From the Pastor - 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

June 14, 2024

As we enter back into Ordinary Time, our readings today remind us that heaven is our true home and that we cannot make it there without God’s assistance.


In our First Reading, the prophet Ezekiel foretells the coming of the Kingdom of God. We can see that Jesus is the cedar that will become refuge for all people. He will humble the proud, lift up the lowly and produce good fruit in the weakened. It is God who does the wondrous works.


We often go through life wanting to be in control. We try to solve all our problems, as we think, "I can do it myself." We cling to our own ideas by putting certain events, future plans, or even day-to-day moments into a perfect little box, "This is the way I want it." We can even push back in moments of suffering by trying to find every possible way to get out of it. We are "in control."

Imagine what life would be like if we surrendered a little more. It is easier said than done — but, oh, how freeing it would be.

What if we opened our clenched hands to God and said, “Thy will be done”?


We would become free from attachment and more blessed than we could ever imagine.


Only God can do all that He promised in our First Reading. We need Him. All we need to do is surrender. To help us on this journey of total surrender, try starting each day with a prayer of surrender, “Lord, I give You this day and all that You have in store for me, my family and friends.” With the guidance of the Lord, surely, we will make it home to heaven. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024


Pastoral Pondering

Now that we have celebrated the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity and the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, and after listening to a podcast this past week, I thought it would be a good opportunity to reflect on the importance of celebrating the Lord’s Day.


In his most recent podcast, Brendan Gotta, in his Gotta Be Saints podcast, interviewed author of Restoring the Lord’s Day (Sophia Institute Press, 2024), Daniel Fitzpatrick. Daniel is a member of the faculty at the Jesuit High School of New Orleans. He has written a number of books including a new translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy.

During the podcast, the point was made of the importance of living the faith in a holistic way. The Liturgical calendar invites us to live the mysteries of the faith in our daily lives and to especially set aside Sunday, the day we celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection, as a day given over to the Lord.


All too often we see Sunday as simply the day to go to Mass (if at least that) and then the rest of the day is ours to do whatever we want or to get ready for Monday. Sunday though is to be lived differently. The author notes that one of the things that he began doing to keep the Lord’s day was doing his grading and class preparation on Friday and Saturday so that Sunday could be free of those worldly concerns. This, of course, takes an intentionality in living the faith beyond the four walls of the church building and to allow it to permeate our day to day living.


Oftentimes people will lament that they just don’t have time to make such a change. While that might be true in some cases, statisticians estimate that most spend about 3 hours per day on their smart phone. This amounts to 21 hours a week. Too often we get antsy if we spend more than an hour at Mass; yet, if we are honest and look at how we use our time, we can actually do a lot more than we are doing. We allow the worldly concerns to become the tail that wags the dog.


Fitzpatrick also notes that the sin of accedia, also known as spiritual sloth or laziness, which Evelyn Waugh called the besetting sin of the modern age, is often at the root of the failure to keep the Lord’s day because it leads us to reject the good things that the Lord desires for us. We can all be guilty of not immersing ourselves in the Sacred Mysteries. Rather than being in a mode of waiting for Mass to be over, we need to want to continue the celebration throughout the day.



The podcast and the book provide a great opportunity to reflect more deeply on the importance of the Lord’s day and the necessity of recovering that importance in our lives.


From the Pastor

From the Pastor - Second Sunday of Advent

By John Putnam • December 5, 2025
On this Second Sunday of Advent, our second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans encourages us to focus our Advent preparations in this way: “Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God.” And how does Christ welcome us? With unconditional love. This is the essence of Christian hospitality, a vital aspect of stewardship living. Fully embraced, it has the power to transform our lives and the lives of those who experience it through us. The practice of Christian hospitality is also a way for us stewards to answer the call of John the Baptist, in our Gospel passage from Matthew. His words apply just as much to us today as they did to the people awaiting the Savior’s arrival. John says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” And he recalls the words of the prophet Isaiah, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” There is a definite connection between repentance and effective hospitality. So how can we make repentance a regular part of our everyday lives? We can make an “examination of conscience” a daily part of our prayers, thanking God for the times we said “yes” to Him, and asking forgiveness for the times we chose our own will. We can (and should!) go to Confession this Advent. We can reach out to a family member or friend where there is distance or discord and make peace. As we “straighten the paths” of our own hearts and minds, we become more hospitable people, better stewards of God’s grace and mercy, and far more open and ready to invite others into our lives, homes, and parish. This is preparation fitting for our merciful Savior. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Bishop of Rome, undertook his inaugural apostolic journey abroad from November 27 to December 2, 2025. This six-day itinerary encompassed Turkey (November 27–30) and Lebanon (November 30–December 2), marking a deliberate choice of destinations in the Middle East amid ongoing regional conflicts and global ecclesiastical anniversaries. As the successor to Pope Francis, who had planned a similar trip before his passing in April 2025, Leo XIV’s voyage fulfills a commitment to ecumenical and inter-religious engagement while advancing themes central to his nascent papacy: peace, unity, and dialogue. Historical and Ecumenical Significance in Turkey The Turkish leg of the journey centered on İznik (ancient Nicaea), where Pope Leo XIV participated in commemorations of the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD). This ecumenical council, convened by Emperor Constantine I, produced the Nicene Creed—a foundational statement of Christian faith affirming the divinity of Christ and shared by Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions. The event underscored the common heritage of Christianity, with Leo XIV joining Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople for a joint declaration and doxology at the Patriarchal Church of Saint George in Istanbul. This collaboration highlights efforts to bridge the schism between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, echoing historical papal visits to Turkey (e.g., by Popes Paul VI in 1967 and Benedict XVI in 2006). In a broader context, the visit to predominantly Muslim Turkey (where Christians constitute less than 0.5% of the population) served as a gesture of interfaith outreach. Key moments included a prayer at Istanbul’s Blue Mosque—though Leo XIV refrained from visibly praying there, distinguishing his approach from predecessors—and a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Discussions addressed tensions over sites like the Hagia Sophia, reconverted to a mosque in 2020, and emphasized mutual respect amid Turkey’s role as a crossroads of early Christianity and St. Paul’s homeland. The pilgrimage thus reinforced the papacy’s commitment to fostering “what unites us” over divisions, as articulated by Vatican spokespersons. Humanitarian and Diplomatic Significance in Lebanon Transitioning to Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV’s itinerary addressed the nation’s profound challenges: economic collapse since 2019, the devastating 2020 Beirut port explosion (which killed over 200 and displaced thousands), and renewed violence from Israeli airstrikes in 2024 targeting Hezbollah positions, despite a fragile Gaza ceasefire. Lebanon’s Christian community, the largest in the Arab world (comprising 30–35% of the population), faces emigration and instability, making the visit a vital affirmation of solidarity. Notable engagements included meetings with President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam; an inter-religious prayer at Beirut’s port memorializing explosion victims; and visits to the tomb of St. Charbel and the statue of Our Lady of Lebanon. An open-air Mass at Beirut’s waterfront, anticipated to draw 120,000 attendees, symbolized communal resilience. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem extended a formal welcome, delivering a letter via group members and framing the visit as an opportunity for dialogue on regional peace. This outreach to Muslim-majority Lebanon (65–70% Muslim) amplified Leo XIV’s message of coexistence, drawing parallels to Pope John Paul II’s 1997 visit and Benedict XVI’s in 2012 amid the Syrian civil war. Broader Geopolitical and Papal Implications Occurring against the backdrop of a “piecemeal” third world war—encompassing Ukraine, Gaza, and Middle Eastern flashpoints—Leo XIV’s journey positioned the Holy See as a moral voice for de-escalation. In addresses, he invoked his predecessor Pope Francis’s warnings on humanity’s endangered future, urging world leaders to prioritize peace negotiations. The trip’s timing, covered by over 80 journalists from 15 countries (including major U.S. networks), amplified its global resonance, particularly as the first foreign voyage of an American pope. Symbolically, selecting Muslim-majority nations for his debut underscores a pontificate rooted in Augustinian spirituality (Leo XIV being the first from the Order of Saint Augustine) and social teaching, echoing Pope Leo XIII’s emphasis on justice in industrialized eras. It signals continuity with Francis’s bridge-building while introducing Leo XIV’s vision: unity across faiths, support for persecuted minorities, and advocacy for the vulnerable. By December 2, 2025, the visit had already prompted reflections on its potential to influence fragile truces and inter-communal harmony in the region.  This apostolic journey, therefore, transcends ceremonial bounds, serving as a strategic affirmation of the Catholic Church’s role in promoting global stability and religious solidarity.

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.