From the Pastor - Third Sunday of Advent

December 13, 2024

We have arrived at Gaudete Sunday (Gaudete is the Latin word for “rejoice”) this Third Week of Advent, and the Scriptures take on a joyful tone as we continue our preparations for the feast of our Savior’s birth.
 
Our Second Reading gives us cause for joy as St Paul reminds us, “The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all….” Then he gives us a prescription for maintaining this peace: “In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Paul’s instructions for obtaining peace come as an early Christmas gift. They remind us that we can and should go to God with all our needs and present them to Him along with our thanks. This guidance calls to mind a vital aspect of a stewardship way of life: gratitude to God in response to His great love and countless gifts to us.
 
The Gospel passage, from Luke, shows us how to live out this sense of thankfulness, making our lives a “Christmas gift” to Christ in joyful response to His love for us. When the crowds hear John the Baptist’s message that their Savior is coming, they ask him what they should do to prepare. He responds, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do the same.” He tells tax collectors to stop collecting more than is prescribed and soldiers, to be satisfied with their wages. In other words, he tells them to be good and generous stewards of all God’s gifts to them!
 
As the great feast of Christmas draws near, let us rejoice in Christ’s extravagant love. Let’s avail ourselves of the peace He longs to give us. And let’s look carefully at our lives to make sure we are indeed making of them a gift fitting for Him. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024

 

Pastoral Pondering

During these last days of Advent we move into a clear focus on the coming celebration of the Nativity.

 

The O Antiphons are a series of seven ancient prayers sung or recited during the last seven days of Advent (December 17–23) in the Christian tradition. Each antiphon begins with the exclamation "O" and invokes a title for the Messiah drawn from Old Testament prophecies, emphasizing a different aspect of Christ’s role in salvation. The titles are:

 

  1. O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
  2. O Adonai (O Lord)
  3. O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
  4. O Clavis David (O Key of David)
  5. O Oriens (O Dayspring)
  6. O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)
  7. O Emmanuel (O God with Us)

 

These antiphons are traditionally sung before and after the Magnificat during Vespers, and they form the basis for the Advent hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. Each antiphon reflects a yearning for the coming of Christ and highlights themes of hope, liberation, and divine presence.

 

I encourage you as we approach the great solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord to spend some extra time in meditating upon these images of Christ. If possible, take time with your family, especially the children, to explain each title, connect it to the Scriptures and meditate upon this important aspect of Christ who came to save us.

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - Palm Sunday

By John Putnam • April 11, 2025
Two very different responses to our Lord’s passion are highlighted during the Gospel reading from Luke today: the response of Simon of Cyrene and the response of Jesus’ acquaintances. Of Simon we are told, “They took hold of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country; and after laying the cross on him, they made him carry it behind Jesus.” Whether Simon entered willingly and compassionately into this service or whether he took up the Cross of Christ with a grudge, we don’t know. What we do know is this: Simon did his part faithfully. He stayed near to Christ, carrying the Cross until our Lord reached Golgotha, the site of His crucifixion. We also know that Simon’s family was among the first of the early Christians. Staying near to Christ, embracing the Cross (quite literally), transformed his life and the life of his family. In contrast, near the end of this Gospel account, we are told of another reaction to Jesus’ passion and death, namely that “all His acquaintances stood at a distance.” They knew Jesus! They had heard him preaching and teaching, witnessed His signs and miracles, maybe even benefitted personally from them. Perhaps they did not participate in mocking Him or calling for His crucifixion. But they chose to stay a safe distance from Him when the going got tough. Unlike Simon, they refused to go too near to Christ. Where will you place yourself this week? Keeping your distance from all the pain and suffering Christ endured? Or close by, staying near to Him as Simon did? It is when we go near to Christ that we can be transformed by Him. It is by embracing the crosses in our lives, stewarding them well rather than trying to run from them, that we become His true disciples. ©Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering As we begin Holy Week and approach the end of the Lenten season, we can hopefully look back and see a fruitful observance of this penitential season. I want to thank all of those who have responded this far and helped us to reach $9 million in pledges and donations for our Growing Home Campaign. We still have a bit of work to do, but your support has been tremendous. We would very much like to increase participation. Remember it is not about equal amounts but equal sacrifice. If you call St. Mark home; then, you are a part of this effort. We need you. This week we are happy to host the Chrism Mass for the Diocese of Charlotte. Bishop Martin will gather with his priests and will bless and consecrate the holy oils and the sacred Chrism that will be used in sacramental celebrations throughout the year. The celebration is open to all who would like to attend. The Sacred Triduum begins with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. Following Mass, we will process with the Blessed Sacrament to the Kerin Center for quiet adoration. This is also the evening when it is traditional to visit seven churches for adoration. Resources will be provided for those who wish to participate. Good Friday we will have stations as well as the Service of the Passion. Thursday, Friday and Saturday we will be offering confessions. However, PLEASE try to go earlier in the week. We do our best to accommodate everyone, but there is limited time and only a few of us. Have mercy.  Holy Saturday we will welcome our catechumens into the Church. The vigil begins at 8:30 pm with the blessing of the Easter Fire. Easter Sunday, of course, tends to bring a lot of folks to Mass that perhaps we don’t normally see. Please be patient and kind. We do have two Masses at Christ the King High School that might be less stressful options for families. There will be overflow seating in the Kerin Center, but the parking lot only has so much space, sooooo…..Have a blessed week!

From the Pastor - Fifth Sunday of Lent

By John Putnam • April 4, 2025
Once again, this week, we are reminded of what a loving and merciful God we serve. The theme of the readings for this fifth Sunday of Lent are summed up beautifully in today’s Gospel passage from Luke, which recounts the story of the woman caught in adultery. After all those who would have stoned this woman leave the scene, Christ says to her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” When we turn to God for forgiveness, He is indeed gracious and merciful. So much so, that not only will He forgive our sins without condemnation, but He will also make us completely new creations in Christ. What is more amazing is that this all-perfect and holy God of ours draws so very near to us. Our sins do not drive Him from us, but rather to us so that He can set us free from them. Look carefully at Christ’s actions and posture in the Gospel reading as He deals with both the crowd of people, the Scribes and Pharisees, and the adulterous woman. “All the people started coming to Him and he sat down and taught them.” “He bent down and began to write with His finger.” He “straightened up” when He confronted the Scribes and Pharisees about their own sins. And he “straightened up” when He assured the woman that He did not condemn her for her past. Like a skilled teacher, or loving “big brother,” Christ bends down to where we are, He sits among us, He stands to confront us when needed and He stands to look us in the eye to remind us of our true dignity. We’re all unworthy of the great privilege of serving Him. But that, quite simply, is cause for greater joy in serving Him with all our hearts. ©Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering This Sunday begins the traditional Lenten period known as Passiontide which draws our attention to a more direct consideration of the Lord’s Passion and death. The images and statues in the church building are covered as a sign of mourning. In the Liturgy, there is a shift of focus from penance and preparation for Easter to a meditation on the suffering and death of Jesus. The readings during these final weeks of Lent increasingly focus on the events surrounding Jesus’ passion and crucifixion. Passiontide culminates in Holy Week beginning with Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, followed by His Passion and death on Good Friday. The core themes of Passiontide are the suffering and sacrifice of Christ, which is seen as the ultimate act of love and redemption for mankind. Catholics during this time are called to enter into Christ’s suffering in a spiritual sense through prayer, penance, and reflection.  In summary, Passiontide is a deeply contemplative period in the Church, marked by somber liturgies, a focus on the suffering and death of Christ, and practices such as veiling statues and images. It is a time for the faithful to prepare spiritually for the resurrection of Christ at Easter, emphasizing the central role that Christ’s Passion plays in Christian salvation. This is our Lenten home stretch, so play to win!
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