Archbishop's Column

“The world is charged with the grandeur of God!” These words of the English poet and priest Gerard Manley Hopkins find an echo in our hearts whenever we experience moments of transcendence or awe before the wonder of God’s creation.

It has been 10 years since I began walking the Way of Saint James, the Camino de Santiago. The Camino is a network of historic paths leading from various points in Europe to the tomb of Saint James the Greater, the son of Zebedee, friend of Jesus and the first apostle to give his life for the Gospel. 

Each year we have an opportunity to renew our prophetic commitment to promoting human dignity and sanctity of every life from conception to natural death.

This column was originally published in 2016. As this edition of the Sooner Catholic is published on August 21, I will once again be on pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago with Bishop Wall and Bishop Conley.

Restricting abortion isn’t enough. We need to open our doors to vulnerable mothers and children.

For weeks, the nations of the world have watched with a growing sense of horror and helplessness the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine that has brought untold suffering to a sovereign nation. 

Each year during Lent, the Church invites us to set out on a journey of repentance and renewal. It’s that time of year again! We began our journey on Ash Wednesday. 

Our two principal holy days are Christmas and Easter. These are so pivotal that the joy of these celebrations cannot be expressed in a single day’s observance. 

Since 1993, the Catholic Church has observed the World Day of the Sick on Feb. 11, the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. This non-liturgical observance was initiated by Pope John Paul II shortly after receiving his own diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. 

It has been nearly 20 years since the spotlight of media attention made us all too aware of human frailty, sinfulness and even criminal behavior within our beloved Catholic Church and its institutions.

At the beginning of a new year, it’s impossible to predict the dominant headlines and impactful stories that will shape our lives in 2022.

“O Come All Ye Faithful” is one of our most beloved Christmas carols. We repeat its joyful refrain throughout the hymn, “O come, let us adore him.”

Those who travel I-35 on the south side of Oklahoma City these days likely will catch a glimpse of the large church under construction as they pass 89th street. It is the site of the future Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, which is rapidly taking shape. 

During November as we see the natural world around us preparing for its long winter rest, the Church’s liturgy and many popular customs invite us to reflect on what we call the four last things: death, judgment, heaven and hell. 

This past Friday evening, Nov. 5, the Lord blessed the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City with 27 new deacons.

Since the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, the bishops of the world have gathered in “synod” periodically to reflect on how the Holy Spirit is prompting and guiding the Church on its pilgrim journey. 

Oklahoma state officials plan to carry out seven executions over the next five months. They will be the first executions in Oklahoma in nearly seven years.

Discipleship is a way of life! Like life itself, it is a journey filled with rich blessings and difficult challenges. Bearing good fruit over the course of this lifelong journey is our goal. The fruit we bear glorifies God.

I can’t remember how long we have been living with this COVID pandemic. It seems like a long, long time. And, it has taken a toll on all of us.

We live in a rapidly changing world. Every hour of every day we are met by dramatic new developments affecting us personally, affecting us as a nation, as a Church and as a global community.