Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Family dynamics can be very interesting and complex especially around holidays. I remember as a child and youth how very important it was to visit aunts and uncles and cousins to see their tree and to imbibe on the goodies that each household was noted for and then receive family in our home. This mutual and reciprocal visiting took about two weeks and pretty much ended up in exhaustion. Perhaps selfishly I just wanted to stay home and run my trains that my father had so meticulously set up around the tree. Nonetheless it was good to connect with relatives one might see only once or twice a year. The same may well have been true for our Lord and His cousin John the Baptist.

Certainly they knew each other. After all, John leapt in his mother’s womb (St. Elizabeth) when Mary came to visit and attend to her cousin. And through the years when the Holy Family, after their return from Egypt, would make pilgrimage to Jerusalem the cousins would be in contact with one another. We might wonder about what they talked about, what were their “plans”, hopes and desires? But as they matured the plan of the Father became absolutely clear. John assumed his role as herald and Jesus ,of course, as Savior. But John must have had somewhat of a crisis of faith: “If my cousin is the long-awaited Messiah, what am I doing here in prison?” The perplexing WHY. It is the same conundrum that faces all of us. We ask ourselves: “why, if I am a faithful follower of Jesus, do unfortunate things happen to me?” We want an answer but most often none comes. How, then, do we deal with it? That’s where faith and trust are put to the test. Is it easy? No. Is it necessary? Yes. Once we accept the fate of where we are knowing that all is under God’s loving vision an interior peace pervades our being. Hope then conquers despair and like John and others we let His will be done.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

You know what I don’t like about Advent? It goes by too fast! It is a time  for restfulness in the Lord, contemplating the many centuries of waiting  and anticipation, listening to beautiful  hymns and poetry and then…..its  over. And so we do our very best to try and seize  the joyful sobriety of the season by imitation of the  one who said yes to get salvation rolling. Monday,  December 8th, is the Solemnity of the Immaculate  Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, not only a  Holy Day of Obligation no matter which day of the  week it falls, but also the patron feast day of the United States of America so designated by the bishops  of our nation. How very privileged we are to claim  our Lady as our special protector and we due Her  honor by our participating at Holy Mass on Monday  and asking especially for Her children in this great  land. Things have been very unsettling for us these days with all kinds of divisive factors and violent and  deadly reactions. We beg our Mother to touch the  hearts of believers and nonbelievers alike to come  together and form that more perfect union foreseen  by the founders of this nation. 

Mary, Herself was that perfect union of Her will with  God’s will and because of that She was and is the  epitome of peace. Let us take a lesson then from our  Mother and seek always to conform our wills to His  then assuredly peace will reign. 

Finally may I commend all those who in any way participated in donating ,preparing and distributing in our  St. Vincent de Paul Thanksgiving Day give-away. About  50 turkeys and all the accompanying sides were given  to those in need and over 120 prepared meals were  sent out to home bound and to pick-ups.. What a  wonderful testimony to the kindness and generosity  of our parishioners in caring for those in need. 

With Blessings, 

Father Langan

Monday, December 8 the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and is a Holy Day of Obligation. The Mass schedule is as follows:

7:25AM and 12:05PM – St. Mary Magdalen

4:00PM – St. Bernard’s, Beach Lake

5:30PM – St. Joseph’s, Rileyville

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

My sincere thanks to all who prayed for the 44 Jubilee pilgrims that we might have a safe and grace-filled pilgrimage. Indeed it was! The check-ins and flights went smoothly,no one got sick or injured, and above all it was indeed a time of joyful celebration of our Faith and a spiritual infusion of grace that will last all our lives Prayers were offered for all our parishioners and your intentions were brought to and placed on the altars where we offered the Holy Mass, St Peter’s Basilica, St. Paul’s Basilica, St Francis of Assisi, and Our Blessed Mother’s house in Loreto, And St. Mary Major (Our Lady of the Snows). Would that we could take you all.

You can imagine our thrill when at the Wednesday audience, in the midst of thousands and thousands of people, our Holy Father Pope Leo said; “Greetings to the pilgrims from Honesdale, Pennsylvania and to their family and friends back home.” Who would have thought? So you were there with us if not in body, certainly in spirit.

And now we have come to the end of the liturgical year of 2025 with our celebration of Christ the King of the Universe. Depending upon the personality and demeanor of the person, kingship may be seen in a positive or negative light. When one asserts his authority with severity and self-importance subjects may be moved to revolt which we as Americans know so well. But when a King readily lays down His life for His people then we know also so well Who this King is and happily we pledge our loyalty and fidelity to Him. Let us then renew our commitment to the King of kings, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and revel,not rebel, in the Kingdom to which we belong.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Today you will be commemorating the first church in Christendom, St John Lateran, also known as the Church of our Savior ,and St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. You see we have a particular connection to the ancient Basilica since we are under the same patronage of the Apostle, the beloved of our Lord. And while you are in Honesdale celebrating, we pilgrims will be in Rome at this holy site. Space and time may separate us but not spirit. The Holy Eucharist , which Itself transcends all time and space, unites us though we be continents away. How comforting. Be assured of our prayers.

I would like to offer my thanks to all for our most successful spaghetti dinner this past Saturday. The food was exceptionally good (thanks to the Nicolinis), the service (carried out by our youth group) was first rate, our Knights of Columbus kept everything in good order and moving forward, and those spectacular baskets and those who prepared, collected and donated them certainly deserve our praise. It did a father’s heart good to see, as the Scriptures say: “how beautiful to see all living as one.” People stayed to linger and enjoy each other’s company. It was less like fundraiser, important though that be, and more like a family gathering. Perhaps we can have more events like this in the future.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

    As you know from previous years when a Holy Day of Obligation falls on a Saturday or Monday (Immaculate Conception and Christmas being the exceptions), the obligation to participate at Mass is abrogated.  Nonetheless the month of November is dedicated to those two tiers of the Church, the unseen or invisible tiers, otherwise known as the Saints victorious in Heaven and the saints in purification in Purgatory–the Saints we pray to and the saints we pray for.

     This week I, along with Fr. Dominic, will be on pilgrimage with 42 others to Rome, Assisi and Loreto.  We will be surrounded by Saints, even the most recent, Carlo Acutis.  Be assured that we will be praying for you at all these Holy Sites and if you have any particular intentions please bring it to the parish office by Tuesday so we can pray for you and for them at the tombs of the Apostles and other Saints.  Kindly pray for our safe travels.

With Blessings,

Father Langan