October 30-31

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Last Sunday and again today, a tax collector has been the protagonist in each Gospel pericope.  One might wonder why Our Lord and St. Luke, the Evangelist of this Gospel, single out the men of this profession.  Luke himself was an “outsider”.  Surely, he was a confidant of St. Paul, and he received his information about our Lord’s Nativity from none other than the Blessed Mother Herself, but he may very well have felt an affinity with those who were scorned by their own.  Outcasts always look for someone to identify themselves with less they feel alone.

No matter how singular one may feel, we are never alone.  We hear in the Book of Wisdom how:  “God loathes nothing that He has made.”  If then He has made it He must love it in spite of not being loved in return.  If God ceased to love what He has made, it would no longer exist.  So, here we are.  We must have been made for a purpose and the joy of life is discovering what that purpose may be.  God participates in our self-discovery by infusing us with the grace we need as we go step by step.

Something that has stayed with me since my high school graduation from West Scranton High School was the song we learned and sang at our commencement:  “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.  Frequently, I sing it to myself, not out of nostalgia, but as a reassurance that no matter what comes, the Lord is beside me.  This was especially true when I was assigned to the Arctic Circle in the winter of 1984.  As a chaplain I was required to move around to different outposts to serve the Marines where they were.  On one occasion I was dropped off by one unit and had to wait for another unit to pick me up.  For a short time, I was standing and waiting by myself on this god-forsaken expanse of nothing but snow, so what do you think I started to sing?  My old high school graduation song and since I was “alone”, at the top of my lungs!  The approaching marines must have thought I went snow-mad.  But I was just assuring myself that I was not alone.

Our tax collector friends knew that they were not alone in the Presence of the Living God.  Zacchaeus especially found himself filled with the Presence of Christ, not only when Our Lord came to his home, but thereafter for the rest of his life.  May you also know the Presence of Him as you continue to discover the purpose of your life.  In the meantime, sing at the top of your lungs.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

October 22-23

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

    These past two weeks have emphasized the necessity of constant prayer in our lives.  We do not come to the Lord only when we need something but rather we keep open and regular conversation with Him from the moment of our awakening until we close our eyes in sleep.  Throughout the course of the day there are innumerable moments when we really need to turn to the Lord with simple requests:  ” Please advise me Lord; Lord give me strength in knowing how to treat this particular person in charity;  Lord is it Your will or mine at stake here?: Lord have mercy; Lord, slow me down.”  These are just a few of the ways we allow God to direct our lives in His peace.  It surely does not mean we will not have challenges.  They are a part of life.  But we never have to face those challenges alone. 

    St. Paul, in today’s lesson, while waiting to be executed for Christ, catches himself.  First he is feeling abandoned by his colleagues and then he comes to realize Christ is there beside him in his agony.  Perhaps too often we are looking for solace from human beings when in prayer we need to re-orient ourselves to the abiding presence of the Lord.  That is the beginning of humility which we see so well expressed in the publican’s prayer in the temple.  The Pharisee is saying:” You owe me, God”.  The publican is saying: “I owe You.”   Is that not what our life should be? an I owe you to God.  When we consider the blessings, the gifts, the mercy that has been showered on us, how can we not in prayerful gratitude return adoration, respect, obedience and above all love to God.  This is the mark of humility.  This is the prayer that “pierces the heavens”.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

October 15-16

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     Sometimes faithful individuals find themselves in a dry spiritual life.  They admit almost embarrassingly that they find prayer wearisome and that they are not “getting anything out” of their regular prayer life.  In such a state, the tired soul finds prayer a burden and the temptation presents itself to give up.  “What’s the use?” one might ask, and of course there comes the added burden of feeling guilty.  Two things that the Good Lord does NOT want is our feeling guilty and falling into despair.   If we examine the lives of the saints we find that many of them experienced the same “dark night of the soul”, but through that darkness they were open to seeing a glimmer of hope.

     When I was a child, I remember the very dark tunnel at Rocky Glen Park in Moosic. It was scary, frightening but also something one had to go through.  The spiritual life can be like that as well.  We go through these tests to help us understand the strength of our faith.  Once our eyes (physical and spiritual) adjust to the darkness we perceive that flicker in the distance.  We remind ourselves that we are traveling toward it (albeit at different speeds) and will eventually come to it.  Faith moves us, Hope draws us and we find Love at the end of the tunnel waiting for us.

    Let us learn the lessons from today’s Sacred Scripture to persevere in our prayer life.  God hears the pleas in our hearts even before we express it in words.  Nonetheless, we endure the test to determine how truly committed we are in placing our trust in Him and how much we are willing to suffer for our request to be answered. Persist in prayer and be confident in the mercy of God.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

The Parish Office of St. John the Evangelist will be closed on Monday in observance of Columbus Day.

October 8-9

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     Very much of our attention is fixed on what God has done for us and rightly so.  But it begs the question, “what have I done for Him?”  We might think, “Oh God is all powerful.  What does He need from me?”  Of course, the answer is that we cannot possibly give Him anything that matters, or does it?  He would indeed be pleased with our humble gratitude.  We see this so clearly in today’s Gospel reading.  It is important to remember that we are owed nothing.  All that comes our way is gift.  Even when we imagine that: “I accomplished such and such, or, I brought this about.”  Well, who gave us the ability to accomplish anything?  It all comes either directly or indirectly from the Lord.

    Our lives must always reflect an endless gratitude to God, even when we find ourselves afflicted by sickness or adversity.  Would the leprous man have ever encountered the Lord were it not for his affliction?  I cannot help but think of couples who pledge themselves to each other in the marriage vows, especially “for better or for worse”.   It’s easy to love during the “better”, but what happens when the “worse” may come?  Is that not the test of the real love, the suffering love, the unshakable love?  Even in the midst of that one can be grateful to God for it purifies and intensifies the love that was pledged on the wedding day ever bringing it to maturity and the strengthening of a person’s character and above all Faith.

    Let the spirit of gratitude to God for good or ill ever be a part of your spiritual life that we may gladden the Heart of the Lord.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

October 1-2

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We live in a society wherein individuals, whether they accomplish little or much, are looking for recognition. Trophies and ribbons, and awards abound. Even perhaps a little “pat on the back” is appreciated. There is, of course, nothing wrong with this, but if it should not come, a person or persons should not despair. Especially in matters of faith we do what we do for the Glory of God, the good of our neighbor, or the needs of our Church or country. Therein lies the greatest satisfaction. Sometimes the great work done can cause misunderstanding, confusion and even pain as in today’s reading from the prophet Habakuk. He despairs because no one is paying attention to him. He is doing the work of the Lord, something quite good and noble and is being ignored. Perhaps he is even asking himself: What’s the point?” But with hope and future-vision he will recognize the blessing of perseverance that will bring about conversion.

Our Lord’s words in the Gospel resound this. We go about our work, sometimes begrudgingly and without satisfaction and wonder if it’s all worth it. In God’s eyes it is all worth it and whether our tasks are great or small, when done for the love of Him.

In the past several weeks there have been many good works done for the love of God in our various fundraisers most recently being the Spaghetti Dinner. Though no one seeks recognition, we nonetheless thank all those who supported, participated, worked for and created (those beautiful baskets) for this important parish event. After a hiatus these past years it was immensely joyful to see our fellow parishioners young and old working together in such harmony and devotion. It warms a pastor’s heart. And our very smart and sharp-looking servers did an excellent job in waiting tables and cleaning up afterwards.

Much thanks to all who made this and all of our previous events and wonderful success.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

Reach more people with this post

You could reach up to 501 people daily by boosting your post for $14.

September 17-18

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today we have another parable by which the Lord challenges us to think deeply about our future.  Whenever we consider the days ahead, especially in difficult financial situations, we hope that we have prudently planned for our security.  In these uncertain times who has not wondered about their investments for retirement or funds to sustain family and self? If we glean a lesson from the shrewd steward in today’s Gospel maybe we can rest comfortably about our future.

First it is important to recognize that we are all stewards.  When we consider our earthly possessions we must ask ourselves, “have I fashioned this out of nothing; was it my mind that brought it into being?” Perhaps we cooperated in its manufacture but when we honestly consider it was it not God Who provided the intellect, the material and the purpose?  So everything is ultimately a gift from God and we have been entrusted with it.  The Lord has indeed entrusted us with not only physical goods but spiritual as well. In both instances, we are called to be generous.  A regular practice of our faith is the giving of alms, and on the spiritual level we share our faith with family, friends and strangers.  This is the mark of a good steward.  

The fellow in the parable was preparing for his future since he was about to be sacked.  He was out to save his skin.  We, on the other hand, must be out to save our soul.  Let us admire his prudence but not his dishonesty.

Next week I shall be on my annual retreat.  Father John, a colleague of Father Dominic will be here to assist with Masses and sick calls.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

     Why do people look for substitutes for God? And in the end do they really find happiness and peace?  The answer to the second question is emphatically NO, but the answer to the primary query is much more complicated.  Both the reading form Exodus and the Gospel of the Prodigal Son invite us to ponder this dilemma.  One of the reasons may be that people look for quick and immediate answers to the problems that beset them.

    When Moses went up the mountain of Sinai he remained there for 40 days in conversation with God.  The Israelites became impatient.  They demanded an immediate response from God and in the interim, they decided to fabricate their own notion, and how ridiculous it was, of God as a grass-eating calf.   We might think that rather peculiar, but what about the “golden” idols we create for ourselves that are just as vacuous.  Wasted time and effort are sunk into similar worthless pursuits.  

    The Prodigal (extravagant spending) son in the parable also has an impatient and arrogant heart.  Basically he is saying to his father:” I wish you were dead so I can get my cut of the will.”  The living father also is extravagant more in love and mercy than in money  when he bankrolls his son and then begins his interior suffering.  He hopes that the wayward son will return.   The son soon realizes that his idols have turned to dust and reduced him to a miserable existence.  Do we ever think that our Heavenly Father may be “suffering” for the loss of His children?  Many today are pursuing idols bereft of compassion, mercy, and love and the sad emptiness of their lives are preparing them for disastrous consequences.  May the pertinence of these words from Sacred Scripture touch the hearts of the lost and speedily bring them back to the Father’s house.

      Within the past month many of our parishioners have rallied together for our very successful fund-raisers.  From golf-tournament and bake sales at St. Joseph, to penny social at St Bernard, and the flea market at St John/St. Mary Magdalen, and the upcoming Spaghetti dinner on September 24th., how good it is to see our faithful pitching-in for the love and prosperity of the parish.  Thanks to all who participated in any way and may that wonderful enthusiasm continue to flourish.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

Faith Formation registration is due now. Please include late fee. Faith Formation starts on Sept. 11th for the Damascus and Honesdale program at the CFCC (329 Cliff St.) from 9 – 10:10am. See you there! Registrations are available at the back of parish churches, the parish office and online at honesdalecatholic.com (faith formation tab).

September 3-4

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

    Have you ever exaggerated in order to make a point or to bring attention to something of great significance?  How about a “fish tale”?  Did a ten inch mackerel become a twenty pound bass?  We call that hyperbole and it was a common way for people to express themselves in first century Jewish culture.  It was not a lie but certainly a startling way to emphasize something.  What today we would call shock-value!

     On occasion, our Blessed Lord does the same thing to get people’s attention but also to stress an important truth.  Both last Sunday’s Gospel and today’s convey the “hard sayings” of Jesus.  His language wakes people up and challenges them to make a choice.  First to recognize and believe that He is God-in-the-flesh, and secondly to make a choice in following Him as a disciple.   The choice has a cost, and that cost is putting the Lord before all other persons and/or possessions in this life.

    Always Our Lord respects our free will in the choices we make but very often those choices limit rather than expand us.  With short-sighted choices we look for immediate gratification and thus a fleeting happiness.  There is temporary satisfaction and before we know it, we are looking for the next thing to fill the emptiness.  How very self-deceptive and exhausting.  But when we make our choice to follow Christ, by putting Him first above all, there comes a freedom and joy that cannot be met by anyone or anything in this world.  Sure, there is a cost.  We give up in order to  get more than we could ever imagine.  After all, He made us.  He knows what is best for us and His plan and destiny for us exceeds the puny and sometimes destructive choices we make for ourselves.  May all your choices begin with what God wants and you will never be in want.

With Blessings,

Father Langan