October 4-5

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     How very brazen is the prophet Habakkuk when he calls out to God and scolds the Lord for not listening to his cries! We would not be so bold or would we? When things don’t go our way or we are perplexed by the “insanity” in the world around us we may have a similar response though not so dramatic.  Generally, in this day and age people like the prophet shut down, tune out, or just don’t care.  There is a lot of that going around.  The “silence” of God often leads to despair.

    But deep down we know that God is not silent, it’s just that we are not listening.  The encounter with God is in the still, small voice that we often miss because of the raging sirens around us.   How, then, do we extract ourselves from the endless cacophony?  

   Perhaps the best way of all is spending time SILENTLY before the Blessed Sacrament in our Eucharistic Chapel or even some moments of prayer following Holy Mass to contemplate the awesome wonder of the Lord Jesus Christ entering our humble, broken human flesh.  This mystical commingling prefigured in the Offertory Rite of the Mass when the priest or deacon pours  drops of water into the wine while preparing the chalice is rich for contemplation and meditation.  Perhaps it is rarely given a thought but its significance is profound.  God is commingling with lil’ ol’ me. Can you believe it?  You must, because that is why Jesus came.  Silence is the only way we can come to appreciate what Christ has done for us and it is in that sacred silence that we are preserved from despair and doubt realizing that God is God and we are not.

     In this respect life month of October, dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, may we increase our efforts to promote the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception to natural death, praying for the conversion of hearts.

With Blessings,

Father Langan