Our first and second readings for Mass this Sunday are warnings. The first concerns the prophet Jonah warning the city of Nineveh that they are about to be destroyed for their sinfulness. In the second, St Paul declares, “…time is running out…because the present world is passing away.” In the Gospel reading, Jesus says, “Repent and believe in the gospel.” It is really easy for us to look at the news or social media and declare, “There’s the problem.” And yet, the message of salvation is always very personal. We are all called. We are each responsible to heed the call and live the Gospel. We are indeed living in very confusing times. We hear contradicting voices of influence telling us we should do this or that. But as Christians we have a place of refuge, an inner peace that nothing and no one can take away; our faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. So, whatever you are listening to, be sure you give priority to the message of the Gospel, read your Bible, read your Catechism, and use solid daily devotional practices. Do this first, give priority to these first and, “The peace that passes all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”(Ph. 4:7) Yours in Christ, Fr. Sid.

I have been getting questions about the Covid vaccine that is now being distributed. The first question concerns the morality of how the vaccine was produced. There have been reports that aborted fetal tissue is used in the production of the vaccine. This has been investigated and here is the information as best as I can describe it. The two available vaccines out are made by Pfizer and Moderna. It’s my understanding that no fetal tissue was used in the manufacturing of these vaccines, but Pfizer did use such tissue in the testing of their vaccine. This is not moral and shows a disrespect for human life. The moral issue being considered is am I participating in that sin by reception of the vaccine? This is a worthy consideration, and it needs prayerful consideration. What we have here is a confrontation with two paths of which there is evil to consider on both paths, secondary participation is the disregard of human life by reception of a scandal tainted vaccine or disregard of human life by being a potential carrier of the Covid virus to a person for who it will be deadly. Catholic moral teaching says that in this type of situation you choose the path that serves the “greater good”. By greater good the Church does not mean numbers but the higher moral principle. In this case, the avoidance of carelessly exposing someone to death would be the higher moral principle. Now, this is not saying that it is immoral to not receive the vaccine, but one is still morally responsible not to carelessly spread something that could be deadly. This can be done by other means, good hygiene and looking out for others that are vulnerable. In my vocation of working regularly with vulnerable people, I have elected to receive and have received the first dose of the vaccine by Moderna. Other than the morality of receiving the vaccine there are also health issues to consider. There are potential side effects. Please keep in mind that these vaccines have been fast tracked and have not undergone the normal two-year process. The reason for the two years is that sometimes it takes months for adverse side effects to show up. This lengthy part of the trial has not been done. There could be bad side effect yet to be discovered. I advise you to do some research on your own and by all means, ask questions of your health provider. I am not indorsing that everyone gets vaccinated. I don’t think there is enough quality information available to make that call. Pray about it and remember, you have the Holy Spirit to guide you. Fear is not from the Lord. He will give you peace in your decision. Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid.

All for the Bridegroom Ascetical practices are a form of sacrifice, but they are never enough for a deeper spiritual life…. They may strengthen spiritual discipline, but this is too narrow a view of sacrifice, missing its essential purpose. Self-denying mortifications can be managed simply by will power alone and lack love, without which sacrifice falsifies its name. What our crucified Lord Jesus would prefer from us is something more serious in love than the customary renunciations that are part of any good life. He wants sacrificial acts in the inner life that can unleash a fire within the undercurrents of our soul. He desires us to step over the edge, as it were, in offering ourselves to him in the privacy of interior prayer. He waits for bold, irreversible acts of surrender in prayer that cannot be taken back, like marriage vows, dissolvable only in death, yet repeated continually in life. Every intense sacrificial offering of this kind stretches love into the buried depths of the soul. These acts inflame our soul’s passion for God; afterward, inevitably, they compel actions of generosity for others…. All radical love for God may hide its deeper mystery within such private offerings made in the quiet of prayer. Unknown but to God himself, these acts pronounce a willingness to sacrifice everything for love of him as our beloved Lord and God. FATHER DONALD HAGGERTY

A great big welcome to 2021! 2020 will live on in infamy. Good riddance. I have some hopes for the future. Our parish is growing. In spite of the difficulties of 2020, we grew in registered families, baptisms and professions of faith. We have about 160 registered families and of them, about two thirds could be considered active. That is pretty amazing considering that most parishes are hardly claim 25% active. During the pandemic our attendance has been stable and we have seen an increase of visitors. I want to encourage you to make contact with visitors. Introduce yourself and invite them to return. A friendly parish is the number one attraction to those seeking a home parish or looking to return after a long absence. I must remind you that the future of our parish is precarious at best. We are the smallest of six parishes in a 15-mile radius. There will be parish closings in the future. Unfortunately, numbers matter. To survive into the future, we must grow! Yes, we have grown but we must continue. We are seated in a growing population area. (Just notice the new homes being built.) Consider inviting someone. And most important, pray for your neighbors. Our world desperately needs Christ, just like we do. Remember, you are the Lord’s instrument. Let Him work through you. Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid.

I doubt that any years in our lifetime will be recalled with the loathing that the year 2020 has fostered. It has been a crazy, confusing, and disruptive series of events. It has produced sadness, loneliness, depression, frustration, anxiety, fear, irritability, to name a few. We sometimes feel like we are hunkered down just waiting for the next bad event. If you are reading this, it is probably because you are or have turned to the Lord for help. Psalm 121 says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!” If you are familiar with the salvation story as recorded in Holy Scripture, you are also aware that the Lord speaks to us from the “storm clouds”. His message is always pointing out the path of salvation, the Good News. I invite you as we conclude this year to renew your commitment to our Lord Jesus Christ. Invite him into your soul and give Him permission to reveal His saving Truth to you as it applies to you in a very personal way. We will only get to know our Creator to the extent that we come to know our self. We only get to know our self to the extent that we allow the Lord to shine His Light of Truth in our soul. He is always waiting to come closer. Invite Him! Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid

First, I want to remind everyone again about our Christmas Eve schedule. Masses will be offered at 3 pm, 4 pm and 5:30 pm. Our time between the 3 and 4 pm Masses are very short. If you come for the 4 pm, please wait until the 3 pm lets out before entering. Also, if you are concerned about social distancing, please consider attending the 5:30 pm or Christmas Day Mass at 9 am. I anticipate that these two Masses will have lighter attendance. We will also attempt to stream the 5:30 pm Mass on Facebook and also post a recording on our Facebook page for you to watch at home. Next, I would like to remind everyone as they celebrate this Christmas that adversity does not need to be an impediment to the holy joy of the celebration. The grace of God shines brightest in the midst of darkness, just like the star of Bethlehem. If you cannot be present with loved ones, make a special effort to speak to them by phone and other methods of messaging. Let people know that you love them and are thinking of them. Finally, I want to wish each of you a very blessed and holy Christmas! Your is Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid

I have some important information to bring to your attention, our Christmas Eve Mass schedule. This year, due to the virus, we will have three Masses offered, one at 3 PM, one at 4 PM and one at 5:30 PM. On Christmas day the Mass will be at 9 AM. Normally a Vigil Mass may not be offered until 4 PM or later on the Eve of a Holy Day but Bishop Hanefeldt has granted permission for an earlier time due to the pandemic. The hope here is to spread folks out and reduce crowding. Historically, people have attended the earliest Mass in the greatest numbers. The first one has always been packed and sometimes overflowing. Due to the limited seating, I anticipate the 3 and 4 PM Masses to be full. If you are concerned about having adequate social distancing, I strongly recommend that you try to attend the 5:30 PM Mass or the 9 AM Christmas day Mass. In the past the Christmas day Mass has had very light attendance. I strongly encourage you to wear a mask. As this is being written, there is not government mandate to wear a mask in Howard county. This could change by Christmas Eve. If it is mandated, we will post it at the door and have mask available as they always have been in the past. I know there are strong feelings about both sides of the mask issue. Both make strong arguments. I simply ask you to think of others in the choices you make. Please remember, it is Christmas! Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid.

We are now into the season of Advent. Although we will not have a penance service, I will be offering additional time for confession on Wednesday evening 6:30 – 7:30 pm for the Wednesdays of Advent. There will be a Mass offered at 5:45 and at the conclusion I will be available in the confessional till 7:30 or as long as needed. I am observing that many are in a deeper way turning to their faith in God. This is very good. A great way to do this is a regular examination of conscience and confession. You might ask, do I really need to do that? That is a popular approach that usually means, I’m not going to do it. Perhaps asking our self this question instead might give better perspective, why shouldn’t I go? I know that admitting our sins can be embarrassing. That is one of the reasons the Church offers confession anonymously from behind a screen. This is offered at our parish and it is supposed to be offered at every Catholic Church. If you haven’t been for a while and have forgotten how to proceed, grab a brochure from the entry or simply tell the priest you would like some help. It happens a lot and we are very happy to assist. Your confession is held under the “seal”, which means the priest is not to divulge the content even under threat of death. It’s Church law! (If you have good reason to believe this has been violated, it should be reported.) The most helpful thing is to keep in mind that ultimately you are confessing to the Lord. The priest is just the “phone connection” if you will. The absolution the priest says to you comes from the Lord. Receive it from the Lord. Yours in Christ our Lord, Fr. Sid.

This Sunday marks the beginning of the new church year with the first Sunday of Advent. For that reason, I will be returning to offering the Mass “ad orientum”, which means I will face the same direction as the congregation during the prayers of the Eucharist. The Mass has been provided in this manner for two millenniums and it is only in very recent history that priest faced the congregations. The symbolism of ad orientum is that we are journeying toward the “kingdom of God”. We are all to be heading in the same direction. We are all turning our hearts, minds, and bodies toward God. The prayers of the Mass offered by the priest are offered to God as well as by the people. Rather than the priest and the people looking at each other, we look to God the Father, through Jesus the Son by the Holy Spirit. Since I as the priest will be turned in the same direction as you, please take this opportunity to fix your eyes on our beautiful crucifix (it is an inspired work of art) as you listen and participate in the prayers. In every Mass you and I are mystically transported to Calvary, to the One Sacrifice offered once for all time. The sacrifice that atones for our sins and redeems our lost soul. By the mystery of the Mass you and I participate in the here and now in that One Sacrifice. When you hear the old hymn, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?” Our answer should be, “Yes I am! At every single Mass!” I invite you to ponder this reality as you make your spiritual journey through the Holy season of Advent. Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid

This is the last Sunday of our Church year as we celebrate Christ the King Sunday. We will also be observing our national holiday of Thanksgiving. This will be a Thanksgiving like no other in our lifetime. Many may feel there isn’t much to be thankful for. I would like to put a line that I believe comes from Shakespeare before you. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” We have had a lot of absences in our lives this past year. I’m sure you can name several mostly brought about by the virus and the effects it has on all small and great events in our lives. We now long for those many everyday activities like a simple handshake. Our heart longs for the missing affection expressed by personal presence and touch. Last week I wrote about humility as the antidote for evil pride. I want to talk today about the antidote for jealousy. Jealousy is one of the capital sins (also known as deadly sins) that bears bitter fruit in many unperceived ways. Like evil pride it can lurk deep within the soul undetected without serious self-examination. A way to get it to raise its ugly head is to intentionally express words of gratitude, especially gratitude for the gifts that another possesses. I challenge us to put it to the test this week. Make a mental list of gifts, yours and others and thank God for those gifts. If you realize you have been jealous, acknowledge it and confess it to the Lord. Christ the King will forgive you! Here is a healing penance. If you cannot be with family this week, call them and express something about them that you are thankful for. Jealousy will be vanquished! Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid.