From the Pastor - 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 10, 2023

Today’s readings challenge us to reflect on the true state of our hearts as it relates to stewardship. Do we think of stewardship as something we take care of once a year, simply a matter of ticking off boxes on a commitment card — or do we choose to embrace it as a spirituality and way of life that allows us to grow in conformity to Christ every day?


Our first reading, from the book of Sirach, teaches that our good God has given us freedom to make this choice — “Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him.”


The concept of stewardship helps us to live out the fundamental choice to put God first. Stewardship is not meant to be a mere external exercise that we participate in on an occasional basis. It is meant to be embraced as a way of life a life that involves a continuous conversion of heart.


In our Gospel passage from Matthew, Jesus illustrates the difference between an external observance of the law and a true conversion of heart, saying, “You have heard that it was said… you shall not kill… But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” Our Lord is asking us not only for exterior acts, but for a true change of heart. In stewardship terms, that means seeing everything as a gift from Him, to be used for His glory and the good of others.


In the week ahead, let us examine the state of our hearts to ask ourselves if we have chosen to allow stewardship to become a way of life for us. Only then we will experience its true depth and heart-changing possibilities. The choice is ours.

 

Pastoral Pondering

Every year the Church in her wisdom provides us with the opportunity to enter into an intense time of prayer and preparation prior to the celebration of the Lord’s resurrection. Lent invites us to accompany the Lord into the desert where we might be freed from the shackles of worldly attachments so that we might more effectively submit to the will of the Father.


Due to the increasing demands of our secular world, it is quite easy to simply allow the weeks of Lent to be just like any of the other weeks of the year. However, if we do so, we are truly impoverishing our spiritual growth and well being. Hence, as I mentioned last week, we shouldn’t wait to make our Lenten plan of action until Ash Wednesday arrives, we should be ready to hit the ground running.


There are more than ample Lenten resources available and accessible. In particular I would recommend utilizing those found in the Hallow app along with those on Formed.org. Additionally, Carolina Catholic Corner is a great resource for those who prefer to have their hands on something solid rather than simply working in the digital world. See this holy season as a gift from God, inviting each of us to open our hearts more fully to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. If we do so, we will find our celebration of Holy Week and Easter to be far more fruitful and beneficial.


From the Pastor

From the Pastor - Fifth Sunday of Easter

By John Putnam • May 16, 2025
Today’s readings on this fifth Sunday of Easter contain inspiring but challenging messages for us Christian stewards. The Gospel from John includes this well-known verse: “My children…I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” What a succinct description of a stewardship way of life. It sounds so simples. But simple does not necessarily mean easy. How exactly is Jesus Calling us to love? As He, Himself loved. Jesus loved (and loves) by serving us and by making a sacrifice of His very life for us. That is a tall order. Living a life of service and self-sacrifice is not easy because it requires us to continuously fight against our selfish inclinations. But the more we empty ourselves of “self” by serving others, the more room we make in our hearts for God to pour His grace into us. Amazingly, the more we give our lives away to others, the more He fills us up with Himself who is love itself. And amid the inevitable challenging moments this way of life entails we can be assured that the Lord who loves us so much that He died for us and established the Eucharist to be our strength and nourishment, is right here with us every step of the way. As we face the hardships that come with living as Christian stewards, we can continue to rejoice in the wonder of the Resurrection this Easter season, finding great joy in following in our Lord’s footsteps and in loving as He loves. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering  As you have probably noticed, the original St. Mark building, the old rectory on Ranson Road, has been torn down. Preparatory work has begun on the lot for the new rectory. In the next couple of weeks, we will be meeting with the Diocese and doing some value engineering. Once that is accomplished it will be decided when we can move forward with groundbreaking and construction. On the Campaign front, we thank all of those who have extended their pledges or moved a one-time gift into a multi-year pledge. In order to reach the goal of $9.7 million, we still need to raise a little over $400K before June 30 th . Percentagewise, there are still a large number of parish families who have not participated in the Campaign. We need your help to reach the goal. Whether we accomplish that goal will determine what we can do next. As June approaches, we are preparing for the ordination of some of our seminarians to the Diaconate and then the ordination of our transitional deacons to the Priesthood. Please keep all of them in your prayers. One of those to be ordained deacon, Seminarian Michael Lugo, has been assigned to St. Mark for the summer. We look forward to working with him and know you all will make him welcome.

From the Pastor - Fourth Sunday of Easter

By John Putnam • May 9, 2025
Throughout the Easter season, our readings have given us glimpses into the life of the newborn Church and the bold witness of the early disciples in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to all who would listen. The disciples were the first to live a stewardship way of life, and their example is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago. In the First Reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, we catch up with Paul and Barnabas in Antioch. While they certainly have some success in reaching many people there with the message of salvation, others are downright infuriated by their words and send them packing. Yet, we read that “the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” Overall, it seems as if Paul and Barnabas had failed in Antioch. But seeing failure has not robbed them of their joy. What’s more, they are filled to the brim with the abundant gifts of the Holy Spirit. How is this possible? It is only possible because Paul and Barnabas saw themselves as nothing more and nothing less than stewards of Christ and His Good News. This realization brought them freedom — to offer themselves and their lives to others for the sake of the Gospel. The “results” of their efforts were up to God. This Spirit-filled, joy-filled life is available to us all today. It can be achieved when we recognize, as did Paul and Barnabas, that all we have and all we are is a gift from God, meant to be shared with others for His glory. Of course, living as God’s stewards does not guarantee a life of ease or a life free of sacrifice. Sometimes the steward’s life involves challenges, requiring all the strength and love one has to give. In the end, there is simply no more satisfying way to live. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering Because of the time limits placed on us by the bulletin company, this is being written before the conclave begins but will be published after the fact, so we may actually have a new pope (and I hope we do) by the time you are reading this. It is a good reminder that there are still limits on our modern efficiency. Over the past couple of weeks, in addition to praying for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis, we have also had the opportunity to celebrate confirmation with Bishop Martin with a little more than half of our confirmands (99), the remaining 80 or so will be confirmed this week. We have also celebrated two of our First Holy Communions with the remaining two being celebrated next Saturday. May is always busy!  It is always a great blessing to celebrate these sacraments with our young people. Celebrating with the second graders is a special joy because they are so open to God’s presence in their lives. We are also praying for those candidates (folks baptized in another Christian church) who will be received into the full Communion of the Catholic Church on the Vigil of Pentecost. Please keep all of these folks in prayer as they grow in the sacramental life and in their walk with Christ.
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