From the Pastor - 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 23, 2024

Our readings offer us examples of how we should be living, and they present us with an opportunity to make a radical change in our lives.

 

In our first reading, Joshua tells the leaders of the Israelites to decide as to who they shall serve in this life. As he presents them with this choice, he boldly states, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Who or what does your household serve? Whether you are a household of one or twelve, now is the time to decide, ‘will we serve the Lord?’

 

We are constantly bombarded with endless distractions around us. It can be very easy to serve other ‘gods’ in our lives. For instance, putting technology (phone, internet, TV), kids’ extracurricular activities, our jobs, or our social lives before the Lord. We also might be putting these things above our loved ones, and if we are doing that, then we are putting them above our relationship with God.

 

With this in mind, we must strive each day to intentionally live as disciples of Christ. It starts with commitment — incorporating personal daily prayer and increasing that prayer week by week, incorporating prayer into our marriages and families, frequenting the sacraments, and serving others. Through this time with the Lord and service to those around us, He will reveal to us where to go next.

 

Reflect on how you may not be putting God first in your life and decide to respond like the Israelites, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord for the service of other gods… Therefore, we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024

 

Pastoral Pondering

This Friday begins our annual Eucharistic Congress. This year’s congress has significance on a number of levels. First, we are in the follow-up phase of the National Eucharistic Revival. While we have been “ahead of the game” in the Diocese of Charlotte for over two decades, recommitting ourselves to a deep love and devotion for the Eucharist should always be important to us. Secondly, this is the first Congress for our Bishop, Michael T. Martin, OFM Conv. This is an opportunity for our Diocesan Church to show the Bishop who we are and how we live our faith.



This year our Friday program is especially organized for Youth and Young Adults, but that there will still be something for everyone. Sarah Kroger, who came to the parish earlier this year, will have a kick-off concert at 5:15. On Saturday our Eucharistic procession through the streets of Charlotte begins our day followed by speakers, opportunities for prayer and confession and culminating in Holy Mass with Bishop Martin at 4:15 p.m. This is our annual Catholic Homecoming, and I hope you will plan to join us at the Charlotte Convention Center. For detailed information about the event please visit www.goeucharist.com.

 

As this is a presidential election year, I have had a few questions about what our Catholic obligations are in terms of participating in political life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes:

 

Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one’s country…[and further on]… Christians] reside in their own nations, but as resident aliens. They participate in all things as citizens and endure all things as foreigners.…They obey the established laws, and their way of life surpasses the laws.…So noble is the position to which God has assigned them that they are not allowed to desert it. (#2240)


In other words, we have an obligation to be politically active. We are obligated to exercise the rights so as to form a more Christ-centered society. Christians are not to “sit on the sidelines”. We are to be engaged and involved. In Fratelli Tutti (no. 66), Poper Francis notes:

 

Let us look to the example of the Good Samaritan. Jesus’ parable summons us to rediscover our vocation as citizens of our respective nations and of the entire world, builders of a new social bond. This summons is ever new, yet it is grounded in a fundamental law of our being: we are called to direct society to the pursuit of the common good and, with this purpose in mind, to persevere in consolidating its political and social order, its fabric of relations, its human goals.

 

We do all of this by, as St. Paul says, putting on the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) and approaching political concerns and issues with our faith guiding us and always seeing these matters through the lens of human dignity. Of course, we cannot exercise this important obligation if we are not registered to vote and engaged in public dialogue. Early voting in North Carolina begins on Thursday, October 17, 2024 and ends on Saturday, November 2, 2024. If you are not registered, you can find the application via the NCDMV website: https://payments.ncdot.gov/. I have asked the Knights of Columbus to assist with voter registration as a part of our efforts to support patriotism and Catholic action in the public square. Patriotism is one of their historic values, and I am appreciative of their willingness to support the effort.

 


 

From the Pastor

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.

From the Pastor - 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • September 4, 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.