Deacon Ken Billinger
Growing up in a small town of 1200 truly was a special experience. Not only did I know everyone in town, when I was in my early years of school, everyone who happened to live in Victoria, Kansas was a Catholic! At the center of it all was our beautiful historical church called the Cathedral of the Plains, now also known as the Basilica of St. Fidelis. The amazing 144-foot twin spires can be seen for miles to travelers along Interstate 70. For those who have yet to visit this National Historical Site, I can guarantee you, it will be worth the stop.
Christmas time was always very special for me growing up. Being from a family of six kids, all left-handers – by the way, we had large family gatherings in a rather small 4-bedroom ranch style home with only one small bathroom. There was always that eager anticipation for Christmas Eve, when we would all gather and open presents. It was always fun to watch my parents open their gifts, especially my mom. She would tear a piece of paper off, converse with everyone, tear off another piece and begin visiting again. We would say, “Mom, you need to get finished if we want to make it to midnight Mass in four hours!” Eventually, we would head to St. Fidelis for Midnight Mass, with Christmas hymns sung by an amazing community choir. In time, Patty and I were blessed to be a part of this unique choir. Midnight Mass was also a time we would see old friends and classmates who were back in town to celebrate Christmas with their respective families. As a kid, Christmas Day was usually spent with aunts and uncles, which allowed us time to play and hang out with our cousins.
More recently, those family gatherings for Christmas do not happen as much for us. My mother and father are both now deceased, my sibling’s families have started their own traditions, and church and liturgy commitments most often keep us from traveling back to see family. However, one of our more recent traditions has become very important to me. A few years ago, we decided as a family, that instead of buying gifts for each other, we would take the money we would have spent on individual presents and put it into a collection for the missions. My cousin, Fr. Peter Meis, is a Capuchin priest in the Southern Highlands Papua, New Guinea. Monies sent to the missionaries tend to go a long way to help assist with schools and other needs of the Church. Fr. Peter’s sister Marise is a Saint Agnes sister, serving in the mission field in Rosita, Nicaragua.
Today, being a new deacon in the Archdiocese and being assigned to Ascension has been a real gift and a great blessing to me. We have a wonderful and vibrant parish with wonderful liturgies and events throughout the year, and we are so blessed to have a brand new adoration chapel and wonderful priests to shepherd us. These blessings allow us all to grow closer to Christ and experience the deep richness of our Catholic faith. It is my prayer for our parishioners that you will be blessed with an amazing and peaceful Advent and Christmas season. God bless us all, everyone!