From the Pastor's Desk

I am not sure that we as Catholic Christians really understand how blessed we truly are with all of our liturgies. We
belong to God’s “church” which can trace itself back to the founding apostles. We celebrate God’s love in a ritual
enactment of the Eucharist, in fact in all the sacraments. At Sunday Mass we can experience God’s outpouring of grace
and He in turn calls us to overflow with life in response. Through regular participation in the Sunday Eucharist, celebrated
well, we set out hearts to worship and place our lives in God’s hands. To do this, we need to celebrate the liturgy with the
attention and intensity that the liturgy deserves. We cannot hide from the mystery of God’s love when ritual is celebrated
well.
When people tell me that Mass is “boring”, it is the same old thing, they are showing how programmed they are by
our culture. Our culture fosters a, “be entertained” attitude. It seems as if every waking minute, we must be stimulated.
There are headphones, cell phones, stereos, televisions, computers, ipads, and text messaging; we cannot simply be still
and silent. Liturgy within the context of Mass, involves us in worship, which means us actually praying, singing, listening,
and being open to God speaking in the silence of our hearts. It does not mean that we come to Mass to be entertained.
Our celebration of mass is strengthened by our prayer life. The more we take time out of our daily life to talk with
God, the more meaningful our celebration of the liturgy grows. If all we do is come to mass on Sunday and the rest of
the week we forget about God, our celebration of the liturgy becomes less meaningful. It reduces into something we just
“check off.”
As baptized believers, we are each called to draw others to holiness, to a life filled with God’s grace. As members
of God’s family, we are to celebrate God’s love in community, receiving God in the Eucharist. This is the supreme act of
worship on our part as God’s children, and the supreme act of God’s love to us.
Catholic Liturgy celebrated well, moves us back in time to the Last Supper. Yes liturgy takes on a little personality of
the parish in which it is celebrated, but the content, the structure is always to be the same. As we travel, whether in this
country or abroad, we are able to worship at Mass even though we may not know the language because the liturgy is
the same. If you come to Mass to be entertained you will be disappointed. Come to mass to worship in God’s house and
be a part of God’s family in prayer, a prayer that can be traced back to the apostles.
The Church Council Classes for Adults, picking up with Vatican II, are Sundays at 10am in the Dining Room of the school

LADIES OF THE PARISH

PCCW invites all ladies to join us on Sat, Oct 6th
for the 8:30 AM Mass! This Mass will be said for
all deceased members of PCCW. Immediately
following this Mass, we will say the rosary in the
chapel. October is the month of the rosary.
You are then invited to join us for brunch in the St. Agnes
Dining room. Come enjoy the company of others. There is
no charge and we remind all ladies of the parish that ALL
are welcome. Invite a friend! Please call the parish office
at 831-3565 to sign up so we have enough food. Hope
to see you there!

WE ARE CALLED

Mark your calendar and call the office to register for
“King David”. These one hour sessions will begin on
October 8 and end on November 12. We will meet in the
upper room of our grade school at 6:15pm.
If you have attended any of Bishop Barron’s presentations
before you will know what to expect. He is the BEST!!!!!!.
I’m going to visit with Sacred Heart and St. Joseph in
hopes of leaving some posters with them. If you have any
friends who go there, please invite them. This is a great
program, there is no charge, we hope that you will call
your friends. Let’s do this one together. I think I may have
heard something about free popcorn.
Ginny Smithberg

The Time Has Come...

The St. Agnes parish Bazaar Committee is looking for craft and business vendors for our annual bazaar which will be Nov. 3 & 4. If you are interested or know of anyone (family, friends) who might be, please contact Judy: 1(641) 751-6632 or email her at judyhauschildt@gmail.com.
Help us make this a grand parish event!

From the Pastor's Desk

Sep 19th, 2018 

Tuesday evening, Sept.11, Fr. Joseph gave a presentation to the parents of our young people who are beginning their preparation for receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. Parents are the first teachers of their children in the practice of the faith. That is the responsibility parents undertake when they ask to have their child baptized. However the sacraments are in the care of the church and it is the dual role of parents and pastor to work together to prepare children for the celebration of sacraments. The sacramental life of the Church is built into the fabric of the community, they are meant to be celebrated in community, not separate from the community.
As a child is prepared for the reception of a Sacrament, as a couple is prepared for the Sacrament of Marriage, as catechumens are prepared to enter the church at Easter; it is the responsibility of the pastor to give the “Church’s” blessing that the sacraments are celebrated. As students make fun of my “gray” hair, I remind them that over the years they have helped turn my hair gray. One of the most important areas of my ministry is the overseeing of the sacraments for the Church. It is not always the easiest or fun part of ministry, since some people see them as a right or a graduation from their religious studies. Weddings can be the hardest of the sacraments because some couples want the latest fads which have little or nothing to do with liturgy.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is probably the least used of the sacraments by the lay people of the Catholic Church. Most people do not like to admit their faults and failings, especially to another person. And yet the Sacrament is one of great healing, a sacrament of hope. Perhaps the reason also for the lack of use of the Sacrament is that we live in a society and time when there does not seem to be any concept or understanding of sin. Everything is explained away. There is not much that we accept as our fault any more. We blame it on how we were brought up, or on some hidden problem in our past that made us act the way we do today. Whether we lie, cheat, steal, kill or cannot live up to our commitments, it is someone else’s fault and not ours! Thus we did not and have not sinned, we are perfect.
The Catholic Church stands against public opinion on many things and our sinful actions are one of them. When we choose to break one of the 10 Commandments; whether it is not going to church on the Lord’s Day, stealing, lying, being disrespectful of our parents, or any of the other 7 commandments, WE SIN. God has told us how to act and how not to act and when we chose not to follow His laws, we sin. I challenge not only our parents of our young people, but each of us to follow all 10 of God’s Commandments, and when we fail, that we seek God’s mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
I will begin the Church Council Classes for Adults picking up with Vatican II on September 23rd at 10am in the Dining Room of the school.

Knights of Columbus

The monthly meeting for the St. Agnes Knights of Columbus 13682, will occur on Monday, September 24 at 7:00pm in the Loretto House. Interested in joining? Please call Keith Norton at 417-861-7565

Confirmation Updates

Our next Confirmation session will be today, Sunday, Sept 23rd, in the St. Agnes cafeteria beginning at 3:00 pm. Immediately following the session, all candidates should attend the 5:00 p.m. Mass in the cathedral. This will be a special Mass of commitment for the Confirmation candidates.
Just a reminder, Confirmation for 2019 will include all high school students in grades 9-12. If you have not yet signed up and wish to be confirmed in 2019, please contact Iris at ibounds@saintagnescathredral.org or by calling 417-890-7423 as soon as possible.