This next weekend we will observe All Saints Day at part of our regular Sunday Mass and All Souls day on Monday evening. I want to use this space to encourage you to remember the faithful departed in your prayers and particularly on All Souls day. It has become a popular misconception of our Catholic Faith to assume that all the faithful souls go straight to heaven when they die. Not true. In fact, probably most of us will need the preparation of Purgatory. Purgatory should not be conceived as punishment but rather a final cleansing. When we do a good examination of conscience, we realize we still have some “issues” with sin, a weakness that hampers our holiness. (Holiness is simply doing God’s will.) This will not magically go away when we die. Our perfection and purification requires the consent of our will. The Lord will not force it upon us. We must cooperate. The souls in Purgatory are being purified. Part of this is their prayers. But they cannot pray for their self. That is where you and I come in. The Church prays for them, (Every Mass.) the saints pray for them, and we pray for them. The souls in Purgatory desire this. It is for them like a drink of cool water on a hot day. Exorcist confirm that what many people experience as a paranormal or “ghost” experiences is but a sad soul longing for prayer. You could think of this as paying it ahead. The souls we pray for now will be praying for us now and after our death. Someday they will thank you and you will thank them! Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid.

This Sunday afternoon a new group of our youth will be Confirmed by Bishop Hanefeldt. It is unfortunate that Confirmation has come to be seen as a type of graduation at the end of an educational experience, leading those who are Confirmed to think, “I’m good, I’m done, I’m out of here!” It is very prevalent and very unfortunate. Confirmation is a sacrament like Holy Orders. It is not a “graduation” but an empowerment by the Holy Spirit to serve the Lord with supernatural grace. If that sounds overstated, it absolutely is not. We should rightly expect the supernatural experience of the Holy Spirit to be active in our lives via the sacraments. But our wrong thinking and bad attitudes get in the way. St. Paul said, “Knowledge puffs up”, makes us prideful. If you don’t believe that hang out with a group of college professors, even seminary professors. It’s the natural and unholy progression and possession of knowledge that causes us to we have arrived at some place of sufficiency and superiority. When Confirmation is seen as a “graduation”, that’s what happens. The attitude of self-pride totally blocks the working of the Holy Spirit. Many Catholics today lament their lack of knowledge and understanding of the faith. They believe that someone failed to teach them, or they fail to expose their mind to the truth. That’s not the problem. The problem is always a lack of proper humility. Jesus made it very clear that a child can understand his truth. So, let us take this occasion to humble ourselves before the Lord and pray for our youth who are to be Confirmed and let us each ask the Lord for a renewal of our own Confirmation. It is only through the lens of our personal weakness that we will see the ever present and supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. We need His help more than ever right now and our youth desperately need it. So, please pray! Yours in Christ our Lord, Fr. Sid.

I want to use this space to address my “brush” with the virus. I have tested negative of the virus and cleared to resume public activity. I am very aware that this worldwide event has been steeped in controversy and misinformation. This has been magnified by its use as a political football to advance agendas on both sides of the political spectrum. I want to make a very simple appeal. THINK OF OTHERS. The virus is real and people I know have died from it. There are others who have been deathly ill from it. And, there are those who have had very minor symptoms, hardly a bad cold, even people with other serious health issues. What is clear is there is a lot about this virus that is still unknown. We do not yet know why some individuals are more vulnerable than others but it does seem evident that closeness and the length of time to exposure increase the probability of contracting the virus and how bad it will get. The dose of exposure seems to be having a direct correlation to seriousness of the symptoms. So be careful! Number one, pay attention to your hands. The mask is the most visible protection. But the most important invisible protection is clean hands and not touching your face. As Christians our faith required duty is to put others first before our own needs and desires. Unless we are being asked to sin, we are all obligated to help and protect others, particularly the weakest. The weakest in this case is the unknown person out there who neither they nor us know to be vulnerable to the virus in a deadly way. Think of them and act accordingly. Yours in Christ, Fr. Sid.

Dear parishioners. I have been notified that I have potentially been exposed to the Covid virus. Although my exposure was very brief the Health Department recommends that I self-quarantine till next weekend. As of this writing, I have no symptoms. Daily Masses and Thursday evening is canceled. I will continue to offer Masses privately for the intentions of the parish. Please check the parish website or Facebook page for any updates. Please keep us in your prayers. Fr. Sid We pray the St. Michael prayer at every Mass. You might find this meditation helpful. Fr. Sid. Defending Us in Battle Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. We must not imagine this war as having been one of bodily arms or material weapons, nor of bloodshed, as it is among us: it was a conflict of thoughts and affections. The angel of pride, who is called the dragon, raised his army of angels and said to them: “We are happy in ourselves, and like God, we shall do our own will.” And Michael contradicted him, saying: “Who is like God? Who can make himself equal to him?” From this comes the name Michael, which means “Who is like God?” Can there be any doubt that the name of God will triumph in this war? What can the weak spirits—weak because they are proud—what can they accomplish against the humble army that the Lord has rallied behind him? They fall from the heavens and their place, once so great, is empty. What ravages have been done by their desertion! But these vast spaces will not remain vacant, for God will create man to fill up the places left empty by their treason. Flee, wretched army. Who is like God? Flee before Michael and the holy angels…. O Saint Michael, powerful protector of the holy people, whose prayers you offer to God like incense, let me endlessly join you in saying, Who is like God? O Saint Gabriel, you who were called the strength of God, who brought to Mary tidings of the coming of Christ, whose future arrival you had foretold to Daniel, inspire us with holy thoughts so that we may profit from your predictions. O Saint Raphael, whose name means “the physician of God,” heal my soul of a more dangerous blindness than that which afflicted the holy man Tobit; bind the demon of impurity that attacks the sons of Adam even within the holiness of marriage; bind him, for you are more powerful than he, and God himself is your strength. Holy Angels, all of you ministering servants who see the face of God (Heb 1:14) and whom he has commanded to guard us in all our ways (Ps 91:11), use the aids God has given you for the salvation of his elect, and raise up our weakness

I want to use this space to announce that the CCW has decided to cancel the annual soup supper which is held the 1st Sunday of November. The decision was arrived at after much consideration and discussion. The pros and cons were many. It would have been nice to have some “normal” in our lives during a year of abnormal and scary events. But the obstacles to be considered were many. Paramount in consideration was safety. The health department has given approval to such events, but they must be held at 75% capacity. This could certainly be done. But there still remains a good deal of uneasiness about the “unknowns”, would there be enough help, serving safely, what if the presence of the virus increased, etc. etc. The event has served two purposes, fund raising for the CCW and parish fellowship while working together toward a common goal. Since it is questionable that parish fellowship and community would be well served by having this event it was determined that the wise decision would be to cancel at this time and look to the future for the possibilities of another event or simply waiting till next year. To those of you who faithfully looked forward to the delicious soup, we apologize. On a better note, this Friday, Oct. 2, we will restart 1st Friday Adoration. We will begin with a shorter time. Adoration will begin after the 6:45 AM Mass and conclude with 12 Noon Benediction. This means we will need to cover 6 hours of adoration. It would be helpful if you can sign up for a designated hour but if you cannot, come when you can. Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid.

This Sunday morning, we welcome two converts to the Catholic Faith, Brock Baxter and Skyenne Mach. Brock is engaged to Jaime Helgoth and they will marry this coming November. Skyenne is engaged to Jared Kuta and they are set to be married next April. Unfortunately, their preparation was interrupted by the virus, like everything else. But they were able to complete it this summer and now we welcome them both as they receive the Sacrament of Confirmation and join us for the first time to receive our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. Please take the opportunity to welcome them. This Sunday we will also be blessing our Religious Education team and students. Our youth are very blessed to have committed and faithful teachers and helpers. The good witness of our team is essential to the faith formation of our youth. And finally, the trees, with the bid solicitation by Dave Boehle of five different tree removal contractors, and with input from the parish council, a contractor has been selected. The cost will be about $12,000. If you would like to give toward this expense, just mark your offering accordingly. Yours in Christ, Fr. Sid.

You will soon notice a very visible change in the parish grounds. I am sure you have noticed that our pine trees are dying. We have been removing dead ones with volunteer help for the past several years. I was hoping the blight that was infecting them would pass. But sadly, I report that the death of the remaining trees is accelerating, and we are going to need to remove them all. We are presently receiving bids and with input from the parish council a decision will be made. It will cost several thousand dollars. I will report here the decision and hopefully a timeline. We could still use help with CCD. Unless it has been already assigned, the first grade is looking for a teacher. If you do not like the classroom, we could use an adult to arrive 15 minutes early and monitor the church basement and parish hall as youth arrive. Teachers are getting set up for class and an extra set of eyes would be good because kids will be kids. With the virus we need to be extra careful. It is also helpful to have an extra adult in the class to assist the teacher and perhaps substitute once and awhile. Please pray about this. If the Lord is speaking to your heart about getting involved, it will be your loss if you do not follow through. If you are interested or have questions, please contact me or Donna Placke our DRE. She may be reached at 308-380-5275 or donna.placke@gmail.com Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid Bruggeman

Some of you might enjoy the daily devotional offered on The Catholic Company. They are the supplier of religious goods and offer a daily email providing excellent devotions. Below is a sample. Fr Sid "He who is humble, even though he fall through frailty, soon repents with sorrow and implores the divine assistance to help him to amend; nor is he astonished at having fallen, because he knows that of himself he is only capable of evil and would do far worse if God did not protect him with His grace. After having sinned, it is good to humble oneself before God, and without losing courage, to remain in humility in order not to fall again . . . But to afflict ourselves without measure and to give way to a certain pusillanimous melancholy, which brings us to the verge of despair, is a temptation of pride, insinuated by the devil . . . However upright we may be, we must never be scandalized nor amazed at the conduct of evildoers, nor consider ourselves better than they, because we do not know what is ordained for them or for us in the supreme dispositions of God." — Rev. Cajetan da Bergamo, p. 56-57, The Humility of Hear

Here are some words from one of our window patron saints, Augustine. His memorial was this past Friday. Yours in Christ our Lord, Fr Sid The Gift of Oil What’s the meaning of “They didn’t take oil with them in their flasks”? What’s “in their flasks”? In their hearts. Which is why the apostle says, Our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience (2 Cor 1:12). That’s where the oil is, wonderful oil; it’s entirely the gift of God, this oil…. Carry it with you. What do I mean, carry it with you? Keep it inside you…. It’s not so very surprising, though, that while they go to buy, while they are looking for people to be admired by and can’t find any, while they are looking for people to be comforted by and can’t find any, that the door was opened, the bridegroom came and the bride, the Church, being glorified with Christ, as every single one of her members comes together to form the whole. And they went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut…. It’s said, and it’s true, and it isn’t said to deceive you, Knock, and it shall be opened to you (Mt 7:7); but do it now while it’s the time for mercy, not when it’s the time for judgment. These two times, you see, cannot and must not be mixed up, since the Church sings of both mercy and judgment to her Lord. Now is the time for mercy; repent…. The hour, you see, is coming, and coming we don’t know when. It’s coming in the middle of the night; keep awake. That’s how the Gospel concludes: Keep awake, because you do not know the day nor the hour. Keep awake in your heart, awake in faith, awake in hope, awake in charity, awake in good works; and when you fall asleep in the body, the time will come for you to rise…. Then may that bridegroom be embraced by spiritual arms, may he lead you then into his home where you need never sleep, where your lamp can never go out.

Two subjects I would like to address. First is the wearing of mask. As you have noticed we have not been real “rigid” with some of the virus safety guidelines. Many parishes have their seating roped off, require mask and everyone is ushered to a seat. I make no criticism of these practices. Everyone is trying to cope as best they can. I take a perspective that lean a little more toward personal responsibility. I am very aware that the mask is very controversial and unfortunately it has been politicalized. I have attempted to be influence by the science, not the politics or popular opinions. It seems to me that masks do have a place in prevention, but they are not a universal fix. The problem with the virus is that a person can have it and not be aware of it yet. In this condition we can spread it. The mask subdues the mist that naturally comes from all our mouths when we speak. Social distancing does help address this but if we are going to be closer, we should consider the mask. I am not going to be the “virus police”. I simply ask you as you make your consideration of how you will address the virus, do think of others who may be vulnerable. The other topic is, “The Chosen.” We will be showing the first episode this coming Thursday, Aug. 27, 6:30 pm in the hall. I need to remind you that we cannot at this time provide food, but you are welcome to bring your own soft drink or water. We will have a brief discussion afterward and you should be on your way home by 8 pm. We will provide seating with social distancing as best we can. Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid

We are going to start with a parish activity in addition to Mass. On Thursday Aug. 27, 6:30 PM, in the parish hall, we will view episode one of the series called, “The Chosen”. We will only schedule this first one and see how things transpire. Here are the guidelines for this first meeting: 1. We will maintain social distancing as best we can. Seating will be prearranged for this purpose. 2. No food. 3. Soft drinks allowed but you must bring your own. The Chosen is an reenactment of the Gospels. The video is about 55 minutes long. We will follow with a short discussion after the presentation. You should be on your way home by 8 pm. If we have reasonable attendance and folks so desire, we will continue with more of the Chosen series. We will also set the schedule after the first presentation. So please consider being part of this if you can. Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid.

I am hoping that very soon we can expand to more parish activities. We will soon begin our Religious Ed. Classes. Donna Placke, our DRE, is working on this and parents should soon be notified of a date and how it will proceed. I am also planning to restart our Thursday evening faith program. I am looking at providing a video series called, Chosen. It is a set of presentations reenacting the Gospels. Either way, material is not a problem for the presentations. What we will need to change is the providing of food. The group will be limited to soft drinks that each participant brings for their self, if they so desire to have one. All of this is subject to modifications as we go. The startup of schools will be an important test concerning the virus. As you are aware, there is a tremendous amount of information and unfortunately, a lot of it is conflicting, leaving all of us questioning what to believe. I simply say, be careful. Use good hand hygiene and common sense. We are all in this together and the Lord will guide us through. With faith in Him, these events will all work to our good. So, keep the Faith. Love the Lord and love your neighbor! Yours in Christ our Lord, Fr. Sid.

Here are some words by Carly Houselander to encourage us about the Holy Mass. “It is estimated that in every second of the day and night four elevations of the Host take place. I never cease to wonder at this, or to rejoice in the knowledge that there is never a second of one’s life in which one cannot lift up one’s heart to God in the heart of Christ lifted up in the Host. I think, too, of all the places in the world where the Mass is being celebrated; of how Christ, who began his earthly life in a stable and ended it on a scaffold, has penetrated into every place and circumstance of human life, and has gathered every fragment of man’s love to be offered in sacrifice. Think of all the places where Mass is being celebrated at this present moment, the very moment in which you are reading this page; all the cathedrals and all the churches of the world, all the tin huts and mud huts and make-shifts that are the best man can do in many mission fields…. In ships out on the deep seas, on battlefields and camps, in prisons and hospital wards, in the desert and the jungle, in the great cities of the world, in the cottages of faithful peasants in persecuted countries, and under the tall trees of lonely forests of exile. Think too how everywhere where Christ is lifted up men are bowed down in adoration, soldiers, sailors, airmen, fishermen, men of every country, of every color, rich men and poor men, free men and prisoners, old men and young men, men of every craft and trade and profession, all adoring God, all in communion with one another, all in communion with the Holy Father, all in communion with you and me. And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men to me.”

July is just about gone. It really is a strange experience of summer. Everything is different. We are about two months behind on everything and somethings may never return, like shaking hands for example. But that said I want to extend a congratulations to the graduates of our parish families. They surely must feel shorted on this very important milestone in their lives. But it will be remembered. Many years from now their grandchildren will look at pictures and ask why those people had mask on. I also want to encourage you to keep up your prayer devotion. If you struggle with feeling down and frightened or depressed, my number one advice is, keep praying. It is very important to try to start your day with prayer. When we wait till later, we often experience events that drive us down emotionally and drain our optimism. When we feel this way, it is very difficult to turn to our devotions and if we do we are easily distracted. So, keep praying, pray early, pray often, pray late, pray always. Yours in Christ, Fr. Sid.

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