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.

In two weeks, it will begin the Holy Season of Advent and the beginning of a new Church year. What a crazy year this has been, the virus, the election, the confusion, the controversies, and the forced changing of many of our favorite pastimes and activities. Change is always difficult. But times like these do not have to always result in something bad. Changes make us look at things differently, reappraise our values and sometimes discover something new and even wonderful. For example, the Covid restrictions on social activities has caused us to realize how important our community activities are to us. Our relationships have taken on an appropriate higher value. When Mass was restricted, it became very obvious how important it was to our weekly and daily routine. One of the parish activities we will not be having is the Advent Penance Service. Instead, all of the area parishes will be offering additional opportunities for individual confessions. Here at St. Libory’s I will be offering Confession times on the Wednesday evenings of Advent after the evening Mass until 7:30 or longer if needed. Also, you should find attached to next week’s bulletin a schedule of the Confession time of the neighboring parishes if perhaps those times work better for you. One of the overlooked benefits of Confession is that it helps us grow in the virtue of humility. Recognized or unrecognized our chief and most dangerous sin is evil pride. The remedy is the virtue of humility. A good examination of conscience humbles us. Admitting our sin out loud humbles us. With all the craziness of this past year, we all agree it feels really good to know we are moving closer to the Lord. A super way to do that is to go to Confession. Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid.

Statement by Bishop Hanefeldt on Pope Francis’ comments in a documentary film. Recent unofficial comments by Pope Francis in a documentary film that was released in Italy entitled Francesco, has gained wide attention. The full context of the interview in which the Holy Father talked about same-sex civil unions is unclear. From what has been reported, we sense Pope Francis’ desire to reaffirm the dignity of all who are created in the image and likeness of God, including those who experience same-sex attraction. This would affirm the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s teaching that “persons with homosexual tendencies must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided (CCC #2358).” Pope Francis’ comments as presented in the news are not an official pronouncement, and certainly not an expression of doctrinal teaching. No one should believe that unscripted comments expressed by the Holy Father in a media interview for a film can be taken as an official and authoritative exercise of the papal teaching office. Pope Francis’ comments in the interview that has been inserted into the documentary must be evaluated alongside official magisterial teachings. Previous papal statements and official teaching must not be misinterpreted or compromised by unofficial comments presented through various media sources. Not knowing the full context of the Holy Father’s comments and his intent, let us continue to pray for him as the Vicar of Christ and pastor of the universal Church. Rev Joseph Hanefeldt, Bishop of Grand Island.