St. Benedict

St. Benedict whose feast day is July 11 is very much tied to Arkansas. Benedict makes the world a bit smaller by his influence, connecting Arkansas, Indiana, and Switzerland, his influence doesn’t stop there. This influence is felt by people all over the world, fromCuraçao to Russia, to China and all over the US and back to Arkansas, by the young men that are shaped by his Rule. St. Benedict and his example have had far-reaching effects to make our world a better place by ‘Ora et Labora’- Prayer and Work. Benedict was born we believe in 480 in the mountains around Rome. Benedict went to school in Rome and after his schooling became a hermit, denouncing the corrupt secular society living in the hill region of Subiaco Rome. His fame grew and Benedict was made the abbot of a group of monks. These monks became so fed up with Benedict’s passion for reform that they tried to poison him. So, Benedict left them to their evil ways and created his small monastic communities. He wrote his Rule while at a monastery he established and we now know as Monte Cassino. The Rule, written by St. Benedict’s hand still exists today. Benedict envisioned his rule to balance life and prayer by finding God in the ordinary circumstances of daily life. Benedict stated people should not be pre-occupied by work and not make time for prayer, or spend too much time in prayer to neglect their work. Benedict believed in all things in moderation, even praying....

St. Margaret Series Week 3

Week 3 To recap where we left last week… Sister Margaret gained support for her mission and a spiritual director in Fr. Claude by reminding him that God doesn’t remember our sins once we confess them to a priest in confession, Fr. Claude helped gain the support of her convent AND I promised to tell you the 12 Promises that God revealed to Sister Margaret about His Sacred Heart.   So, let’s get busy, we have a lot of ground to cover!  Beginning in 1686 Sister Margaret’s convent celebrated the Feast of the Sacred Heart privately.  Two years later they build a chapel at the convent to honor the Sacred Heart.  Soon, the Feast of the Sacred Heart spread within Sister Margaret’s Order of the Visitation to other convents.  Sister Margaret’s brothers even devoted their lives to promoting the Feast of the Sacred Heart.   In 1689, Our Lord asked Sister Margaret to have King Louis XIV of France dedicate France to Jesus’s Sacred Heart.   Sister Margaret died on October 17, 1690, at the age of 43.  She suffered greatly before she died.   Her last words were “What have I in heaven and what do I desire on earth, but Thee alone, O my God”, then she died as she said Jesus’ name.   Sister Margaret’s holiness and her mission were written about and well known by Fr. Claude and his Jesuit (BCW- an order of Catholic Priests and brothers) superiors.    This helped to move the mission of the Sacred Heart forward, which the Church did even though...

St. Margaret Series Week 1

By Cindy Barr But First, I want to tell you about a new phrase and abbreviation I will be using, “BCW” or “Big Catholic Words”.   BCWs are words that you hear at Mass, in school or PREP, that sound hard and super complicated, for example, transubstantiation.  I will try to warn you of any BCWs and give a ‘not BCW’ word as well, as in our example the ‘not BCWs’ would be ‘the changing of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus’.  BCWs, not BCWs. Got it?  Great!  I challenge you to also look these BCWs up with your parents.  That always helps me remember what they mean and can bring a deeper meaning to your faith, together as a family.   Now on to this week’s story.   Are you ready?  Here we go… There once was a sweet young girl named Margaret who lived in France in the 1600s.  She was born July 22, 1947.    Her family didn’t have much money, but they were devout (BCW– loved and practiced their Catholic faith) Catholics.    Margaret had a very hard childhood.  Her father died when she was 8-years old.  Then when Margaret was 10, she became very sick and had to be in bed for 5 years.   She could not play, go outside and she didn’t have a phone, TV or video games.  She was quarantined in bed!  But Margaret led a life of penitence (BWC- feeling sorry for sins)– and devotion (BCW- a feeling of love) to the Blessed Sacrament.   Jesus started appearing to...

Masses Cancelled 5/26-5/31 – Positive parishioner

One of our parishioners has tested positive for COVID-19. They were in attendance at the 1:30 PM Spanish mass on Sunday, May 17, 2020. Please pray for this parishioner and their family. Although no one on the church staff is showing symptoms, out of an abundance of caution the church office will be closed this week and the church staff is going to self quarantine. We will also close the church this week and in person masses for the upcoming weekend are cancelled. We will still stream on Facebook and YouTube live. If you were in attendance at that mass and develop any symptoms, please follow the CDC guidelines and call the local hotline. (For clarification, this is the same person that St. Boniface mentioned in their post.) Uno de nuestros feligreses ha dado positivo por COVID-19. Asistieron a la misa en español a la 1:30 PM el domingo 17 de mayo de 2020. Oren por este feligrés y su familia. Aunque nadie en el personal de la iglesia muestra síntomas, por precaución la oficina de la iglesia estará cerrada esta semana y el personal de la iglesia se pondrá en cuarentena. También cerraremos la iglesia esta semana y las misas en persona para el próximo fin de semana serán canceladas. Seguiremos transmitiendo en Facebook y YouTube en vivo. Si asistió a esa misa y desarrolló algún síntoma, siga las pautas de los CDC y llame a la línea directa local.

Re-opening regulations

Letter from Bishop Taylor May 4, 2020