From the Pastor - 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

November 11, 2022

As we approach the end of the liturgical year, our readings offer a sober reminder that this life is not our aim and that God’s justice will triumph in the end. Now is the time to get our priorities in order, putting God above all else as his faithful stewards.


Our Lord brings home the urgency of right priorities in our Gospel passage from Luke, reminding the people around him who were looking at the temple nearby, “All that you see here—the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” Our Lord reminds us that all in this world is passing. We must keep our focus on eternity.


Yet before the eternal bliss of heaven, we should expect to be tried and tested. “Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.”



Sounds scary.


But if you are living a stewardship way of life, there is nothing to fear. You have a plan in place. All you need to do is stick with it. Put our Lord first in your time, with your talents, and through your use of treasure. This way of life is not easy. But Jesus promises it will lead to eternal salvation and the joy of union with Him. “You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance, you will secure your lives.”


Onward Christian stewards, the struggle is worth the joy that awaits! © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2022.


Pastoral Pondering

I was recently made aware of a story from the Diocese of Kerry in the Republic of Ireland wherein the local bishop reprimanded a priest for preaching about the reality of sin, specifically as it relates to abortion, transgenderism and homosexuality. Now there is certainly a correct way and an incorrect way to address these difficult social and moral issues, but for a bishop, to imply that sin should not be addressed in a homily is both sad and alarming. In listening to the homily, the priest in question pointed out that sin is rampant in society and nobody is talking about it. As an example, he highlighted some of the Irish government’s recent legislation as well as some of the troubling trends in society.


In Matthew 18:6 Jesus says, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” And in Acts 3:19 Peter tells the crowd “Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.” Throughout the centuries the Church, in harmony with the teaching of Christ passed down through the apostles, has been proclaiming moral truth while at the same time proclaiming the abundant mercy of God. This is certainly right and true.


However, if the proclamation of the Gospel, does not call to conversion and admonish the sinful (which includes all of us); then, the Gospel becomes empty, just pablum for the masses. Such empty proclamation cannot save souls because it is not faithful to the Gospel of repentance that Our Blessed Lord proclaimed. True preaching of Gospel truth should make all of us a bit uncomfortable. It should make us reflect and ponder the realities of our life and the realities of the world in which we live. A world, by the way, which more and more is embracing a paganism to rival that of Ancient Rome. If the mission of the Church is to save souls, and it is; then, we have to proclaim Gospel truths. To be sure, the proclamation needs to be done with love and compassion, but that can never be equated with simply glossing over the “hard stuff”. When we turn a blind eye to sin, we become complicit in it. A parent who does not correct a child or pastor who doesn’t correct his flock are not leading the souls entrusted to them to heaven but rather to eternal destruction.


The images that we hear about at the end of the Church year, focus on the last things and the second coming of Christ to “judge the living and the dead”. I thank God every day for the faithful “preachers” who have proclaimed Gospel truth to me over the years. And while I may be far from heeding those truths day in and day out, I am thankful that I have heard the message and know the path that leads to Christ.


Parish personnel

Our Director of Sacred Music, Jacob Temple, will be taking a position in the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis. While I am personally saddened to see him leave us, I am truly thankful for his hard work and dedication over the past several years. Jacob, Lindsay and little Felix have been a true part of our parish family. As he moves on to take a position where his musical talents and abilities can really shine, please keep him and his growing family in your prayers. We will begin the search for a new Director right away. And, as was previously announced, Ben Torres, who has been leading the Psalm 59 group is also stepping down. He will be leaving at the end of the year, so we are also looking for someone to take his position. Please keep both of these needs in your prayers.


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.