Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     Passing through Beach Lake one can see some ramshackled structures that at one time were abuzz with tourists, probably from the hot big city looking for a respite from the summer heat.  Now they quietly remind us of a more simple bucolic time when families could really enjoy being together and could relax without running to and fro. Nostalgic, no doubt, but also a time and place for contemplation, peaceful reflection and enjoyment of God’s beautiful creation.  Sadly, we have lost the appreciation for the quiet life. Now, in order to enjoy, we have to be in a constant state of movement.  Is it better? I think not.

     We are celebrating the 100th anniversary of St. Bernard’s Church in Beach Lake this weekend.  It was dedicated on the 24th of August, the feast day of St. Bernard, in 1924. Because of scheduling, we have chosen today for our festivities.  In the order of things 100 years does not seem to be so long but the rapid change in society and technology since WW II makes 1924 sound like the dark ages.  What was so dynamic about those early years was the practice of the Faith to the point that it necessitated the construction of a fitting House of God to accommodate the worship needs of Catholics in the area.  

     From our perspective we are indebted to those pioneers who sacrificed to build the first church in Beach Lake and to all those who, again by sacrifice and devotion, maintain the beauty of this lovely edifice to this very day.  The anniversary of a church building speaks of something more profound than wood and shingles.  It speaks of the power of Faith still vibrant in our area and above all we give thanks to God for the grace of our Faith in Him and in each other.

     Many parishioners have contributed in one way or another to prepare and bring this anniversary celebration to fruition.  As your pastor I am profoundly grateful for your selfless efforts and the good example you have set for the generations to come after us.  We pray that they will be instilled with your enthusiasm and devotion to your parish church.  May what we celebrate today by your kindness and generosity be the seed-ground for the next hundred years.

A Blessed Anniversary,

Father Langan

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

Welcome autumn reveling in these halcyon days as we transition from one season to another. With the change of seasons, we anticipate darker days and  colder temps either happily or not depending upon  our perspective. Nonetheless, it is a time of change and we begin our preparations in a timely fashion.  The first thing to remind us about this time of year is the newly named Catholic Ministries Appeal, for mally known as the Diocesan, and prior to that, the  Bishop’s Appeal. This new emphasis concentrates on  all the good things that are able to be accomplished  by your generous and sacrificial gifts. Every year we  have met our goals and even surpassed it, and I trust  we will be able to once again meet the challenge. 

Transition is also the point of the Scripture Readings  for this Sunday. Up until this time Our Lord has been  preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God,  evidenced by the many healings and miracles that He  performed. But now, He begins to prepare His disciples for the ultimate reason of His Presence among  us, and that is the Cross and Resurrection which  effect the conquering of death and the forgiveness of  sins. For many this is a much more difficult transition  to handle, but without this Divine Action we would  still be stuck in darkness and despair.  

Tomorrow is the feast of St. Padre Pio, a beloved saint  of our own time, and this afternoon at 2:30PM we  will conduct our final for-the-season Prayer Group.  All are invited. 

Our special thanks to the men of the Knights of  Columbus who prepared and served an excellent  breakfast for the beginning of our Faith Formation  Program. I highly encourage and recommend the  men of our parish to consider joining the Knights.  You will not regret it. 

Please remember that next Sunday is the 100th anniversary of St. Bernard’s Church. Bishop Bambera will  be celebrating Mass Sunday at 10:30AM there. There  

will NOT be a 4:00PM Mass on Saturday next week  and No Mass at St. John’s at 10:30AM on Sunday. We  hope all will make an effort to participate at St. Bernard’s. 

With Blessings,

Father Langan

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     Yesterday the Church celebrated the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  The feast commemorates the queen mother, St Helena’s finding of the Cross on which the Savior of the world was crucified.  Presently, major portions of the Cross are enshrined in Rome along with other relics of Our Lord’s Passion.  In today’s Gospel our Lord very clearly refers to the Cross for Himself AND for those who would be His disciples.  So stunning was this revelation that immediately Peter forcefully objects to this proclamation.  He cannot comprehend nor understand what is basically  Christ’s teaching about salvific suffering.  In time Peter will have his own martyrdom, then he will understand.

      We, of course, cannot be too critical of Peter since we also are perplexed by the mystery of suffering.  How often do we cry out: “why Lord?” and there seems to be no satisfactory answer.  Only faith in Jesus can help us cope with the cross.  It is of utmost importance to not allow despair or disbelief dictate our rebuttal of the cross.  Sadly, many who are lacking faith fall into this trap and attempt to escape by a myriad of unhealthy, both physically and spiritually, things that rip apart the integrity of one’s soul.  As the song goes: “looking for answers in all the wrong places.”  The answers are found only in Him who is the way, the truth, and the life.

This past week we have had two very successful events: the St. Joseph golf tournament at Crick Hill and the quilt raffle conducted by the women’s’ guild at St. Bernard’s.  Our sincere thanks to Kathy and Augie Stile for conducting the tournament and all its preparation.  Thank you to the participants and gift donors and the managers of the course.  Women’s Guild members:   You did a terrific job in promoting the raffle and giving the proceeds of over a thousand dollars towards our 100th anniversary celebration.  Many thanks.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     “Decisions, decisions, decisions,”  I’m sure many of you are familiar with this lament if you have not already expressed it yourselves.  From the moment we wake our life is filled with decisions- making and though we often do it spontaneously there are indeed times when thoughtful consideration and discernment are necessary.  So we are faced with a hierarchy of decision-making.  Some would express it as: “what are my priorities?”  When we find ourselves perplexed in this process to Whom do we turn, i.e, Who has the most influence in our lives?  Should it not be the Lord?  But how often is He the first and foremost Influencer?  Perhaps, too often, it is society, other people ,celebrities, coaches, even  children who are the most influential in the course we will follow.

    In today’s First Reading, Joshua proposes a choice for the people of Israel. Either they choose to follow and be obedient to the God Who saved them from Pharaoh’s wrath or they go another way.  Indeed, as Scripture recounts, many times they had gone another way and things ended up in disaster.  Our Blessed Lord in today’s Gospel also presents a choice for those who to date had been following Him.  Some decide that the “Bread of Life” teaching was too much to bear and so they left.   How many today make the same mistake.  Looking for so-called greener pastures, they become satisfied with far less and by their choice miss out on the greater good, namely the Holy Eucharist.

     But the largess of God is that He so respects our free will that He gives us the power to make the decision to follow Him or not. And as a result we deprive ourselves of the greater Good.  What then will our future bring?

With Blessings,

Father Langan

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     Our Lord continues in today’s Gospel with His exposition on Himself as the Bread of Life.  No doubt those hearing Him are perplexed if not shocked.  Ringing in their minds is the question: “How can this be?”  In our own daily encounters do not loved ones and strangers say something that puts us in a quandary?  Do we dismiss them, which would be un-Christlike, or do we take the time and effort to try and understand what they mean.  The same should go with our Lord.  Doesn’t He, above all, deserve the time and effort to understand what He means.  This is the whole point of our first reading–the pursuit of wisdom.

    Remember that wisdom is one of the seven-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit received at Confirmation.  Indeed It has been dispersed from time to time to individuals in order to accomplish the purpose God has for our salvation.  But anyone who has been Confirmed possesses this gift in order to delve into the mysteries of Christ and His Words to us.

     And so we apply wisdom to our study of the Sacred Scriptures (the 73 books of the Bible), and the Sacred Tradition (the Catechism) that we may grow in knowledge and understanding of our Faith. This is a life-long process.  Those of us who follow Dominican spirituality are bound to spend a considerable portion of each day in study and contemplation.  We are committed to unleashing the power of wisdom in order to understand more fully  the Sacred texts and apply them to daily lives.  Soon, members of our Dominican fraternity will be addressing the essential aspects of what Dominican spirituality entails and will be inviting all and any to join our monthly gathering.  In community we share the wisdom that has been allocated to each and for this effort  we reap deeper and more profound understanding of what the Lord is saying to us.  Collective wisdom is unstoppable.

     This Tuesday is the feast of our patron in Beach Lake, St. Bernard of Clairvaux.  As we are preparing to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the church in his name we hope that many will join in the celebration.  Bishop Bambera will offer the Pontifical Mass on September 29th, Sunday at 10:30 AM. There will be no Mass at St. John that day so please make every effort to be with us that day.  This, by the way, is the third time this year that Bishop Bambera has visited and offered Mass in our parish.  It seems that the people of greater Honesdale are very special to him.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

August 14: 5:00 PM-St. Joseph’s, Rileyville

August 15: 7:25 AM & 12:05 PM-St. Mary Magdalen

5:00 PM-St. Bernard’s, Beach Lake