Pastor’s Message – Church of Saint Benedict

August 29, 2025

The Passion of St. John the Baptist

God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that, by deepening our sense of reverence, you may nature in us what is good and, by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nurtured. 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 22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Brothers and Sisters,

In a horrific manner the brokenness of the world was revealed once again this week. In an act of evil, the lives of the innocent were taken by violence at a Catholic school in Minnesota.

As if to maximize the evil intent, the violence was directed at children praying in a parish church during the sacrifice of the Mass. It was a direct rejection of the sacredness of life and all that is good, beautiful and true.

Almost immediately the finger pointing began to assign blame. Political partisans blamed their opponents. Others, in their grief and fear, did so to try to make sense out of the senseless. Even the role of prayer in reaction to this act of violence has been brought to question.

The fingers have pointed to guns, mental health, transgendered ideology, and the occult. They have all had a role to various degrees in this tragedy.

But the finger-pointing can obscure the darkness from which this act of evil emerged, the role of nihilism. It is the belief that life is ultimately meaningless. In nihilism there is no God. There is no goodness, beauty or truth, no mercy, forgiveness or hope. Any expression of them must be rejected if not crushed.

In this atheistic attitude, meaning comes from imposing your will on others by force. There is no moral issue in destroying life, including the lives of the innocent. Nihilism is a form of self-hatred. It consumes those who adhere to it.

It is the spiritual illness of our age. It was manifested in the violence at Columbine, Colorado, in 1999. It was manifested in Minneapolis, Minnesota this week.

What then is our response as disciples? First, we acknowledge the brokenness of the world. Evil exists. It hates the Good because it exposes Evil, its true self. Second, we acknowledge that our broken world has been redeemed by Jesus Christ. In Him life has meaning. Evil may have the day, but Good will have the ultimate victory.

Third, by God’s grace we seek to be the embodiment of what is good, beautiful and true by being the Church, the Body of Christ on earth. We continue to pray, especially for the innocents affected by the violence in Minnesota. We continue to offer worship, to forgive and serve the least among us.

 In doing so, we become a beacon of light in the darkness of a broken world.

Labor Day Schedule

On Monday, September 1, we will have daily Mass at 8:30am. The parish office and the St. Scholastica Adoration Chapel will be closed.

Our Parish

Congratulations to the Ngo, Griffin and Beasley families who are presenting children for baptism this weekend. These will bring to a total six infant/child baptisms at St. Benedict this month.

Thank you for the generosity shown to Sr. Darlene Prestly, GMHM, for last weekend’s Mission Appeal.

There will be a brief pulpit talk at all Masses concerning the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for the children of the parish.

The Parish Council will be meeting on Wednesday, September 3 at 6pm.

Dr. Karlo Broussard of Catholic Answers will be returning to our parish to give two talks on Catholic Evangelization. The first will be on Wednesday, September 3 at 6:30pm. The topic will be Empowered to Share: Embracing the Call to Evangelize in a Modern World. All are welcome.

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.

First Friday/First Saturday Devotion

Mass on First Friday (September 5) will be at 6:30am and 8:30am. There will be continual adoration in St. Scholastica Chapel from 9am that day through 1pm, Saturday, September 6.

Mass on First Saturday (September 6) will be at 8:30am, with a Rosary immediately afterwards. All are welcome.

Jubilee Year of Hope First Saturday Pilgrimage

The next First Saturday Pilgrimage Mass for the Jubilee Year of Hope will be on Saturday, September 6 at St. Augustine Parish, 1728 East Apache Street, in Tulsa. Confessions begin at 8:30am with Mass at 10am with Fr. Gary Kastl, Vicar General, presiding. All are welcome!

Men of Saint Benedict

All the men of the parish are welcome to attend the next monthly meeting of the Men of Saint Benedict on Monday, September 8 in McGuire Hall North. The gathering begins at 6:30, meeting starts at 7:00, Bring a snack to share. Beverages will be provided.

The theme of the meeting will be Living Well in Christ – “The Art and Science of Self-Care”. The talk will be provided by Greg McCann, Resource Manager at St. Peter and St. Paul Catholic School and an instructor for St. Francis Health Systems. Greg has spent most of his adult life educating others as to the importance of self-care. In this session, Greg will share reflections on practical tips toward living a life of well-being in Christ. 

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 the men of the parish are welcome to participate. Here is a link to more information on TMIY:

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