From the Pastor - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 16, 2024

Jesus said to the crowd, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life...” We can hardly blame the crowd for their shock at this statement — eating the Flesh and drinking the Blood of our Lord should cause us a bit of a shock. Yet how easy it is to show up at Mass Sunday after Sunday, receiving the Eucharist as simply part of a weekly routine.


If we really spent time contemplating the gift our Lord is offering us in this sacrament, we would be awestruck at the love and power in this gift. Through it, our Lord is giving us the very best He has to give — Himself. Not even the greatest theological scholar or the holiest of saints can fully understand this mystery.


Thankfully we don’t need to be a saint or a scholar to receive this gift. But we should do our best to receive the Eucharist with gratitude. And we can look to today’s readings to glean two fundamental principles for becoming better Christian stewards.

The Eucharist is the foundation for a stewardship way of life. Through His gift of the Eucharist, God fills us with His love and strength. This love and strength empower us to live as generous stewards — to be faithful to the ministries we serve in, joyful in material giving, and offer our very best to our families and secular work.


The Eucharist is the ultimate inspiration for a stewardship way of life. When we contemplate this gift of God, we will want to make a joyful return to Him. Mass will become anything but routine and we will live each day as His passionate disciples. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024

 

Pastoral Pondering

If you are like me, it seems that the summer has flown by. Be that as it may, summer vacation is quickly coming to a close and with the start of school later this week, “normal” parish life will begin again. In addition to the beginning of school, Faith Formation and Youth Ministry are gearing up for another year. This, of course, includes sacramental preparation. If you have children who are moving in to sacramental years (1st grade for First Communion & 7th grade for Confirmation) make sure that your child is registered with our Formation Office. If not a sacramental year, all children who are not in Catholic schools (MACS, Private or Home) should be registered for Faith Formation. The parents are the first teachers of faith in the lives of their children, but this is not an isolated role. It is shared with the community of faith, the parish. Ongoing formation and catechesis is essential to the spiritual lives of our young people. A life of faith must be encouraged, modeled and formed among the young; otherwise, they will have little to hold on to as they mature. Parents often lament when their adult children abandon the faith, but children must be connected to a faith community when they are young. Such connections maintained throughout childhood and into adolescence provide the best possible support for a child’s ongoing engagement with the Faith.


Next Saturday we will have our annual ministry fair. This provides a great opportunity for you to get involved in some aspects of parish life and ministry. Our faith has to be concretely lived in our daily lives. Ministries and apostolates provide opportunities to put faith into action. St. Mark offers a wide-range of possibilities. Please take advantage of these because, as St. James reminds us, “faith without works is dead.”

 

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • July 31, 2026
Today’s readings should inspire the Christian steward with deepened gratitude for our God, who loves us with both fierce and tender love. We must make an intentional response each day, returning love for Love. In our Second Reading from Romans, St. Paul reminds us that nothing and no one can separate us from the love of Christ. No anguish, distress, persecution, famine — and we might add illness, financial hardship, family struggles, or uncertainty about the future — nothing can keep our God from loving us. God holds us securely in the palm of His hand. And yet, this reassurance is only the beginning of God’s gifts to us. Our Gospel from Matthew recounts the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish. This miracle foreshadows the gift of the Eucharist, where Christ feeds us not simply with bread, but with His own Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Notice how the Gospel begins. "His heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick." What generous and compassionate love our Lord shows. But even that is not enough for Him. He remains with the people, teaching and ministering to them until evening. When the disciples suggest sending the crowds away to find food, Jesus instead invites them to become part of His plan. He tells them to feed the people, then miraculously multiplies the few loaves and fish they offer. What a privilege it was for the disciples to participate in Christ's work. That same privilege is ours as Christian stewards. Let us respond with grateful hearts to such amazing love. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants,

From the Pastor - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • July 31, 2026
The stewardship way of life could be described as a daily pursuit of the Kingdom of Heaven. In today’s Gospel from Matthew, Jesus uses a series of parables to help us understand the incomparable value of that Kingdom. First, He reminds us that living for Him and for His Kingdom will require sacrifice. Yet the joy that comes from following Christ makes any sacrifice worthwhile. Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” He then compares the Kingdom to “a merchant searching for fine pearls." When the merchant finds a pearl of great price, he gladly sells everything he has to obtain it. In both parables, the Kingdom is something precious that must be sought and recognized. We must intentionally look for it amid the distractions and noise of the world. Yet Jesus also reminds us that the Kingdom is meant for everyone. He compares it to a net cast into the sea that gathers fish of every kind. At the same time, He reminds us that each of us will one day be judged. The angels “will separate the wicked from the righteous.” It is a powerful reminder that our choices matter. Let us pray for the wisdom to recognize the Kingdom of Heaven in our midst and to pursue it above all else. There is no greater treasure, and no greater source of joy, than a life lived as a faithful disciple of Jesus. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2026. Pastoral Pondering I enjoy books generally. I like to hold them, look at them and, of course, read them. I also enjoy audiobooks because they are a good way to pass the time with all the driving that I do. I like a wide variety of books, but I generally try to avoid things that are strictly political. Hence, I was a little hesitant when the book Communion by J.D. Vance was recommended to me. However, what I discovered is that it is an excellent read and has nothing to do with politics. Rather, it is the story of the Vice President’s return to the Christian faith that eventually resulted in his becoming Catholic. I suppose “conversion” stories attract me because of my own background. And while I did not grow up in Ohio coal country as he did, there are many similarities to his family, described in Hillbilly Elegy, and my dad’s family from the mountains of North Carolina. This particular book, in some ways, is a sequel to Hillbilly . It discusses his chaotic childhood and exposure to Baptist and Pentecostal churches, his drift into atheism as a young adult, following the death of his grandmother, and his gradual return to faith which culminated in his conversion to Catholicism in 2019. The title refers to the Eucharist, and the author explores what it means to be Christian across life stages – as a child, young man, husband, father and public figure – while reflecting on the role of religion in public life and American society.  This memoir mixes spiritual autobiography with broader commentary on faith, politics, family values, and societal problems. While some have criticized it as more of a cultural manifesto, I appreciated the honest assessment of one man’s journey from his childhood faith to an adult faith which led to full communion with the Catholic Church. Granted, it may not be to everyone’s liking, but it shouldn’t be dismissed simply because the author is the current Vice President. I enjoyed it, and if you want something to pass a lazy summer afternoon, I’d recommend it.