From the Pastor - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 29, 2023

As Christian stewards we are called to a high and holy standard — living as Christ’s disciples every day and with every person the Lord places in our path. But we can move towards this goal in “baby steps.”


Jesus demonstrates this comforting truth through the parable He tells in today’s Gospel from Matthew. It is the story of two sons whose father instructs them to go out and work in his vineyard that day. While the second son agrees to his father’s request, he does not follow through — he fails to obey the father’s will. The first son tells his father, “no.” At least he is honest! And in the end, he reconsiders and obeys his father.


The first son’s honest, less-than-perfect response is consoling to us Christian stewards. Haven’t we all felt this way at times when God’s will for us seems to be just too hard? 


We can be honest with God at these times. He knows our thoughts already, after all. But when we stayed engaged in a real relationship with Him, even if it’s just to say, “I don’t think I can, Lord,” He will supply us with just the grace we need to change our minds and do what He is asking us to do.


We can even take a step backward from time to time because our Father is merciful and kind. What matters is that we keep baby stepping along, assured of the grace we need to imitate the actions and attitudes of Christ more closely. This is the beauty of the stewardship way of life. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2023.


Pastoral Pondering

I want to thank the deacons for providing opportunities for prayer and worship this week as we priests are on our annual retreat with the Bishop. Keep them in your prayers as well as they prepare for their annual retreat later this month.


A couple of weeks back I wrote about the various prophecies concerning the Warning and the Three Days of Darkness. A few folks have asked me to follow up with some further information and clarification. The first thing that needs to be said is that these events arise from private revelation. Public revelation ended with the death of the last apostle, St. John. Private revelations are defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church as follows: Revelations made in the course of history which do not add to or form part of the deposit of faith, but rather may help people live out their faith more fully. Some of these private revelations have been recognized by the authority of the Church, which cannot accept so-called “revelations of faith” that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of Christ confided to his Church.


Certainly, some of these, especially those connected with Marian apparitions such as Lourdes and Fatima, have been declared “worthy of belief” by Church authority, but they are not binding on the faithful in terms of adherence or belief.


So, what about our current topic? Due to social media, just about anything can be presented as the Gospel truth. So, we must always be skeptical and prudent in evaluating prophecies and extraordinary teaching. We are not called to be “chasers” of supernatural miracles and prophetic utterances. We experience a miracle every time we go to Mass. Nonetheless, some of these private revelations can be beneficial and helpful to our spiritual growth and development. We just have to be discerning in making sure that any of these that we encounter “check out” in terms of their harmony with the Teachings of the Church.


With all that being said, there is no official Church teaching regarding the veracity of these claims. What we can say unequivocally is that we know, according to Scripture, that the Lord will indeed come again to judge the living and the dead and the world by fire. This phrasing is the traditional conclusion of blessings but is rooted in the Creed and various passages from the Bible (see Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1; and 1 Pet. 4:5). We also know that Jesus reminds us that we are to always be ready because He will come like a thief in the night (Mt. 24:43; see also 1 Thes. 5).


Part of these particular prophecies note that the only light that will be available is from the light of blessed candles, and I’ve been asked whether or not folks should obtain these. Regardless of the veracity of the prophecies of the warning that the days of darkness, having blessed sacramentals in the house is never a bad thing. Burning a blessed candle has an impact on demons, so it’s never a bad idea to have a few on hand. General preparedness from the unexpected is a good idea as well. As COVID showed us, one never knows when there will be a shortage of water, food staples, or even toilet paper!


Catholic Church. (2000). Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed., p. 895). United States Catholic Conference.

 

From the Pastor

From the Pastor - Fourth Sunday of Advent

By John Putnam • December 19, 2025
As our Advent preparations draw to a close and Christmas fast approaches, it is fitting that today’s readings demonstrate the intensity of the Father’s perfect and passionate love for each of us, culminating in the gift of His own Son, Jesus Christ, on Christmas Day. As we reflect on the enormity of this gift, let us ask ourselves what we can offer in return. In our first reading, from Isaiah, the Lord invites King Ahaz to “ask for a sign from the Lord, your God.” And not just any sign. The Lord says, “let it be deep as the nether-world, or high as the sky!” Ahaz, though, cannot arouse himself from his bleak and limited outlook, and actually refuses this invitation. Undeterred by his negativity, the Lord says through the prophet Isaiah, that he himself will provide the sign: “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” and his name will be Emmanuel which means, “God with us.” What great love and patience our heavenly Father has shown his people throughout all ages! In the second reading, from Paul’s letter to the Romans, St. Paul sends a blessing of “Grace…and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This — grace and peace — is precisely the gift we celebrate on Christmas Day. Through his incarnation, Jesus brings the intimate love of God right into our midst; and through His death and resurrection, He saves us from our sins and restores us to right relationship with the Father. This is the peace that the world cannot offer. In response to such an overwhelming gift, what can we do except offer our lives as a gift in return, embracing a stewardship way of life with all the love and strength we have to give? In our Gospel passage from Matthew, we find an unparalleled example of one who embraced this way of life in St. Joseph, as he responds to God’s call to him through the message of an angel. St. Joseph immediately and humbly obeys the instruction from the angel: “Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Open to this extraordinary role, he did as the angel commanded and “takes Mary into his home.” We never hear St. Joseph speak, but the Scriptures tell us he was always listening, attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit for his family. It was Joseph who found the stable where the baby Jesus would be born. No doubt it was Joseph who cleaned it up and prepared it for Mary and Jesus since we know that Mary was about to give birth. Joseph protected the family, guarded them, and tended to their safety, their comfort, and their well-being at the expense of his own plans and preferences. Though we do not hear any words from St. Joseph his actions clearly show that he offered himself, his whole life, as a gift to his family through his strong guidance, protection, and service. Let us imitate St. Joseph, then, as good stewards, giving our very lives to those around us in love and gratitude to God who has given us everything we have, especially His own Son, Jesus Christ. We will no doubt find that the more we give ourselves away, the more our generous Father will fill us with His grace and peace — these are truly the best Christmas gifts we could receive. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering Christmas is upon us and as we enter into these last days before the celebration of the Lord’s birth, I wanted to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude for the myriad ways each one of you makes St. Mark a wonderful place to pray, to worship and find a parish home. As I speak to people who visit us from other parts of the country or parishioners who, due to trips away, visit other parishes, it is nice to hear that St. Mark has something special about it. That “something special” has a great deal to do with the people who call St. Mark home. Christmas is a time to share the love of Christ, and over the past several weeks, you have done just that in our various charitable efforts, most recently our Christmas Giving Tree. Lives have been impacted for the better because of your generous response, and I know that God will bless you because He is never outdone in generosity.  Finally, please know that Fathers Angermeyer, Martinez, Huber and I wish each and everyone of you a very merry and blessing-filled Christmas!

From the Pastor - Third Sunday of Advent

By John Putnam • December 12, 2025
Good news, Christian stewards — we are gaining ground on our Advent mountain climb and it is time to take a moment to rejoice in the Good News that our Savior will come again in triumph one day. Today’s readings on this Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday are filled with reminders of God’s final victory over suffering and injustice, and encouragement to remain steadfast in our mission to live as faith-filled disciples. Such a day almost seems too good to be true, especially when we look around at the dire circumstances we face in our world at present. But by faith, we know this day is coming. Lest we grow weary as we await the glorious day of Christ’s return, St. James, in our second reading, offers wise counsel. “Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord.” “Make your hearts firm… Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another, that you may not be judged.” This is excellent advice for us Christian stewards as we face the challenges of everyday life in our broken world, especially in the hectic days that precede Christmas when stress can make us and those around us less than our best selves. St. James reminds us that we can choose our response to both the great strains and the minor annoyances of life. In other words, we can be good stewards of our attitude, “making our hearts firm” by practicing patience with others and refusing to give in to the temptation to complain. We can choose to see and rejoice in God’s presence with us, no matter the circumstances surrounding us. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2025 Pastoral Pondering Prior to the Hamas attack in Israel of October 7, 2023, I was planning to lead a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with our seminarians. The events of that day put that pilgrimage on hold even though we had already raised funds for the pilgrimage. Now that relative peace has been restored, we will be embarking on the pilgrimage on December 26 th . I wanted to thank all of you who supported the effort and wanted to let you know that we are finally preparing to go. Pilgrimages to the Holy Land are very special opportunities for everyone, but such a pilgrimage is especially significant for a man preparing for priesthood because it provides a completely different perspective on the Scriptures and is able to inform his preaching and teaching. Christopher Cross is organizing this for us, and I would recommend one of his trips to anyone who would like to go. Chris brings a unique blend of humor and deep faith that makes the experience come alive in a wonderful way. I have been on a number of pilgrimages, and those with Chris have been the most impactful by far.  Please keep all of us in your prayers as we prepare for the pilgrimage and certainly know that you all will be in ours as we spend the Christmas Octave in the Holy Land.