LITCHFIELD — Several hundred people from the Litchfield deanery were at Holy Family Church in Litchfield on Nov. 23, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, for the annual "Thanks for the Harvest Mass." Bishop Thomas John Paprocki was the main celebrant with Father James Neuman, dean of the Litchfield deanery and pastor of Holy Family and of St. Agnes in Hillsboro, concelebrating the Mass. Deacon Sean Caveny proclaimed the Gospel and assisted at the altar. Father Brian Alford was master of ceremonies.

"Our diocese is mostly rural and the 'Thanks for the Harvest Mass' is an opportunity to raise awareness of the gifts that our farmers share through their many hours of labor in the fields," said Sister Jane Boos, SSND, director of the Office for Social Concerns and Respect for Life. "The family farm promotes the principles of our Catholic faith and fosters respect for the environment as well."

During the offertory at Mass, some members of the deanery brought up baskets of food that were later donated to the Litchfield Food Pantry. Barbara Kirbach, secretary at Holy Family Church who assisted Father Neuman in organizing the celebration, said couples and families from throughout the Litchfield deanery "provided fresh produce in thanks for the many blessings they have received."

In his homily, Bishop Paprocki said he remembered how, when he first came to the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, he had to get used to a landscape so different from where he had served in Chicago. "In central Illinois, it is quite different. Much of the landscape is dominated by field after field. While some may consider such a sight boring or monotonous, I find it to be rather fascinating, especially as one witnesses the progression of events throughout the season that begins with the tilling of the fields in the spring, continues with the growth of crops throughout the summer months, and finally, reaches completion in the fall with the harvest."

Bishop Paprocki said he has met many people involved in the work of farming. "The life of a farmer is certainly a challenging one," he said. "It is one that requires a great deal of faith, considering that many of the factors that contribute to a successful season are out of their control. An outlook rooted in faith is necessary to weather the ups and downs that characterize the life of a farmer."

Farming can parallel what every one of us experience in our daily lives, he said. "There are some years that we can look back on and be pleased with how everything turned out for us. There are other years when things did not go so well," he said.

"As with farming, those hard times are often the result of something over which we had no control. In either case, it is our faith that helps us to see the situation with greater clarity," he said. "We attribute those good times of our life to God's goodness toward us, and we give him thanks. The hard times are an invitation to renew our trust in God, confident that he will not abandon us but will give us the strength that we need to take the next step."

Bishop Paprocki said the gathering at Litchfield was an opportunity to "give thanks to the Lord of the Harvest for his abundant blessings in this year's harvest" as well as an opportunity "to thank him for all the blessings in our lives and to renew our commitment to serve him more faithfully by the way we live our lives, particularly in how we serve the least among us."

Following the liturgy, Bishop Paprocki greeted the people who had attended the Mass and then all enjoyed a breakfast provided by the St. Anne's Council of Catholic Women from Holy Family Parish.