Miss Oklahoma Emoly West Visits Saint Mary

Miss Oklahoma, Emoly West, visited students at the School of Saint Mary on Tuesday. Her platform is leadership and character development, and she talked with the kids about what it means to make goals for your life and stick to them. It was a very interactive presentation, and students got to partake in activities that illustrated her topic.

New Parish Annex Secretary: Kelley Emigh

Meet Kelley Emigh, our new Parish Annex Receptionist/Clerical Assistant. Kelley is a member of Saint Mary and has been very involved in a number of areas in our community. She is very excited to be part of our staff, and we are excited to have her!

We scheduled an article in an upcoming newsletter to introduce you to her even more.

Lent 2011: On Lenten Practice by Sister Christine

Our Lent Blog series will feature reflections about Lent. If you see or already have an article, quote, etc. about Lent that you'd like to share, email me, Ashley Daly.

The following piece is from a local blog that I love to read, A Benedictine Presence. The sisters at Saint Joseph's Monastery (Monte Cassino) fill this blog with thoughts about life and God. Posts are generally short and very insightful. I'm proud Tulsa has people adding beauty and wisdom to the world wide web.

On Lenten Practice
By Sr. Christine, OSB, at Saint Joseph's Monastery in Tulsa
A Benedictine Presence Blog


In the Rule (Chapter 49), Benedict tells us that “the life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent.” When I first heard that, my immediate response was, “Yuck!” Forty days a year is Lent enough for me, thank you very much.
Of course, he goes on to say that few have the strength for this and then outlines his preference for the observance of the days of Lent.



Benedict is calling his followers to a purity of life, a manner of living which gives space for God to grow within us. While the ideal is to keep that space open for God all the time, we have the opportunity during Lent to clear out some of our personal clutter. Benedict asks us to both add something and do without something in out Lenten observance. This helps keep things balanced. Do without some food or drink or entertainment while also adding some extra service, like a particular prayer practice or a form of charitable work, can make for an enriching Lenten season. Focusing on the added service can help prevent focusing on what I’m giving up.


May your days of Lent be blessed and bring you closer to the heart of our God.


Sr. Christine, OSB

See the full blog series of Lent reflections here.

Help for an Expectant Mommy

Hilary Elias, our Justice and Peace Director, had an expectant mother come to her yesterday needing a helping hand. She just moved to Oklahoma with her family, and she is in need of general baby/infant items, but she especially needs an infant car seat and a bassinet or crib. Because of job shifts, moving and insurance difficulties, she has been unable to go to the doctor at all during her pregnancy.

She is due March 27th, so let's rally as a parish and try to give this woman a welcome worthy of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and even more so a welcome worthy of representing Jesus and our faith.

Bring items to Hilary Elias at the Annex Office (If you don't know, that is on the west side of the parish in a house-shaped building. You can call Hilary at 918-749-2561 or email her here.

Theology Uncorked is Tonight

Church of Saint Mary
Beckerle Hall
Mingling at 6:45pm
Program at 7:00pm

Culinary Luncheon Rescheduled!

The Culinary Angel Valentine Luncheon is rescheduled for
Thursday, March 3 at 11:30 in Beckerle.



Matthew in a Day Seminar! Registration Available Now

Lenten Opportunity:

Saturday, April 9th

Read about it and Register Here.

Lent 2011: Why Give Things Up?

Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, March 9th. I'd like to do a series of blog posts with Lenten themes. If you see or already have an article, quote, etc. about Lent that you'd like to share, email me, Ashley Daly.

To start us off, here is a meditation on Lent from Father Jewitt, most recently a Tulsa pastor at Saint Bernards; he passed away in 2008. My best friend's brother has this quoted on his facebook page, of all places. Father Jewitt made quite an impression on many of my good friends, including my husband who still has Father Jewitt's Mass card clipped to the driver side sun visor in his car.

"Each and every day of our life we are faced with a similar choice. Do we give in to temptation or resist it? Do we seek our own will or God's? The battle is fought on many levels. Sometimes it is in little things - to make that cutting remark or not, to tell that little lie or not. Sometimes it involves far higher stakes - to be unfaithful to my spouse or not, to have that abortion or not. No matter how serious, the choice is still the same: Adam or Christ - disobedience or obedience.
This is why we should make self-denial a regular part of our Lenten practice. It isn't because the things we choose to give up are bad in and of themselves, it’s because if we can never say "no” to some of the innocent pleasures of life we will probably never learn to say "no" to anything. Self-discipline is ...not a quality that comes to us easily and naturally. It is an art that can be learned only by regular practice. That is why we are urged by the Church to "practice" self-denial and self-discipline during Lent. If we are foolish enough to think it is not important we will more than likely suffer Adam's fate. We will find ourselves naked and exposed to the cold winds of evil and selfishness that chill the spirit and sap our strength for doing good."


- Father Bernard Jewitt

5/12/36-2/6/08

OKC Archdiocese Gets New Archbishop

Image from The OKLAHOMAN.

Our Archdiocese of Oklahoma City received a new Archbishop this past week, the Most Reverend Paul S. Coakley. The Archdiocese of OKC includes 46 counties in western Oklahoma and includes the Archdiocese of OKC, the Diocese of Tulsa and the Diocese of Little Rock.

• Read the Tulsa World Article to find basic facts about the ceremony...be sure to click "see full article."
• Read Blogger Rocco Palmo's (Author of the blog Whispers in the Loggia) article from the December announcement of the archbishop's appointment. This man is interesting. I have not heard of him, but it looks like he has been writing Catholic news stories for a long time.
• Read NewsOk's story about Coakley's path to priesthood. Part of it was inspired by a tragedy during his college years.
• See NewsOk's photo coverage of the ceremony here.
• Read the Kansas Eagle's article about the bishops from Witchita. It has some great information about how Bishops are selected.

Father Kastl Thanks the Saint Mary Young Adults

 

Dear Saint Mary Young Adults,

The Valentines you made at your luncheon this past Sunday were truly vessels of love. I went to Ambassador Manor and Southern Hills Nursing Home Sunday afternoon to say Mass, anoint the sick and administer the Eucharist, and it was an extra special visit for me to be able to pass out Valentines to the residents. So many of them said it would be the only Valentine they received, and everyone was delighted with them.

Thank you for your handiwork and willingness to turn your gatherings into ways to brighten up the lives of others. You are such a fun group to spend time with and get to know.

Father Kastl

Happy Valentine's Day Dear Parishioners!

This Monday is Valentine's Day, and we want to share a little about the man this day is named after, Saint Valentine. Enjoy this charming cartoon, and please know that you are loved by your parish, Church of Saint Mary.



Comic from Catholic Online.







View Installation of the Archbishop of Oklahoma City Tomorrow

The Most Reverend Paul S. Coakley will be installed as the new Archbishop of Oklahoma City tomorrow. EWTN will do a live broadcast of the Installation Mass February 11, at 2 p.m. and will do a repeat broadcast at 11 p.m. Central Time on the same day.  In addition, they will make it available on their website (EWTN.com) at both of the above times as live-streaming video.


Read the Most Reverend Paul S. Coakley's:
Biography
Press Conference Statement

Saint Mary Youth Important Updates!

DANCE: Hey Guys and Girls - The Dance is still on as of right now. If St. Mary's School is cancelled on Friday, then the dance will also be cancelled! Since last week was crazy, the due date to get on the list for the dance is extended for St. Mary's youth until Wednesday Night. Signing up past tomorrow night is only allowed if your own parent chaperones.

LOCK IN: Because the weather IS a little iffy for this weekend, last week put us behind in our planning, and because our desire is for the Lock-in to be the most amazingly cool experience it could be, the Lock-in Team has decided to postpone until the end of March or the beginning of April. To make up for postponing the event, we will make it even bigger and better than it was going to be! The date will be set soon, so keep your eyes open for this exciting event!

SNOWED-IN TRIVIA: If school is cancelled tomorrow, then that means we won't have ROCKsolid...a very good chance of that, according to the weather reports. So, instead, we're going to have an online Trivia Contest for the Parish, hosted on the St. Mary's Youth Blog: http://saintmarysyouth.blogspot.com/ between 6 and 8pm tomorrow night. It's a chance to cure your cabin fever boredom by participating in a real-time trivia contest with a chance of winning prizes! Check in at 6pm to participate; winners will be announced online at 8pm. Even if you don't feel like you're a smartypants, you should participate because there will be additional prizes given to randomly selected participants! Fun!

Culinary Luncheon for This Thursday Postponed

Due to weather, the Culinary Luncheon for Thursday has been postponed. Please check the bulletin and website for the new date.

Young Adults Bruncheon Next Weekend

Young Adults! Join us for a bruncheon after the 10:30 am Mass on Sunday, February 13th.
More details to come (like exactly what yummy items will be served and which room we'll be in).

Leadership Groups Talk about Chartering

Remember that perfectly warm weather we had about a week ago? Some fellow parishioners gave up half of their gorgeous Saturday to work on some important parish work. The Parish Finance Council, Parish Facilities Team, the School Board, the Parish Stewardship Council, Father Kastl, and Monsignor Dorney got together to write charters for each group. 

Father Kastl has been attending classes from the Catholic Leadership Institute for a program called Good Shepherds, Good Leaders since June 2009. (Side note: He graduated this past week. Congratulations, Father!)  He invited one of his teachers from this program to facilitate this Friday night/Saturday morning meeting.

The purpose of creating a charter for these parish leadership groups is to help establish or reassess their goals and purposes. It's something many businesses and individuals do every day to maintain a successful and productive focus on their work. A key part of the exact process these groups underwent is an emphasis on the spiritual aspect of each team; this brought up a lot of great conversations.

The chartering process is just a part of the work Monsignor and Father are doing to ensure a smooth transition through several new parish employees and a new head pastor in the coming months.

Thank you to all who attended!

Parish Offices Open, School Open Too!

The parish office will be open on Monday, February 7th. 


Additionally, the school is open and classes are scheduled for Monday. Please be advised of a late start time of 9:00 AM

Catholic School's Monday

"Dear God, Thank you for letting me go to a Catholic School to learn about you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen." This little start and many others hung in the hallway outside the First Grade classroom expressing student's prayers of thanks for their education.

Meet the judges for the door decorating contest. Kathy Desruisseau our Business Administrator, Monsignor Dorney, and Father Kastl!

The preschool got a tour of the parish offices as part of their Catholic School's Week Adventures.

The 8th grade girls played the 8th grade boys in a volley ball game, and many teachers dressed up to cheer them on. Teacher Evy Gisler looks super excited to watch the game!

Monsignor takes a moment to pose with the cheerleaders.

The girls won one game and the boys won the next. Nice work!

***Catholic Schools Week activities are not entirely lost due to weather. Many activities will be rescheduled, including the Baby Picture Con- test and the Name the Saint Contest. Watch for more information from the school.

Visiting Soon: Daughters of St. Paul from Pauline Books & Media

The Daughters of St. Paul from Pauline Books & Media in St. Louis, MO will be returning to your parish on February 26^th and 27^th.

The Daughters of St. Paul are religious Sisters whose mission is to communicate the Gospel with the media, in the spirit of St. Paul. One of your parishioners, Theresa Noble, joined the community of the Daughters of St. Paul last year. She will be here on the 26^th and 27^th with the Sisters.

Their publications of Catholic books, music, and DVDs—both for children and adults—will be available for perusal and purchase after the Saturday evening and Sunday Masses. Also visit their virtual bookstore at pauline.org. 

Parish Closed Friday

The parish will be closed again Friday. This means all activities, including morning Mass and Adoration, are canceled.

Snow Closing At Least Until After Thursday

The company we use to clear snow cannot handle this amount of precipitation. They have contracted with a company equipped to clear this amount of snow from the parking lot and walkways. However, the parish and school will be closed at least until after Thursday for this work to be accomplished.

This means all activities, including Mass, are canceled at least until after Thursday. We will keep you posted on our progress.