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Among the highlights of my annual calendar are the opportunities for me to visit each of our Catholic schools. I am about halfway through my pastoral visits to our 18 elementary schools, three high schools and one special needs school.

The journey of the past two years has been a fruitful one as we have engaged in a process of pastoral planning for our archdiocese.

We have embarked on the season of Advent, waiting in eager anticipation for the birth of the Lord into our sinful world.

As a kid growing up in Kansas City, Thanksgiving was a memorable day. There was, of course, football and the traditional Thanksgiving dinner that my mother would so lovingly prepare.

I would like to invite you to join me for a first-of-its-kind event in our archdiocese. The Vision 2030 Archdiocesan Convocation is being held at the Cox Convention Center on Saturday, Dec. 7.

On June 29, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, we rejoiced in the ordination of five new priests at Saint Mark the Evangelist in Norman. It has been a year of extraordinary blessings for our archdiocese, and these new priests are signs of God’s love and care for his Church.

October is Respect Life Month. 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.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, My heart breaks to have to write this letter. Events of this past year, beginning with revelations of the scandal surrounding then-Cardinal McCarrick followed by the release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report, have sent shock waves throughout the Catholic Church in America.

This past week, I had the opportunity to celebrate Mass in the beautiful monastic chapel of Saint Gregory’s Abbey. The occasion of this most recent visit was the observance of the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children.

I often have found that when I hear, read or pronounce a sacred text of the liturgy or the Scriptures that a word or phrase may come alive with unexpected power. It may bring insight or understanding.

Sin corrupts everything it touches. The terrible effects of sin include a darkening of our intellect and a weakening of our will. Sin blinds us. It weakens us. Faith enlightens us.

On Sunday, July 28, the feast of Blessed Stanley Rother, I took my seat with others in the plaza in front of the church of Saint James the Apostle in Santiago Atitlan (Guatemala). We were there to hear a concert.

In Oklahoma, summertime means heat. But, for many people summertime also is when we look forward to a much-anticipated vacation.

Two weeks ago, the bishops of the United States gathered in Baltimore for our semi-annual plenary meeting. Though there were a variety of items on our agenda, one group of items garnered the most attention and energy: those pertaining to the ongoing crisis surrounding sexual abuse within the Church.

In the past few issues of the Sooner Catholic, we have featured each of the five young men who are preparing for ordination to the priesthood this summer.

It has been a marathon, but as of May 31 the historic “One Church, Many Disciples” campaign officially has ended. Now is the time to look back, assess the results and, most importantly, to express gratitude. Thank you!

I think we all would admit that the past few years have been times of rapid change in our world, in our nation, in our Church and in our archdiocese.

Every pope since Saint Paul VI has been insistent in calling the whole Church to a renewal of faith, especially in nominally Christian or formerly Christian parts of the world where faith has grown cold.

Throughout the Easter Season the Church’s newest members continue to reflect upon the meaning of their experience at the Easter Vigil when they were fully initiated into the mystery of Christ and His Church through Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist.

This has been a long Lent. The 40 days of Lent actually are passing rather quickly, but my Lenten disciplines began early this year. Let me explain.