Do you have a favorite Christmas hymn? I’m sure most people do. Now, do you have a favorite Lenten hymn? That may be a bit more difficult to answer. Of course there are some good standards, “Take up Your Cross,” which can be sung to several melodies. What about, “Lord who throughout these 40 days,” or “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence?” As we approach Holy Week, we can expect to sing, “Crown Him with Many Crowns,” and “O Sacred head, Surrounded,” or “Were You There?”
Two lesser-known, yet deeply moving hymns are “Attende Domine,” (Draw Near, O Lord our God), and “Parce Domine,” (Pardon Lord, your People.) Verse 5 of Attende Domine is striking: “Innocent captive, unresisting victim, liars denounced you, sentenced for the guilty; once you redeemed us: now renew us Jesus.” While all the verses are so striking, you can just sing the refrain, similar to what I do with the “Oh Sacrament Most Holy,” singing it three times and going up a note each time. It’s an easy way to have a nice Latin chant for a Lenten Mass.
I was blessed to celebrate Holy Mass three times on Ash Wednesday: at Immaculate Conception, Springfield; in the O’Reilly Catholic Student Center, in Springfield; and at the US Medical Center for Federal Prisoners. There were great crowds at the Masses, except for the one at the prison, which is a good sign that we don’t have many Catholics in prison! It was so touching to see people take time out in the middle of the day and in the evening to attend Holy Mass and receive ashes to begin Lent 2025.
The prayer petitions at Immaculate Conception were thought-provoking:
Let us fast from hurtful words and speak kind words … fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude … fast from anger and filled with patience … fast from pessimism and be filled with hope … fast from worries and trust in God … fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity … fast from pressures and be prayerful … fast from bitterness and fill our hearts with joy … fast from selfishness and be compassionate … fast from grudges and be reconciled … fast from words and be silent so we can listen.
That’s enough to keep one busy for 40 days!
RICE BOWL MARKS 50 YEARS
As we continue the 40-day journey, I hope everyone is participating in the Rice Bowl Lenten program. This year is the 50th anniversary of the program. The funds raised purchase therapeutic foods and supplementary feeding supplies for those at risk of starvation, along with tools and seeds for planting crops. I’m sure you have heard the adage, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” We need to provide immediate, temporary assistance while striving for self-sufficiency. Congratulations to Rice Bowl for 50 years.
VOCATIONS AWARENESS & CULTIVATION
“Called By Name,” a great vocation promotion, enlists moms and dads, grandparents, teachers, and others to recognize young men or women who may have the characteristics to be a priest or a consecrated religious sister or brother. On March 25, there will be a Project Andrew/Project Miriam Dinner at Catholic Campus Ministry in Springfield with 4 p.m. Mass, dinner, and conversation. I ask everyone to consider the young people you know and invite them to attend. Parents are invited too. RSVP to Kim Kearbey at [email protected]. On April 17, the St. John Henry Newman Center in Cape Girardeau will host a Holy Hour at 4 p.m., Mass at 5:15 p.m., followed by dinner, and conversation. Those interested in attending: please RSVP to Fr. Jesse Hiett at [email protected]. A graphic announcing these events may be found on page 11. Please feel free to use it for promotional purposes, including on your social media. Let’s get the invitation out there to those discerning God’s will in their lives.
Special thanks to the Vocation Promoters at Sacred Heart Parish, in Monett, for recently hosting a deanery-wide meeting of parish vocation promoters in Deanery 2 of the Diocese. Their Mission Statement is clear: We lay Catholics, under the leadership of Bishop Rice, Fr. Joseph Stoverink, Vocation Director, and the respective pastors of our parishes, will work to identify and cultivate vocations within our parishes. Does your parish have a Parish Vocation Committee?
“O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.”
Published in the March 14, 2025 issue of The Mirror.
Photo Credit: Dennis Vollink-Rite of Election, Bishop M. Rice signed the Book of the Elect from St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Cape Girardeau, presented by Deacon Mark Kiblinger, and greeted now-Elect Ben Vinyard during the Rite of Election held March 16 in St. Mary of the Annunciation Cathedral, Cape Girardeau. Rites of Election were held in St. Agnes Cathedral on March 9, at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. A total of 335 will enter the Church in Southern Missouri at the Easter Vigil: 220 Candidates and 135 Catechumens.