From the Pastor - 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 6, 2021

Our readings today continue to educate us on the Eucharist.


Jesus tells us in our Gospel that He is this Food that sustains us as He says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven…and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” This bread He is referring to is His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity that we receive. This bread becomes the flesh of Christ Himself.


And in consuming Him, we receive every grace we need to live forever in eternal life. We are strengthened in virtue and united more closely to Christ. This is the Food that will fill us as we journey through this life.


Mistakenly we often take the Eucharist for granted. Maybe we come to Mass to “check the box” instead of actively partaking in this intimate exchange or we receive Jesus in the Eucharist and then forget about Him the second we leave the church after Mass.


To receive all that God wants to give us in the Eucharistic, we must do our part in being receptive to His grace and living out active discipleship in our day-to-day lives.

Let us approach the Lord acknowledging His Divine Presence and be open to all the graces He desires to pour out on us. Then we must go forth, being attentive to the moments that the Holy Spirit is calling us to act as He acts — in total love and sacrifice.


The Eucharist affects our lives more than we can comprehend. We are receiving God Himself. Let us strive to receive Him reverently and with open hearts. © Catholic

Stewardship Consultants, 2021


Pastoral Pondering

Back in July Father Gamez and I along with a few others, attended a seminar on the role of the priest in Catholic schools. It was one of the best seminars that I have attended; albeit it was like drinking water from a fire hydrant!


The seminar began with a summary of Catholic education in the United States and then proceeded to discuss the characteristics of Catholic education and the importance of the faith imbuing every aspect of Catholic schools. This is true because the purpose for which Catholic schools were created is the formation of the whole person and the salvation of souls. The Catholic education movement began in the United States as a response to the anti-Catholic sentiments that were rampant during the waves of immigration of the 19th and 20th centuries.


Parents as we know are the primary teachers of their children, but the Church has the responsibility to assist parents and cooperate with them in this essential task. The Church understands then, that parents have the right to choose those forms of education that is most beneficial for their children in terms of their formation of body, mind and spirit.


Governments have an obligation to allow this right to be exercised freely and without impediment or coercion. This right has been affirmed in some jurisdictions with the implementation of various tax credits, but it is certainly not universal, and the majority of Catholics who choose Catholic schools for their children often have to support the public education system via imposed taxes. As a Church we have an obligation to support efforts to assist families to choose Catholic schools via dollar-for-dollar tax credits given directly to parents who are the taxpayers.


I offer all of this because it has become more and more apparent that we find ourselves once again dealing with a public education system that is becoming increasingly hostile to traditional morality and without question to Christian morality. In some jurisdictions, it can be argued, a parent who entrusts his or her child to the public education system is endangering that child’s soul. The Church then has the obligation to make our schools affordable and accessible so that their children can be formed and equipped to respond the toxicity of contemporary culture; a culture that denigrates the natural order as created by God, that imposes views of the human person that are diametrically opposed to the law of God, and which often distorts history in order to support these ends.



The Diocese of Charlotte, via Mecklenburg Area Schools, offers a robust financial aid program that is supported by each of the participating parishes. Hence, I would encourage everyone who might be considering our present situation, to consider our Catholic Schools. The Diocese of Charlotte is committed to offering a truly Catholic education that forms the entire person with the goal of helping that student, get to heaven.


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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