Saint CATHOLIC CHURCH Meet Rob Ponce , Our New Communications Director Contents: 2 The Church is
More than a Building — It is Our Spiritual Home
3 A Community Embracing Lent, Looking Toward Easter
4 The New Parishioner Welcoming Committee Reaching Our Fellow Catholics and Ensuring They Feel at Home
6 Responding to
the Glory of Christ’s Resurrection at Easter Dying, He Destroyed Our Death; Rising, He Restored Our Life
APRIL 2022
Transmitting the Important Message of Jesus Christ
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aving been born and raised in a Pentecostal family, Rob Ponce learned the importance of prayer and service to others. “I come from a large family dedicated to serving the Lord and our nation,” Rob says. “From pastors, musicians, and church choir singers to sailors, soldiers, and airmen — serving others is in my blood.” After being married for nine years and raising two children in the Catholic faith, Rob began to feel drawn to Baptism and the beauty of the Catholic Church. He joined the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults class, and at the 2006 Easter Vigil, he was baptized, confirmed, and Rob Ponce with his received the Holy Eucharist for the first time. wife, Maggie At 19, Rob joined the U.S. Navy and spent 20 years serving our nation. This was a great service and sacrifice that both Rob and his family made — however, it made getting involved in parish life a little difficult. “One of my goals after retiring was to be an active member of my community,” Rob says. “I made a choice to get involved and just start somewhere.” So, Rob started small. He got involved in Bible studies and various classes. Yet, he soon began expanding his involvement to teaching a class, serving as an RCIA sponsor, helping the Live Stream Team broadcast Sunday Mass, and serving as treasurer of the Knights of Columbus Council #5266. continued on back cover
Saint CATHOLIC CHURCH
Stewardship
The Church is More than a Building — It is Our Spiritual Home
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here do you go to church? We’ve all answered that question hundreds of times before. But have you ever stopped to think about what it truly means? “I go to St. Francis Xavier,” is the usual response, and rightly so, because we do “go to” the church to celebrate Mass together. But as Catholics and as stewards of God’s gifts, the Church is much more than a building within which we worship. The Church, as we understand it, is the universal body of believers, the society that Christ established to help us grow in holiness, to bring us closer to Him through the giving of our time, talent, and treasure, and to lead the world to the truth. Before Jesus ascended to the Father, He commissioned the disciples, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt. 28:19-20). That is the Church’s mission in the world today — to make disciples of all nations, to bring all men to Christ. Our parish plays a key part in that. As members of our parish, we are local representatives of the universal Church. Together, as members of this parish family, we work to carry out the Church’s mission on a local level. We worship the Lord at Mass, offering Him our praise and thanksgiving, and then we go forth on a mission to make disciples — to encourage our fellow parishioners in their lives of faith and to bring unbelievers into knowledge of the truth. In addition to being a “local representation 2
of the universal Church,” the parish is much like a family. We are communal beings, and we are created to live with others. So, as Catholics, we are members of the Church and, on a more immediate level, of the parish. As such, we gather together for the Eucharistic meal and we grow in faith together throughout the week, supporting one another through our participation in many parish ministries, through prayer, and through the friendships that many of us share. In a letter written to parish priests throughout the nation, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops explained the important place of the parish in the lives of Catholic faithful: “The parish is a privileged place to announce the Word of God. It includes a variety of forms and each of the faithful is called to take an active part, especially with the witness of a Christian life and the explicit proclamation of the Gospel to nonbelievers to lead them to the faith, or to believers to instruct them, confirm them and encourage them to a more fervent life.” So, we ought to feel truly blessed to be a part of this parish family. We ought to make a conscious effort to be actively involved, to build relationships with our fellow parishioners, and to celebrate the Mass together as often as possible — most especially every Sunday. We are then bound to grow closer to others, to grow deeper in faith and closer to Christ. Then, together as a parish family, we are bound to proclaim the Gospel to others, inviting them to a life of discipleship, thereby, building the kingdom of God.
A LETTER FROM OUR PASTOR
A Community Embracing Lent, Looking Toward Easter Dear Parishioners,
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t’s almost Easter time, but we’re not there yet. Let’s dig in on these last days of Lent. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving ought to define our lives in these last days of the season. Easter will be here soon, but it’s not here yet. In this issue of our stewardship newsletter, I’m so pleased to introduce our newest staff member, Rob Ponce. Rob has been an active member of the Stillwater Catholic Community for many years and recently came to us from his job in information technology at OSU. He brings a lively faith, knowledge of video and social media, and websites too. If you follow us on social media, look at our website, or read the bulletin, you’ve already seen the difference Rob is making. Communications is a vital piece of an active and evangelizing parish. We are in good hands with Rob! Speaking of evangelization, our New Parishioner Welcoming Committee focuses on something that
is supremely important in the life of any parish — hospitality. When new parishioners join either through RCIA, moving into the parish, or returning to the practice of their faith, a warm welcome is essential. This committee reaches out and hosts a dinner for new parishioners. As we come out of COVID, these efforts will only intensify. If this is a ministry that moves your heart, I hope you will join up. Let’s have a great April as we move towards Holy Week and a beautiful celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection. In Christ,
Very Rev. Brian O’Brien Pastor, St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
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Saint CATHOLIC CHURCH
The New Parishioner W Reaching Our Fellow C atholics
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hat makes a parish truly feel like home? A big piece is having a familiar and caring community to rely on for spiritual support and fellowship. For new parishioners, it can take a while before a new parish feels like home and it can be tough to find a place in a new community. At St. Francis Xavier, we’ve taken an extra step to ensure that our new parishioners know that they are welcomed and valued in our faith community. The New Parishioner Welcoming Committee, led by Mona Pratt and Jessie Trojan, brings new parishioners together quarterly to introduce them to one another and the various ministries offered at our parish. “Fr. O’Brien had a lot to do with it,” Mona says. “He didn’t want people to get lost in the cracks. Our parish is all about evangelization.” Written invitations are sent to newly registered parishioners, inviting them to a meal where they are introduced and have a chance to meet ministry leaders and the priests. Often, the different ministries prepare small gifts or books for the new parishioners to welcome them and give them an idea of all that they could get involved in. “Some have said that they’ve never been part of this in a parish before,” Mona says. “It’s kind of fun to be on the cutting edge and to hear them say that they felt welcomed. It’s so refreshing to meet new people.” Jessie particularly cares about this ministry because she has been a new parishioner many times over. Having worked as a traveling nurse for 11 years, Jessie was often seeking a Catholic church to call home. She found that the parishes that made an effort to provide welcome in turn made her feel like she had 4
Welcoming Committee and Ensuring they Feel at Home found a home and a community that she could call on should she need help in a new city. “In a world where Catholics are falling away from the Church for a multitude of complex reasons, hospitality, and warm first impressions matter,” Jessie says. “Sometimes, all it takes to keep someone coming back is one person showing they care.” As a parish with a mission for evangelization, this ministry is vital to reaching our fellow Catholics and ensuring that they always feel at home with us. We might think that evangelization is only for reaching nonCatholics, but it is just as important for reaching out to those who want to make the Catholic Church their home but haven’t found a strong community to support them. “We want them to know that we know they’re there,” Mona says. “We want them to be part of our community.”
“In a world where Catholics are falling away from the Church for a multitude of complex reasons, hospitality, and warm first impressions matter. Sometimes, all it takes to keep someone coming back is one person showing they care.” — JESSIE TROJAN If you would like to get involved with the New Parishioner Welcoming Committee, please contact Mona Pratt at monapratt@sbcglobal.net or Jessie Trojan at jmcfester@gmail.com.
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Saint CATHOLIC CHURCH
Responding to the Glory of Christ’s Dying, He Destroyed Our “He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again from the dead” – APOSTLES’ CREED
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s we have recently come to the end of our Lenten journey toward Easter, let us take a moment to meditate on three pivotal lines from the ancient creed, which comprise the central events of our redemption. Far from being a mere myth or legend, in Jerusalem around the year 30 A.D., Jesus Christ — the Son of God made man — was tortured at the hands of the Romans. He was flogged, beaten, spit upon, and crowned with thorns. He was made to carry the cross through the crowded streets to Golgotha and, once there, He was crucified — He was nailed to a cross and died. Just as someday we will each be laid in our graves, Jesus was laid in His. The most obvious question that confronts the observer of this horrific reality is “why?” Luckily, Christ made the impetus for His selfsacrifice quite clear: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life” (Jn 3:14-15). The reasons Christ died on the cross are twofold, one negative and one positive. The negative cause is sin. Only in witnessing the cost of redemption — the death of the Son of God — can we begin to comprehend the profound magnitude of sin: “You have been purchased at a price,” says St. Paul (1 Cor 6:20). Conversely, Christ willingly accepted the cross because of love. St. John famously says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, 6
so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). Uniting these two causes, St. Paul says, “God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). In His limitless compassion, Christ entered into the fullness of human suffering — physical torment, emotional agony, and utter isolation — so that He might share complete solidarity with mankind. Accordingly, His passion and death not only accomplished our redemption but by the cross, He also showed us the way to true discipleship. For Christ taught His disciples long before His crucifixion, “if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9:23). Christ is the final and perfect covenant between God and man, and it is a covenant of love, with Christ Himself as its high priest. Nevertheless, this covenant is not based on love as popular culture conceives of it, but love as Christ displayed it: “The way we came to know love was that He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16). Joined with the passion, Christ’s Resurrection is the key to the entire Gospel — for in rising from the dead, Jesus proved true His bold promises. He had prophesied to the apostles, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again” (Jn 10:18). The Resurrection vindicates this promise and
Resurrection at Easter Death; Rising, He Restored Our Life validates His teaching and miracles. Furthermore, Christ, “the firstborn from the dead,” opened the door to eternal life and to new creation (Col 1:18). Out of the darkness of despair, the scattered and frightened disciples saw the risen Christ and were renewed and transformed. Filled with faith in the crucified and resurrected Savior, they evangelized the known world. St. Paul summarizes the centrality of the redemptive power of the Easter Triduum with his characteristic zeal: “If Christ has not been raised, then empty (too) is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. Then we are also false
witnesses to God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor 15:14-17). This Easter, let us respond to the glory of Christ’s Resurrection by exclaiming, as St. Thomas the Apostle did, “My Lord and my God!” And may each of us be filled with faith in God of our salvation, hope in the rewards He has won for us, and love for Him who has deigned to bestow them on us.
This Easter, let us respond to the glory of Christ’s Resurrection by exclaiming, as St. Thomas the Apostle did, “My Lord and my God!” And may each of us be filled with faith in God of our salvation, hope in the rewards He has won for us, and love for Him who has deigned to bestow them on us.
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Saint CATHOLIC CHURCH St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church 711 N. Country Club Rd • Stillwater, OK 74075 Web: www.SFXStillwater.org Phone: (405) 372-6886
Meet Rob Ponce
continued from front cover
“Now, I am truly blessed to have fulfilled a deep desire to serve my Church in a more direct way as the Communications Director,” Rob says. “And this is only the beginning.” In this role, Rob’s most important task will be to share the truth that Jesus Christ is Lord with St. Francis Xavier parishioners and the wider community. Rob will be responsible for maintaining the parish website, keeping the parish social media sites up-to-date, creating the weekly bulletins, and undertaking various other communications-related tasks. These efforts will help him fulfill the parish mission of evangelization and proclaiming Christ to others. “My hope is to be effective and purposeful in everything I do and to reach as many as I can in the hope that the message of Jesus Christ is heard and brings many to know Him,” Rob says. “My goal is to accomplish a deep desire of mine, which is to become a missionary disciple, and perhaps, through this position, I can continue to work towards this goal.” Rob has a strong passion for missionary discipleship and believes that it comes from his upbringing in a faith-filled family. “We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, but that wouldn’t stop my mother from helping someone in need,” he says. “I’m grateful for her great example.” Rob is honored and truly blessed to have this opportunity to serve his parish family as the Communications Director, and he looks forward to the future with hope. However, he is also thankful that he is not alone. “We are a parish,” Rob says. “We are One Body in Christ. We receive the Source and Summit of our faith through the Holy Eucharist and are blessed with the necessary graces to transmit the most important message of Jesus Christ.”
ONLINE GIVING:
PARISH REGISTRATION:
