October 17, 2025

Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch

Almighty ever-living God, grant that we may always conform our will to yours and serve your majesty in sincerity of heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

Collect for the Mass on the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Brothers and Sisters,

The Parish Eucharistic Congress is now less one month away, November 5-8. Please
know that it is open to anyone and everyone. It is a unique opportunity to focus on the
gift of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, to deepen our gratitude and love for Him in the
Sacrament of the Altar. The event will include Mass, Adoration, Confessions, as well as
special presentations by keynote speakers. The event is free.

They include Fr. John O’Neill, a former associate pastor, Fr. Jon Fincher and Fr. Joshua
Votruba, who is a son of our parish. On Saturday the keynote speaker will be John
Michael Talbot, a Third Order Franciscan and musician.

In addition to these main speakers there will also be talks on Eucharistic Adoration, the
Rosary, the role of sacred architecture, etc. There are also activities for children. A
schedule of events is listed below. I ask that each parish family make a commitment to
attend at least evening/afternoon of the Congress.

Last week I wrote of defining what is a Eucharistic Congress and why you should
attend. Now allow me to touch upon encountering Jesus in the Eucharist and our
conversion.

Encounter and Conversion

In the Sacraments, we encounter in a profound way God’s love and mercy for us in
Jesus Christ. Such encounters are an opportunity to be shaped by grace, the
conforming of our lives, and to the Life of Christ. This is what is taking place in the Real
Presence of Jesus offered to us in the Eucharist.

The radical claim of the Christian message is that God is love. In love we are created. In
love we are redeemed by the Incarnation, the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. In love
the Life of God the Son in the Eucharist is offered to us so that we may enter the Life of
God. Each Mass is a foretaste of heaven.

The Life of God the Son, His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, is offered to us in the
Eucharist. It is offered to us for our conversion, of the turning of the heart to God.

Shaped by the grace of the Eucharist in our hearts before increasingly in harmony with the
Sacred Heart of our Lord.

Learn more at saintben.com/congress.

Our Parish

Congratulations the McAuliff family who last Sunday presented a child for baptism.

Congratulations to Trevor Halbach and Madeleine Ream, who will be married at St.
Benedict tomorrow.

Volunteers are needed for the Fall Parish Gardening Workday on Saturday, October 25
starting at 8:30am. The event is being organized by the parish Landscaping Committee.
You are welcome to bring your own gardening tools.

All Health Workers are invited to the Annual White Mass on Saturday, at 5:00pm at Holy
Family Cathedral. A reception will follow. Please email to RSVP.

Mental Health Novena

The Novena for Mental Health is an opportunity for all the People of God to join in
prayer for women and men experiencing or impacted by mental health issues and for all
those who accompany them. The Novena can be prayed at any time of year.
The entire Church in the United States is especially encouraged to pray this Nationwide
Novena in solidarity with Catholics across the country from October 10 to October 18
each year, beginning on World Mental Health Day (Oct 10), including Mental Health
Sunday, and concluding on the feast of Saint Luke the Physician (Oct 18), the patron of
health care.

Pray the Mental Health Novena taken from www.usccb.org

MOCtoberfest

The Annual MOCtoberfest will be on Saturday, October 18 from 11am to 9pm at St. Anne
Parish in Broken Arrow. Co-sponsored by the Church of Saint Benedict, it is a family-
friendly, faith-filled day of food, music, games, fellowship, and Catholic outreach.

All proceeds from the event support the Ministry of Compassion, the Catholic Charities
of Eastern Oklahoma outreach center in Broken Arrow. Among those services offered
include food assistance, counseling, ESL classes, and more. All are welcome!

Personal Note

I will be on retreat with several other priests of the Diocese from Monday, October 20
through Friday, October 24. Please keep us in prayer. Fr. Archie will be here for daily
Mass and confessions at their regular times.

God bless and keep you safe.

Fr. Bryan