MERCY IN A COVID TIME

COVID continues and continuing to follow the necessary guidelines for safety is sometimes wearying. I was thinking it would be a wholesome idea to add a new corporal/spiritual work of Mercy to your practices: Calling people whom we know are alone and staying at home. We have seen how small a world can become. You might set a goal of phoning one person a week and four different people a month. These could be relatives, or former co-workers or people you know from church. You may never know how much this means to the other person.

Sr. Elizabeth Ann

Youth Activities

Upcoming Youth Service Project "Feeding the Hungry" Sat, Nov 14th, 10 AM-1:00 PM St. Agnes Cafeteria. Youth are needed to help prepare lunch boxes and hygiene packets for the unsheltered in our area. We will put together the food and hygiene items from 10 AM- 12:00 PM and serve outside under the tent from 12:00-1:00 PM. Masks are required! Gloves will be provided. Great service project for our Confirmation candidates. Contact Iris or Sister Grace for more details ibounds@sta-cathedral.org.

From the Pastor’s Desk::

In 1979, two years before I was ordained, St. Pope John Paul II in his homily in Washington DC stated: “I do not hesitate to proclaim before you and before the world that all human life, from the moment of conception and through all subsequent stages is sacred, because human life is created in the image and likeness of God. Nothing surpasses the greatness or the dignity of a human person.” Later in his homily he continued, “All human beings ought to value every person for his or her uniqueness as a creature of God, called to be a brother or sister of Christ….And so, we will stand up every time that human life is threatened.” He concluded by stating, “Everything aimed at banishing discrimination, in law or in fact, is a service to life. When the rights of minorities are fostered, when the mentally or physically handicapped are assisted, when those on the margin of society are given a voice, in all these instances the dignity of life and the sacredness of human life are furthered.

As I stated at the beginning of my letter, this was from a homily in 1979 and we are still struggling as a country and church to put into practice a culture of life. A culture of life which begins with protecting the unborn, but just as important is protecting children once they are born with adequate food, housing and medical care, to protecting the immigrant, the homeless and the elderly.

Throughout my life the rights of the individual have been held as a high standard, so much so, that now when the community suffers as a whole, too many individuals still do what they want, stating, “No one is going to tell me what to do.” There was a comic in the newspaper a few weeks ago which stated it well: It showed London during WWII, with all the windows blacked out except one, where a man in the window stated, “no one is going to tell me to black out my windows”, as bombs rained down. As I write this letter, the United States have had 228,590 deaths from Covid 19; the next country closest to us with Covid deaths is Brazil with 157,226. Lack of consideration for each other has led to more deaths because so many have lost sight of the common good which recognizes my rights end where everyone else’s begin.

We have open mass intentions in November. If you would like to schedule a mass for a beloved dead please contact the parish office at 831-3565.

HELP FOR OUR NEIGHBORS

St. Vincent DePaul Society of St Agnes parish has helped many people in the past with their utility bills to keep them from being shut off. City Utilities is now sending out many shut-off notices that have been delayed because of the virus epidemic. We are concerned due to the weather extremes that many of the elderly or otherwise compromised will be severely impacted. Thank you for your past support but with additional support we would be able to expand our help in this situation. Thank you for any help you may be able to give.

ENTERING THE HOSPITAL OR….?

Due to Covid restrictions we are unable to freely visit hospitals or nursing homes. If someone is seriously ill or dying at Cox, Fr. Allen of our parish can be notified by the family or one of the chaplains at Cox (417)269-6000. At Mercy, Fr. Jerome is the chaplain and can be called Sunday through Thursday by going through Mercy (417) 820-2000 to reach the chaplain on call. On Friday or Saturday the chaplain on call can call Fr. Colby Elbert.

Please notify the front desk or Sister Elizabeth Ann if you have a relative going to the hospital or a nursing facility and want their names put on the parish prayer line, and/or the sick list in the bulletin. (417) 831-3565.

Volunteer Outreach

The Connecting Grounds Outreach Center at 3000 W. Chestnut Expressway is looking for some help for the homeless:

 Volunteers to hand out hand warmers, blankets, coffee, gloves and hats to the homeless between Oct. 25-Mar 31 in the evenings.

 People to prepare and/or serve meals at the Outreach Center.

 You can join the TCG Outreach Volunteers Facebook, or theconnectinggrounds.com to learn more.

 Donate items such a gloves, bus passes, cups with lids, sleeping bags, hand warmers, socks, blankets and sweatshirts. Bring them to the church office. I will see that these are dropped off at the Center.

Thank you, Sr. Elizabeth Ann

From the Pastor’s Desk:

The last eight months have been terrifying in their own real-life ways and now Halloween is this coming weekend. It is a fun night for young people as well as for many adults. Parents want to let their kids celebrate, yet many are rightfully concerned, many cities are hoping to continue with holiday traditions to boost residents' spirits while many have cancelled events. At the same time medical experts caution that the threat of coronavirus still looms. I am disappointed, as many of you are, to know that many of our favorite events both secular and church have not and cannot take place this year. Each of us need to do our part to help protect one another and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our parishes and in Springfield. With that said, do we hang our costumes back in the closet for another year or do we work to find a safe way to have Halloween fun? That is the question many are asking. In all the guidelines I have read wear masks, small groups under 6, outside, stay apart, hand sanitize over and over, possibly let your candy set or wipe it down. Many of these things we should be doing in our normal life. Perhaps this would be a good year to celebrate and understand the meaning behind the Halloween mania that has swept the country in the past years. 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 festivals of the pagan peoples of Ireland and England in order to attract them 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.

Volunteer Outreach

The Connecting Grounds Outreach Center at 3000 W. Chestnut Expressway is looking for some help for the homeless: • Volunteers to hand out hand warmers, blankets, coffee, gloves and hats to the homeless between Oct. 25-Mar 31 in the evenings. • People to prepare and/or serve meals at the Outreach Center. • You can join the TCG Outreach Volunteers Facebook, or theconnectinggrounds.com to learn more. • Donate items such a gloves, bus passes, cups with lids, sleeping bags, hand warmers, socks, blankets and sweatshirts. Bring them to the church office. I will see that these are dropped off at the Center. Thank you, Sr. Elizabeth Ann

Congratulations Sr. Elizabeth Ann

Sr. Elizabeth Ann Weiler renewed her vows after 60 years as an Adorer of the Blood of Christ on Saturday, Oct 24th at the 5:00 PM Mass. Sister also celebrates 10 years with St. Agnes Cathedral Parish. Because of Covid, we have been unable to have a celebration to thank Sister for her vocation and her service to our parish. We would love for parishioners to send cards of congratulations to Sister Elizabeth here at the parish office. Sister asks that no one send gifts, but instead humbly requests that any monetary donations be made to the St. Agnes Cathedral Building Fund for the building of a new parish center. Thanks to you Sister for your service and many blessings for the future.

Youth Activities

Join us for "A Night Out With the Saints" Sunday, Nov. 1st from 6:00-8:00 PM in the St. Agnes Gym. Come dressed as your favorite saint; Most authentic costume receives a prize; Go on a Saint Scavenger Hunt and share your knowledge of the saints in "The Saint Trivia Game" . There will also be a wiffle ball game between the "Saints" and the "Angels". Food and drink provided. No Cost, all are welcome! Please everyone, wear your masks!!!!

From the Pastor’s Desk:

My letter this week is going to be a mix of several different topics. First of all I want to express my sincere gratitude to God for Sr. Elizabeth’s vocation as a professed Sister of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ. On July 1, 1960 she made her first profession, with her final vows taken on July 1 of 1965. Her ministry in the church has been varied; from elementary teacher, parish organist, nurse, vocation director of the Ruma Province. The last 10 years Sr. Elizabeth has served as coordinator of ministry here at St. Agnes Cathedral, Saturday evening organist, along with Catholic Ministry at South Cox Hospital these last four years. We celebrate Sr. Elizabeth’s 60th anniversary. On October 10 at a Mass at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, a young Italian computer whiz kid who died of leukemia at the age of 15 offering his suffering for the pope and the Church was beatified. With the beatification of Carlo Acutis the catholic Church has its first Saint who loved Super Mario and Pokemon, but not as much as he loved the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. At the age of seven, Carlo wrote, “To be always united with Jesus, this is my life program.” Carlo was an ordinary boy, simple, spontaneous, likeable, he loved nature and animals, he played football, he had many friends of his age. Like many young people, he was attracted by modern means of social communication. He was passionate about computer science and, self-taught, he built websites to transmit the Gospel, to communicate values and beauty. One of Carlo’s most significant computer ventures was cataloguing all the Eucharistic miracles of the world. He started the project when he was 11 years old and wrote at the time, “The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of Heaven. Love for the Eucharist was the foundation that kept alive his relationship with God. He often said ‘The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.” Carlo died on October 12, 2006. The Church will celebrate his feast day on October 12. In the October 2nd addition of the Mirror, was an article covering Pope Francis’s releasing of his apostolic letter on Sacred Scripture. In his letter, the Holy Father wrote on the history of St. Jerome’s life and his love of the Scriptures. In my homily on September 30th I also spoke to our students of St. Jerome’s great work of translating the Old Testament from Hebrew, into Latin as well as showing his huge commentary on the scriptures. In his letter Pope Francis urged people to read the Bible, the inspired word of God. Just a reminder: I will never email you with a request for gift cards! This is a scam. The thieves that do this are very active this time of year.

PURIFIED

"Purified" An event for families (Ages 13+) Tuesday, Dec 1st to be held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton from 7-9 PM. The speaker for the evening will be Jason Evert, a bestselling author who has brought the message of chastity to more than one million people on six continents. Tickets are $20 per person. For a limited time, buy 2 tickets, get 1 free. Seats will be limited so order tickets as soon as possible. For ticket information call 417-866-0841.

10 AND 60 YEARS

October 24th marks the completion of my 10th year in my ministry here at St. Agnes Cathedral Parish. When I started here in 2010 I had no expectation of how long I would stay. And as noted previously on St. Agnes Facebook page and in The Mirror, 2020 is also the 60th anniversary of my vows as an Adorer of the Blood of Christ. Because we were unable to celebrate with a Mass at our convent in Ruma, IL, I have scheduled the Mass Intention for the Saturday evening Mass to be one of Thanksgiving both for 10 years and 60 years. At that time, God willing, I will renew my vows to give witness to my commitment. Sr. Elizabeth Ann

Youth Activities

There will be no Confirmation class Sunday, Oct 18th. All PSR classes will meet as scheduled. Youth of the parish: Mark your calendars for Sunday, Nov. 1st for an upcoming youth event: More details to follow.

From the Pastor’s Desk:

When I was growing up there was a special devotion to the Eucharist built around 40 hours over a weekend with each parish in rotation once a year. It has slipped by the wayside in many parishes as so much crowds in on our lives in our modern 21st century. However, there is something that builds upon it and I invite and urge you to find in this prayer/ meditative form, a strengthening from Jesus our Lord. Here at St. Agnes we do not set aside a weekend, but every Monday the Lord is present on the Altar in the Monstrance for private devotion. Centuries ago, the Forty Hours Devotion began in Europe. St. John Neumann came to this country as a missionary. He became bishop of Philadelphia and was known for his hard work and devotion to the people of his diocese. He had a tremendous devotion to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. St. John had an intense desire to help lead others to prayer before Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament exposed in a monstrance. One night, after nearly abandoning his dream of spreading the “Forty Hours Devotion”, St. John fell asleep from total exhaustion while writing at his desk. A little while later he awoke to the smell of smoke, a lit candle had overturned and started a fire. Of the charred remains of his papers, only one letter remained unburned, the letter he had written about the “Forty Hours Devotion.” St. John knelt to thank God for sparing him from harm and he did not hesitate any longer to carry out his teaching of the spiritual importance of Eucharistic Prayer Devotion. In 1853 Bishop John Neumann began the Forty Hours Devotion on the feast of Corpus Christi, in the Church of St. Philip Neri, the saint who had started the Devotion in Rome. In the United States we are blessed to have over 1100 chapels of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. Jesus is truly present in the Holy Eucharist, if we believe what takes place at the altar. When we come before Jesus exposed in the Blessed Sacrament, we come to Him as we are, creatures made in His image. He already knows us. He has called us to Himself; He loves us and longs to be with us. “Come to Me all of you who are weary and find life burdensome and I will refresh you.” (Mt. 11:28) Please consider spending some time with our Eucharistic Lord on Monday in the Chapel following the 8:30 Mass to 5:30 pm. This is a quiet time to reflect and thank God for all the many blessings He has given us. Also it is a time to pray and ask the Lord for safety and protection for our country. “Can you spend even 30 minutes with Me?” asks the Lord.

WORK DAY AT CATHOLIC CHARITIES/LIFEHOUSE

Our last work day for this year will be Tuesday, October 27 from 9 -11. For more information or to volunteer, please call or email Jana Hukriede @ 417-840-4109/ janahukriede@gmail.com. All volunteers wear masks and practice social distancing.

10 AND 60 YEAR Anniversary

10 AND 60 YEARS October 24th marks the completion of my 10th year in my ministry here at St. Agnes Cathedral Parish. When I started here in 2010 I had no expectation of how long I would stay. And as noted previously on St. Agnes Facebook page and in The Mirror, 2020 is also the 60th anniversary of my vows as an Adorer of the Blood of Christ. Because we were unable to celebrate with a Mass at our convent in Ruma, IL, I have scheduled the Mass Intention for the Saturday evening Mass to be one of Thanksgiving both for 10 years and 60 years. At that time, God willing, I will renew my vows to give witness to my commitment. Sr. Elizabeth Ann

103rd ANNIVERSARY of FATIMA

- Message from Bishop Rice In honor of the 103rd Anniversary of the Blessed Mother's appearance to the children in Fatima and her continued plea for everyone to recite the Rosary every day, I am asking every parish to publicly recite the Rosary on Tue., Oct. 13, for unity and the needs of our nation. Many of our parishes have the tradition of praying the Rosary daily during the months of May and October. Please keep in your intentions divine guidance for the upcoming election, racial harmony, and an increased respect for life.

From the Pastor’s Desk:

This week we are celebrating the three great Archangels: Gabriel, Michael and Raphael. To begin with, angels are pure spirits created by God. The belief in angels is found in the Old Testament theology. They are employed by God as the ministers of God’s will. St. Augustine speaks of angels: “Angel is the name of their office, not of their nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ’angel’: from what they are, ‘spirit,’ from what they do, ‘angel.’” The whole being of angels are servants and messengers of God. According to Jesus in Matthew 18:10, angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven they are the “mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word.” God's mightiest angels, the most powerful spiritual beings, are the archangels whom we are honoring and celebrating this coming Tuesday. While the exact amount of archangels is debated among different faiths, this Tuesday we are celebrating the three archangels who specialize in different types of work helping humanity, and they are considered by many believers to be the most important archangels. They are: ♦ Michael, who leads all of the holy angels, often works on missions that involve fighting evil, proclaiming God's truth, and strengthening people's faith. ♦ Gabriel, who communicates God's most important announcements to humans, specializes in helping people understand God's messages and apply them to their lives well. ♦ Raphael, who serves as God's main healing angel, cares for the health of people, animals, and every other part of God's creation. Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation. In the scriptures they are seen closing the earthly paradise, protecting Lot, saving Hagar and her son, stopped Abraham from scarifying his son, announcing the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. The list from the scriptures could go on. In our liturgies we join with the angels and saints to adore and praise God. As we pray at the end of a funeral, “May the angels lead you into Paradise..” Here on earth we children of God share our faith in the blessed company of angels united in God.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

St. Agnes Parish Living Rosary will be Sunday, Oct. 11. Please check the bulletin next week for further details. Confirmation sessions continue on Sunday mornings from 10-11:00 AM. We will either meet outside under the tent or will meet in the school library depending upon the weather. If you have any questions about Confirmation and have not yet registered, please contact Iris at ibounds@sta-catherdral.org Reconciliation Families who plan to have their children receive the sacraments of Reconciliation or Eucharist in second grade need to complete a registration form for their child. These forms are available on our parish website or can be sent to you. These children should also be enrolled either in a Catholic school or in our parish PSR program.