From the Pastor - 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 9, 2022

Today’s readings focus on the personal, passionate, and merciful love of God which should fill us with unending gratitude to Him. This gratitude is the fuel, if you will, that keeps the stewardship way of life rolling along.


In our Second Reading, from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy, we find a grateful Paul who says of himself, “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant, but I have been mercifully treated.” St. Paul is well aware of the sins he has committed. But this does not hold him back from ministry. Rather, it makes him all the more grateful to be God’s steward. How encouraging to know that this is true for us as well. Our past sins, and even our present struggles, do not disqualify us from becoming God’s grateful stewards.


Jesus gives us several poignant illustrations of His merciful love in today’s Gospel reading from Luke. Let us focus on one, in particular — the story of the lost sheep. He asks, “What man among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine… and go after the lost one until he finds it?”

The logical response is no one! It simply does not make sense to spend time and energy searching for one lost sheep when there are so many others to tend to. But God’s logic, God’s mercy, defies human logic. And who is the lost one? It is every one of us when we stray away from God through sin, great or small.


What gratitude we owe to such a personal, passionate, loving God! Just think, even our sins, once forgiven, become a source of fuel for our stewardship way of life as we reflect with deep gratitude on the powerful mercy of our Savior. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2022


Pastoral Pondering

This morning at the All-School Mass, the offertory hymn was It is Well. This was one of my grandmother’s favorite hymns and, by her example, is one of my favorites as well. The refrain is very simple, “It is well, it is well, with my soul”. The gist of the hymn is that regardless of what we happen to be going through, we can always proclaim that it is well with my soul because we are united to Christ and His saving Cross.


At times, when we look around and see the craziness of the world in which we find ourselves, it is probably a good idea to be reminded that we are not alone. The Lord is with us. Sometimes we forget or take for granted, that the Lord is indeed with us. He is especially present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I reminded the children this morning that He never leaves us. Every time we visit the Church, the adoration chapel, or the school chapel, He is there!


Reminding ourselves of His presence is always a good idea, especially when the day is heavily burdened. A few moments of adoration or quiet prayer can help us to put everything in perspective and remember that it is well with my soul because I do not face this world without Divine assistance. “For God so loved the world that He gave his Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.”


A note about confessions – As you know, the priests of St. Mark have been committed for a number of years now, to offer frequent opportunities for the reception of the sacrament of Penance. This practice has been a blessing not only to our parish but to many who come from surrounding parishes to take advantage of the opportunity. With that being said, out of respect for the liturgy, we find it necessary to set some boundaries. In general, confessions are offered beginning 45 minutes before Mass and ending 30 minutes later. When two confessors are available, confessions are offered beyond this time. The priest-celebrant has prayers of preparation for Mass as well as simply vesting and getting ready for Mass to begin. Hence, please be conscious when the light goes off, confessions are over. When there are two confessors, the second confessor will end confessions at the end of the Liturgy of the Word (basically the end of the homily). With the exception of Wednesday evenings when confessions coincide with the evening Mass, everyone needs to be able to participate in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Please pay attention to the light above the confessional door. We appreciate your cooperation with this and ask that you plan accordingly.


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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