e-newsletter companion of Eastern Oklahoma Catholic magazine
Bishop Celebrates Mass Commemorating Ascension St. John's 100th Anniversary
TULSA — Most Rev. David Konderla, Bishop of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, celebrated a special Mass commemorating Ascension St. John’s 100th anniversary in Tulsa at Holy Family Cathedral on Tuesday evening, Feb. 17.
Concelebrants included Very Reverend Gary Kastl, Vicar General for the Diocese; Rev. Luke Duruemezuo and Rev. Vincent Okafor, chaplains at Ascension St. John; and fellow priests of the diocese. Sister M. Theresa Gil, SSM (Sister of the Sorrowful Mother); Lauren Landwerlin, President of Ascension St. John Foundation; and Ron Tremblay, Chief Mission Integration Officer of Ascension St. John, served as readers.
Immediately following the Mass, Bo Beaudry, Ministry Market CEO of Ascension St. John, offered greetings to all those in attendance. All were then invited to gather for a large group photograph to commemorate the occasion.
A video recording of the Ascension St. John Centennial Mass can be viewed on YouTube here.
Tulsa’s first Catholic hospital began more than 100 years ago when The Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother originally broke ground in 1920 for a new hospital at 21st Street and Utica Avenue in Tulsa. After years of fundraising struggles and construction starts and stops, St. John's Hospital finally opened its doors in February of 1926.
A history of the hospital's founding including historic photos, and a series of video interviews — "Stories from Centennial Voices" — can be found at the Ascension St. John website here. Also look for more coverage in the June issue of Eastern Oklahoma Catholic magazine.
EOC Photos by Daniel McCay
Rev. El-Badaoui Habib, MLM, Named New Pastor at St. Therese
TULSA — Rev. El-Badaoui Habib, MLM, was recently named the new pastor of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Catholic Church.
He succeeds Rev. Marwan Abi-Nader, MLM, who had pastored the Maronite Rite parish in south Tulsa for the past seven years. Father Marwan has been assigned as Pastor of St. Ignatius Maronite Church in Dayton, Ohio.
The leadership transition officially took place during Sunday Mass, on Feb. 1.
“I am very happy to come here and be a part of the St. Therese family,” Father Habib told parishioners during his introductory comments. “I want to thank Father Marwan for all those years he served you and thank you for your support of him.”
Ordained July 22, 1995, Father Habib is a Maronite Catholic priest affiliated with the Lebanese Maronite Order and has served multiple assignments including nine years in South Africa. In 2016 he was appointed to serve in the U.S. at parishes in New York and Pennsylvania. Most recently, he served as pastor in Lakewood, Colo. until assigned to serve in Tulsa.
Established as an Eastern Catholic presence within the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, St. Therese shares the mysteries of Jesus Christ expressed through the Maronite Rite and welcomes the faithful to share in its rich tradition in which part of the Mass is spoken in Aramaic (Syriac dialect), the language of Christ.
Fr. El-Badaoui Habib, MLM
ABOUT THE MARONITE RITE:
The Maronite Rite is one of 23 rites within the one universal Catholic Church, and despite being an Eastern Church has remained in full communion with the Pope. The Maronite Rite originated from a 4th-century Syriac monastic tradition following St. Maron. Centered in Lebanon with a global diaspora, it uses the West Syriac liturgy, incorporating Aramaic in services. The Maronite Church has its own hierarchy, headed by the Patriarch of Antioch.
Ash Wednesday
Last week, we photographed Ash Wednesday Mass at locations around Tulsa including the Chancery, Bishop Kelley High School, St. Philip Neri Parish at the University of Tulsa, St. Augustine, and St. Pius X.
EOC Photos by Daniel McCay, Renata Copsey and Chris Rush
Diocese Launches Parish Information Nights to Learn About Permanent Diaconate
BROKEN ARROW — The Diaconate Office of the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma has announced that it will launch a series of Deacon Information Nights beginning in March.
"These nights were created to open a door — an intentional space where men can begin to listen more closely for the quiet stirrings of God’s call," says Deacon Craig Victor, Director of the Diaconate. "The Deacon Information Nights exist to help men begin to recognize that a vocation begins not with certainty, but with the courage to ask the right questions."
Leading off at St. Thomas More on March 5, and continuing at several parishes around the Diocese through April, each event will provide men discerning for the Permanent Diaconate the opportunity to pick up important information and speak directly with Deacon Victor and other Church leaders.
"My hope is that each participant leaves understanding that discernment is not a solo journey, but a path walked with the Church, with formation, and with God," says Deacon Victor. "More than information, I hope you carry home inspiration — an invitation to continue discerning with honesty, humility, and joy."
Deacon Information Nights Schedule:
6 p.m., Thursday, March 5, at St. Thomas More, Tulsa
6:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 10, at St. Brigid, Tahlequah
6:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 11, at St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Tulsa
6 p.m., Thursday, March 19, at Sacred Heart, Miami
11 a.m., Sunday, March 22, at St. John, McAlester
6 p.m., Tuesday, March 24, Chancery office, Broken Arrow
5:15 p.m. Mass, Wednesday, April 1, St. John Before the Latin Gate, Bartlesville
6 p.m., Wednesday, April 8, Church of St. Mary, Tulsa
6 p.m., Thursday, April 23, St. Francis Xavier, Stillwater
6 p.m., Friday, April 24, Holy Family Cathedral, Tulsa
Vatican News and Video Link Being Added to Diocesan and Parish Websites in the U.S.
ROME — The Holy See's Dicastery for Communications announced last week that it is offering a news and video widget from Vatican News to all diocesan and parish websites, as well as those linked to associations, movements, and NGOs connected to the Catholic Church.
The value of the tool, according to the Vatican, lies in the possibility of creating a stable visual and widespread communication/information link between the Holy See and the Church. The goal is to ensure that Catholic websites in the U.S. — accessed by the faithful via computer, tablet, or smartphone — are automatically updated with the latest news on the Holy Father’s Magisterium.
The Vatican stressed the importance of the news and video widget "to be widely distributed on as many websites as possible, to emphasize the link with the Bishop of Rome and also because it is a useful tool for evangelization. It can also serve to counteract the phenomenon of fake news by allowing immediate access to the original source of news and texts..."
Once successfully installed, the Vatican News widget will enable any Catholic website — diocesan, parish, or Church-related organizations — to receive in real time:
- Short videos about the Pope and the Holy See that can be shared on social media, in both horizontal and vertical formats.
- A “scroll” with the latest Vatican News in the language of your choice,
- Direct link to the Vatican.va pages where the Pope’s full texts will always be available.
The Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma website is currently linked directly to the Vatican News site and is testing the new widget installation on its platform. Additional information, including detailed widget installation instructions, will be provided soon to all parishes in the Diocese that operate websites. For more information, contact Chris Rush at chris.rush@dioceseoftulsa.org
Oklahoma Bishops and Religious Leaders Sign 'Sojourner' Letter
BROKEN ARROW — A letter signed by religious leaders from across Oklahoma, “Love the Sojourner: A Christian Call for Compassion Toward our Immigrant Neighbors,” has been released for the public to read and sign.
“As Christians in the United States of America, we urge our nation to respond to the present worldwide crisis of human migration in a manner that expresses our best moral and spiritual values,” the letter reads in part.
It further calls for a fair and compassionate system of legal immigration and an end to a policy of mass deportation that would disrupt families, weaken communities, harm the economy, and cause undue suffering for many innocent people.
Initial signers of the letter include Bishop David Konderla of Tulsa and Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City as well as multiple other Christian ministers.
To read the letter in its entirety, view signers, or to sign online, click here.
Flight into Egypt, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson.
From the Editor...
Based on reports, several Tulsa area parishes experienced larger than normal attendance this year at Ash Wednesday Masses. Even though it is not a Day of Obligation, Ash Wednesday continues to draw the faithful and those who are seeking to receive ashes and begin the Lenten season.
While abundant evidence of a growing spiritual movement is taking place in several dioceses around the U.S. and elsewhere, here are some exciting local numbers to ponder. Last year, 229 catechumens and 236 candidates for a total of 465 new Catholics entered the Church last Easter within the Diocese of Tulsa. That is a very robust number for a relatively small diocese like ours.
Now get this: Current local numbers show that close to 1,000 new Catholics will enter the Church at Easter this year. You read that right, a thousand! More than double that of last year. This led Bishop David Konderla to schedule two separate Rite of Election ceremonies for the Diocese yesterday afternoon. Holy Family Cathedral can comfortably accommodate 800 people. But with this year's much bigger number, the decision was made to split into two services.
It's a wonderful "problem" for any diocese to encounter. Truly, the Holy Spirit is moving within the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma. Let's keep all these people in our prayers as they come into full communion with the Church at Easter.
A final note: This week is your last chance to check out the 28th Annual Diocesan Catholic Schools Art Show taking place at the NSU-Broken Arrow campus. The inspiring show features the beauty of faith expressed through art by our very own diocesan school students. Gallery hours are from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday; and 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Friday.
On Saturday, the Closing Reception will take place from 1 - 3 p.m. with light refreshments served. The Art Show and Closing Reception are located in the Administrative Services Building (next to the fenced-in playground) at NSU-Broken Arrow, 3100 E. New Orleans St. Patrons may enter the NSU campus closest to the turnpike. If entering at the Bookstore, continue through the Commons Area.
Until next week, thanks for reading!
Chris Rush
Editor
"Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" — Philippians 4:8
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