From the Pastor - 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 21, 2023

Today’s Gospel passage from Matthew is filled with lessons both cautionary and consoling for the Christian steward as Jesus uses several parables to describe the kingdom of heaven and our role in it. 


First, He compares it to a field where both wheat and weeds have been sown. Both weeds and wheat are permitted to grow and only at the harvest time are they separated, or “judged” — the wheat gathered into the Sower’s barn and the weeds finally destroyed. So, it will be for each of us at the end of our time on earth. It is a sobering reminder of the justice of God.


Next, He says the kingdom of heaven is like the small portion of yeast that is mixed in with flour for the making of bread. The yeast makes up an insignificant fraction of the ingredients, yet it is vital to the outcome — without that tiny bit of yeast, the bread simply will not rise. Similarly, He compares the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed, “the smallest of all the seeds.” But when it is full-grown it becomes the largest of all the plants, a sturdy and hardy bush where “birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.”

So often, the prayers that we pray, the service we offer, the gifts we give — in comparison to the immense needs around us — can seem laughably small. But, as Jesus makes clear through the images of yeast and mustard seed, that is not the truth!

God sees and treasures and “grows” our offerings of time, talent, and treasure in ways we cannot begin to imagine.


In justice, in gratitude, in love, let us remain faithful to the mission entrusted to our care for the building of the kingdom of heaven. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2023


Pastoral Pondering

By now, many of you will have seen The Sound of Freedom that opened in theatres July 4th week. The movie, starring Jim Caviezel, deals with the sad reality of child sex trafficking. I remember back in 2020 there were a number of news stories about United States Marshalls rescuing groups of children and arresting those responsible for trafficking them for profit. Pope Francis has said that human trafficking is “a crime against humanity” that must be eradicated. It is one more example of how our understanding of the human person guides our Catholic view of life. Since 2020 there have been executive orders and fund allocations within the government to assist those vulnerable to being trafficked. Such efforts are important, but certainly not enough.


Human trafficking, and especially the trafficking of children, is one more example of how the cultural understanding of the person, and the erosion of the Christian foundation of that cultural understanding, allows the degradation of children and young people. The United Nations describes human trafficking as a modern form of slavery. According to statistics cited by the USCCB, nearly 1.5 million victims are currently laboring in conditions of forced labor, sexual exploitation and servitude in the United States, Canada, and developed countries in Europe.


Human trafficking is also often connected with illegal immigration. The so-called “coyotes” will bring children or young people across the border and then force them to pay-off their debt through various nefarious activities as described above. This is why it is so important to take a holistic approach to immigration reform. A well-functioning immigration policy is one of the best defenses against human trafficking.


As individual Catholics, we might think there is very little that we can do to affect an improvement of the present situation. However, we can remind our elected officials of the importance of developing comprehensive immigration reform, calling for greater cooperation among the various organs of the government, and perhaps most importantly, aiding those rescued through Catholic Charities and other non-profits dedicated to offering support and aid.



For too long this issue has been ignored and overlooked. Hopefully the movie will raise awareness and spur people into action. One of the slogans used in the movie is “Our children are not for sale!” Be proactive and look for ways to get involved with efforts to fight and, ultimately stop, this crime against humanity.


From the Pastor

From the Pastor - First Sunday of Advent

By John Putnam • December 2, 2025
Today we begin the beautiful season of Advent — a season of preparation. For what are we preparing? The celebration of the birth of our Savior, and the anticipation of His second coming. These are weighty tasks with eternal consequences. So, let us as Christian stewards make the words of the Prophet Isaiah our motto for the season: “Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways and we may walk in his paths.” In the weeks leading up to Christmas, it seems everywhere we turn we are pushed to spend more, do more, entertain more, and generally rush around at a frantic pace — all to create a “perfect” Christmas day. In contrast to this worldly pressure, the Church’s guidance to use these weeks as a time to focus on our spiritual lives can indeed seem like a mountain climb. But the intentional and wise use of the gift of time is exactly what the Christian steward is called to do, and with even greater intensity during Advent. How can we use our time to prepare for a holy celebration of Jesus’ birth on Dec. 25 and for his second coming at a date we do not know? We can push back against the world’s pressure to have the “perfect Christmas.” Scale back on the material kind of gift-giving, the complicated menus, the unessential trappings of the season so that we have more time for the spiritual preparations: Confession, weekday Mass, adoration, family prayer time, lighting the Advent wreath, acts of kindness. It may feel like a mountain climb, but in the end, we will be prepared to celebrate a truly meaningful Christmas, we will have become more like our Savior, and we will be ready for Him to come again. Let’s go climb the Lord’s mountain! © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 From the Pastor Advent brings a time of new beginning. A new liturgical year is upon us, but it is also a time to prepare our hearts for something – for the coming of the Lord. The first weeks of Advent focus on the Lord’s coming at the end of time, and the latter weeks of Advent focus on preparing to celebrate His coming at the Nativity. Both, however, are interconnected. The first coming of the Lord facilitates His coming into our hearts, which, in the end, facilitates His second coming to judge the living and the dead. The “in between” of these two comings is where time and eternity come together. We are called to live each day in expectation of His coming. We are called to hope for His coming and to expect it even when it seems long delayed. It is in this expectation that we must learn to live our lives. Daily life is messy and unpredictable. We must deal with disappointments, sickness and loss. Yet, we do so as people of hope who know that in these crosses, there lies ultimate joy because of the love of the Father who sent his Son to love us to the end. As we begin a new journey in a new liturgical year, let us do so with joyful expectation. Knowing that the end of the journey, if we are faithful, is paradise.

From the Pastor - Solemnity of Christ the King

By John Putnam • November 21, 2025
On this Feast of Christ the King, our readings show us that we serve the greatest of Kings, who is at the same time the humblest of Kings. Christ is the perfect model of servant leadership. And what an indescribable privilege that He has called us to be servant leaders — stewards in the work of advancing His Kingdom. In our second reading, from St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians, Paul describes the great power and dignity that characterize Christ the King. “All things were created through him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together.” It makes you want to stand up and cheer. That’s our King! Yet, what a contrasting description of the same King we find in our Gospel passage, from Luke. Now we see our King nailed to the Cross. Everyone from rulers to soldiers, to the criminals on either side of Christ is mocking, sneering, and reviling him. They tauntingly urge him to prove His kingship by coming down from the Cross to end his suffering with a great show of power. “if you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” But He does not. Amazingly, it is in this moment of seeming-weakness and humiliation, when all appears hopeless and lost, that the full breadth of his greatness as king is displayed. Though all things were created through and for Him — Christ chooses to live entirely for others, for us! What does this mean for us as his followers and stewards of His kingdom? It is precisely that our lives are not about us. They are about Christ and others. And we will advance his kingdom to the extent that we embrace this mindset: my life is not about me; it is about serving the King of kings. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025