Sooner Catholic soonercatholic.org April 11, 2021 archokc.org Go Make Disciples Registration open for Catholic summer camp By Sally Linhart The Sooner Catholic his summer, for the 22nd year, school-age campers from across the Archdiocese of Oklaho- maT City will gather at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Youth Camp for a week of prayer, activities and friendship. Camp OLOG, which is locat- ed between Luther and Wellston approximately 45 minutes from Oklahoma City, offers students of all faiths an opportunity to attend. The camp is open to students who will be entering fourth through 12th grades in the 2021-2022 school year. Camp will be facilitated by coun- selors, priests and seminarians Dominic Lynch climbs a tree at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Youth Camp. Visit archokc.org/camp to learn more or to apply for a camp staff position. Photo provided. continued on page 8 Fr. Pruett, Fr. Stansberry receive Rother Faithful Shepherd Award By Sooner Catholic Staff Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Oklahoma City. Father Rick Stansberry, pas- The Faithful Shepherd Award tor of Christ the King Catholic is given each spring to a priest Church, and Father Bill Pruett, in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma pastor of Saint James the Great- City who exemplifies Blessed er Catholic Church, were pre- Stanley Rother and his commit- sented the 2020 Blessed Stanley ment to the priesthood and his Rother Faithful Shepherd Award people. It is an initiative of the by Archbishop Coakley and their Priests’ Council. fellow priests during a ceremo- ny before the Chrism Mass on March 30 at The Cathedral of continued on page 7 2 April 11, 2021 Sooner Catholic Sooner Catholic April 11, 2021 3 Put Out Into the Deep Luke 5:4 Find more Earth Day commemorates caring for news on the Sacrament of Divine Mercy website “our common home” “God of everlasting mercy, who in the very recur- Baptism. Continuing By Sooner Catholic Staff rence of the paschal feast kindle the faith of the people conversion remains a By Olivia Biddick Dailey as humans, we are connected not only with all resources (water, metals, food, etc.), we also you have made your own, increase, we pray, the grace necessity. But, conver- For the Sooner Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ but also with all are stealing from the poor who live with much Additional coverage of you have bestowed, that all may grasp and rightly sion is not primarily our living things. Nature is for humans to protect less access to these resources,” Father Cham- understand in what font they have been washed, by work. It is God whose Church and archdiocesan and be a part of, not to control and consume berlain said. whose Spirit they have been reborn, by whose Blood grace calls us to repen- news and events, only on The 51st anniversary of Earth Day is April unchecked. Dignity and stewardship of cre- As a follow-up to Laudato Si’, the Vatican will they have been redeemed.” Collect of the Second Sun- tance and offers us his soonercatholic.org. 22. For many, this Earth Day is significant ation must be valued above “modern anthropo- release a seven-year Laudato Si’ Action Plat- day of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday mercy. because it presents an opportunity to properly centrism” (Laudato Si’ Pg. 115). form in May to help the global Catholic com- a Jesus Christ entrust- Archbishop Paul S. Coakley To send photos, event celebrate both this year’s Earth Day and last Father Jim Chamberlain, who works in munity achieve full sustainability. Every year Throughout the Easter season the Church’s new- ed to the Church his information or story ideas, year’s golden anniversary, which passed qui- water conservation as the interim director of since 2016, the Catholic Climate Covenant, est members continue to reflect upon the meaning ministry of reconciling e-mail [email protected]. etly during the the University of a nonprofit located in Washington D.C., puts of their experience at the Easter Vigil when they repentant sinners. On the day of his Resurrection, early season of Oklahoma’s Water together an Earth Day program. This year, the were fully initiated into the mystery of Christ and Jesus appeared to his apostles saying, “Receive the a That the Church may be the COVID-19 Technologies for Covenant’s program is titled, “Earth Day 2021: his Church through Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, empowered by the Holy Spirit pandemic. Emerging Regions Restore Our Common Home.” Eucharist. The prayers of the Church’s liturgy during and those you retain are retained” (Jn. 20:23). to share the faith with all the There are (WaTER) Center, The program is designed to celebrate Earth this paschal season express our praise and gratitude In fulfilling this mandate, the Church carries on world, and for an abundance many ways for the newness of life and redemption that we have Christ’s ministry of healing, forgiving and reconcil- of good and holy shepherds to celebrate celebrated during the Easter Triduum and that we ing sinners through the Sacrament of Penance. As to lead us, we pray to the Earth Day renew constantly in the sacraments. the Divine Physician, Christ acts through ordained Lord. Lord hear our prayer. through faith, “See, I make all things new!” (Rev. 21:5) During the priests to offer mercy, to heal the wounds of sin and including Easter season we celebrate new life, the new cove- to restore our communion with God, the Church and a Mask requirement in a medita- nant, and the new law of love that we have received one another that sin weakens or even destroys. place Archbishop Coakley tive nature through Christ’s death and resurrection and the The Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation) is a has issued a mandatory walk, read- outpouring of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. We are precious gift that Christ has entrusted to the Church. requirement for masks to be ing a prayer a new creation! As we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church in- worn for all public Masses or hymn by “Nevertheless,” the Catechism of the Catholic vites us to a renewed experience of this indispensable in the archdiocese. To find Saint Francis Church reminds us, “the new life received in Chris- sacrament of mercy. guidelines for Mass, RE of Assisi (the tian initiation has not abolished the frailty and weak- The communal celebrations of the Sacrament of classes or parish gatherings, patron saint ness of human nature, nor the inclination to sin” go online to archokc.org/ Penance in which many participate during Lent and of animals (CCC 1426). We carry this treasure of divine life in mass. Advent, though very beneficial, do not exhaust our and ecology) earthen vessels. and reading need for this sacrament of mercy, nor the benefits we “Do not think that the renewal of life that came a an excerpt can derive from it. If we are struggling to overcome Become a seminarian about once for all at the beginning is enough; new- pen pal! Our seminarians from “Laudato sin or devoutly seeking holiness and the fullness of ness itself must be renewed.” These words of the are away from home for Si’.” the Christian life, we must make good use of all the ancient Christian writer, Origen, remind us that the months at a time during their The fifth means that God places at our disposal to assist us, struggle of conversion from sin continues throughout formation. While at seminary, anniversary including this sacrament. our lives. they would like to hear from of “Laudato Si’: said Earth Day is Day or commemorate Laudato Si’ Week (May The more we open our hearts to Divine Mercy By faith in the Gospel we are led by grace to Bap- people back home in Oklaho- On Care for Our a reminder of our 16-24). This year’s program is available on- through our encounter with Jesus Christ in this tism, the principal place for the first and fundamental ma! To become a Seminarian Common Home,” common home. line and there is an interactive element to the sacrament, the more sensitive we will become to his conversion of life. In Baptism we renounce evil and Pen Pal, go online to archokc. Pope Francis’s “God’s creation program – an invitation to submit creation care presence in our lives; the more we will become instru- gain salvation through the forgiveness of sins and org/penpal, find their ad- encyclical on is for everyone actions. the gift of new life in the Spirit. But, Christ’s call to ments of his mercy in our world. dresses and write a note. the environment to enjoy and “We are excited to provide a means to lift conversion continues to resound insistently in the Only the experience of God’s mercy will truly re- was in 2020. The for everyone to what U.S. Catholics are doing at the local level, hearts of Christians throughout our lives. The so- veal the mystery of sin for what it is: not merely the name was taken from the opening line in Saint take care of. In the Catechism of the Catho- whether with their families, their parishes, called second conversion is an uninterrupted task for breaking of an external precept, but the rupture of Francis of Assisi’s famous hymn, “The Canti- lic Church, creation care is considered under their schools, or within a religious communi- the whole Church, which, though holy, is always in a very personal relationship with God who loves us cle of the Creatures.” The encyclical links the the Seventh Commandment; ‘Thou shalt not ty to ‘restore’ God’s creation.