FROM THE PASTORS DESK Next weekend is the annual Junk Jaunt, and our High School youth are participating as a fund raiser. It will be held in the parish hall. Food will be served, and they are solicitating the donation of items to sell as well as food. (Please check sign-up sheet for requested food items.) After Sunday all unsold items will be appropriately disposed. If you wish to reclaim any unsold item, you will need to make arrangements to pick it up by Sunday 1 pm. This is the first time the parish has participated in many years. It was successful then with the exception of the removal of unsold item. Hence, this is why there is requirement of picking up unsold items you wish to keep. You may bring item beginning Wed. Sept. 22 after 7:30 pm (conclusion of religious ed.) through Thur. Sept. 23. For more information or questions please contact Ken Kozisek (308-379-7170) or Beth Kozisek (308-379-1949). Yours in Christ our Lord, Fr. Sid.

This Wednesday we will begin our new youth religious education school year. As I write this we are still in need of catechist for the kindergarten and 5th grade. Why do I say “catechist” instead of teacher? Because a catechist is more than a teacher. They do teach but more than teach, they hand on the Faith, the Faith of the Church, and the faith they personally possess. St. John-Paul said that what the Church needs is not teachers but “credible witnesses” and if a teacher is to be effective, they must be a credible witness. The difference is a teacher might only pass on information. A witness gives testimony, just like a witness does in court. Every one of us bears witness in our world to something by our words or silence, our action or inaction. The “catechist” bears witness to their faith in Christ Jesus as taught by the precepts of our Catholic Faith. By our Baptism and Confirmation every one of us has been gifted to be a witness via the uniqueness of our individual personage, created by God. There is no exemption from this call. Every Christian is to be a witness for the Lord. So, have you prayed about this need we have for catechist. Not everyone is called to this just as not everyone is called to be a priest or religious. But some are. Is it you? Yours in Christ, Fr. Sid.

Our nation observes Labor Day this weekend. It should be pointed out that it was Christianity that gave dignity to “labor”. Prior to the time of Christ all who did manual labor were considered to be of lessor value, not worthy of respect. Christ came as a common man who labored with his hands as a carpenter. This changed everything. God became a laborer! Unfortunately, as the influence of Christianity wanes in our culture we are once again seeing this nasty division among people. We have on one side wealthy, educated and politically connected elite and on the other side a working class, high school educated who hold politically incorrect values according to the elite. The tension has increased year after year. Only Christ can heal this. The name “devil” means “divider” and boy has he been working overtime. Let us not get caught up in this but remember our true values as Christians. As Bishop Sheen has observed, “Our test is not in how much we love our family and friends but rather, how much we love our enemies!” Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid.

We have had an unusual string of deaths here at St. Libory’s. Bert Placke, Tony Sabin, Betty Schwenk and Michele (Buhrman) Brase all within a few days of each other. We extend our sincerest condolences to each family during their time of grief. I want to say a special thanks to the CCW for the invaluable service they render to the families by putting on the lunch after the funerals. Attending a funeral, putting on the lunch or providing in any way to comfort the sorrow of the families is what the Church defines as a “corporal work of mercy”, specifically called “burying the dead.” Burying the dead is one of our primary ministries as the Church. This is a time when the message we proclaim is most readily realized, the hour when someone leaves this life on earth and crosses over into eternity. Our participation reminds us that we too will face such a moment, our last moment. Helping to “bury the dead” prepares each of us for that day. “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son so that everyone who believes in Him should not parish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16). Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid.

Why is Jesus’ rising to Heaven called “ascension” and Mary’s rising called “assumption?” There is a very important distinction. Jesus as God rises to heaven on His own power. Mary is drawn into heaven by the same power. For example, a helicopter rises by its own power as compared to someone being lifted into the air by a rope from a helicopter. The distinction is important because many Catholics (and most non-Catholics) get confused about the nature of the Blessed Mary. She is NOT divine. She is fully human. Consequently, we do not worship Mary. We honor her as the human mother of the divine and only Begotten Son, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity who became fully human without giving up His full Divinity. Because of her unique role in our salvation as the Mother of our Lord she reigns in heaven as Mother of the King, Christ Jesus. Your baptism made you an adopted sibling of Christ the King, princesses, and princes if you will. As such, Blessed Mother Mary is our adopted, spiritual mother. She prayerfully intercedes for us like any faithful mother only much more effectively due to her unique position and relationship to her Son our Lord. A right relationship with the Blessed Mother will never distract or compete with a Christian’s personal relationship with her Son. It’s quite the opposite. She will always defer to her Son and always lead you closer to Him. Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid.

Next week the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary will be observed. It falls this year on Sunday so it will be an opportunity to celebrate it with a larger part of the faith community. The Assumption is a Holy Day of obligation. Unfortunately, it is usually a smaller crowd when it falls during the week. So, this year falling on Sunday we have the opportunity to engage this observance with the full force of Sunday attendance. So, what is the Assumption? It is an observance of the occasion when the Blessed Virgin Mary was bodily assumed into Heaven at the moment of her death. It has been a subject of discussion among Catholic theologians as to whether she actually died or was simply assumed into heaven at the end of her earthly life. Some have argued that she had no sin therefore she was not subject to death. Others have countered that she followed the footsteps of her Savior-son and died. Does it matter? Obviously to some but in general it makes little difference to our salvation. What it does mean is that her mission/ministry changed. Similar to her divine Son and like the saints she entered into the powerful mission of an intercessor. Only hers is supreme to all the saints due to her office as Mother of God. (Now don’t let that confuse you.) The title Mother of God is not so much about Mary but about the person she gave birth to, Jesus. He is fully human and fully God/divine. In conceiving and giving birth to him, that makes her the “Mother of God.” Please be encouraged to read up on this as it drives non-Catholics crazy.” In all things, Mary in her perfect humanness sets the pattern/model for the Church and every Christian. In all things she is what we are to do and become, bringing Christ into the world, nurturing, and giving the Body of Christ to the world. Among the few words we have from Mary in scripture she says of her Son, “Do whatever he tells you.” Super advice! To this I would add, “Do it the way Mary did it!” Yours in Christ our Lord and Savior. Fr. Sid.

Well, here it is August already. Fall sports conditioning has already started in our schools and hopefully classes will too. I generally write these a week ahead of time so at the time you read this something may have transpired regarding the new variation of the corona virus. Hopefully it will be nothing. But if it does turn into another pandemic, we will endure and trust our Lord and Savior. Humanity has been through far worse events. Threatening events are always a reminder of the importance of our faith in God. Sometimes it shames us because we realize we should always be faithful regardless of good or bad events around us. But don’t let your pride or shame keep you away. (Think of the prodigal son and his father.) God love you far more than any of us can imagine. This life we live now is temporary. All trials and terrors will pass and be no more. Every tear will be dried, and every sad soul will be comforted. So, keep the faith, stand your ground. Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid.

This past Friday, July 23 was St. Liborius Memorial Day. We are celebrating it today. He died in the year 397, 1624 years ago! Most of you are familiar with the story but it bears repeating. He was bishop in Le Mans, France and his brief biography says he was a very successful evangelizer and ordained several hundred priests. There are no known surviving writings of his. Probably because those who did, like St Hilary to his south were deported by the emperor of the time because the emperor was a heretical Arian. St. Martin of Tours was bishop in a neighboring diocese, and it is said that they were best of friends. St. Liborius died in St. Martins presence. 400 years later St. Liborius’ relics, (bones) were moved to Paderborn Germany. This area of Europe was just then being evangelized and St Liborius became the patron saint of Paderborn. The procession to bring his relics to Paderborn was highlighted by the unusual presence of a peacock that led the way and then perched upon the church when they arrived. Thus, the peacock became the identifying symbol of St. Liborius. As you know we request his intercession after every Mass and today we seek it with special emphasis for the wellbeing of our parish and its preservation and prosperity in the future. Thank you and blessings to all of you on this very special day! Yours in Christ, Fr. Sid.

Next week will be our annual St. Liborius feast day. The virus prevented us from having it last year, so I am really looking forward to it’s resumption. Two years ago, I was kind of disappointed in how many people stayed away. I realize it’s the time of year when people are on vacation and attended family reunions and such. But I also suspect that we Catholics have lost our understanding of this very Catholic, sacramental practice. You may have observed that historically Catholics were very active doing things like visiting churches, making a pilgrimage to a holy place, carrying holy cards, using holy water, blessed palms, incense and frequently visiting cemeteries. Many people still do these things, but most don’t understand why. There is Grace received by these practices. They are all a form of prayer and expressions of faith that extend beyond words. You all realize that our future as an open parish is going to be in jeopardy. It’s the condition of our times and we are certainly not the only parish concerned about closing. What we do next Sunday is a very sacramental prayer addressing our specific needs as a parish. If you can at all possibly attend, please do! We will be doing the Eucharistic procession around the parish grounds. We will have transportation for any who have difficulty walking. Come and express your faith in the Lord’s good will for our parish and enjoy meal of fellowship afterwards. Thank you for your prayerful support of our parish. God bless you! Fr. Sid.

I want to address the topic of sacramentals. Sacramentals can be anything that conveys God’s grace to us. As Catholics we have a vast array of sacramental devotional items, pictures, statues, holy cards, rosaries, crucifixes, etc. etc. However, we have allowed ourselves to be drawn away from this recognition to a much narrower view of the flow of God’s grace. With the increase of literacy and the easy access to information, we have unconsciously come to view grace as only available by knowledge, particularly written words. (Here you are reading in this moment.) Reading, information, and knowledge are all good and very important. But remember, Jesus is the Word made flesh, not the flesh made word. Christ is the complete and perfect expression of God’s word, communication, information, and knowledge. The Word became a human being. It is by His humanness that He has conveyed to us the Word. We have in the Gospels the printed Word that he spoke to reveal His message. The message is essential and complete, but God is even more than printed words. All of creation in some manner reflects its Creator. So, when you are tempted to say, “I prayed, read the Bible, went to Mass, sat before the Sacrament or visited a church but did not get anything out of it”, please consider what you were expecting. Perhaps you were expecting some kind of knowledge and God had something better, greater, or mystical for you. Yours in Christ, Fr. Sid.

Today we celebrate our nation’s Independence Day, July 4th. Perhaps this is a good place to address a topic that has been placed before us as defining out national identity, racism. Is there racism? Yes, no doubt. Is it pervasive and horribly tainting every part of our society? I think not. I would first argue that every person has biases. These come from many sources, family, community, past experience, phobias and yes, sometimes ethnicity. When these biases are tagged to a particular group without individual considerations, they result in unfair treatment and judgmental thoughts and attitudes. We need to constantly monitor our own thoughts and behavior and ask ourselves, am I making a fair evaluation based on present, personal words, and behaviors of another. Do I really know what another is thinking or has in mind to do? This is why the Lord admonishes us not to judge others. I would site my personal experience as a priest. As you know I regularly wear clerics that readily identify me as a priest. I encounter people in all walks and places. I sometimes receive warm greetings and sometimes obvious rudeness. Is it because I am a Catholic priest? Probably sometimes. But it would be very wrong to assume the rudeness is because I represent Catholicism even though that may be the case. Some people are having a bad day, may be in pain physically or mentally, perhaps they have poor people skills, or they just might be that way everyday with everyone. Our nation is not perfect. No one is asserting that. There are always things to be fixed. But on a world scale we have the best that has come along so far. The best evidence is right in front of our national eyes. Hundreds of thousands are streaming across our southern border. Why? This is still the land of freedom, opportunity, equality, and justice for all. They want what you and I some carelessly take for granted. As part of your celebration of the 4th, please pray for our nation. May God heal, protect, and bless our nation! Fr. Sid.

It’s good to be back after a very busy weekend away. We attended high school class reunions, celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary, a photo shoot with all our children and grandchildren present and baptized our newest granddaughter, Monica. Very busy but very good! Carol and I would like to thank you for your many cards and well wishes on our anniversary. Please have our Totus Tuus program in your daily prayers. It starts this Sunday evening and runs through Friday afternoon. It is a great program that features leadership from college age Catholics who are zealous in their witness. The kids really connect with them and come to understand the Faith is not just an “old person” activity. To give you some idea of Totus Tuus effects, our first team leader here at St. Libory is now a priest and the pastor for most of my grandkids in Nebraska City. They love him. His talents were groomed by his work in the program. In addition to prayer, there is another way to support the program by attending the daily Masses that will take place at 11:30 am, Monday through Friday. It’s always important for the kids to see adults present at Mass. On Wednesday evening there will be a parish potluck dinner, (see bulletin for details). Please attend. It is one more way to support our youth. The Lord bless you and keep you! Fr. Sid.

This is a very special weekend for Carol and me. 50 years ago, on June 19th, we were united in Holy Matrimony. This weekend we are celebrating with our children and 19 grandchildren. The years have gone by too quickly. We now feel our years of age, body aches and memory glitches. Yes, we have had our trials, but all in all we have been very blessed indeed. Watching our children become us and our grandchildren become them is fascinating and sometimes hilarious. When any of us look back on our lives we wonder about the choices made. What might have happened if we had taken a different road, made a different choice concerning the important events of life. When we made the choice of sending our high school age children to Catholic school it was a major consideration. But at the time becoming Catholic was not part of the deliberations at all. We simply came to the conclusion that it was the best possible choice for our children given our life situation. It was a choice informed by prayer and a simple, rational decision to do what was best for our children. Looking back, we never could have imagined just how “right” the decision became in terms of the results. We became Catholic, our children became Catholic, our son-in-law became Catholic, our sons married Catholics, all of our grandchildren are baptized Catholic. I’m here writing this to you as your parish priest because of that decision. It is true, “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard or has it entered the imagination of man what God has prepared…”(1Cor. 2:9) Yours in Christ our Lord, Fr. Sid.

As of this Sunday we return to the celebration of Ordinary Time. It should not be thought of as uneventful, usual, or plain, but back to the regular business of the Church which is the ordinary, regular, essential, and unchanging Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Last year was a year of detractions from our most loved summer activities and distractions provided by the political turmoil that accompanied the pandemic. I do get the sense that many had a sort of awakening to what was most important in their lives, faith, and family. This frequently happens in times of crisis whether it’s global, national, community, family or personal. It’s a good thing to properly adjust our priorities. But it is also very “human” to let those slip away when we begin to sense a return of the “ordinary.” Do not let that happen to you. At the end of life no one laments that they spent too much time focused on their faith and family. However, many a soul at the end of their life has been steeped in regret for neglecting faith and family. For us Christians, “ordinary” is having the right priorities, always, good times and bad. Yours in Christ our Lord, Fr. Sid.

This Sunday we observe Corpus Christi Sunday or as it is now known as, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Sunday. Corpus Christi is Latin for “Body of Christ.” Historically this has been a Sunday of great celebration for Catholic parishes, St. Libory’s was no exception. Typically, it is celebrated with a Eucharistic procession. If you have attended our St. Liborius celebration, you know how it proceeds. After last year’s cancelation due to Covid, we will, God willing, celebrate St. Liborius Day with a Eucharistic procession this coming July 25th. The purpose of this Corpus Christi celebration is to inform, remind and emphasize the reality of Christ presence, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity provided for us in the consecrated bread and wine of the Holy Mass. The last several decades have witnessed a growing casualness toward this great gift. We need to frequently remind ourselves of what St. Thomas Aquinas said, “…senses will not tell us Christ is present…only faith will make Him known.” However, our faith and belief do not make Christ present. He is made present by His own Word. But it is only by faith and belief that you and I will gain the benefit of His presence. We all understand that it is rude to ignore someone in our presence. In church, we should always keep before us the awareness that Jesus is physically present in the tabernacle and physically comes to each of us personally when we partake of Holy Communion. When He is presented before our eyes with the announcement of, “The Body of Christ,” we should always respond by saying “Amen!” We should never have gum or anything else in our mouth when we receive Him. As we come and go in church, we should always acknowledge His presence in the tabernacle with an act of reverence, like genuflecting, bowing, or making the sign of the Cross. Yours in Christ our Lord, Fr. Sid.

This Sunday we celebrate The Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, three Persons. It’s not easy to wrap our mind around. It’s helpful not to think of a solitary one but rather a unity of one, like the Body of Christ, the Church is one body but many persons. No person is any less the Body of Christ than another but at the same time no one is the Body of Christ by their self. The mystery of the Holy Trinity is only understood via the mystery of love, divine love. God is Love as St. John tells us, total self-gift. The mutual gift of the persons of the Trinity is so complete that this is a total “oneness”. But here’s the kicker. By your baptism you are reborn and invited into the Trinity. That is Heaven, the Beatific Vision. Think for a moment of something very beautiful in creation or made by man. It gives you pause. You just stare and cannot take your eyes off it. That experience is a type of foreshadowing of the Beatific Vision. But this is only the visual aspect of the Trinity. Within the Trinity is only Love, no lack, no tears, no sorrow, no grief, no pain, and no imperfection. And that my friends is why you and I need contrition, repentance, and purgation. There will be no imperfection within the Trinity, in Heaven. Yours in Christ our Lord, Fr. Sid.

This Sunday we observe the day of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit. This gift to the faithful far exceeds our comprehension. You see, Jesus the second person of the Trinity became human so we could become divine. If that sounds preposterous or blasphemous, hang on. When Jesus became a man, he did not give up any of his Divinity and when he ascended to heaven, he did not give up any of his humanity. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the “first fruit” of, what the saints call, your “divinization”, becoming like God. This means much more that a one-dimensional image, like a mirror. There is a real “oneness” that takes place. Pope Benedict references marriage to help understand. In the marriage covenant the man and women become “one flesh.” Neither of them lose any of the distinct differences and yet they are joined in a shared “oneness” of life. In the marriage covenant they give to each other the totality of their being in union with their relationship to God. In early years this is often visited with conflict, but as they mature in their relationship it is not unusual for the husband and wife to know each other to the extent of sharing thoughts without speaking. Unfortunately, this very real unity is most painfully noticed when separation occurs, such as death. Our “marriage” to God is directly and explicitly observed every time we receive Holy Communion. Right before the reception of Communion in Mass we hear, “Blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb.” This is a quote from Rev. 19:9. There is one word missing. Scripture adds, “Blessed are those called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Every Communion is a renewal of your marriage to God. The Holy Spirit is your first gift toward your divinization, becoming like the Lord! Yours in Christ, Fr. Sid.

Why He Ascended into Heaven In raising Christ Jesus, God has raised us with him and made us to sit in heavenly places with him and crowned us as coheirs. Heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, says Saint Paul. That is our status. The abyss of death has been bridged, so that when we refer to the doctrine of the communion of saints, we are not reaching for a vaporous metaphor by which to bolster our melancholy spirits on this long and arduous pilgrimage here on earth. We really do believe that the abyss of death has been bridged and that we, the Church in pilgrimage, are truly one with those who have gone ahead of us, starting with our Lord himself, Saint Stephen the protomartyr, and our Lady. We are one, undivided, living, interceding fellowship who share in the priesthood of Jesus before the throne of God. The Church encourages us to pray for those who have gone ahead of us—who knows what schooling they must complete before they are able to bear up under the titanic glory of the Beatific Vision—and the Church assures us that they are praying for us. This is what we invoke in the great litany at the Easter Vigil—and, it is to be hoped, in our own prayers during the rest of the year. The Ascension of Jesus Christ has made this an actuality, not a fugitive dream or forlorn hope. And the Ascension quickens our flagging spirits as we tread along during this earthly life. I go to prepare a place for you, he said, that where I am, there you may be also. Better than the Emerald City of Oz, better than Narnia or Rivendell or Lothlorien, better than the Gardens of the Hesperides: eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him. No wonder the Scripture and the liturgy are full of injunctions to us to lift up our hearts. Sursum corda. We lift them up to the Lord. He is there, awaiting us, and by his Holy Spirit, he is here accompanying us. Let us hasten, then, to Mount Zion with singing. Thomas Howard

Most of you have probably heard that Fr. Jim Golka has been appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Colorado Springs. He will be a fine bishop and our Diocese is going to miss him greatly. He comes from a very large extended family. He grew up in Grand Island and is an alumnus of Central Catholic. Our Diocese can boast of providing the Church with its first bishop. Our parishes and schools have been praying for vocations for several years now and the fruit of those prayers has begun to blossom. Our seminarian numbers have increased dramatically. I never gave much thought to the fact that calling bishops would also fall within the request of those prayers. The leadership of one person guided by the Lord can make a huge difference. Please pray for our Bishop Hanefeldt, all bishops and Bishop elect Golka. They have a daunting task before them. They pastor a Church that is scandal ridden and in steep decline. Historically, this has happened before, and the Lord always raises up men and women with the faithful, loving zeal of a prophet to steer the Church back on course. They are out there today, presently unnoticed, and unknown. But they will be. When they are noticed, like Christ, like the prophets of old, they will not be given much regard by the powerful. They will be scoffed at and ridiculed. But watch for them. They are coming and we will rejoice when they appear. May Bishop (elect) Golka be one of them! Yours in Christ, Fr. Sid.

May is the month of graduations. Fortunately, our seniors this year get to have a bit more normal event. I feel sorry for last year’s seniors. They have got to feel cheated, having to celebrate in a very subdued and reserved fashion. However, they will always have a very vivid memory of their unique, final high school year. From my own experiences of being a student, following the process of our children’s education now followed by our grandchildren, I have a growing concern. Education in general has continued to slide away from the necessities of functional knowledge to a growing school of values indoctrination. Values are important. In my day, (many years ago) we were evaluated on our social behavior, our citizenship. It was very simple and to the point. Did I play well and get along well with others? When we didn’t there could be corporal punishment. I have listened to many a Catholic lament the “mean nuns”. But let me tell you, I was public, and I can match any “mean nun” story. I was picked up by my shirt, with my feet dangling, face to face with my teachers for as small of an infraction as stepping on the corner of the gymnasium floor with street shoes. The principle’s paddle was hung conspicuously visible in his office for all to see as they passed by every day on their way to lunch. If I dare to paraphrase scripture, “Fear of the principle was the beginning of wisdom!” Today we are seeing widespread bullying and intimidation from all directions to conform our thoughts, words, and actions to a very narrow range of politically acceptable morality, not a biblical morality but an academic, Hollywood, popular media morality. This is not new. It started in our colleges and universities. My 8th grade history teacher warned us about it nearly 60 years ago. In 1986, as I was being enrolled in Protestant seminary at Emory University, after all my paperwork was completed and I was in residence, I was presented with one last document to sign. It required that in my time at the university I would speak and write in a certain manner using gender inclusive language. If I did not, I would be expelled. Or using todays terminology, CANCELED! It did not set well with me then. It wasn’t that using inclusive language bothered me so much as the underhanded method of enforcement. None of this was put before me at any time while making considerations of the school or enrolling. Not until I was enrolled and moved. Then boom! Ambushed! “You must think and write the way we believe and say, or we will punish you.” Sound familiar? Here we are 35 years later. Traditional, biblical Christianity is considered socially unacceptable. It is already happening and will soon be widespread and common to be asked as a screening question for admittance to school, employment or continued employment, “Do you believe the teachings of the Church and/or the Bible concerning morality?” If you answer yes, consider yourself, CANCELED! Pray for our schools. Pray for our nation. Pray for our Church. Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid.