From the Pastor – 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

September 20, 2020

From the Pastor – 25 th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

In our First Reading from the Book of Isaiah, God reminds us that He does not think in the same way that we do. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts.” That is quite clear in our Gospel today from Matthew, which relates the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.

In the Gospel parable, God (who is represented by the landowner ) does something which from our human perspective may seem unfair and unjust. What we must keep in mind is that the landowner did not treat anyone unfairly. He may have seemed more generous to some than to others, but again that is from our perspective.

We can be absolutely certain that God will never be unfair to us. The Lord may bestow greater blessings on others, some of whom again from our perspective may seem less deserving. God is a righteous God. Through stewardship we acknowledge that everything comes to us from God. All our blessings may seem to be more or less than we deserve, but if we are grateful for what we have and what we are, we will then recognize God’s generosity and His grace.

The important thing to us should not be and cannot be whether we are first or last. What is central is that we are part of the Kingdom of God. That should be sufficient for us. We get into trouble when we conclude that God should think the way we do. © Catholic Stewardship Conference, 2017.

Pastoral Pondering – I would like to welcome Sr. Zeny and Karen Kramer to our parish staff. Sister is a Dominican Sister of St. Catherine of Siena, an religious order from the Philippines. Sister will be our Director of Faith Formation. Mrs. Kramer is well known to our St. Mark School students. She taught Middle School religion before having her first child. Mrs. Kramer will be assisting with our Middle School Edge and Middle School Youth Ministry.

I want to thank everyone who helped putting together our parish Eucharistic Congress observance. Such events take a lot of work, but they are wonderful opportunities to celebrate our faith and the centrality of the Eucharist. Since we could not come together as a Diocese this year, we are afforded the opportunity to celebrate as a parish community the “source and summit” of our faith.

A little over a week ago (by the time this goes to print) I learned that one of father’s last surviving sisters, Aunt Betty, had passed following a brief battle with cancer. She was one of my favorite people because of how she radiated love and concern for others. It was always Aunt Betty who would open up her phone diary and start calling members of the family to see how they were doing and let them know that she loved them and was praying for them. She was a bridge between the generations, and she will be sorely missed. Her death reminds me of the importance of reaching out. We have been trying intentionally to increase our Christ-Centered culture here at the parish. There are many programs, some of which we use, that are great resources, but when it all gets boiled down, true evangelization is about Jesus and sharing His love.

Creating this culture is not always easy, especially in a pandemic-conditioned society. Nonetheless, the Holy Spirit continues to work and continues to inspire the children of God to act and respond to His promptings. An example of this occurred a couple of weeks back. I was invited to dinner by a few men from the parish who have been praying and discerning what God is asking of them. In so doing, they realized that they were being strongly called to take Jesus into the community through public prayer and witness. They have called their group Return to God and have described their mission “to be fed by God and to call ourselves, our Church and our country back to God.” This will be put into practice through coming together in public places to be a presence of prayer. While not a sponsored apostolate or ministry of the parish, I have no doubt that this is a work of the Holy Spirit, and I support their efforts. I also encourage anyone who might feel a similar “tug of the heart” to join them.

Finally, as many of you know, we have begun “opening up” the Kerin Center. The adoration chapel is already up and running, and we are excited to be able to welcome some activity, over and above worship and sacraments, back to parish life. Because of continued guidelines from the Diocese, we are observing the recommendations set out by the Governor of NC whose executive orders have been based on CDC guidance. While some can see this as cumbersome, and even a violation of personal freedoms, as a priest and pastor of the Diocese, I am duty bound to implement the guidance given to us by the Bishop and his officials. My personal opinions and preferences are immaterial. We all want to open up more fully, and we have certainly done everything we can to promote and encourage participation at Mass. This is one more step to finding our way back to normal parish life, and I am thankful that we are able to take this step and thank the parish leaders who are helping to make this step possible.

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • July 11, 2025
In today’s Gospel passage, from Luke, we read the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan. Here, Jesus teaches us in rich detail what stewardship in action looks like. In fact, this parable could just as accurately be called the parable of the Good Steward. The first thing we note about the Good Samaritan is that he is aware of the needs of those around him and responds generously. While the priest and Levi brush right past the man on the side of the road, the Samaritan is watching for those who might be in need. He has a hospitable way of looking at the world around him and so he is able to “see” in a way that the others did not, and he was “moved with compassion at the sight” of the man. Next, we see the Good Samaritan spring into action to serve this man, setting aside his own schedule and plans to meet his needs. He does not just give the man a few dollars or offer quick words of encouragement from across the road. He goes right up to the man. He cleans and bandages his wounds. He puts the man on his own animal and brings him to an inn where he can heal. He ensures the innkeeper would continue to look after him, and he commits to re-turning to the man on his way back. That is how we live out God’s commandments. That is true hospitality and service.  That is how a good steward springs into action when he comes upon a neighbor in need. And Jesus says to each of us personally, just as He did in today’s Gospel, “Go and do likewise.” ©Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering I want to welcome Father Christopher Angermeyer to St. Mark as Parochial Vicar. As many of you know, Father was ordained in June. After completing his undergraduate studies at Belmont Abbey and St. Joseph College Seminary. He completed his theological studies and priestly formation at Mount St. Mary’s in Cincinnati. His home parish was St. Thomas Aquinas in Charlotte. We are happy to have Father Angermeyer with us. I know you will do your part to make him feel welcomed here at St. Mark. I will be away for the next couple of weeks on pilgrimage with a group of seminarians and faithful. Please know that the parish will be in my prayers, and I take all of your intentions with me to the Shrine of Our Lady.

From the Pastor - 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • July 7, 2025
In today’s Gospel passage, from Luke, we find our Lord appointing disciples to go out and prepare others to receive His invitation into the Kingdom of God. Every verse has something to say about the way a Christian steward should approach others. Let’s consider at least one of the coaching tips Christ gives. “The Lord appointed seventy-two others whom He sent out ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place He intended to visit.” In His wisdom, Christ sent His disciples out not as individuals but in pairs, as teams. This approach to evangelization certainly provided practical advantages. The disciples could lean on each other for mutual support and encouragement, helping each other to stay on task and to put their heads together to pray and problem-solve. This teamwork approach is just as relevant to us modern-day Christian stewards. It takes courage and commitment to go out and invite others into the Christian life. We need to work together to do it well. But there is also symbolic importance to working in teams. It points to the reality that when we invite others to embrace the Good News of the Gospel, we are not merely inviting them into a belief system, but into a relationship with Christ and through that relationship, into Christ’s family — our fellow Christian disciples near and far. Our parish is our immediate spiritual family in this extended worldwide fold. We are not meant to live as isolated individuals within the parish any more than we are meant to live in isolation within our families. We are meant to be a community. That is why it is so important for us to foster a vibrant, supportive, welcoming parish life. This is why we emphasize hospitality as one of the pillars of stewardship. It is not enough just to point others to Christ; we must invite them to join us in community with Him; we must offer a place and mission for them in the Church and within our parish family. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering As you know, during the last weekend of May (5/31-6/1), we had our final push for our Growing Home Campaign. I wanted to give everyone a final update as we conclude our fundraising period. During that weekend’s presentation, I asked everyone to help us close the $325,000 gap to meet our $9.7 M goal. As we close this portion of the campaign, I am happy to report that we have reached $10.5 million in pledges and gifts, exceeding our goal by $800,000! I am continuously amazed by the giving spirit that pervades our parish. Your generosity is a tangible expression of your commitment to our amazing parish. The funds raised over the goal and any funds raised going forward will help us to address the ever-increasing cost of construction and reduce the loan amount that will be required to complete the overall project. As noted earlier this year, the Rectory project has started and is projected to take about 12 months to complete. Our hope and plan is to break ground on the Monsignor Bellow Center and Adoration Chapel next summer or early Fall. Words alone never seem adequate to express the gratitude that I have in my heart for all of you who have participated in and supported this monumental effort. Both the financial support and the support with time and talent have been tremendous and for that, I want to offer a heartfelt “THANK YOU!”. May God bless each of you for your generosity in helping us grow our home here at St. Mark.
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