Pastor’s Message – Church of Saint Benedict

July 25, 2025

Feast of St. James the Apostle

O God, protector of those who hope in you, without whom nothing has firm foundation, nothing is holy, bestow in abundance your mercy upon us and grant that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may use the good things that pass in such a way as to hold fast even now to those that ever endure. 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 Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Brothers and Sisters,

In the Gospel reading for Mass this Sunday the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1-13). His response is to teach Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer and the need to be persistent in prayer.

Prayer is a conversation with God. It can take different forms. Some prayers are taught to us so that we know them by memory, such as the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be. In prayers offered from memory we speak to God when no other words will do.

Some forms of prayer are communal. The Mass itself is a communal prayer for us to offer to God our sacrifice of worship, praise and thanksgiving. We speak to God in our petitions for forgiveness and mercy, for the good of others and in gratitude for what God has done for us through the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus.

Other times the conversation with God takes place in the silence of our hearts. We listen to God. This is sometimes referred to as mental prayer. Examples would include the practice of Lectio Divina by praying with the Scriptures. Other examples are contemplative and meditative prayer.

Which ever form it takes, prayer is aligned in our hearts, minds and actions with the will of God. It is there that we find comfort and strength. In prayer we encounter God’s love for us, which is the source for our joy. In prayer the transformation of our hearts takes place.

We are to be persistent in prayer as our Savior teaches us to do. If something is important to us, then we will make the time to do it. This includes our prayer, whichever form it may take.

Memorial of Blessed Stanley Rother

The Memorial of Blessed Stanley Rother, the Oklahoma born missionary priest and martyr, is on Monday, July 28. We will have Mass that day at 8:30am.

Our parish in fortunate to have both a First-Class and a Second-Class relic of Blessed Stanley. Both will be available for public veneration before and after Mass this weekend. You are welcome to bring holy cards and other sacramentals to Mass. By touching them to either of the relics, they themselves will become relics for veneration.

The Gospel of Luke: A Lens into the Sacred Heart

Joey Griggs, one of the seminarians assigned to our parish this summer, will be giving the second of a two-part presentation on the Gospel of Luke on Thursday, July 31. It will begin at 6pm with a social, with the presentation starting at 6:30pm. All are welcome.

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.

Our Parish

Diana Phillips, who has served as the director of St. Benedict Preschool, has taken a teaching position at All Saints. I am grateful for her three years as our director. Maryellen Musgrove will be the new preschool director.

Tickets for the ACTS Retreat Trivia Night will be available in the commons after Mass this weekend. In the commons there will also be items for a silent auction whose proceeds will benefit the ACTS Retreats.

Thank you for the outstanding response to our St. John Paul II Life Camp that concludes today.

Thank you to the Knights of Columbus and all who participated in last Sunday’s Pancake Breakfast that benefited Cortlan Potts, a parishioner who will be entering Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis in September.

Fr. David Webb, a son of our parish who is currently serving as an Air Force chaplain, will soon be celebrating his 35^th birthday. You are welcome to take part in a spiritual bouquet set up in the commons. You can volunteer to offer prayers for him in the month of August.

On Sundays in July, all young adults in the parish are invited to participate in the Noon Mass and then gather at McAlister’s Deli at 720 North Aspen for lunch. Guests are welcome.

Starting in August there will be a daily Mass on Mondays at 8:30am. The first of these Masses will be on August 4.

Our next Becoming Catholic Inquiry Meeting will be on August 5 at 7:00pm in Room 101. All are welcome.

God bless and keep you safe.

Fr. Bryan