Pastor’s Message – Church of Saint Benedict

August 22, 2025

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

O God, who causes the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found. 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 21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Brothers and Sisters,

“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”

This is the question asked of Jesus in the Gospel reading (Luke 13:22-30) we will hear at Mass this Sunday. As is usual, our Lord does not respond with a direct answer. He does not offer percentages, statistics or a breakdown of demographics of those who will be entering the eternal banquet of heaven.

Instead, Jesus speaks of the “narrow gate” of which many will attempt to enter but few will be strong enough to do so. He warns of locked doors, the terrifying words of the master of the house saying, “I do not know where you are from”, the wailing and grinding of teeth and how the last will be first.

What is the “narrow gate”? I believe that it is the integration of words and actions. They must go together. With one voice we profess at each Sunday Mass the Nicaean Creed, the basics of Christian belief. These words of faith must also be lived.

Each day we are to seek to live the faith that we profess to be true, that Jesus is Lord. We profess that we are a people redeemed by Christ. We say “Lord, open the door for us…We ate and drank in your company, and you taught in our streets”. But do we live as redeemed people? If not, we are living, as Pope St. John Paul II put it, as “practical atheists”. If this is the case, then we should not expect to enter through the narrow gate.

Do we recognize the God given dignity we carry within ourselves, and which is in each person? Do we seek to love God and our neighbor as ourselves? Are we open to the infinite mercy that God has for us in Jesus? Do we see clearly the ugliness of sin and the need of salvation in our own lives? Do we see the need for ongoing repentance, contrition and conversion? Do we seek to unite our words and actions both in daily life and in our Sunday worship?

This is the narrow gate that Jesus desires that we enter to the eternal banquet of heaven.

Prayer and Fasting

Pope Leo XIV has asked that as the Church we dedicate today, the Memorial of the Queenship of Mary, as a day of Fasting and Prayer for an end to conflicts and safety to those in war torn areas. This includes Ukraine, Gaza, the Sudan and other places. Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us!

Our Parish

This weekend we welcome Sr. Darlene Presley, GHMS. She will be speaking at all Masses this weekend for the Annual Mission Appeal. Her community, the Glenmary Sisters, serve the poor in the Appalachian and southern regions of the U.S. There will be a second collection taken at all Masses in financial support of their apostolic work.

There will be a Bake Sale in the commons after all the Masses this weekend. The benefits will be used for youth mission trips.

On Thursday, August 28, we will welcome Jesse Bechtold. A parishioner of St. Clement Parish in Bixby, he participated in the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. He will be speaking from 6pm to 8pm in McGuire Hall South on the experience and the call to be missionary disciples. This event, arranged by our parish Eucharistic Revival Committee, is open to all.

On Sundays in August, all young adults in the parish are invited to participate in the Noon Mass and then gather at Hideaway Pizza, 1150 North 9^th Street, for lunch. Guests are welcome.

Information and registration for various children, youth and adult faith formation opportunities are available this weekend in the church commons.

Three Hearts Pilgrimage Meeting

Those interested in attending the Three Hearts Pilgrimage trip (October 9-11) will hold a planning meeting at St. Benedict in Room 101 at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, August 27. Learn about our parish Chapter called “St. Scholastica.” No RSVP is needed to attend the Information Meeting. If you would like to purchase tickets for the pilgrimage in October, visit: https://www.threeheartspilgrimage.org/pilgrimage-tickets

For more information, contact Dan O’Brien at (918) 236-9935.

TMIY – Thy Kingdom Come

That Man Is You (TMIY), our parish-based men’s ministry, will resume regular meetings on Wednesday, September 17. TMIY will meet each Wednesday from 6am to 7:15am in one of the classrooms. The theme of this Fall is “Thy Kingdom Come”. All men of the parish are welcome to participate. Here is a link to more information on TMIY:

Future Events

Dr. Karlo Broussard will be returning to our parish to give two talks on Catholic Evangelization. The first will be on Wednesday, September 3. The topic will be Empowered to Share: Embracing the Call to Evangelize in a Modern World.

The second will be on Thursday, October 2 with the topic of Forming Minds for Mission: How to be Intellectually Prepared to Share the Faith. Please mark your calendars. All are invited and guests are welcome.

Christopher Carstens, the author of A Devotional Journey into the Mass: How the Mass Can Become a Time of Grace, Nourishment and Devotion, will be speaking at our parish on Wednesday, September 17. All are invited and guests are welcome.

Eucharistic Congress, November 5 – 8, 2025

As part the on-going Eucharistic Revival at St. Benedict, we will be hosting a Eucharistic Congress November 5 -8. Over these dates there will be Mass, Confessions, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and a series of guest speakers, including Fr. John O’Neil, Fr. Jon Fincher and Fr. Joshua Votruba. There will also be a musical presentation by John Michael Talbot. Children’s activities will be included. Childcare for younger ages will also be provided.

 Please mark your calendars to participate in at least one of these days of the Eucharistic Congress. It is open to everyone, and guests are welcome.

God bless and keep you safe.

Fr. Bryan