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.