Transforming lives through Christ

‘Transforming lives through

Christ’

FEATURE STORY Obedience through suffering

— Prisoner comes to faith in Christ through Kairos

FEATURE STORY Diocesan faithful choose

to march for life

PARISH PROFILE Uganda Martyrs Church,

Okmulgee

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Bishop David Konderla

Transforming lives through Christ

A s we journey through this Lenten season, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your generosity in giving to the 2017 Faith and Works Annual Appeal. Your sacrificial gifts

helped us to meet our goal and fully fund the ministries and missions of the diocese. By the time this issue of the EOC arrives at your home, the 2018 Faith & Works Annual Appeal for the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma will be in full swing. Every household and business begins a new budget each year and so does the diocese.

Please know that the funds raised by our 2018 Annual Appeal are essential to carry out Christ’s mission in our diocese. This year we are adding ministries and staff to better serve the people of eastern Oklahoma with the prayerful hope that lives will be transformed through Jesus Christ. We believe that by expanding our services in support of our priests and parishes, the Good News of Jesus Christ can be spread throughout our communities more effectively. It is an exciting time to watch our parishes and ministries grow.

One new addition to the diocese is the establishment of a theological institute for Catholic thought and evangelization. With the closing of St. Gregory’s University, we hired two of their faculty to lead this project, Drs. Richard Meloche and Marcel Brown. While this institute is just in the development stages, we look forward to offering teachers, catechists, deacon candidates and parish leaders faith formation opportunities so that they can then share in their ministries.

The Office of Youth and Young Adults continues to reach out to thousands of youth in our diocese. In January, we sent three busloads of youth and adults to Washington, D.C., for the National March for Life. We offered Sing Praise events at 17 different sites throughout the state last year and will continue to expand that outreach in 2018. Also, this July we are offering a summer camp for Junior High students at Lake Wister, located just south of Poteau. Sarah Jameson, the director, and Caitlyn Benedict, the assistant director, will once again lead the largest Totus Tuus program in the nation as well as organize

the popular DCYC and JCYC events.This December, Donna Eurich joined

the staff at the chancery as the new director of Child and Youth Protection. An important part of each parish and school ministry is the training of volunteers and allies who help us keep children safe. This is very detail-oriented work, and Donna will be a great benefit to pastors and parish administrators as they carry out this responsibility.

Another important work of the diocese is providing chaplains and resources to the jails and prisons in our diocese. Right now we have ministries in 11 different facilities. These are constantly shifting populations so we need to provide chaplains with more Bibles, catechisms, devotionals and Rosaries that they can share with prisoners.

The Hispanic Apostolate for the diocese remains very active and this January, St. Benedict hosted the diocesan level “Quinto Encuentro” or Fifth Encounter, which was a day of reflection, discussion and planning for outreach to Spanish-speaking communities. Fifth Encounter is a national conversation, a process of listening and discerning that begins at the grassroots in the parishes and works its way to the regional and national levels to gauge where the Holy Spirit is leading the Church in ministry with Spanish-speaking Catholics. In many places, including Oklahoma, Spanish-speaking communities are the fasting growing in our nation. There is a lot of energy and excitement in considering ways we can reach out to our friends, neighbors, brothers and sisters in the faith.

These are only a few of the ways

we are expanding our service and outreach in the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma. Last year, we added a Spanish-speaking class of aspirants to our diaconate program. The Office of Rural Outreach has established an advisory committee to continue to find ways to support our rural parishes. Our communications department has added professional-level video production capabilities to increase social media presence and awareness. The Family Life office has added marriage preparation classes and offered a conference, “Together in Holiness” this past February. It is only through your generosity to the Faith and Works Annual Appeal that we are able to work together to provide these resources and others to our parishes that no single parish could otherwise provide for itself.

During this Lent, God is offering each and every one of us the opportunity to be still and quiet, reducing the distractions in our lives, so that we can be more fully aware of the goodness of Jesus Christ in our lives. Just as those who witnessed the empty tomb felt obligated to share the Good News of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, may we be compelled to do the same. As we continue this passion-filled Lent in preparation for a joyous Easter, may the Holy Spirit give us the grace to recognize the tremendous, unbelievable gift of forgiveness, life and salvation we have received in Jesus Christ.

2 Eastern Oklahoma Catholic | March 2018 | www.dioceseoftulsa.org

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Transformando vidas a través de Jesucristo

A medida que avanzamos en este tiempo cuaresmal, quiero aprovechar esta oportunidad para agradecerles por su generosidad al apoyar la Campaña Anual Fe y Obras 2017. Sus

donaciones y sacrificio nos ayudaron a cumplir nuestra meta y financiar completamente los ministerios y las misiones de la diócesis. Para cuando este ejemplar de la revista EOC llegue a su hogar, la Campaña Anual 2018 Fe y Obras de la Diócesis de Tulsa y el Este de Oklahoma estará en pleno apogeo. Como cada hogar y empresa que comienzan un nuevo presupuesto cada año, así también lo hace la diócesis.

Tengamos en cuenta que los fondos recaudados en nuestra Campaña Anual 2018 son esenciales para llevar a cabo la misión de Cristo en nuestra diócesis. Este año estamos agregando nuevos ministerios y personal para servir mejor a la gente del este de Oklahoma con la esperanza de que sus vidas se transformen a través de Cristo. Creemos que expandiendo nuestros servicios en apoyo de nuestros sacerdotes y parroquias, la Buena Nueva de Jesucristo se podrá difundir en nuestras comunidades de manera más efectiva. Es un momento emocionante para ver crecer nuestras parroquias y ministerios.

Una nueva adición a la diócesis es el establecimiento de un instituto teológico para el pensamiento católico y la evangelización. Con el cierre de St. Gregory’s University, contratamos a dos de sus profesores para dirigir este Proyecto: los Dres. Richard Meloche y Marcel Brown. Si bien este instituto se encuentra en etapa de desarrollo, esperamos ofrecer oportunidades de formación en la fe a maestros, catequistas, candidatos al diaconado y líderes parroquiales, para que luego puedan compartir sus ministerios.

La Oficina de Jóvenes y Jóvenes Adultos continúa llegando a miles de jóvenes en nuestra diócesis. En enero, enviamos tres autobuses llenos de jóvenes y adultos a Washington, DC para la Marcha Nacional por la Vida. Ofrecimos eventos Sing/Praise (Canta/Alaba) en 17 sitios diferentes en todo el estado el año pasado y continuaremos ampliando su alcance en 2018. Además, este mes de julio estaremos ofreciendo un campamento de verano para

estudiantes de secundaria (7-9) en Lake Wister, ubicado justo al sur de Poteau. Sarah Jameson, la directora, y Caitlyn Benedict, la subdirectora, una vez más dirigirán el programa Totus Tuus más grande del país, además de organizar los populares eventos DCYC y JCYC.

El pasado diciembre, Donna Eurich se unió al personal de la cancillería como nueva Directora para la Protección de Niños y Jóvenes. Una parte importante de cada ministerio parroquial y escolar es la capacitación de voluntarios y aliados que nos ayuden a mantener seguros a los niños. Este es un trabajo muy detallado y Donna será de gran beneficio para los párrocos y administradores parroquiales al llevar a cabo esta responsabilidad.

Otra obra importante de la diócesis es proporcionar capellanes y recursos a las cárceles y prisiones en nuestra diócesis. En este momento tenemos ministerios en 11 instalaciones diferentes. Estas poblaciones cambian constantemente, por lo que debemos proporcionar a los capellanes más biblias, catecismos, devocionales y rosarios que puedan compartir con los presos.

El Apostolado Hispano de la diócesis sigue en movimiento, y este enero, la parroquia de St. Benedict fue anfitriona del “V Encuentro”de toda la diócesis. Este fue un día de reflexión, discusión y planificación para llegar a las comunidades de habla hispana. El V Encuentro es una conversación nacional, un proceso de escucha y discernimiento que comienza en las bases de las parroquias y se abre paso a los niveles regional y nacional para saber dónde el Espíritu Santo dirige a la Iglesia en

el ministerio con los católicos de habla hispana. En muchos lugares, incluido Oklahoma, las comunidades de habla hispana crecen rápidamente en nuestra nación. Hay mucha energía y emoción al considerar formas en que podamos llegar a nuestros amigos, vecinos, hermanos y hermanas en la fe.

Estas son solo algunas de las formas en que estamos expandiendo nuestro servicio y alcance en la Diócesis de Tulsa y el Este de Oklahoma. El año pasado, agregamos una clase de aspirantes de habla hispana a nuestro programa de diaconado. La Oficina de Pastoral Rural ha establecido un comité asesor para continuar buscando formas de apoyar a nuestras parroquias rurales. Nuestro Departamento de Comunicaciones ha aumentado sus capacidades de producción de videos a nivel profesional para aumentar la presencia y participación en las redes sociales. La Oficina de Pastoral Familiar ha presentado clases de preparación para el matrimonio y ofreció la conferencia, “Together in Holiness” (Juntos en santidad) el pasado febrero. Es a través de su generosidad con la Campaña Anual de Fe y Obras, que podemos trabajar juntos para proporcionar estos y otros recursos y a nuestras parroquias que ninguna de ellas en particular podría proveerse a sí misma.

Durante esta Cuaresma, Dios nos está ofreciendo a todos y a cada uno de nosotros la oportunidad de estar sosegados y en silencio, reduciendo las distracciones, para que podamos estar más plenamente conscientes de la bondad de Jesucristo en nuestras vidas. Así como aquellos que presenciaron la tumba vacía se sintieron obligados a compartir la Buena Nueva de la resurrección de Jesucristo de entre los muertos, que nos veamos nosotros también obligados a hacer lo mismo. Mientras continuamos esta Cuaresma llena de pasión en preparación para una feliz Pascua, que el Espíritu Santo nos dé la gracia de reconocer el tremendo e increíble regalo del perdón, la vida y la salvación que hemos recibido en Jesucristo.


yourstories

11 feature story Envisioning Team continues process to set vision for the diocese

12 cover story Faith & Works Annual

Appeal — Transforming lives through Christ

14 cover story Fe Y Obras Campana anual — “Transformando vidas a través de Cristo”

16 feature story Obedience through suffering

— Prisoner comes to faith in Christ through Kairos

18 feature story Diocesan theological

institute in development stages

20 feature story Diocesan faithful choose

to march for life

22 feature story The Church Visible

yourfaith

24 parish profile Uganda Martyrs Church, Okmulgee

26 year of st. mark A year with St. Mark

30 world news U.S. Bishops side with

“Dreamers” in DACA debate

The Magazine of the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma

Most Reverend

David A. Konderla PUBLISHER

David CrenshawPHOTOGRAPHER/

MANAGING EDITOR

Mason Beecroft ASSOCIATE EDITOR

March 2018 Volume 10: Issue 2

Patrick M. O’BrienPRESIDENT/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Elizabeth Martin SolsburgDIRECTOR OF CUSTOM PUBLISHING/

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Janna StellwagGRAPHIC DESIGNER

InnerWorkingsPRINT MANAGEMENT

Eastern Oklahoma CatholicTM (USPS 066-770) is a membership publication of the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa, 12300 E. 91st St. S., Broken Arrow, OK 74012. Published monthly except for February and August. Gift subscription rates are $30 per year. Send all subscription information and address changes to: Eastern Oklahoma CatholicTM PO Box 690240, Tulsa, OK 74169-0240;

918.307.4946 or email [email protected]. Periodicals postage

paid at Tulsa, OK or additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Eastern Oklahoma CatholicTM, PO Box 690240, Tulsa, OK 74169-0240

©Eastern Oklahoma CatholicTM, Diocese of Tulsa. ©FAITH Catholic. FAITH is a trademark of FAITH Catholic. No portion of Eastern Oklahoma CatholicTM may published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise reproduced or distributed in whole or in part without prior authority of the Diocese of Tulsa and/or FAITH CatholicTM. For reprint information or other questions regarding use of copyright material, contact the Eastern Oklahoma CatholicTM editorial offices at the Diocese of Tulsa.

To Submit Story Ideas, Letters to the Editor

and News:Dave Crenshaw, managing

editor [email protected]

Liturgical Calendar: St. Katharine Drexel, virgin March 3 | Third Sunday of Lent March 4 | First Sunday of Lent March 5 | Ss. Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs March 7 | St. John of God, religious March 8 | St. Francis of Rome, religious March 9 | Fourth Sunday of Lent March 11 | St. Patrick, bishop March 17 | Fifth Sunday of Lent March 18 | Solemnity of St. Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary March 19 | St. Turibius of Mogrovejo, bishop March 23 | Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord March 25 | Holy Thursday March 29 | Friday of the Passion of the Lord March 30 | Holy Saturday March 31

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contents

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Chaplain Arthur Fox, J.D. Langston and Deacon Kenny Longbrake at Cimarron Correctional Facility.

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yournews

Men’s conference to focus on life of Blessed Stanley Rother

The 22nd annual “In the Father’s Footsteps” Catholic Men’s Conference will focus on Blessed Stanley Francis Rother’s example of love and faith. The theme of the conference is “Called to be Saints.”

“The theme, ‘Called to be Saints,’ will reflect on the recent beatification of Blessed Stanley Rother and how the aspects of his holiness can be achieved by any man that applies that same discipline, hard work and love for Christ,” said Ray Haefele, conference director.

Bishop Anthony Taylor of the Diocese of Little Rock, Ark., will open the conference with a talk entitled “No Greater Love: The Story of Blessed Stanley Rother.” The day follows with talks by: Trent Horn, Catholic apologist and regular contributor to the radio program Catholic Answers; Patrick Coffin, radio host and author; and Deacon Ralph Poyo, educator and evangelist.

The full-day event, scheduled for March 3 at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in Norman, features a lineup of four speakers, opportunities for reconciliation, as well as a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Paul Coakley, Bishop David Konderla and Bishop Anthony Taylor to close the day’s activities.

Tickets are available now, online at www.catholicmen.net, the price is $69 up to the day of the conference. The cost of the conference, which runs from 8:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m., includes breakfast, lunch, beverages and afternoon snacks. There is also a father-son lunch featuring a presentation by Horn.

Council of Catholic Women offering Day of Prayer and Reflection

The Council of Catholic Women invites all ladies in the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma to attend the second Biannual Day of Prayer and Re-flection, “Steppin’ Out in Faith Living the Life God Designed,” on April 14, 2018, at the Church of St. Benedict, 2200 West Ithica St., Broken Arrow, Okla. Marybeth Hicks will be the keynote speaker. Father John O’Neill, pastor at St. John Before the Latin Gate Parish in Bartlesville, and Kathy Beckham, member of the Church of St. Mary in Tulsa, will share their musical talent entertaining during the afternoon.

A frequent commentator on cultural issues, Marybeth Hicks has appeared on national television outlets includ-ing Fox News Channel’s Hannity and Fox and Friends, the Christian Broadcasting Network’s 700 Club and EWTN’s The World Over, and on dozens of national and regional radio programs. Speaking from the heart and from experi-ence, sharing both the poignant and hilarious moments that punctuate family life, as well as well-informed observations about the political and cultural landscape that all Americans should know, Marybeth provides a strong voice for parents, grandparents, coaches, teachers and concerned citizens who want to protect our children and the country they will inherit by promoting the values and virtues that have made our nation exceptional.

Registration is $45 and includes morning refreshments and lunch. Early bird registration before March 24 is $35. Group rate for 10 or more from a parish is $30. Registration forms are available in the back of your church or in your parish office. For additional information please contact [email protected].

CommunityCare clinic blessed

On Feb. 2, Bishop David Konderla blessed the new CommunityCare offices in Williams Center Tower II in Tulsa. CommunityCare is a joint venture of Saint Francis Health System and Ascension Healthcare, of which St. John Medical is a member. CommunityCare seeks to provide high-quality, cost-effective health care management in the Tulsa community. Jake Henry Jr., President and CEO of Saint Francis Health System (at right in the photo), opened with remarks, encouraging the employees to continue offering care to clients that reflects the Catholic foundation of the organization. Bishop Konderla then celebrated the Blessing Rite, sprinkling the new offices with Holy Water to conclude the rite. (Photo by Mason Beecroft)

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New headmaster at Cascia Hall

On Jan. 5, 2018, Cascia Hall Preparatory School announced that Father Philip Cook, O.S.A. will be its next headmaster beginning on July 1, 2018. Father Philip has served at Cascia off and on for the past 25 years. He first came to Cascia in 1993 where he earned a reputation as a wonderful teacher of Theology and Latin in the middle school. After

two years at Cascia, he moved to Chicago to complete his studies. Once ordained to the priesthood in 1997, he returned to Cascia Hall.

The Very Rev. Bernard C. Scianna, O.S.A., who is Prior Provincial of the Augustinians of Chicago, Canada and Chulucanas, Peru, stated, “I believe that Father Philip’s education and experience have prepared him to take on this important role of service for the School and the Augustinian Order. This is a very exciting time for Cascia Hall.”

Father Philip currently teaches Theology in the upper school and enjoys a very positive rapport with his students, colleagues, board members, parents and alumni. Father Philip stated, “I am looking forward to taking on the

challenge of leadership at Cascia Hall. Our students are some of brightest I have encountered and they energize me to be an even better teacher and leader.”

Father Philip will replace Mr. Roger Carter who had previously announced that he will be stepping down as headmaster at the end of this school year after eight years of faithful service in this position. “I am grateful for his service during these two four-year terms of leadership. Roger was the first lay Headmaster in the school’s history, and he did a great job of keeping Cascia moving forward. Please join me in thanking him for his commitment to our Cascia community over these years,” said Father Bernie.

A 1990 graduate of Villanova University, Father Philip earned a B.A. in Classics. He is a 1997 graduate of Catholic Theological Union where he earned a Master of Divinity degree. As a lifelong learner, he completed a second master’s degree in Latin and Greek in 2007 from Catholic University of America, and his Ph.D. in Classics in 2016 from the University of Florida.

Cascia Hall Preparatory School is a Catholic, Augustinian college preparatory school for students of all faiths in grades 6-12. In the Augustinian tradition, students receive a liberal arts education, which prepares them for college and for life. Students at Cascia Hall benefit from challenging academics, enriching activities, an excellent faculty and community support. For more information about Cascia Hall, please visit www.casciahall.com.

2520 South Yorktown Avenue, [email protected]

An Exceptional, Educational Experience in grades 6 - 12

Come, see what we are all about!

For where your treasure is, there also your heart will be. (Matthew 6:21)

The Catholic Foundation of Eastern Oklahoma (CFEO) is an endowment of the Diocese of Tulsa comprised of bequests by members of the Diocese in order that their good works and the work of the Church continue for future generations.

In planning your estate, please prayerfully consider a gift to the CFEO.

Derek Lyssy, 918-307-4942, [email protected]

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Father Wakulich travels to Italy with OSU wrestling team

Father Kerry Wakulich, the pastor of St. John the Evan-gelist Parish and Catholic Student Center at Oklahoma State University, traveled to Italy from Dec. 31 to Jan. 7 with the Oklahoma State wrestling team to watch a head-to-head match with the North Carolina State squad. The match, called “Tussle for the Troops,” was held on a U.S. Naval Base in Naples, Italy. The fourth-ranked Cowboys narrowly beat the sixth-ranked Wolfpack 19-16 in a thrilling contest that was not decided until the final match.

Father Wakulich started spending time with the OSU wres-tling team over a year ago. Several wrestlers from the squad are Catholic and participate in the ministry at St. John. Also, Coach John Smith and two of his assistants, Zach Esposito and Chris Perry, are active Catholics in the Stillwater community. Father Wakulich wanted to learn more about the program because of these connections so he started to attend some of their prac-tices. Last year, he joined the team in St. Louis for one of their meets. When the “Tussle for the Troops” was scheduled, Coach Smith invited him to travel with them to Italy.

“I really enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with the team, but it was certainly not a vacation or a pilgrimage,”

explained Father Wakulich. “The purpose for the trip was to beat N.C. State. We spent the first day in Rome and I had the opportunity to show the team and its supporters the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica, which they thoroughly enjoyed, but then we went down to Melito, a town about 30 minutes out-side of Naples. The next three days were spent in wrestling practices and training to prepare for the match. It was great to spend time with the guys and get to know them better. I was also able to celebrate Mass for people both from both Oklahoma State and North Carolina State.”

Father Wakulich even had the opportunity to take the mat against Coach Smith, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and one of the most decorated wrestlers ever in international competition. Coach Smith quickly dispatched Father Waku-lich with a classic “Fireman’s Carry.”

“I was talking a little trash to him,” laughed Father Wakulich. “I told him, ‘I know who Kenny Monday is because he is from Tulsa, but I don’t know you.’ It was one of those moments when impulsiveness and stupidity override human reason.”

“Father is 0-1 now and he should quit while he is ahead,” Coach Smith joked. “Really, Father Kerry has been a great addition to our Catholic family in Stillwater. Several of our ath-letes have connected with him and it was nice to have a priest with you when you visit the Vatican. He was able to share quite a bit with us during our tour. We definitely had a better time in Italy because of Father Kerry.”

Photo courtesy of Maggie Base

Order your materials by contacting Lori Hahn at 918-307-4935 or email at [email protected]

COMPANIONS ON THE JOURNEY

crsricebowl.org/begin

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Newman Center Gala to honor the Ritchie family

The University of Tulsa’s Catholic Newman Center has an-nounced that the 2018 St. Philip Neri Society Gala honoree is the Catherine Ritchie family. The Gala will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 5, 2018, at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on The University of Tulsa campus.

Catherine Ritchie, along with her late husband, Dr. Tom Ritchie, have been wonderful examples of living the Catholic faith and longtime supporters of the Newman Center whose mission is to provide an active, faith-filled community as TU’s Catholic stu-dents develop into missionary disciples of Christ. Together, Cath-erine and “Doc” raised 10 children, making the church the center of their family life and teaching their children to be givers and to lead by example.

Catherine is what her children call a “prayer giant.” She prays for the TU students just as she prays for her own children. Fol-lowing their parent’s example, Catherine and Doc’s family have dedicated time, treasure and talent to the Church in eastern Oklahoma and to the Newman Center.

“In 2002, Father Stuart Crevcoure was chaplain at the New-man Center and the pastor of my parish, Sacred Heart Church, in Sapulpa,” Catherine said. “He invited our women’s Bible study (the Bible Babes) to support the Tuesday Lunch ministry and we have been doing it a couple times a year since then. We’ve seen lots of students and even many future priests come through those doors. It has been a real joy and the best part is the inter-action with the students.”

The event chairs are Mary Quinn and Frank Cooper. In a let-ter to prospective donors they wrote, “Throughout our lives, in every aspect of our lives, we have been inspired by the Ritchie family. We are truly humbled to be part of an evening honoring a family who has done so much for our Catholic Community, espe-cially the Newman Center.”

The Gala begins at 6 p.m. with a wine reception followed by dinner and a program highlighting the Ritchie family and stu-dents of the Newman Center. There will also be a raffle and live auction during the reception. Because of the Ritchie family’s country roots, the theme of the gala will be western chic.

For more information visit www.tu-catholic.org or contact the Newman Center at 918.599.0204 or by email at [email protected].

The Ritchie family will be honored at the 2018 Newman Center Gala

Catholic Charities adds expansive Bartlesville ministry to list of programs

— By Debbie Crowley, Catholic Charities Communications Coordinator

A longtime leader in the Bartlesville nonprofit community, Mary Martha Outreach has joined the family of Catholic Chari-ties of Eastern Oklahoma. Currently in its 19th year of operation, Mary Martha Outreach (MMO) distributes millions of pounds of fresh, quality food and produce to those in need each year.

Mary Martha Outreach was founded by several Bartlesville community activists. Jamie Wood, executive director and one of the original founders, says her decision to retire is what prompt-ed the decision to turn over the ministry to Catholic Charities.

“It has been an incredible blessing to serve those in need in our community. The decision was made to join MMO with Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma. I am so happy that this compassionate organization is taking over the helm. I have full confidence that their leaders’ hearts are passionate and grounded in faith and love,” said Wood.

In 2016, Mary Martha Outreach distributed 4.5 million pounds of food, primarily fresh produce, to their clients in need and to 50 other nonprofit agencies in the area. A major-ity of this food is donated from the Walmart Distribution Cen-ter just outside Bartlesville.

MMO will continue its strong local presence under Catholic Charities, serving the same people, counties and agencies. Catholic Charities will continue to collaborate with local agen-cies and intends to expand its services in the area.

In recent years, Catholic Charities has been actively extend-ing its reach throughout the diocese. “Our plan is for every person in our diocese to be within 75 miles of the help they need,” said Deacon Kevin Sartorius, executive director of Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma. “We must be present where the people are in need. Our expanded presence in Bar-tlesville is a step toward this goal.”

Photos and more information on the good work being done at MMO can be found at their website, marymarthaoutreach.com.

Deacon Kevin Sartorius, executive director of Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma, Father John O’Neill, pastor of St. John Before the Latin Gate Parish in Bartlesville and Catholic Charities board member, and Jamie Wood, retiring executive director of Mary Martha Outreach and St. John parishioner, at an entrustment ceremony on Dec. 13, 2017, at the parish, handing over the keys to the organization to Cath-olic Charities. (Courtesy of Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma)

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Bishop Konderla blesses display of relic

On Jan. 7, 2018, Bishop David Konderla celebrated Mass with Father Khiet Nguyen and Deacon Clement Bradley on the occasion of the Feast of Epiphany at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Wilburton, Okla., and St. Catherine’s of Siena Parish in Talihina, Okla. During Mass at St. Catherine’s of Siena, Bishop Konderla bless-ed the framed display that contains a second-class relic of Blessed Stanley Rother. The relic is a stole that Fa-ther Rother gave to Marcella Faudree, who served as a missionary in Santiago Atitlán from 1964-1970. Marcella was a member of St. Catherine’s of Siena and gave the stole to the parish as a gift.

Bishop Konderla’s schedule

March 1 Theology Uncorked, St. Anne Catholic Parish, 301 S. 9th St., Broken Arrow, 6:30 p.m.

3 Project Andrew, Church of the Madalene, 3188 E. 22nd St. S., Tulsa, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Mass for In the Father’s Footsteps, Norman, 4 p.m.

4 Mass, St. Joseph Parish, 290 NW Church St., Krebs, 10:30 a.m.; Spanish Mass, St. John Parish, 300 East Washington, McAlester, 1:30 p.m.

5 Blessing of Warren Clinic, 796 Charles Page Blvd., Sand Springs, 9:30 a.m.

7 Invocation for Tulsa City Council, City Hall, 175 E. 2nd St., Tulsa, 5 p.m.

11 Dedication of St. Francis Xavier Church, 711 N. Country Club Rd., Stillwater.

12 USCCB committee meeting for Laity Marriage, Family Life and Youth, Washington, D.C.

15 Sacrament of Reconciliation, Bishop Kelley High School, 905 S. Hudson Ave., Tulsa, 10-11 a.m and 1:30-3 p.m.

17 Mass, St. James Parish, 5500 Douglas Lane, Bartlesville, 5:30 p.m.

20-22 Seminary visit, Conception Seminary, 37174 State Hwy VV, Conception, Missouri.

23 Stations of the Cross and Dinner, Sacred Heart Parish, 1777 E. Grayson Ave., Sapulpa, 7 p.m.

24 Knights of Columbus Council 4721, Mohawk Park, 5701 E. 36th St. N., Tulsa, 9 a.m.

25 Mass, Sacred Heart Parish, 333 S. 8th St., Fairfax, 9 a.m.; Mass, St. Joseph Parish, Osage & “C” Ave., Cleveland, 11:30 a.m.

27 Chrism Mass, Holy Family Cathedral, 122 W. 8th St., Tulsa, 5:30 p.m.

29 Holy Thursday Mass, Holy Family Cathedral, 122 W. 8th St., Tulsa, 5:30 p.m.

30 Good Friday Liturgy, Holy Family Cathedral, 122 W. 8th St., Tulsa, 5:30 p.m.

31 Easter Vigil Mass, Holy Family Cathedral, 122 W. 8th St., Tulsa, 8:30 p.m.

April 1 Confirmation Mass, Holy Family Cathedral, 122 W. 8th St., Tulsa, 12 p.m.

5 Newman Society Dinner, University of Tulsa, 3208 E. 8th St., Tulsa, 6 p.m.

6 Confirmation Mass in English, St. Thomas More Parish, 2720 S. 129th East Ave., Tulsa, 7 p.m.

7 Confirmation Masses in Spanish, St. Thomas More Parish, 2720 S. 129th East Ave., Tulsa, 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

8 Confirmation Mass, St. Patrick

Parish, 2045 East 4th St., Sand Springs, 10 a.m.; Mass and Award Ceremony for Catholic Committee on Scouting, Holy Family Cathedral, 122 W. 8th St., Tulsa, 2 p.m.; Confirmation Mass, Church of Madalene, 3188 East 22nd St. S., Tulsa, 6 p.m.

13-15 Regional Fifth Encounter Meeting, San Antonio, TX.

17 Mass, Immaculate Conception Parish, 1314 Lynn Ave., Pawhuska, 6:15 p.m.

20 Confirmation Mass, St. Catherine Parish, 4532 S. 25th West Ave., Tulsa, 6 p.m.

21 Porta Caeli Remembrance Event, 2440 N. Harvard Ave., Tulsa, 10 a.m.; Confirmation Mass, St. John before the Latin Gate Parish, 715 S. Johnstone Ave., Bartlesville, 5 p.m.

22 Confirmation Mass, St. Elizabeth Parish, 1653 113th St. NW, Grove, 10:30 a.m.; Confirmation Mass, Church of St. Mary, 1347 E. 49th Pl., Tulsa, 5 p.m.

24-26 New Priest’s Conference, Wichita, Kansas.

27-29 Oklahoma State Knights of Columbus Conference, Oklahoma City.

29 Mass, Sacred Heart Parish, 1777 E. Grayson Ave., Sapulpa, 10:30 a.m.; Keynote speaker at “Tulsa Together,” Christ the King Parish, 16th & S. Quincy, Tulsa, 6:30 p.m.

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Legatus chapter seeks to be chartered soon

Legatus, Latin for ambassador, is the only organization designed for top-ranking Catholic business leaders and will be chartered in the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma in the near future. There are more than 90 chapters including Oklahoma City and soon the new Tulsa chapter, recently endorsed by Bishop Konderla.

Tom Monaghan, the founder and CEO of Legatus, said, “At its core, Legatus is about helping members grow in their faith, which in turn influences every area of their daily lives. And be-cause of their unique position as leaders, they in turn have a ripple effect, positively impacting many others.”

“At the heart of Legatus is the monthly chapter meetings where members have the opportunity for rosary, confession and Mass. In addition, they spend time with their peers and hear from tremendous speakers. We are excited to be chartering our new-est chapter in Tulsa,” he continued.

Legatus members are committed to study, live and spread the faith in their business, professional and personal lives. Spouses are full members, providing additional opportunities to enhance marriage and family life.

“We were thrilled to join Legatus because we were looking for a way to expand our Catholic Faith as a couple,” offered David and Marellie Littlefield. “The speakers have been inspiring, giving us many things to discuss afterward. And the ability to get ac-quainted with other Catholic couples, who we might not other-wise have an opportunity to meet, has been wonderful!”

If you are, or were, a business owner, CEO, president, man-aging director or managing partner, Legatus would like to invite you to our international nonprofit business commu-nity. To learn more about our local and national events, as well as membership criteria, please contact Carmen Tate at 575.973.7278 or [email protected].

Rural Outreach Advisory Committee established

Under the direction of Bishop David Konderla and the ad-visement of the Presbyteral Council for the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, a Rural Outreach Advisory Committee was established in late 2017.

The vision of Bishop Konderla and the Presbyteral Council for the committee includes providing support and resources for the people and priests of rural parishes; advising Bishop Konderla on the needs of rural parishes; establishing a pro-cess to distribute funds to rural parishes from the “Rooted in Faith, Forward in Hope” capital campaign; and determining ways that the diocese can use technology to eliminate the distance factor for rural parishes, providing more opportuni-ties to access resources and increase communication.

An important element of the committee has been the es-tablishment of an evangelization team that pools resources of talented and gifted lay people and permanent deacons in the diocese that can serve rural parishes by helping organize activ-ities such as prayer retreats or outreach events. That team held a Parish Mission at St. John in McAlester, covered in an earlier issue of EOC, and has scheduled a Lenten Mission for Sacred Heart in Miami. Bishop Konderla and the Presbyteral Council

are excited about the future possibilities of this team.Father John O’Neill, the Diocesan Coordinator for Rural

Outreach, said that their first meeting last December provided an excellent discussion on rural parish needs.

“We were able to review and discuss the findings of the Rural Summit Report that was produced after two summit meetings in 2016 with the people and priests of rural parishes in our diocese. I was also able to share my experiences with the committee from my time of traveling to visit all the rural parishes. Every person on the committee really has heart for rural ministry and outreach. We look forward to serving our rural parishes and providing them with any tools they might need to carry out their mission,” he said.

The members of the committee are Cathy Miller, a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Skiatook and the Diocesan Envision-ing Team; Deacon Peter McLane of St. Therese Parish in Collins-ville; Father Sean Donovan, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Pawhuska; Father Josh Litwack, pastor of St. Anthony Parish and Uganda Martyrs Parish in Okmulgee; Father Leonard Higgins, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in McAlester; Father Desmond Okpogba, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Sallisaw; and Father John O’Neill, pastor of St. John Before the Latin Gate in Bartlesville.


Diocese ranked at top of country in sacramental activity

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) recently released findings on its research to determine the most Catholic area in the country, which they coined “Catholicville.” The Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma ranked first on their list.

“Dioceses with the most Catholics tend to celebrate the most sacraments,” CARA reported. “We compared dioceses by look-ing at sacramental rates per 1,000 parish-affiliated Catholics to control for the different sizes of dioceses. For example, in the U.S. in 2016 there are 10.6 baptisms of minors, 10.3 First Com-munions, and 2.1 marriages in the Church per 1,000 Catholics. Looking across the sacraments recorded in The Official Catholic Directory, we can rank the dioceses for each type that is re-ceived or celebrated in a year. We can then take an average of these ranks and create an overall ‘score.’ In 2016, the Diocese of Tulsa scored 10.5 — meaning it ranked about 10th, on average, across all sacraments for which data exist. No other diocese had consistently high ranks. Thus, the Diocese of Tulsa is, relatively speaking, the most sacramentally active Catholic diocese in the country and a contender for Catholicville.”

Bishop David Konderla said that these statistics are a tes-tament to the evangelical commitment of Bishop Emeritus Edward Slattery, the priests and deacons of the Diocese, and the lay faithful.

“We know that Catholics are a minority in Oklahoma, but the ministries in our Diocese are vibrant. In my travels, I am always impressed with the devotion of our people to the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ. The CARA report bears witness to this devotion and I pray we continue to expand our efforts to bring every person in our Diocese home to the Catholic Church.”

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Envisioning Team continues process to set vision for the dioceseStory and photo by Mason Beecroft

A s reported in the last issue of the EOC, Bishop David Konderla has established a Diocesan Envisioning Team to begin the

process of establishing a mutually shared vision for the missions and ministries of the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma. The 10-member Diocesan Envisioning Team has spent the past few months gathering input from the wide range of communities within the diocese.

Priests, deacons, school principals, religious, teachers, catechists and laity from both rural and metro parishes have had the opportunity to offer feedback through small group meetings or surveys, which were distributed in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. Over 400 surveys have already been completed to help the Envisioning Team consider the needs of the people and parishes in the diocese.

“I believe the group is able to faithfully represent the many kinds of ministry circumstances that we have throughout the diocese,” said Bishop Konderla. “Part of the work of the group is to receive and discern all of the input that is coming from all of the various groups consulted through online surveys and meetings. The work is going well and I think it will lead us to an accurate understanding of what the Church in the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma considers important priorities for the next three years of our mission and evangelization. I invite people to continue to pray for everyone involved in our strategic planning.”

Bishop Konderla enlisted the services of the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI) to lead the strategic planning sessions. Dan Celluci, the CEO of CLI, is impressed with the feedback from the surveys as well as that obtained though the Hispanic Apostolate and rural ministry summits.

“The survey responses combined with feedback from priests, deacons, religious and our school principals, not to mention all of the research about our diocese and larger community, have really provided a rich collection of data from which the team is basing its conversations,” he said.

Cathy Miller, a lay leader at Sacred Heart Parish in Skiatook and a member of the Envisioning Team, is excited about the process, saying, “I am thrilled that the Bishop is so committed

Dan Celluci from the Catholic Leadership Institute shares with the Diocesan Envisioning Team.

to gathering input from all the stakeholders in the diocese including priests, deacons, religious, educators and lay people. By listening to so many voices, especially the laity, the strategic vision that the team is developing will really speak to the opportunities and challenges that we face across the diocese. Every parish, school and ministry will be able to support the priorities and goals that are defined in the plan. We are blessed to be in the diocese at this time in its history.”

Father Richard Bradley, the pastor of St. Catherine in Tulsa and St. Joseph in Brisow and also a member of the Envisioning Team, is optimistic for the future of rural ministry in the diocese.

“Having grown up as a city boy in Tulsa, as a priest I have been blessed to get acquainted with and to serve the rural Church in 10 parishes of the Diocese of Tulsa. I am very grateful for the experiences I have enjoyed serving in those rural parishes. I believe every priest should have the opportunity to serve the Church in rural ministry, and witness the Catholic faith and the love of the people in those parishes. They may not have the same human and financial resources as the larger city parishes, but their faith is just as strong. I believe it is fitting that rural ministry is on the table during the Envisioning process, and I am confident that, whatever priorities will emerge for the Diocese of Tulsa in the coming years, the needs, and the wonderful gifts of the parishes and the People of God in the rural parts of the diocese will also be addressed,” he said.

The information gathering and evaluation process for the Envisioning Team is expected to be completed sometime around Easter, April 1, 2018. The planning sessions will result in a strategic planning statement issued by Bishop Konderla, sometime around Pentecost 2018.

yourstories

FAITH &woRKS 2018 ANNUAL APPEAL

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Last year, the Faith & Works Annual Appeal was introduced to rebrand the Diocesan Development Fund (DDF). And, due to your generosity, the 2017 Faith & Works Annual Appeal achieved its goal of

$2,084,075 to raise funds for our many shared ministries across the Diocese of Tulsa & Eastern Oklahoma. The prayerful commitment and faithful support of the people, priests, deacons and religious have allowed us to continue to expand our missions and ministries throughout the diocese.

The theme for the 2018 Faith & Works appeal, “Transforming lives through Christ,” is based on the appointed reading from the Gospel of Mark for the appeal commitment weekend of February 11, 2018. Bishop David Konderla summarized the passage, writing, “Christ’s cleansing of the leper serves as an example of the transforming power of encountering our Lord. We see the leper approach Christ in humility, and after being healed, he overflows with a

gratitude that compels him to proclaim the name of Christ to his community. The leper models our own discipleship by showing how a personal transformation in Christ springs forth a spirit of evangelization and service.”

It is this spirit of evangelization and service that has called us to raise the overall total goal for the 2018 Faith & Works Appeal to $2,200,000. We are excited about the increase of ministry activities in the rural areas of the Diocese; the

‘Transforming lives through Christ’By Derek Lyssy, Director of Development

Photo by Dave Crenshaw


Ten men were ordained to the diaconate in 2017, funded entirely by contributions to the Faith & Works Annual Appeal.

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revitalization of our Catechetical Conference; the growth of Sing Praise events; a new class of Deacon aspirants that includes our first ever Spanish-speaking class; the hiring of a full-time Director of Child & Youth Protection; the assignment of a new full-time Director of Vocations; and the development of a Theological Institute. With these and other expanding ministries of our Diocese, we believed there is a need for a new goal.

We know that as we work together to serve the needs of our people, our parishes and our communities, then our faith will go further. We also know that as we work together to fulfill the mission of Jesus Christ to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth, the Holy Spirit will work through us to transform lives through Christ. Please continue to pray for the Church in the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma as we continue to work together.

Derek Lyssy answers questions from priests and lay leaders regarding the 2018 Faith & Works Annual Appeal at St. Mary Parish in Tulsa. Mr. Lyssy also held kick-off ses-sions at St. John Before the Latin Gate in Bar-tlesville and St. John the Evangelist in McAlester. (Photo by Rod Treat)

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El año pasado se presentó la Campaña Anual Fe y Obras para cambiar la marca del Fondo Diocesano de Desarrollo (DDF, por sus siglas en inglés). Y, gracias a su generosidad, la Campaña Anual Fe y Obras 2017

alcanzó su meta de $ 2,084,075 en fondos para nuestros muchos apostolados comunes en la Diócesis de Tulsa y el Este de Oklahoma. El compromiso y el apoyo fiel de la gente, sacerdotes, diáconos y religiosos nos han permitido continuar expandiendo nuestras misiones y apostolados en toda la diócesis.

El tema de la Campaña Fe y Obras 2018 es: “Transformando vidas a través de Cristo”, basado en la lectura del Evangelio de Marcos para el fin de semana del 11 de febrero del 2018 en el cual se presentará la campaña para que los fieles consideren su compromiso. El obispo David Konderla resumió el pasaje, escribiendo: “La limpieza del leproso sirve como un ejemplo del poder transformador al encontrar a nuestro Señor. Vemos que el leproso se acerca a Cristo en humildad, y después de ser sanado, se desborda con una gratitud que lo impulsa a proclamar el nombre

de Cristo a su comunidad. El leproso modela nuestro propio discipulado mostrando cómo una transformación personal en Cristo brota de un espíritu de evangelización y servicio”.

Es este espíritu de evangelización y servicio el que nos ha llevado a elevar la meta total para la Campaña Fe y Obras 2018 a $ 2,200,000. Estamos entusiasmados con el aumento de las actividades apostólicas en las áreas rurales de la diócesis; la revitalización de nuestra Conferencia de Catequesis; el crecimiento de los eventos como el Sing Praise; una nueva clase

“Transformando vidas a través de Cristo”Por: Derek Lyssy, Director de Desarrollo


El Obispo Konderla pone cenizas en la Parroquia del Sagrado Corazón en Fairfax el Miércoles de Ceniza 2017. Sus contribuciones a la campaña Anual de Fe y Obras.

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de aspirantes al diaconado que incluye nuestra primera clase de aspirantes de habla hispana; la contratación de un Director para la Protección de Niños y Jóvenes de tiempo completo; la asignación de un nuevo Director de Vocaciones de tiempo completo; y el desarrollo de un Instituto Teológico. Con estos y otros ministerios en expansión de nuestra Diócesis, creímos que era necesario un nuevo objetivo.

Sabemos que a medida que trabajamos juntos para servir las necesidades de nuestra gente, de nuestras parroquias y de nuestras comunidades, nuestra fe crece. También sabemos que a medida que cooperamos para cumplir la misión de Jesucristo de llevar el Evangelio hasta los confines de la tierra, el Espíritu Santo trabajará a través de nosotros para transformar vidas a través de Cristo. Continúen orando por la Iglesia en la Diócesis de Tulsa y el Este de Oklahoma mientras continuamos trabajando juntos.

Leyenda: Derek Lyssy responde preguntas de sacerdotes y líderes laicos con respecto a la Campaña Anual 2018 Fe y Obras en la Parroquia de St. Mary en Tulsa. Der-ek Lyssy también realizó sesiones de lanzamiento en St. John Before the Latin Gate en Bartlesville y St. John the Evangelist en McAlester. (Foto por: Rod Treat)


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J.D. Langston never spent much time in church when he was growing up in the Tulsa area. His mother worked several

jobs to support her family and tried to teach her children respect and develop their character, but there was only so much she could do on her own. J.D. ran away from home when he was 15. Drug abuse and crime became a way of life for him.

He soon began spending time in and out of Oklahoma correctional facilities. J.D. had only been out of prison for two months when, in August of 1995, he had a shootout with police after a domestic dis-pute. He caught a 9mm bullet in his arm, but survived. He was accused of trying to kill his girlfriend, another man, two Rog-ers County deputies and the police chief of Inola. He was convicted and sentenced

to 460 years in prison. J.D. was 21.J.D. initially spent time at the James

Crabtree Correctional Center in Helena, Okla., before being transferred to the Ci-marron Correctional Facility in Cushing. He was far from being a model inmate. He was angry. He hated authority. He was a drug addict. He was also a member of an Aryan Brotherhood prison gang. He had their patch tattooed on his left arm to show his allegiance.

While serving his seemingly hopeless sentence, J.D. heard about a prison minis-try called Kairos. Kairos is an ecumenical ministry that seeks to transform the lives of incarcerated men, women and youth as well as their families through the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ so that they can become model inmates and produc-tive citizens. J.D. really did not care about their mission so much, but had heard that the program had its fringe benefits.

“I knew about Kairos and had applied to go for a Kairos weekend a couple times, but never had the opportunity. To be honest, I was only trying to go because of the food and time out of my cell,” he said. “Then, in 2003, I was selected at the last minute to attend one of their events.”

The Kairos Ministry transformed his life forever. The Kairos program is a weekend that consists of carefully structured talks, meditations, and individual and group activities led by volunteers. It is also an invitation to live in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

“That weekend was the first time in my life that I had been exposed to God’s love in Jesus Christ,” J.D. explained. “You just have to experience the weekend. There are no words that can justify what happened to me. ‘Kairos’ means ‘God’s appointed time’ and it was for me.”

“I heard men sharing their stories of faith and they were sharing hard, seri-ous stories. There were men crying, and men in prison do not cry,” he continued. “There was one guy in particular who shared how he had been molested as a child. They were all so transparent. This allowed me to see that men can open up and share their problems.”

J.D. was especially impressed with the volunteers and all the people involved with the Kairos weekend. He could not believe that there were hundreds of peo-ple outside the prison participating in a

Obedience through sufferingPrisoner comes to faith in

Christ through KairosStory and photo by Mason Beecroft

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prayer chain for them. Then there was the food and the cookies.

“When you are in prison, you do not have much exposure to people who show genuine care, love and concern for you. I am forever indebted to the brothers and sisters of Kairos,” he said. “If I could sum up their importance in one word, it would be ‘hope.’ They show God’s love and that people care even when most of society and our families have given up on us.”

After his Kairos experience, J.D. knew that God was real and loved him through Jesus Christ. His new faith, however, began to conflict with his prison life. After all, he was with the Aryan Brotherhood. He had obligations to his gang. He had obligations to follow orders or be jumped. He also had obligations to Jesus Christ.

“I was really battling inside,” J.D. confessed. “Then a call was made (by the gang) and I knew that God did not want me to live that way anymore. I was struggling. I came to the point where I just could not live that life anymore. I went to the brothers and said, ‘I love you guys, but in the end I stand before God, not you. Do whatever it is that you need to do.’”

“I started separating myself from the guys. I did not want any part of doing dope or living that life,” he continued. “One old-timer came to me and asked why it had taken me so long. I would have given my life for these guys and now I felt like I was turning my back on them. It was hard to walk away because they were like my family. Now they didn’t like it, but they understood.”

J.D. then made the difficult decision to burn off his Aryan Brotherhood patch. He spent two days in his cell burning off the patch. It was an extremely painful process, but he knew he had to do it if he was going to leave the gang forever and devote his life to God. He believed it was a testimony to his faith in Christ. A week after he finished burning off the patch, gangrene set in the wound. He spent the next several months receiving painful scrubbings of the infected area.

At the time, J.D. was attending every church service he could find in the pris-on, even the Catholic Mass. He knew that he needed support and he found it in the chaplains and the volunteers who come to the prison to provide ministry as well

as the other prisoners committed to their Christian faith.

“You can really see God’s love in the prison ministry,” J.D. shared. “It changes peoples lives. It saved my life. If I had not gone to Kairos, then I would potentially be dead from gang life. Prison minis-try can be the difference between life and death. I believe it saved my life and allowed me to share God’s love with my family. Sadly, my mom passed away in 2000 and she died with me still being a junkie. I wish she had seen me change.”

After his conversion in 2003, J.D. began to reconcile himself with his remaining family. He found out that he had a son that had been born just after his incar-ceration and had the opportunity to meet him when he was eleven years old. He continues to write him letters on a regular basis. He also began to receive regular visits from his extended family.

Samantha Tyner, J.D.’s niece who has had the opportunity to visit him with her fam-ily, shared, “Throughout the years, I have watched him evolve into a model inmate and an amazing Christian. Even after failed parole and commutation attempts, he has managed to keep his trust in the Lord and accept that God’s plan has already been made. To him, those disappointments are God’s way of telling him he has work to do on the inside. I admire him for all the changes he has made by God’s grace and he has no idea of the lives he has touched.”

J.D. is not Catholic, but he has been heavily influenced by the ministry of Dea-con Kenny Longbrake and Father Emman-uel Nduka. He also attends Mass as well as other Protestant and inmate-led services. He continues to be a leader and regular participant in the Kairos retreats, working with Father Emmanuel and Deacon Long-brake and the other Catholic volunteers who participate in the ministry.

“I love the reverence of the Mass,” J.D. said. “And I appreciate Deacon Kenny (Longbrake) and Father Emmanuel (Ndu-ka) so much for their faithfulness. Their dedication to this ministry and the pris-oners is impressive. Deacon Kenny has a business and a family and he still faith-fully comes in here for prison ministry. Father Emmanuel is separated from his family and home so he can follow God and be a priest for the Church. I applaud

their faith and I respect them. They are models of God’s love and mercy.”

Deacon Kenny Longbrake, the director of prison ministry for the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, is impressed with J.D.

“I would take him into my home to-morrow if he were released,” said Deacon Longbrake. “He is only one of two prison-ers trusted to serve in the administrative wing of the Cimarron Correctional Facili-ty. This is not an easy place to be, but any prison or jail is a field ripe for the harvest. These men and women need to hear the love of Jesus Christ and ministries like Kairos provide that opportunity.”

Hebrews 5:8 is one of J.D.’s favorite passages. The author writes, “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered.” J.D. has known suffer-ing in his life. He also knows that these sufferings are largely the result of his own sinful decisions. He finds confidence, however, in the sufferings of Christ, knowing that in Him there is forgiveness and redemption. And he finds strength in God’s providence in his life.

“I am a sinner that needs forgiveness, but God has me going in the right di-rection. I know that God is faithful. This August marked 23 years that I have been in prison. I have spent over half of my life in prison. I have to take one day at a time because the big picture can be overwhelm-ing,” he shared. “I do not want to be in prison, but I would rather be in here for the rest of my life with my Heavenly Father than to be out there for one day without Him. So although I may die in this place, this is not my home. I try to reach out to as many men as I can in hope they will grow into a deep relationship with our Heav-enly Father so they can be the men they are called to be and their families deserve. That is my prayer and desire.”

The Prison Ministry of the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma is support-ed by the Faith & Works Annual Appeal, the Black and Indian Mission and Catho-lic Extension. If you would like to know more about Kairos, please visit their website at kairosprisonministry.org. You can also visit the Diocesan Prison Ministry page at dioceseoftulsa.org.


Diocesan theological institute in development stages

The Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma has capitalized on a unique opportunity to elevate the entire spiritual life of the local Church by launching a new diocesan theological institute. The institute, yet to be officially named, will be at the service of the Church in Eastern Oklahoma primarily by teaching and

forming Catholic leaders within parishes and schools, which should have an exponential effect on improving catechesis, discipleship and evangelization. Some of the areas of support currently being discerned are teaching in the diaconate program, offering ongoing formation for parish catechists, starting a new spiritual direction program, and providing ongoing formation for Catholic school teachers.

To carry out the good work of the institute, the diocese has hired two new employees: Dr. Richard Meloche, Ph.D., and Dr. Marcel Brown, Ph.D. Dr. Meloche, who will serve as the director of the new institute, and Dr. Brown will take the next few months to travel around the Diocese listening and learning from our local leaders before officially launching the institute later this year. Both men exhibit a great love for the Church, and the diocese looks forward to how their ministry will support local parish and school leaders.

Dr. Meloche said, “The opportunity to join the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma has been a tremendous blessing. Having traveled throughout the diocese, it has become more evident to me that the ‘spring-time’ of renewal, which St. Pope John Paul II so beautifully spoke of, is well underway in the Diocese, and we are happy to be able to contribute – in some small part – to this renewal.”

“We believe that our purpose as teachers and as leaders is perhaps best expressed in what the Church has called ‘The Pedagogy of God,’ whose hallmark is to see each student’s learning within the broader context of eternity, each lesson being set against the backdrop of each soul’s gradual progression toward their final end,” said Dr. Brown.

An essential dimension of the institute will be the retrieval of the Catholic Tradition by returning to the sources of the Faith and sharing these riches with the faithful of the diocese.

“In order to recover the richness of our cultural inheritance as Catholics, we need to actively identify and become re-acquainted with the classics of the Catholic Tradition, including the contributions of ancient Greece and Rome, the Fathers of the Church, the monastics, the mendicants, the scholastics, and those among early-modern and modern thinkers who cast a glorious light, at times indirectly, upon the perennial teachings of the Catholic Church,” Dr. Brown offered.

“Sometimes we fail to recognize the incredible wealth of beauty, goodness and truth that is our Catholic faith. Much of what is required for an authentic cultural renewal is simply to ‘dust-off,’ as it were, some of our priceless traditions and

practices that have been stored away. Importantly, the interest lying behind this retrieval is not antiquarianism or historical romanticism. Rather we look to retrieve our rich past in order to apply it in meaningful ways in the present,” Dr. Meloche added.

“The Tradition has continually restored and revitalized education, law and medicine while giving shape to every aspect of society today. The most enduring principles in art and architecture, civic planning, music, drama, the fine arts, science and more, ultimately find their roots in the deep prayer of the earliest monastic communities. It is difficult to find a field, an area of inquiry or a dimension of contemporary culture that is untouched by Sacred Liturgy and the Catholic Tradition, which have been and continue to be powerful guiding forces today. Our earliest schools and hospitals and markets and town-centers were built around centers of prayer, as were our first universities; and at the center of all such centers of culture has been Christ in the Sacred Liturgy, truly present in the Sacrament of the Altar,” affirmed Dr. Brown.

“For me personally, I came to the practice of my Catholic faith through parish life,” Dr. Brown shared. “Since the time of my conversion to the practice of the Catholic faith, parish life has nourished me continually in many ways – through religious education and sacramental preparation in my youth, and, since that time, through a vast array of roles for laypeople in the liturgy. I have been part of parish book discussions, breakfast clubs and prayer groups; I enjoyed CYO and Catholic Life Community in my youth, and in my adult life I have joined the Knights of Columbus and have recently attended my first A.C.T.S. Retreat. In my professional life – doctoral research, teaching and administration – I have sought at every turn to point to the truth of the Catholic faith. As a member of the new institute, I am eager to continue to offer my service to the Church in Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, faithfully responding to God’s call to love Him above all things and to love my neighbor as myself.”

Dr. Meloche asks that all the faithful to kindly remember the faculty and Institute in their prayers.


By Mason Beecroft

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Dr. Richard Meloche is a native of Canada and earned his initial degrees in philosophy and theology from the University of Western Ontario. He enjoyed a five-year doctoral fellowship at Ave Maria University in Naples, Fla., during which time he immersed himself in the study of the Catholic intellectual tradition, with a specific focus on the writing and thoughts of St. Thomas Aquinas.

After successfully defending his dissertation, he worked as a DRE at a large parish in Jacksonville, Fla., before moving to Shawnee, Okla., to teach at St. Gregory’s University. At SGU, Dr. Meloche taught courses in theology, philosophy and the ‘great books,’ and toward the end of his tenure was asked by the administration to leave the classroom to oversee all academic operations of the university as Vice President of Academic Affairs. Dr. Meloche and his wife of 13 years, have recently welcomed their sixth child. When he is not reading St. Thomas, he enjoys all things good, true and beautiful.

Dr. Marcel Brown, a native of Denver, graduated from The University of Dallas with a degree in English prior to pursuing doctoral studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He and his wife married in 2005, Year of the Eucharist, and the couple has recently been blessed to welcome their eighth child. The couple served as team-teaching catechists at St. Rita

Catholic Church in northern Virginia while Dr. Brown worked to complete his dissertation on the centrality of the Eucharist for The York Cycle, the most prominent example of devotional drama in England prior to the life and times of William Shakespeare. Upon completing his doctorate in English in 2013, Dr. Brown joined the faculty of St. Gregory’s University, teaching courses in literature and language, great books, the liberal arts, The York Cycle, Shakespeare and Tolkien. During his time at St. Gregory’s, Dr. Brown was also tapped to serve as program head for Great Books, University Seminar, the Academic Success Center, the Liberal Arts Core Capstone, and eventually Core Academic Programs as a whole. When he is not reading, writing and teaching, Dr. Brown enjoys conversing with his wife, making music with his family and fishing shorelines of all kinds with his children.

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Diocesan faithful choose to march for lifeStory and photos by Mason Beecroft

Faithful from the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma participated in two significant pro-life events this January, one in Tulsa and the

other in Washington, D.C.

On January 14, the Ninth Annual Tulsa March for Life drew nearly 2,000 participants. Bishop David Konderla celebrated a noon Mass at Holy Family Cathedral and then addressed an ecumenical crowd gathered outside the Cathedral at 1 p.m. to start the march. The participants then prayerfully marched from Holy Family to Centennial Green at 6th and

Boston to join together in singing, prayer and encourage-ment. The speakers included Dr. Everett Piper, the president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University; Dr. Whitney Cline, a pe-diatrician from OU; Pam Peterson, a former Oklahoma state legislator that sponsored pro-life laws; and Abby Johnson, a former director of a Planned Parenthood facility in Bryan, Texas. Jeremy Priest, the director of the Family Life Office, emceed the event.

Then, on Jan. 16, approximately 120 youth and chaperones from the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma boarded three buses for a 24-hour trip to Washington, D.C., to partic-ipate in the 45th Annual National March for Life. Bishop Da-

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vid Konderla celebrated Mass for the pilgrims at Holy Family Cathedral at 5:05 p.m. prior to their departure. He encour-aged them in his homily, telling them that they are the fu-ture of the pro-life movement and their witness of faith on behalf of Jesus Christ has the potential to end abortion in our country. Bishop Konderla blessed each of the buses be-fore they left Tulsa.

Bishop David Konderla, Father Joe Townsend, several deacons and six of our seminarians from Mount St. Mary’s in Cincinnati, Ohio, then joined the youth in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 19 for the National March for Life. Bishop Konderla and Father Townsend celebrated an 8 a.m. Mass at the hotel before the group boarded their buses to join a crowd of ap-proximately 500,000 people to mourn the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that made abortion on demand legal in all 50 states. Since that decision, nearly 60 million babies have been aborted.

At the opening rally, the pilgrims enjoyed live music be-fore listening to speeches from President Donald Trump, testimonies from abortion survivors and members of legis-lature. After the program, they joined in the annual march, which is the largest civil rights protest in the United States, from the Mall to the steps of the Supreme Court. Bishop Konderla remarked that the vast majority of participants are high school and college-aged youth, which bodes well for the future of the pro-life movement.

The group from the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklaho-ma spent the next day visiting Arlington National Cemetery and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum before returning to Oklahoma. Sarah Jameson, the director of the Office of Youth and Young Adults, and Caitlyn Benedict, her assistant, organized this annual pilgrimage for our youth. Your support of the Annual Faith & Works Appeal makes these events possible.




The Church Visible By Father John Grant, Photo courtesy of Larry Hoberock

This month, some of the faithful in our diocese will have the privilege of assisting in a liturgy that most Catholics never get to experience in their entire lives. The parishioners of St.

Francis Xavier and St. John the Evangelist in Stillwater will celebrate the dedication of their brand new church! A ritual that is as venerable as it is rare, of ancient origin, and has helped shape the Christian understanding that our churches are sacramental instantiations of Christ’s Mystical Body: built of living stones, on the foundation of the twelve apostles, with Christ as the keystone that holds the whole structure together. (cf. Eph 2:20-21, RSV) And so this wonderful occasion gives us reason to examine this beautiful liturgy, which has taken place in every church where the holy Mass is celebrated.

Going back in history to the early Church, Christians had to practice their faith clandestinely and so they were typical-ly unable to erect church buildings. Rather,

in Rome for instance, they made use of Christian homes as the place for worship and celebration of the Eucharist. In such an arrangement, the place of worship could

hardly be called ‘sacred’ since it was not set apart for worship alone, and so could not be dedicated. Similarly, they celebrated Mass in the catacombs and places asso-ciated with martyrs, made sacred not by ritual but by their blood spilt in union with Christ’s own. Therefore, it did not become necessary to dedicate a church as a sacred object whose use was limited only to the celebration of the Eucharist until it became common to build churches for this singular purpose after the legalization of Christianity by Constantine in the fourth century.

Fundamentally, the church building is a sacramental representation of the true Church, the Body of Christ: a temple built of living stones. And so the church is a sacramental. And like all sacraments and sacramentals, it is only because of the Incarnation of Jesus, when He took on our material flesh, that He made it possible for visible matter to make present to us divine, invisible realties. In the case of the Church the reality is the Mystical Body of Christ, which is intangible, but real:

“So then you are no longer strangers and

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sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwell-ing place of God in the Spirit.” (Eph 2:19-22)

This understanding allowed the Chris-tians of the Early Church great freedom in choosing where to worship, because it is the assembly, not the building, that constitutes the Church. But when church edifices began to be constructed for the sole and sacred purpose of worship, they understood that the building’s design and ornamentation should endeavor to make the intangible realities visible. The build-ing is meant to be a material mediation that makes visible the invisible reality which it represents, so that we can see, touch and even smell it.

Still, the Mystical Body is not only constituted by Christians on earth, but also the saints in heaven. And so added to the church building are reminders of this: imag-es of the Saints in stained glass, which spar-kle like the bejeweled living stones of the heavenly Temple which they are. (cf. Rev 21:19-

20) And the relics of martyrs are interred beneath the altar just like in heaven: “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.” (Rev 6:9)

Still, the rite of dedication is primarily about the constitution of the worshiping assembly, which in the case of Stillwater is a marriage of two parishes into one. It will then be the worship of this new assembly that sanctifies the church and the Eucharist that sanctifies the altar, the cornerstone of the edifice. And so just like every member of the worshiping assembly, the church too will be initiated. The church will be sprinkled with holy water (analogous to baptism), its walls will be chrismated by the Bishop (like the foreheads of confirmandi), and then it will cerebrate its first Holy Com-munion in the liturgy of the Eucharist.

The liturgy that day begins at the doors of the new Church, just like the rite of Baptism does with Catechumens or babies. When the Bishop enters the Church, the first thing he does is bless holy water and then sprinkles first all the people who truly make up the Church, and then the church building itself. Just as the sprinkling of the

people recalls their Baptism, so this reality is now extended to the church edifice sacramentally. Then the new church hears for the first time the proclamation of the Gospel, just like each of us did.

After the Homily, the Litany of the Saints is sung just like it is in the baptismal liturgy. And then the Prayer of Dedication is prayed by the bishop, which recalls the different typologies of the Church which are manifested (or should be) in this build-ing’s structure: the Bride of Christ, the chosen vineyard, the Kingdom of Heaven, The Temple as God’s dwelling place, a city on the hill, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the place where Christians of future generations will be sanctified through the Sacraments for decades to come.

After the prayer of dedication, the altar is anointed with the oil of Sacred Chrism after the example of the Old Testament Patriarchs: e.g. “Jacob set up a pillar in the place where [God] had spoken with him, a pillar of stone … and [he] poured oil on it.” (Gen 35:14) Likewise the walls of the church are chrismated by the bishop. The oil symbolizes the grace of the Holy Spirit and mirrors the Christian’s Confirmation.

After the anointing, incense is burned on the altar, and a prayer is said which recalls that the incense symbolizes our prayers rising to heaven, and the fragrance of Christ. While the incense is burning on the altar, the Bishop, clergy and people are also incensed once again linking the dedication of the building with the assembly’s worship.

Afterward, the altar is wiped with a cloth like the body of Christ might have been, to cleanse it of the Chrism. These cloths will later be burned or buried. The altar is then dressed in white linens and the candles are arranged. This corresponds to the white garment given to the newly baptized who have “put on Christ.” Then the Bishop gives the deacon a lighted candle saying, “Light of Christ, shine forth in the Church and bring all nations to the fullness of truth.” Once again, this parallels the light that is given to each neophyte and symbolizes that the light of Christ shines out from this church to dispel the darkness of the world, especially through the works of the Christians who worship there.

Finally, the Bishop reverences the altar, which he did not do at the beginning of Mass since the altar hadn’t yet been dedicated, and the liturgy of the Eucha-rist is now celebrated. There is a special

Preface used that again recalls the different symbolic facets of the church edifice as true Temple, house of prayer, heavenly city and Body of Christ which is being built up. And then from the newly dedicated altar, in the newly dedicated church, the Body and Blood of Christ will be dispensed to the faithful in order to truly make them into the Church Visible. For at its heart, what makes a parish is the community of believers who receive the Body and Blood of Christ together each week.

And so while this ritual may be rare, it is beautiful and even more so because it is seldom celebrated. While most of us will not be able to participate in Stillwater on that auspicious day, knowing that this dedication also took place in our own church may give us new appreciation for the building we enter every time we go to Mass. And because this liturgy is con-sidered so special and important, every year on the anniversary of our church’s dedication we recall this sacred mystery and once again celebrate the importance of the church edifice as a sacramental. It reminds us of who we are: the Body of Christ made visible for the world. We go to the church to be sanctified by Christ in that sacred place, and it is in turn made holy by our worship. It experiences everything we experience: the jubilation of matrimonial love and new birth of children, the trials and joys of life, the urgency of our prayers, the exuberance or our gratitude, the strain of our sufferings, and the sorrow of life’s passing. It stands as a sentinel witness to the legacy of faith that is passed on from one generation to the next through the ages. Christians are made within its walls so that the walls of heaven can be made from those same saintly souls, the living stones, until the True Temple, not made with human hands, is complete in the age to come.

The dedication of the Church will be on March 11. The Catholic community of Stillwater will fill the new church to capacity for the dedication ceremony. For those wishing to visit the new parish, tours will be offered in the days, weeks and months following the dedication.


| p a r i s h p r o f i l e |

Uganda Martyrs Church, OkmulgeeBy Mason Beecroft

W hen Bishop Eugene McGuinness dedicated Uganda Martyrs Church in Okmulgee on Sept. 12, 1925, it marked a significant commitment to African-American Catholics on

behalf of the Church in Oklahoma. Unfortunately, the racial prejudices and segregationist policies of the time made it difficult for faithful African-Americans to fully participate in the life of any parish. St. Anthony reserved pews in the rear for Mass, but this arrangement was certainly not ideal and Bishop McGuinness recognized the challenge.

Uganda Martyrs was the first Catholic Church opened in Oklahoma for Afri-can-Americans and was appropriately dedicated to the Martyrs of Uganda, which refers to 22 Catholic converts who were martyred by Mwanga II, the King of Buganda, in the late 19th century. The 22 martyrs were beatified in 1920 and canonized in 1964. It is believed that the

Okmulgee parish was the first church in North America dedicated to these martyrs.

The first pastor of Uganda Martyrs was Father Daniel P. Bradley, C.S.Sp. (Holy Ghost Fathers). Father Bradley was known for enthusiasm, dedication to evangelization and commitment to the African-American community. After his ministry at Uganda Martyrs, he served

long tenures as the pastor of St. Monica and then St. Augustine in Tulsa.

Father Bradley’s first task at Uganda Mar-tyrs was to provide a suitable church for the congregation. Okmulgee was enjoying the prosperity of an oil boom at the time, allowing the people of St. Anthony the op-portunity to build a new stone church. St. Anthony graciously offered Father Bradley the use of an overflow building along with altars, altar railings, statues, Stations of the Cross and vestments.

While the building was not in the best condition, the people of Uganda Martyrs considered it a blessing for their struggling congregation. The members of the parish immediately cleared out their lot, which had been a dumping ground full of weeds and high grass, so that they could build a school. Directed by Father Bradley, they built a red brick building that served as both a school and convent.

In September 1927, five Sisters of the Holy Ghost came from San Antonio, Texas, to staff the school even though the convent was not yet completed. Since there were

The dedication of Uganda Martyrs Church by Bishop Francis Kelley in 1945.

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no steps to get into the building, the sisters had to climb up on a ladder. And when the sleeping quarters were available a few days after their arrival, the windows were still unscreened and the doors could not be locked, so it is reported that the sisters spent many uneasy nights between fear of intruders from the outside and the hum-ming of mosquitoes on the inside.

Sister Mary Gerard was the first Sister Superior at Uganda Martyrs and directed the school. The school had an enrollment of approximately 180 pupils with a tuition of $1.00 per month. Students came from the Okmulgee area as well as from Grayson. In order to help get the Catholic children from Grayson to school, Father Bradley was able to acquire a bus through the generous donation of a couple benefactors.

The Great Depression brought challenges to both the parish and the school. Father William L. Lavin, C.S.Sp., another Holy Ghost Father, came to serve as the pastor of Uganda Martyrs in 1930. Most members of the parish were farmers and they fell on hard times with the low prices for crops and livestock followed by historic droughts. The school could no longer afford to provide the bus service so it was discontinued in 1931. Two years later, the school had to close its High School Department.

Father Lavin, even during those difficult times, was highly respected for his personal piety and his tireless efforts to serve the flock. A parish history states, “Every part of his heart and soul, every spark of the grand zeal for souls that was his, was directed

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convent for the sisters, which materialized in the purchase of a building at Camp Gruber. Father Dooley also negotiated an exchange of property to secure a site for the Catholics in Grayson.

Father Edward White, C.S.Sp., became the pastor of Uganda Martyrs in Octo-ber of 1950, the same year that the Holy Ghost Sisters left Okmulgee. From 1952 to 1955, five sisters from Holy Family, an African-American religious congregation from New Orleans, taught in the school. When attendance dwindled, they returned to New Orleans. Father White served as the pastor of Uganda Martyrs for 17 years before he retired in 1967.

The Redemptory Fathers took over pastoral care of Uganda Martyrs after Father White retired. Father Gregory Lahay, C.Ss.R, served as pastor from 1967-1972. He was succeeded by Father Julian Gehan, C.Ss.R, until he passed away in 1975. The same year the school burned down and had to be rebuilt. Father Elmer Toupe, C.Ss.R, Father Element Monroe, C.Ss.R, Father Charles Buckley, C.Ss.R, Father Clement Monroe, C.Ss.R, Father Gerald Seabold, C.Ss.R, and then Father James Nugent, C.Ss.R, each served the parish as pastors. Father Nugent was the last Redemptionist Priest to serve at Uganda Martyrs as the province decided to focus on foreign missions. Diocesan priests have served the congregation ever since.

Uganda Martyrs is proud of two young women who devoted themselves to reli-gious life. Agnese Alexander was a candi-date in the Holy Family Convent in New Orleans when she became sickened and passed away. Geneva Motte is a professed sister of Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore, Maryland.

Father Josh Litwack has served both Uganda Martyrs and St. Anthony’s in Okmulgee since 2013. He has been im-pressed with the devotion of the Catholic community in both parishes.

“It is a wonderful community of faith here,” he said. “The Catholic faith in Okmulgee enjoys working in the larger community and reaching out to their neigh-bors. It has been a privilege to serve the faithful at Uganda Martyrs and support the community. They have such a rich history of commitment and service. I look forward to spending many years of ministry with the people of Uganda Martyrs.”

during these difficult days to the spiritual and material welfare of his flock.”

Father William Strahan, C.S.Sp., suc-ceeded Father Lavin in 1936. During his pastoral tenure at Uganda Martyrs, the High School Department was reopened and the school thrived. Father Strahan procured two school buses, which trans-ported children from the Grayson and Beggs school districts to Uganda Martyrs School. The buses remained in operation until the outbreak of World War II when gasoline shortages made it impossible for the school to continue that service.

In 1942, Father Strahan joined the U.S. Army Air Force as a chaplain. Father Maxim J. Therou, C.S.Sp., who had been an assis-tant to Father Strahan, took over as the pas-tor of Uganda Martyrs. His untiring zeal and ceaseless activity made his pastorate one of the most fruitful in the history of the parish. He carried to completion the building of a new semi-Romanesque church, which was dedicated in April of 1945 by Bishop Francis C. Kelley.

After Father Theron was transferred from Uganda Martyrs in 1946, Father Joseph Murphy, C.C.Sp., was installed as the pastor, but had to leave Oklahoma due to his health. Father Ambrose Leech became pastor, assisted by Father Edward Marley, C.S.Sp. Father T. Charles Dooley, C.S.Sp. succeeded Father Leech in 1947.

Father Dooley made many improve-ments in the school and purchased more property to plan for future expansion. He wanted to complete a much-needed

yourfaith

26 Eastern Oklahoma Catholic | March 2018 | www.dioceseoftulsa.org26

| y e a r o f S t . M a r k |

A Year with St. MarkBy Deacon Kevin Malarkey

The English word “gospel” is derived from the Greek word euangelion, which is typically translated as “good news.” In our lives, there are many events, experiences or reports we could

label as good news: the birth of a son or daughter, graduation from school, a promotion at work. All these things are truly good news, but they do not exactly attain to the nuance euangelion would have connoted in the ancient world. The historical foundation for true good news is extremely specific. The term was martial in its usage and communicated a very precise type of news: our nation’s king has defeated our enemies in battle and is returning to us in triumph; our foes have been vanquished, the threat to our existence and well-being squashed, and now is the time to celebrate and rejoice.

The First Sunday of Lent during Year B provides us with the shortest Gospel reading of the entire three-year lectionary cycle: a terse 64 words from Mark 1:12-15. In it, we hear of Jesus’ temptation by Satan. Puzzlingly, Mark gives us no details of this temptation; he tells us only that it happened in the desert and that it lasted for 40 days. Though the proclamation of the Gospel we hear is brief, it is the Gospel nonetheless: it is the good news of our King’s defeat of our enemy and an invitation to rejoice in the dispatch of our foe. The Gospel for this Sunday thus gives us two crucial insights for the Lenten journey we have just undertaken. The first is the structure and tone of Lent it-self. The second is the victory Lent invites us to anticipate.

Jesus’ 40 days of temptation in the desert are themselves prefigured by the Israelites’ 40 years of wandering in the wilderness (Numbers 14:34) after their liber-ation from Egypt in the Exodus. Almost immediately after their deliverance by God through the waters of the Red Sea, the Israelites grumbled against Moses (Exo-

dus 15:24) and rebelled against God Himself (Exodus 32). Very clearly, even the experience of the Exodus was not enough to preserve Israel against the sins of despair and idolatry, and the penalty for their trans-gressions is to perish in the desert; not one of the generation that was liberated from Egypt was permitted to enter the Promised Land (including Moses him-self). Contrary to Israel’s failure to remain faithful in the desert, Jesus’ 40 days in the desert establish fidelity and obedience to God. Jesus succeeds where Israel failed.

We, too, have been delivered through water from the hands of the foe who seeks to destroy our well-being, our right relationship with God, and our very lives. Through our Baptism, God has transformed His faithful from slaves into sons and daughters. We are God’s chosen people who have traversed the waters and been preserved from our enemy. But we also have within us the capacity to grum-ble and even to idolize.

Lent is a time for us to wander in the wilderness alongside ancient Israel, to experience the aridity and hunger and desolation of being in the desert. We

Temptation on the Mount, Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1308-1311

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will certainly be tempted, but because we have been baptized into the very life of Christ, we need not succumb to these temptations. Jesus’ faithful endurance in the desert can be ours as well because He has shared His life with us, and that life includes His endurance. Temptation is certainly not pleasant, but the Gospel of Lent is that temptation does not have the last word; through Him, with Him, and in Him, true fidelity is possible.

This good news points to the definitive Gospel the season of Lent calls us to con-template: that it does require our endur-ance and our fasting and our repentance, but also that it ends. Poised as we are at the beginning of Lent, we are reminded that Lent is not eternal. Pope Francis, in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaud-ium, cautions us against living our lives in a Lent without Easter. The wilderness might not be the place we would choose, but even when we find ourselves there, our confidence in Jesus’ triumph over sin, death, and evil ought to fill us with joy: [Joy] always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved. (Evangelii Gaudium 6)

Here, Pope Francis provides us with the crucial key for enduring the desert of Lent well: understanding that all of my penance and repentance and reflection is not something I do for God, but rather a response to the love God has for me. I can so easily fall into the deception that I am proving my love for God when I fast or pray or give alms, or that I am proving my fidelity to God within the arid or difficult times in my life. St. Mark’s Gospel corrects that deceit. Endurance, fasting, resisting temptation are not my gift to God, rather, they are God’s gift to me. Lent gives me the opportunity to be more like Christ: to un-dergo discomfort and dryness and temp-tation and suffering alongside Christ. Lent is thus an invitation not for me to offer anything to God, but for me to accept what God is offering and to suffer alongside His beloved Son and so to be transformed to be more like Him.

Here, at last, we arrive at the true Gospel, the real Good News, the procla-mation of the ultimate and eternal victory that every Sunday Gospel proclaims: Jesus

Deacon Kevin Malarkey is chair of the Theology Department at Cascia Hall and serves as deacon at Christ the King Parish in Tulsa with an extension to the community at Cascia Hall.

really has conquered the enemy. Our King has triumphed, and it is right and just that we celebrate His victory. This might seem like a strange and curious way to begin Lent, but it’s necessary for us to enter into the desert of Lent knowing exactly where the Promised Land is and how we arrive there. We look forward to Easter Sunday, but we know that Easter Sunday comes only after Good Friday. We have in sight, even in the early days of Lent, both the cross and the empty tomb. Our journey toward the former will lead us to the latter.

If we have been Baptized into Christ’s life, Lent is our journey to Calvary with Him. Just as He will hang upon the cross for the sin of the world, we, too, carry and hang upon the crosses we carry. St. Augustine says it this way, “[We] nail our unregenerate selves to the Cross. Christians must always live in this way, without any wish to come down from their Cross, otherwise they will sink be-neath the world’s mire. But if we have to do so all our lives, we must make an even greater effort during these days of Lent. It is not a simple matter of living through forty days; Lent is the epitome of our whole life.” (Sermon 205)

Certainly, this image is jarring. St. Augustine posits that we should desire to remain on the Cross, for it is only on the Cross that we can be certain that we are with Christ. Were we to be anywhere else, we have no assurance that we remain with He who saved us. Likewise, the desert of Lent, replete with its desolation and aridity and discomfort, places us in company with Christ.

This desert has another effect we cannot and ought not deny. The desert

is profoundly opposed to the decadence, comfort, and ease of “civilized” life. It is inconvenient, painful and hard: precisely what our world, with all its promises of delight, tells us to shun. In other words, the desert of Lent is decidedly count-er-cultural and points us toward a sense of just how empty those promises our world makes really are.

Our culture foists gluttony and lust and envy upon us; Lent calls us to abstinence, chastity and generosity. Our social cues encourage us to eat, drink and be merry; Lent invites us to fast, pray and give alms. Lent is an invitation, and like all invita-tions, we are free to accept or decline. However, to decline this invitation is, to St. Augustine, to “sink beneath the world’s mire,” to occupy a place even lower than we would had we never heard the Gospel in the first place. To accept it, though, is to accept the great paradoxes of our faith as absolute truth: to live, we must die; to be called great, we must make ourselves least.

Several years ago, during his Lenten address to the deacons and deacon candi-dates of the Diocese of Tulsa, Bishop Slat-tery reflected that our sinfulness causes us to appeal to Christ crucified, and that the first stirring of the heart is one of embar-rassment: shame for our sin and sorrow for having offended God. But almost immedi-ately, grace replaces embarrassment with tranquility and gratefulness, so our gaze at Christ upon the Cross is not sorrowful, but humbly thankful. The desert of Lent is the classroom wherein we learn these lessons in sorrow, humility and gratefulness. As we continue our pilgrimage into such as august and austere classroom, let us pray for the grace to be good students: eager, attentive and receptive.


Bishop David Konderla invites the faithful of the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma to join the chan-cery staff for Mass at the Chancery, 12300 E. 91st St., Broken Arrow, at noon on Wednesdays. Since there are a few Wednesdays throughout the year when a priest is not available, or there is a holiday, please see the Mass schedule with celebrants on the dioc-esan website at www.dioceseoftulsa.org/mass-at-the-chancery.

March

2-3 24 Hours for the Lord is 24 consecutive hours of confession and adoration at Holy Family Cathedral from 5 p.m. Friday, March 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 3.

3 First Saturday Memorial Mass, 8:30 a.m. at Calvary Cemetery Chap-el, 9101 S. Harvard Ave., Tulsa, OK 918.299.7348.

10 The annual Oklahoma Women’s Conference will be at the Hilton Gar-den Inn and Edmond Conference Cen-ter, 2833 Conference Dr. in Edmond. Guest speakers are Immaculée Ilibagi-za, motivational speaker and author of the best seller Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, Donna Heckler, inspirational speaker and author of Be Radiant and popular blogger, and María Ruiz Scaperlanda, journalist, blogger and author of The Shepherd Who Didn’t Run: Father Stanley Rother, Martyr from Oklahoma. Tax deductible sponsorship opportuni-ties are available. Attendance sponsor-ship registration is $60 and includes lunch. Special hotel rates are available. For more information or to register and donate, visit ocwconference.com, call 405.396.6292 or email to [email protected].

24 The Catholic Medical Association invites the public to “Changing the Body Unnecessarily: What does the Church Say?” Father Sean O’Brien will begin his presentation at 10 a.m. in the Parish Hall of St. Anne Parish, 301 S.

9th St., Broken Arrow. Topics include tattoos, sex reassignment and tech enhancements of the body.

25 Palm Sunday and Tenebrae Litur-gy, 7:30 p.m. at Holy Family Cathedral.

27 Chrism Mass, 5:30 p.m. at Holy Family Cathedral.

29 Holy Thursday at parishes throughout the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma.

30 Good Friday at parishes through-out the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma.

31 Easter Vigil. No Easter Vigil Mass may begin before 8:15 p.m.

April

1 Easter Sunday

5 The 2018 Newman Center Gala will honor the Catherine Ritchie Family, longtime supporters of the Newman Center. The event begins at 6 p.m. at the Reynolds Center on the University of Tulsa campus with a wine reception, auction and raffle followed by dinner and program. For more information

visit www.tu-catholic.org or contact the Newman Center at 918.599.0204 or by email at [email protected].

5-8 St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish in Tulsa invites women from across the diocese to attend a Women’s ACTS Retreat at Camp Loughridge, 4900 W. 71st St., Tulsa. ACTS weekends are designed to foster deeper faith and spiritual awakening through adoration, community, theology and service. To find out more information or to sign up, go to www.stbernardacts.org.

19-22 St. Bernard of Clairvaux Par-ish in Tulsa invites men from across the diocese to attend a Men’s ACTS Retreat at Camp Loughridge, 4900 W. 71st St. ACTS weekends are designed to foster deeper faith and spiritual awakening through adoration, commu-nity, theology and service. To find out more information or to sign up, go to www.stbernardacts.org.

20 Anniversary of the Episcopal Ordination of Bishop Emeritus (1978) Eucebius Beltran.

26 The 35th annual Quiche, Salad Luncheon and Bake Sale will be held 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the St. Joseph Parish, 301 N. Virginia St., Muskogee. The cost is $8 per person and includes a variety of salads, quiche and drinks. Home-made baked goods will also be avail-able for purchase. Proceeds will benefit the parish sacristy and other needs. Half of the proceeds will be donated to the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women. For more information, contact Pat Self at 918.682.8108.

Pilgrimages

Father Jim Caldwell is organizing a trip to Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herze-govina Sept. 28 through Oct. 7, 2018. If you are interested in attending, please contact Jim Benzow at [email protected] or call 602.319.5289. Cost will be about $2,900 per person.

Father Sean Donovan will lead a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, April 30–

yourcommunity

2017 Easter Vigil at Holy Family Cathedral. Easter Vigil Mass will be celebrated after 8:15 p.m. on March 31 this year.

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| t h i n g s t o d o |

EOC calendar events If you have an event you would

like to see in the EOC calendar, send an email with the time, date, place, contact information and a short description of the event to [email protected] or call 918.307.4920.

May 11, 2018 to experience Him, follow in His footsteps, and see Him in the works He performed — your footsteps will become His. Celebrate votive Mass-es in the very places where these mirac-ulous gifts became pages in the Gospel. See where He was back then and feel how He is still there today! Tel Aviv • Bethlehem • Ein Karem • Milk Grotto • Nativity Grotto • Gallicantu • Cenacle • Western Wall • St. Anne’s • Calvary • Mt. of Olives • Sepulcher • Magazzino • Dead Sea • Bethany • Jordan River • Nazareth • Jordan River • Mount of Beatitudes • Tabgha • Mount Tabor • Mount Carmel • Netanya • For pricing and more information, visit www.pilgrimages.com/frdonovan/.

Pregnancy and adoption services

Ongoing

The Blessed Mother Teresa Wom-en’s Center of Catholic Charities offers a range of services for the expectant mother including free pregnancy testing, assistance in applying for Medicaid and prenatal care with deliveries at Saint Francis Health System and OSU Medical Center. Translation in Spanish is avail-able. Office hours are available Monday through Thursday. 8:30 a.m.–12 p.m. and 1:30–4:30 p.m. To schedule an appoint-ment, call 918.508.7199. For more infor-mation, call Irene at 918.508.7196.

Birthright of Tulsa needs diapers/wipes, gently used or new clothing (sized infant to toddler two), mater-nity clothes and small baby items for our clients who are struggling with an untimely pregnancy or are in need of parenting support. Birthright of Tulsa has served the Tulsa area with free ma-ternity services for over 40 years. Vol-unteers are always welcome. For more information, call 918.481.4884, visit www.birthright.org/tulsa or email us at [email protected]. If you need help unloading, give us a call and we will meet you at the entrance of the Warren Clinic, 6600 S. Yale Ave., Tulsa, Suite 1307. Thank you for your support!

Go Life Mobile Medical meets ex-pectant women right where they are, offering life-affirming resources such as free ultrasounds, pregnancy tests and knowledgeable referral services. In addi-tion to our Tulsa office, our mobile units provide a unique capability to proactive-ly reach the community through mobile clinics at various locations in the eve-nings, as well as attending local health fairs and events. If you or someone you know is pregnant, think they might be pregnant, or if you would like to vol-unteer with our mobile medical team, please contact our office at 918.518.0648 or visit our website GoLife.org.

March

2-4 Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat, Spanish — Abortion can be one of the most traumatic experiences in a person’s life. Feelings of sadness, anx-iety, guilt and grief are common not only for the woman, but also for the man, relatives, friends and others. Pain comes from a denied opportunity to grieve the child that was lost. Through the weekend retreat, participants make peace with themselves, their children and with God. Guided by a spirit of compassion, we are here to serve as companions on the hope-filled jour-ney of healing. A licensed therapist and spiritual guide lead the retreat. For more information, contact Irene at 918.508.7196 or [email protected]. You can also complete the application online at https://cctulsa.org/services/abortion-healing/rv-retreat-registration/.

12 Adoptive Parent Support Group meets 6–8 p.m. at Church of the Ma-dalene, 3188 E. 22nd St. South. Call Catholic Charities at 918.508.7131 for more information.

15 Growin’ on the Vine, 6:30–8:30 p.m., St. Joseph Convent, 2200 S. Lew-is Ave., Tulsa. This strictly confidential support group is for anyone who has had an abortion and is seeking heal-ing. For more info contact Mary Lee 918.508.7142 or [email protected].

April

20-22 Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat, English — Abortion can be one of the most traumatic experiences in a per-son’s life. Feelings of sadness, anxiety, guilt and grief are common not only for the woman, but also for the man, rel-atives, friends and others. Pain comes from a denied opportunity to grieve the child that was lost. Through the week-end retreat, participants make peace with themselves, their children and with God. Guided by a spirit of compassion, we are here to serve as companions on the hope-filled journey of healing. A licensed therapist and spiritual guide lead the retreat. For more information, contact Mary Lee at 918.508.7142 or [email protected]. You can also com-plete the application online at https://cctulsa.org/services/abortion-healing/rv-retreat-registration/.

2018 Parish News and calendar events deadline

May ......................... March 23, 2018

June .......................... April 20, 2018

July/August ..............May 25, 2018

September ................ July 27, 2018

October .................... Aug. 27, 2018

November ............... Sept. 14, 2018

December .................Oct. 26, 2018

Submit your parish news items to:

Dave Crenshaw, 918.307.4920 or [email protected]

Mason Beecroft, 918.307.4946 or [email protected]


| w o r l d n e w s |

U.S. Bishops side with “Dreamers” in DACA debate

Washington, D.C. (CNA) – Catholic leaders have responded to de-velopments in the legal battle over the DACA program, including

a court order maintaining legal protections for undocumented youth, known as “Dreamers,” and a presidential commitment to legislative support for them.

U.S. District Judge William Alsap’s Jan. 9 order temporarily blocks President Trump’s attempt to phase out the DACA program, which was initiated by President Obama in 2012. Nearly 690,000 undoc-umented immigrants are beneficiaries of the DACA program.

While President Trump has worked to phase out the program, he has also called for a legislative solution to resolve the im-migration status of DACA recipients. In a televised meeting with bipartisan lawmak-ers Tuesday, President Trump said that he hopes to reach a solution for DACA recipients with a “bill of love.”

In a recent column, Archbishop José Gomez expressed concern for the esti-mated 125,000 DACA recipients who live within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, all of whom could face deportation when the program ends in March.

“It would be cruel to punish them for the wrongs of their parents, deporting them to countries of origin that they have never seen, where they may not

even know the language,” Archbishop Gomez wrote.

The archbishop called for systematic immigration reform, explaining that most DACA recipients have not experi-enced a healthy U.S. immigration system in their lifetime.

“This debate is passionate and partisan, as it should be. Systematic reform of our immigration policy is absolutely vital to our nation’s future. And we need to have this conversation. But Congress needs to separate the conversation about DACA from these larger issues.”

Deportation of DACA recipients, Go-mez said, “would lead to a humanitarian crisis.”

The DACA program postponed depor-tation of undocumented immigrants un-der the age of 30, who had been brought to the U.S. before the age of 16 and lived in the U.S. since June 2007.

DACA participants are eligible to apply for work permits, obtain social security numbers, and, in most cases, apply for a

driver’s license. In 2017, a group of busi-ness leaders explained that if DACA recip-ients were deported, “our economy would lose $460.3 billion from the national GDP and $24.6 billion in Social Security and Medicare tax contributions.”

In a Jan.10 statement, Bishop Joe Vazquez, chairman of the USCCB Com-mittee on Migration, wrote that bishops are “encouraged by the consensus that emerged from yesterday’s White House meeting that Congress and the President should move expeditiously to craft and enact legislation that would provide urgently needed relief for Dreamers. For years, these young people have been living in and enriching the United States in many ways. They are contributors to our economy, veterans of our military, ac-ademic standouts in our universities, and leaders in our parishes and communities. They and their families deserve certainty, compassion, generosity, and justice.”

Vazquez also called for financially sound, effective, and safe measures to strengthen national security at the U.S. border. “Our teaching acknowledges and respects the right of sovereign nations to control their borders,” he wrote. “How-ever, we caution against introducing unrelated, unnecessary, or controversial elements of immigration policy – espe-cially those that jeopardize the sanctity of families or unaccompanied children – into the bipartisan search for a just and humane solution for the Dreamers.”

The Minnesota Catholic Conference recently organized a postcard campaign urging lawmakers to support bipartisan legislation that “protects the dignity of ev-ery human being,” particularly the “immi-grant youth who entered the United States as children and know America as their only home.” Other Catholic organizations have organized similar campaigns.

“As a nation, we have a moral and humanitarian obligation to Dreamers,” Vazquez wrote.

30 Eastern Oklahoma Catholic | March 2018 | www.dioceseoftulsa.org30

Protestors converge on the White House in opposition to President Donald Trump’s efforts to phase out the DACA program. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

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Achieving Wellness Goals through the Health Zone at Saint Francis

Not only has longtime Health Zone member Charles Monroe shed 170 pounds, he’s also ditched a diagnosis of diabetes – plus the seven pills he was required to take on a daily basis.

“There was a time I couldn’t even make it around the block. Today, I run mara-thons,” he says. “As far back as I can recall, I’d been fighting my weight – and more recently, diabetes, which I was told was largely ‘weight-related.’ I’m happy to say my blood sugar is now perfect.”

Charles vividly remembers the turning point that inspired him to reboot his eating habits and commit (110 percent) to an active lifestyle. “Years ago, I was at church one day, and the minister said something that really spoke to me. He said, ‘If you are not where you want to be in your life, it’s not God’s fault.’ That’s when I decided to take things in hand.”

THE GAME PLAN First, he drastically changed his eating

habits – then, he began packing his gym bag and setting his alarm for 4:45 a.m. in order to report to Health Zone bright and early every weekday morning.

“Before that, I hadn’t fully committed to getting healthy and taking off the weight,” he says. “It was time to say goodbye to

fried foods, hello to vegetables, hit the track and take it one step at a time. And, I’m well aware the ‘Health Zone commu-nity’ was a huge factor in my motivation and transformation. The staff members, class instructors – as well as the many friends who are fellow Health Zone mem-bers – made a huge difference. Somebody was always offering a word of encourage-ment. Health Zone provides such a warm and supportive environment. I couldn’t have achieved my goals without it.”

PARTNERS IN FITNESS As Charles began to drop pounds,

someone very near and dear to him was taking note. “I began to see his level of commitment and all of the positive changes he was making. So, it wasn’t long before I joined him on this journey,” says Charles’ wife, Sondra.

Today, Sondra is 65 pounds lighter and can achieve things she never once dreamed possible. “Health Zone is a very special place with a unique sense of community,” she says. “It is wonderful to be surrounded by instructors who are always on-hand and other friends and like-minded people who are there for the same reasons you are. It’s so much more than just a gym.”

FOR KEEPS One could safely say the Monroes are

a common sight at the Health Zone and enjoy just about all the 70,000 square-foot fitness facility has to offer. From Zumba and spin to the therapy pool and Pilates studio, they definitely make the rounds and are healthier and more fit for it.

“Going to Health Zone is not just about going to a gym to work out. It’s about receiving personal instruction and building bonds that last,” Charles says. “And, of course on top of that, the facility is abso-lutely incredible. It is a pleasure to go to Health Zone. For Sondra and me, it is a way of life.”

This year, the Health Zone at Saint Fran-cis is celebrating its 35th anniversary in the Tulsa community. The facility is located at 5353 East 68th Street, near 71st and Yale. For more information on the medical-ly-based services, fitness programs, classes and membership, please visit saintfrancis.com/healthzone or contact 918.494.1671.

Health Zone at Saint Francis features and services:

• A 70,000 square-foot fitness facility • Full schedule of classes • Premier cardio, weight training and

strength equipment • A dedicated Pilates equipment studio • Boot camp, suspension training and

CrossFit• Two indoor saltwater pools• Year-round swimming lessons • Indoor cycling • Zumba, barre and yoga • Basketball and racquetball • Spa and massage • Weight loss and life balance classes • Locker rooms with steam room, sauna

and towel service• Parents’ night out • Annual kids’ triathlon • Cooking classes for kids and adults • Kids Zone activity center • Indoor walking track • Grab-and-go deli with smoothies,

wraps and sandwiches• Summer programs for kids and teens

Charles and Sondra Monroe at the Health Zone at Saint Francis.

p l e a s e r e c y c l e

Follow Eastern Oklahoma Catholic online: Digital Editions ondioceseoftulsa.org

Catholic Diocese of Tulsa P.O. Box 690240 Tulsa, OK 74169-0240

5353 East 68th Street South | 918-494-1671saintfrancis.com/healthzone

Health Zone for fitness.

Make a move in the right direction toward this 70,000-square-foot, medically based fitness facility. Health Zone at Saint Francis offers an array of exercise equipment, two indoor pools, an extensive selection of classes and a variety of wellness programs.

To learn more about everything Health Zone at Saint Francis has to offer, please call 918-494-1671 or visit saintfrancis.com/healthzone.

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Transforming lives through Christ