From The Pastor’s Desk

This week is the holiest week of the Church year. Today, Palm Sunday begins Holy Week. This day recalls the scene in Jerusalem when our Lord entered the city riding on a donkey, and the people spread their garments and palm branches before him so that even the hoofs of the donkey didn’t touch the ground. However the exultant crowd becomes, the crowd that will curse him a few days later calling for His crucifixion. As the mood of the liturgy changes, we are challenged to ask ourselves, “What do I expect of Jesus?

This year the Chrism Mass will be on Holy Tuesday here at St. Agnes. Remember that it is at this liturgy when the oils which are used in the different sacraments are blessed by the Bishop. It is also at this liturgy in which the priests renew their commitment to serve another year as your pastors and associate pastors. Come and celebrate with all the area priests.

The Triduum begins with the evening Liturgy on Holy Thursday with the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The first reading gives the background for the Passover Meal. The second reading contains some of the earliest written accounts of the Lord’s Supper. The Gospel presents Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. As our bishop did last year, I will take water and towels and wash the feet of twelve of our young people. The washing of the feet of the disciples by Christ, is an example of the humbleness each Christian should possess. The service ends with the Blessed Sacrament being removed from the Church to a prepared place and the altar is stripped. All are invited to spend some time in prayer this night (8:30-12:00) before the Lord in our day chapel.

Good Friday is the most sober day of the entire Church year. There are no decorations and no Mass this day. It is a day of fasting. We simply prostrate in humble submission before the Word and the glorious cross of Christ. The first reading tells of the glory of the cross, the second reading speaks of the great high priest who has passed through the heavens; the Christian mystery. The climax of the readings is the proclamation of the Passion of Christ according to John’s Gospel. John’s Gospel allows the majesty of Jesus to shine forth as He carries his cross alone. He is victorious on the cross; Jesus reigns from the tree. Following the Passion we pray the solemn form of the General Intercessions. The second part of the Good Friday liturgy is unique to this day.

A large wooden cross is brought into the sanctuary for us to reverence with a touch or a kiss. This is a remembrance of the days when the early Christians reverenced a replica of the true cross. We reverence a reminder of that instrument of torture, cruelty and death; because through it Christ has given us our Salvation. The Good Friday services conclude with a simple Communion Service with the Eucharist from Holy Thursday’s Liturgy. We have one service at 12:00 p.m. and a second service in the evening at 7 p.m.

Holy Saturday with all of its readings, candles, profession of faith and blessings, is the vigil of the Lord’s Resurrection. And will begin at 8 p.m. It is arranged in four parts: the service of light, the liturgy of the word, when the Church meditates on all the wonderful things God has done for his people from the beginning. The third part is the liturgy of baptism, when new members of the Church are reborn in the waters of baptism, and the fourth part is the liturgy of the Eucharist, when the Church is called to the table which the Lord has prepared for His people through His death and resurrection.

I invite and urge everyone to come and be a part of the celebrations of the Triduum. The liturgies of the Triduum are the story of our redemption. This year walk in the footsteps of Christ from the Last Supper, to Calvary, to the Resurrection.

DIOCESAN DEVELOPMENT FUND

The annual Diocesan Development Fund appeal will be held on May 4 and 5. This effort is conducted in every parish of the diocese to help finance the activities and ministries of the Catholic Church in southern Missouri. Our parish goal is $78,958. We ask you to keep the DDF campaign in your prayers.

EASTER MEMORIALS

If you would like to remember someone in a special way by providing a donation for Easter flowers and decorations in the cathedral, please enclose your offering in an envelope marked “FLOWERS” with your name and the person you wish to remember. A list will be printed in a later bulletin.

PONTIFICAL GOOD FRIDAY COLLECTION

Pope Francis has asked our parish to support the Pontifical Good Friday Collection which helps Christians in the Holy Land. Through the Pontifical Good Friday Collection, you stand in solidarity with the Church in the Holy Land as a witness of peace, supporting Catholics there in parishes and schools, maintaining Christian shrines and caring for refugees in the Holy Land. Please be generous!

From The Pastor’s Desk

This coming Sunday we will celebrate Palm Sunday. It is the final Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Holy Week, and commemorates the triumphant arrival of Christ in Jerusalem, days before he was crucified.

Palm Sunday is known as such because the people receive palm branches which they use to participate in the reenactment of Christ's arrival in Jerusalem. In the Gospels, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a young donkey, and to the praise of the townspeople who threw clothes, or possibly palms or small branches, in front of him as a sign of homage. This was a customary practice for the people to cover the streets which were often only dirt to show great respect for a person that his/her shoes or the hoofs of their animal would not get dirt on them.

Palm branches in the ancient world were widely recognized as a symbol of peace and victory, thus from the earliest days of the church their use on the last Sunday of Lent, Palm Sunday. The use of a donkey instead of a horse is also highly symbolic, it represents the humble arrival of someone in peace, as opposed to arriving on a horse which would have been used in war.

Palm branches are given to the people before the Palm Sunday Mass begins with a short scripture reading from the gospel of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. The palms are blessed and the Liturgy continues as normal. Because the palms are blessed, they are not be discarded as trash. Instead, they are to be burned, or as my family did when I was growing up, cut up and buried in the fields, or garden.

The colors of the Liturgy on Palm Sunday are red and white, symbolizing the redemption in blood that Christ paid for the world. As we celebrate Palm Sunday the beginning of Holy Week, set this week a part and make it a special time of prayer.

Tuesday of Holy Week is the celebration with our Bishop and the area priests of our Diocese to the Chrism Mass in which the oils used in the Sacraments will be blessed, I invite everyone to this beautiful Liturgy.

Springfield Catholic High School Steinway Dedication Concert

Join us as on Wednesday, April 10 at 7pm in the SCHS cafeteria as we celebrate the generous donation of a Steinway baby grand piano to Springfield Catholic High School! The concert will feature SCHS choirs, SCHS faculty, alumni performers and special guests. Reception to follow. For more information, contact Kathryn Cole, SCHS Director of Vocal Music at kcole@scspk12.org

Youth Activities

There will be a YOUTH Gathering on Tuesday, April 9th beginning at 6:00pm in the St. Agnes dining room. Join us for prayer, food (pizza & drink for all), service (we will be filling Easter Eggs for the parish Easter egg hunt), and discussion - bring ideas for Steubenville t-shirts & youth group. We also ask you to bring wrapped Easter egg candy if possible. Immediately following, Father Joseph has invited us to attend the viewing of the movie "Juno" with him in the cafeteria. All are welcome; those attending Steubenville and all other youth of the parish. Contact Iris at ibounds@sta-cathedral.org with questions.

THE WAY OF THE CROSS

Will you help carry Jesus’ Cross on Good Friday? Come and walk the path to Calvary on April 19 at 12 noon on Park Central Square. This journey is very moving because each Station is represented by a Springfield area agency that serves the poor and marginalized who live among us.

From The Pastor’s Desk

Last weekend here at St. Agnes Cathedral we celebrated the Rite of Election with our Bishop as the parishes on the western side of our Diocese came together presenting those who are coming into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil either through Baptism or a Profession of Faith.

As we continue to walk this Lent with Jesus on the road to Calvary, have you ever asked the question why Jesus chose to die on the cross? In trying to understand the answer to this important question, we need to reject the idea of God the Father as a harsh and cruel judge who demanded that his Son Jesus should suffer and die to make up for the sins of the human race. It is love, not an abstract idea of justice, which provides the key to our understanding. From John’s Gospel, Chapter 3 comes the answer. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge but to be its Savior.”

Jesus chose to suffer, because suffering is an inevitable part of our human existence. No person is free from suffering within their life. Jesus suffered also, because what he was, what he taught, and what he did, provoked resistance and hostility from sinful men. It was sinful men who refused to accept Jesus and his teachings. It was men who nailed Jesus to the cross.

Jesus could have avoided the cross. He did not have to go to Jerusalem, but He chose to go freely. He remained true to his Father, true to the message of LOVE he had come to bring. In other words, Jesus remained obedient to his Father’s will, and this obedience brought him to the cross. That is the example Jesus gives each of us, obedience to God’s will. When we chose to not follow that example, we sin. As we continue in the Lenten Season, look long and hard at your actions and ask the question, “Am I following Jesus by being obedient to the Father’s will?”

Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent. It is known as Laetare Sunday and as the vestments are rose in color as they signify a Sunday of joy. Lent is half over, and Easter is drawing near. This Sunday is important also because it is the day of the second scrutiny in preparation for the baptism of adults at the Easter Vigil.

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:

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. Hosted by Fr. Joseph

CUB SCOUT FISH FRY

Come enjoy St Agnes Cub Scout Pack 410’s Lenten Fish Fry this Friday, April 5, from 5-7 pm in the school cafeteria. We will have baked and fried fish, tots, mac and cheese, hush puppies, and drinks. The proceeds will help send our wonderful scouts to summer camp. The cost is $10/adult, $5/child, and family/$30. Contact Ronnie Bell, 417 350-6748 if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you there!

EASTER MEMORIALS

If you would like to remember someone in a special way by providing a donation for Easter flowers and decorations in the cathedral, please enclose your offering in an envelope marked “FLOWERS” with your name and the person you wish to remember. A list will be printed in a later bulletin.

From The Pastor’s Desk

Change and believe the good news. The New Testament Greek word for conversion is Metanoia, which means “a change of heart”, or “an act of repentance”. You might be surprised at how infrequently conversion is used in the Gospels. John’s Gospel never mentions it. Mark uses the word only three times, and Matthew seven times. Only Luke uses the word with frequency, some fourteen times. Yet the concept of conversion certainly lies at the heart of Jesus’ message in all the Gospels. “This is the time of fulfillment. The reign of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the good news!

This is the theme of the Lenten season. At the root of any act of conversion is change. Heeding the message of Jesus involves a change of mind, a change of heart and a change of behavior. Christian conversion always moves a person beyond their present state and into a new and vital relationship with God. Conversion cannot be limited to a dramatic, once-in-a-lifetime, “born again” experience. Christian conversion is more often the gradual process of God’s grace transforming our lives. It entails being born again and again and again… Here are some of the basic features of Christian conversion.

*Conversion is an act of God’s grace. God initiates the process and we are invited to respond.

*Conversion is a movement from sin, darkness and blindness toward God, light and sight.

*Conversion is a personal encounter with Jesus Christ which radically transforms the way we think, speak and live.

*Conversion is an ongoing process which begins with Baptism but which requires constant surrender to God’s will.

*Conversion changes the whole person, with an internal (attitudinal) and external (behavioral) change in life.

*Conversion results in tremendous joy and a desire to share the good news with others.

As we walk this Lenten journey, it is a perfect time for each of us to move closer to God. It is a time for us to move from sin, toward God. The best way to begin our conversion is to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to live a better life based upon Jesus’ teachings found in the Gospels.

COME DISCUSS YOUTH PROGRAM

A meeting will be held on Sunday, March 24th at 3:30pm in the cafeteria to discuss a youth program here at St. Agnes Cathedral. All are welcome whether you a young person, parent or interested adult. Please bring your ideas to share. All are welcome! Please stay tuned for further information

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW!

Curtains!, the Musical, is coming to Springfield Catholic High School April 5, 6, 7. Tickets for the shows are available in the parish office. 417-831-3565.

SPECIAL NEEDS CLASSES

Saint Agnes Cathedral has a class for special needs children/adults with autism, Down syndrome, or any other processing disorder. We meet on Sunday mornings at 10am in the school. You don’t have to be a member of St. Agnes to attend. All are welcome! Please call Sabrina Schmidt (831-3565) if you have any questions.

From The Pastor’s Desk

Lent should be different than the rest of the Church year.  It should be set aside not only by the Church, but also by the people as a spiritual time to prepare for the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ.  This is the whole reason Christ came to earth.  It is through His dying that our Redemption is found, and it is in His rising that we rise to be with Him in His Father’s Kingdom.  It is not too late to make this Lent different, but we need to start now if we haven’t already done so.  It would not hurt anyone to give up something we like.  It would not hurt anyone to read a little each day in the Bible, or to spend a little extra time in prayer, or to do something for an elderly neighbor.  The list of opportunities to do something spiritually or to help others could go on forever.  The important thing is that we DO SOMETHING.

Lent is the season to walk with Christ on the road to Jerusalem and ultimately to Calvary. That is why we pray the Stations of the Cross together every Friday during Lent at 7 pm.  If we find them boring, perhaps we need to meditate upon the cross.  To walk the Stations of the Cross is to remind us just how much Jesus went through those last hours on earth.  Jesus the Son of God who created everything allowed humans to beat Him, kick Him, spit upon Him, force Him to carry a cross and then to die upon that cross.  The Stations of the Cross are a visible reminder of Jesus’ love for us.  However, if we do not sing, pray out loud, or take any kind of active role in the Stations, or any other liturgical prayer form, it’s like going to a ball game of your favorite team and never yelling, clapping, or cheering, and when the game is over, getting up and walking out.  The game would be boring.  Whether we lose sight of prayer and the purpose behind it or get lost in a class we may be taking, it will become boring.  If we find liturgical prayer boring, then we need to reflect upon how we responded while we were at that particular liturgy.

During the Lenten Season we find the parishes scheduling Reconciliation Services where more than the priest of the parish is present to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Many people find the Sacrament hard to celebrate, because it is hard to admit to another person our faults and failings.  But most people including myself feel refreshed and uplifted after celebrating the Sacrament.  I invite everyone to our St. Agnes Penance Service this coming Tuesday March 19 at 7 pm.

Bishop Rice is coming to the Springfield Area Bishop’s Walk!

Springfield Catholic High on Saturday, April 13, walk time is 1pm and check-in begins at 12:30pm. Cost $20 - individual and $50 for a family. Lunch will be provided.

Register online at www.ccsomo.org/2019-bishops-walk-registration-begins/  Register by March 22 to receive a t-shirt.

Your Bishop’s Walk registration helps move those in southern Missouri from poverty to self-sufficiency.

FOR ALL LADIES OF THE PARISH

April 26-27, 2019, the DCCW Annual Spring Assembly will be held here in Springfield, MO at the University Plaza Convention Center.  Bishop Emeritus John Leibrecht will be the keynote speaker along with other great speakers throughout the two days. I encourage all of the ladies in the parish to attend this two-day event. If you cannot make both days, consider at least attending part of the assembly. It would be great to have a large group attending from St. Agnes Cathedral.

There are registration forms in the back of church and in the parish office, as well as one in The Mirror. The forms give you details, but for those who mail it in by Mar. 26 the cost will be $50.; after the 26th it is $55.

If you have questions please call Judy Hauschildt at 641-751-6632 or email me at judyhauschildt@gmail.com.

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From The Pastor’s Desk

Lent has finally come.  It is the latest in the Church calendar.   In case you missed Ash Wednesday, you couldn't have missed the sanctuary without flowers or greenery and a purple altar cloth and purple wall hangings. It is the Lenten Season.  A time that when I was a kid, there was that question of what I was giving up to “mortify the flesh”, it meant give up something I really liked to eat or do. 

Now that I am an adult, not counting that I am a priest, the more important question is “what am I’m going to do EXTRA during this season?”  The question that many people, myself included may ask of ourselves, how can I fit a new activity into my schedule that already is filled to overflowing?  I’m too busy, and most of you are also.  We’ll never “find the time” for Lent or any other new activity.  We don’t “save” time for a day when we need more time.  We live time day by day, moment by moment.  No one’s going to give us more time and our time is not to be given to someone else who is needing a few extra hours in the day.  God has already given us all the time we will ever need.

If we are going to do more of something: Lenten extras, Easter preparations or celebrations of anything, we are going to have to do less of something else.  That is the essential rule of time management:  if you want a half hour here, you have to take a half hour from there.  It is a tradeoff.  DO NOT take that time from sleeping and from nurturing personal relationships.  Robbing yourself of sleep will take your energy, enthusiasm, efficiency, and none of us are spending enough time with the really important people in your life.

When I met with our Confirmation Candidates last month, I tried to impress upon them the importance to become a person/people of prayer.  That does not mean that we need to spend hours in prayer each day, although that would not be bad.  Being a person of prayer means taking the Lord along with you throughout your day.  Begin the day with a whispered thought/prayer as you get dressed for the day, on the way to work/school thank the Lord for the day/the gasoline in your gas tank, that you are not walking to work as so many people in the world.  How about thanking the Lord for your job/your freedom to go to school.  If it is going to be a hard day at work/school let the Lord be by your side, invite Him along.  Whispered thoughts/prayers do not take time, they take effort, a conscious effort to include the Lord in whatever you are doing.

We will be praying the Stations of the Cross along with Benediction on Friday evenings, make the time to come and spend 35 minutes in prayer, remembering that Christ chose to suffer and die for each of us.