From the Pastor’s Desk:
Beginning this Sunday January 26, Catholic Schools across the United States are celebrating National Catholic Schools Week. It is a week set aside each year to celebrate Catholic School and the ministry they perform in educating young people in the Catholic Faith, in Christian morality and in providing academic excellence.
The first Catholic school that opened in the United State was called St. Mary’s School in Philadelphia, in 1783. It took years before the curiosity for Catholic education grew. The number of Catholic schools grew as the massive inflow of Catholics from all over the world began in the late 1800s. By the 1920s, more than 6,000 Catholic elementary schools accepted and enrolled almost two million students and employed 42,000 teachers. By the latter half of that century, enrollment grew, even more, reaching double the number of students. Ever since Catholic schools have been widely perceived and established as a viable means of education.
The theme this year 2025, is Catholic Schools: United in Faith and Community. Each of our Catholic schools, will host Masses on a daily basis as normal, several different assembles, events and other activities for the students, families, parishioners to join in the celebration. Our Catholic schools are an important part of our parishes.
Sunday January 26 the 11:30 liturgy will be led by St. Agnes students, who will also handout bookmarks they have made. On Tuesday as we celebrate community, donation to Life House needs, and community builder games led by STUCO. Tuesday will feature trips of the movies and special treats provided by Home & School. Wednesday is a Color Guard presentation with First Responders and St. Agnes Open House. A special prayer time for Vocations, along with vocation/job dress up day. On Friday will be a special lunch for Faculty & Staff, along with dress as your teacher day.
National Catholic Schools Week is a celebration for everyone. Come and celebrate with us.
Safe Environment Requirements for all diocesan personnel—clergy, employees, and adult volunteers
The mission and ministry of creating a safe environment for all to flourish and thrive is a responsibility we each share. Before regularly working or volunteering with minors or vulnerable adults, all diocesan personnel (clergy, employees and adult volunteers) are required to first complete:
the Safe Environment Training;
a Background Screening; and,
a current, signed Code of Conduct.
The Safe Environment training is available Online after creating an account in the VIRTUS system, through the VIRTUS Website: https://www.virtusonline.org/virtus/.
The Code of Conduct is required annually and is made available at the beginning of the fiscal year, July 1, and expires December 31 the following year.
The Background Screening Application is now accessed through the VIRTUS account. These forms and the Safe Environment Policies are available on the diocesan Website, under the Office of Child and Youth Protection at https://dioscg.org/child-youth-protection/. Questions about these requirements may be directed to the Office of Child and Youth Protection at (417) 866-0841 or by Email: childandyouthprotection@dioscg.org.
7 DAYS of PRAYER for HEALING from ABUSE
The 7 Days of Prayer for Healing from Abuse prayer guide was created by a local priest with the hope and intention of bringing healing and peace. Pamphlets have been created with the prayer model and are available from the Office of Child & Youth Protection and available to download from the diocesan Website at https://dioscg.org/healing-prayers/
CAMP RENEWAL Registration
Registrations are currently being accepted for Camp Renewal Summer 2025! Camp Renewal is open to youth who will be entering 5th through 9th grade. For those entering 10th, 11th and 12th grades and adults, there is a need for volunteers. Please complete the online registration as soon as possible. Parents must sign the online registration. Deadline for Camper application is April 18th, 2025. You can obtain more information by picking up a brochure in the vestibule of St. Agnes Cathedral, in the parish office or in the school. You can also register online by going to https://dioscg.formstack.com/forms/camp re new all
FIRST EUCHARIST
Families with children who are preparing to receive their First Eucharist should plan to attend an informational session on Sunday, Feb 2nd at 10:15 in the Upper Conference Room of the school. Following the session, the young people preparing for Eucharist will attend a Mass of commitment at the 11:30 Mass in the Cathedral. If families have questions or need resources, please contact iris at ibounds@sta-cathedral.org.
From the Pastor’s Desk
This weekend we celebrate Epiphany, it comes from a Greek word meaning “Manifestation”, “striking appearance” or “Vision of God”. Within the Roman Catholic Church we celebrate it as the revelation of the Son of God as human in Jesus Christ. The normal, traditional date for the feast is January 6th, however it is moved this year to the Sunday January the 5th. The date is not as important as it is celebrated the 2nd Sunday after Christmas.
The Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated by both the Eastern and Western Catholic Churches. Within the Roman Catholic Church the feast mostly celebrates the coming of the Magi with only a minor reference to the Baptism of Jesus and the miracle at the Wedding at Cana. The Eastern Church celebrates the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan. Regardless both traditions are celebrating within the feast, the manifestation of Christ to the nations.
Again depending on what day of the week that Christmas falls, depends when the Christmas Season within the Roman Catholic Church ends. This year due to Christmas being celebrated on Wednesday, means that the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated immediately after Epiphany on Sunday January the 12th and Ordinary Time begins the following day January 13. As I wrote at the beginning of Advent, it would be a short Advent Season and a short Christmas Season.
On January 13th we begin the first week of Ordinary Time and continue for seven weeks until March 5th when Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. For those who follow the weekly scripture readings, we began at the first of Advent Sunday Readings in Year C, the weekday readings are from Cycle 1. There are for Sundays a three year cycle; A, B and C. The weekday are only a 2 year cycle, but during the three years the Roman Catholic Church reads a great amount of the Bible.
Hopefully this helps to explain some of how the Church liturgy is celebrated. Again I want to thank everyone who had helped in the decorating the church and in all the ministries during the Advent and Christmas Seasons. Our Christmas was truly spiritual liturgies.
VIETNAMESE 1st RECONCILIATION
Please keep our 1st Reconciliation recipients in your prayers as they continue their faith journey. Bronwyn Barge, Gigi Dinh, Lilian Nguyen, Jakob Nguyen, Mikai Nguyen, Kylie Nguyen, Sullivan Tran, Nhi Ai Nguyen, Leah Nguyen, Emily Vo, Chloe Vu, Cedric Tran
Thank You, Thank you, Thank you!
A HUGE thank you to all who participated in our Jesse Tree Project! The generosity of all who participated was overwhelming! So many people came forward with gifts and donations! We took boxes and boxes of items to LifeHouse, Sammy's Window, Sacred Heart Men's Shelter and Grace United Methodist Church Women's Shelter. The parishioners of St. Agnes Cathedral are so very generous. These organizations will benefit not only during the Christmas season, but also into 2025. A huge thank you to several people who helped in the delivery of these items too. Thanks to Irene Francka, Doris Mantei and to Connie McNabb.
CATHOLIC MEN'S CONFERENCE
Join hundreds of men for a day of life-changing inspiration at the 6th annual Catholic Men’s Conference on Sat., Feb. 22, 2025, at Springfield Catholic High School. This year’s event will motivate men to take concrete steps in building authentic friendships and strengthening our parish communities. Keynote speaker John Edwards will share his passionate testimony of transformation, along with the secret to building bonds of brotherhood. This will be the launch of a new grassroots movement in our diocese, so don’t miss out! The day begins at 8:00 a.m. with Holy Mass, celebrated by Bishop Edward Rice. Additional information may be found at https://catholicconference.men/events/2025/
From the Pastor’s Desk:
The earliest record of the observing of the birth of Christ on December 25, is 180 A. D. in Egypt. For the first 200 years after the birth of Jesus Christ, there was little interest about when he was born. There was no one around taking notes as to the exact date that Jesus was born. The references to the birth of Jesus being celebrated on December 25th appeared in Antioch in the middle of the 2nd century. The early church placed the most emphasis on the day people died, not on their birth. The saints were remembered on the anniversaries of their deaths, when the soul entered heaven. But by the early third century the view of birthdays began to change.
The Christians were still being persecuted by the Roman Empire and it was not until the Council of Tours in 567, that the Season of Advent as a time of special preparation and grace for the birth of Jesus was established. It was also at this time that the 12 days from Christmas to Epiphany was set as a sacred, festive season.
Most historians agree that the Western Roman Catholic Church chose December 25 as the day to honor the birth of Jesus Christ as it was competing for followers with the popular pagan Roman god, Mithras. Once the December date was set, the church forbade any feasting or merrymaking by pagans on that day in order to disassociate Christmas from the pagan holidays.
As Christmas began to be celebrated, it was exclusively a sacred holiday. However, secular traditions refused to die and over the years Christians began exchanging gifts and celebrating during the Christmas Season. By the Middle Ages the Church gave into people and their local traditions and December 25 became the most popular holiday of the year, with religious meaning and secular traditions.
In the New England colonies the Puritans considered Christmas customs as sacrilegious since they had no basis in scripture. During the late 1600’s and for the next 350 years each wave of immigrants have brought their own unique Christmas customs to the United States. It wasn’t however until the great wave of German immigrants came in the nineteenth century that many of our major Christmas customs began to flourish on a large scale.
Let all the beauty, all the traditions from around the world, lead us to the manger and the new born Christ Child. Have a blessed and safe Christmas Season. Thank you for all your cards and gifts this Christmas Season.
We welcome the following families to St. Agnes Parish:
Andrew and Gabrielle Cook and children
Zayden and Lillian
William and Emily Steppig and children
Louis and Charles
Matthew Snodgrass and Ashley Fennewald
Benjamin and Liana Gray and child
Elsie
CROSSLINES IS IN NEED OF VOLUNTEERS!!
A few of your fellow parishioners volunteer at Crosslines on the 4th Tuesday of each month. Due to various reasons our volunteer numbers have decreased, but the need has increased. The hours are 9:00 - 2:00, but most choose either morning hours or afternoon; not all day. Volunteers pair with shoppers to help fill their grocery bags through the food aisles. Some volunteers also help in the back room putting groceries into the shoppers' cars and doing other things.
If you are able to help for just a part of one day a month please come to Crosslines, 3055 E. Division on the 4th Tuesday of the month. If you have any questions please call Janet at 417-880-9359
LOVE IN ACTION
CLARET COLD WEATHER SHELTER
1609 N Summit Ave. The shelter is managed and supported by all catholic churches in Springfield and is located at Sacred Heart Catholic church. We are in great need of volunteers to serve on overnight shifts: 7 pm-1 am and 1 am-7am Please consider this opportunity to help provide a safe, warm place for the night. For more information, contact Marianne Jones 417=224-2260 mjintdesign@yahoo.com
From the Pastor’s Desk:
The Advent season is a time for us to reflect upon the threefold coming of Jesus Christ: His birth, His death, and His promise to return in glory. The Sacred Scriptures are to help us recognize His coming, thus we have this beautiful season to help us prepare. Each year we begin the new liturgical year with the season of Advent.
As I take different streets to South Cox Hospital I do see some strange things in neighborhoods. For example, in late October, Halloween skeletons and pumpkins in a yard and across the street, Santa Claus and blow up snowmen. Our culture and society have no real understanding of seasons or what they are celebrating. Our culture has become one of seeking immediate gratification. The Advent Season with the expectation of the coming of Christ at Christmas holds very little meaning for many people in our country.
We need to balance the drive of modern culture which pushes Christ and even the time-treasured greeting, “Merry Christmas,” aside in favor of the generic “Happy Holidays.” That said, we need to keep in mind that we are not celebrating Christmas yet. We are celebrating Advent—the time of looking at God’s promise that the Lord will indeed come and we as Christians need to make ready his way. The Advent attitudes are to be joyous and hope filled, trusting in a loving Father who sent His Son. Many of our Advent readings throughout the Sundays, as well as the weekday readings, refer to events long past and persons associated with Jesus’ first coming. Advent’s focus, however, is not on the past but on the future. Advent sees those events and persons as symbols and models for a new advent which stretches from long before our time to the future of human history. It looks to a time when Christ will return in divine glory.
In our path through Advent, we are made very much aware of the theme of promise and fulfillment. This biblical theme is fundamental for Advent, in which we see the present time as a fulfillment with regard to past history and as a promise of future fulfillment. The New Testament times could look back to the Old Testament and see in the writings the promise of what was now fulfilled in its gospel experience. Today we see how the New Testament itself is fulfilled in its daily unfolding, full of surprises, guided by the Holy Spirit. As we celebrate Advent we are called as God’s holy people to open our hearts, individually and communally, to the reality of Jesus Christ.
ANNUAL CHRISTMAS DINNER FOR ALL WOMEN IN THE PARISH
All women of the parish are invited to the PCCW Christmas dinner and party. It will be Dec. 4th at 6:00 in the school dining room. St. Michael’s will cater the meal. There will be an exciting Rob Your Neighbor gift exchange. Bring a gift of around $10 for exchange if you'd like to participate And it wouldn't be Christmas without music. Maybe there is someone who would like to play the piano. (hint, hint)
Come and enjoy the company of others in the parish. Please call the office (417-831-3565) to sign up if you plan on comi
LOVE IN ACTION
LOVE IN ACTION
CLARET COLD WEATHER SHELTER
1609 N Summit Ave. The shelter is managed and supported by all catholic churches in Springfield and is located at Sacred Heart Catholic church. We are in great need of volunteers to serve on overnight shifts: 7 pm-1 am and 1 am-7am Please consider this opportunity to help provide a safe, warm place for the night. For more information, contact Marianne Jones 417=224-2260 mjintdesign@yahoo.com
WE NEED YOUR DONATIONS!
Our Faith Formation program will be conducting a drive for Life– house during the Fall and Advent Seasons. We will also have some items on the Jesse Tree during the advent season, but right now there is an urgent need for the following items for Moms and Babies. Please note if you bring in clothing items, make certain that they are clean and only slightly worn, Please bring any of the following urgently needed items to the parish office for Iris: deodorant, baby bottles and brushes, baby lotion, plastic hangers, reusable water bottles, baby socks. The following items are always in general need at Lifehouse: leggings, ankle socks, women’s clothing (maternity and non-maternity), slightly used jeans or joggers in all sizes. Thank you !
FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
My letter this week continues with the changes in seminary formation. There are now four stages of formation for priesthood. The first stage is new and it is titled PROPAEDEUTIC. This new stage which may last 1-3 years recognizes that most young men need time to understand a process of how we think as we grow. It is a time of receiving basic instruction in spirituality and Christian living. This time (phase is easy on academic work) as they study the Catechism and scripture. The ultimate goal is to lay a foundation for a new way of life through prayer, study fraternity and the ability to accept formation in ones’ character.
The second stage is DISCIPLESHIP may follow for 2-4 YEARS. This stage has a special focus on human formation and the necessary philosophical knowledge to study theology. It is in this stage that a young man forms an intimate relationship with Christ through meditation, contemplation and building character in Christian Virtues.
The third stage is CONFIGURATION. This stage is 3 and ½ years in length. It is in this stage that the seminarian prepares for Holy Orders. He begins to take on a priestly identity as he studies theology, actively serves the poor in apostolic planned work. During this stage the reception of Candidacy and the conferral of the ministries of lector and acolyte occurs.
The fourth and final stage is VOCATIONAL SYNTHESIS. This period of time lasts between 6 months to a year. It is the period of formation between diaconal and priestly ordinations. It is intended primarily as a time of transition into the seminarian’s diocese. Living in a rectory with a pastor as he comes to a gradual realization of the priests’ full time responsibility for the spiritual care of the people.
Beginning the journey of a seminarian, does not mean a young man is absolutely going to be a priest. The college seminary is a place of joy, camaraderie and deep spiritual growth. Even if the young man eventually discerns he is not called to priesthood, it was not wasted time. The education, the discipline and structure will serve him in whatever walk of life he may find himself.
ATTENTION LECTORS
Please pick up the Lector Workbooks for the next liturgical year in the vestibule of the church outside the bathroom on the south side of the church
MANY HOLIDAY MARKET THANK YOU'S
It was so much fun visiting with all those who came to the Market! We have never had so many parishioners on Sunday after the Masses! The success of the Market is all due to the many volunteers that helped set up, "man" the parish tables, and those that cleaned up afterward. AND, of course, it wouldn't have been a financial success without those that provided our raffle baskets and items, all our vendors, and all those who came to shop. The final total was $3,054 which all went into the Parish Hall Fund.
Raffle baskets and items were provided by:
Women of Faith parish group
St. Anne's parish group Judy Hauschildt
St. Martha's parish group Cathy Moore
Fr. Lewis Mike and Ellen Finch
Julie Viorel Beth Sammon
Mary Seibert Cathy Kutzner
Hyvee Thomas and Karen Billings John and Peggy Kubicek
Downtown & Pickwick businesses:
(please consider showing our thanks by patronizing these businesses)
Gailey's Formed Pappo's
Cabos Bonitos Moxie Cinema Civil Kitchen
Druff's St. Michael's Zayka
History Museum J.L. Long Otts Pasta
Skully's Pickwick Underground Framing
The Local Bevy Imo's Pizza Tea Bar & Bites
The Royal Culture Flock
First Reconciliation Reception:
Our First Reconciliation will take place on Sat, Dec. 7th at 9:30 in the Cathedral. Immediately following First Reconciliation, a simple reception for the young people and their families will be held in the cafeteria. We will need 3-4 volunteers to help serve and set up for this reception. This would be a great opportunity for a family to help out with this reception. All supplies will be provided. Please call the parish office or contact Iris at ibounds@sta-cathedral.org if you would like to assist. Please keep our young people in prayer as they continue to prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
ADVENT FAIR
ADVENT FAIR DONATIONS NEEDED! St. Ann's Group & the Faith Formation program of St. Agnes is asking for donations for our upcoming Advent Fair on Sunday, Nov. 24th. Specifically needed are Little Debbie Christmas cakes, Hot chocolate packets, Fruit snacks and Capri Sun Drinks. Please bring these items to the parish office before Nov. 24th.
ADVENT FAIR PLANNING; The Advent Fair will be held Sunday, Nov 24th from 9:00-11:00 AM in the St. Agnes Cafeteria. The Advent Fair will offer everyone the opportunity to make their own Advent Wreath. We also have extra candles if you already have an Advent wreath. We also have Advent Resources for all ages. There will be a variety of activities for all ages. You will be able to make your own rosary for yourself or to give as a gift. Crafts projects will be available too. Of course, we will have games for the younger set. Please stop by and prepare yourself for the birth of our savior. We also need volunteers to help run the events during the Advent Fair. This is a great opportunity for young people to gain service hours. Call Iris at the parish office 831-3565 ext 107 if you would like to volunteer.