Friday, October 31, 2025

All Hallows Eve

Listen kindly to our prayers, O Lord, and, as our faith in your Son, raised from the dead, is deepened, so may our hope of resurrection for your departed servants also find new strength. 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 Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed on November 2 (All’s Souls Day)

Brothers and Sisters,

The Parish Eucharistic Congress is now less than a week away. Beginning on Wednesday, November 5 and concluding on Saturday, November 8 it is open to anyone and everyone.

This event 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.

The guest speakers 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 one evening/afternoon of the Congress.

As part of the Eucharistic Congress there will be continual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the St. Scholastica Chapel starting on Tuesday, November 4 at 9am through Saturday, November at 1pm. You are welcome to sign up in the church commons for the extra adoration times or online here.

Previously I wrote of defining what is a Eucharistic Congress, why you should attend, encountering Jesus in the Eucharist and our conversion. Now allow me to speak of the unity of the Eucharist.

In Communion with Jesus and One Another

The word “communion” means to be “in union with”. Knowing the meaning of communion helps us better to understand the gift of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Our Lord desires to be in union with us and us with Him through His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. Our lives are to be transformed by this gift of grace. In the Eucharist we are to be in union with each other as disciples. Our lives are united in our Savior. For this reason, we refer to the Eucharist as “Holy Communion”.

This unity in Jesus Christ in the Eucharist also helps us to better understand what it means to be the Church. We are to be a community of disciples, united not only on the parish level, but also on a universal level. This unity is not limited to our time and space. It is a unity with all our fellow disciples throughout history and in the future.

We are united in Christ with the faithfully departed for whom we remember on All Souls. We are united in Christ with the saints in Heaven. We call this unity the “Communion of the Saints”. Our existence as the Church extends through time and eternity.

Learn more at saintben.com/congress.

First Friday & First Saturday Observance

There will be ongoing adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the St. Scholastica Chapel starting at 9am today and continuing until 1pm tomorrow.

The First Saturday Mass will be on November 1 at 8:30am.

All Saints Day & All Souls Day

The Solemnity of All Saints Day (November 1), this year takes place on a Saturday. Thus, it is not a holy day of obligation this year. However, the day will be observed with the First Saturday Mass at 8:30am.

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Soul’s Day) will take place on Sunday, November 2. It will be observed on Saturday at our 5pm Vigil Mass and all Sunday Masses.

First Saturday Jubilee Year of Hope Pilgrimage Mass

The 11th Pilgrimage site for the Jubilee Year of Hope will be at the Sacred Heart Mission Parish located at 515 East First Street in Heavener. The theme is for Missionaries and Those Who have not Yet Encountered Jesus. Confessions are from 8:30am to 9:45am. Mass is at 10:00am with Bishop Konderla presiding. For more information go to https://www.dioceseoftulsa.org/jubilee-pilgrim-sites

Our Parish

The rescheduled workday hosted by the Landscape Committee will take place tomorrow starting at 8:00am. Volunteers are needed to prepare the outside garden areas for winter.

There will be Exposition and Benediction at the conclusion of all Masses this weekend.

Congratulations to the Calico family who presented a child for baptism last weekend.

Congratulations to the Rivera and Carreno families who are presenting children for baptism this weekend.

The youth of the parish will be serving Breakfast Burritos in McGuire Hall after the 9am Sunday Mass. Proceeds go to support youth mission trips.

Elections to positions on the Parish Council will take place on November 14-15 following all Masses. The council is an advisory group of parishioners who assist the pastor in the governance of the parish.

Becoming Catholic

Please keep in your prayers the 25 men and women who are currently in various stages of preparing to be received into the Catholic Church at St. Benedict. This is the largest number that we have seen in some time. While some will be received at the Easter Vigil in 2026, others will do so prior to Ash Wednesday of next year.

Broken Arrows Neighbors Thanksgiving Bags

Starting this weekend in the church commons the parish’s Peace, Justice, and Charity Committee is distributing bags to be filled with groceries. The groceries will be picked up by Broken Arrow Neighbors on the weekend of November 15-16 to provide Thanksgiving Day meals for those in need.

Vocations Meet and Great

On Sunday, November 16, our parish is hosting a special event focusing on the Vocation to Religious Life. It is open to all single men and women in middle school, high school, and college age. There will be members of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate and the Religious Sisters of Mercy. It will be held from 1:30pm to 3:00pm. It is free to attend, and no registration is required. More information at www.marysarmy1917.com.

God bless and keep you safe.

Fr. Bryan