From the Parochial Vicar - August 26, 2018

August 27, 2018

From the Parochial Vicar - August 26, 2018

This weekend is Ministry Selection Weekend, and I hope that you are taking the opportunity to stop in at the parish hall after Mass to see a showcase of our ministries, apostolates, and outreach groups. As a large parish that continues to grow, the opportunities to connect, grow, serve, and share at Saint Mark continue to multiply. After taking the last three weeks to highlight the importance of youth and young adult ministry in our parish, I close this series of Pastoral Ponderings by taking a look at the “how” of youth ministry.

As children grow, they are nurtured and taught in ways that allow them to mature as a person, their intellect being a crucial part. As children, we learn principles and rudiments that correspond to reality and assist us in expressing truths about God and his creation. Later on, in late childhood and early teen years, we begin to put principles together and draw connections between the knowledge that we have acquired. We can even see how principles relate to each other. Finally, in our teen years, we begin to think critically and create. With a firm grasp of principles, we begin to form solid opinions and judgments that are grounded upon a relationship with reality. Of course, this is the most natural way to learn, and we could spend days discussing how well our different educational institutions respond to the natural capacity that man has to know.

Directly related to learning and knowing is teaching. The Church takes on this role in a distinguished way by the very fact that our Lord filled her with the Holy Spirit to guide her in all truth. In Latin, munus docendi (teaching office) refers to the ecclesial task of leading the faithful to the light and truth of the Gospel. This word for teaching ( docere ) can also be translated as “leading.” And the Latin word for learning is discere , which is from whence English derives the word “disciple,” or follower. Christ and his Church leads, and we follow.

Under our faith formation offices fall three ways in which we lead our youth. The first way is through Children’s Faith Formation (K-5, as well as classes for older children who have not yet been baptized). For children who are not receiving religious instruction in Catholic school or a homeschool curriculum, Children’s Faith Formation teaches the basics of our faith, fundamental prayers, and the Holy Word and Tradition of the Church. This corresponds to the first principles of knowledge of Christ and his Church. Our catechists follow a pedagogy that introduces children to the essential points of God’s mysteries.

The second way we lead our youth to love of Christ is through Middle School Youth Ministry. As our middle schoolers are beginning to apply the teachings of Christ to their lives and ask more serious questions about the will of God in their life, the Edge Core Team members help lead through discussion how to tap in to the great gifts the Lord bestows upon them and their families. It goes deeper than strict catechesis or book learning in order to accompany them into the ways of holiness and salvation.

The third way pertains particularly to high school students, who are served by our Life Teen program. This program is similar to Edge insofar as our Life Teen Core members continue to accompany our youth on a journey of faith in and love of Jesus. However, since our high school teens are critically thinking about the present moment and their futures and trying to navigate the application of their faith knowledge to living it out in the world, there are opportunities for creatively engaging in their formation. High school students have a wonderful depth to their desire to love, care, and apply themselves. Therefore, the “Life Nights” allow them to gather and receive guidance through the lens of faith on how to navigate friendships, relationships, difficult Church teachings, and the like.

Bridging the gap from middle school to high school, our Fraternus and Fidelis programs are ways for young men (brothers) to be mentored in virtue by Catholic men ( captains ), and young women (sisters) to be mentored by Catholic women ( ladies ). They form young disciples intent on doing good and living as intentional witnesses to God’s glory in their life. The brothers and sisters from Fraternus and Fidelis challenge each other weekly in concrete and palpable ways to live virtuously at home and away.

I offer you an invitation today. Help us change lives. Help us lead lives. Help us transform lives. Actually, that is incorrect. Help Jesus change lives. Help Jesus lead lives. Help Jesus transform lives. This weekend at ministry selection, go find out more about our youth programs. Pray about becoming a catechist or assistant (Children’s Faith Formation), a Core Team member (Edge and Life Teen), or a Captain/Lady (Fraternus/Fidelis). I think you have got more to offer than you might admit. All that Jesus needs is a trusting, “Yes.” That’s all that one young girl had to say to God in order for our salvation to come. I invite you to say, “Yes.”

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - Fourth Sunday of Advent

By John Putnam • December 19, 2025
As our Advent preparations draw to a close and Christmas fast approaches, it is fitting that today’s readings demonstrate the intensity of the Father’s perfect and passionate love for each of us, culminating in the gift of His own Son, Jesus Christ, on Christmas Day. As we reflect on the enormity of this gift, let us ask ourselves what we can offer in return. In our first reading, from Isaiah, the Lord invites King Ahaz to “ask for a sign from the Lord, your God.” And not just any sign. The Lord says, “let it be deep as the nether-world, or high as the sky!” Ahaz, though, cannot arouse himself from his bleak and limited outlook, and actually refuses this invitation. Undeterred by his negativity, the Lord says through the prophet Isaiah, that he himself will provide the sign: “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” and his name will be Emmanuel which means, “God with us.” What great love and patience our heavenly Father has shown his people throughout all ages! In the second reading, from Paul’s letter to the Romans, St. Paul sends a blessing of “Grace…and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This — grace and peace — is precisely the gift we celebrate on Christmas Day. Through his incarnation, Jesus brings the intimate love of God right into our midst; and through His death and resurrection, He saves us from our sins and restores us to right relationship with the Father. This is the peace that the world cannot offer. In response to such an overwhelming gift, what can we do except offer our lives as a gift in return, embracing a stewardship way of life with all the love and strength we have to give? In our Gospel passage from Matthew, we find an unparalleled example of one who embraced this way of life in St. Joseph, as he responds to God’s call to him through the message of an angel. St. Joseph immediately and humbly obeys the instruction from the angel: “Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Open to this extraordinary role, he did as the angel commanded and “takes Mary into his home.” We never hear St. Joseph speak, but the Scriptures tell us he was always listening, attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit for his family. It was Joseph who found the stable where the baby Jesus would be born. No doubt it was Joseph who cleaned it up and prepared it for Mary and Jesus since we know that Mary was about to give birth. Joseph protected the family, guarded them, and tended to their safety, their comfort, and their well-being at the expense of his own plans and preferences. Though we do not hear any words from St. Joseph his actions clearly show that he offered himself, his whole life, as a gift to his family through his strong guidance, protection, and service. Let us imitate St. Joseph, then, as good stewards, giving our very lives to those around us in love and gratitude to God who has given us everything we have, especially His own Son, Jesus Christ. We will no doubt find that the more we give ourselves away, the more our generous Father will fill us with His grace and peace — these are truly the best Christmas gifts we could receive. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering Christmas is upon us and as we enter into these last days before the celebration of the Lord’s birth, I wanted to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude for the myriad ways each one of you makes St. Mark a wonderful place to pray, to worship and find a parish home. As I speak to people who visit us from other parts of the country or parishioners who, due to trips away, visit other parishes, it is nice to hear that St. Mark has something special about it. That “something special” has a great deal to do with the people who call St. Mark home. Christmas is a time to share the love of Christ, and over the past several weeks, you have done just that in our various charitable efforts, most recently our Christmas Giving Tree. Lives have been impacted for the better because of your generous response, and I know that God will bless you because He is never outdone in generosity.  Finally, please know that Fathers Angermeyer, Martinez, Huber and I wish each and everyone of you a very merry and blessing-filled Christmas!

From the Pastor - Third Sunday of Advent

By John Putnam • December 12, 2025
Good news, Christian stewards — we are gaining ground on our Advent mountain climb and it is time to take a moment to rejoice in the Good News that our Savior will come again in triumph one day. Today’s readings on this Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday are filled with reminders of God’s final victory over suffering and injustice, and encouragement to remain steadfast in our mission to live as faith-filled disciples. Such a day almost seems too good to be true, especially when we look around at the dire circumstances we face in our world at present. But by faith, we know this day is coming. Lest we grow weary as we await the glorious day of Christ’s return, St. James, in our second reading, offers wise counsel. “Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord.” “Make your hearts firm… Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another, that you may not be judged.” This is excellent advice for us Christian stewards as we face the challenges of everyday life in our broken world, especially in the hectic days that precede Christmas when stress can make us and those around us less than our best selves. St. James reminds us that we can choose our response to both the great strains and the minor annoyances of life. In other words, we can be good stewards of our attitude, “making our hearts firm” by practicing patience with others and refusing to give in to the temptation to complain. We can choose to see and rejoice in God’s presence with us, no matter the circumstances surrounding us. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering Prior to the Hamas attack in Israel of October 7, 2023, I was planning to lead a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with our seminarians. The events of that day put that pilgrimage on hold even though we had already raised funds for the pilgrimage. Now that relative peace has been restored, we will be embarking on the pilgrimage on December 26 th . I wanted to thank all of you who supported the effort and wanted to let you know that we are finally preparing to go. Pilgrimages to the Holy Land are very special opportunities for everyone, but such a pilgrimage is especially significant for a man preparing for priesthood because it provides a completely different perspective on the Scriptures and is able to inform his preaching and teaching. Christopher Cross is organizing this for us, and I would recommend one of his trips to anyone who would like to go. Chris brings a unique blend of humor and deep faith that makes the experience come alive in a wonderful way. I have been on a number of pilgrimages, and those with Chris have been the most impactful by far.  Please keep all of us in your prayers as we prepare for the pilgrimage and certainly know that you all will be in ours as we spend the Christmas Octave in the Holy Land.