St. John Before the Latin Gate Catholic Parish Newsletter — July 2021

St.John

Before the Latin Gate Roman Catholic Church

Contents 3

What Is the Real Purpose of Our Lives?

4 Celebrating the

Sacraments

of First

Communion and

Confirmation 5 Totus Tuus

2021 a Great Success 6

Stewardship: A Need to Give

7

Coffee and Donuts Offers Chance to Share in Fellowship with Parish Family

JULY 2021

MEET NEW CATHOLIC

Selina Johnson

An Inside Look on the Faith Journey that Led Her Home to the Catholic Church

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or many, finding the Catholic Church can be a long journey full of twists and turns along the way. This is certainly the case for Selina Johnson, who was welcomed into full communion with the Catholic Church through First Communion and Confirmation this past Easter.

Selina’s story of finding the Catholic Church starts in her childhood, as she was raised in a Baptist church. Religion wasn’t a priority to her parents, who suffered from mental illness — a friend’s family would occasionally take Selina to a nondenominational/Pentecostal church. Later, Selina married her first husband, who was Selina Johnson came into the an atheist. Her second husband was a former Catholic Church this past Easter.

Catholic. After 16 years, Selina fled from her second husband due to domestic violence. She met her current boyfriend, Dan Wishall, and started attending Catholic Mass with him.

“When I left my second husband, literally everything I needed was provided for me,” Selina says. “My real journey started with that. There was no denying that God was there. He was an integral part of this. He put people in my life that led me to the Catholic Church.” continued on page 2

Selina Johnson Selina soon found that Catholic Mass just really filled her desire for Truth.

“The historical and theological teachings of the Catholic Church sat really well with me,” Selina says. “Everything is Scripture-bound. The Catholic Church follows traditions that go back to the original church. There’s a substance here that’s not found anywhere else.”

After attending Mass here at St. John Before the Latin Gate for a while and learning more about the Catholic Church, Selina became interested in entering into the Catholic faith. One week during Mass, there was a presentation on the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process (RCIA) — this was the final push that Selina needed. She enrolled in classes and received her first Holy Communion and Confirmation at the Easter Vigil.

Pat Netzer served as her Confirmation sponsor.

“RCIA was a blessing with all those who God put around me,” Selina says. “There were wonderful people who came into my life. God has blessed me very intensely by putting the right people in my life.”

Having attended at least 15 different churches throughout her life, Selina is so glad to have found a home here at St. John’s. She learned so much in RCIA classes and believes this element of formation is missing at many other congregations.

“RCIA makes it more relatable and special,” Selina says. “Without that knowledge, you are just showing up.”

Selina is on fire for the faith and she loves to share it. She helps with the Religious Education classes at St. James Parish, and recently, she even had a theological discussion with a

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Selina Johnson celebrates her entry into the Catholic faith.

neighbor who is not Catholic.

“I explained to her that the Rosary is the most important sword we have in our arsenal,” she says.

Selina is excited to continue to learn more about the faith and is especially excited about regularly receiving the sacraments.

“RCIA really goes through what the sacraments are and what they mean,” Selina says.

“We learned how important they are in the Catholic faith.”

A resident of Jenks, Selina is a mother of two — Lauren, 24, and Jack, 16. She works for TRACT Radiology as an accountant and plans to spread her love of the Catholic faith by teaching religious education this fall at St. John’s.

“I just feel like I am right where I am supposed to be,” she says.

“RCIA was a blessing with all those who God put around me. There were wonderful people who came into my life. God has blessed me very intensely by putting the right people in my life.” — SELINA JOHNSON 2

A Letter From Our Pastor

What Is the Real Purpose of Our Lives?

Dear Parishioners,

D

o you ever think about your purpose in life?

Even as a priest, I certainly do. There are days and times of frustration when I think, “What am I really supposed to do? What does God want me to do? Why am I here?” For eons, philosophers have considered these very questions and written about them.

But the truth is that we, as Catholics, already know the answers.

When we consider the many facets of life in our parish community, there are numerous activities and endeavors that go beyond attending Mass. From the homebound ministry to Catholic Charities Mary Martha Outreach, respect life, and more, there are many ways in which we serve our community.

Yet, as we undertake these important pur suits — both within and outside of the parish — we must always remember that our ultimate goal is salvation. After all, the only reason we exist, the only reason our Church exists, is the same as the reason Jesus joined us and became a part of us here on earth — He came to save humanity.

We use the term the “body of Christ” to describe the Church with Christ as the head.

We are all parts of that body, and the parts of the body must move in the same direction as the body itself — it simply won’t function if the parts are moving in different directions.

We are all in this together.

When our lives are complete, we do not base our success or failure on how much money we have, or whether or not we are famous. Nor does our success or failure depend upon the difference between health and sickness, or pleasure and pain, or even being nice or nasty.

Rather, it is the difference between being saved and not being saved.

I often think of my family members who have passed away, and as a priest, I deal with that issue with others on a very regular basis. Sometimes, I wonder if they ever fully realized that salvation was the answer to so many of our questions in life.

I am surrounded by memories of those who have gone before, as are almost all of you. We are apt to use the term “the communion of saints” in many ways in our Church. Someday, we will know more about the “communion of saints” and how it all works. In the meantime, we pray for everyone who has gone before us, hoping they have made it home.

Pray for me as I pray for you!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. John O’Neill Pastor 3

Celebrating the Sacraments of

First Communion and Confirmation We offer our congratulations to our parish youth who received the Sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation this spring!

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TOTUS TUUS 2021 A GREAT SUCCESS As summer got under way, parish youth took part in our Totus Tuus program.

We thank all who volunteered to help make this year’s program possible.

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STEWARDSHIP A Need to Give W

hen the church needs a new roof or the local food bank needs donations, we jump at the chance to give for the sake of the need. It’s part of our human nature — we identify a need, and we want to give of our time, talent and treasure to help.

But as a stewardship people, we are called to give of ourselves not simply because the Church has needs, but because each of us has a need to give. As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops states in its pastoral letter on stewardship, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, “We need to give our money to individuals and families in need, to the Church, and to other worthwhile charitable organizations because giving money is good for the soul and because we need to return thanks to a loving God for all of the many blessings each of us has received” (67).

As fellow members of the Body of Christ, created in God’s image, we should strive to go beyond simply co-existing with one another on earth. The life we live should be fueled by love for each other. This love should dictate how we live — by giving of ourselves.

Jesus Christ showed us the perfect example of this self-giving love when He died on the cross.

His death was a completely selfless act. He gave of

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Himself for our sake, offering us — through that gift — life everlasting.

As Christ’s disciples, we follow His example, and we give of ourselves for the sake of others, out of love and an inherent need to give.

That’s not to say that we gain nothing through our gifts. In fact, in His goodness, God sees to it that we do. Most of us have experienced what happens when we give of our time, talent or treasure. We feel as though we get more out of it than we give. If you speak to someone who serves at the soup kitchen or someone who has made it a regular practice to tithe to the Church, you are likely to find that he or she feels blessed to be able to give. As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops points out, “To be a Christian disciple is a rewarding way of life, a way of companionship with Jesus, and the practice of stewardship as a part of it is itself a source of deep joy. Those who live this way are happy people who have found the meaning and purpose of living” (Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, 21).

Find out for yourself. Get involved in a ministry.

Make a commitment to put some money in the collection basket next Sunday. Don’t wait to find out if there is a need — give of yourself right now. You will be richly blessed for doing so.

Coffee and Donuts Ministry OFFERS CHANCE TO SHARE IN FELLOWSHIP WITH PARISH FAMILY

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ith the busy lives we lead, there often isn’t an opportunity to visit with our fellow parishioners. It’s all too easy to leave the church after Mass and head right home to continue our Sunday activities. And given that we haven’t been able to gather for the past year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve missed even more time with each other.

But there is a ministry at our parish that allows us to meet new friends and visit with old friends. Coffee and Donuts after Mass is a great opportunity to get caught up with one another, and this ministry started up again over Memorial Day weekend. Sometimes, a treat is all it takes to get us to slow down and enjoy each other’s com-

...an so m d uc more h !

pany. Each Sunday, attendees eat through about 12 to 16 dozen donuts, and occasionally a surprise treat.

Karen Franco has been running this ministry for about three years. Along with about eight volunteers, Karen takes care of preparing the coffee and having the donuts ready after Mass. Karen’s mother, Pat Gray, used to help coordinate this ministry at the parish — she still helps when she can, as a volunteer.

“This gives parishioners and guests the time to have coffee and a donut and socialize with other parishioners,” Karen says. “That’s really important in the church.”

Karen and her husband, Joe, are very involved continued on back cover

Folks gather after Mass for coffee and donuts.

The Coffee and Donuts Ministry is back in service now that the COVID-19 pandemic threat is waning.

Families enjoy coffee and donuts after Sunday Mass.

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715 S. Johnstone Ave. | Bartlesville, OK 74003 ​ Office: (918) 336-4353 | www.stjohn-bartlesville.org

Coffee and Donuts Ministry

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here at our parish, serving in several ministries. For her, St. John’s is home, as she has been a member her entire life.

“I want to be part of the church community,” Karen says.

“My faith and this community are important to me.”

Karen is so thankful to see things returning to more normalcy, as the threat of the pandemic wanes. She describes the time when churches were closed in March 2020 as “awful.”

“This is my church family, and I missed that,” she says. “It just wasn’t the same online. Then, when we did come back, we couldn’t stay after to visit. I didn’t like that either.”

Be sure to stick around after Mass to socialize and enjoy a treat. Like Karen says, “donuts just make you happy!”

“This gives parishioners and guests the time to have coffee and a donut and socialize with other parishioners.

That’s really important in the church.”

— KAREN FRANCO

If you are interested in volunteering with the Coffee and Donuts Ministry, please contact Karen Franco at 918-914-2916 or KMFranco@cableone.net.

LITURGY SCHEDULE Saturday: 5 p.m. | Sunday: 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. (en Español) Tuesday: 7 a.m. | Wednesday: 5:15 p.m. | Thursday: 7 a.m., 11 a.m. (vulnerable population),, 7 p.m. (en Español) Friday: 8:15 a.m. (School only Mass), St. James at 8:30 a.m., Our Lady of Guadalupe in Dewey at noon Reconciliation: Saturday: 4-4:45 p.m. | Sunday: 12:30-1:15 p.m.