From the Pastor - 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 2, 2022

Today’s readings make very clear the demands that will be made of those wanting to be called disciples of Christ. We must be prepared to give our all to Him. But in the end, the life of discipleship — the stewardship way of life — is the only life that can truly satisfy.

 

In the Gospel passage from Luke, Christ says, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Our Lord is speaking here not of emotions but rather of priorities. He must come first in all aspects of our lives. Period.

 

He goes on. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” In other words, it’s all or nothing. Compromise is simply not possible. Christ wants us to give all of ourselves, all aspects of our individual lives, our family life, our parish over to Him and to the pursuit of His kingdom.

 

And just when we think our Lord might soften His message to make it a little more palatable, He goes further! “Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” Why is our Lord being so demanding? Only because He knows us so well and loves us so much.

 

He knows that if we do not live by putting Him first before all else, we will easily be swallowed up by the earthly cares that weigh us down — our material things, our status, and our egos. He knows these things cannot satisfy us. He knows this because He is our Maker, and He made us for more.

 

We are made to be His disciples, to seek after Him and His Kingdom. Embracing stewardship as a way life allows us to count the cost, and then run after Him with all our might. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2022

 

Pastoral Pondering

This morning (08/24) I celebrated the All-School Mass for St. Mark School. It was a joy to have the students and teachers back, not only for Mass but also on campus. Even though there are occasionally traffic struggles 😊, their presence gives life to the campus during the week.

 

Our children are gifts from God that have to be nurtured and cared for; formed in faith and educated in virtue. One of the challenges to this is the current dependence and use of various forms of screen time including phone, computer, pads, etc. During the school lockdowns, according to a Mayo clinic study, kids spend an average of 7½ hours per day using a screen of some type. While even some adults have struggles in this regard, adults, especially parents and educators, have an important responsibility to protect children.

 

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry notes the following side effects of too much screen time: sleeping problems, poor self-image and body image issues, reading fewer books, spending less time outside, lower grades in school, struggling to maintain a moderate weight, having a narrower scope of interests, and mood or attention disorders. Other studies have indicated other issues, but this indicates the most common.

 

The other danger is what children are watching. Even the most vigilant of parents cannot, without considerable difficulty, monitor everything a child is viewing on-line. Because of this, children can be exposed to inappropriate content at an early age. Serious struggles with pornography, a diminishment of personal interaction skills, violence, and being a victim of predatory behavior have to be taken seriously.

 

Rather than simply forbidding the use of screens, some parents have joined their children in on-line gaming as a way of monitoring and limiting screen time. Others have tried for every half hour of screen time has to be offset by outdoor activities or other non-technological interaction with others. It is a struggle, but I don’t believe a third grader needs an iPhone! The phone issue can be a very difficult issue for parents. One solution is the Gabb Phone (https://gabbphone.com/). It provides texting possibilities but does not allow some of the most harmful elements; e.g., TikTok et al.

 

Finally, parenting is hard, but absolutely essential to the well being and formation of children. Don’t be afraid to confront this issue to protect God’s special gifts.

 

https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Children-And-Watching-TV-054.aspx

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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