Church’s liturgical year as a full moon with a dark spot—the lack of a dedicated feast for the Eucharist. The feast was first celebrated in Liège in 1246. Pope Urban IV (formerly archdeacon of Liège) extended it to the universal Church in the bull Transiturus de hoc mundo (1264), commissioning St. Thomas Aquinas to compose the liturgical texts (including Pange lingua, Lauda Sion, and Adoro te devote). A Eucharistic miracle at Bolsena (bleeding Host) around the same time, brought to Urban at Orvieto, reinforced the impetus. Formal public processions with the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance appeared soon after—early records from places such as Benediktbeuern (1273) and Cologne (1270s)—and spread rapidly across Europe by the 14th century. Pope Clement V and the Council of Vienne (1311) helped regulate the feast and its observance; later papal encouragement and indulgences supported the processions. They typically followed Mass, moved through streets or fields (sometimes stopping at outdoor altars for Gospel readings and petitions), and concluded with Benediction. The Council of Trent strongly endorsed them as a public profession of faith in the Real Presence, especially against Protestant denials. In the Counter-Reformation and Baroque periods they grew elaborate, involving civic authorities, guilds, military escorts, music, and decorations (flower carpets, banners). They continued as major public events in Catholic countries and were revived or defended in later centuries (e.g., against 19th-century secularizing pressures or under Communist regimes). Popes such as St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI emphasized their value; John Paul II restored the Roman Corpus Christi procession and wrote of the need to proclaim the incarnate God “especially in our streets and homes.” The Church continues to encourage them. Liturgical books describe the annual Corpus Christi procession as particularly desirable for the pastoral life of a parish or city when circumstances permit, as a public witness of faith and devotion. Processions of saints remain part of popular piety and local traditions (feast-day celebrations, Rogation observances where retained, translations of relics, etc.).  In short, these processions are not mere pageantry. They are embodied proclamations that the risen Christ walks with His people in the Eucharist and that the saints, as members of the one Body, continue to intercede for and accompany the Church on earth.