We are offering two $1,000 scholarships to St. Eugene students who wish to attend either Bishop McGuiness or Mount St. Mary. You may pick up your application in the parish office. The deadline to apply is April 30th.
Apparently, central Oklahoma is facing very high levels of flu cases. I awoke early Tuesday morning with symptoms of the flu, and I have been down a few days with it. Fortunately, my physician called in an antiviral med, and, at this writing, I am feeling much better.
Parking Suggestions
We are a parish blessed with growth. With growth comes more traffic. Construction on the new Childhood center. Has caused us to lose some parking spots.
I have a few suggestions that might make our parking situation better.
First, the post office is not open on Sundays and those parking spots are available. It is an easy walk from there to the front door of the church.
Second, the new plaza that The Village built just around the corner from the parish on Vineyard Boulevard has tons of parking spots. If you want to get a nice walk in on Sunday morning, and go to church, that would be a great place to park.
Please remember that we may not park in the fire lane.
For a $1000 gift to the early childhood center I will be happy to reserve you a parking spot at the rectory.
Finally, you might consider carpooling to church. Find someone who lives near you and take turns driving each other to church.
As someone who gets a bit gooey about Christmas, I want you to know of my prayers and best wishes for you and your family. I hope the Christ child will gift you peace, and good health. May you be surrounded by the love of family and friends.
ADVENT 2024
I've always thought it a shame that Advent is such a brief season. In fact, it once lasted forty days but was shortened in the ninth century to its current four Sundays. Sometimes called the Little Lent, the Masses of Advent do have a somewhat somber tone. The color is purple, as in Lent, and the Gloria is suppressed, again, as in Lent. We are asked to use the season to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ. We reflect on the inevitable end of all things and the coming of Christ at the end of time, and we reflect on the Lord's coming as the child in Bethlehem. Our souls must be prepared for these appearances; at the end of time, Christ will return as judge of the living and the dead.
Currently, we have electrical lines running between the main school building and the new Early Childhood Center. They are unsightly, but, more importantly, they pose a hazard to our property if a storm were to take them down. We want to bury them. OG&E has offered to help pay the cost, but it's still an expensive project. We need to raise $400,000. We are collecting cash and pledges toward this project. I would ask that every family contribute something to the cost. Special envelopes for this collection are available in the pews. Thank you to those who have already pledged or given. I appreciate your gift.
Catholic Charities has raised approximately $3 million of its goal of $3.5 million. If you haven't given, let me encourage you to do so before Thanksgiving. There are so many people here in the Oklahoma City metro who live on the fringes, especially the homeless. Catholic Charities has many services they offer to the poor and working poor of our area. It's holy work, and I know that you will be blessed if you make a donation.
How great a multitude! Women and men, husbands and their wives and their children, priests and prophets and mission workers and bakers and tailors and baristas and fire fighters and the homeless ones, the refugees, the trafficked, and the abused leading the march into the celestial celebration of their new found healing and wholeness. See the purple clad martyrs awed by their Spirit-given courage, the white robed virgins dancing with their Spouse, the gilded trains marking the daily holiness of mothers and fathers from every generation.
Our parking challenges continue. One idea I would toss out is allowing visitors and the older parishioners to park in front of the church. The expansive back parking lot should be used by younger and more mobile parishioners. Visitors would not be aware of the back parking lot.
OG&E has reached out to us with an offer to help us bury the electrical lines running between the current school building and the new Early Childhood Center. While, their "grant" money is significant (over $70,000), the cost to bury the lines will add approximately $400,000 to the cost of the project. We've met with some of our staunchest supporters, explained the opportunity, and asked for their feedback. The reaction was very positive. This is the moment, the opportunity, to get this done.