OCIA - Sacred Heart

05/29/2026

Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine
Sagrado Corazón / Sacred Heart Catholic Church, OKC

Inquiry class begins on June 7th after the 9:00 am mass at the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine. We will meet at 100 SE 89th, one block west of the Shrine, at 10:30 am. My contact information is located on the front and inside of the weekly bulletin if you would like to reach out to me with questions. I look forward to meeting you.

“I call upon you, my God, my mercy, who made me and did not forget me, although I forgot you. I call you into my soul, which you prepare to accept you by the longing that you breathe into it. Do not desert me now when I call upon you, for before I called upon you, you went ahead and helped me, and repeatedly urged me on by many different words, so that from afar I would hear you, and be converted, and call upon you as you called to me.”
— St. Augustine, p. 302
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Confessions of St. Augustine

05/23/2026

Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine
Sagrado Corazón / Sacred Heart Catholic Church, OKC

This Sunday morning at the 9:00 am mass at the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, after the homily, your sister in Christ will make a profession of faith and receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Please come and welcome her into the Sacramental Life of the Church.

Remember to wear red. It is Pentecost Sunday !!

05/17/2026

Sagrado Corazón / Sacred Heart Catholic Church, OKC
Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine

Inquiry classes begin June 7th after the 9:00 am mass at the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine.
Please contact me at the number listed below if you are interested in attending. I am honored to say there are a good number of people already signed up to begin their faith journey. Please do hesitate to contact me with your questions or concerns.

05/17/2026

Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine
Sagrado Corazón / Sacred Heart Catholic Church, OKC

As of today, we conclude Mystagogy for OCIA - Sacred Heart 2025-2026 catechumens and candidates. I'm humbled to have shared this faith journey with you. Today, as I shared words with you in class, my deepest prayers are for your continued growth in your spiritual life and walk with Christ. May the gift of His Sacraments
strengthen you and empower you to go forward and build His kingdom.

Ephesians 3:14-21.

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources, he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

I love you all so very much. Elizabeth

05/15/2026

Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine
Sagrado Corazón / Sacred Heart Catholic Church, OKC

This Sunday after the 9:00 am mass we will conclude the 2025-26 OCIA/RCIA class.

This is our last and final Mystagogy class. As part of this Sunday's Gospel Reading, Christ says to the twelve: “

“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours, and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them.”

I assure you, my dear brothers and sisters, that I also pray for you, and you will always be in my thoughts and mind.

We celebrate the gifts Christ has given you in the Sacramental Life of the Church.

05/02/2026

Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine
Sagrado Corazón / Sacred Heart Catholic Church, OKC

04/11/2026

Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine
Sagrado Corazón / Sacred Heart Catholic Church, OKC
Elizabeth Simpson

This Sunday at 9:00 am we begin with mass and then dismiss to our weekly session at 10:30 am.
We begin our first session of Mystagogy and will continue to meet until Pentecost.

Sagrado Corazón / Sacred Heart Catholic Church, OKC
Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine

Mystagogy: Living the Mystery

Mystagogy (from Greek mystagogos, "leading into a mystery") is the final stage of Catholic initiation, occurring primarily during the Easter season (Easter to Pentecost) for new Catholics (neophytes). It involves reflecting on the experience of receiving the Sacraments—Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist—to deepen understanding of their mystery.

While historically focused on the 50 days between Easter and Pentecost, it is also considered a lifelong endeavor to continually unfold the grace of the sacraments.

It involves moving from the visible signs (water, oil, bread/wine) to the invisible, spiritual reality they signify. It is characterized by deeper reflection, prayer, and participation in the community life of the Church.

Essentially, mystagogy focuses on unpacking the "treasure chest" of sacramental grace, bridging the gap between the formal initiation rites and a lifetime of active faith.

04/09/2026

Sagrado Corazón / Sacred Heart Catholic Church, OKC
Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine
OCIA - Sacred Heart

7 GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and descriptions outlined by St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologica, the seven gifts are as follows:

■ WISDOM:
We see God at work in our lives and in the world. For the wise, the wonders of nature, historical events, and the ups and downs of life take on deeper meaning. We see God as our Father, appreciate the dignity of others, and find God in all things.

■ UNDERSTANDING:
In understanding, we comprehend how we need to live as followers of Christ. A person with understanding is not confused by the conflicting messages in our culture about the right way to live. The gift of understanding perfects a person's speculative reason in the apprehension of truth. It is the gift whereby self-evident principles are known, Aquinas writes.

■ COUNSEL
(Right Judgment): With the gift of counsel/right judgment, we know the difference between right and wrong, and we choose to do what is right. A person with right judgment avoids sin and lives out the values taught by Jesus.

■ FORTITUDE
(Courage): With the gift of fortitude/courage, we overcome our fear and are willing to take risks as a follower of Jesus Christ. A person with courage is willing to stand up for what is right in the sight of God, even if it means accepting rejection, verbal abuse, or physical harm. The gift of courage allows people the firmness of mind that is required both in doing good and in enduring evil.

■ KNOWLEDGE:
With the gift of knowledge, we understand the meaning of God. The gift of knowledge is more than an accumulation of facts.

■ PIETY
(Reverence): With the gift of reverence, sometimes called piety, we have a deep sense of respect for God and the Church. A person with reverence recognizes our total reliance on God and comes before God with humility, trust, and love. Piety is the gift whereby, at the Holy Spirit's instigation, we pay worship and duty to God as our Father, Aquinas writes.

■ FEAR OF THE LORD
(Wonder and Awe): With the gift of fear of the Lord we are aware of the glory and majesty of God. A person with wonder and awe knows that God is the perfection of all we desire: perfect knowledge, perfect goodness, perfect power, and perfect love.

This gift is described by Aquinas as a fear of separating oneself from God. He describes the gift as a "filial fear," like a child's fear of offending his father, rather than a "servile fear," that is, a fear of punishment.

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 1:7) because it puts our mindset in correct location with respect to God: we are the finite, dependent creatures, and He is the infinite, all-powerful Creator.

04/07/2026

This Sunday at 9:00 am we begin with mass and then dismiss to our weekly session at 10:30 am.
We begin our first session of Mystagogy and will continue to meet until Pentecost.

Sagrado Corazón / Sacred Heart Catholic Church, OKC
Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine

Mystagogy: Living the Mystery

Mystagogy (from Greek mystagogos, "leading into a mystery") is the final stage of Catholic initiation, occurring primarily during the Easter season (Easter to Pentecost) for new Catholics (neophytes). It involves reflecting on the experience of receiving the Sacraments—Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist—to deepen understanding of their mystery.

While historically focused on the 50 days between Easter and Pentecost, it is also considered a lifelong endeavor to continually unfold the grace of the sacraments.

It involves moving from the visible signs (water, oil, bread/wine) to the invisible, spiritual reality they signify. It is characterized by deeper reflection, prayer, and participation in the community life of the Church.

Essentially, mystagogy focuses on unpacking the "treasure chest" of sacramental grace, bridging the gap between the formal initiation rites and a lifetime of active faith.