FDather s ay - Archdiocese of Oklahoma City

Sooner CatholicServing the People of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City Volume 36, Number 12 * June 13, 2010

Men Must Know God to Know HowDesperately They Are Needed in Family

FDather�s

ayJUNE 20

Some beautifully written works have come out of theVatican over the past 20 years celebrating the femi-nine genius. This is necessary, no doubt, to counter-

act the confusion of the sexual revolution and the radicalfringe of the feminist movement. It’s also to reaffirm theChurch’s reverence for womankind amidst complaintsthat we do not, and will not, ordain women. These workshave rightly celebrated the crowning jewel of creation!But as a man, I can’t help but feel a little left out…

Where is the papal “Letter to Men,” or an encyclical“On the Dignity and Vocation of Men?” Perhaps it’sassumed that one is not needed since so much has beenwritten on the priesthood, but that is not the vocation ofthe overwhelming majority of us, and amidst a growingcrisis in masculine identity, work is needed in this areanow more than ever.

Over the years working for women’s rights, we’veblurred the lines between equality (a good thing) andsimilarity (a bad thing) of the sexes, completely forgettingcomplementarity. In the wake of all this, men areexperiencing an identity crisis.

Society is forgetting how to celebrate and form thenatural tendencies of a boy — his impulse to explore,provide, defend and lead. Perhaps these tendencies are

Continued to Page 3

By Christopher Stefanick

Nicoma ParkJune 6, 2010

My dear Brothers and Sistersin Christ:

Today we celebrate the greatFeast of Corpus Christi. TheseLatin words are translated as theBody of Christ and refer to thesacrament of the Holy Eucharist.This is the wonderful gift thatJesus gave us of Himself. It is ourcommunion in the Pascal mysteryof Christ. Therefore, this is theprinciple liturgical celebration ofthe Church. This is the heart ofour belief in the continuing realsacramental presence of Jesusamong us. This acceptance ofJesus, the Lord and Savior, includ-ing His Eucharistic teaching,constitutes the very essence of ourCatholic faith.

The teachings and revelationsof Jesus are presented to usthroughout the New Testament ofthe Holy Bible, especially in thefour Gospels.

Moreover, the teachings ofJesus answer and fulfill many ofthe questions and prophecies of theOld Testament. In many, manyplaces Jesus refers to Himself asthe Paschal Lamb, the Bread ofLife, food that nourishes, drinkthat satisfies. Also, by many ofHis actions, Jesus prepared His

listeners — including us — for thegift of the Eucharist He wouldinstitute at the Last Supper.

Today’s Gospel of themultiplication of loaves and thefeeding of 5,000 is one of the manyteaching moments Jesus used toprepare us for His great teachingon the Eucharist. Thus, whenJesus instructed His apostles toprepare a place for the Paschalmeal and gathered them togetheraround the table, they wereenabled to accept and receive theirfirst Holy Communion.

Our second Scripture readingattests to the institution of theEucharist at the Last Supper andthe continuing Eucharistic teach-ing and practice from then on.Saint Paul said: “I received fromthe Lord what I also handed on toyou, that the Lord Jesus, on thenight He was handed over, tookbread and after he had giventhanks, broke it and said: ‘This isMy Body that is for you. Do this inremembrance of Me.’ In the sameway also the cup, after supper, say-ing: ‘This cup is the new covenantin My Blood. Do this, as often asyou drink It, in remembrance ofMe.’ For as often as you eat thisBread and drink the Cup, youproclaim the death of the Lorduntil He comes.”

The Last Supper began as asolemn celebration of the Paschal

event. It ended with the dynamicinstitution of the Eucharist. Thesadness of theimminentdeparture andsuffering anddeath of Jesuswas not the endfor that firstChristian parishof apostles. Theywere told: “This isMy Body, takeand eat; This isMy Blood, take and drink and youshall have life everlasting.” TheEucharist, the Sacrament of theReal Presence of Jesus, hascontinued from that moment on tobe the heart of our Catholic faithand practice.

Over the past six decades, theLord’s injunction has been followedthousands of times here at OurLady of Fatima Church. Here acommunity of believers has beenformed, nurtured and guided onthe pilgrim journey of life. TheEucharistic celebration presidedover by an ordained bishop orpriest has brought life and healingto a faithful band of parishioners,visitors and friends. Here manypeople have been brought to theLord in baptism and confirmation.Many have received the forgive-ness of sins and reconciliation with

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2 Sooner Catholic June 13, 2010●●

The Good News

. . . Our Lady of Fatima Church

ArchbishopBeltran

Sooner Catholic

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Most ReverendEusebius J. Beltran

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32180, Oklahoma City, OK 73123.MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNA) — The Archbishopof Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera,expressed hope that not everything in the world is lostbecause the world is sustained through prayer.

“Nevertheless, the dark reality of evil stands outmost. But good will always triumph, although kindnessgoes unnoticed,” the cardinal said. “If our world has notcollapsed, it is because of so much prayer and sacrificethat rises up from this valley of tears toward theKingdom of Grace and of the Beauty of God,” he saidduring Mass for the Feast of Corpus Christ.

There are many people who seek to do good,

he pointed out, such as parents who educate theirchildren in the faith, politicians who strive to ensurethe well-being of the people, doctors who defend lifefrom the moment of conception, and many other menand women “who go against the tide to bear witness tothe truth.”

Cardinal Rivera also urged the faithful to drawclose to the Eucharist, the “source of humanization: theincarnate Word comes down from heaven to encounterhis brothers and sisters of mankind face to face, and hewalks with them, guiding them by the hand so they donot succumb” to the pressures of modernity.

Cardinal: World is Held Together by Prayer

June 13, 2010 Sooner Catholic 3●●

Continued from Page 1due in part, to the fact that in an 8-week-old malefetus, a surge of testosterone begins to kill off cellsin the communication center of the brain (doesthat explain a few things?) while strengtheningthe areas devoted to sex and aggression. This isn’tbad, it’s just us. Man’s nature doesn’t need to beblunted, but guided. My son’s hand itches for asword, not a doll. It’s my job to ensure he growsinto a knight rather than a barbarian. Withoutproper guidance, he could end up like the hordesof college-age men whose misguided souls seek theadventures of partying and promiscuity ratherthan noble pursuits and heroism.

Men are forgetting how badly they are neededto be spiritual and moral leaders at home and inthe world. All too often we are content to leavethat job solely to women. According to an ABCNews poll, almost 25 percent more Catholicwomen attend weekly Mass than men, faring farworse than Protestants who only see an 8 percentgap.

And there is the notion, propagated by thegrowing number of artificially inseminatedHollywood stars, that the role of a husband and

father isn’t all that important, and is no longereven necessary to carry on the human race. Menseem to be buying that message. An MSNBCsurvey revealed that 28 percent of men havecheated. They are also unfaithful to their childrenin increasing numbers. According to the NationalFatherhood Initiative, 34.5 percent of U.S. childrenlive apart from their biological father and 40percent of them haven’t seen him for a year. Thosechildren are two to three times more likely to usedrugs, fail at school, have emotional and healthproblems, become victims of child abuse, and ex-perience poverty. Children need faithful dads, andthe world needs the witness of faithful husbands.

I’m keenly aware of the awesome burden Ibear as a husband and father. Though I get to talkto teens about the love of God, I have to show myfamily His face, up close and personal, in a waythat no one else can. Like it or not, the fatherhoodI show my children will constitute the way theysee their heavenly Father. The man I am will bethe husband my girls seek. The time I spend (orfail to spend) with them will form their sense ofself-worth. My role as provider will provide theirsense of safety. The way I treat my wife will show

them what love is. And the love and honor I giveto my wife will reveal to her the intimacy Christlongs to have with her. I pray that I do well atshowing them the face of God. In one famoushomily, St. Augustine referred to married men as“my fellow bishops” because of their weighty rolein the spiritual formation of their families and thetrajectory of society.

There is a recent surge in desperately neededCatholic outreach to men. A simple Google searchfor “Catholic Men’s Conference” or “Catholic Men’sMinistry” will attest to that surge. And the spreadof parish programs like “That Man is You” toalmost every U.S. state within five years of itsfounding attests to the hunger for men’s ministry.

Men can still be the pillars for their familiesand the world that God has called them to be, butonly if we know God as bridegroom and fatherfirst.

Christopher Stefanick is the director of Youth,Young Adult and Campus Ministry for theArchdiocese of Denver as well as a speaker andauthor. For more information, visit www.chris-stefanick.com.

Father’s Day

Good NewsContinued from Page 2

the Lord in the sacrament ofPenance. Men and women of faithhave been united in holy matri-mony and strengthened for theirpilgrimage of life. Others whowere called by the Lord in deathhave been blessed and usheredinto the everlasting Kingdom ofGod.

The Parish of Our Lady ofFatima has been a very beautifuland dynamic Christian community.The countless people who havepassed through these doors, livingand dead, are gratefully acknowl-edged now and will continue to bein our memory and prayers. As theLast Supper of Christ with Hisapostles was a solemn, sorrowfulevent, so is our celebration of thisfinal parish Mass tinted withsorrow. But more importantly, theLast Supper was also filled withhopeful trust and love becauseJesus assured that parishcommunity of His continuingEucharistic presence among them.So today, in the name of the

Church of this Archdiocese, Iassure the parishioners of OurLady of Fatima Church of God’scontinuing love and presence. Iwelcome each of you to one of theadjoining parish communities. Thetwo major parishes are SaintTeresa of Avila Church in Harrahand Saint Philip Neri Church inMidwest City.

The pastors and members ofthose parishes have alreadyextended to you a very warm andcordial welcome.

My dear brothers and sistersof Our Lady of Fatima Church,your participation in the life ofyour new parish will be a continu-

ation of the life you shared here inNicoma Park. Both here and there,our Catholic faith is centered onthe Person of Jesus and HisEucharistic presence among us.

“Take My Flesh and eat It,take My Blood and drink It andyou shall have life everlasting.”

•••The amalgamation of Our

Lady of Fatima Church into theneighboring parishes was notcaused by a lack of faith or weak-ness on the part of the parish. Thedetermining factor is the shortageof priests. Therefore, I hope thatyou and all the people of ourArchdiocese will continue to pray

for priestly vocations. Parents andall parishioners are urged tonurture priestly vocations. Praythat the Lord of the harvest willsend us many good and holy andfaithful priests to celebrate theEucharist, providing us with thebread from heaven on this, ourjourney of life.

In the meantime, be assuredthat Our Lady of Fatima Churchwill not be forgotten.

These buildings which havebeen used to nurture your parishwill continue to be used for thenecessary social ministries of ourfaith.

Under the guidance of ourArchdiocesan Catholic Charities,we will continue to serve God’speople, especially those most inneed. Later at our meal, arepresentative from CatholicCharities will share with ussome of our initial plans for thisministry.

Most Reverend Eusebius J. BeltranArchbishop of Oklahoma City

My dear brothers and sisters of Our Lady ofFatima Church, your participation in the life ofyour new parish will be a continuation of the lifeyou shared here in Nicoma Park. Both here andthere, our Catholic faith is centered on the Personof Jesus and His Eucharistic presence among us.


GOD CHOSE YOU!Over 9,300 archdiocesans have

responded to His call by supportingthe Archdiocesan DevelopmentFund Appeal. Many others haveresponded, to His choosing, withintheir parish and community orthrough other charitable organiza-tions. But sadly, there are those who,for some reason, have not respondedto the love and inspiration of theHoly Spirit in any meaningful way.Trust in the Lord will only come and

grow when hearts are opened to thefull “burning” love of God. His “burn-ing” love will flow through each of usand create an overwhelming needto share that love with everyonearound us. We will share ourselvesby our generous giving back to Godthrough His people of our time,talents and resources. The fullmeasure of our love will not berestricted by the obstacles andtemptations we encounter daily.

At this time, the 9,300 donorshave pledged $2,792,376.17 ofthe $3 million goal, and paid$1,671,405.02 on those pledges.These monies go directly into theoperational budget of the Arch-diocese and the $3 million goalwould account for almost 50 percentof the yearly budget.

It is never too late to begin toparticipate in the work of the Lordusing the talents and gifts so gener-

ously given by God to each of uswhen we were chosen. If you are in-terested in supporting the minis-tries of the Archdiocese, completethe “Donor Form” and mail it to theArchdiocese as indicated or give it toyour parish office to forward to theADF office. Let the Holy Spirit guideyour life by opening your heartand your mind to the wonderfulpossibilities of working for the Onewho chose you to be His own.

Total Amount of Gift

1st Payment (enclosed)

Balance

ADF 2010 Gift FormPlease Print ClearlyMr. and/or Mrs., Ms., Rev., Dr.

Address

Credit this donation to Parish

Credit Card: Please Charge my

Account #

Card Holders Name

EFT Transaction

Signature

Master Card Visa a one time charge

Exp. Date (Mo./Yr.)

(Please Print)

A check must be enclosed. All transactions will be processed on the 15th of the month.

6 Pmts. July-December3 Pmts. July-Oct-Dec1 Pmt. Show MonthElectronic Funds TransferCredit Card

Make checks payable to the ADFMail to ADF, P.O. Box 32180Oklahoma City, Okla. 73123

Please indicate method of payment

Usually winning a state championship isenough. The girls of Bishop McGuinness HighSchool’s golf team won the state championshipand also raised $5,000 for Birth Choice ofOklahoma with their “Birdies for Babies” serviceproject.

Senior Golfer Hannah Tubbs said the teamwanted to do something for Birth Choice.

“We knew we wanted to do a service projectand we thought we could do something for BirthChoice,” she said.

At the beginning of the season each golferfound 10 sponsors willing to pay $1 each time abirdie was scored while the girls played. A birdieis a score on an individual hole that is onestroke below par. If five strokes are needed for ahole and the golfer makes the ball in with four

strokes, they have a birdie.The team made 59 birdies throughout the

season, raising $5,000.Barbara Chishko, executive director of Birth

Choice of Oklahoma, said she appreciates the

support Birth Choice receives.“We are just ecstatic that we have such

tremendous support from Bishop McGuinnessHigh School,” she said.

Chishko said fundraisers and donationsaren’t just about money for Birth Choice staffand volunteers.

“It gives us not just the monetary supportbut the support we get from the people,” shesaid.

Birth Choice provides pregnant women withfree and confidential pregnancy tests, limitedultrasounds and counseling. The organizationalso provides necessities for mothers and babiesincluding maternity clothes, diapers, babyclothes and other items.

“Without these donations, we couldn’toperate the way we operate,” Chisko said.

For more information on Birth Choice ofOklahoma, call (405) 631-4477.

Irish Birdies Big Benefit to Birth ChoiceBy Carmen Bourlon

For the Sooner Catholic

Barbara Chishko of Birth Choice accepts a checkfrom the McGuinness girls golf team in support ofBirth Choice of Oklahoma, Inc.


Rev. Cletus Maurice PatrickBash (81) was born in Tulsa on May18, 1929. He graduated from HolyFamily High School in Tulsa in 1947and attended Bethany PreparatorySeminary, Oklahoma City, and St.Louis Preparatory Seminary andSt. John’s Seminary, Little Rock,Ark. He was ordained on May 26,1956, at Our Lady of PerpetualHelp Cathedral, Oklahoma City, byBishop Eugene J. McGuinness.

When asked about his call to thepriesthood, Father Bash remem-bered, “As a young boy, I alwaysconsidered becoming a priest. If Ihad it to do over again, I wouldn’ttrade it for anything.” During hismore than 50 years of service to theDiocese of Tulsa and Oklahoma Cityand the Archdiocese of OklahomaCity, Father Bash served the follow-ing parishes and churches: St.

James Church, Oklahoma City; OurLady of Perpetual Help, Sterling;

Sacred Heart Parish, Fairfax, andmissions, St. John Church, Pawnee,and St. Ann Church, Shidler; Queenof All Saints Church, Sayre, and themission church in Cheyenne; SacredHeart Parish, Skiatook; Our Ladyof Victory Church, Purcell; andSt. Paul Church, Lexington; St.Barbara Church, now Holy Family,Lawton; Assumption Church,Duncan, and its missions in RushSprings and Marlow; Sts. Peter andPaul Church, Hobart; and St. JosephChurch, Blackwell. He also servedas chaplain at St. Anthony’sHospital and Mercy Hospital, Okla-homa City, and the State Reforma-tory, Granite.

Father Bash retired June 3,2003; however, he continued to servethe Archdiocese as chaplain at St.Ann Nursing Home, Oklahoma City.Father Bash also frequently cele-

brated Mass for those attendingdaily Mass at the Catholic PastoralCenter.

Father Bash is predeceased byhis parents, Linus and CatherineMcIntire Bash; his brothers,Leonard Joseph Bash and wife,Dolores, and John Clement Bash;and his sisters, Theresa Bash, MaryZita Bash Dean and husband, S.J.Dean Jr., and Bernice Leota BerniceBash.

He is survived by his nieces,nephews, cousins and many caringfriends and colleagues.

His family especially remem-bers his wit and humor and abilityto make them laugh.

Wake services were held June 8at the Catholic Pastoral Center aswell as the Mass of Resurrection onJune 9. Father Bash was interned atResurrection Cemetery.

Rev. Philip M. Donohoe was bornAug. 25, 1929, in Clenrath Aughnac-cliffe, County Longford, Ireland.Father Donohoe attended regionalschools in the parish of St. Colmcilleand St. Mary Apostolic School in thetownland of Moyne.

In 1947, Father Donohoe enteredthe seminary of St. Peter’s Collegein Waxford, Ireland, where hestudied philosophy and theology forthe Diocese of Ferns. On June 7,1953, Father Donohoe was ordainedat St. Peter’s College and soon there-after came to the USA, assigned tothe Diocese of Oklahoma and Tulsa.

Father Donohoe’s first assign-ment in Oklahoma was associatepastor of St. Patrick Church,Oklahoma City. From 1959 to 1964,he served Immaculate ConceptionParish, Poteau, traveling as many as250 miles on a weekend to celebrateMass at the six missions of this

parish.Other assignments included

serving as the pastor of St.

Matthews Church, Elk City, (andadministrator of Holy FamilyChurch, Canute), Our Lady ofFatima, Nicoma Park, St. JamesChurch, Oklahoma City, and St.Eugene Church, Oklahoma City. In1990, Father Donohoe becamepastor of Sacred Heart Church, ElReno, where he retired in 2005.

In addition to serving variousparishes, Father Donohoe servedon the Appellate Court for theArchdiocesan Tribunal for 30 yearsand served as Vicar for Region IXfor several years. He also served asa chaplain for the Knights ofColumbus.

Father Donohoe was prede-ceased by his parents, PatrickDonohoe and Bridget MartinDonohoe, and a brother, Thomas, allof Ireland.

He is survived by EilishDonohoe, wife of his brother,

Thomas, County Longford, Ireland,and six nephews and nieces, the chil-dren of Eilish and Thomas: CiarinDonohoe and wife, Martina ofCounty Longford, Ireland, AnnMarie Donohoe Reynolds andhusband, Noel of County Longford,Ireland, Patrick Donohoe of Reading,Berkshire, England, Mary DonohoeFarrell and husband, Pat of CountyRoscommon, Ireland, Brida DonohoeConnelly and husband, Brian ofCounty Longford, Ireland, and ElsieDonohoe Curley and husband,Seamus of County Galway, Ireland.

Vigil for the Deceased was heldFriday, May 28 at Sacred HeartChurch. Mass of the Resurrectionwas held Saturday, May 29 atSacred Heart Church. Burial wasin St. Colmcille Cemetery, CountyLongford, Ireland. Services wereunder direction of Huber-BensonFuneral Home, El Reno.

Father Cletus Bash Dies June 7 in Oklahoma City

Obituary

Obituary

Father Donohoe Dies After 57 Years of Ministry


Beginning Experience

I have a nice car. It came to bemine through a bit of a tantrum. Ihad for years driven a Honda Accordwhich matches me well. Not preten-tious but reliable, easy to work with,good gas mileage, and the value forthe money was as good as could beexpected. But I found myself so un-happy that I was thinking an ex-pensive car was somehow going toimprove my life situation. At the timeI had no idea how to be happy, butI did know that staying in mymarriage would require a major over-haul.

The real problems in ourmarriage showed up in places that Inever expected. I am an accountant.My husband is a banker. We hadenough money to live on in the typi-cal middle class style. I had alwaysthought that if you did not have thefunds on hand, you just saved to getthose things you want most in life.I appreciate the value of being ableto borrow money for those largepurchases that were important to afamily that savings cannot realize.My husband was aware that I wouldnot support unnecessary wants asjustification for borrowing money.

I may have thought that as afinancially competent couple, weshared the idea of not borrowingunless there was a purchase that wemutually agreed upon. So when Ilearned that he thought my opinionon large purchases and loans was notnecessary, I was devastated. When Ifound out that he had also cashed inthe life insurance policy at the sametime he was taking out new loans, Icould not come to terms with the lack

of concern for his family. Not only didhe think that what I might have feltabout a situation was of no concern,he left us open to financial disasterif he were suddenly killed. He wentalmost 10 years hiding many largetransactions from me. It was not justa one-time lapse of judgment, it wasto be a way of life into which I had noinput.

That is how I found myself buy-ing a car that I liked but did not re-ally need. If he could spend so muchmoney, so could I! Why should I notspend a fraction of what he had soselfishly gone through? The problemwas, the car purchase did not makeme feel any better. It did not make mefeel like I was loved and truly sharingmy life with this man who was myhusband. There was no communica-tion between us. He made no attemptto explain what had taken place. Thefinal realization that made me decideto leave the marriage was that hehad chosen himself over his childrento such an extreme degree. Hiding allof his many purchases from everyonein the family the whole time by keep-ing them at his retail store. Hidinghimself along with his toys.

Who was this man that was myhusband and how was I to find out? Itried to get help but he never wantedto go to counseling, nor would hemeet with a financial adviser. I admitto having boundary issues, but I wasfinding those boundaries were so outof redemption that I had no choicebut to end the marriage. Not havingthe courage to ask him to leave, I toldhim that I would be moved out by theend of that month and did so.

As events would have it, I even-tually moved in with my parents.Once again in the house that I hadlived in from the age of 13 throughcollege. Looking back at the person Ihad been while growing up in thatvery house, I couldn’t understandwhere I had gone so wrong. What hadI done that I no longer found myselfin any of the roles I had identifiedmyself with. I was obviously nolonger a wife. No longer a motherbecause my three children consideredthemselves grown. I had moved farenough away that I no longer hadthe support of my friends, volunteeractivities, church and neighbors.Because of the financial disaster thatmy husband had made of things, Idecided to let my CPA license expire.I would never be able to sit in front ofanother person and have the auda-city to tell them what to do with theirmoney. I kept asking myself whowas I to be now? It was like I hadgraduated from high school, could doabsolutely anything with my life, butI had no idea what that ought to be.

This was one of those times whenyou come to know that God trulyhears your prayers. I read aboutBeginning Experience in the churchbulletin. A whole weekend commit-ment had me thinking about it fora while. I finally decided that I hadto do something. My family waswonderful but they only want to talkabout your marriage issues for solong. I seemed to be having problemswith sucking it up and letting go.A lot of that has to do with the factthat even to this day, I am still notdivorced. I needed to get a handle on

my life. I was hoping that BeginningExperience might help in some smallway.

I called and even though theweekend was getting close, they stilllet me come. I get along with peopleeasily so I was not worried about feel-ing uncomfortable. If I had beenworried, the games that helped us getto know each other were easy and wequickly knew everyone. It is interest-ing looking back as I write this. Someof those people have become veryimportant in my life. Who would I beif I had not met them?

Not only did I gain valuablefriendships, I came to know myself somuch better. Through large and smallgroup activities, I started findinganswers to those questions that hadbrought me there. Who was I andwhat was my purpose in life? I atleast started searching for answersand looking at myself from a morepositive perspective. My life hastaken so many new directions thatI would not have found withoutBeginning Experience. I am truly abetter person.

So give yourself a gift and join usfor the July 9-11 weekend. The re-treat is held at the Catholic PastoralCenter at 7501 NW Expressway.It only costs $100 for all food andlodging. If you really need help withthe costs, it is available. For any ques-tions you may have, call (405) 216-5116 or (405) 721-5651 Ext. 108.

I am looking forward to havingthe opportunity of meeting you. To-gether we can all have the sun shinea little brighter as we once again findjoy in our hearts.

Weekend Retreat Offers Hope To Those Widowed, Divorced

Briefs

OKLAHOMA CITY — Bingo at St. JamesCatholic Church, 41st and South McKinley Avenue,will be held June 24 in the gym. Food and beveragesreasonably priced will be served at 5:45 p.m. Bingo

begins at 6:30 p.m. All games including two black-outs are $10. Door prizes and special recognition forall players born in June. A HDTV flat screen tele-vision will be given away in October. Each time youplay you get an entry ticket into the TV drawing.Come on down and make it a party.

Yadin Joseph, winner of the third- and fourth-grade division in the Archdiocesan Spelling Bee,attends Villa Teresa Catholic School. He was listedas attending another school.

St. James to Host Bingo CORRECTION


GUTHRIE — Catholic Charitiesand Mercy Health Center will hosttheir 12th annual Faith CommunityNurse Retreat July 21-23 at Our Ladyof the Lake Retreat Center here.

Since 2010 marks the 100thanniversary of the death of FlorenceNightingale, the retreat theme willfocus on Nightingale’s quote, “Ourdeepest and most potent resource forhealing is our spirituality.”

“Florence Nightingale is con-sidered an icon of wholeness, balanceand an integrated life,” said MaryDiane Steltenkamp, retreat facilita-

tor and Catholic Charities FaithCommunity Nurse coordinator. “Thisretreat will offer an opportunity fornurses to nurture their spirits withprayer, community and reflectiontime.”

An independent nursing practice,Faith Community Nursing is arecognized specialty for registerednurses, which combines professionalnursing and health ministry. FaithCommunity Nurses are often called“parish nurses,” “congregationalhealth nurses” or “church nurses,” andemphasize health and healing within

a faith community. The FaithCommunity Nursing program doesnot involve “hands-on” health care.Instead, the nurse performs roles ofeducator, referral agent, advocate,personal health counselor, developerof support groups, coordinator ofvolunteers, and integrator of faith andhealth. The spiritual aspect is key toparish nursing and nurses serve witha faith community ministerial teamby actively promoting wellness,wholeness and preventive health.

Cost for the Faith CommunityNursing Retreat is $50, which in-

cludes meals and lodging for twonights. The retreat will begin at 5p.m. on July 21 and continue untilnoon on July 23. For more informationor to reserve your space for theretreat, contact Glenda Bronson,Mercy Community Outreach, (405)936-5226. Registration ends July 16and is limited to 15 people.

Steltenkamp said the next BasicPreparation Program for FaithCommunity Nursing will be offeredthis fall. For more information aboutthe training, contact her at CatholicCharities, (405) 523-3000.

Pope Benedict XVI greetsseminarian Cory Stanley asFather James Greiner of HolySpirit Church in Mustanglooks on. The seminarian is astudent from the Archdiocese ofOklahoma City studying at thePontifical North AmericanCollege in Rome.

Catholic Charities, Mercy Set Nursing Retreat

Principal Suzette Williams was named the2010 St. Eugene Catholic School DistinguishedGraduate. The Distinguished Graduate Awardrecognizes exceptional graduates who have setthemselves apart by making significant contribu-tions to the St. Eugene community.

“Mrs. Williams has devoted her life to servingothers, insuring not only her students, but all of usat St. Eugene live better lives grounded in theCatholic Faith,” said School Advisory Chair NatalieJordan, who presented the award to Williams.

Williams graduated from St. Eugene CatholicSchool in 1979 and then became a Fighting Irish atBishop McGuinness High School. She received her

undergraduate in education from Northeastern andher master’s in Administration-Curriculum andInstruction from Oklahoma State University. Shetaught and served as assistant principal at St.Joseph Catholic School in Muskogee, was theprincipal at St. Catherine’s in Tulsa, worked for theOklahoma Catholic Schools Accreting Associationand then returned to St. Eugene Catholic School.This is her seventh year as St. Eugene’s principal.

“As we celebrate the school’s 50th anniversary,I can’t think of anyone more deserving of thisaward than Mrs. Williams,” said Father JosephJacobe. “She is a shining example of someone whoshares their time, talent and treasure.”

Williams’ son, Mathew, who is in the fourthgrade, presented his mother and principal with aplaque while other schoolchildren gave her flowers.

“I am truly touched and surprised,” saidWilliams to the student body. “I am so thankful tomy parents. Like your parents, my parents madesacrifices so they could send me to St. EugeneCatholic School. It is such a gift and I thank you. Iam grateful to be your principal and to receive sucha wonderful award.”

Williams is the daughter of longtime parish-ioners Pat Horn and the late Matthias Horn. Shereceived the Educator of the Year Award in 2005from the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

School Honors Principal as Distinguished Alum


Gisela Alas Newman University

Full Scholarship

Madison Lee AlexanderFlorida Institute of

Technology, Full Scholarship

Richard Brendan AtkinsNewman University

Full Scholarship

Mount St. Mary High School Class of 2010

Sarah Elizabeth BennettOU

Ryan Michael BertelsOSU

Hunter E. BoelteIndependence CommunityCollege, Full Scholarship

Rebecca Elise BornsteinOSU, Full Scholarship

Valedictorian

Timothy RomandelCampbell

UCO

Kevin CartwrightUniversity of Tulsa

Full Scholarship salutatorian

Kathleen Lorayne ClarkNorthwestern OK State

University

Sarah Elizabeth ClarkAmerican Musical &Dramatic Academy

Monserrat ContrerasUCO

Christian Caleb CoxOU

Rebecca Nicole CraigNew York University

Brook Ashlee DeanUCO

Tiffany Michelle DeatonOSU

Sean Patrick DonahueOU

Britani Rae DowlingOSU-OKC

Seniors front row from left, Sarah Bennett, Brendan Atkins and MadisonAlexander, and back row from left, Christian Cox, Monserrat Contreras andSarah Clark during graduation at St. Mark’s in Norman.


Sarah DubroffUCO, Full Scholarship

Alejandro EspinozaUCO

Liana Maria GarciaRockhurst University

Full Scholarship

Edgar Ivan GasparOU

Once a Rocket Aways a Rocket!

Stephanie RenaeGriffin

OU

Pamela GrijalvaOCCC

Christien HillUCO

James Robert HoppOU

Allison Joan HopperOU

Valedictorian

Ellen Michelle JohnsonOU

Rebecca Marian LewisOCCC

Nicolas Ryan LopezUniversity of New Mexico

Full Scholarship

Sarah Nicole LuisUCO

Ashley Nicole LuttrellUCO

Patrick ThomasManning

UCO

Charles MaximilianMarcott

Rose State College

Amy MascoteUCO

Vincent MauriceMason II

OU

Rebecca Claire McLainPlatt College

Ryne Louis McNeillUCO

Ben Rupert and mom, Barbara, at the seniorfarewell assembly.


Nasar Min-AllahOCCC

David Matthew MollmanOU, Salutatorian

Mikey GregoryMollman

OU

Mount St. Mary Class of 2010

Juan AntonioMontalvo

OU

Jared Curtis MorrisUCO

Mary Kate MulloolyUCO

Christopher JamesNewsom

OSU

Dalton MichaelNewsome

OSU

Cac NguyenOCCC

Morgan Cole NievezUCO

Kalan MacKenzie O'DellRose State College Full Scholarship

Reyes Baltazar OlivaUCO

Halie Michelle OlstadOU

Jose Jaime OrquizUCO

Silvia Yolanda PandoUCO

Andrew Lloyd ParkerU.S. Navy

Preslee Nikkol PerezNortheastern State

University

Leigha Marie PierceOSU

Nicolas Lopez, Rebecca Lewis, Ellen Johnson, Robert Hopp, Christien Hilland Stephanie Griffin at graduation.


Timothy AndrewPuckett

UCO

Sonia QuinonezOU

Vanessa RamirezUCO

Victor QuintanaRodriguez

UCO

Once a Rocket Aways a Rocket!

Benjamin SchairerRupert

UCO

Mariana EdithSanchez

UCO

Paul Allen ScottUCO

Stephen AndrewSeaman

OSU

Andrew WardSeamans

OSU

Tyler E. ShimekUCO

Tyler Blan SmithLabette Community

College

Whitney CamelleSwyden

OCCC

Dao Quynh VucingTranOCCC

Diem Thuy TranOCCC

Ngan “Sophie” TrinhOCCC

Taylor Dawn ValleeUCO

Kylie Nicole VardamanBenedictine College

FeiRan YangNortheastern University

Pamela Grijalva accepts a gift after graduationat St. Mark’s on May 22, 2010.

Only those who riskgoing too far can

possibly find how farthey can go.

Class motto


Class of 2010 with Father Rayanna Pudota, school chaplain.Dal Tran and Diem Tran try to hold on to theirballoons in the wind after graduation.

The two valedictorians giving their speeches, Rebecca Bornstein and Allison Hopper.

YYoouu aarreeRRoocckkeett

PPRRIIDDEE!!Vincent Mason gets a big hug. Photos by Cara Koenig/Sooner Catholic


Bishop McGuinness High School

Class of 2010

At left, valedictorianNicholas Aguilera,bottom left to right,salutatorians BinduThomas andJonathan Gardockiall gave speeches atgraduation.

Daniel Hatch, Cody Carson, Josh Hogsett and Jay Lester.

Chris Cudjogets a little helpwith his capat the seniorfarewellassembly.


Bishop McGuinness Class of 2010

Shehan JuneAbeyewardene

OU

Nickolas MichaelAguilera

OU-Valedictorian

Kyle Matthew AhmadNorthern Oklahoma

College

Donald RayAmendOCCC

Kyle HaydenBarry

OU

Ryan SamuelBassOU

Alyssa MarieBeaudoin

OU

Madeline RaeBisson

University of Tulsa

William DouglasBlaik

Pepperdine University

James ChristopherBorders

College of the Holy Cross

Andrew LeeBrown

OU

John O'ConnorByrne

OU

Jacqulynn NicoleCarroll

University of Arkansas

Matthew CodyHawk Carson

OCU

Kevin Lee Caruthers, Jr

Langston University

Patrick RyanCarver

OU

Allison ReneeClemens

UCO

Emily VictoriaConrad

Abilene Christian University

Joshua AlexanderCookUSAO

Elaine MichelleCooper

OU

Samuel ScottCrabtree

University of Tulsa

Christopher PaulCudjo

OU

Kristen KathrynDahlgren

University of Coloradoat Boulder

Hanna MarieDalyOCU

Patrick MichaelDaneshmand

OSU

Kristina MarieDavis

Boston College

Celine Elise DavisUniversity of Colorado

at Boulder

Corinne MarieDinges

OU

Robert WilliamDobbins

Undecided

OSU, there is no doubt where Laura Thompson is going to collegeas she and her brothers, Will, a sophomore, and Dan, class of ’07,show their college pride.


Where Are We Going? Toward the Top!

William JosephDonnelly III

Creighton University

Grant MitchellDube

OU

Danielle MarieFabian

OSU

Rose MargaretFaherty


Carrie EllenFarrell

New York University

Collin AnthonyFarrell

Undecided

Andrea GarciaOSU

Jonathan LeoGardocki

OCU- Salutatorian

Patrick Robert Duncan

Colorado State University

Brendan ScottDye


Boone JenkinsEllis, II

Undecided

Alyssa MarieFuller

OU

Erin MarieGaffney

OU

Tyler JacksonGannOSU

Samantha RyanGarvey

OSU

Colin AlexanderGrossOSU

Emily J. HaleSouthern Nazarene

University

Amy Lynn HansonOCU

Katherine AnnHarris

Colorado College

Daniel PatrickHatchUCO

Daniel ClarkeHauser

Undecided

Kaitlin YvonneHeggyUCO

Daniel BlakeHendershot

Florida State University

Alex EliasHilton, III

OU

Abby KathrynHodges

University of Tulsa

Joshua LeoHogsett

OU

Jalen BernardHoward

OCU

Abby MarieHowell

OSU

Cassi AngeliqueIserOU

Michael WalterJohnson

OSU

Monica GloriaJordan

OU

Nicholas Christian JoyceJohn Paul the GreatCatholic University

Braden Saul KleinRose State College

Thomas PatrickLabarthe

OU

Mia EllenLancaster

OU



Jay RobertLester

Purdue University

Anna ElizabethLevine

OSU

Richard LeeLindsey, IIACM @ UCO

Shelby StatonLippert

OSU

Alejandra LopezDePaul University

Preston JamesLucas

OU

Elizabeth StreckLuetkemeyer

OSU

Claire AliciaMaguire

OSU

Madeline LeighMahoney

Columbia College

James DaxtonMaroney

OU

Michael ConorMcCarthyUndecided

Maura ColleenMcDonald

OSU

Cannon PatrickMcMahan

University of Kansas

Caitlin MarieMcManigell

UCO

Kamber DawnMcMaster

OU

Natalia AngelinaMigliaccio

OU

Stephen MarshalMilesOSU

Andrew JamesMlady

OU

Mark PhilipMorrison

OU

Brett JosephMueggenborg

OSU

Zachary LewisMurphy

OSU

Andrew ThomasMurphy

Oklahoma Wesleyan

David MatthewMurray

OSU

Joseph BarrettNaifeh

OU

Katherine AnneNeuberger

Texas Christian

Teresa TrinhNguyen

OU

Krissy TamiNixonOSU

Samuel HansonO’Brien

East Central State University

Emily KayO’Brien

OSU

Maddie Wunsch being robed by her sister, Emily, class of 2005.


Where Are We Going? Toward the Top!

Michael ErikO’Hare

OSU

Michelle MarieOliphantUndecided

William JohnPatrigo

OCU

Jessica AbagailPatterson

UCO

Danielle MariePena

Mesa State College

Amee Renee PenaUniversity of

Arkansas

Cara Ann PughOCU

Rachel AlexandraPyleUCO

Kashlie ShaelynOlsonUCO

Claire CatherineOltean

OU

Dominic AlanOttaviani

OSU

Kathryn AnnPerry

Colorado College

Anna KatharinePrince

Undecided

Caitlin Noel PrinzoSouthwestern Okla

State University

Alan EmmanuelRandolphUndecided

Matthew CharlesRenzOSU

Whitney ReneeRitchie

OU

Emily Miller RossMuhlenberg College

Margaret AnneRuizUCO

Aaron MohsenSawheb

OU

Mary ElizabethSchaefer

UCO

Dietrich WilhelmSchnorrenberg

OSU-OKC

Charles AndrewSchoolcraft

OSU

Katelyn RianneSchwarz

Newman University

Charles AustinShields

New Mexico State University

Mackenzie LeeSmithOSU

ShannonKathleen Smith

OSU

Keinan PatrickJames Smith

OU

Alexander ChaseSnodgrass

OSU

Dana MarloSpeziale

OSU

Angelina MarieStancampiano

OCU

Nicholas KeltonStaples

OSU

Michael LorenSweeney

OSU

Symphonie NicoleSwift

OU

Evan EdwardTaylor

Rose State College



Conner BridgesTharp

OU

Bindu M. ThomasSWOSU

Salutatorian

James IsaacTrosper

OSU

HannahMarie Tubbs

OU

Sarah AllyceTurpen

OU

Elizabeth JeanVan Horn

UCO

Brogan Lea WardSt. Edward’s

University

SamanthaMilagra Watson

OU

Laura PatriciaThompson

OSU

Mariel KatherineThompson-Savannah

College of Art and Design

Philip AlanTolentino

OU

Alison MarieVaughan

OU

Annica GalindoVaughan

OU

Reagen ElizabethWalters

OSU

Brennan AdrianWeber


Amber Rose WeedUndecided

Elizabeth SueWhitbeck


Jameel ZakerWhitney-East Central

State University

Thomas JamesWiewelOCCC

Cody C. WilsonOCCC

Megan ElizabethWilson

William Jewell College

Kirstie AlllisonWolf

William Jewell College

Andrew ClaytonWoodOSU

Patrick AaronWood

OU

Macie NicoleWoodard

OU

Annabell RoseWoodsUCO

Madeline RaeWunsch

OSU

Braden SheaYardley

Rose State College

StephenLongworth Young

Undecided

Kamran MichaelZahrai

OU

At right: JessicaWood, class of

2007, helps robeher brother,

Pat Wood.


This year we “celebrate” the 50thanniversary of the birth control pill,or “the pill.”

For the 40th anniversary of thepill, PBS produced a thorough retro-spective on its history. The material isstill on the PBS website and is an in-valuable resource for those interestedin this subject.

The story PBS tells is fascinatingand, without meaning to denigratePBS, the broadcaster tells the historyof the pill in a surprisingly honestway — surprising not only because ofPBS’ usual biases, but also becausethe pill is a subject that involves agreat deal of dishonesty. PBS is evenhonest about the dishonesty and evensimple foolishness that surrounds thepill. For instance, when it reports onearly efforts to get the pharmaceuti-cal companies — including Searle,which eventually became the firstcompany to receive FDA approval tosell the birth control pill — to developa chemical contraceptive, PBS notes:

“Beyond the legal and religiouscomplications, Searle executives justdidn’t believe there would be a hugemarket for an oral contraceptive. Themen at Searle found it inconceivablethat any woman would considertaking pills every single day just forcontraception. The prevailing wisdomwas that no healthy woman wouldever willingly take a drug that nei-ther treated nor prevented disease.”

Deceptive drug trial Sadly they were oh so wrong.

Women have proven wretchedly will-ing to “take a drug that neithertreated nor prevented disease” and,indeed, which has been plausiblyidentified as a cause of lethal dis-eases.

PBS also noted that some of theearly research that was done circum-vented laws against contraception bypurporting to do research to helpwomen with problems with infertility.Not only were some of the trials ille-gal, some of them involved givingwomen in psychiatric hospitals drugs

without their knowledge or consent.Deception was even written into

the pill; since the pill creates apseudo-pregnancy, women on thepill would not be menstruating.Researchers, however, devised the pillso that women would experiencepseudo menstruation each month.This was done so that the pill mightseem more “natural” and thus per-haps make it more acceptable to theCatholic Church.

Researchers chose Puerto Rico asa place to test the pill because theyreasoned if they could get a poorCatholic country to accept contracep-tion, it would be an easy sell else-where.

The fact that three women diedduring the course of the trials did notprovoke researchers to examine therisks of taking the pill.

In fact, contraceptives are regu-larly tested or used without propertesting in Third World countries.Another kind of pill, Quinacrine, hasthe same sordid history. Quinacrine,a drug available in pellet form, wasused for some time in Third Worldcountries to sterilize women. It worksby burning surfaces of the fallopiantube and uterus, thereby closing offthe fallopian tubes. Huge problemsarose with the practice, however. Forinstance, many of the lesions createdby the burning became infected.Many women died of sepsis frominfected wounds before the WorldHealth Organization made sterilizerscease the practice.

Health dangers The disturbing amount of duplic-

ity and falsehood surrounding contra-ception continues to this day. Neitherpharmaceutical companies nor physi-cians have been honest about themedical dangers of chemical contra-ceptives. The pill launched a whole setof chemical contraceptives, includingDepo Provera, Ortho Evra, alsoknown as the Patch, and Norplant.More and more studies (see the April2009 study by Jessica Dolle of theFred Hutchinson Cancer ResearchCenter) are linking contraceptionwith increased incidences of some

forms of cancer.The transcript of the PBS docu-

mentary indicates physicians recog-nized this possible connection fromthe beginning, but, from the start,this information has been suppressed.Why? Because pharmaceuticals makebillions each year from chemical con-traceptives: An honest account of thedangers would result in huge finan-cial losses. Moreover, most of theresearch done on the pill is financedby pharmaceuticals. That just mightcall into question the reliability of thestudies.

Occasionally, a study will appearthat purports to show that the pillactually reduces the incidence of someforms of cancer. At best these studiesshow only a correlation betweentaking the pill and reduction of risk ofdisease. For instance, a study mighttake a group of women who takethe pill and a group who don’t andcompare the mortality rate betweenthem. If the study shows that moretakers of the pill lived longer,researchers jump to the conclusionthat taking the pill is what prolongedthe contraceptors’ lives.

That is a unwarranted leap oflogic; there may be many other signif-icant differences between the twogroups that could account for thedifference in mortality. What thestudies definitely have not done isshown why the pill might prolong life.I suspect that will be impossible to do.More reliable logic is on the side ofthose who suspect a link betweencontraception and disease, since thechemical contraceptives involve pro-longed ingestion of steroids. Manyof those taking the pill are youngwomen whose breasts are not fullydeveloped; their breasts are particu-larly susceptible to predatory cellgrowth.

Informed risk? Cancer is not the only lethal side

effect of the pill and other chemicalcontraceptives. The Patch, which wasapproved by the FDA in 2001 andwent on sale the following year, hasproved to have many lethal sideeffects. Johnson and Johnson has paid

out millions of damages to womenand to the families of women whohave experienced sometimes fatalheart attacks and strokes. The factthat the usage of the Patch hasdropped by nearly two-thirds indi-cates that at least some doctors havebeen informed of the risks.

Any other drug that has beenlinked with as many deaths and risksof lethal diseases would likely havebeen taken off the market. Some haveobserved the pharmaceutical compa-nies may be as liable to class actionsuits as were the tobacco companies.

Certainly too few people knowthat the chemical contraceptives canhave an abortifacient effect — that is,they work by causing the endometri-um to be insufficiently friendly to anembryonic human being. Women whouse chemical contraceptives maynonetheless conceive. If a womanforgets to take the pill or takes the pillat a different time of the day thanusual, or is taking other medicationthat might interfere with the workingof the pill, she may ovulate and con-ceive a child. As the new little humanbeing tries to implant in his or hermother’s uterus, he or she may findthe atmosphere of the womb inhos-pitable. Women who use the pill mayregularly be spontaneously aborting avery small baby.

No woman knows how the pill orany of the chemical contraceptives isworking in her body: Are they pre-venting ovulation, conception or im-plantation? Brian Gail’s terrific novel,“Fatherless” (One More Soul, $14.95),provides a gripping narrative, all toolikely close to fact, of the suppressionby pharmaceuticals of the truth of theabortifacient power of the pill.

Present vs. future That the Father of Lies should be

using lies and subterfuge to promotecontraception should not be surpris-ing. As Pope John Paul II noted in his1981 apostolic exhortation FamiliarisConsortio (on the role of the Christianfamily), contraceptive sex is itself alie. It falsifies the relationship ofspouses. When spouses are engaging

Continued to Page 23

In Focus: Uncovering a String of LiesThe science is unequivocal. Fifty years after the FDA approved the pill,chemical contraception is bad for women, couples, society and the environment

By Janet E. SmithReprinted With Permission


Jobs Box Part-Time Music Teacher

Sacred Heart Catholic School, OKC, hasan opening for the 2010-2011 school year for apart-time music teacher. The work day is onFridays. Contact Joana Camacho at 634-5673.

Part-Time Music TeacherSt. John Nepomuk Catholic School in

Yukon has a part-time teaching position avail-able for the 2010-2011 school year, to providevocal music education to students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Applicantsmay possess either an Oklahoma State TeacherCertification or a college degree/experience in amusic-related field. This position may have theopportunity for more hours as it has been ashared position with another Catholic schoolin previous years. Applicants should contactPrincipal Diane Floyd at (405) 354-2509 tosubmit a resume and application.

Teacher OpeningVilla Teresa School, OKC, has a teaching

position open for students ages 2 1/2 and 3.Person applying must have at least anassociates degree in Early Childhood orChildhood Development. This is a 12-monthposition. If you are interested, please call SisterVeronica at 232-4286.

Cook NeededVilla Teresa School, OKC, is looking for a

full-time cook to work with kitchen manager.This position is a year-round position. Ifinterested, contact Sister Veronica at 232-4286.

Music TeacherBishop John Carroll, OKC, is currently

accepting applications for music. Bishop JohnCarroll is a pre-K through eighth-grade school.Please submit resume to Connie Diotte [email protected] or you may fax at 523-3053.For more information, please call 525-0956.

High School Coaches NeededMount St. Mary Catholic High School,

Oklahoma City, is currently seeking qualifiedcandidates in the following coaching fields forthe 2010-2011 school year: cross country, track,football assistant with wide receiversexperience, and soccer assistant. Teaching fieldis Social Studies. Applicants can fax letter ofinterest, resume and copy of teaching certificateto Talita DeNegri at (405) 631-9209 or bye-mail to [email protected]. EOE

DRE Opening St. Gregory’s in Enid is seeking a Director

of Religious Education. The position is part

time, approximately 20-25 hours per week.Hours and times will vary depending on theactivities of the week or month. This is an 11-month position from August through June.Anyone interested in applying for this positionshould notify St. Gregory’s office. Interviewswill be conducted during the middle of June.Please contact St. Gregory’s Parish at (580)233-4589. Send resumes to St. Gregory’s, 1924W. Willow, Enid, Okla. 73703.

DRE OpeningEpiphany of the Lord Parish, Oklahoma

City, is accepting applications for the full-timeposition of Director of Religious Education. Theparish is searching for a candidate deeplyrooted in the Catholic faith with experience andvision to serve its 1,600 families. The directorwill coordinate all education programs for pre-K through 12th grade, including sacramentalpreparation for children and parents. Thedirector will be responsible for catechistrecruitment, formation and certification, andmust also collaborate with the parish leaders ofyouth ministry, music and adult education.Applicants should have a degree in theology,religious education or related area and aminimum of five years experience working withyouth (master’s degree preferred). Interestedcandidates should contact Patricia Koenig inthe Archdiocesan Office of Religious Educationto initiate the application process, (405) 721-5651 Ext. 126.

Associate Director for Development andMission Integration

Catholic Charities in Oklahoma City islooking for an Associate Director forDevelopment and Mission Integration. Thisposition will work with the executive directorand other staff to develop and implement acomprehensive development and fundraisingstrategy; research and identify potential donorsand sponsors (e.g., prospect, explore, identifyand track fundraising opportunities) focusingon those that have the highest priority); writeproposals, letters of inquiry and grant reportsto donors; identify and follow up on potentialfunders suggested by other people; explore awide variety of funding opportunities (e.g.foundations, corporate donors, individualmemberships, plan giving, capital campaigns,events, etc.), identify which would work best forCatholic Charities and proceed accordingly;develop and implement a planned givingprogram; meet with current and potentialdonors. The successful candidate should

possess a relevant degree and have a minimumof five years experience in fundraising.Candidates should e-mail their resume [email protected] or mail it to 1501N. Classen Blvd., Oklahoma City, Okla. 73106.

Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries

St. Eugene Parish is accepting applicationsfor the full-time position of Coordinator ofYouth and Young Adult Ministries. Applicantmust be in full communion with the CatholicChurch, have previous experience in youthministry, have flexible working hours, and befluent in Spanish. Principle responsibilitiesare ministry to youth and young adults andoverseeing the preparation of youth for theSacrament of Confirmation. Submit resumes inwriting to Rev. Joseph A. Jacobi, St. EugeneCatholic Church, P.O. Box 20930, OklahomaCity, Okla. 73156-0930.

General Ledger AccountantThe Center of Family Love in Okarche has

immediate opening for a General LedgerAccountant to perform a variety of accountingtasks, such as examining financial statements,reconcile reports and prepare General Ledger/Profit and Loss statements for management.Also, accounts payable and receivable and pay-roll. Must be a team player and able to multi-task. To apply, call 263-4658, fax 263-4718,e-mail [email protected] or in person at 635 W.Texas, Okarche, Okla. 73762. EOE

Adjunct Faculty OpeningsThe College for Working Adults at St.

Gregory’s University has Adjunct Facultyopenings on all campus locations in Tulsa,Shawnee and OKC at the undergraduate levelfor courses in Environmental Studies andAccounting Control Systems. Candidates forundergraduate courses are required to hold aminimum of a master’s degree in the preferredsubject, doctoral degrees preferred, and relatedbusiness and industry experience. Adjunctfaculty openings at the graduate level requiresa doctorate in Health Care Management/Health Care Administration or a doctorate inManagement/Business with an area of special-ization in Health Care Management.Candidates for graduate courses are required tohold a Ph.D. in the preferred subject andrelated business and industry experience.Candidates must be supportive of and willing tocontribute to the Catholic and Benedictineidentity of the university. Send a cover letter,vita and transcripts to [email protected].


Calendar JUNE

13 Charismatic Healing Mass,5:30 p.m. at Immaculate ConceptionCatholic Church, 3901 S.W. 29thStreet, Oklahoma City. For moreinformation, call the church office at(405) 685-4806.

13 The Divine Liturgy (theEucharist or Mass) of theByzantine Catholic Church willbe celebrated at St. Mark theEvangelist Church in Norman at 6p.m. St. Mark is located at 3939 W.Tecumseh Road, Norman.Refreshments with questions andanswers will follow the Liturgy. Formore information, call Father PhilSeeton at (405) 789-2595.

16 Eucharistic Adoration at theCathedral of Our Lady of PerpetualHelp, NW 32nd and Western, everyWednesday, 8:30 a.m. to noon. All arewelcome.

17 Monthly Novena to The InfantJesus. Nine days of novenas toInfant Jesus of Prague monthly.During these nine days, the novenaprayers will be as follows: Monday-Friday following noon Mass,Saturday following 6 p.m. Mass andSunday following 11 a.m. Mass. At

St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church at304 Jim Thorpe Blvd. in Prague.From I-40, take exit 200 north 7miles on SH 99/377; or from I-44,take Stroud exit south 18 miles onSH 99/377. (405) 567-3080 or www.-shrineofinfantjesus.com.

17 Exposition of the BlessedSacrament at Epiphany Parish, inthe chapel every Thursday, 8:30 a.m.to 8 p.m. and daily (M,T,W,F) from8:30 to 9:30 a.m. All are welcome.Epiphany is located at 7336 W.Britton Road, Oklahoma City 73132.

18-20 Rachel’s Vineyard inOklahoma City. The weekend istotally confidential. Not even themeeting place is made public. Womenand men who are suffering from thepain of abortion are free to gatherwith others who are experiencing thesame pain. For more information,call (405) 623-3844 or [email protected]. Thewebsite is www.rachelsvineyard.org.

19 St. Ann Nursing CenterGarage Sale and Bake Sale from8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Booth space is avail-able by calling 728-7888.

19 PRAYING WITH BENEDICT, aSilent Retreat, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30

p.m. with Joanne Yankauskis, OSB.Place: Retreat House at Red PlainsSpirituality Center. Call (405) 373-0804 to register. Fee: $35 ($10deposit). Bring a sack lunch.

20 Pilgrimage Sunday, Massbegins at 11 a.m. and includes bless-ing of the sick and blessing of thechildren, noon lunch, 1 p.m. Novenaprayers to Infant Jesus of Prague,Litany of the Infant Jesus, andAdoration of the Blessed Sacrament.National Shrine of the Infant Jesusof Prague is located at St.Wenceslaus Catholic Church at 304Jim Thorpe Blvd. in Prague. From I-40, take exit 200 north 7 miles on SH99/377; or from I-44, take Stroud exitsouth 18 miles on SH 99/377. (405)567-3080 or www.shrineofinfant-jesus.com.

20 The community of the SecularOrder of the Blessed Virgin Maryof Mt. Carmel and St. Teresa ofJesus - Oklahoma Community andProvince of St. Therese meets at St.Joseph Carmelite Monastery inPiedmont from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.For more information, call SusanStaudt at (405) 282-6624 or SisterSilvia Negrete at (405) 232-7926.

20 The Secular Franciscan Orderof St. Francis Fraternity meets at1:15 p.m. at St. Anthony’s Hospitalchapel. For more information, callJim Disbrow at 830-8688.

23 Learn the Sympto-thermalMethod of Natural FamilyPlanning with Jeanne Blasi,certified instructor. The three-nightcourse is spread out over threemonths on June 23, July 14 and Aug.11 at 7 p.m. at St. John the BaptistChurch, 9th and Boulevard, Edmond,in the basement council room. Youmust register for the class online atwww.ccli.org.

26 International Food Fest at St.Francis of Assisi Church at 6 p.m. inthe T. Phil Kierl Gymnasium. Thedinner benefits the Rosary SchoolScholarship and Endowment Funds.St. Francis is located at 1901 N.W.18th St., OKC. Dinner tickets will besold for $20 each after all theMasses. Call Mary Lalli for ticketinformation, 947-2947.

26 St. Charles Catholic Singles(and friends) will hold a dance at St.Charles Borromeo Catholic Churchfrom 7 to 11 p.m. For moreinformation, call Al at 631-0763.

Continued from Page 19in sexual intercourse, their acts, by their verynature, are ordained to expressing a lifetime com-mitment to each other, to expressing love, the desireto share their entire lives with each other, theirdesire to give of themselves to each other in a wayin which they give themselves to no other.

Contracepted acts simply cannot express suchmeanings. Contracepted acts of sexual intercourseare inherently ephemeral; they have no ordinationto the future. They express simply the desire of thepartners to share a great pleasure.

Non-contracepted acts of sexual intercourseretain the meaning of a profound orientationtoward the future — that is, the language of thebody, the meaning of a non-contracepted act ofsexual intercourse, says, “I acknowledge and acceptthe beauty of the procreative meaning of this act. Ifyou and I were to become parents with each other,the commitment entailed in parenthood is one Iwelcome with you; I want a lifetime exclusive rela-tionship with you.”

Lies lead to more lies. Certainly contraceptionis damaging to the marital relationship since itbelies the nature of the gift. It also falsifiesmale/female relationships prior to marriage.

Misplaced attraction First, consider the physical effect of the

chemical contraceptives on male/female relation-ships. More and more studies show that the use ofcontraceptives muddles the “chemical” attractionbetween males and females. Since chemical con-traceptives put women in a state of “pseudo-pregnancy,” women using the chemical contracep-tives have a bizarre chemical makeup — they donot have the hormonal makeup of women with nat-ural fertility nor the hormonal makeup of trulypregnant women.

Studies show that women taking the pill areattracted to less masculine men, and when they gooff the pill they often find they are not as attractedto the man they chose when they were on the pill.Men are more attracted to women who havenatural fertility cycles. One study showed that they

find average-looking women who are fertile moreattractive than supermodels. So, chemical contra-ceptives falsify the attraction between men andwomen.

The effectiveness rate of contraceptives is mis-represented. Fifty percent of the pregnancies in theUnited States are unintended, and 50 percent ofwomen who have those unwanted pregnancies wereusing a contraceptive when they got pregnant.More than 50 percent of women having abortionssay they were using a contraceptive when they gotpregnant. Within the first year that they usecontraception, 17 percent of unmarried, cohabitingwomen will experience contraceptive failure.

The lying that goes on in any sexual relation-ship not bound up with marriage is also destruc-tive, both of the relationships and of the soulsof those participating in such relationships. DawnEden, in her book “The Thrill of the Chaste,” vivid-ly portrays the amount of deception it takes to bepromiscuous — to pretend you are more interestedin your potential prey than you actually are.

Pill


Once a week Deacon Roy Forsythe makes thetrek from Edmond to the Oklahoma County Jailwhere inmates anxiously await his visit.

The Catholic deacon offers hope and guidanceto this forgotten population of society, giving themthe inspiration to change their life.

Ordained in 2006, Forsythe is a deacon atthe Catholic Parish of St. John the Baptist inEdmond. A retired plastic surgeon, Forsythe be-gan his ministry in hospitals, thinking a medicalsetting would be the ideal place for him. He quick-ly realized God was calling him in a very differentdirection.

“A prison ministry was always in the back ofmy mind. My interest began 15 years ago when Iwent to a Kairos closing ceremony at Big Mac,”says Forsythe, referring to a religious event at thestate prison in McAlester.

Early in 2007, he began visiting the Okla-homa County Jail with a Vietnamese Catholicdeacon who had been faithfully ministering to thepopulation for many years. Seeing the deacon’s joblimited him to weekend visits, Forsythe wanted tohelp. Immediately he knew this was exactly whathe wanted to do.

Forsythe now visits the jail every Thursday,bringing rosaries and prayer cards and prayingwith inmates. He gets anywhere from 15 to 50requests but is only able to see 15 to 17 inmateseach week due to security requirements and jailregulations.

“The prisoners hear about me through word ofmouth,” says Forsythe.

“They also see me in the halls, in the housingunits called pods, and in the elevator. Manyrequest to see me because they see others wearinga rosary and want one.” He always leaves rosariesfor those he sees, along with instructional cardson how to pray the rosary. “Mother Mary leadsthem to her Son,” says Forsythe.

The deacon begins each visit asking theinmate what year it is and what that means. Hegoes on to point out it’s been 2010 years since thebirth of Christ. “Jesus must have been a prettyspecial guy. The whole world keeps track of timebased on His life,” he tells them.

The Bible is crucial to Forsythe’s ministry.While the jail provides prisoners with a pocket-size New Testament, Forsythe brings each personhe sees a full-sized, complete Bible. Forsythe alsomakes sure they have access to Bible study, start-ing them off with a beginner study he himselfauthored.

Should inmates wish to continue Bible study,

Forsythe provides them with contact informationfor a gentleman in Midwest City, Bob Lambert.Lambert offers a 21-lesson study to prisons acrossthe United States. Each inmate has to completeone study, send it to Lambert and receive a “pass-ing grade” before Lambert sends the next lesson.

In his meetings with the inmates, he directsthem to passages from the First Letter of John, aneyewitness account to Christ’s life. “They have todecide, either John is telling the truth or he’s aliar. I tell them to read it for themselves and cometo their own conclusion.”

He then reads them the prologue to Luke’sGospel, which also speaks to an eyewitnessaccount of “events which have been fulfilled in ourmidst.” (Lk 1:1)

“I point out the events that have occurred in

our midst like the Murrah Building bombing.That’s something we will never forget,” says thedeacon. “I tell them that if both John and Luke aretelling the truth, maybe there’s something more tothis Jesus they need to find out.”

“Lots want to pray and invite Christ into theirlife,” says Forsythe. He also reads them Rev. 3:20,“Here I stand, knocking at the door…” He tellsthem the reason they came to him was becausethey heard knocking.

“I ask them, are you going to get up and openthe door or just go on like you have been? Thereare a jail full of people who know who Jesus is, butdon’t open the door.”

Many inmates express an interest in joiningthe Catholic Church.

Forsythe makes this possible by giving one-on-one classes called Rites of Christian Initiation.“I baptized one inmate six months ago,” saysForsythe. “I had been working with him over ayear before that.”

Forsythe has already registered the inmate atSt. Joseph’s Parish in downtown Oklahoma City,noting the importance of active participation in aChristian community.

Choosing to volunteer his professional skillsas well, Forsythe holds a tattoo removal cliniconce a month at the Latino Community Develop-ment Agency.

“They can’t get into the military or find a jobwith visible tattoos.” This part of his ministry canalso lead inmates to the Church.

“I see them more than once because it takestwo or three visits to completely remove a tattoo.They have to have time to heal in between.”

Recently he was contacted by a young lady hehad first seen at the county jail. “She needed atattoo removed, and asked me where a CatholicChurch was near where she lives. I put her intouch with her local deacon.”

Forsythe believes there is a lower recidivismrate among those he counsels, but he has seensome released only to commit another crime andbe arrested again. “There are a lot of con artiststhere, but I can recognize that. Some are sincereand want to make changes to their life.

“It’s not up to me to judge or feel obligated.I just have to plant the seed and provide anopportunity to change.”

Although it’s a long day, Forsythe is happy togive of his time. “My purpose is to get them tothink about their life.”

Forsythe is successful more often than not,teaching the inmates not only through prayer,Bible study and counseling, but also by theexample he sets with his own life.

By Kacee Van Horn

Deacon Roy Forsythe

Deacon Takes Ministry Inside Prison WallsSPREADING THE WORD

Reprinted with permisson by Edmond Life & Leisure

FDather s ay - Archdiocese of Oklahoma City

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