News - November 2023 RSS Feed

Advent is the time of joyful preparation for Christmas. It is also the time of personal resolutions recommended by the Catholic Church as a form of deepening one’s prayer life by performing corporal and spiritual acts of mercy in anticipation of the Messiah. Resolutions can take the form of prayer, fasting, and/or almsgiving.

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In the middle of Advent are two special Marian Feast Days: the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12.

The Tax Credit Scholarship program is a boon for students and Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. This year, 568 students – 12 percent of overall Catholic school enrollment – received an opportunity scholarship to attend one of the 18 archdiocesan schools.

Hailing proudly from the Blackwell/Tonkawa area, Stephen Aloysius Leven was an Oklahoma legend for a variety of reasons. Born on April 30, 1905, near Blackwell, this bright, personable young man spent his childhood as one of nine children in Ponca City as his father toiled as a sharecropper.

In October, archdiocesan priests spent one week on a silent retreat in Kansas to reinvigorate their spiritual vigor and zeal. The retreat motto was, “Rest, renew, restore and respond to the Word of God.”

A movie commonly watched around Christmas is the comedy, “Home Alone.” It is far from a comedy, however, for anyone who has ever lost a child for 5 minutes, an hour or longer. It is every parent’s, grandparent’s or guardian’s worst possible nightmare.  

Advent is a time when the world prepares to celebrate the coming of Christ in human incarnation. Often the true meaning of Christmas is lost to a secular society. People get caught up in all the preparations and the message and transformational power of Advent escapes some people.

El 10º Congreso Eucarístico Nacional se celebrará del 17 al 21 de julio de 2024 en Indianápolis, Indiana. Servirá como lanzamiento de la cuarta y última etapa de la iniciativa del Avivamiento Eucarístico de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos.

BALTIMORE – At their annual Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore the week of Nov. 13, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) elected a conference secretary and chairmen for six standing committees. The conference secretary also serves as the chairman of the Committee on Priorities and Plans.

Father Andrew Gerard MacAulay, a longtime beloved priest for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, died peacefully on Nov. 6, 2023, at Saint Ann Assisted Living Center in Oklahoma City. He was 94.

The 10th National Eucharistic Congress is scheduled for July 17-21, 2024, in Indianapolis, Ind. It will serve as the launch for the fourth, and final, stage of the Eucharistic Revival initiative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

With the passing of Father Gerard MacAulay on Nov. 6, an era of Oklahoma Church history officially concluded. He was the last connection to the Prince Edward Island priests who came to serve in Oklahoma –initially due to the influence of Bishop Francis Kelley, himself a native of the Canadian province.

A Very Giving Christmas is a gift distribution program for low-income families from Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. The program takes different approaches based on the community and the familial need.

On Nov. 2, All Souls Day, parishioners of the National Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague held a special prayer service to commemorate the souls of the faithful departed. The day began with a Mass and holy hour, Rosary and Divine Mercy chaplet for the souls of the deceased parishioners, members and pilgrims to the Shrine.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who is leading the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, provided an overview of the effort during remarks at the November gathering of the Assembly of Catholic Professionals.