We recently
did something quite beautiful. As I said in the announcement for the
recent Evangelization & Discipleship Summits, held Oct. 9 & 10 in
Springfield and Cape Girardeau respectively, “We are at a critical moment in
the Church of Southern Missouri.” Many of you have heard me talk about how our
sacramental practices are on decline. Many of you have heard me say that we
have 14 years before I have to resign: Fourteen years of grace. The
question is, “what type of diocese will I hand over to the next Bishop?” Or
even worse, “Will there be another Bishop?” If we don’t turn things around
there will be nothing to hand onto the next bishop. But, we have 14 years of
grace to try to change things.
So the Summits
were our launch. Do we know the full impact of what we are doing? No. Each one
of us is working within the mystery of the kingdom of God and such a work is
beyond any one of us alone. What we are initiating with the Summit is
just a fraction of God’s work. And let me be clear, this is God’s work. This is
the work of the Holy Spirit. We are simply pencils in the hand of God as he
begins to write anew throughout southern Missouri.
‘Be willing to give God everything’ by Paula Wright Springfield
On Sept. 17, 2021, diocesan seminarian Nicholas Newton was ordained to the Sacred Order of the Diaconate in St. Agnes Cathedral by The Most Rev. Edward M. Rice, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau. The middle child of John and Katie Newton, Rev. Mr. Newton is from the Springfield, MO area, and a previous member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish. He earned a Bachelor degree in Philosophy from Conception Seminary, and a Masters of Divinity from St. Meinrad Seminary.
The Mirror recently
visited with Newton about receiving his Holy Orders and he shared a couple of
memories that stood out to him.
“As I was kneeling before Bishop Rice, he presented me the
Book of the Gospel, and said ‘Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you
have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what
you teach,’” Newton said, “it became very real to me…the promise I
was receiving and the commitment I was making to the promise. In addition,
during the reception following my ordination, a dear friend of mine asked me to
bless a rosary, it hit me that a change had just occurred, I was a ‘new’ person
now.”
Bishop Edward M. Rice, Bp. Emeritus John J. Leibrecht, priests, deacons, seminarians, and servers at celebration.
The beautiful new St. John Henry Newman Chapel.
The beautiful rite of Order of Dedication and Consecration for the new St. John Henry Newman Chapel was celebrated by the Most Rev. Edward M. Rice, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, on August 22, 2021, the annual feast of Mary Queen of Heaven and Earth, on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO.
Reflection on the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Sunday, October 24, 2021 Jeremiah 31:7-9; Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6; Hebrews 5:1-6, and Mark 10:46-52.
Pope Francis embraces 10-year-old Paolo during his weekly general audience at the Vatican Oct. 20, 2021. (CNS photo/Remo Casilli, Reuters)
One of my favorite moments in my ministry happened during Mass the day I found out I have a blind man among the people in my congregation. I must admit that I was intrigued about his blindness and how he sees himself among the “other blind people” in my congregation. I read an article that says that we have more than 1 million blind people in the US. I was concerned and intimidated by the numbers, but I realized that there are many other “blind” people that not part of any statistics. Yes, he is not the only blind person in my congregation. I must admit that we have many “spiritually blind” members sitting in the pews and listening to the Word of God weekend after weekend. They are in despair and in need of healing, but they have not yet asked Jesus for help.
The beautiful rite of Order of Dedication and Consecration for the new St. John Henry Newman Chapel was celebrated by the Most Rev. Edward M. Rice, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, on August 22, 2021, the annual feast of Mary Queen of Heaven and Earth, on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO.
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