From the Pastor - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 24, 2021

In our readings this week, Eldad, Medad, and the man driving out demons were all doing the work of God. They had been entrusted with a gift and used it to glorify the Lord. Joshua and John should have responded in joy and appreciation for another’s gifts and talents. 

We often look at another’s strengths as our weakness whether it be in parish life, in the workforce, or even in our own families. 


Jesus is calling us to cut out those sinful thoughts and attitudes from our lives. The next time we witness someone being a good steward of God’s gifts — rejoice! And continue to examine how you are using your gifts and talents to ensure you are being a good steward of what God has entrusted to you. 


We do not want to end up like the rich in our Second Reading from St. James. They stored up their riches to the point where they withheld wages from their workers! They clenched tightly to the pleasures and luxuries that the world offers and put it in front of both God and their neighbor. They misused the gifts God bestowed on them. 


We must keep this in perspective as we journey on our path as Christian stewards. We do not live for this life, but for the next. 

He has given us time every day, countless talents, and numerous treasures. Are we using them for His glory?


This week when we witness other people in our lives using the gifts God has given to them, instead of becoming jealous or critical, say a prayer of thanksgiving and take time to reflect on what God has gifted you and how you can offer it to Him for His glory. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2021


Pastoral Pondering

Over the past several weeks it seems as if we have had a funeral every other day. In particular we have lost three members of the parish in the last month who were, in many different ways, a “face of St. Mark.” What I mean by that is these three, each in his or her own way, proclaimed the Gospel and connected that with apostolic works that changed people’s lives. I am speaking about Bobby Collucci, Lisa Cox, and Dick Christian.


When I first arrived at St. Mark in 2014, Dick Christian was the grand knight of the Knights of Columbus and chairman of the Liturgical Commission. In years past he was active on the adult core team for Lifeteen. We worked together a lot. He helped me navigate the reality of a new parish, and was always willing to lend a hand. Even though he had recently been in declining health, Dick continued to be a source of guidance and inspiration.


Bobby Collucci was one of those men who I often describe as “a unique son of God.” He saw life as an opportunity to serve. Bobby loved Our Lady and had a clear and evident desire to get to heaven. During the first days of the lockdown and throughout those first months, Bobby would reach out regularly to make sure we didn’t need anything at the rectory any time he would go to Costco. He did this for a number of people. He was always looking out for others, even to his own detriment. He tried to live a sacrificial and Christ-like life.


Lisa Cox was one of the very first people that I met as a new pastor at Saint Mark. She too was always around, but her presence was different. She exuded a certain calm and was a reassuring presence. She and I developed a quick rapport and whether it was meeting to discuss something concerning the Women of Joy (Now Mary’s WOJ) or some opportunity to bolster the spiritual life of the parish, I always enjoyed our talks. I think too she reminded me of one of my Dad’s sisters who was very matriarchal in the best sense of that word. She pulled everyone together.


For each of these three, I know that in their journeys in this life each experienced his or her share of the Cross and yet, more often than not, they embraced it with faith and love. Each will be missed, and as I pray for their souls, I know that they will be praying for me and for this parish.



May they rest in peace.


From the Pastor

From the Pastor - 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • November 13, 2026
Today's readings remind us that one day each of us will give an account for the gifts God has entrusted to us, including the gift of time itself. In today's Gospel, Jesus tells the familiar parable of the talents. Before leaving on a journey, a wealthy man entrusts portions of his wealth to three servants according to their abilities. Two of the servants immediately put those gifts to work and are rewarded for their faithfulness. The third, acting out of fear, buries what was entrusted to him and returns only what he had received. The tragedy is not that the servant lacked ability. It is that he failed to recognize the privilege he had been given. His master invited him to share in his work, but fear kept him from responding. God extends that same invitation to us. He entrusts each of us with unique gifts and invites us to use them for His glory and for the good of others. May we live each day so that, when our work is finished, we too may hear those joyful words: "Well done, my good and faithful servant... Come, share your master's joy." © Catholic Stewardship Conference, 2026 Pastoral Pondering As we approach the end of the liturgical year and prepare for the beginning of Advent, we are provided with a good opportunity to look back over our year of faith and ask ourselves, "How am I doing?" For most of us, we can find a landscape of positives and negatives, and that is OK. You might say that there is no surprise there because that is simply part of life. Our task, of course, is to always look for ways to grow in holiness and grow our relationship with the Lord. This point is always brought home to me when I attend a funeral, especially the funeral of a priest, which I did earlier today. The priest in question, Father Edward Sheridan, was my pastor at St. Aloysius in Hickory when I was in high school. He was also one of the priests who helped build up the newly formed Diocese of Charlotte in the 1970s. Fr. Ed loved people and always tried to be a source of encouragement to me and others. As I reminisced at this morning's funeral, the thought came that death is the great equalizer. Regardless of who we are, what we have, or where we have come from, we are all going to die. This life is transitory, so we need to be ready. Certainly, the Scriptures that we will hear over the coming weeks will try to impress that reality upon us. As we encounter God's Word and that particular message, let each of us ask for the wisdom to see what we need to see to make next year more fruitful and Spirit-filled, as well as asking the Lord to give us the courage to strive to do even better in the coming year.

From the Pastor - 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • November 6, 2026
Wisdom is at the heart of today's readings. It is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and an essential gift for living the stewardship way of life. As Christian stewards, we should continually ask the Holy Spirit to deepen this gift within us. In today's Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the 10 virgins waiting for the bridegroom. Five are wise, and five are foolish. The wise virgins prepare ahead of time, bringing enough oil to keep their lamps burning. The foolish ones fail to prepare and are caught off guard when the bridegroom arrives. Jesus concludes with this reminder: "Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour." Stewardship helps us live with that same spirit of readiness. When we seek the Lord each day through prayer, the sacraments, and the faithful use of the gifts He has entrusted to us, we keep our hearts prepared to meet Him whenever He calls. That is the wisdom Christ desires for each of us. © Catholic Stewardship Conference, 2026 Pastoral Pondering - Rooting Out Anger Few things disturb the peace of a home, a parish, or a soul as quickly as anger. A sharp word at the dinner table, a resentful silence after Mass, a flash of irritation in traffic-each seems small in the moment, yet the Fathers of the Church warn us that anger is a deadly poison. St. John Cassian, the great monastic teacher whose writings shaped Western spirituality, dedicated an entire book of his Institutes to this vice. His counsel is bracing and practical for us today. Cassian insists that anger must be "utterly rooted out from the inmost corners of our soul." As long as it remains, it blinds the eye of the heart. We lose right judgment, the capacity for true counsel, and even the ability to pray. "The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God" (James 1:20). Whether the provocation seems just or unjust makes little difference: anger covers the eyes of the soul like a plate of gold or lead- the value of the metal does not restore sight. He rejects the common excuse that we may be angry with those who do wrong, or that Scripture's language of God's "anger" justifies our own passion. God is free from all disturbance; the biblical language of divine anger is metaphorical, pointing to His just judgment, not to a human emotion we may imitate. To use it as permission for our own resentment is, Cassian says, to draw from the Scriptures an occasion of sin rather than a remedy of holiness. There is, however, one legitimate use of the energy of anger: we may and should be indignant against the evil thoughts and disordered desires that rise within our own hearts. When we are ashamed of what we would never say or do before others, yet find it stirring inside, we are to rage against that disorder, trembling before the all-seeing eye of God. In this sense the psalmist's "Be angry and sin not" (Psalm 4:4) and St. Paul's citation of it (Ephesians 4:26) are understood: be angry with your own faults, lest the Sun of Righteousness set upon a darkened mind and the devil be given place. Cassian's remedies are simple and severe. First, make a firm resolution never to be angry at all-neither for good reasons nor bad. The moment the passion enters, discernment is lost and the soul can no longer be a temple of the Holy Spirit. Second, never attempt to pray while angry; such prayer is obstinate rebellion. Third, keep daily before your eyes the uncertainty of life and the certainty of judgment. All our other efforts- Mass, fasting, works of charity- profit nothing if anger and hatred alone bring us to eternal punishment. Practically, this means catching the first interior movement of irritation and turning it at once into sorrow for our own impatience. It means refusing to nurse the grievance past sunset, seeking reconciliation before the next Holy Communion, and enlarging the heart with patience so that the "waves of anger" are received and dissipated rather than confined and intensified. Peace, Cassian reminds us, does not depend on the conduct of others; it lies in our own control. In the confessional and in the daily struggle of parish life, I see how often this vice wounds families and friendships. Let us ask the Lord, who is meek and humble of heart, to give us the grace to root it out. May the peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, guard our hearts and our parish. In other news, due to an unexpected leave, I have been appointed as Vicar General and Chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte by Bishop Martin. While this appointment is expected to be temporary, during the interim, it will make my ability to take appointments rather limited. Please be patient with the office staff as they try to accommodate those needs along with my additional responsibilities.