Best Lent Ever

This year for Lent instead of giving up chocolate find ways to come closer to Jesus. It’s not too late to discover simple ways to transform your life by signing up for Best Lent Ever, a free email program designed to help you have a life-changing Lent.  Each day you’ll receive a short inspirational video that will help you...

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Bread & Water Movie Series at St. Agnes

Journey through Lent with films each week at 7pm about Knowing God and neighbor.

Bread and water for refreshments as a Lenten penance.

The movies and dates are:

3/12 The Gospel According to Matthew - 91min ‘NR’

3/19 No Movie (Penance Service in Cathedral, 7pm)

3/26 The Mission - 124min ‘PG’

4/2  The Other Side of Immigration - 55min ‘NR’

4/9  Juno - 96min ‘PG-13’

4/14 Spotlight - 129min ‘R’

Location is St Agnes school cafeteria, bring a friend!

Any questions, call Parish Office at 831-3565.

Childcare also available, please call the office if you plan to bring children so that we can expect them.

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From The Pastor’s Desk

Jesus was the greatest story teller that has ever lived. Through the use of His simple word-pictures he helped the people of His day and time to understand who God is, what His kingdom or reign is like and even as a reflection of themselves. The parables are made up of images and characters taken from the everyday life and world of the first century. Parables was one of the areas in which I took several of my electives in Theology, because I found them to be very interesting and stimulating.

Over a third of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke contain parables told by Jesus. His parables challenge us to discover what God is like and move us to make a response to God’s love and truth. Remember a picture can take the place of a thousand words. In His parables Jesus painted vivid pictures with short, simple and ordinary everyday events of His time. Parable of the mustard presents a determined woman looking for her lost coin, another a barren fig tree, the pearl of great price, the uninvited wedding guests, the Good Samaritan, the ten bridesmaids, the list goes on and on. Jesus’ parables may have been for a specific time and place, but they speak of timeless realities to people of every time and place.

Jesus used parables to help the listener search and discover the deeper meaning and underlying truth of the reality being portrayed. Most, but not all, parables bring out a lesson or a moral. Jesus also used parables to teach important truths about God and his kingdom and lessons pertaining to the way of life and happiness which God has for us. Jesus’ audience would have been very familiar with stories containing fig trees, wineskins, oil lamps, money, stewards, judges, wedding parties; these were illustrations of everyday life. Today we may have to do some “homework” to understand the social customs described.

Jesus’ parables have a double meaning. First, there is the literal meaning, apparent to anyone who has experience with the subject matter. Second, is a deeper meaning about God’s truth and His kingdom. The parables often involve an element of surprise or an unexpected twist. We may be taken off guard and have to take a second look. The true gift of the parables is when the story challenges us and invites us to further reflection.

It is interesting that Jesus tells his disciples that not everyone would understand his parables. Jesus was aware that some people would refuse to understand them and that they would close their hearts to what He was saying. God can only reveal the secrets of His kingdom to the humble and trusting person who acknowledges the need for God and for His truth. It is important not to get bogged down in the details of the parable. It is the main point that counts. Jesus meant for His parables to provoke a response.

Confirmation

On Saturday, February 16th, 33 young people from our parish were confirmed by Bishop Edward Rice at the 5:00pm Mass. Father Lewis Hejna, Father Joseph Stoverink & Father Patrick Mac Tran participated in the Liturgy. The following young people were confirmed:

Paige Bailey, Ethan Barber, Dakota Bazyn, Rebekah Bodine, Abigail Cardone, Ethan Carroll, Ella Collins, Eyan Collins, Kayla Cotter, Jeremy Cronkhite, Hannah Demster, Michaela Farrales, Trace Finley, Ariana Garnica, Isabella Gomez, Ralph Hall, Alexander Herrell, Jessica Jennerjohn, Shane Jennerjohn, Janie Le, Jared Lobdell, Grant Morris, Luke Morris, Joseph Nguyen, John Ogden, John Pham, Samuel Rapp, Grace Ray, Aaron Rolewicz, Michael Russo, Xavier Tenbrook, Dustin Waterhouse and Nicholas Winn.

We thank so many who helped to make the Confirmation Liturgy special for all involved. We thank all of our sponsors and families who supported our young people on this journey. We would also like to thank our youth choir and those who organized, set up and served at the reception following the Confirmation liturgy. Thank you for your willingness to give of your talent and time to make the sacrament so special. Please keep all of these young people in your prayers as they continue on their faith journey.

Bread & Water Movie Series at St. Agnes Parish

Journey through Lent with films each week at 7pm about Knowing God and neighbor. Bread and water for refreshments as a Lenten penance. The movies and dates are:

3/12 The Gospel According to Matthew 91min ‘NR’

3/19 No Movie (Penance Service in Cathedral, 7pm)

3/26 The Mission 124min ‘PG’

4/2 The Other Side of Immigration 55min ‘NR’

4/9 Juno 96min ‘PG-13’

4/14 Spotlight 129min ‘R’

Location is St Agnes school cafeteria, bring a friend!

Any questions, call Parish Office at 831-3565. Childcare also available, please call the office if you plan to bring children so that we can expect them.

ALL STUDENTS IN GRADES 8-12

There will be a Mardi Gras celebration just for you on Tuesday, March 5, from 5:30pm to 7:00pm at Springfield Catholic High School. This celebration is for both Catholic and public school students. We’ll have great food and lots of fun activities. Come and join us for a great evening of fun and celebration! If you have any questions, please call Sabrina at the parish office.

From The Pastor’s Desk

So often I get asked, “Father what use is there in studying the Old Testament?” That was the wrong question to ask me, since I had chosen many of my electives in both College and Theology from Old Testament studies. I will grant you that the Old Testament is difficult to read. It has a large and diverse collection of ancient texts from a culture that is truly foreign to us today. The stories found in the Old Testament are many times frightening and even seem strange to us.

The Old Testament is the account of God the Father preparing His chosen people for the coming of the Messiah. It is God working among His people over thousands of years helping prepare them for a loving, merciful Messiah. The Second Vatican Council stated that the Old Testament is “a storehouse of sublime teaching on God, and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonderful treasury of prayers” (Dei Verbum, No. 15)

It is important for us to read and study the Old Testament to help us understand who Jesus truly is and why He had to suffer and die. Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies proclaimed and written by the Old Testament prophets. There are six Major Prophets and 12 Minor Prophets in the Old Testament. The rest of the books fall into these groups: The Pentateuch, 5 books, The Historical Books, 16 books, The Wisdom books, 7 books.

The Old Testament is filled with God shepherding His people as a liberator who delivers His people from famine, from slavery, from war. In the Old Testament we see God as active in all types of situations. He brings good out of bad and evil. He teaches hope and demands a personal response of friendship, loyalty and obedience. The Ten Commandments are the heart and soul of His laws. The Old Testament are the sacred scriptures that Jesus read and knew. He quoted them freely. If we are to understand His teachings, we need some understanding of the Old Testament.

As the Church grew after Pentecost, others began writing and those writings became the New Testament Scriptures. St. Paul wrote much of the New Testament and remember his background, he was a Jew. Paul was extremely knowledgeable in Jewish Law and in the Old Testament Scriptures. The other New Testament writers also had knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures, thus you cannot divorce the parts of the Bible. To understand the New Testament and Jesus, you must study and understand the Old Testament, for the New Testament is built upon the Old Testament.

THE MIRROR SUBSCRIPTION

It’s that time of year again! The diocese will send us a bill in the coming weeks for each St. Agnes parishioner to receive this weekly newspaper. Each subscription is $14.00. Last year’s bill was over $9,000 and St Agnes paid nearly $6,000 that wasn’t covered by the envelopes. Please be sure to use your Mirror envelope and if possible include gift subscriptions for parishioners who may not be able to afford theirs.

Seniors Ash Wednesday Luncheon

SENIORS, Please mark your calendars for the Ash Wednesday luncheon on March 6 after the 12:15 Mass. The meal will be catered and paid for from money made at the bazaar. However, when it gets closer to the time, you will need to sign up in the office so we have enough food for all.

S Elizabeth Ann

Knights Fish Fry:

The St. Agnes Knights of Columbus annual Lenten fish dinner event will be Friday, March 8th from 5 to 7 PM

in the school cafeteria. Please join us. Proceeds benefit Catholic Charities Lifehouse.

From The Pastor’s Desk

This weekend, 33 Candidates received the Sacrament of Confirmation from Bishop Rice here at St. Agnes Cathedral. They began their preparation in August and it was one of choice, commitment, witness, and ministry. The candidates were asked over the months to take a good hard look at their practice of their faith life, to participate in the sacramental classes, perform apostolic works and make their own decision to ask for the sacrament. After meeting with each candidate for 15-20 minutes I happily recommended these candidates to our bishop. I celebrate and congratulate all those Confirmands who took the time of preparation prayerfully and seriously.

For those of us who are at least 30 years of age, we had very little or no preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. Depending upon our parishes of the past, the bishop may have only come every three years, thus Confirmation was given at all different ages. I personally received the sacrament when I was in the eighth grade. Our Bishop along with our Presbyteral Council recommend that the age of celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation be lowered from Sophomore - Senior to no younger than 7th grade and before their Sophomore year. The exact years would depend upon how offer the bishop comes to the parish for Confirmation. The different programs used are still being decided. The Diocese had begun this discussion years about 12 years ago when I was a member of the Presbyteral Council. Our confirmands came from the freshman and sophomore classes. Next year the eighth grade and freshman will be offered the Sacrament of Confirmation.

The Sacrament of Confirmation is a special event in the life of an individual Catholic and the entire parish family. Its’ call and grace confirm discipleship. The gifts of the Holy Spirit help to form the Christian more fully in the image of Jesus Christ. We use the term, an adult Catholic, within the Church with all the responsibilities that parents had accepted when they asked to have their son or daughter baptized. Thus Vatican II decreed that the rite of the sacrament be revised, that those receiving the sacrament be fully educated so that its’ connection with the whole church and the rite of Christian Initiation be understood.

As early as the 7th Century, the post baptismal anointing with Sacred Chrism by the bishop became the regular practice in the Western Roman Catholic Church. Medieval theologians saw Confirmation as a gift of the Holy Spirit for the strengthening of the candidate’s inner life and social witness.

By the 16th century, the general practice after the Tridentine reforms was to confirm, as an affirmation or public profession, the baptismal commitment that had been made by parents and god parents at the time of Baptism.

Following Vatican II, two major understandings and approaches to the sacrament of Confirmation became accepted. The importance of Confirmation as a part of the RCIA with the Easter Vigil, and the maturity model as a person becomes more active within the Church, using their gifts and talents for the building up of Gods’ Kingdom by asking for the fullness of the Holy Spirit in ones’ life.

BE A CROSSLINES VOLUNTEER

St. Agnes helps 80 to 100 families at Crosslines every 4th Tuesday of each month. We need a couple of additional volunteers to help carry client’s groceries to their cars. Hours are from 9am to 2pm. You may choose to work morning or afternoon or both. The reward is the smile and thank you given by many of the people we help. For more information call 742-3358 or just show up at Crosslines on February 26th. We could not help others without the financial support of our generous parishioners and we thank each and every one of you.

OVERNIGHT WOMEN’S SHELTER

As you may have seen on TV, Grace United Methodist Church is now offering space for an overnight women’s shelter in their church. Volunteers are still needed. If you are interested in helping with this, call Nancy Crawford for details at 417-350-6108. There are always two volunteers PRESENT. Sr. Elizabeth Ann

THE MIRROR SUBSCRIPTION

It’s that time of year again! The diocese will send us a bill in the coming weeks for each St. Agnes parishioner to receive this weekly newspaper. Each subscription is $14.00. Last year’s bill was over $9,000 and St Agnes paid nearly $6,000 that wasn’t covered by the envelopes. Please be sure to use your Mirror envelope and if possible include gift subscriptions for parishioners who may not be able to afford theirs.

From The Pastor’s Desk

In the early 1900s, many European families moved from their European countries to the United States. Immigrants from places like Italy, Ireland, Holland, Belgium, Germany and Bohemia. They left behind the only life they knew to establish a new life in a promising country without nobility, titles and class rules. My grandfather came first to the United States, worked, saved his money and sent for my grandmother.

Those millions of immigrants helped to build up our country and prepare it for the two world wars which occurred. They brought their talents and work ethic to build their new lives. I have often wondered what our country would be like today without that migration of all those immigrants. I have also wondered if I would even exist since my grandparents were of different classes and not able to marry in Bohemia.

The immigrants came for many reasons: a better future for their families, jobs, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, away from all the political strife between the royal families that were trying to hold on to their power, simply away from the violence of the wars. All of those immigrants changed our country. Being a student of history, we know many felt the Irish and the Italians should not be allowed on our shores.

Now in the year 2019, our country, our government is facing the same type of issues, immigrants coming by the millions from Mexico and South America. Why are they coming, flowing across our borders? They are coming for the same reasons the immigrants our ancestors came at the beginning of the last century: a better future for their families, jobs, freedoms, to escape violence coming from the drug cartels.

As in the past, many are saying no, we do not want them. Keep them out, arrest them, build a wall and send them back. While it is impossible to know exactly what the Great Wall of China cost to build, modern calculations estimate the cost to be approximately $360 billion. The wall is 4,160 miles from end to end. The Great Wall of China is the longest man-made structure in the world, and construction began between 260 and 210 B.C. RandomHistory.com reports that more than one million people died due to accidents during construction.

No society could sustain such a terrible burden. Taxation became heavier and heavier. Some 3,500,000 are estimated to have been involved in the building of the Great Wall. That was 70% of the total population of China at that time. For each worker working on the wall 6 were required to feed and support them. Construction of the wall became the most hated imperial project in Chinese history. In 209 B.C., millions of peasants rose up and ended the tyranny and bloodshed of the building of the wall. It brought down that government and within 10 years much of the wall was a neglected ruin. Will humanity ever learn from our past mistakes?

PCCW PAINT PARTY RETURNS!

Last year PCCW sponsored a Mardi Gras Paint Party & it was a huge success! This year we will add a new twist to the party. Last year, we painted on canvas, but this year participants will choose a wood painting; a 16 " board, 2 12x12' boards or painting a wooden box. RSVP Paint will again provide experts and supplies for the party. Come join us on Tuesday, February 26th at 6:30pm in the dining room of the St. Agnes Cafeteria. PCCW will supply snacks and drinks for all to enjoy. Donations to help cover the cost of supplies will be graciously accepted, but ALL are welcome. Bring a friend, a daughter, a mom, but just come and get to know other ladies of the parish. We do ask all to call the parish office by Feb 20th at 831-3565 to sign up!

CONFIRMATION

Confirmation for St. Agnes Cathedral will take place on Saturday, February 16th at the 5:00pm Mass. Bishop Edward Rice will confirm 34 of our young people during Mass. Please keep these young people in your prayers as they continue their faith journey. Parishioners are also welcome to congratulate them in the reception that will be held in the cafeteria after the Mass.

Camp Re-NEW-All

Camp Re-NEW-All registration is open! The summer camp program for the Diocese of Springfield Cape Girardeau is now taking applications for summer 2019. Camp is open to campers going into 5th-9th grades in the fall; high school staff going into 10th-12th grade; and adult staff. Parents and grandparents are invited to volunteer too! Campers are placed on a first-come, first served basis and weeks fill quickly, so apply early! Online applications may be completed at https:// dioscg.formstack.com/ forms/camp_re_new_all_2019, or call Katie at the Catholic Center at 417-866-0841 with questions.

From The Pastor’s Desk

I am continuing my discussion of Catholic Schools from last weeks’ bulletin. Following World War II many changes took place in the United States. The veterans came back from the war with benefits such as higher education, medical care, cheap housing and loans. Americans began to move out into the suburbs, and the building craze began. Middle class American Catholics attempted to reproduce out in the suburbs what they had known in the inner cities. Hundreds if not thousands of new parishes were built, parishes which contained a church, school, convent and rectory.

These new parish plants were funded by the people and staffed by a tremendous vocation boom following WWII. The late 40’s and in to the 50’s was a period of time of such growth in the Catholic Church in the United States that bishops and pastors believed that parish life and Catholic education would continue until the end of the century.

When the Second Vatican Council closed in 1965, changes in the Catholic Church opened many ministries to lay people. You did not have to be a religious or ordained priest to teach in Catholic Schools, work in hospitals or in many other areas of ministry. Vocations dropped drastically and within a few years the staffing of Catholic Schools became a great challenge. The religious communities of women had been the backbone of the Catholic Schools of the United States. In fact the religious women had been the work horse of the Church, many times with very little financial compensation. They were expected to work their whole life for the people and then return to their convents in old age.

When I began teaching at Notre Dame High School in 1981 there were 3 diocesan priests, 3 Notre Dame Sisters teaching and a Notre Dame Sister as Principal. The 7 of us received a stipend for teaching not a salary. When I left Notre Dame to come to Immaculate Conception parish here in Springfield 20 years later, only the principal, Br. David was a religious in the school and he received a full principal salary.

Catholic Education requires a financial investment for salaries, supplies, buildings upkeep, insurance and utilities, but the investment has great dividends. I believe that Catholic Schools reinforce the Christian values that are taught in our Catholic homes, in the Gospels and from the pulpit at Sunday Masses. They form the character and prepare our young people for success in life. A success that is molded by the Gospel of charity, love and forgiveness taught by Jesus Christ and not mandated by law courts.

I want to thank all the St. Agnes parishioners who give in the Sunday collection that allows us to finance our schools, and pay our parish bills on time. Thank you for all your support.

CONFIRMATION

Confirmation for St. Agnes Cathedral will take place on Saturday, February 16tlh at the 5:00pm Mass. Bishop Edward Rice will confirm 34 of our young people during Mass. Please keep these young people in your prayers as they continue their faith journey. Parishioners are also welcome to congratulate them in the reception that will be held in the cafeteria after the Mass.