From the Pastor's Desk

Priest Appreciation Week is May 1 – 6, 2023.

In 2021, Archbishop Coakley instituted the first Priest Appreciation Week in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. During this week, which will start on Good Shepherd Sunday each year, parishioners and families are encouraged to do something to thank their priests from writing a thank you note to spending time in adoration.

Blessings upon you

always and thank you

Fr Phil for all you do for each

and every one of us!!

Here is what the Church asks of us regarding fasting and abstinence during Lent:

Ash Wednesday is on March 2, 2022
Everyone 14 years of age or older is bound to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, all the Fridays of Lent and Good Friday.
Everyone 18 or older, and under 59 years of age, is called to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, only one full meatless meal is allowed. Two other meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken according to each one’s needs, but together they should not equal another full meal.
Eating between meals is not permitted.
When health or ability to work could be affected, the law is not imposed.
Nursing mothers and the sick are not required to fast or abstain.
Catholics should not lightly excuse themselves from these prescribed minimal penitential practices.
Fasting and abstaining from meat without prayer is useless. Prayer consecrates our fasting to the Lord.

A good, short prayer which is found in Sacred Scripture and can be prayed throughout the days is:

“Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

Blessed Lent!

Dear Holy Family,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

I'd like to encourage you to take time after Holy Communion to pray in thanksgiving for the Holy Gifts we have received. Traditionally, Catholics use this time while others are partaking of the Holy Eucharist to thank the Lord for the good He has done for us, to ask for needed help and to pray for others. We are sacramentally closest to the Lord after we have worthily received Holy Communion by uniting our bodies to His Body and after we have shared in the Chalice of His Blood when His Blood flows in our veins.

Prayer for the Annihilation of the Covid-19 Virus

O God Almighty, Lord of heaven and earth,
and of all creation visible and invisible,
in your indescribable goodness,
look down upon us,
your people saved by the Holy Name of your Christ.
Be our helper and defender in this time of affliction.

NOVENA TO BLESSED STANLEY ROTHER

(Priest of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City-Missionary, Guatemala-Martyr)

Please join in praying the following intercessory prayers to Blessed Stanley Rother for a Blessed and Fruitful Parish Lenten Retreat. Begin the novena on March 18^th and join us for the retreat on March 26th.

O faithful shepherd, Blessed Stanley Rother, as priest and missionary, you tilled the soil with your hands and invited Christ Jesus to till the soil of your soul. You became a sign of love of Christ the Good Shepherd for your people, and blessed their lives by your ministry. You stood firm and did not run from danger, bringing glory to God and His Church in your martyrdom. Blessed Stanley, obtain from the heart of Jesus

[Make your request(s) here…]

And pray for me, that I too may be a sign of Christ’s love among His people. Teach me to faithfully till the soil of this life in the reality given to me by your Father, unafraid to stay with those God has given me, no matter the cost.

Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Say one Our Father

Say one Hail Mary

Say one Glory Be

Blessed Stanley Rother, Pray for us.
Blessed Stanley Rother, intercede for us.
Blessed Stanley Rother, Pray for us.

Prayer to the Mother of God for Our Country

O Mother of Christ, gift of your Son to the human race,
be a mother to us all,
you are the strong intercessor for our city, country and all the world.
Present our prayers before the throne of the King of Glory,
your Son, our God, for there is a sickness in our land that only He can destroy.

What Does the Catholic Church Believe About Life After Death?

“Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.” (Rev. 14:13)

When we die, or more correctly, “fall asleep in the Lord” (1Thes. 4:14), we reverently bury the body of the one who has passed from this life to the next. While the body is buried, as was the body of the Lord Jesus, the soul goes on to judgement. This judgement is before the Lord and he judges us on our faithfulness to the Gospel and the work that follows from that faithfulness. Actually, we judge ourselves by how we lived our lives, how well we tried to conform our lives to the life of Jesus.

To make it possible for everyone to attend Church next Sunday, we are going to have a special “No Excuse Sunday”:

Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, “Sunday is my only day to sleep in.”
There will be a special section with lounge chairs for those who feel that our pews are too hard.
Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching T.V. late Saturday night.
We will have steel helmets for those who say, “The roof would cave in if I ever came to Church.”
Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold and fans for those who say it is too hot.
Score cards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present.
Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can’t go to Church and cook dinner too.
We will distribute “Stamp Out Stewardship” buttons for those who feel that the Church is always asking for money.
One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek God in nature.
Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday.
The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who never have seen the Church without them.
We will provide hearing aids for those who can’t hear the preacher and cotton for those who say he is to loud.

Beloved in the Lord,

It has been a great blessing for the deacons and me to celebrate Masses with you in “real time” and real place. The Eucharistic famine is over and many of us have returned to the normal celebration of Mass.

Beginning next week the Masses will not be posted on the parish website or YouTube. Sunday and daily Masses can be watched on:

- Fidelity Cablevision - Eternal Word Television Channel 080
- Vyve Broadband Cache-Pecan Valley-Indiahoma - Eternal Word Television

Channel 072

This is specifically for those who are regularly homebound and for those who because of age or health concerns are not currently able to attend Mass in person.

A Guide to Receiving Communion

Most of us have been deprived of Holy Communion during this epidemic. I’d like to take this time to remind everyone about receiving Holy Communion, both the spiritual aspects and the practical ones.

O Lord, I do not know what to ask of You
or even what to pray for.
You alone know what my true needs are.
I am filled with anxiety and worry.

Congratulations to Jim Cerrone who was ordained to the Diaconate on November 5, 2021. Jim and his wife, Betty, have gone through a long process of preparation and education to be ready for this important event. Please congratulate them when you see them!

See photos of the events here:

Photo Gallery

The Blessing of the Food for Easter dinner is a festive occasion. The blessing prayers specifically address the various contents of the baskets, with special prayers for the meats, eggs, cakes and breads.

In Polish this custom is called, “Święconka” (Blessing of the Easter baskets) or in Ukrainian “Velykden” (The blessing of food on the Great Day).

While the Slavic peoples keep this custom, anyone of any ethnic background can bring whatever food they are serving for blessing on Easter Sunday to celebrate the Resurrection.

Many times these are foods that have been avoided (fasted from) during Great Lent. To eat them on Easter Sunday is a sign of rejoicing.

Traditionally, the foods include:

eggs - symbolize new life and Christ's bursting forth from the tomb. In many places the eggs are dyed red to remind us of the blood the Lord offered for us and again, red is the color of life.
bread - symbolic of Jesus, the bread of Life
lamb - represents Christ, the Lamb once sacrificed Who now lives forever
salt - represents purification through baptism
horseradish - symbolic of the bitter sacrifice of Christ
ham - symbolic of abundance, and a meat to break the fast of Lent
wine - a sign of the blood of the Lord and to “gladden the heart”
a candle to be lit at dinner to remind us of Christ, the light that is never overcome by darkness

If you would like to have the food for your Easter meal blessed, please place it in the parish hall on the table provided before the 1030am Easter Sunday Mass. We will bless the baskets afterward.

May we be companions with the Lord in His suffering, death and resurrection as we walk the week of salvation.

Jesus Christ is victorious!

Fr. Phil's Great Catholic Book Picks

A Pilgrimage to Eternity: From Canterbury to Rome in Search of a Faith

(Spiritual life)

Married Martyrs

Often the lives of the martyred saints tell stories that are difficult to read because they are filled with cruelty, but this is what they endured for Christ who strengthened them. Below are the lives of the Sts. Timothy and Maura, (martyred in the year 286) newlyweds who chose to die for the Lord and encouraged each other in their suffering. To us this might be strange, but to Sts. Timothy and Maura they loved Christ and each other so much that they would die together for him.