From the Pastor - 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 10, 2026

Today’s readings call us to tackle the challenging issues of fear and trust — two concepts that must be confronted and dealt with by all of us who wish to live the stewardship way of life.

The Lord knows that facing down our fears and choosing to trust Him with all areas of our lives is an ongoing challenge for us. He is generous with reassurances to us throughout the Scriptures. Today’s Gospel passage from Matthew is a case in point. In the span of eight verses, Jesus addresses the topic of fear four times.

•   “Fear no one.”
•   “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”
•   “Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body.”
•   “So do not be afraid.”

And the reassurance continues. “Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted.” Notice that Jesus says, “your Father” in describing God’s intimate knowledge and tender care for each one of us. He is truly “Abba,” our Dad, Who knows us inside and out.

With that, let us all breathe a huge sigh of relief. All is well. Our Father knows us through and through, sent His Son to save us, and will always take care of us.

Let’s stop wasting any more time with fear. Instead, let’s put all our energy, all our time, our talents, and our treasure into trusting this great and loving God, using all that we are and all that He has given us to bring Him glory. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2026.


Pastoral Pondering

In a discussion that I was having with some friends recently, the question arose why intercessory prayer was important because God knows everything. In other words, why bother if we can’t really change His mind. It was a good discussion, and I hope the following is a help if you have had that question as well.

The question assumes a kind of tension: if God already knows what He will do, why ask? But this frames prayer as if it were a negotiation with a reluctant bureaucrat. That misunderstands both God and prayer entirely. Hence, first point to be made is that the end on intercessory prayer is not to change God – it is to change us and to participate in Him.

1. God Works Through Secondary Causes — Including Your Prayer

God is the First Cause of all things, but He has chosen to govern the world through secondary causes — human acts, natural processes, and yes, prayer. The question is not why we pray if God is sovereign, but precisely because He is sovereign — and because He works out His sovereign will frequently through secondary causation.

In other words, your prayer is not competing with God's will. In many cases, it is part of God's will — the very instrument through which He has chosen to dispense certain graces.


St. Thomas Aquinas puts it plainly in the Summa Theologica: "God bestows many things on us out of His liberality, even without our asking for them: but that He wishes to bestow certain things on us at our asking, is for the sake of our good, namely, that we may acquire confidence in having recourse to God."

So some graces are reserved — held by God, waiting for the asking. It is a graced moment from God to be asked to pray for another — a sign of His love that He wants us to participate in His immense work of redemption, making some part of His plan dependent on our prayers.


2. Intercessory Prayer Is an Act of Love — a Spiritual Work of Mercy

There are many ways to love one's neighbor, but intercessory prayer — praying on behalf of other people — is one of the most powerful. Praying for the living and the dead is one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy.


Through intercessory prayer, we bring someone else's needs before God, trusting God to take care of others, whether they are loved ones, friends, enemies, or total strangers. This is love made active — a concrete participation in the life of the Body of Christ.


3. Prayer Invites Grace Without Violating Freedom

Prayer invites God's grace into a situation, which can influence hearts without compelling them. For example, praying for someone's conversion, as St. Monica did for St. Augustine, may lead to a change of heart over time. St. Monica prayed for decades, and her son — who became one of the greatest Doctors of the Church — was the fruit. God never violated Augustine's will. He opened doors. Grace moved. Augustine chose.


4. Scripture Shows God Responds to Intercession

The New Testament makes this viscerally concrete: we see the effectiveness of intercessory prayer in Acts, when King Herod had the Apostle James killed, then ordered Peter arrested under heavy guard — but "prayer by the church was fervently being made to God on his behalf," and God sent an angel to release Peter and lead him out of prison. The early Church prayed. Peter walked free.


5. The Deepest End: Union with God Himself

The Church teaches that prayer is not just a request for favors but a means of growing closer to God. Intercessory prayer, at its summit, is not primarily about outcomes. It is about conforming the soul to the heart of Christ, who is Himself the eternal Intercessor (cf. Hebrews 7:25). When one intercedes, one enters into the very priestly act of Jesus — standing before the Father on behalf of others.

Prayer becomes a way to participate in God's work, not to dictate it.


In Summary:

The end of intercessory prayer is not to bend God's arm — it is to:

  • Participate in the providential plan God has lovingly prepared
  • Exercise the spiritual authority granted to us as sons and daughters of God
  • Love our neighbor concretely through the most potent force available
  • Grow in humility and dependence on God as the Author of every good
  • Unite ourselves to Christ the eternal High Priest



The God who knows all things from eternity also knew — and willed — that your prayer would be part of the story. That is not a limitation of His omnipotence. It is a staggering expression of His love.


St. Monica prayed for seventeen years before her son knelt at the baptismal font. What if she had stopped at year sixteen — reasoning that God's will was already settled?

From the Pastor

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.

From the Pastor - All Saints Day

By John Putnam • October 30, 2026
On this Solemnity of All Saints, we have the profound joy of celebrating our brothers and sisters in Christ, the saints. This is an especially meaningful feast for us as Christian stewards. At Baptism, each of us receives the call to holiness and discipleship. In other words, we are all called to become saints. Holiness is not reserved for a select few. It is God's desire for every one of His children. The stewardship way of life helps us answer that call each day. In today's Gospel from Matthew, Jesus gives us the Beatitudes. They reveal the qualities that mark the lives of His disciples and point us toward authentic holiness. As we continue striving to live as faithful stewards, the Beatitudes provide a faithful measure of our growth in Christ. The "blessed" that Jesus describes are not different categories of people who make it to heaven. Rather, they reveal the character of those who belong to Him - the poor in spirit, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemakers, and all who remain faithful in the midst of trials. None of us can live this way on our own. But as beloved children of God, we receive the grace we need through prayer, the sacraments, and a life centered on Christ. May the example of the saints inspire us to persevere in our own call to holiness, trusting that one day we will join them in the everlasting joy of heaven. © Catholic Stewardship Conference, 2026 Pastoral Pondering October brought us the Church's renewed attention to mental health. Pope Leo XIV has asked us this month to pray that our communities become places where those who carry unseen burdens find welcome, dignity, and hope- not judgment or silence. Many of those burdens are carried by women and girls. Some have lived through abuse, assault, or trauma that few around them even know about. Recent headlines, including those from Cornell University, have reminded the whole country how widespread these wounds are and how alone many survivors feel. Regardless of the outcome and veracity of the Cornell case, these types of cases exist closer to home. Women in our own parish and community often suffer quietly, unsure where to turn or whether anyone will truly understand. There is help, and there is hope. Healed and Restored, the local Catholic ministry founded by our own parishioner Elza Spaedy, exists precisely for this purpose. Through counseling, workshops, spiritual mentoring, retreats, and a supportive community, it walks with women and girls who have experienced abuse, assault, domestic violence, trafficking, or other trauma. Rooted in faith, it helps them encounter the Divine Physician who alone can restore what has been broken and discover that their wounds do not define them. Many of the women who have walked this path have found real freedom and a renewed sense of their dignity as daughters of God. If you are carrying a wound like this, or if you know someone who is, I encourage you to reach out. Information is available at healedandrestored.org. And if you simply want to stand with those who are hurting, please keep them in your prayers. Sometimes the greatest gift we can offer is to notice, to listen without fear, and to point someone toward the healing Christ offers. May the Lord who binds up the brokenhearted make our parish a place of true restoration.