Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

    Now that we have given thanks to God for all the many blessings we have received its time to fix our hearts and minds on that wondrous event of our Lord’s coming in the flesh.  This holy season of Advent allows us to be introspective and evaluate the spiritual progress made this past year and prepare us for new beginnings.  It is a new liturgical year and should be marked by a quiet sobriety.  However, we know that the opposite is what happens .  So how do we make the most out of this holy season?

     First, we recognize, as did our spiritual ancestors, that it is a time of waiting.  Not only are we waiting to celebrate the birthday of our Savior but we are awaiting His second coming in glory.  This begs the question: “Are we prepared should He come?”  As we would greet any visitor to our homes by cleaning up the place, since Christ seeks to visit our souls its only logical that we get them in order as well.  The Lord provides the cleaning supplies for that, namely the Sacrament of Confession.  That should be on the top of our Christmas preparation list.  Plan early to get that task done before being swept away by other lesser concerns.

     Secondly, slow down and pray.  Meditate, as did our Mother Mary, on the wonder of God’s love.  Think of Her preparation for the birth of Her Son, Her having to break the News to Her beloved Joseph, Her tending to Her cousin Elizabeth, Her and Joseph’s arduous trek to Bethlehem in the final days of Her pregnancy.  How did You do it Mary?  Only by the grace of God.  And isn’t that how we do it too.

A Blessed and Fruitful Advent.

Blessings,

Father Langan

November 23-24

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On this final Sunday of the Church’s liturgical calendar we celebrate our Lord Jesus Christ as King of the Universe.   This is not a title earned but rather the very nature of Who He is as the Word by Whom the Father created the Cosmos.  For us  as Americans, who established a republican form of government, the concept of kingship is foreign to us.  We may perceive kingship as having to do with finery and majesty, palaces and wealth and a lot of bowing and scraping to another human being who often does not deserve the reverence they receive.  In the course of human history few and far between are those who worthily bear that title.  But we joyfully submit to the King Who came not in regal array but in the poverty of a stable and Whose only throne was a cross.  To This One we give our all.

 Happily, then, we acclaim Christ our King.  How best then do we serve our King?  By obeying His laws which we know are not burdensome but rather free us from the shackles of self destruction.  The world He created has to know this.  We , after all, are His ambassadors.  The world comes to recognize Christ  through the good done by His subjects.  We must all ask ourselves the question: “how am I advancing the Kingdom of Christ?”  Am I a builder or a tearer down?  Hopefully always the former.  Each one of us has the gifts and the capacity endowed by the Lord Himself to work for the betterment of the world, not on a grand scale but in the little, humble ways we are directed by a prayerful life. ” Here I am Lord, do with me what You will.”  Simple but powerful, make it part of your daily talking with God.

A blessed and abundant Thanksgiving to all.  Remember to start your festivities with Him at the ultimate Thanksgiving, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Father Langan

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     Quickly we are approaching the final days of Ordinary Time and soon will be in the Holy Season of Advent.  “Tempus fugit”  Time flies as the old Latin proverb declares.  As the end of both the Liturgical and civil year comes we turn to thoughts of the end times.  Though not part of our everyday speech, words like Eschton and Parousia come to mind.  They refer to the end times and the second coming of Christ.  They are not meant to frighten us but rather to put things in perspective, namely that this world is passing and  rather than place all of our attention on this world we should always be in a state of preparedness for the next.

      When our hearts are fixed on Christ and His words we really have nothing to be anxious about.  Time is God’s gift to us in order to prepare ourselves for something beyond our imagination.  Sadly, too many squander this gift of time on things that don’t matter or worse, they are destructive and harmful.  We see this so clearly on a daily basis. Our personal remedy is to keep our heart, mind and soul fixed on Christ.  When others see that we have made this our priority they will observe the peace and joy that resonates in us and will long for what we possess.  The end times free us from endless worries because we believe all is in God’s loving hands.  So do not let your hearts be troubled.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

Dear Brothers and Sisters in  Christ,

The month of November has  a way of reminding us that all things in this world are passing. Leafless trees and  dried-up plants evoke the  slumber of the earth in the  northern hemisphere and a  certain quiet drowsiness, not  exactly hibernation, comes upon us as well. This time  presents certain opportunities: quiet meditation and  preparation for our final victory is one of them. 

We began by recognizing the victory of all saints,  known and unknown; and also those who are being  purified in Purgatory that they may present themselves untarnished before the Lord. The first group  we implore to assist us in living the Faith whole heartedly, the second are those imploring us to assist  them in that purification process by prayer, fasting  and works of charity. When they become full fledged saints we may certainly need their help for the same  reason. 

When we step back and see this interaction we see  the beauty of this three dimensional Church to which  we belong: the Church triumphant in Heaven, the  Church being purified that it may glean like the sun,  and the Church on earth still struggling and making  progress to Its final goal — Paradise. We who pres ently are members of the pilgrim Church on earth  have a lot to do, principally to bring others to Christ.  We are very much reminded of that in today’s Gospel  when the summation of the Law requires us to love  others as we do ourselves. This of course requires a  certain boldness in how we conduct ourselves here  and now. We must let others know the Truth that  Christ has revealed to us even at the expense of  personal suffering and rejection. Our heroes are the  Saints in Heaven and we engage their help to evangelize those who know not the Truth. Let us together  concentrate on one truth in particular these crucial  days. God is the author and giver of life and no one  has the right to put innocent life to death most especially the innocent life of a child in the womb. 

Vote wisely. 

In Christ, 

Father Langan

October 31 (Vigil)-St. Joseph’s, Rileyville – 5:00PM

November 1- St. Mary Magdalen-7:25AM & 12:05PM

St. Bernard’s, Beach Lake, 5:00PM