YOUTH & FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENT:

St. Agnes parish will be hosting a special youth event to be held on Friday, July 17th. This will be an all day event open to those entering high school in the fall through students who are recent graduates of high school. This event will be open to high school students in the city of Springfield. The day will include Celebration of the Mass by Bishop Rice, sessions hosted by area religious leaders, Adoration and the availability of Reconciliation. In addition, food and games will be provided. We are working with our diocese and other parishes to make this a safe, rewarding and fun day for our young people. If you would like to receive more information on this event, please contact Iris at ibounds@sta-cathedral.org.

STRENGTHENING AND HEALING CONFERENCE AT SEAS

STRENGTHENING AND HEALING CONFERENCE AT SEAS
You are invited to join us at “For Such Times as These” conference/mission at St Elizabeth Ann Seton
Parish, on June 28th – 30th (Sunday through Tuesday) from 6 – 9 pm each evening. Amid all the ongoing
uncertainty, even fear, Jesus has been with us through it all – always has, always is, and always will
be. Please join with brothers and sisters in our Southern Missouri community as we explore the way forward
in our faith and through this crisis – indeed any crisis.
Father Philip Scott, FJ, a particularly dynamic evangelist and speaker, as well as Father Mark Bozada of
St. Louis, a leader in healing ministry, will present different thought-provoking and inspirational talks each
night. Each session will begin with Mass, and the mission will close with a healing service.
In addition to in-person attendance, the sessions will be livestreamed from seaschurch.org website or the
St Elizabeth Ann Seton facebook page. Please contact either Jan Dills (417) 763-1579 or Shelly Pichler
(417) 838-2730 with any questions you have. Conference/Mission is sponsored by the Strengthening and
Healing Ministry

DIOCESAN DEVELOPMENT FUND

To date our parish has received $41,149.00 from 123 families towards
our goal of $77,227 (216 families). We realize some of you
would like to contribute but do not have the ability to do so. If
you have the ability to help, please add your gift, whatever is
affordable, in unity with those who have already given by returning
a pledge card. If you are able to give a little more this year, it
could be used to make up for those parishioners who are unable
to contribute. Please return your card even if you cannot make a
pledge this year. Thank you!
The Diocese and Church in southern Missouri sincerely
appreciates your participation.

From the Pastor’s Desk,

The Feast of Corpus Christi which we are celebrating this weekend had been celebrated on
the Thursday after Trinity Sunday to solemnly commemorate the institution of the Holy Eucharist. In
some countries it is a Holy Day of obligation, but not here in the United States.
St. Juliana of Mont Cornillon, Belgium, from her early youth, had a great veneration for the
Blessed Sacrament, and always longed for a special feast in its honor. This desire is said to have been
increased by a vision of the Church under the appearance of the full moon having one dark spot,
which signified the absence of such a solemnity. She made known her ideas to Robert de Thourotte,
the Bishop of Liège, to the learned Dominican Hugh, later Cardinal Legate in the Netherlands, and to
Jacques Pantaléon, at that time Archdeacon of Liège, afterwards Bishop of Verdun, Patriarch of Jerusalem,
and finally Pope Urban IV. St. Juliana would not take no for an answer. Bishop Robert after
some study was impressed, and at this time in history individual bishops had the right of ordering
feasts for their dioceses, in 1246 he ordered the celebration to be held in the following year.
Bishop Robert died on October 16, 1246 before the feast was first celebrated but the feast
was celebrated by the canons of St. Martin at Liège. The new bishop of Liège, requested the pope
to extend the celebration to the entire world. Pope Urban IV, was an admirer of the feast and published
the Bull "Transiturus" on September 8th, 1264. The Pope extolled the love of Our Saviour as
expressed in the Holy Eucharist, and ordered the annual celebration of Corpus Christi on the Thursday
after Trinity Sunday. The early decree does not call for a procession as a feature of the celebration.
The Corpus Christi procession, already held in some places, was added by Popes Martin V and
Eugene IV.
What a perfect weekend to also celebrate as a Diocese the ordination to the priesthood of Fr.
Daniel Belken and Fr. Allen Kirchner. They were ordained on Friday evening in Cape Girardeau.
Please keep them in prayer as they begin their priestly ministry to the people of God here in our Diocese.
~Rev. Lewis Hejna

ANNUAL GARAGE SALE CANCELLED

We want to inform everyone that our annual parish garage sale for 2020 has been cancelled. After consulting with the diocese and reviewing city guidelines, it was determined that having such a large indoor event might put our dedicated volunteers & loyal customers at risk. A huge thank you goes out to parishioners who have helped in the past to set up, who have donated items for the sale and to those who have shopped at the sale. We are disappointed and we plan to come back bigger and better in 2021.

DIOCESAN DEVELOPMENT FUND

To date our parish has received $39,699.00 from 112 families towards
our goal of $77,227 (216 families). We realize some of you
would like to contribute but do not have the ability to do so. If
you have the ability to help, please add your gift, whatever is
affordable, in unity with those who have already given by returning
a pledge card. If you are able to give a little more this year, it
could be used to make up for those parishioners who are unable
to contribute. Please return your card even if you cannot make a
pledge this year. Thank you!
The Diocese and Church in southern Missouri sincerely
appreciates your participation.

YOUTH & FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENT:

St. Agnes is working to provide our youth with some safe and fun opportunities to join together. Please stay tuned! We would love the input of families and those who might wish to volunteer to help us in planning and to assist in activities. If you have questions or would like to volunteer, please email Iris at ibounds@sta-cathedral.org. We would love your input!!
St. Agnes parish will be hosting a special youth event to be held on Friday, July 17th. This will be an all day event open to those entering high school in the fall through students who are recent graduates of high school. This event will be open to high school students in the city of Springfield. The day will include Celebration of the Mass by Bishop Rice, sessions hosted by area religious leaders, Adoration and the availability of Reconciliation. In addition, food and games will be provided. We are working with our diocese and other parishes to make this a safe, rewarding and fun day for our young people. If you would like to receive more information on this event, please contact Iris at ibounds@sta-cathedral.org.
FIRST COMMUNION
First Eucharist for our children has been set for Sunday, August 9th at a special 2:30 PM Mass. The original date for First Eucharist was postponed due to the virus. This will be a special Mass for the children and their family mem-bers and will not be open to the parish. Please keep these young children in your prayer as they continue to prepare for the reception of this sacrament. If anyone has any questions about the reception of the sacraments, please contact Iris at ibounds@sta-cathedral.org.

From the Pastor’s Desk,

Over the past two and half months we have walked through a very strange time in history. We have
watched as our entire country was shut down. I did not know what all the outcome would be and even
now things are being effected in ways I did not think about. In the business world we are so interdependent
upon the restaurant next door, to the factory across the street. As our school went to online learning,
to our churches with no public Masses and the loss of all our summer programs. In my mind I keep asking,
did we over react? I do not think so. Our city area of 160,000 people has had very few deaths and no major
outbreak. I cannot say enough good things about the medical leadership here in our city. I want to
thank everyone who has contributed to the parish during these months so that we are able to pay our bills
on time.
As we look at the “Diocese” and our needs as a whole, we have now begun our Diocesan Development
Fund Drive. The funds which are collected enables our Diocese to offer our parishes and parishioners many
different areas of ministry that parishes would not be able to provide on their own.
The DDF provides for: 1) Family Life Ministries, helping those preparing for marriage, 2) Rite of Christian Initiation
of Adults, those coming into the Church, 3) Social Ministry, all different aspects of reaching out to
those who have no voice, or need a stronger voice in our society, 4)Campus Ministry, helping to staff priests
on 2 of our public college campuses, 5) Tribunal, those who are seeking annulments for their broken marriages,
6) Vocations/Seminarians, continuing to reach out to young men and women searching a religious
vocation, 7) Youth Ministry, which includes Camp Re-New-All, Catholic Scouting, 8) Office Of Worship,
providing for all the Diocesan Liturgies, 9) The Mirror, our Diocesan Newspaper keeping us informed with
all that is happening in our Diocese, 10) Catholic Schools, guided by our superintendent, 11) Finance Office,
overseeing the monies of the Diocese as well as guiding parishes.
I ask that everyone study the above paragraph to see how many different areas of ministry affect your life,
or the life of your family. There are more areas, but for the most part
these are the major areas of ministry that are supported by our gift to
the Diocesan Development Fund. Please be as generous as you have
in the past years, or make a first time gift this year if you have not given
in previous years.
To date 88 families have pledged $30,059.00 towards our $77,227.00
goal. Please complete and return your DDF pledge card by next Sunday
if possible. If you need a pledge card, please contact the parish
office and we can mail one to you.
~Rev. Lewis Hejna

YOUTH & FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENT:

St. Agnes is working to provide our youth with some safe and fun opportunities to join together. Please stay tuned! We would love the input of families and those who might wish to volunteer to help us in planning and to assist in activities. If you have questions or would like to volunteer, please email Iris at ibounds@sta-cathedral.org. We would love your input!!

Employment Opportunities

Employment Opportunities – ALL Employment Opportunities and applications are available on the Springfield Catholic School’s website at www.scspk12.org. Click on the ABOUT link at the top and scroll down to Employment Opportunities.
Online Registration to re-enroll students in Springfield Catholic Schools in grades K-12 is now taking place. Current families should go to the parent portal OR click the link to be taken directly to the http://sis.scspk12.org. For assistance, please call the school office of your student(s).

YOUTH ACTIVITIES

We will have our first event of the summer this Sunday, June 7th. We will meet in the cafeteria beginning at 6:30 & ending at 8:00 PM. Pizza and drinks will be provided. We will follow that with "Unique Stories of the Bi-ble" by Father Joseph. Come join us; Wearing a mask is recommended. We will have the cafeteria to ourselves so there will be plenty of room to social distance as we spread apart. Hope to see many of you there!!
Our parish Facebook page and website will be featuring 8th grade graduates and high school graduates of our parish. We would like to recognize students from our Catholic Schools, public schools and those who are home-schooled. Please email information about your child & a photo to ibounds@sta-cathedral.org.

From the Pastor’s Desk,

Pentecost comes the Greek language and it means "50th day." Fifty days after Easter Sunday, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and their followers, and the beginning of their Earthly ministry to make disciples of all nations according to the directive of Christ as He ascended to the heavens. It is the birthday of the Church. Pentecost is also a Jewish holiday, which the Jews use to celebrate the end of Passover. Jews celebrate the gift of the law to Moses at Mt. Sinai on this day.

At Pentecost, the Apostles and their followers were gathered in a room. Jews from all over the world were gathered with Peter, the leader of the Apostles and the Eleven. At this time, a great wind blew and a flame appeared as a tongue of fire, which split itself into many individual flames above the heads of all those present. The Holy Spirit came upon these people and each began to speak in tongues. Despite the fact many had no common language, they were perfectly able to understand one another.

In the Acts of the Apostles we find Peter presenting to all present one of his greatest sermons on Jesus Christ. He presents Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophets and prophecies of the Old Testament. Peter then called all those present to be baptized and about three thousand people were baptized that day.
The symbols of Pentecost which are the flame, wind, and the dove, which represents the Holy Spirit. The color of Pentecost is red and the priest wears red vestments on this day.

This weekend unfortunately Missouri made the national news twice. My niece and nephew called to ask what people in Missouri were thinking by their actions. My niece’s husband is working in the hospital with Covid 19 patients and it is not pretty. Both are doctors and live in Portland on the frontline of this pandemic. Completely non- understandable was the Lake of the Ozarks, with its huge pool parties and no social distancing. I am not a person who goes to extremes, but I do believe we should follow guidelines of doctors. The only answer that I can come up with is they're thinking, “it’s my right and if I want to be in a huge pool party no one is going to stop me”. Americans have for too long looked to “me, myself and I” and think little of how their actions affect others. Many have lost the “we”, and think only of what they want. There is plenty of food on the store shelves, it may just not be what I exactly the brand I want, oh well too bad. As we begin this summer, take the time to pray, take the time to be family. I want everyone to feel safe coming to church, we are doing what we can to make our liturgies safe, liturgical and prayerful.
~Rev. Lewis Hejna

In a few weeks, we will be conducting our Diocesan Development Fund
Campaign. I know some of you are suffering financially and may not be able
to contribute this year. However, if you are able to contribute, we ask that
you consider a pledge. If those parishioners who are able to contribute
would give a little more, it could make up for those fellow parishioners who
are not able to donate this year.
All of our registered households should have received a DDF mailing by
now. If you have not received the mailing, please call Tammy Stander at
417-866-0841. She will mail you the information. Please review the materials.
We are stressing participation. We need for all of us to work together,
especially this year. Every gift helps. Please prayerfully consider assisting the
diocese in funding the many ministries it provides for our parish and the
other 85 parishes and missions in southern Missouri.

New Mass Schedule

Following the directives of the Springfield Road to Recovery formula, we will be offering the following weekend masses.  We will have greeters that will direct parishioners to the available seats at the north door (side) of the Cathedral facing the Rectory.  The Jefferson St. entrance will remain locked. We will fill the Cathedral with a total (in all areas) of 130 people.

Please be Patient! At this time, there is NO OBLIGATION to attend Sunday Mass.

FACE MASKS WILL BE REQUIRED AT ALL MASSES

SUNDAY MORNING: 

11:30 am (English) 130 people total

10:00 am (Vietnamese Community) 130 people total

8:30 am (English) 130 people total

SATURDAY EVENING: 

5:00 pm (English)  130 people total

Employment Opportunities

Employment Opportunities – ALL Employment Opportunities and applications are available
on the Springfield Catholic School’s website at www.scspk12.org. Click on the ABOUT link
at the top and scroll down to Employment Opportunities.
Online Registration to re-enroll students in Springfield Catholic Schools in grades K-12 is now taking place. Current
families should go to the parent portal OR click the link to be taken directly to the http://sis.scspk12.org. For assistance,
please call the school office of your student(s).
Online version of Irish Connections
Find the latest version of the Irish Connections publication from the Springfield Catholic schools at
http://www.springfieldcatholicschools.org/IrishConnections

YOUTH & FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENT:

Steubenville Youth Conference has been cancelled; Information was sent to us by the
Archdiocese of St. Louis which cancelled this conference for high school students. St. Agnes
had 40 youth and adult chaperones scheduled to attend. Camp Renewal was cancelled
by the diocese . This annual event is popular with our young children and many of
our high school youth serve as volunteers.
These cancellations are a big disappointment but were made with the sole desire
to keep our youth and those volunteers who assist safe. Now, St. Agnes is
working to provide our youth with some safe and fun opportunities to
join together. Please stay tuned! We would love the input of families and those
who might wish to volunteer to help us in planning and to assist in activities. If
you have questions or would like to volunteer, please email Iris
at ibounds@sta-cathedral.org. We would love your input!!
Our parish Facebook page and website will be featuring 8th
grade graduates and high school graduates of our parish. We would like
to recognize students from our Catholic Schools, public schools and those who are homeschooled.
Please email information about your child & a photo to ibounds@stacathedral.
org.
YOUTH ACTIVITIES
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton has informed us that the Vacation Bible School which was originally
scheduled for June 14-18th at SEAS has been postponed. SEAS, along with the
other local parishes who participate in this annual event will be considering options about
rescheduling later this summer. We will inform you as we receive new information about
Vacation Bible School this summer.

From the Pastor’s Desk,

The 2019–2020 school year has ended: summer has finally come, and it is time for a break—for teachers, staff, students, and parents. It’s been good year. It’s a time to end online learning. I am very proud of our teachers, our school staff, our students and our parents. To leave for spring break with the knowledge that they might not be returning for several weeks which turned into the rest of the year. There were problems off and on with the zooming, etc. but for the most part we never lost a beat. As I wrote before, the sadness is for all the end of the year activities, especially the graduations. And for myself and all our theater students, the loss of the spring musical, Newsies was extremely sad and depressing. One of the seniors I had baptized and worked with since first Holy Communion. For all of our teachers, whether at the high school or middle school level, it simply ended.
We have about three months to kick back, watch the flowers grow, and mow the grass. For many people, summer is the busiest time of the year, with so much packed into a short time period: vacations, soccer, baseball, dance, gymnastics, summer camps, but this summer it will be different, and perhaps that is not all bad. Many of the normal summer activities have either been postponed or cancelled. That leaves time for families to be families. We do not need to constantly be doing so many structured activities. We need to be family with one another, family somehow safely with church. As summer officially begins this week, with Memorial Day, make a resolution to take time to breathe and smell the roses.
Take the time to pray as a family. Take the time to be a family, to do things together and even to be bored once in a while. That helps all of us to exercise our creativity. So often our young people are in so many structured activities, that they do not learn to be creative or how to express themselves freely. It is from creativity of individuals that produce our artists, scientists, musicians, business people, and inventors of tomorrow.
For Catholic Christians, the celebration of the Eucharist is the center of our faith, because it is through the Eucharist that the Lord comes to us. Since the middle of March with our churches closed due to the pandemic, we have not been able to be a church family gathered together around the altar. Now as the churches are slowly opening, we know that Mass will not go back to the way it used to be, PLEASE BE SAFE. PLEASE USE HAND SANITZER AS YOU ENTER THE CHURCH. PLEASE WEAR A FACE MASK, IF NOT FOR YOURSELF DO SO FOR OTHERS. PLEASE SIT APART. When schools start in the fall, they will not go back to the way they were. Things are going to change until there is a vaccine for Cobvid-19. We can be angry, depressed, and cynical or we can look to God for the grace and strength to move forward. The choice is ours. Our need is to keep holy the Lord’s Day, taking the time out of our daily lives to gather around His Table with the family of God. That gathering and receiving of the Lord in the Eucharist is the heart of our faith and the honoring of the Third Commandment.
~Rev. Lewis Hejna

Online Registration

to re-enroll students in Springfield Catholic Schools in grades K-12 is now taking place. Current families should go to the parent portal OR click the link to be taken directly to the http://sis.scspk12.org. For assistance, please call the school office of your student(s).

YOUTH ACTIVITIES

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton has informed us that the Vacation Bible School which was originally scheduled for June 14-18th at SEAS has been postponed. SEAS, along with the other local parishes who partici-pate in this annual event will be considering options about rescheduling later this summer. We will inform you as we receive new information about Vacation Bible School this summer.

Our parish Facebook page will be featuring 8th grade graduates and high school graduates of our parish throughout the month of May. We would like to recognize students from our Catholic Schools, public schools and those who are home-schooled. Please email information about your child & a photo to ibounds@sta-cathedral.org.

STEUBENVILLE UPDATE

I wanted to let all know that Steubenville has been cancelled for this summer. The following is from the notification that I received from the Archdiocese of Springfield/Cape Girardeau
“Over the last couple months our office has been in close contact with Franciscan University, Missouri State Univer-sity, and the Greene County health department as we have monitored the Covid-19 pandemic and projections for what mid-July will look like. Due to the size of our conferences, social distancing guidelines, and an incredible con-cern for the safety of all of our participants, we will NOT be hosting the 2020 Steubenville STL Mid-America Confer-ences. While we are heartbroken that the conferences are cancelled, we know that this is the safest decision for all involved and we also know that the Lord has a victorious return planned for 2021!"
We here at St. Agnes realize that there have been many disappointments for our young people this year. We are in the process of planning some activities which will align with all the guidelines set forth by the City of Springfield as we determine the best ways to meet the needs of our young people during this time. If anyone has any questions or would like to help in any way with planning for our youth activities, please contact Iris at ibounds@sta-cathedral.org or call the parish office at 831-3565.

From the Pastor’s Desk,

These weeks would has been weeks of celebration for our graduates in both eighth grade and senior in high school. Instead we are looking at different types of celebrations which will center more on the immediate families of the young people. My heart goes out especially to our high school graduates who have missed out on the end of the high school rituals. Who could have guessed that when they/we left on spring break we would not return to the school classrooms, the stage, and the sporting events to the end of year banquets. Most of our eighth grade graduates will continue on to Springfield Catholic High School,
but our graduating seniors will move on to colleges across the country, into the military or the workforce. Wherever they go, they will be beginning a new life. They will be making new friends, having new teachers, studying new subjects, or subjects much more in depth, all the while struggling to figure out who they are and what they are headed in their adult life. It is an exciting time and a scary time. Some may even study abroad to get a much larger view of life. Regardless of where they end up for the next years of their lives, their lives will never be the same. They are moving into the adult world with adult consequences for their actions.

This coming Sunday, I will celebrate my 39th anniversary to the priesthood. On May 24th, 39 years ago I knelt before Bishop Law and placed my hands inside of his hands and promised Obedience, Prayer Life, A Spirit of Poverty and Celibacy to him and to his successors. I am now working under my fourth bishop. These 39 years have been filled with joy, happiness, sadness and frustration. There have been days when I said, “Why did I ever answer the call to priesthood?” and then there are days when I say, “Thank you Lord for the vocation of my priesthood and for my parents who encouraged me.”

My life as a priest has been rewarding. Out of the 39 years this Lent and Easter has been the strangest and the saddest for me. To not attend the Chrism Mass with all the priests, to celebrate the Triduum liturgies without a congregation. To be constantly in front of cameras knowing that everything I do and say is out on the internet is the most stress I have every been under. If I have not met the needs of everyone, I am sorry. I have tried to the best of my abilities to use our technology to stay in touch with our parishioners and to provide opportunities for our spirituality.

I continue to thank all of you for your support in prayer, in your notes and cards and in your financial donations to the parish. With the cuts in the budget due to lower utilities, cleaning and no extras we have with your generosity have been able to pay our bills. Thank you.

On Monday, May 18th we will once again be able to be together about the altar to celebrate the Eucharist as a part of God’s family at daily Mass. Our Sunday Masses will begin the weekend of May 23 /24. To prepare please make sure that you have read the social distancing guidelines from Bishop Rice that we have posted on our St. Agnes Cathedral group Facebook page and www.sta-cathedral.org.

Annual Memorial Day Mass Cancelled – Mass Will be Live Streamed on Facebook
Bishop Rice has cancelled the Memorial Day Mass due to COVID-19. A Memorial
Day Mass will be live streamed on the Immaculate Conception Facebook page on
Monday, May 25, at 8:30 a.m. It is a public page, so people do not have to become
a member to view it. Those interested in viewing the Mass should visit Immaculate
Conception’s website at https://www.ic-parish.org/ and click on the
Facebook icon on the homepage. Once on IC’s Facebook page, scroll down until
you see the live Mass. St. Agnes parishioners will find a special Catholic Cemeteries
of Springfield envelope in their packet for donating toward the maintenance
of our two Catholic cemeteries. Your generosity is appreciated so much.

~Rev. Lewis Hejna