St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Newsletter — July 2021

Saint Francis F rancis Xavier CATHOLIC CHURCH

Contents: 3 Encountering Jesus, Growing in Faith, and Going to Make Disciples

4 The Early Childhood

Development Center A Growing and Welcoming Community that Serves Children and Families

6 The Traits of the

Christian Steward

7 Meet Summer

Seminarians Joey Griggs and Robert Williams

Julie Lauvetz REFLECTS ON THE

BLESSINGS OF OUR SACRISTAN MINISTRY

H

Keeping the Lord’s House Sacred

ave you ever noticed how beautifully prepared our sanctuary is for every Mass? The candles are bright and glowing, and the altar linens are clean and pressed, ready for the celebration of the Eucharist. All of these details come together to provide a peaceful and reverential atmosphere for worship.

Our parish has a very special group of parishioners working behind the scenes to ensure that the sanctuary remains such a sacred haven — our Sacristan Ministry.

Julie Lauvetz has been a parishioner at St. Francis Xavier for over 20 years, and a sacristan for almost 10 years. She greatly enjoys being able to serve the parish in this special way.

“I just enjoy taking care of things, and I enjoy being close to the sanctuary and the tabernacle,” she says. “There is just a feeling that you’re taking care of continued on page 2

JULY 2021

Saint

Francis Xavier CATHOLIC CHURCH

Julie Lauvetz Reflects on the Blessings of Our Sacristan Ministry continued from front cover something that is the center of the church. It just keeps the sacristy and sanctuary running in an orderly way. Everything is cleaned and organized so that the priests and deacons can function in their roles.”

St. Francis Xavier is blessed to have a group of over 20 dedicated parishioners serving as sacristans. Each Thursday and Friday, sacristans will come to the church to tidy up the sanctuary and sacristy. They polish the candle holders and change out the candles, clean the holy water fonts and replace the water, and take care of any transitions in décor from one liturgical season to the next. Some sacristans are responsible for the washing and ironing of altar linens and vestments.

While the duties of a sacristan are carried out behind the scenes, they are nonetheless essential to the celebration of the liturgy.

“I like to know that I’m helping,” Julie says. “I think that’s what a lot of sacristans like about it — they know they are participating in the Masses in some way and keeping everything running well.

For example, there are some ladies who just love doing linens. You’re washing and you’re ironing, knowing that each linen is used during Mass on the altar. It’s a very peaceful thing to know that you’re doing something that needs to be done. It’s the same with the candles and candle holders — you know you are helping to keep those nice for

such a sacred space.”

Serving in this quiet ministry, our sacristans find that their “extra” moments spent in the Lord’s house deepen their faith and intimacy with Christ.

“I think it keeps me grounded,” Julie says.

“It keeps me constantly keeping Christ in my life because I think about it a lot. It’s not just a job, but it’s an experience and a feeling and emotions.

It keeps Him present in your heart and in your mind.

“I’ve had a lot of sacristans say that they’re kind of stressed out at the end of a workday when they have to come [prepare the sanctuary],” she adds. “But then they get to the church and are so thankful that they came because it relaxes them and lets them spend time with the Lord in such a special way by keeping His house sacred and worshipped.”

Feeling richly blessed by her experience as a sacristan, Julie would encourage anyone who may be interested in living out more intentional discipleship to prayerfully consider serving the parish in this wonderful ministry.

“It gives the priests and deacons a peacefulness because they know that everything is there and ready for Mass,” Julie says. “When you go to Mass and know what you did to prepare the sanctuary for that Mass, it just gives you a warm feeling in your heart that you were able to help out in such a special area.”

Are you interested in learning more about becoming a sacristan? Training is provided and scheduling is flexible according to each sacristan’s individual time commitment. For more information, please contact Julie Lauvetz at 405-612-1999 or lauvetz@suddenlink.net.

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A LETTER FROM OUR PASTOR

Encountering Jesus, Growing in Faith, and Going to Make Disciples Dear Parishioners,

O

ne of my favorite stories about our bishop is a homily he gave while the pastor at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. On a hot summer Sunday he was having Mass and the air conditioning went out. He got up for his homily and said, “It’s hot in here. Hell is hotter. So shape up.” And he sat down. I love that story.

It is indeed hot outside, but that is not stopping the Encounter-Grow-Go efforts of our parish to help every person in Payne County encounter the Lord Jesus, grow in relationship with Him, and then go and make disciples. The three stories highlighted in this newsletter are definitely initiatives that help our parish be the kind of place people want to come to in order to pray and go deeper in their faith.

Under the leadership of Claudia Ogrin, the St. Francis Xavier Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) is a wonderful place. Designed for children ages 1-4, the ECDC teaches them the faith and cares for their needs through the day. What I love most about our ECDC is that it has a strong partnership with the parents. Parents are the primary educators of their children and ECDC wants to support that important dynamic.

This summer, our ECDC has 71 children in the program. That’s a strong endorsement of

the good work being done by Claudia and her staff.

In the life of a parish, there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that most people never see. Especially in a church like ours, there are a number of details that have to get done each week. It’s the sacristans, under the leadership of Julie Lauvetz, who make it happen.

From cleaning and pressing the linens for Mass, cleaning the sanctuary, changing out holy water and candles, and so much more, the sacristans make beautiful prayer possible in our parish.

By now you’ve seen them around, but our summer seminarians Robert Williams and Joey Griggs have been a huge addition to our parish. Both bring strong faith and great energy as they shadow the priests to learn about parish life. I’ve known both Robert and Joey for many years and it’s beautiful to see them mature and grow in holiness.

God willing, both will make excellent priests in the future and maybe one of them will be your pastor someday! Pray for them!

In Christ,

Very Rev. Brian O’Brien Pastor, St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church 3

Saint

Francis Xavier CATHOLIC CHURCH

The Early Childhood

A Growing and Welcoming Communit

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The mission of the program is simple — “the ECDC is a joyful, nurturing Christ-centered community, rooted in the Catholic faith, providing for the total development of our students through active and engaged learning.”

Ultimately, the Early Childhood Development Center program is a way to evangelize and spread Christ’s message to all who participate.

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t is never too early to instill the teachings of the Catholic faith in our children. The staff at the St. Francis Xavier Early Childhood Development Center, or ECDC, believes that wholeheartedly. That’s why a religion teacher even visits the 1-year-old classroom at the ECDC. Here at St. Francis Xavier, we are so blessed to have a beautiful and functional area for the ECDC. The mission of the program is simple — “the ECDC is a joyful, nurturing Christ-centered community, rooted in the Catholic faith, providing for the total development of our students through active and engaged learning.”

“We are happy to say that we continue to grow,” says Claudia Ogrin, who moved here from Texas to serve as ECDC Director.

The program, for 1-year-olds to prekindergarten, is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Monday to Friday. There are currently about 65 children in the program, including part and full-time. There are four classrooms and 28 staff members. For the 2021-2022 school year, there will be another 3-year-old room added. The schedules for children are flexible for attendance, depending on a parent’s schedule. There is also a summer program that serves children up to age 10. For the upcoming school year, most of the classrooms are full.

As Claudia notes, this last school year was “a very different year,” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the school closures, the program also accepted school-age students. A staff member was on hand to help with homework and virtual meetings. Staff also changed the drop-off and pick-up procedures, with parents leaving their child at the door with a staff member, rather than walking them to their classroom. Temperature checks continue to be done at drop-off.

Development Center

ty that Serves Children and Families “We look forward to the day when the masks can come off, and we can welcome parents back to the classrooms,” Claudia says.

Teachers utilize Frog Street Press curriculum, which includes language, social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and motor development. There are other lessons mixed in, including religion and dance classes, to name a few. The program includes an automated check-in system, gated playground, and tornado shelter.

The Christ-centered atmosphere at the ECDC shines through all the staff. Several staff members have even become Catholic and members at St. Francis Xavier.

“We appreciate how parishioners are so supportive of this program,” Claudia says. “We get donations, and we even have parishioners who buy our ‘wish-list’ items from Amazon.”

While not all families who are part of the ECDC are Catholic, the program is rooted in the Catholic faith and tradition. Ultimately, this program is a way to evangelize and spread Christ’s message to all who participate. The ECDC is a family.

“We have wonderful teachers, wonderful classrooms, and a welcoming community,” Claudia says. “We strive to be the best in Stillwater.”

To learn more, please visit www.sfxstillwater.org/early-childhooddevelopment-center or email Claudia Ogrin at claudia@sfxstillwater.org.

Here at St. Francis Xavier, we are so blessed to have a beautiful and functional area for the ECDC.

Students at the Early Childhood Development Center experience a variety of hands-on activities all while making friends.

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Saint

Francis Xavier CATHOLIC CHURCH

THE TRAITS OF THE

E

Christian Steward

ach day, we strive to live stewardship in our lives, recognizing our roles as “God’s co-workers” in His creative, redemptive and sanctifying work. But in our quest to live as disciples of Christ, many obstacles often arise.

One of the most prevalent roadblocks in living stewardship is understanding the traits that make up a good Christian steward. Surely, it would be much more convenient if we had some sort of “stewardship list” that could lay out the necessary steps to becoming a good steward.

Unfortunately, it more often feels like living stewardship is a lifelong journey that we will never fully comprehend.

Fortunately, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pastoral letter on stewardship, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, gives some insight into the characteristics that make up a good Christian steward.

The Christian steward should display some of the following traits: INSIGHT — Before the disciples could live what we know as the stewardship way of life, they needed a f lash of insight, or a certain way of viewing the world and their relationship to it in a fresh light. This “divine grandeur,” more than anything else, is often what sets people on the path to Christian stewardship (Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, 39).

CONSCIENTIOUSNESS — Stewards are fully conscious of their accountability in sharing of their time, talent and treasure. As caretakers of the gifts that God has given them, they have the opportunity and responsibility to use them to their fullest potential to spread God’s Kingdom on Earth (40).

GENEROSITY — Christian stewards are generous out of love as well as duty. They should display a desire to share with and care for others based on the sacramental graces they have received. They they are also cognizant of the many warnings that the New Testament presents to those who fail in charity and authentic love (40).

JOY — Christian stewards are often presented with difficult obstacles, but they should remain joyful in the face of challenges to their lives of stewardship. Like Paul, the good steward is able to say, “I am filled with encouragement, I am overflowing with joy all the more because of all our affliction” (2 Cor. 7:4). Only by serving with a joyful spirit will stewards fully reap the rewards of their service, both in this life and the next.

Indeed, living as a Christian steward is a lifelong journey with many ups and downs along the way. But if we strive to consciously incorporate each of these characteristics into our giving of time, talent and treasure, we will find that the responsibilities of a good Christian steward will become much clearer with each experience of service.

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Meet Summer Seminarians

JOEY GRIGGS AND ROBERT WILLIAMS Bringing Joy and a Desire to Learn to Our Parish Community

A

t just 6 years old, Joey Griggs experienced a traumatic injury from a biking accident. After that incident, he began discerning the priesthood.

“Though it was a challenging and uncertain time, the Lord worked in many special ways to give me a great amount of grace,” Joey says. “From that point on, the thought only continued to grow as Jesus led me through high school and college.”

Since building the new rectory in October 2019, we’ve had the opportunity to host seminarians, and last year we hosted Leo Morales and Alessandro Calderoni.

Joey Griggs and Robert Williams are the two seminarians who will be spending this summer with our faith community at St. Francis Xavier.

“I’ve known both Robert and Joey for a long time,” Fr. Brian O’Brien says. “They were both students at Bishop Kelley High School while I was assigned there. I’ve also known their families for a long time and have kept in touch with both of them for a while.”

Like Joey, Robert also experienced the first inklings of a call to the priesthood when he was 6 years old.

“I started altar serving at that time,” Robert says. “I loved being close to the altar during the consecration and would imagine what it would be like to be the priest during Mass.”

Both Joey and Robert have finished two years of seminary. Joey went to seminary right out of high school while Robert worked as a missionary for Saint Paul’s outreach on college campuses helping disciple students. Robert is fluent in German, and Joey knows some Spanish.

“They have brought joy-filled personalities and

Our summer seminarians — (from left) Robert Williams and Joey Griggs

a desire to learn about parish life,” Fr. O’Brien says. “Joey will be here for all of June and July, and Robert will be here all of June and half of July. Then he is going to study in Italy.”

Joey is extremely grateful for the many prayers that have been said on behalf of the priests and seminarians within our diocese. He would also like to ask for prayers for his brother, who was married in June, and for his seminarian brothers at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis.

Robert is also thankful for the faith continued on back cover

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Saint

Francis Xavier CATHOLIC CHURCH

St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church 711 N. Country Club Rd • Stillwater, OK 74075 Web: www.SFXStillwater.org Phone: (405) 372-6886

Summer Seminarians continued from page 7

community’s prayers and looks forward to meeting parishioners.

“Besides having more time to pray, I am really looking forward to meeting people,” Robert says. “I am also looking forward to shadowing Fr. Robert and Fr. O’Brien to get a parish community experience, and I want to thank all of the people in our diocese for all of their support and prayers over the last two years.”

Fr. O’Brien and Fr. Robert Duck both benefited from summer assignments like this to help them to become our priests, and now we have the opportunity to do that for others.

“Our mission is to make disciples,” Fr. O’Brien says. “Joey and Robert are disciples of Jesus Christ, and they bring that life and energy to our parish even if just for a short time. This is part of our stewardship way of life since we have a responsibility to form the future priests of our diocese.”

“Our mission is to make disciples. Joey and Robert are disciples of Jesus Christ, and they bring that life and energy to our parish even if just for a short time. This is part of our stewardship way of life since we have a responsibility to form the future priests of our diocese.” — FR. BRIAN O’BRIEN

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