From the Pastor - 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 10, 2023

We have been given so many gifts and blessings by our Heavenly Father. Yet, in our fallen state it is all too easy to take them for granted. Our readings today teach us that we must live with an intentional awareness of our many blessings and use them gratefully to glorify God.


In our Gospel passage from Matthew, Jesus uses the image of a vineyard to teach the importance of using our blessings well. He tells the story of a landowner who plants a vineyard and leases it to tenants before he goes on a journey. Instead of tending the vineyard, the tenants mistreat the servants in the vineyard and even the son of the landowner, whom they kill. When the landowner realizes what the tenants have done, he puts them to death and leases his vineyard to tenants who “will give him the produce at the proper times.”


By Baptism, we have received the gift of salvation and membership in Kingdom of God — we are now “tenants” called to work in the “vineyard” and produce fruit for its owner, our Heavenly Father. Jesus makes it clear that if we squander the gift of salvation, we will lose it. It is a sobering truth.


So, let us use our intellect to think on these gifts throughout the day and resolve to use all our gifts for God’s glory. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2023.


Pastoral Pondering

I love the autumn weather. However, as soon as October arrives, time seems to start moving faster! We are already looking ahead to Thanksgiving and Christmas, and our various charitable efforts will begin in the not too distant future. Thanks to all of you who have responded to our efforts with Walking with Mothers and the diaper drive that is occurring this weekend. These efforts can make significant differences in the lives of mothers and babies in need.


Even though the national elections are not until next year, there has already been lots of coverage of what those might look like. What this often does is eclipse the very important local elections that often have far greater impacts on our lives than do those at the higher levels. Regardless of the type of elections that are occurring, Catholic Social Teaching, as expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and documents issued by the United States Bishops, Catholics have an obligation to get involved in the public square and bring their faith to bear in that arena.


This November 7 Huntersville will be electing a new mayor and town board. Additionally, there will be an election for an at-large seat on the Mecklenburg County Schoolboard. As with all elections, it’s important for us to support candidates who uphold, or at least not oppose, the Church’s teachings on the dignity of the human person, marriage, and family. For this reason, I have encouraged parishioners to get engaged in the process or even put themselves forward as candidates for office.


Town governments usually focus on roads, public safety and the like. However, in recent years, there have been efforts on the part of some elected officials and activists to promote anti-family policies such as gender ideology, under the guise of equality, that could undermine the religious liberty of Catholics and other people of faith, especially those who operate businesses according to strongly held religious beliefs. Such an effort was tabled last year, assisted hopefully by St. Mark’s engagement in the matter, but are sure to be brought up in the future. Separately, the CMS Board already embraces such policies, and it is important that other pro-family voices be added to the mix on the school board.


Thankfully, for both races, there are candidates – including parishioners of St. Mark - committed to good governance and the promotion of policies that will make our community and our schools safer and more welcoming for families and children. Local county and municipal politics can have long-term impacts that should be a concern to every person of faith. Hence, doing your personal research and learning where the candidates stand on critical issues is imperative if we hope to promote a culture that appreciates the good, the true and the beautiful, including respecting those laws that promote family life and the strengthening of marriage, family, and religious freedom.



The candidates’ positions on these matters of importance are not always easy to find. Some have been very quiet about the positions they support. In these cases, it is helpful to look at the position statements of their party and the laws that the particular party supports and promotes. I encourage you to get to know the candidates who are running so that the decisions we make at the ballot box can be informed and supportive of those who support our faith and values. Don’t be a bystander. Get involved.

From the Pastor

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.
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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