From the Pastor – Trinity Sunday

May 28, 2018

From the Pastor – Trinity Sunday

On this Sunday, the week after Pentecost, we celebrate The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity in the Church. We have celebrated this particular weekend in the Church for more than 700 years. Depending on your age, you may recall St. Pope John XXIII who organized and oversaw Vatican II. Interestingly, it was Pope John XXII (1316-1364) who made this celebration official in the Church.

We consider the Holy Trinity to be one of the great mysteries in the Church. It is the mystery of the identity of God. Who is God? God is one God in three Divine Persons — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Whether we are aware of this consciously or not, this is something each of us acknowledges in a number of ways, especially when we go to Mass. Every time we make the Sign of the Cross, we are making a statement about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

That statement is made often. At minimum it is made when the celebrating priest opens Mass with a sign of the cross. Just prior to the Gospel Reading we do an older version of the sign of the cross by making a small cross on our forehead, our lips, and our chest. The priest concludes the Mass with a blessing, and we all make a Sign of the Cross.

There are so many other times before, during, and after Mass when we make the sign or the cross, and there may be other times in our daily lives when we do it. Pope Francis has said, “Every time we make the sign of the cross, we draw closer to God.” Perhaps we should do it even more often.

Pastoral Pondering

The next “reality” that Mary Eberstadt identifies is the issue of overpopulation. This, of course, was one of arguments in favor of supporting artificial contraception. However, as she points out, “one of the most pressing, and growing issues for researchers is not overpopulation, but its opposite: underpopulation.” In an article she published in 2008, Eberstadt notes: “ So discredited has the overpopulation science become that this year [2008] Columbia University historian Matthew Connelly could publish Fatal Misconception:the Struggle to Control World Population and garner a starred review in Publishers Weekly— all in service of what is probably the single best demolition of the population arguments that some homed would undermine church teaching. This is all the more satisfying a ratification because Connelly is so conscientious in establishing his own personal antagonism toward the Catholic Church…. Fatal Misconception is decisive [secular] proof that the spectacle of overpopulation, which was used to browbeat the Vatican in the name of science, was a grotesque error all along” ( https://www.firstthings.com/article/2008/08/002-the-vindication-of-ihumanae-vitaei).

What the lie of overpopulation has led to is what has been called an “epidemic” of loneliness. In 2013 Pope Francis noted that the “loneliness of the old” is one of worst “evils” in the world today. At the end if 2017 the New York Times reported that 4,000 lonely deaths a week are occurring in Japan. Elderly die without anyone knowing until someone living close by smelled something. The same trend of elder loneliness is becoming a trend in France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Sweden and even, to a lesser degree, the United States. Eberstadt states: “Such human poverty abounds in societies awash in material wealth. This, too was not foreseen by those who argued for and against Humane Vitae in 1968. Yet without doubt, what unites these tragic portraits is the sexual revolution, which by the 1970s was operating at full throttle in Western nations, driving up divorce rates, driving down marriage rates, and emptying cradles. It does not take a demographer to connect the dots; the evidence of our senses will do.”

I’ll close with the following excerpt from an article describing the plight of some elderly in Der Spiegel that Eberstadt refers to in summarizing the situation. “Aside from the birds, hardly anyone visits the elderly woman anymore. Erna J. has white hair and black leg braces and, like many people her age, is suffering from extreme loneliness. She was born shortly after World War I and moved into this apartment 50 years ago. The years later, her husband died. She has outlived all of her siblings and girlfriends. Her husband didn’t want any children. ‘I should have insisted on it,’ says the former cook, ‘and then I perhaps wouldn’t be so lonely today.”

From the Pastor

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.

From the Pastor - All Saints Day

By John Putnam • October 30, 2026
On this Solemnity of All Saints, we have the profound joy of celebrating our brothers and sisters in Christ, the saints. This is an especially meaningful feast for us as Christian stewards. At Baptism, each of us receives the call to holiness and discipleship. In other words, we are all called to become saints. Holiness is not reserved for a select few. It is God's desire for every one of His children. The stewardship way of life helps us answer that call each day. In today's Gospel from Matthew, Jesus gives us the Beatitudes. They reveal the qualities that mark the lives of His disciples and point us toward authentic holiness. As we continue striving to live as faithful stewards, the Beatitudes provide a faithful measure of our growth in Christ. The "blessed" that Jesus describes are not different categories of people who make it to heaven. Rather, they reveal the character of those who belong to Him - the poor in spirit, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemakers, and all who remain faithful in the midst of trials. None of us can live this way on our own. But as beloved children of God, we receive the grace we need through prayer, the sacraments, and a life centered on Christ. May the example of the saints inspire us to persevere in our own call to holiness, trusting that one day we will join them in the everlasting joy of heaven. © Catholic Stewardship Conference, 2026 Pastoral Pondering October brought us the Church's renewed attention to mental health. Pope Leo XIV has asked us this month to pray that our communities become places where those who carry unseen burdens find welcome, dignity, and hope- not judgment or silence. Many of those burdens are carried by women and girls. Some have lived through abuse, assault, or trauma that few around them even know about. Recent headlines, including those from Cornell University, have reminded the whole country how widespread these wounds are and how alone many survivors feel. Regardless of the outcome and veracity of the Cornell case, these types of cases exist closer to home. Women in our own parish and community often suffer quietly, unsure where to turn or whether anyone will truly understand. There is help, and there is hope. Healed and Restored, the local Catholic ministry founded by our own parishioner Elza Spaedy, exists precisely for this purpose. Through counseling, workshops, spiritual mentoring, retreats, and a supportive community, it walks with women and girls who have experienced abuse, assault, domestic violence, trafficking, or other trauma. Rooted in faith, it helps them encounter the Divine Physician who alone can restore what has been broken and discover that their wounds do not define them. Many of the women who have walked this path have found real freedom and a renewed sense of their dignity as daughters of God. If you are carrying a wound like this, or if you know someone who is, I encourage you to reach out. Information is available at healedandrestored.org. And if you simply want to stand with those who are hurting, please keep them in your prayers. Sometimes the greatest gift we can offer is to notice, to listen without fear, and to point someone toward the healing Christ offers. May the Lord who binds up the brokenhearted make our parish a place of true restoration.