In May I celebrated 38 years as a priest. I almost forgot about the day. What does astound me is that five of those years have been here at St. Agnes Cathedral. It does not seem possible that five years have gone by since I moved from the south side of Springfield. They have been good years. As a parish we have accomplished much in brick and mortar, in spiritual growth and in helping the poor. I am not going into all the different programs and areas which have been happening these five years, but to simply say thank you to all of you who have worked in any of the ministries here at St. Agnes.

Youth Gathering: Sunday June 23rd: 3:30-5:00pm. Meet in cafeteria. We will have a Sundae discussion: ice cream provided: bring & share your favorite sundae topping!

We would like to thank the outgoing members who have served on the Parish Council for their time and effort:

-Karen Dobson

-Mike Pittman

-Judy Hauschildt (PCCW Representative)

Regina Nixon will be replacing Judy as PCCW Rep.

Thank you Regina for taking on this responsibility.

St. Agnes is looking for parishioners who are passionate about their catholic faith and the growth of the parish. Anyone who is interested in researching and discussing ways we can increase our parish community is asked to join the St. Agnes stewardship group. We will have an informational meeting Sunday June 30th at 9:45am

This weekend we celebrate Father’s Day. It is a day set aside to honor and show respect to our dads or to any man who has guided and cared for us as a father, whether they are here or no longer with us. Father’s Day was first proposed in 1909 by a Mrs. Dodd who wanted a special day to honor her father, a Civil War veteran. He was a widower who raised his newborn and five other children on a rural farm in the state of Washington.

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is for non- Catholics interested in becoming Catholic. We also welcome baptized Catholics needing to be confirmed. Our classes begin in mid-August. All needed materials for our classes will be provided by the parish. If you know of anyone interested in becoming Catholic or needing to be confirmed, please have them call Sabrina at the parish office to set up an interview before classes start. This year promises to be a very blessed one for the RCIA!

We finally had a meeting and it was great to be together again. We have new events on our calendar, so buckle up and hold on tight because we’re raring to go. But first things first. Thank you, wonderful people of God, for your prayers and kind thoughts. They are working and I am most grateful to all of you.

Vacation Bible School will be June 23-27 from 6-8:30pm at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish. If you have a child in kindergarten through sixth grade in the upcoming school year, have them join us. Grade seven through adults may register to help with the program.

The Ascension of Our Lord occurred 40 days after Jesus Christ rose from the dead on Easter. It is the final act of our redemption that Christ began at His birth and continued through the Triduum. On this day, the risen Christ, in the sight of His apostles, ascended bodily into Heaven. The reality of Christ's Ascension is so important that the different Christian creeds all affirm, in the words of the Apostles' Creed; that "He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead." The denial of the Ascension is as grave a departure from Christian teaching as is denial of Christ's Resurrection.

We would like to thank the parishioners who help with funeral dinners by providing food and help in the kitchen the day of a funeral. We couldn’t manage without you and the families truly appreciate it. We can always use more volunteers to help

To date our parish has $47,753.00 toward our

$78,958.00 goal. Thank you! If you have not yet made

your pledge, please add your gift, whatever the amount,

Vacation Bible School will be June 23-27 at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish. If you have a child in kindergarten through sixth grade in the upcoming school year, have them join us.

This weekend, but especially Monday we celebrate Memorial Day.  To many it means a 3 day weekend at the lake or the beginning of the summer season.  Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead of both the North and the South. 

In the past few years, several people have expressed an interest in visiting our convent at Ruma, IL.  While I was on retreat I chose Sept 17-18 for a time when a group of 20 or less can spend an overnight there.  What we do will probably depend somewhat on the number who go.  However, there are plenty of grounds to walk about and learn the history of the place.

We hope many of you have been gathering items to bring to our St. Agnes Parish Annual Garage Sale! Please note the following dates:       Drop off items at the gym door on May 25th &26th, June 1st & 2nd after all Sunday Masses. We will also have pickup available if you have larger items that you need help with. Please call Pat Rues at 833-4109 if you need help with pickup.

CONGRATULATIONS to all of our graduating seniors of 2019!!  For those of you who are headed to college outside the Springfield area, we invite you to join a Catholic ministry in the area that you will be attending college.

This coming Friday May 24, summer began—maybe not on the calendar, but the school year, 2018–2019, has finished. What a glorious season of the year, but then I enjoy all seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. As we enter the summer months, I always take a look at our prayer life, especially regarding weekend Mass.

We hope many of you have been gathering items to bring to our St. Agnes Parish Annual Garage Sale! Please note the following dates: Drop off items at the gym door on May 25th &26th, June 1st & 2nd after all Sunday Masses. We will also have pickup available if you have larger items that you need help with. Please call Pat Rues at 833-4109 if you need help with pickup.

Our last breakfast of the season is today May 19th, after the 7:00 & 8:30 Masses. If you have not been there for a while (or ever) join us for biscuits & gravy and all the extras. Your donations at these breakfasts benefit our St. Agnes seminarian.

Knights Meeting: The Knights of Columbus will have their monthly meeting this Monday at 7:00 in the Band Room. We have positions to fill and plans to make - so please join us and let your opinions be heard.

Last spring Fr. Thomas and I asked the Vietnamese Community if they would like to build a grotto to the Blessed Mother as she appeared to the Vietnamese people in 1798. They said yes and began the grotto in July. The statue was ordered from Vietnam when they had raised the money. It took months for it to arrive in the United States. Last Tuesday the work began in earnest. A small group have worked over a week to build the shrine/grotto to Our Lady of La Vang and they hope to have it finished in the couple of weeks.