From the Pastor - Second Sunday of Lent

March 15, 2025

In last week’s Gospel, we followed Jesus into the desert where He fasted and prayed. This week, He leads us up a mountain to witness His Transfiguration. Why both of these experiences?

He is preparing us to go with Him in a few short weeks to a hilltop — Golgotha — where He will lay down His life for our sake, and then finally to take us to an empty cave where He triumphed over sin and death once and for all. 

Jesus perfectly understands our humanity. He knows we need desert experiences — times of self-denial and testing — in order to arrive at mountain-top moments when we see and feel His glorious presence in our lives. The purpose of these two types of experiences is summed up in the description of the Apostles who were with Jesus at that mountain-top experience in today’s Gospel: “Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory….”

The reason for all of our fasting and prayer and almsgiving during lent is to be reawakened to all God has done for humanity, and to all that He has done for each of us personally. It is all too easy to get lulled into complacency in our daily routines, to “sleepwalk” through life, getting up and getting ourselves out the door, going to work, returning home for dinner and dishes, meetings, or sports activities, and finally flopping on the couch to watch TV until bedtime. While there is nothing inherently sinful in this routine, as Christian stewards, we are called to so much more!

This lent, let us train ourselves, or more precisely, allow Him to train us to say “Yes” to His will and to offer our lives back to Him in gratitude. In so doing, we, too, will become “transfigured.” This is what it means to live fully awake; this is a stewardship way of life, and it is glorious indeed. ©Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025

 

Pastoral Pondering

Most Catholics have a general understanding of penance and the importance of doing penance; although, we can always use deeper understanding. Another connected topic that is often not understood in reparation. In Catholic theology, reparation is the act of making amends or atoning for sin and offenses against God. It acknowledges the reality that sin not only harms the sinner but also disrupts the order of justice and love in the world.

 

Penance and reparation are closely related concepts in Catholic theology, both dealing with the response to sin and the desire for spiritual renewal, but they focus on different aspects of the response. Penance is usually associated with the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It involves the steps the penitent takes to express sorrow for sin, receive forgiveness from God, and begin the journey of conversion. Reparation, on the other hand, goes further. Penance addresses internal conversion. Reparation addresses the external consequences and the harm caused by sin. Reparation involves making amends and acting to repair the damage inflicted by one’s sins on the individual, others, and the broader community. It is an expression of justice and love, aiming to restore balance and harmony.

 

We can also note that reparation serves several important purposes in the spiritual realm:

 

1. Restoration of Justice: Sin creates a disruption in the divine order and justice that needs to be rectified. Through acts of reparation, the faithful participate in restoring what was disrupted, aligning more closely with God's righteousness.

 

2. Participation in Redemption: Through Christ's sacrifice, the ultimate act of reparation was made for humanity's sins. By making reparation, Catholics participate in that redemptive work, uniting their efforts with Christ's and continuing His mission of healing and reconciliation.

 

3. Spiritual Growth: Acts of reparation help individuals grow in humility, contrition, and love for God. By acknowledging personal shortcomings and deliberately seeking to amend them, believers become more like Christ, growing closer to God.

 

4. Intercessory Role: Catholics believe in the communal nature of the Church, where the prayers and actions of one can benefit others. Acts of reparation are seen as an intercessory action on behalf of the whole Church, offering support and spiritual help to others in the community and in the world.

 

Reparation can take many forms, including prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and acts of charity, each offering a means of contributing to the mission and witness of the Church.

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • October 3, 2025
Our readings today show us that living a stewardship way of life, that is, a life focused on serving God and His Kingdom, is not easy. They also show us that our lives belong to God, not to us, and that God will indeed bring about the fulfillment of His kingdom., We just need to have faith that He can do it and commit to our small part in His grand design. This is both our privilege and responsibility as Christian stewards. Jesus makes this privilege and responsibility clear in today’s Gospel passage from Luke. When the apostles as the Lord to increase their faith, He tells them that even a mustard-seed sized faith is all that is needed to move mountains (because it is God who does the heavy lifting). We need to only take the tiniest step forward, and He will do the rest. But living our lives in His service is also very much our responsibility, as Jesus explains through the parable of the unprofitable servant later in the passage. Our Lord describes a scene in which a servant has just come from tending to the master’s affairs and asks whether it would be reasonable for the master to begin waiting on the servant. Of course, it would not be reasonable! The servant would be expected to continue to serve his master until he has completed the work the master has given him that day. Jesus says that we should have the same attitude before God. The time, talents, and treasure entrusted to us are all God’s. Our very lives belong to Him. Whatever we do on God’s behalf with our lives and our gifts is simply our God-given responsibility. The stewardship way of life makes the privilege and responsibility of serving Christ and His kingdom a reality. ©Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering  As we move into autumnal colors, with shorter days and cooling weather, the late weeks of the liturgical year always provide us with an opportunity to reflect on faith and life. It is also that time of the calendar year when we start thinking about those who are less fortunate among us. In the coming weeks, we have a number of efforts to assist the least of our brethren with life’s basic needs including the coat drive, thanksgiving food drive and the Christmas giving effort (formerly known as the Angel Tree ©). There are no shortage of demands placed on all of us these days, but the spiritual and corporal works of mercy remain the bedrock of our Catholic lives. Thank you in advance for responding with a generous heart.

From the Pastor - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • September 26, 2025
We have all been given great power by God in the form of Time, Talents, and Treasure. Today’s readings remind us that this power is meant to be used for great good. And that failure to do so has eternal consequences. We see the urgency for us to put our powers to good use in today’s Gospel passage from Luke. Our Lord tells the rather chilling parable of the rich man who ignored poor Lazarus during their lifetimes. At the moment of the rich man’s death, he goes down to the netherworld, while Lazarus is taken to the eternal joy and comfort in the bosom of Abraham. The rich man keenly regrets his indifference towards the needs of Lazarus, but it is too late for regret. His choices have played out, and now the rich man will face the consequences of his failure to use the gifts God gave him. Pursuit of God’s kingdom and care for the poor are not trifling matters. Our Lord makes this clear to us over and over in the Scriptures and the constant teachings of our 2,000-year-old Church. We are free to ignore these teachings and live instead for ourselves. But there will be tragic results for us in the end. And, because we are made for eternity, living selfishly on this earth doesn’t really bring us true happiness anyway. So how can we use our great powers for great good? By embracing stewardship way of life. By putting God first in all areas of our lives — in the way we spend our time, the ways we share our talents, the ways we give of our financial resources. Stewardship living calls us out of our comfort zone and into commitment to the Lord and the things that matter to Him. ©Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering Even though this year is not a presidential or mid-term election, local elections are quite important, and we often don’t take them as seriously as we should. This year we have two parishioners running for office, Dan Boone is running for town council, and Bill Fountain is running for school board. To some these positions may seem insignificant, but it is at the local level that we, as Catholics, can have the greatest impact. I thought it might be helpful then to give a reminder of the duties of Catholics in political life. The Church teaches that lay Catholics bear primary responsibility for temporal affairs, including politics, as an extension of baptismal vocation (CCC 1913). Key duties include:  Forming Conscience : Study Church teachings to discern moral priorities; avoid reducing faith to single issues but prioritize intrinsic evils like abortion. Active Involvemen t: Vote informatively, run for office, join parties or advocacy groups, and dialogue with officials to apply Gospel values. Pope Francis stated, "A good Catholic meddles in politics," offering the best of oneself to help leaders govern justly. Non-Partisan Advocacy : The Church engages issues (e.g., life, family, peace) but avoids partisanship to focus on principles. Parishes can host voter education but not endorse candidates. For Public Officials : Catholic politicians must align actions with Church moral teachings; supporting grave evils like abortion risks scandal and cooperation in evil. Separation of church and state protects, rather than hinders, faith-based action in public life. Challenges and Encouragement In polarized environments, Catholics may feel disenfranchised, but the Church calls for renewed engagement to transform society incrementally toward justice. Resources like the USCCB's Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship (updated periodically) guide voters on applying Catholic Social Teaching. Ultimately, political action flows from love of neighbor, proving faith through works (James 2:14–17).