Well St. Libory family, here we are, another week into the uncharted waters of dealing with the unknown. I say unknown, because the whole business of the virus and the demonstrations/riots & destruction, has been steeped in confusion and misinformation. As is the present nature of our culture right now, everything is politicized and therefore used in attempts to manipulate folks in one direction or the other. I love science. Some say just listen to the science concerning the virus. I try to but even the “science” is frequently politicized or as has been the case, unproven assumptions are put forward that prove later to be wrong. (Example: It was early on put forward that anyone could be a carrier of the virus even if they do not actively have the virus. This was wrong but it triggered a mass hysteria of over the top restrictions which we are still sorting out at great cost.) So, what are we to do? It is clear that this virus is very serious business for the elderly and any persons with respiratory conditions. We all need to be very aware of this and take proper measures to ensure the safety of these vulnerable individuals. It is true that we can have the virus before we have active signs of the virus. In this early stage we can unintentionally spread it to others. Mask do not prevent us from contacting the virus. They do however help to slow the transmission of the virus by stopping the sputum that naturally sprays as a fine mist from our mouth as we speak, or sneeze or cough. The social distancing also addresses this. But as I have said repeatedly, the number one way the virus is spread, (as well as all contagions) is hand to face. So, the best practice is what we learned in kindergarten, wash your hands (or disinfect)! Finally, just be wise and thoughtful of others. I do not like overreaching rules and mandates. God gave us rational minds, His Word and Holy Spirit to guide us. We each need to take reasonable responsibility for our own safety and look out for our neighbor. Not to do so is a transgression against the 5th Commandment, not to kill. This commandment extends to any intentional behavior that injures or endangers others or ourselves. So, love the Lord, love yourself, and love your neighbor! God bless you all! Fr. Sid.

First, congratulations to our 1st Communions, Leah Gay and Lexi Loeffelbein! Just as the virus disrupted everything else, their first communion was disrupted and delayed until now. We are so pleased to welcome them to the Sacred Banquet of our Lord. I also want to extend a big welcome to Kim Placke, who this past Sunday was received into the Catholic Church. Kimberly knows her Bible well and very carefully prayed and studied her way into the faith we profess. She is the wife of Rod Placke and would like to help in the education of our youth. She is also a musician and would like to assist with music at Mass. Please give her a hearty, St. Libory’s welcome!

This weekend we celebrated the Fourth of July. There is no question that it has a different feel to it this year. The people of our generation and for that matter, of any generation in the history of our nation have never witnessed anything like this. Across the country historical statues are being torn down or vandalized under the accretion that they all represent racism in our culture. It isn’t just Confederate statues but virtually everyone, Union officers like Grant who led the Union army to defeat the Confederates, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, even a monument to an African American regiment that fought for the Union to end slavery. It has even been extended to Catholic Churches, rioters claiming that any depiction of Jesus or Mary as a white European is raciest and encourage their followers to destroy or deface them. Folks tell me they are angry, frightened, confused, discouraged, and depressed. It’s no wonder. They have been threatened with a deadly illness, kept out of their churches, kept away from their loved ones, told they must obey and behave because this is best for everyone. Then they watch hooligans attack the symbols of our faith and nation with little resistance from authorities. Wow! So, what do we do? We do what Christian’s have always done. Be good citizens. Sincerely pray for our leaders, even and especially for the ones we don’t like. Our nation, so far, allows us to speak up about what we do not approve of and legitimately and peacefully protest. Our expressed Christian views are being threatened to silence. So, say a prayer, write a letter, an email or make a phone call to your elected representatives. And this fall, vote! Don’t vote your party line. Inform your conscience of all the truths expressed by your Catholic faith. Then pray. Then vote. It’s the American way, the Christian way, the Catholic way! Yours in Christ our Lord, Fr. Sid.

Well folks, here we are, summer has officially come. At the time of this writing we are slowly opening back up our activity levels in the hope that we can continue on toward regular activities. It appears that the virus is still around and does indeed affect some people with very serious symptoms. So, if you have other health problems, particularly respiratory in nature, you should continue to take precautions. I know many of you have reached the point where you just don’t care anymore and are willing to take more risks rather than be cooped up anymore. I get it and respect people’s freedom to make decisions for their selves. I find it disturbing when government hands out restriction of activities, including our worship of God, but then is permissive to folks who want to protest, riot, loot, and destroy property. Something is very wrong with this picture. But that aside, as regards to the virus, please be careful. To intentionally endanger our own health or others, is a sin against the 5th commandment, “You shall not kill.” Obviously, we cannot just shut down the world and confine ourselves perpetually. Life must go on. So, wash and disinfect your hands frequently. Hands to face are by far the number one way the virus, (and all viruses and germs) are spread. The use of the mask helps to stop us from spreading the virus if we have it and that is why some places require it. I am aware that the mask causes some to feel claustrophobic, hinders breathing and can be unpleasant to wear. I conclude by asking you to be careful. Think about others. Use common sense. The Lord be with you. Fr. Sid.

The Faith That Conquers Fear I’ll finish my letter by saying this: let yourself be invaded by God. Live in him through faith. Hand yourself over to him. He won’t fail to take possession of your whole being. He is love; and we exist only because of his infinite goodness. Let’s breathe in, to put it that way, the divine milieu in which we live. God is in us…. Let’s adore him with faith. Everything changes when we look at this divine sun. May faith be the lens that reveals to you your Creator. A soul that has faith has everything because it has God. Sufferings are transformed by faith. The important thing is not to concentrate on the external. We should examine the source from which things are born, and faith will make it known: it’s God’s love which tries, refines, and purifies our soul. When you’re suffering, look at Jesus. He is loving you with tenderness, because you are participating in his cross, in the cross he carried in his most divine Heart from Bethlehem to Calvary. Place yourself and everything around you in that Heart of Jesus. Live abandoned to his holy will. From that abandonment, oneness with God will be born. Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes Saint Teresa of Jesus († 1920) was a Chilean Carmelite nun. She died at the age of 19.

This Sunday is Body and Blood of Christ Sunday. It reminds us that Christ comes to each of us individually. In every Mass He is made present for us, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. It is probably the most faith extracting tenant of our Catholic teaching. It is so challenging that when Jesus told his disciples that they must eat his flesh (John ch.6), most of them stopped following Him. Surveys reveal that the majority of Catholics do not believe it. Sad. Yes, it is challenging to our faith. But whether we believe it or not He is present. He is the one who said, “This is my body...”. Do we believe Him? The Lord be with you. Fr. Sid

It is truly wonderful to have folks back in the church for Mass. This has been a truly historic event that has happened in our time. We will discuss this for years and speak of it to our children and grandchildren. Probably the biggest obstacle has been the unknown. No doubt we will look back and see how thing could have been done better and things we did that did not need doing. Please expect the uncertainty to continue for a while. Last Sunday we had about 25 in attendance on Saturday evening and about 50 on Sunday. Folks are asked to be diligent in using the hand sanitizer when entering the church. We ask folks to politely observe social distancing as much as possible. But please keep in mind, that as more folks return to Mass this will be more difficult to maintain. So, if you are vulnerable, you might want to refrain from attendance until the presence of the virus has died down. No parish activities are scheduled just yet but hopefully we can soon start them up. Finally, a big thank you for your faithfulness and attentiveness to prayer and support of the parish and its members. We have members who are struggling with some very serious health issues, (not virus related). We have a family who suffered great loss from a fire to their home. You have been very supportive. I frequently see people stopping by the church to pray. From what I read; many parishes are struggling financially due to the loss of offerings. Not us. Yes, it’s down but by no means devastating. You have been very diligent to either mail in your offering or give online. Thank you and God bless you!

Holy Week, Easter, & current news

At this time, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there will be no public mass. The church is available however for adoration and prayer. Please contact Father Sid for more information.

There is a very popular hymn used at funerals, “Here I Am Lord.”  I am sure you are all familiar with it.  To a casual listener, it sounds very appropriate.  Here are the lyrics: 

Lenten Brown Bag Talks will again be held at St. Mary’s Cathedral Square for five Wednesdays during Lent, beginning March 4 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Guests are invited to bring their sack lunches; drinks will be provided. Click here to view more.

Stations of the Cross on Fridays during Lent. Mass at 7:00 A.M. Stations of the Cross at 6:30 P.M.

Say “yes” to God’s unfailing love – Beginning March 5th, Armando Chavarria, Diocesan Director for the Office of Faith Formation and Evangelization will be presenting a Lenten program that helps each of us reflect on our lives and how to recognize God’s unfailing love within it. This program will meet each Thursday of Lent from 6:30-8:00 pm in the parish hall. Join us and prepare yourself for the Paschal Mystery.

This coming Wednesday is our Lenten Penance service.  Like previous services, we will begin at 6:45 pm and you can leave when you have completed your confession.  Youth who are in the company of their parent(s) may leave with them. 

Wow, can you believe it?  It’s almost Lent!  This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday.  Lent is a particularly important season for us Catholics.  The attendance of the faithful at Ash Wednesday rivals Easter and Christmas.  That’s good, very good!

I would like to use this space to say thank you to a couple areas.  First, the Diocesan Appeal.  I am very pleased and proud to say we have achieved and surpassed both our goals.  We surpassed our financial goal and our goal for the number of participants.  It is my understanding that an Appeal progress report will be coming out in the next Western Register.  We will be listed among those who have exceeded their assigned goals.  God be praised!  Thank you, thank you very much for your generous participation!

When I was the associate priest in Greeley, they decided to do some renovation to the rectory.  It had beautiful oak floors they wanted to restore.  There was a big problem on the second floor.  At some time in the past, an electrician took a rip saw and cut a channel from the middle of the hall to the middle of the rooms so they could conveniently install new wire.  It was then covered with carpet.  As an amateur carpenter and electrician who loves old workmanship, I was appalled.   But I was also very curious to see how the floor was going to be restored.  All I could imagine was a huge tear up of old flooring.  So, when the flooring specialist came, I was there to see how this was going to be done.  It turned out he had the small power tool called an “oscillating saw”.  With it he carefully removed small sections of flooring to facilitate the replacement in an orderly weaved fashion.  When it was sanded, stained and finished, all signs of the barbarous, hack job by the electrician disappeared. Needless to say, I wanted to know where I could get one of those saws.  I have two, a cored one and a cordless.  They are the handiest power tool I have every owned.  I use them all the time.

 Last week I brought to your attention the reality that every Christian has a calling or vocation.  It’s a calling from the Lord that has the best path for your life and the most effective application of God’s will.

This past week, after the observance of the Baptism of the Lord, we moved into the observance of Ordinary Time.  Our contemporary understanding of the word “ordinary” skews the meaning for us.  The Latin translated for us as “ordinary time”, literally means, “time through the year”.  It’s a way to identify the time that connects all the various observances throughout the Church year.

Today we observe the Baptism of the Lord.  We are baptized for the forgiveness of sin and given a new birth as the children of Father.  Given this understanding of the purpose of baptism, it prompts a question from many as to why Jesus was baptized?  He had no sin and was already the Son of the Father.  Even John the Baptist objected when Jesus came to him for baptism saying, “I should be baptized by you!”