From The Pastor’s Desk

Les Miserables…Due to the sold out shows, parking will be at a premium. Friday night the football team will be in the play-offs, so reserved parking for theater goers will be at the front (faces the highway) of the school. Please come early to park if you have mobility issues!

PROJECT RACHEL

Project Rachel is the Catholic Church’s bilingual

ministry (Spanish & English) of love, support and

healing for those who have been involved in abortion.

To implement that ministry, our Diocese has created an

integrated network of services, including pastoral

counseling, support groups, retreats. Opportunities for

sacramental forgiveness, and referrals to licensed mental

health professionals.

Call 417-242-9300 or email projectrachel@dioscg.org

for free, compassionate and confidential help. A list of

ministry resources is available at hopeafterabortion.com

ST AGNES LITERACY NIGHT

St. Agnes School's Student Council is hosting

Literacy Night on Wednesday, November 7,

2018. This is a family event open to parish

and school families. It will be held in the school from 5:30-

7pm. The night is themed around the Elephant and Piggie

book series. The Book Fair will be open and classrooms

will have activities for families to do together. We look

forward to sharing our love of reading with you!

SCHS THEATER PRESENTS… LES MISERABLES

The Fall Production of Les Miserables

will be performed on November 8th,

9th, 10th (7:00pm) & 11th (2:00pm

matinee) in the O’Reilly Theater at Springfield Catholic

High School.

Come and support the students’ hard work! Tickets are still

available.

From The Pastor’s Desk

This week we celebrate Halloween.  Here in the Bible belt we hear of the “paganism” of this night and some are trying hard to remove the fun day/night from our society.  Remembering saints and martyrs and dedicating a specific day to them each year has been a Christian tradition since the 4th century.  In 609, Pope Boniface IV decided to remember all martyrs and originally May 13th was designated as the Feast of All Holy Martyrs.  We know that Pope Gregory IV in 835 moved the commemoration of martyrs from May 13th to November 1st and extended the celebration to include all the saints, changing the name to the Feast of All Saints. The night before became known as All Hallows Eve, or “holy evening,” and eventually it became Halloween.

    Whether Pope Gregory was trying to simulate pagan peoples of Ireland and England into the church will always be up for debate.  There are no medieval writings which tell that the pagan peoples of these lands gathered and celebrated a major Celtic festival on the eve of winter.  In contrast New Year was a huge pagan celebration.  However, it was the Irish farmers living in Ireland hundreds of years ago which prepared for the All Saints Day and the following All Souls Day the night before, by going door-to-door collecting food and goods for a village feast and bonfire.  Those who contributed were promised prosperity; those who didn’t received threats of bad luck.  And yes you are right, the Irish Catholics who immigrated in the 1800’s brought this practice of “trick-or-treating” with them.  The rest is the great United States use of advertising and commercialism.  Next to Christmas, Halloween is the largest money “maker holiday” for businesses.  Unfortunately our society has turned a night of prayer and celebration into one of haunted houses, witches and ghosts.

   We also celebrate All Souls Day on November 2nd.  It could be said that All Souls Day is the Catholic Church’s Memorial Day/Month.  The Month of November begins with the feast of All Saints’ Day, followed by All Souls’ Day.  We distinguish between our beloved dead who are in heaven, “all saints,” who pray for us and our loved ones who have died and for whom we are moved to pray.  These are the poor souls who still may be undergoing the purging process of death-to-self that follows repentance.  In the month of harvest and dying, the Catholic Church memorializes the dead and recognizes Jesus as Lord of the living and the dead.

All Saints’ and All Souls

Thursday, November 1 is All Saints’ Day, a holy day of obligation. Mass will be celebrated on the holy day at 8:30am, 12:15, 5:30 & 7:30pm. (Vigil Mass Wednesday at 5:30pm) The Parish Office will be closed on November 1 in observance of the holy day. On All Saints’ Day, the Church celebrates all the saints: canonized or beatified, and the multitude of those in heaven enjoying the beatific visions that are only known to God. All lived lives like our own here on earth. We can join them one day in heaven.

All Souls Day (also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed) is Friday, November 2 and is a day set aside for honoring the dead. We are encouraged to pray especially on this day for the holy souls in purgatory. All Souls is not a holy day of obligation; however, Mass attendance, to honor our beloved dead, is encouraged. Mass on November 2 will be at 8:30am and 5:30pm

SCHS THEATER PRESENTS… LES MISERABLES

SAVE THE DATE!!!

The Fall Production of Les Miserables will be performed on November 8th, 9th, 10th (7:00pm) & 11th (2:00pm matinee) in the Meek Auditorium at Springfield Catholic High School.

Come and support the students’ hard work! Tickets are now available. 417 831-3565

ST. AGNES FALL BAZAAR…

A PARISH EVENT

Coming next weekend: November 3/4 is our annual parish bazaar.  This year, as in the past, there will be several booths for you to come and browse and, hopefully, find something for yourself or a Christmas gift or stocking stuffer.  If we support our vendors they will continue to come each year and support our causes!

We could always use volunteers who are willing to help for an hour or two each day.

¨ Friday - setting up for the event, 3:00-5:00pm

¨ Saturday & Sunday - staffing the parish booths in shifts from 9am to 3:00pm on Sat., 8am - 1pm on Sun

¨ Sunday - returning the cafeteria to its original state, 1:00-2:30pm

¨ Lots of people to bake goodies for the Senior’s Bake Sale table

If you are able to volunteer your time please contact Regina (988-9662) or Karen (761-9616).  If you are able to bake for the Senior’s table please bring your goodies to the parish office Friday, Nov. 2 or the morning of the bazaar, Nov. 3.

When we all come together wonderful things can happen! Proceeds will go toward both Tuition Assistance and Seniors Unlimited.

From The Pastor’s Desk

Being an associate pastor was fun those first years because I did not have to make major decisions, the pastor did that. After being a pastor for 31 years I sometimes look back and say to myself, it would be nice being that associate pastor again. Being the pastor, means you are the person in charge, and that the buck stops at your desk. You are the instructional leader, the model for others to follow, but especially you are the faith leader of your parish, and that is scary. Oh least I forget, you are also the person who many times: locks up; unlocks; makes sure there is toilet paper in the restrooms; anything else that needs to be done that does not follow under someone else’s job description or by volunteers that didn’t show up.

I strive to lead by example, not by telling everyone what to do and how to do it. I want to know what is being done in the name of the parish, in my name, but I try not to micro manage. I do not stay in my office any more than I have to; I am in classrooms, cafeteria, Adult Studies, hospital, high school, car line, meetings of all types; including parish, school system and diocesan. I try to be present to as many people as possible. I even answer the parish office phone at times. All of these are ways in which I try to show that I am not too busy for our parishioners. The sales people, the person off the street, or people from outside the parish may have to wait to another time.

We were taught at the seminary, “gentlemen do not change anything in a parish for a year, unless it is simply unlivable.” I believe that I have pretty well followed that advice in all the parishes I have been assigned. It does not seem possible that I have been here at St. Agnes Cathedral for four and half years. They have been good years and together with the parish staff, I believe we have accomplished many things, spiritually as well as physically. Thanks to special donations, as well as our Bingo monies, we have completed many small, and not so small, updates on our parish facilities. I want to thank everyone who has been contributing in the Sunday collection. Because of your support, we are paying our bills on time without the use of fund raisers. One part of my ministry is so much easier when I do not need to worry if there is enough money to pay the operating bills of the parish.

My ministry as pastor is sometimes hard. There are times when I have to make decisions that are not what people want to hear. But, guided by the parish council, I/we try to look at what is best for the long term. When young priests or young people ask me what the hardest part of being a priest is, my answer over the years has not changed; “administration”. Young people, especially high school students tell me, “Father you just have to go to church every day.” My response has not changed over the years. “Yes I get to go to church, but I have to make sure the roof doesn’t leak, and that all the air conditioners/furnaces are working. Church is the fun part.” I ask that everyone to look into their hearts and see if they have something that they can share with our parish community. Please give of your time, your talent and treasure as we look to the future of St. Agnes Cathedral.

CONFIRMATION NEWS:

The next Confirmation session will be held Sunday Oct 21st from 3-4:45pm in the cafeteria. Candidates should be working on their service projects and turning in their completed forms as soon as possible. There are still a few who need to turn in copies of Baptismal certificates if they were baptized in another parish besides St. Agnes Cathedral. Contact Iris at ibounds@sta-cathedral.org if you have questions.

BOO FEST & TRUNK OR TREAT

Thursday, October 25 – 6-8pm St. Agnes Home & School is planning Boo Fest which is our annual Halloween celebration. This year there will be a Trunk or Treat in the parking lot to the West of the school building. Get your decorations out and make plans to decorate your vehicle. Candy for you to pass out is provided by Home & School. If you would like to participate in this fun night please call the school office, 866-5038, to RSVP so we have enough room.

SCHS THEATER PRESENTS… LES MISÉRABLES

The Fall Production of Les Misérables will be performed on November 8th, 9th, 10th (7:00pm) & 11th (2:00pm matinee) in the Meek Auditorium at Springfield Catholic High School. Come and support the students’ hard work! Tickets are now available.

From The Pastor’s Desk

My classes on the Church Councils, beginning with the First Council of Jerusalem and ending with Vatican II concluded last Sunday. I presented an overview of the Councils and how the Church dealt with our teachings and doctrines. It is so important that we understand how our faith has come down to us today for several reasons. Living in Southern Missouri is to me one of those reasons. Every now and then a piece of “anti” Catholic literature comes across my desk. The Mark of the Beast is clearly a bigoted publication written by those who have just enough knowledge that what they write pulls out just enough facts to make the whole publication look truthful. I feel sorry for those who do not have enough knowledge of history to know when they are being fed a line of untruth.

The publication is four pages with each page comparing three articles. I will only take the time to look at one of them. The page that compares Old Testament, New Testament, and Papal changes. Fundamentalists, from the very beginning of their formation forget where the Bible, especially the New Testament, originates. If we were strictly a “Bible Church”, built solely upon the Bible, when the New Testament was compiled by the early bishops they might have written into the gospels and New Testament whatever they wanted to be able to prove their point. Instead, remember that the Catholic Church is built upon Sacred Scripture and Tradition. We have 2000 years of tradition that is traced back to the first century. The protestant churches do not come into being until the 1400’s. It is from that point on that fundamentalists try to discredit the Catholic Church’s previous teachings.

There is no reference in the New Testament about keeping holy the first day of the week. It doesn’t take a scripture scholar to state that from the earliest days of the Church, the followers of Christ met on the Sabbath for scripture readings, psalms and then on the first day of the week for the liturgy of the Eucharist. Once the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, the early “Christians” combined the Liturgy of the Word with the Liturgy of the Meal on the first day of the week, the day Christ rose from the dead. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and I want to honor and celebrate His resurrection, on the day He rose from the dead.

In the publication quoting fundamental preachers of the 1800’s, the Catholic Church under the direction of the Holy Father has committed apostasy by changing Sabbath institution from the seventh day to the first day of the week, a day honored by pagans in their worship of the “sun god”. I take this time to caution everyone to understand their faith and to continue to grow in knowledge of it, or fundamentalism may look like it has all the answers and our church which is built upon the faith of the apostles and the early Christians is a lie. It is not enough to say that, “we always did it this way.”

This Sunday I am beginning my classes on St. Paul the Apostle, St. Paul the Man, St. Paul and His World. Before I moved to Immaculate Conception 17 years ago, I stayed as far away from St. Paul as I could, but over the past 15 years I have studied St. Paul and preached on him on an average once a month. Join us in the Dining Room at 10:00 am Sunday mornings.

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!

Faith Formation

FIRST RECONCILIATION

Our First Reconciliation Parent and Child Gathering is on

Sunday, October 14 at 10am in the Dining Room. Each

child needs at least one parent with them for the activities.

Please contact Sabrina at the parish office if you have

any questions.

CONFIRMATION

Our next Confirmation class will be held Sunday, October

7th beginning at 3:00pm in the cafeteria. All candidates

should attend.

SPEECH & DEBATE JUDGES NEEDED

Springfield Catholic High School is looking for adults to

judge our Speech and Debate Tournament to be held on

Friday, December 14th and Saturday, 15th. There are

four possible rounds to judge on Friday from 3:30 to 9:30

pm and seven possible rounds to judge on Saturday from

8:30am to 9pm. It is not required that you do all rounds

but any help you can give will be very appreciated.

Judges must be a high school graduate to qualify. For

more information and to sign up for rounds, please

contact Hannah Demster (hannahdemster21@goirish.org)

or Ella Collins (ellacollins21@goirish.org ). Thank you so

much for your support!!

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!