Mass Readings
The Deacon's Corner-A Reflection from Deacon Loris: Lent a Journey of Hope
Saint Thomas Aquinas, definition of “Hope” is one that is easy to grasp, “…a good
future, difficult but possible to attain…by means of Divine Assistance…on Whose
help it leans.” And we read in Hebrews 10:23 that we are to “…hold unwaveringly to our confession that give us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.” Yes, “Hope” in scripture means a strong and confident expectation. “Hope” by its very nature stresses two things, namely: (a) Futurity, and (b) invisibility. It deals with things we can’t see or haven’t received…or both. Romans 8:24-25 eludes to this:
future, difficult but possible to attain…by means of Divine Assistance…on Whose
help it leans.” And we read in Hebrews 10:23 that we are to “…hold unwaveringly to our confession that give us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.” Yes, “Hope” in scripture means a strong and confident expectation. “Hope” by its very nature stresses two things, namely: (a) Futurity, and (b) invisibility. It deals with things we can’t see or haven’t received…or both. Romans 8:24-25 eludes to this:
“For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what is seen? But if we hope for we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”
Take away “Hope, and we find ourselves in a void worse than Dante’s inferno.“Hope” is a vital bond between the future and the present, a state of expectation that brings sense into that we are doing…especially when it come to our faith in Christ. We carry both that faith and our future in our hearts. Saint Pope John Paul II once said: “The future starts today, not tomorrow.”
Lent is our today leading to a future fulfilling our hopes and dreams. Just like hope is a bright future that carries a student through the drudgery of courses and exams; hope in a blissful life brings a couple to the altar; and hope in emerging beauty enables the artist to face an empty canvas. Our hope must shift from human hope to divine hope where there is no gap between the future and the present, because the kingdom of God is at hand and “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba! Father!’” Our very being …our hope, is rooted in the possession of what is to be revealed, not in the expectation of a substantial gift to come. We have been raised to know Christ…we have all that we can hope for…all we need is the patience to wait for its revelation. This is the promise that leads us through Lent to the Glories of Easter…and Eternity.
God bless…Deacon Loris
God bless…Deacon Loris
Why are the Gloria and Alleluia Omitted During Lent
The Lenten season is marked by two very distinct liturgical omissions. Neither the hymn known as the Gloria (Glory to God in the Highest) nor the Alleluia verse sung before the Gospel is permitted during the entire 40 days of Lent (with a few small exceptions).
Why is that?
First of all, the Gloria is a hymn that celebrates the coming of the Lord using words from the angels at Christ’s birth. The Church during Lent returns in spirit to a time when the people of God were in exile, waiting for the Messiah to come and save them. It is a similar season of expectation as is Advent, but instead of awaiting Christ’s birth from the womb of Mary, the Christian people await Christ’s second “birth” from the womb of the sepulcher.
Secondly, following this same spirit of exile, the Church joins Moses and the Israelites as they wander in the desert for 40 years. It is a time of agony and purification, one where the faithful join together in saying, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:4) The word “Alleluia” is rooted in a Hebrew expression that means “praise the Lord” and is thus omitted during Lent.
As a result, our focus in Lent is not in rejoicing, but in mourning our sins, looking at those things that prevent us from an authentic relationship with God. Once these are removed through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we are able to rejoice again at Easter, for it is not only Christ’s resurrection that we celebrate, but our own rebirth in the spirit.
Similar to a woman experiencing labor pangs before birth, so the Christian people “groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23).
In Memoriam
Richard (Dick) Joseph Libby slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God on Wednesday, February 2, 2021. Dick was born September 12, 1931, to Dorothy Hachey, in Waterville, Maine.
In 1954, Dick was married to Lois Rendell and they had four children, Glory, Gary, Mark, and Julie. In 1982, Dick married Kathryn (Kay), his “fweetheart” of 38 years! Marrying Kay added her son Jeff to Dick’s family. Together they lived in Melbourne Village, Florida.
Dick was a proud Veteran of the Korean Conflict. After his stint in the United States Army, Dick worked for RCA and eventually GE as a Chief Radar Technician tracking space launches from Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. He never saw a live space shuttle launch or any space launch for that matter until after he retired in 1990. After retirement, Kay and Dick relocated to Blairsville, Georgia, where he mastered his skills as a woodworker and carpenter, spending much of his time in the shop behind a wood lathe creating ornaments, trinkets, furniture, and bowls from every type of wood imaginable. Dick never met a log he did not like. Aside from woodworking, he tried his hand in a large variety of hobbies including roller skating, painting, piano playing, banjo playing, instrument making (he made a dulcimer), stained glass work, and so much more.
Dick lived a very full and active life. He volunteered with the Knights of Columbus in his church and liked to visit the Home Depot with donuts for the associates as he eyed some new tools. He spent the past few years at Palm Garden of Gainesville, FL. If you went to visit him, you could just listen for his trademark “honk, honk, beep, beep” as he came down the halls. Dick was loved by all who knew him. The family would like to thank the nurses and staff at Palm Garden and Haven Hospice for their loving care of Dick.
Dick was preceded in death by his mother and son, Gary. Dick is survived by his wife Kay and his children, Glory Fertally (Scott), Mark Libby (Anne), Julie Todd and Jeff Malloy (Samantha); grandchildren, Aaron and Kim Goedl, Chris and Mark Fertally, Michael Libby, Brittany, and Kiley Bechtel, and Emily Malloy; great-grandchildren Shyanne, Simone and Olivia Goedl, Charli and Jakobi Libby.
Dick will be missed by those who knew and loved him and particularly by his grandchildren who affectionately referred to him as G-pa.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Queen of Peace Catholic Community in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, February 27, 2021, at 10 A.M. with Fr. Marialal Joseph as celebrant. Graveside services will be held at Maple Grove Cemetery in Vermilion, Ohio, at a later date. For anyone desiring to remember Dick, please feel free to do so in whatever way you are comfortable. If making a contribution, please consider making one in Dick’s honor to the Knights of Columbus Council 11746 at St. Francis of Assisi, 3717 HWY 515E – Blairsville, GA 30512.
In 1954, Dick was married to Lois Rendell and they had four children, Glory, Gary, Mark, and Julie. In 1982, Dick married Kathryn (Kay), his “fweetheart” of 38 years! Marrying Kay added her son Jeff to Dick’s family. Together they lived in Melbourne Village, Florida.
Dick was a proud Veteran of the Korean Conflict. After his stint in the United States Army, Dick worked for RCA and eventually GE as a Chief Radar Technician tracking space launches from Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. He never saw a live space shuttle launch or any space launch for that matter until after he retired in 1990. After retirement, Kay and Dick relocated to Blairsville, Georgia, where he mastered his skills as a woodworker and carpenter, spending much of his time in the shop behind a wood lathe creating ornaments, trinkets, furniture, and bowls from every type of wood imaginable. Dick never met a log he did not like. Aside from woodworking, he tried his hand in a large variety of hobbies including roller skating, painting, piano playing, banjo playing, instrument making (he made a dulcimer), stained glass work, and so much more.
Dick lived a very full and active life. He volunteered with the Knights of Columbus in his church and liked to visit the Home Depot with donuts for the associates as he eyed some new tools. He spent the past few years at Palm Garden of Gainesville, FL. If you went to visit him, you could just listen for his trademark “honk, honk, beep, beep” as he came down the halls. Dick was loved by all who knew him. The family would like to thank the nurses and staff at Palm Garden and Haven Hospice for their loving care of Dick.
Dick was preceded in death by his mother and son, Gary. Dick is survived by his wife Kay and his children, Glory Fertally (Scott), Mark Libby (Anne), Julie Todd and Jeff Malloy (Samantha); grandchildren, Aaron and Kim Goedl, Chris and Mark Fertally, Michael Libby, Brittany, and Kiley Bechtel, and Emily Malloy; great-grandchildren Shyanne, Simone and Olivia Goedl, Charli and Jakobi Libby.
Dick will be missed by those who knew and loved him and particularly by his grandchildren who affectionately referred to him as G-pa.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Queen of Peace Catholic Community in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, February 27, 2021, at 10 A.M. with Fr. Marialal Joseph as celebrant. Graveside services will be held at Maple Grove Cemetery in Vermilion, Ohio, at a later date. For anyone desiring to remember Dick, please feel free to do so in whatever way you are comfortable. If making a contribution, please consider making one in Dick’s honor to the Knights of Columbus Council 11746 at St. Francis of Assisi, 3717 HWY 515E – Blairsville, GA 30512.
