The Mirr rVol. LIII, No. 16 DIOCESE OF SPRINGFIELD—CAPE GIRARDEAU, MISSOURI November 24, 2017

One Church, East to West: Loving Jesus, Serving Jesus, Sharing Jesus

The next issue of The Mirror will be Dec. 8, 2017.Experiencing delayed USPS delivery? Sign up to receive the diocesan newspaper via Email in digital format: Contact Angie Toben at (417) 866-0841, or Email: atoben@dioscg.org.

Safeguarding Peace2302By recalling the commandment, “You shall not kill,” 94 our Lord asked for peace of heart and denounced murderous anger and hatred as immoral.

2303Deliberate hatred is contrary to charity. Hatred of the neighbor is a sin when one deliberately wishes him evil. Hatred of the neighbor is a grave sin when one deliberately desires him grave harm. “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” 97

The Catechism in brief

Inside this issueThe hidden sto-ries behind five of your favorite prayerspp. 4-5

The Catechism of the Catholic Church compiles the living tradition of the Catholic Church and divides it into four sections: What Catholics believe (the Creed), how the faith is transmit-ted (worship and sacraments), how Catholics are called to live (moral life), and prayer.

Fifth National Encuentro engages over 250,000 missionary disciples

Branson, MO

Hundreds gathered in Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Branson, on Sept. 30, to participate in a historic Diocesan V Encuen-

tro. The national initiative of V En-cuentro is a process of evangelization, consultation, and mission that was officially launched last year by the US Bishops to discern ways for the Church in the United States to better respond to the ever-growing Hispanic pres-ence, and to help Hispanic Catholics to strengthen their Christian identity and their response as missionary disciples for the entire Church. Over 163 dioces-es have engaged in the Fifth National Encuentro, including our Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau.

“I think that we should continue this Encuentro with other communi-ties in our Diocese to help grown in the unity of faith among youth, families,

and those who serve,” said one dioc-esan participant.

“The Encuentro has reiterated the need to begin with myself to serve in the Church and in my home,” said another diocesan delegate.

This grass-roots effort began at the local parish level in January of this year with over 250,000 national mission-ary disciples, thus far, getting involved. These leaders include long-standing as well as new emerging leaders that see themselves in service to their communities.

“Delegates from 10 southern Missouri parishes met early Sept. 30 to share witness, consult, and celebrate who we are as Catholic Christians, and to discern our call as missionary dis-ciples,” said Milagros Calvetti, Director of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese. The event closed with a bilingual Mass celebrated by Bishop Edward M. Rice.

Following the Regional V

Encuentro in April of next year, the process will culminate\ at the Na-tional V Encuentro event to be celebrat-ed Sept. 20-23, 2018 in Grapevine, TX. After that, a time for reflection on the findings, identification of good min-isterial practices, and implementation strategies at the local level will follow.

“There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit has been quite busy and feeling very much at home in these Dioc-esan Encuentros,” said Abp. Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Cultural

See Encuentro / 7

BLESSING—Delegates each received a blessing during their witness and discern-ment sessions before the liturgy celebrat-ing the Diocesan V Encuentro Sept. 30 in Branson, MO. (Photo by Dean Curtis/The Mirror)

DIOCESAN V ENCUENTRO—Hundreds gathered in Our Lady of the Lake Par-ish, Branson, on Sept. 30, to participate in a historic Diocesan V Encuentro. The national initiative of V Encuentro is a process of evangelization, consultation, and mission that was officially launched last year by the US Bishops to discern ways for the Church in the United States to better respond to the ever-growing Hispanic presence, and to help Hispanic Catholics to strengthen their Chris-tian identity and their response as missionary disciples for the entire Church. (Photo by Dean Curtis/The Mirror)

2 The Mirror November 24, 2017COLUMN

On the fear of deathCOMMUNITY IN MISSIONMsgr. Charles E. Pope

For the faithful, the day we die is the greatest day of our life on this earth. Even if some final purifications await us, the

beatific vision for which we long lies just ahead; our exile in this valley of tears is ended.

Is calling the day we die the greatest day of our life too strong a statement? I have seen some fellow Christians wince at this statement. In this age of emphasis on worldly comforts, medicine, and the secular, we rarely speak of Heaven—or Hell for that matter. I wonder if we have lost some of our longing for Heaven and cling too strongly to the trinkets of this life.

There are, of course, some legitimate reasons that we do not rush towards death; there are also some less legitimate ones. Here are some legitimate and understandable reasons that we may draw back from dying and may not at first think of the day we die as the greatest day of our life:

1.) There is a natural fear of dying that is part of our physical makeup and, it would seem, hard-wired into our psyche as well. Every sentient being on this planet, man or animal, has a strong instinct for survival. Without this instinct, strongly tied to both hunger and sexual desire, we might not only die as individuals but as a species. It also drives us to look to the future, as we work to ensure the survival, even thriving, of our children and those who will come after us. It is a basic human instinct that we ought not to expect to disappear, because it has necessary and useful aspects.

2.) We would like to finish certain important things before we die. It makes sense, for example, that parents would like to see their children well into adulthood. Parents rightly see their existence in this world as critical to their children. Hence, we cling to our life here not just for our own sake, but because others depend upon us.

3.) The Christian is called to love life at every stage. Most of us realize that we are called to love and appreciate what we have here, for it is the gift of God. To so utterly despise this world that we wish only to leave it manifests a strange sort of ingratitude. It also shows a lack of understanding that life here prepares us for the fuller life that is to come. I remember that at a low point in my own life, afflicted with anxiety and depression, I asked the Lord to

please end my life quickly and take me home out of this misery. Without hearing words, I felt the Lord’s silent rebuke: “Until you learn to love the life you have now, you will not love eternal life. If you can’t learn to appreciate the glory of the gifts of this life, then you will not and can-not embrace the fullness of eternal life.” Indeed, I was seeing eternal life merely in terms of relief or escape from this life, rather than as the full blossoming of a life that has been healed and made whole. We don’t embrace life by trying to escape from it. A healthy Christian attitude is to love life as we have it now, even as we yearn and strive for a life that we do not yet fully comprehend: a life that eye has not seen nor ear heard, what God has prepared for those who love Him.

4.) We seek to set our life in order to some degree before we face judgment. While it is true that we can procrastinate, there is a proper sense of wanting time to make amends and to prepare to meet God.

5.) We fear the experience of dying. Dying is something none of

us has ever done before and we naturally tend to fear the unknown. Further, most of us realize that the dying process likely involves some degree of agony. Instinctive-ly and understandably, we draw back from such things.

Even Jesus, in His hu-man nature, recoiled at the thought of the agony before Him—so much so that He sweat blood and asked that the cup of suffering be taken from Him if possible. Man-fully, though, He embraced His Father’s will, and our benefit rather than His own. Still, in His humanity, He did recoil at the suffering

soon to befall Him.Despite this hesitancy to meet

death, for a faithful Christian the day we die is the greatest day of our life. While we ought to regard the day of our judgment with sober reverence, we should go with joy-ful hope to the Lord, who loves us and for whom we have longed. That day of judgment, awesome though it is, will for the future saint disclose only that which needs final healing in purgation, not that which merits damnation.

We don’t hear much longing for

our last day on this earth or for God and Heaven. Instead, we hear fret-ting about how we’re getting older. We’re anxious about our health, even the natural effects of aging. And there are such grim looks as death ap-proaches! Where is the joy one might expect? Does our faith really make a difference for us or are we like those who have no hope? Older prayers re-ferred to life in this world as an exile and expressed a longing for God and Heaven, but few of today’s prayers or sermons speak this way.

Here are some of the not-so-legitimate reasons that we may draw back from dying:

1.) We live comfortably. While comfort is not the same as happiness, it is very appealing. It is also very deceiving, seductive, and addictive. It is deceiving because it tends to make us think that this world can be our paradise. It is seductive because it draws and shifts our focus away from the God of comforts to the comforts of God. We would rather have the gift than the Giver. It is addictive because we can’t ever seem to get enough of it; we seem to spend our whole life working toward gaining more and more comforts. We become preoccupied by achieving rather than working toward our truest happiness, which is to be with God in Heaven.

2.) Comfort leads to world-liness. Here, worldliness means focusing on making the world more comfortable, while allowing notions of God and Heaven to recede into the background. Even the so-called spiritual life of many Christians is al-most wholly devoted to prayers ask-ing to make this world a better place: Improve my health; fix my finances; grant me that promotion. While it is

not wrong to pray about such things, the cumulative effect, combined with our silence on more spiritual and eternal things, gives the impression that we are saying to God, “Make this world a better place and I’ll just be happy to stay here forever.” What a total loss! This world is not the point. It is not the goal, Heaven is. Being with God forever is the goal.

3.) Worldliness makes Heaven and being with God seem more abstract and less desirable. With this magnificent comfort that leads to worldly preoccupation, longing for Heaven and going to be with God recedes into the background. Today, few speak of Heaven or even long for it. They’d rather have that new cell phone or the cable upgrade with the sports package. Some say that they never hear about Hell in sermons, and in many parishes (though not in mine, thank you), regrettably, that is the case. They almost never hear about Heaven, either (except in some cheesy funeral moments that miss the target altogether and make Heaven seem trivial rather than a glo-rious gift to be sought). Heaven just isn’t on most people’s radar, except as a vague abstraction for some far off time—certainly not now.

This perfect storm of comfort and worldliness leads to slothful aversion to heavenly gifts. That may be why, when I say that the day we die is the greatest day of our life, or that I’m glad to be getting older because I’m getting closer to the time when I can go home to God, or that I can’t wait to meet Him, people look at me strangely and seem to wonder whether I need therapy.

No, I don’t need therapy—at least not for this. I’m simply verbal-izing the ultimate longing of every human heart. Addiction to comfort has deceived and seduced us such that we are no longer in touch with our heart’s greatest longing; we cling to passing things. I would argue that we no longer witness to a joyful journey to God that says, “Soon I am going to see the King. Soon I will be done with the troubles of this world. I’m going home to be with God!”

There are legitimate, under-standable reasons for being averse to dying, but how about having a glim-mer of excitement from the faithful as we see that our journey is com-ing to an end? Do we witness to the glory of going to be with God or not? On the whole, it would seem that we do not. ©TM

A priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, Msgr. Pope is pastor of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Church. Among his many ministries, he conducts a weekly Bible study at the White House.

This is the second in a se-ries of articles on The Four Last Things: Death, Judg-ment, Heaven, and Hell.

FOUR LAST THINGS—Fear of death is the topic of the second installment in a series of articles on The Four Last Things by Msgr. Charles Pope. In the next edition, we’ll explore Heaven. (Thinkstock)

I wonder if we have lost some of our longing for Heaven and cling too strongly to the trinkets of this life.

November 24, 2017 The Mirror 3

Public calendarMon., Nov. 27 Meeting with Region 1 & 27 p.m. Parish Councils, St. Canera

Church, Neosho, MOTue., Nov. 28 Diocesan Development

Fund Planning Committee meeting, The Catholic Center, Springfield

Wed., Nov. 29 Sacrament of7 p.m. Confirmation, St. Edward

Church, Cassville, MOThu., Nov. 30 The Catholic Center

Staff Mass & Meeting, The Catholic Center, Springfield

Fri., Dec. 1 Mass, Immaculate8:30 a.m. Conception School,

SpringfieldSat., Dec. 2 Mass, St. Patrick Mission4 p.m. Church, Greenfield, MOSun., Dec. 3 FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT9-11:30 a.m. Day of Reflection, St. John

Vianney Church, Mountain View, MO

1-3 p.m. Committee for Youth Adventure Programs Meeting, St. John Vianney Church, Mountain View

7 p.m. Presentation to adults, St. Vincent de Paul Church, Cape Girardeau

Mon., Dec. 4 Priests Day of Recollection, St. Vincent de Paul Church, Cape Girardeau;

Birthright visit and tour, Cape Girardeau

Tue., Dec. 5 Mass at Southeast Correctional Center, Charleston, MO

December prayer intention: May each of us prepare our hearts to receive the Christ Child!

In our modern world of technol-ogy, rapid communication, and sense of “immediacy,” does the Season of Advent and its tone

of anticipation remain relevant? Or, should we give up the battle of “ad-vent” and go along with the culture of commercialized Christmas? What good is being accomplished as we light an Advent candle week-after-week, knowing full well that almost everything else surrounding us is blaring, “hark the bargains” instead of “hark the herald”?

Of course my answer is abso-lutely not: do not abandon Advent!

The themes of Advent offer a striking contrast to the commercial-ized, indulgent culture that otherwise bombards us. To quote Pius Parsch, “What does Advent mean? Adven-tus Domini means the “coming of the Lord” … Advent is a season of preparation for the Lord’s coming … a time of holy desire, longing, and expectancy (Year of Grace, pg. 18).

Advent, and its themes of long-ing, waiting, holy desire, and expec-tancy, is as relevant today as it has ever been. In fact, I would say that we need Advent now more than ever.

‘Time is money’The commercialism of Christ-

mas tells us that “time is money” and wasting time is wasting money. This is the thinking of our culture. In response, the Church invites Her members to use the four weeks prior to Christmas as a preparation of the heart and mind. Instead of paging through advertisements looking for the latest gadgets we really don’t

need, how about taking an inventory of the heart, ridding it of the things that hinder us from receiving the one, true gift: the Christ Child.

Is your heart holding on to anger or revenge? Get rid of it through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Are you plagued by a particular sin that you have given up trying to over-come? Bring it to our Lord in Reconciliation. Be open and prepared, watchful in joyful hope and holy longing.

Shopping & spiritual exerciseHow about being more inten-

tional during these weeks of Advent? Attend a weekday Mass or spend an hour in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. When I was a pastor in St. Louis, I would always tell my people to make a visit to Church every time you go shopping. It is unrealistic to tell people not to shop and prepare for Christmas, so instead, I encour-age that you include some spiritual exercise to go along with it.

COLUMN

The Greatest Gift is wrapped in fleshCOME, AND YOU WILL SEEBp. Edward M. Rice

Does your home have an “Ad-vent Wreath?” I have fond memories of the family Advent Wreath in our home. It was metal, decorated with plastic greenery, but it served it’s purpose. It hung from a hook on the wall and as children we took turns lighting the candles. We had an old pamphlet we used with a different prayer for each week. Nothing fancy is necessary, if you do not have a wreath, go out in the back yard and cut off some greenery to put on the dining room table. Place four candles around it, and there you have it—an Advent Wreath!

So, is Advent relevant for today? Absolutely! In the midst of war and bloodshed we prepare our hearts for the Prince of Peace. In the midst of the darkness of our world, Isaiah pro-claims, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”

We need peace, we need light, we need what Advent offers us—a time of waiting, holy desire, longing, and expectancy. When we embrace this tone and then we finally see the Holy Infant in the manger, it is pos-sible for us to realize that the greatest gift offered to us is wrapped in hu-man flesh, Christ our Savior.

So, let us be intentional dur-ing these weeks of Advent. Seek out the Sacrament of Reconciliation and clear your hearts to receive; long for and receive the Eucharist and spend time in Adoration of the Blessed Sac-rament, waiting. Light a candle week-by-week and illuminate your life and recognize that Jesus the Light of the World, our Prince of Peace, and our greatest gift.

My prayers go out to all of you for a Blessed Advent! ©TM

ONE, TRUE GIFT—Christ is The Light of the World, our Savior, the Prince of Peace. The Season of Advent begins Sun., Dec. 3, 2017. (Thinkstock)

Diocesan Ecumenical Officer appointedSpringfield

Bishop Edward M. Rice recently announced the appointment of Nicholas Lund-Molfese, MA, JD, as Diocesan Ecumenical Officer and liaison for matters related to public

policy and Faithful Citizenship. The appointment is effectively immediately, and positions him as a knowledgeable resource to clergy, religious, and apostolates within the Church in Southern Mis-souri. Lund-Molfese currently serves as the diocesan representative to the Missouri Catholic Conference (MCC) and the MCC Public Policy Committee, which advises the Missouri Bishops on issues of legislative concern. Formerly the Director of Trinity Hills Cath-olic Worker House and Farm, which closed within the diocese this past year, Lund-Molfese serves the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau as its full-time Director of Social Ministry and Family Life as well as Director of Health Affairs and Respect for Life. In these capacities, he assists the bishop and other members of The Catholic Center staff in all matters related to protecting the sanctity of Life, ethics in healthcare, Catholic institutional identity, municipal ordinances, and issues related to poverty and the other pillars of Catholic social teaching within our Diocese. ©TM

Lund-Molfese

Holy dayPlease be reminded that Fri.,

Dec. 8, is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and IS a Holy Day of Obligation for the faithful (even though it falls on Friday this year). This is a special day in the life of our nation since the Virgin Mary, under her title

of the “Immaculate Conception,” is the patroness of our country. Please consult the bulletins of

your local parish for the time for the celebration of the Eucharist.

4 The Mirror November 24, 2017FEATURE

By Thomas Craughwell

How well do you know the Our Father, or the Hail Mary? Not just the words, but how these prayers developed, and what

they have meant—and continue to mean—to generations of Catholics. Do you know the story behind Hail Holy Queen? Or St. Francis’ Peace Prayer?

For Catholics, prayers such as these are like breathing—spiritually, we could not get along without them. And while it is always beneficial to slow down and think about the words of the prayers as we pray them, there is a lot of good that can be derived from knowing the history of these prayers.

The Sign of the CrossLet’s begin with the most fun-

damental of all Catholic prayers, the Sign of the Cross. The words, “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen,” call down upon us the blessing of the Holy Trinity, and the gesture, touching our forehead, our chest, and each shoulder, marks us with the emblem of Christ’s Cross, the sign of our salva-tion. It’s the gesture that makes the Sign of the Cross unique: we can be standing on a crowded bus, pray-ing fervently in our heart, and no one around us is the wiser. But as soon as we cross ourselves, we are making a public declaration of who we are and what we believe.

The Sign of the Cross is as old as the Church. Originally, Christians took their thumb and drew a small cross on their foreheads. The Christian theologian Tertullian (c.160-220) tells us that in his day, “In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting

off our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupies us, we [Christians] mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross.” It was a small, subtle gesture, suitable for a time when Christians had to keep a low profile. The Sign of the Cross as we know it came later, after the age of persecution ended.

The Our FatherDuring the Sermon on the

Mount, the disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us how to pray.” In answer, Jesus taught them the Our Father.

You can find this prayer in the gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke, with minor discrepancies between the two versions. St. Matthew’s ver-sion is the one used universally by all Christians, although there is one major difference. Protestants conclude the prayer with the words, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.” Catholics stop at the words, “But deliver us from evil.”

Why are there different versions of the prayer that comes to us from Christ Himself? The answer is simple. Although some manuscripts of the

gospels include the “For thine is the kingdom” ending, the oldest ones do not. Scholars of the Bible tell us that ending was not part of the original prayer; it is a doxology, or a short prayer of praise, that was tacked onto the origi-nal text at a later date. Two thousand years ago it was a Jewish custom to conclude a longish prayer with a short doxology. In fact, “For thine is the kingdom” was a common doxology among religious Jews in Jesus’ day. The first Christians, many of whom were converts from Judaism, brought this favorite doxology with them when they entered the Church and they recited it at the end of the Our Father.

While Catholics omit the doxology and keep to the words of the prayer as Jesus

gave it to us, the ancient custom of

concluding a prayer with a little prayer of praise exists in our Church, too: after reciting the Magnificat or one of the psalms, it is traditional to add our most popular doxology, Glory be to the Father.

The Hail MaryThe first prayer most Catholic

children learn is the Hail Mary. It is the most beloved prayer to Our Lady, and the prayer Catholics say most of-ten. No one can count how many mil-lions of Hail Marys rise up to Heaven every day. Yet in spite of its popularity, it took centuries for this much-loved prayer to develop.

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” is the Archangel Ga-briel’s greeting to Mary at the Annun-ciation (Luke 1:28). “Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,” is St. Elizabeth’s exclamation of joy when Mary came to visit her (Luke 1:42). These two sentences said together were the whole Hail Mary for over 1,000 years.

Sometime in the 13th century it became the custom to add the Holy Name of Jesus to the phrase, “and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” By the 15th century Catholics had added the last half of the prayer, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” Pope St. Pius V formally ap-proved the complete Hail Mary in 1566, and Catholics have been reciting it this way ever since.

Hail Holy Queen (Salve Regina)If you ever make a retreat in a

monastery or convent, you’ll hear the monks or nuns chant this lovely prayer at the end of the day before they make their way from the chapel

back to their cells. For 900 years the Hail Holy Queen has been one of the most beloved prayers to the Blessed Mother. It is the traditional conclu-sion to the Liturgy of the Hours, many Catholics recite it at the end of the rosary, and there is a long-standing tra-dition of singing the hymn at the close of the day. We know that in 1492, on his voyage to the New World, Chris-topher Columbus gathered his men on deck every evening to sing Salve Regina as a sign of their confidence in Our Lady’s protection.

An old tradition says that St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) composed this prayer. Certainly, any-one who reads St. Bernard’s sermons in praise of Mary will find echoes of Hail Holy Queen in the great saint’s writings. But for the actual text of the

These traditional prayers link all of us who recite them with all of those faithful souls throughout the centuries who prayed in the exact same words.

TREASURY OF PRAYERS—Saint Francis of Assisi and another Franciscan monk pray. The Catholic Church has a rich treasury of prayers that link gen-erations of the faithful throughout the centuries who prayed the exact same words. (Thinkstock)

The hidden stories behind five of your favorite prayers

November 24, 2017 The Mirror 5

TREASURY OF PRAYERS—Saint Francis of Assisi and another Franciscan monk pray. The Catholic Church has a rich treasury of prayers that link gen-erations of the faithful throughout the centuries who prayed the exact same words. (Thinkstock)

FEATURE

The hidden stories behind five of your favorite prayers

prayer, we have to look elsewhere.The historical evidence has led

most scholars to believe that the real author of Hail Holy Queen was a German monk, Blessed Herman the Lame, also known by the Latin form of his name, Herman Contractus (1013-1054). Herman was born with serious disabilities: he could not walk, and it took him longer than most children to learn how to speak. But he had other gifts. He was very good at mathemat-ics. He became fluent in Latin, Greek, and even Arabic. Because of his own ailments, Herman was patient and compassionate. He had a real genius for music. And from childhood, Her-man cherished a special love for the Blessed Mother, so it comes as no surprise that he wrote his finest work for her. Hail Holy Queen expresses

beautifully our faith in the Mother of God who extends her love and mercy to all of us.

The Prayer of St. Francis (Lord, make me an instrument of your peace)

Many people think St. Francis of Assisi wrote this prayer, but they are mistaken. You won’t find it among the writings of St. Francis. In fact, it is no older than 1912. That year, the prayer appeared in a magazine called La Clochette (The Little Bell) published in Paris by a Catholic organization known as The Holy Mass League.

A French aristocrat, the Mar-quis Stanislas de La Rochethulon, admired the prayer and sent a copy to Pope Benedict XV in 1915. The next year, the prayer was published in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s daily newspaper.

Then a French Franciscan priest spotted the prayer, and had it printed on the back of a holy card of St. Fran-cis. The Franciscan gave the prayer a title, “A Prayer for Peace.” Since there was a picture of St. Francis on the front of the card, it became known as The Prayer of St. Francis, or St. Francis’ Peace Prayer.

During World War I and World War II, this prayer made its way around the world, with Protestants and Catholics encouraging people to recite it for the sake of an early end to the wars. It is still a favorite with Christians who long for peace.

As Catholics, we are blessed to have an especially-rich variety of prayers. In the Bible, the liturgy of the Church, the writings of the saints, and in our favorite prayer books we can choose among prayers suited to every season of the year and every stage of our lives. But perhaps one of the great-est joys of reciting old prayers is the sense of comfort and connection they offer us. They are bridges that link all of us who recite these prayers with all of those faithful souls throughout the centuries who prayed in the exact same words. ©EWTN

Copyright @ 2017 EWTN News, Inc. Reprinted with permission from the National Catholic Register, www.ncregister.com.

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Just in time for ChristmasRosary for Vocations

and the Divine Mercy ChapletFeaturing Bishop Edward M. Rice and the seminarians of the diocese

Rev. Scott Sunnenberg (417) 866-0841www.dioscg.org

6 The Mirror November 24, 2017

The Mirror: Newspaper of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau USPS Publication 117-330 Publisher: The Most Rev. Edward Rice Editor: Leslie A. EidsonProduction: Glenn Eckl Circulation/Advertising: Angie Toben, atoben@dioscg.org

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AnnouncementsParishes and organizations are invited to submit notices of future events

to be printed in the Announcements. They will be printed on a space-available basis. There is no fee.

Arkansas—Subiaco Academy, a Catholic college preparatory boarding school for young men located in western Arkansas, is hosting a free fall Shadow Day for prospective students, Fri., Dec. 1. Designed for boys in grades six-10 interested in exploring the school’s junior and senior high program, visiting students will have the opportunity to shadow classes, tour the campus, and take the placement exam. Prospective boarding students may arrive early and spend the night before Shadow Day in one of the college-like residence halls. For more information or to reserve a place, please call (800) 364-7824, or (479) 934-1034, or Email admissions@subi.org. The Academy’s Website is www.SubiacoAcademny.us.

Belleville, IL—The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows will host Tail, Trails, and Twinkles, on Sun., Dec. 3. Sponsored by Scott Credit Union, bring your canine friends/fam-ily members to enjoy a walk through the Way of Lights at this dog-only event. The walk will begin at 5:30 p.m.; the Barket and Expo will be 5-7 p.m. Pet friendly vendors will be on hand with opportunities to shop for your four-legged friends. Dogs must be on leashes. For more information, contact the shrine at (618) 397-6700, or visit www.snows.org/tails.

Cape Girardeau—Saint Padre Pio Emerging Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order will meet at Saint Francis Medi-cal Center, Tue., Dec. 12. Prayer in the chapel at 6 p.m., followed by fraternity meeting in the St. Agatha Conference Room. For more information, contact Shawn Asmus, OFS, (573) 204-7688, or follow us on Face-book at https://www.face-book.com/padrepiocape/.

Leopold—St. John Parish Council of Catholic Women (PCCW), will host the second annual Country Christmas Home Tour, Sun., Dec. 17, 1-4 p.m., followed by Christmas organ music in the church, and soup and cookies in the school cafeteria from 2:30-4:30 p.m. There will be five homes on the tour. Cost: adults: $10; children (ages 12 and under): free. A portion of the funds raised will offset the

cost of youth attending the annual March for Life in Washington, DC. For more information, contasct Geri Geringer, (573) 208-6445.

Springfield—Got your Praise on? This prayer group meets Thursday evenings at 6:30 p.m. in the Chapel of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. Enjoy beautiful music and prayer with friends. For more information, call Jan Peters, (417) 827-3764.

Springfield— In conjunction with the Midtown Victorian Homes Tour, Sacred Heart Church will host its 12th annual Craft/Vendor Christmas Bazaar, Fri., Dec. 1, 5-9 p.m., and Sat., Dec. 2, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., in the church hall. Homemade holiday cookies by the pound will be offered for purchase. For more information, contact Bob Horton, (417) 224-5790 or mhorton711@gmail.com.

Springfield—Contemplative Outreach of Springfield will host a Silent Saturday Dec. 2, Holy Trinity Church. Mass: 9 a.m. (optional); registration: 9:45 a.m.; prayer until noon. As we enter the season of Advent, come take advan-tage of this wonderful opportunity to prepare yourself for the coming of the Christ child. For more information, contact Mike or Barb DePue, (417) 881-1381, or democatsx2@gmail.com.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ScheduleSafe environment in-service opportunities will be held at the following locations:Thu., Nov. 30 6-9 p.m.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Francis de Sales, LebanonSun., Dec. 10 12-noon-3 p.m. . . . . . . . . St. Michael the Archangel, FredericktownSat., Dec. 16 9 a.m.-12-noon . . . . . . . . St. Vincent de Paul, Cape GirardeauMon., Jan. 8 6-9 p.m.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . McAuley Catholic High School, JoplinTue., Jan. 9 6-9 p.m.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Joseph, Scott CitySun., Jan. 21 10 a.m.-1 p.m.. . . . . . . . . Sacred Heart, SalemSun., Jan. 21 6-9 p.m.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, SpringfieldSat., Jan. 27 9 a.m.-12-noon . . . . . . . . St. Vincent de Paul, Cape Girardeau Pre-registration is necessary; go to www.virtus.org and click on “registration” on the left or call your parish/school office for assistance; or call Rosie Francka at The Catholic Center, (417) 866-0841; or Email her at rfrancka@dioscg.org. Participants must be present for the entire training. Training sessions are for adults only. Schedules may be found on the diocesan events calendar at www.dioscg.org, or at www.virtus.org.

$250 per personAll registrations are first-come, first-served basis including those received after the deadline of Dec. 15, 2017. Payment includes travel, three meals.

If you would like to attend, sponsor someone, donate, or for more information on the2018 March for Life

45th Annual

March for Life

Jan. 17-20, 2018

Join us for an amazing pro-life pilgrimage by joining hundreds of thousands of

marchers in Washington, DC

Sleeping bags and warm clothes are

necessary!

contact: Kathleen Keesee(573) 334-7298 or (573) 986-3320,or Email:kkeesee@charter.net, or,2439 Glenridge Dr., Cape Girardeau 63701

Virtus training required for all adult pilgrims 18 and over

Reserve your seat now!

Intinerary

Wed., Jan 17: Couches will start out in Springfield, MO and travel across the diocese, with pick up points along the way through Cape Girardeau. Pick up time and location will be announced at a later date.

Thu., Jan. 18: Arrive & unload luggage at Wheaton, MD, for stay at host site St. Catherin LaBoure: Evening will include Mass and dinner. Overnight stay.

Fri., Jan. 19: Early morning breakfast and sack lunch provided by host par-ish. Load couches to metro and proceed to rally, Mass, and march. After March for Life, proceed to metro, load couches. Travel home overnight and into Sat., Jan. 20, arriving home mid-day!

Cursillo promotes Catholics growing in holiness and personal spiritual development. The focus is on individuals becoming effective Christian leaders and taking what they have learned back into their home, work, and community.

Attention all Cursillistas and those interested in attending a Cursillo weekend! There is a men’s weekend on Nov. 30-Dec. 3 being held at Pinecrest Camp and Conference Center near Fredricktown, MO. If you are interested, the applications, sponsor forms, and more information about Cursillo in Southern Missouri is available at http://dioscg.org/index.php/cursillo2/.

For more information please contact Sharon Essner at smessner735@sbcglobal.net, (573) 334-0373 or Jacque Markusic at jpmarkusic@me.com, (417) 496-8288.

November 24, 2017 The Mirror 7DIOCESAN NEWS/ADVERTISING

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Spirit of DiocesanV Encuentro

‘What a blessing for the oppor-tunity to share with others in

our diocese in the mission of the Church in the United States in building leadership among the Hispanic Catholics.”

“We hope to receive feedback on what we shared and proposed as needs and priorities today. Let them not be forgotten.”

“Create ministry where the focus is formation and identifies practices in our community that alienate others to participate and be a part of parish life.”

“Sharing ideas allowed the youth to brainstorm ideas in service and to talk to one another as a group. It was an excellent experience.”

“I need to continue work-ing in the community and peripheries [in the areas of] apostleship and evangelization in the community.” ©TM

Diversity in the Church, which is re-sponsible for this initiative on behalf

Fifth National Encuentro engages over 250,000 missionary disciplesFrom Page 3 of the US bishops. “There are plenty

of stories and visible signs that the personal and pastoral conversion that our Holy Father speaks of in ‘The Joy

MISSIONARY ZEAL—A point was well-received Sept. 30 as delegates from 10 southern Missouri parishes met to share witness, consult, and celebrate being Catholic Christians, and to discern the call to missionary discipleship. The event, held in Our Lady of the Lake Church, Branson, closed with a bilingual Mass celebrated by Bp. Edward M. Rice. (Photo by Dean Curtis/The Mirror)

of the Gospel,’ has been taking place in these gatherings in dioceses across the United States.”

“We are called to be missionary

disciples,” Bp. Rice said in his hom-ily at the Diocesan Encuentro. “But ‘we can’t give what we don’t have. Missionary discipleship begins with an encounter with Jesus in His Word and in the Eucharist. From that mo-ment of encounter and conversion, we begin the walk together, with Jesus, allowing our thoughts, words, and actions to reflect His thoughts, words, and actions.” ©TM

8 The Mirror November 24, 2017ADVERTISING