From the Pastor – 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 22, 2018

From the Pastor – 29 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings today are wonderfully consoling and wildly challenging. If we take them to heart, they just might change our lives. For they should call us to profound gratitude for all that God has done for us and inspire us to live lives of thanksgiving and obedience to Him in response to His overwhelming love and mercy.

In the Gospel Reading, from Mark, Jesus tells us in His own words how we can thank Him and how our lives can reflect greatness in His eyes — we can imitate Him. He tells us, “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Our God has ransomed our lives. In truth, this “ransom” means our lives are not our own but belong to God. We must do what He asks us to do with them. And He has told us clearly what to do — serve others in love as we have been served in love by Him.

This is why service for the Christian Steward is not an add-on to our already busy lives. It is our life.

Over the course of the next week, take these readings to heart. Reflect on the remarkable love God has shown for you. Then look carefully at your daily life. Is it an imitation of the servant-love of your Brother and Savior? What changes do you need to make, perhaps just in attitude, or perhaps to the trajectory of your life as a whole, to live in grateful service to the One who loves you so?

Pastoral Pondering

This past week (assuming everything happens as it’s supposed to) the Ascension window has been installed. There has been a very positive response to our stained glass project, but there is still a good way to go in order to get all of the windows funded and installed. As of now, we have nine (9) windows fully sponsored and three (3) more in process.

Over the past several weeks, I have had a number of friends (Catholic and non-Catholic) asking me about the various headlines and scandals that seem to be popping up all over. Some have been an expression of genuine concern and others have bordered on incredulity that in light of such revelations how I would want to continue the life to which I have been called.

In all honesty, over these past weeks there have indeed been some difficult and sou-searching moments. Nevertheless, I am reminded in prayer and through the mediation of faithful friends, that the Church is far more than the sum of her wayward members. When Jesus asked the apostles at the end of the Bread of Life discourse if they were going to leave Him too, Peter responded, “Lord to whom should we go? You have the words of everlasting life.” (John 6:67-68)

As flawed as her leaders and members might be, the Church herself is indefectible. She is divinely established and has been entrusted with the sacraments of salvation. The sacraments, thankfully, neither depend on the sanctity of the ministers nor the members of the flock. The Church is holy because her Spouse is holy. Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday and forever. He continues to make Himself present in the Eucharist and allow Himself to be mocked, ridiculed and debased by our unworthiness. But He does this out of love for us and for the world.

I am greatly inspired by some of the young men I work with in the seminary. In my discussions with them about these sad events, while they admit a certain trepidation in the face of the unknown, they express a more concrete commitment to holiness and persevering in a call to serve the Lord. True discipleship is not for the faint of heart. One has to be willing to give it all even when victory seems unattainable and bleak. Even when others seem to be abandoning the truth because of the failings of some, those words of St. Peter are a constant reminder of the unchanging truth. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Him, and He has chosen the Church has the means through which to access that path.

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • August 14, 2026
Today's Gospel from Matthew reminds us to trust the Lord even when it seems He is not answering our prayers. God desires to lead us to the joy of heaven and eternal life with Him. To prepare us for that day, He calls us to grow in faith and to live each day as a grateful response to His goodness. In other words, He is forming us into saints. This is what the stewardship way of life is meant to accomplish. At times that process is difficult. Often, it stretches us beyond our comfort. Jesus certainly challenged the Canaanite woman in today's Gospel. She cried out to Him on behalf of her daughter, who was tormented by a demon. How did Jesus respond to this desperate mother's plea? At first, He "did not say a word in answer to her." Undeterred, she continued to seek Him, and He continued to test her faith. She responded with such remarkable trust that Jesus proclaimed, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." Imagine hearing those words spoken to us by our Lord. There could be no greater affirmation of a life lived in faithful discipleship. The stewardship way of life will test our trust in God at times. But those are often the moments when He is doing His greatest work within us. Let us persevere in faith, trusting that His plan is always leading us toward the joy He has prepared for us. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2026. Pastoral Pondering As the school year begins and we move into the post-summer routine, I wanted to give you an update on a few things which may be of interest to you. Building projects The rectory build is going well. Grainda Builders are projecting the project to finish by November (I am hoping for earlier!). We do plan to have an open house so that folks can see the new rectory upon its completion. The preliminary work for the second phase of our building projects is occurring with the installation of the water lines that will feed the new buildings. This will hopefully be done by Labor Day. We should be able to hold a groundbreaking shortly after the first of the year. Everything depends on when the present rectory sells and where we are with funding. The Diocese requires 60% of the project to be in cash, 30% to be in pledges and 30% allowable for Diocesan loan. We will keep you posted. Obviously, as we move forward, there will be growing pains that cannot be avoided due to the disruption of some parking. We are working with the general contractor to keep disruptions to a minimum, but we cannot avoid all of them. Thank you for your patience. Church Maintenance  As many of you know, we have been battling issues with the church roof for some time. There have been numerous leaks over the years that have been patched and patched again. We have been battling the insurance company for over a year, and it is clear that, after a minimal payment to repair water damage, they are not going to approve a claim for roof replacement. Kudos to the Pastoral Council and Scott Bruno for making a significant investment of time and energy to try to do the groundwork to provide justification for the claim. With that being said, we have already replaced a portion of the roof that was causing significant problems (the lower roof closest to the driveway). Nonetheless, the whole roof really does need to be replaced. Estimates for replacement are in the neighborhood of $250K. At present with the other projects going on, we do not have this in reserves or the operating account to cover this expense. Should you wish to assist, donations can be made on the website. We will continue to monitor and do what we can to manage the problem until we are able to fully address it. The second significant issue that has arisen is the foundation of the Kerin Center. Over the last several years, due to water and drainage issues, we have had to address foundation instability. Reinforcements were added a couple of years back to the school-side of the building, but we have been seeing some issues on the church-side of the building over the past year. We are watching it very carefully and trying to ascertain the root cause of the problems. We are appreciative of those parishioners with engineering expertise who have assisted in this effort. There is also a link on the parish donation website for Kerin Center repairs.

From the Pastor - 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • August 7, 2026
Stewardship spirituality invites us to surrender control of our lives to God in grateful recognition that everything we have is a gift from Him. Today's readings remind us that God is always in control of His creation and His people. They also reveal what can happen when we fully entrust our lives to Him — in other words, when we embrace the stewardship way of life. When we take our eyes off God, we lose sight of the fact that all is gift. We begin to rely on ourselves instead of trusting in Him, and we fail to make our lives a grateful response to His generosity. Peter experiences this in today's Gospel from Matthew. Jesus sends the disciples ahead of Him by boat. Later that evening, Jesus comes to them, walking on the water, and invites Peter to join Him. Peter steps out of the boat and begins walking toward the Lord. But when he notices the strong wind around him, instead of keeping his eyes on Christ, he begins to sink. Imagine if Peter had never looked away from Jesus. What an extraordinary adventure he would have experienced walking on the water with his Lord. The same is true for us. When we take our eyes off Christ, His countless blessings, and His faithful love for us, we begin to sink as well. But when we embrace the stewardship way of life, loosening our grip on our time, talents, and treasure and placing our trust in God, life becomes a great adventure rooted firmly in the One who never fails us. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2026. Pastoral Pondering First of all I want to thank all who participated in our meal packing effort last Friday and Saturday. What a gift it is to be able to come together as a community and unite for the sake of our brothers and sisters in need. These events cannot happen without the efforts of numerous people. To each of you who made it possible, THANK YOU! As we move into August and our lives begin reorienting from lazier summer months towards fall, it is an opportunity to reflect on the blessings that we were afforded to rest, refresh, and renew during these past weeks. Hopefully, family were able to spend some quality time with each other without the demands of school, work and the day to day demands that impact many of us.  For me, I was privileged once again to participate in the Te Deum Peace Pilgrimage to Fatima. This year we were able to invite and sponsor nine (9) seminarians from various dioceses including Charlotte, NC; Charleston, SC; Cleveland, OH; and Youngstown, OH. They along with a wonderful group of non-seminarian pilgrims were able to grow in our love for the Lord and Our Lady. It was a true blessing, and I was so impressed with the seminarians who were a part of our pilgrimage family for our time in Portugal and Spain. Along the same lines, please pray for parishioner Mark Pressley who is entering St. Joseph College Seminary. Mark’s family has been a part of the parish for many years. Keep him and the other nine (9) young men who are beginning their formation this fall.