From the Pastor – 2nd Sunday of Advent

December 10, 2018

From the Pastor – 2 nd Sunday of Advent

The readings for the Second Week of Advent offer both encouragement and challenge as we reflect and prepare for the two “comings” of Christ — His coming as a baby on the great feast of Christmas, and the anticipation of His second coming at the end of time.

Our First Reading, from Baruch, is a wonderful reminder that God has triumphed over sin and death and that we — His faithful disciples — will live in the light of His glory one day. Until He comes again, we must remain faithful to Him as true disciples and good stewards of all the gifts He has given us.

While it can be tempting to give in to the materialism and calls for self-indulgence that surround us, (ironically more than ever at this time of year), this reading calls us back to the spiritual reality that this life is passing and that we are made for eternal life with God. We are called to prepare for eternal life by the way that we use our time, our talents and our treasure now.

The Gospel reading from Luke shows us how personal and detailed is God’s love for humanity as He prepared the way for Christ’s coming among us. We are told the precise time, place and person, John the Baptist, He appointed to announce the arrival of our Savior.

John tells us how to celebrate to the fullest this first “coming” on the feast of Christmas and how to prepare for the second coming — through repentance.

This Advent, let’s turn away from any bad habits or sin that may have crept in to our lives and turn our hearts and minds back to Christ. This is what the stewardship way of life is all about —moving closer ever closer in relationship with Christ and imitation of Him, ready to celebrate His birth, with eyes fixed on eternal life with Him.

Pastoral Pondering

As we move into December, in addition to thinking about Christmas, folks also begin thinking about the educational path for their children. Some high school students have already applied for early college acceptance, the Catholic schools begin accepting online applications this month, and home schools and faith formation begin considering curricula and programming for the coming year. I thought this would be a good time to write about the importance of Catholic education in an increasingly secular society.

In the geographical boundaries of St. Mark parish, Catholic education occurs in any number of ways. We have two regional Catholic schools (St. Mark and Christ the King), we have a large homeschool cooperative, and we have our Faith Formation and Youth Ministry programs. In addition to these, some of our parishioners avail themselves of offerings outside the parish in other MACS schools, in homeschool offerings in other parishes, and in various on-line offerings.

The pastor, and really the parish as a whole, has various obligations and responsibilities with regard to Catholic education and formation in all of its forms, and these must be taken seriously as being part and parcel of the mission of the Church. The very nature and purpose of Catholic education in all of its forms is revealed to us by the Lord who instructed His apostles to “go…and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to carry out everything I have commanded” (cf. Mt. 28:18-20). Because of this, it is essential to understand that Catholic education cannot exist apart from Catholic life and practice. Catholic education begins in the home, the domestic church, but the institutions of the Church have a serious obligation to assist Catholic parents by insuring that our schools, faith formation programs and homeschool collaboration is imbued with an evangelical spirit that can help “restore the conviction that human beings can grasp the truth of things, and in grasping that truth can know their duties to God, to themselves and their neighbors” (see John Paul, II, Ad limina address to US Bishops of Region IV, 1988).

As a pastor, I support Catholic education in all its forms. Even as adults, we should never tire of learning about and growing in our Faith. If you are a parent considering your child’s education, I encourage you to seriously consider the benefits of Catholic education. The parishes of the Diocese make great financial sacrifices in support of the various educational efforts. Our Catholic schools because of their historical importance to the Church in this country have pride of place and should always be considered as a viable option for any Catholic family. Often times parents realize the financial sacrifice that is required and dismiss Catholic education as an option. However, there are significant funds available to assist every Catholic child who desires to obtain a Catholic education.

Our public schools, while in some cases offering a rigorous academic program, are often forced to teach and embrace cultural currents that are diametrically opposed to Catholic teaching. They have sadly, on many fronts, become institutions of indoctrination rather than education. This makes the task of our Faith Formation programs even more challenging and highlights why our Catholic schools and homeschools are so important to the continuation of the faith.

Please pray for all of our educational endeavors that they might be fruitful and effective in proclaiming Christ Jesus, who is Emmanuel, God with us.

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • November 13, 2026
Today's readings remind us that one day each of us will give an account for the gifts God has entrusted to us, including the gift of time itself. In today's Gospel, Jesus tells the familiar parable of the talents. Before leaving on a journey, a wealthy man entrusts portions of his wealth to three servants according to their abilities. Two of the servants immediately put those gifts to work and are rewarded for their faithfulness. The third, acting out of fear, buries what was entrusted to him and returns only what he had received. The tragedy is not that the servant lacked ability. It is that he failed to recognize the privilege he had been given. His master invited him to share in his work, but fear kept him from responding. God extends that same invitation to us. He entrusts each of us with unique gifts and invites us to use them for His glory and for the good of others. May we live each day so that, when our work is finished, we too may hear those joyful words: "Well done, my good and faithful servant... Come, share your master's joy." © Catholic Stewardship Conference, 2026 Pastoral Pondering As we approach the end of the liturgical year and prepare for the beginning of Advent, we are provided with a good opportunity to look back over our year of faith and ask ourselves, "How am I doing?" For most of us, we can find a landscape of positives and negatives, and that is OK. You might say that there is no surprise there because that is simply part of life. Our task, of course, is to always look for ways to grow in holiness and grow our relationship with the Lord. This point is always brought home to me when I attend a funeral, especially the funeral of a priest, which I did earlier today. The priest in question, Father Edward Sheridan, was my pastor at St. Aloysius in Hickory when I was in high school. He was also one of the priests who helped build up the newly formed Diocese of Charlotte in the 1970s. Fr. Ed loved people and always tried to be a source of encouragement to me and others. As I reminisced at this morning's funeral, the thought came that death is the great equalizer. Regardless of who we are, what we have, or where we have come from, we are all going to die. This life is transitory, so we need to be ready. Certainly, the Scriptures that we will hear over the coming weeks will try to impress that reality upon us. As we encounter God's Word and that particular message, let each of us ask for the wisdom to see what we need to see to make next year more fruitful and Spirit-filled, as well as asking the Lord to give us the courage to strive to do even better in the coming year.

From the Pastor - 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

By John Putnam • November 6, 2026
Wisdom is at the heart of today's readings. It is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and an essential gift for living the stewardship way of life. As Christian stewards, we should continually ask the Holy Spirit to deepen this gift within us. In today's Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the 10 virgins waiting for the bridegroom. Five are wise, and five are foolish. The wise virgins prepare ahead of time, bringing enough oil to keep their lamps burning. The foolish ones fail to prepare and are caught off guard when the bridegroom arrives. Jesus concludes with this reminder: "Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour." Stewardship helps us live with that same spirit of readiness. When we seek the Lord each day through prayer, the sacraments, and the faithful use of the gifts He has entrusted to us, we keep our hearts prepared to meet Him whenever He calls. That is the wisdom Christ desires for each of us. © Catholic Stewardship Conference, 2026 Pastoral Pondering - Rooting Out Anger Few things disturb the peace of a home, a parish, or a soul as quickly as anger. A sharp word at the dinner table, a resentful silence after Mass, a flash of irritation in traffic-each seems small in the moment, yet the Fathers of the Church warn us that anger is a deadly poison. St. John Cassian, the great monastic teacher whose writings shaped Western spirituality, dedicated an entire book of his Institutes to this vice. His counsel is bracing and practical for us today. Cassian insists that anger must be "utterly rooted out from the inmost corners of our soul." As long as it remains, it blinds the eye of the heart. We lose right judgment, the capacity for true counsel, and even the ability to pray. "The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God" (James 1:20). Whether the provocation seems just or unjust makes little difference: anger covers the eyes of the soul like a plate of gold or lead- the value of the metal does not restore sight. He rejects the common excuse that we may be angry with those who do wrong, or that Scripture's language of God's "anger" justifies our own passion. God is free from all disturbance; the biblical language of divine anger is metaphorical, pointing to His just judgment, not to a human emotion we may imitate. To use it as permission for our own resentment is, Cassian says, to draw from the Scriptures an occasion of sin rather than a remedy of holiness. There is, however, one legitimate use of the energy of anger: we may and should be indignant against the evil thoughts and disordered desires that rise within our own hearts. When we are ashamed of what we would never say or do before others, yet find it stirring inside, we are to rage against that disorder, trembling before the all-seeing eye of God. In this sense the psalmist's "Be angry and sin not" (Psalm 4:4) and St. Paul's citation of it (Ephesians 4:26) are understood: be angry with your own faults, lest the Sun of Righteousness set upon a darkened mind and the devil be given place. Cassian's remedies are simple and severe. First, make a firm resolution never to be angry at all-neither for good reasons nor bad. The moment the passion enters, discernment is lost and the soul can no longer be a temple of the Holy Spirit. Second, never attempt to pray while angry; such prayer is obstinate rebellion. Third, keep daily before your eyes the uncertainty of life and the certainty of judgment. All our other efforts- Mass, fasting, works of charity- profit nothing if anger and hatred alone bring us to eternal punishment. Practically, this means catching the first interior movement of irritation and turning it at once into sorrow for our own impatience. It means refusing to nurse the grievance past sunset, seeking reconciliation before the next Holy Communion, and enlarging the heart with patience so that the "waves of anger" are received and dissipated rather than confined and intensified. Peace, Cassian reminds us, does not depend on the conduct of others; it lies in our own control. In the confessional and in the daily struggle of parish life, I see how often this vice wounds families and friendships. Let us ask the Lord, who is meek and humble of heart, to give us the grace to root it out. May the peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, guard our hearts and our parish. In other news, due to an unexpected leave, I have been appointed as Vicar General and Chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte by Bishop Martin. While this appointment is expected to be temporary, during the interim, it will make my ability to take appointments rather limited. Please be patient with the office staff as they try to accommodate those needs along with my additional responsibilities.