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The next issue of The Mirror will be Oct. 30, 2020.Sign up to receive the diocesan newspaper via Email in digital format: Contact Debbie Thompson at (417) 866-0841, or Email: [email protected].

By Nyssa Berhorst Branson, MO

Each of us is aware that the year 2020 has been flooded with uncertainty, worry, and loss: Uncertainty on issues surround-

ing a global pandemic, worry about the spread of COVID-19, and loss of loved ones and jobs. We have also dealt with the closing of schools and public Masses in our churches, relying on the gift of spiritual communion through Live-streamed liturgies.

However, in the past two months, parishioners of Our Lady of the Lake (OLL) in Branson have been making personal efforts to be physically present for Mass.

“The size of our church certainly makes that possible,” said Fr. Dave Hulshof, pastor.

Father Hulshof has spoken fre-quently about this “return” from the pulpit. Church staff, ushers, and the safety team were asked to imple-ment procedures and precautions to provide a safe environment as public Masses were celebrated again. A couple of parishioners made over 200 phone calls to check on OLL members and to personally invite them back to church, should their age and health allow it.

“Taking baby steps back to hav-ing Church in a new way,” said Ginny Sturgis.

“Returning to church and Mass was very important to me. I did watch it Live-streamed and was grateful for that, but I felt I needed and wanted to be there in person,” said Carol

Brueau-Malson, “The Act of Spiritual Communion is a beautiful prayer when you cannot physically be at church to receive the Eucharist. When my surgeon said I could finally go back to church, I was elated. Receiving the Eu-charist is such a gift from our Lord and fills me with such joy and peace. The bonus of coming back to Mass is being able to see my church family.”

The joy of being back at Mass is remarkable, said Lorry Davis.

“I am SO thankful!” she said. “I have always felt safe in my Father’s House, and I especially do now.”

Even with all the joy of being back at church and seeing some broth-ers and sisters in the faith (six feet apart and wearing masks), there remained an underlying need: it felt as though the parish hadn’t fully come together.

We needed something to solidify our faith community coming back to-gether,” Fr. Hulshof said. “To settle back ‘home.’”

A committee was brought togeth-er to provide an event for safe cama-raderie. After prayer, reflection, and much attention to detail, the Home-coming event was created. This would be an event for joy to shine through masks, a time to catch up with those who had lost touch, and take place in an outdoor venue to safely gather together in accordance with diocesan and county guidelines. Fortunately, the parking lot of the parish could

‘Homecoming’ event celebrates return to Mass

accommodate a large group safely.The Homecoming celebration on

Sept. 27 was a huge success! Parish-ioners enjoyed an endless supply of laughter, music, and (masked) smiles. Boxed meals were provided along with goody bags for the children. Beauti-ful religious items were available for a drawing in support of the church. To top off the afternoon, parishioner Tony Melendez shared his song and guitar-playing skills with technical support from his brother, Jose.

Parishioner Mary Thole remarked it was a “very nice day with church family.”

Thanks to the Homecoming event, there is new life breathed into the parish! A new strength has taken hold. And every week a parishioner is invited to share their reflections about returning to Mass in the parish’s Online bulletin.

“As many of the faithful through-out the diocese cautiously return to their parish homes,” said Fr. Hulshof, “We ask ‘Our Lady of the Lake, pray for us.’” ©TM

HOMECOMING IN BRANSON—A family of parishioners of Our Lady of the Lake, Branson, enjoyed the Homecoming event on Sept. 27 to celebrate the return to Mass and reunion of the faith community. Held on the parish parking lot with all health safety protocols in place, highlights included praise and worship music by Tony and Jose Melendez, a boxed lunch, goody bags for the kids, reflections, and worship. (Photo by Nyssa Berhorst/The Mirror)

2 The Mirror October 16, 2020

Gospel of Life: Every life to be cherished & defendedCOME, AND YOU WILL SEEBp. Edward M. Rice

COLUMN

A special word of thanks for your generous support of the recent Retired Religious Collection. This past year,

2019, the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau donated $97,254.60 to as-sist our retired religious. Throughout the diocese, there is a beautiful legacy

of so many religious who labored in the fields of education, healing, and parish ministry. Your support of them now in their retirement years is a sign of gratitude. At the same time, let us pray for an increase in voca-tions. May the Lord touch the hearts of our youth to respond generously to His call to serve the good people of our diocese.

As we continue to celebrate Oc-tober as Respect Life Month, we also highlight the 25th Anniversary of the pro-life encyclical, “Evangelium Vitae,” (“The Gospel of Life”) written by St. Pope John Paul II. I recently re-ceived a note from a lady stating that I use the phrase, “culture of death” a lot. Her note was a good reminder for me that in the midst of the examples of death, the Christian is a person of hope, called to proclaim the “Gospel of life.”

Pope St. John Paul II recognized the full extent of threats against hu-man life, from poverty and malnutri-tion to murder and war. He places particular emphasis, however, on the threats to life at the beginning and end—precisely when it is most in need of protection. In modern times, children in their mother’s wombs and those approaching the end of their lives are certainly among the “least of these,” in our world’s estimation. Practices such as abortion and assisted suicide tragically reject the truth that human life is always to be cherished and defended with lov-ing concern.”

In addition, must also con-sider the incremental development of Catholic teaching on the death penalty over the last four pontifi-cates. Rooted in the Second Vatican Council, and previously articulated in part by Paul VI, John Paul II, and Pope Benedict, Pope Francis has now expressed the fullness of the posi-tion of the Church regarding capital punishment. In 2018, he amended Paragraph 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church so that it now reads:

Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, follow-ing a fair trial, was long considered an

appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the com-mon good. Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very seri-ous crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been devel-oped, which ensured the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not defini-tively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption. Con-sequently, the church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that “the death penalty is inadmis-sible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the human person,” and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.

Most recently in his just re-leased Encyclical, “Fratelli tutti,” (“All Brothers” on fraternity and social friendship) Pope Francis teaches that,

Saint John Paul II stated clearly and firmly that the death penalty is inadequate from a moral standpoint and no longer necessary from that of penal justice. There can be no step-ping back from this position. Today we

O Immaculate Heart of Mary, we entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick.

At the foot of the Cross, you partici-pated in Jesus’ pain, with steadfast faith.

So attuned to the Heart of Jesus, you know what we need.

We are certain of the power of your intercession, so that, as you did at Cana of Galilee, joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial.

Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform ourselves to the Father’s will and to do what Jesus tells us: He who taught us to “love one another, as I have loved you” took our suffer-ings upon Himself and bore our sor-rows to bring us, through the Cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Bring under your mantle of protection all who provide care for the sick and minister to their needs, as your Son implores us to do for one another.

V. We seek refuge under your pro-tection, O Holy Mother of God.

R: Do not despise our pleas and deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.

Prayer to the

Immaculate Heart of Mary for Protection from the Coronavirus

state clearly that “the death penalty is inadmissible” and the Church is firmly committed to calling for its abolition worldwide.

Let us keep in mind that “not even a murderer loses his personal dignity, and God himself pledg-es to guarantee this.” The firm rejection of the death penalty shows to what extent it is pos-sible to recognize the inalien-able dignity of every human being and to accept that he or she has a place in this universe. If I do not deny that dignity to the worst of criminals, I will not deny it to anyone. I will give everyone the possibility of sharing this planet with me, despite all our differences (par 263, 269).

What strikes me here is “the possibility of redemp-tion.” I have preached many times throughout the diocese

that I am in need of conversion. I am not the priest nor the bishop that I should be. And I need conversion. The same must be said for the death row inmate. They must be given the opportunity for conversion. Death row inmates are worthy of redemp-tion. Why? Because they too have an “inalienable dignity” from being cre-ated by God in His image. This, too, is all part of the Gospel of Life. ©TM

Not even a murderer loses his personal dignity; God himself pledges to guarantee this.

BLESSING CONCRETE—Fr. Laurent Okitakatshi, Priest Chaplain for Catholic Campus Ministry (CCM) at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO), Cape Girardeau; Bp. Edward M. Rice, and Deacon Tom Schumer, SEMO CCM Director, stood among the foundational footings Oct. 13 to bless the space before the con-crete was poured only moments later for the new St. John Henry Newman Cen-ter. The new student center is slated to open in the spring of 2021. (The Mirror)

October 16, 2020 The Mirror 3COLUMNA

Evangelio de la Vida: Cada vida debe ser apreciada y defendidaVEN Y VERÁS

Obispo Edward M. Rice

October prayer intention:Let us ask Our Lady’s interces-sion on our country, for the sick, and for those proposing themselves for political office.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

Ni siquiera el homicida pierde su dignidad personal y Dios mismo se hace su garante

Una palabra especial de agra-decimiento por su generoso apoyo a la reciente Colecta de Religiosos Jubilados.

El año pasado, 2019, la Diócesis de Springfield-Cape Girardeau donó $

97,254.60 para ayudar a nuestros religiosos jubilados. En toda la diócesis, hay un hermoso legado de tantos religiosos que trabajaron en los campos de la educación, la salud y el ministerio parroquial. Su apoyo a

ellos ahora en sus años de jubilación es un signo de gratitud. Al mismo tiempo, recemos por un aumento de las vocaciones. Que el Señor toque los corazones de nuestra juventud para responder generosamente a su llamado a servir a la buena gente de nuestra diócesis.

Mientras seguimos celebrando octubre como el Mes del Respeto a la Vida, también destacamos el 25º Aniversario de la encíclica pro-vida «Evangelium Vitae» («El evangelio de la vida») escrita por el Papa Juan Pablo II. Recientemente recibí una nota de una señora que decía que uso mucho la frase «cultura de la muerte». Su nota fue un buen recor-datorio para mí de que, en medio de los ejemplos de muerte, el cristiano es una persona de esperanza, llamada a proclamar el «Evangelio de la vida».

El Papa San Juan Pablo II recon-oció el alcance total de las amenazas contra la vida humana, desde la pobreza y la malnutrición hasta el asesinato y la guerra. Sin embargo, hace especial hincapié en las amenazas a la vida al prin-cipio y al final, precisamente cuando más necesita protec-ción. En los tiempos moder-nos, los niños en el vientre de sus madres y aquellos que se acercan al final de sus vidas están ciertamente entre los «más pequeños», según la estimación de nuestro mundo. Prácticas como el aborto y el suicidio asistido rechazan trágicamente la verdad de que la vida huma-na siempre debe ser aprecia-da y defendida con amorosa preocupación.

Además, también debe consider-ar el desarrollo gradual de la enseñan-za católica sobre la pena de muerte durante los últimos cuatro pontifica-dos. Enraizado en el Concilio Vati-cano II, y previamente articulado en parte por Pablo VI, Juan Pablo II y el Papa Benedicto, el Papa Francisco ha expresado ahora la plenitud de la posición de la Iglesia con respecto a la pena capital. En 2018, enmendó el párrafo 2267 del Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica para que ahora diga:

Durante mucho tiempo el recurso a la pena de muerte por parte de la autoridad legítima, después de un debido proceso, fue considerado una respuesta apropiada a la gravedad de algunos delitos y un medio admisible, aunque extremo, para la tutela del bien común. Hoy está cada vez más viva la concien-cia de que la dignidad de la persona no se pierde ni siquiera después de haber cometido crímenes muy graves. Además, se ha extendido una nueva compren-sión acerca del sentido de las sanciones penales por parte del Estado. En fin, se

National Vocations Awareness Week, Nov. 1-7 han implementado sistemas de deten-ción más eficaces, que garantizan la necesaria defensa de los ciudadanos, pero que, al mismo tiempo, no le quitan al reo la posibilidad de redimirse defini-tivamente. Por tanto la Iglesia enseña, a la luz del Evangelio, que «la pena de muerte es inadmisible, porque atenta contra la inviolabilidad y la dignidad de la persona», se compromete con determi-nación a su abolición en todo el mundo.

Más recientemente en su recién publicada Encíclica, «Fratelli tutti»

(«Hermanos todos» sobre la fraternidad y la amistad social) el Papa Francisco enseña que,

San Juan Pablo II declaró de manera clara y firme que esta es inadecuada en el ám-bito moral y ya no es nece-saria en el ámbito penal. No es posible pensar en una marcha atrás con respecto a esta pos-tura. Hoy decimos con claridad que «la pena de muerte es inadmisible» y la Iglesia se compromete con determinación para proponer que sea abolida en todo el mundo.

Recordemos que «ni siquiera el homicida pierde su digni-dad personal y Dios mismo se hace su garante». El firme rechazo de la pena de muerte muestra hasta qué punto es posible reconocer la inalienable dignidad de todo ser humano y aceptar que tenga un lugar en este universo. Ya que, si no se lo niego al peor de los criminales, no se lo negaré a nadie, daré a todos la posibilidad de compartir conmigo este planeta a pesar de lo que pueda separa-rnos. (párrafos 263, 269).

Lo que me llama la atención aquí es «la posibilidad de la redi-mirse». He predicado muchas veces en toda la diócesis que necesito conversión. No soy el sacerdote ni el obispo que debería ser. Y necesito la conversión. Lo mismo debe decirse del condenado a muerte. Se les debe dar la oportunidad de la conversión. Los condenados a muerte son dig-nos de redención. ¿Por qué? Porque ellos también tienen una «dignidad inalienable» de ser creados por Dios a su imagen. Todo esto también es parte del Evangelio de la Vida. ©TM


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: Debbie Thompson, [email protected]

Published every other week at 601 S. Jefferson, Springfield, MO 65806-3143. Address all communications to 601 S. Jefferson, Springfield, MO 65806-3143; Telephone (417) 866-0841; Email [email protected]

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Mirror, 601 S. Jefferson, Springfield, MO 65806-3143. When giving change of address, state both old and new address, also old and new parish.Periodicals postage paid at Springfield, MO, and additional mailing offices. Vol. LVI No. 13 October 16, 2020 Single copy price, $0.50 Subscription: $14 per year.

Digital subscriptions available as an option to USPS delivery with paid subscription. For more information, contact [email protected] © 2020, The Mirror, CNA, USCCB, The Vatican, as noted. The Mirror OnLine: www.dioscg.org

“Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau” @DioSCG

COLUMN

I would like to offer a brief reflection to aid Catholics in understanding the proper place the sanctity of hu-man life holds in moral conscience

vis-a-vis their duties in faithful citizen-ship. A common intention among commentators, which is laudable, is to insist that the political participation of Catholics not be limited in its effort to bring about a more just social order. It is true that the faithful ought to give due consideration to the manner in which Catholic Social Teaching can inform the full range of public policy. Some advocate, however, that a more comprehensive approach to political life involves giving alternate moral and political issues equal or greater consid-eration, especially in comparison with abortion. It is argued that some other issue or a combination of issues ought to take precedence in the practical political efforts of the electorate. This is a false understanding of the relation of the moral evil of abortion to other matters of justice which runs afoul of both the magisterial tradition and clear ethical thinking.

An especially troubling suggestion in this line of argument draws a false equivalence between the killing that occurs in the course of just war and the killing of the unborn in abortion. It is said that just as killing occurs in war for the sake of some good end, so also the killing which occurs in abortion can be tolerated for the sake of achieving other political goals. This comparison is a sophomoric misrepresentation of the Catholic tradition. The kill-ing that occurs in just war is not a species of murder at all and is not a moral evil tolerated for the sake of a good outcome. The kill-ing which is sanctioned by legitimate authority in the course of just war is rather that quantum of lethal force necessary to eliminate the unjust aggressor, defend the innocent, and pun-ish evil-doers. It is not an intrinsic evil tolerated or commissioned for the sake of a better state of affairs. The acts of a soldier in the course of just war are lethal acts but they are not murderous acts because the enemy combatants are not innocent and because the violence undertaken is commissioned by legitimate authority for the sake of the common good.

The killing that takes place in the

abortion industry, however, is a spe-cies of murder, an intrinsic evil, and a violation of natural and divine law. An abortion is the direct taking of an inno-cent human life, either as an end or as

a means, and no intention or circumstance can alter its character as an evil act. The legal sanction which is granted to this evil enter-prise by our government is a usurpation of its genuine legal authority insofar as a human government does not have the jurisdiction to pass a law which is contrary to natural and revealed law. Unlike unjust aggressors and enemy combatants who are responsible agents that have used their freedom to do evil and threaten the common good of a nation, unborn human beings are innocent, defenseless, and indispensable to the

common good. For a Catholic, who has been taught by divine revelation concerning the supernatural destiny of man, abortion is an unspeakable crime against the human person created in the image of God and thus an offense against the Creator.

The unjust sanction of an intrin-sic evil, and one on the scale of pro-cured abortion, places upon Catholics a unique and pressing moral duty to participate in political life with the unwavering intent to eradicate this evil and vindicate divine law. In relation to other objects relevant to the political common good of our nation—health-care, foreign policy, and environmental protection, for example—the abolition of abortion ought to remain preemi-nent for Catholics. To cast one’s vote in principal relation to this issue is not necessarily a sign of pusillanimity, low-information voting, or an ill-formed conscience. It is rather a sign that one is rightly informed about the nature and depravity of abortion, the magni-tude of its evil, and its destructive ef-fect on the common good. For as long as the right to life of unborn human persons is violated by the state, the security of all subsequent human, civil, and ecclesial rights is imperiled. In relation to other moral issues, abortion is given preeminence both on account of its devastating iniquity and precisely to secure the possibility of lasting and authentic justice in subordinate mat-ters. On what basis could a culture and regime which arrogates to itself the power to destroy innocent human life

in the womb be reasonably expected to enact justice for the sick, the stranger, and the poor?

Priority of principlesThe achievement of sound judg-

ment in moral matters is often difficult because it involves the application of principles to a great variety of circum-stances. In the face of many pressing political and social ends, all of which, in varying measure, are worthy of redress, it can be tempting to enter into a frame of mind in which aggregated temporal achievement is substituted for the hierarchy of moral ends. It is a seduction, however, characteristic of the thinking of the enemy of human nature, that divine instruction can be abandoned in the beginning only to be recovered in the end. The preeminence given by Catholics to the abolition of abortion among contemporary political concerns is not the repudiation of mor-al reasoning but the sound application of it—an application aided by divine revelation and magisterial charism. It should be understood that the aban-donment of this order of priority is not a transition to a more enlightened state of moral consciousness.

To consider oneself a member of the pro-life movement does not grant one an impeccable moral righteousness or give license to be callous and indif-ferent with respect to the demands of justice in other areas of political life. An awareness of the evil of abortion, and the will to abolish it, ought rather to liberate one’s conscience in order to grow more sensitive in other domains. The social and political struggle to achieve legal justice for the unborn is likewise not a willful imposition of a prurient fascination upon those who do not share our beliefs. Laws are given not merely to restrain us from evil but also to instruct us in right conduct and the demands of the natural law are, in principle, accessible to all men and women. By advocating in charity and truth for the abolition of abortion we do our fellow citizens a spiritual work of mercy. Catholics for whom conscience directs that their political participa-tion be focused upon the abolition of abortion stand on solid ground both as citizens and as believers. ©TM

Gideon Barr is completing his doc-toral studies in theology at Ave Maria Uni-versity and is the Director of the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Studies at the St. John Henry Newman Center in Cape Girardeau.

Moral distinctions in Faithful CitizenshipGUEST COLUMNGideon Barr

As long as the right to life of unborn human persons is violated by the state, the security of all subsequent human, civil, and ecclesial rights is imperiled.

EARLY VOTING—Voters in Atlanta cast election ballots Oct. 13, 2020. As the document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” reminds, “The Church’s obligation to participate in shaping the moral character of society is a requirement of our faith, a part of the mission given to us by Jesus Christ. As people of both faith and reason, Catholics are called to bring truth to po-litical life and to practice Christ’s commandment to ‘love one another’” (Jn 13:34). (CNS photo/Elijah Nouvelage, Reuters)

October 16, 2020 The Mirror 5

Due to the current health concerns, we continue to have an Online option so that training may be done safely in the home. We are also re-introducing “in-person” training options.

Thu., Nov. 12 5:30-8:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . The Catholic Center, SpringfieldSat., Nov. 14 8:30-11:30 a.m. . . . . . . . . . . . The Catholic Center, SpringfieldFri., Dec. 4 8:30-11:30 a.m. . . . . . . . . . . . The Catholic Center, Springfield

If you are a new registrant please go to www.virtus.org and click on “first time registrant” on the left, and follow the prompts to register for an Online training. Instructions for the registration process can also be found on the Child and Youth Protection Page of the diocesan Website.

http://dioscg.org/wp-content/uploads/ How-to-Register-for-a-VIRTUS-AfterOnline-Option-1.pdf

For more information, please contact the Office of Child and Youth Protection, [email protected]; or Bill Holtmeyer, [email protected]; or Rosie Francka [email protected], (417) 866-0841.

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.

Chaffee—St. Ambrose is hosting its 31st Annual Din-ner Auction as a virtual/Online event on Mon., Oct.19-Sat., Oct. 24. The theme this year is “The Roaring 20s … The Year of Faith Over Fear!” You must purchase an access ticket for $25 to view and bid on donated items. Your purchase does include one carry-out meal and additional carry-out meals may be purchased for $15. The meal includes smoked pork loin and chicken, loaded mashed pota-toes, loaded green beans, seven-layer salad, and roll. Meals will be available for pickup on Sat., Oct. 24, from 5-7p.m., at St. Ambrose Gymnasium 419 S. Third St. For more information, please contact Amanda at (573) 270-7765.

Jackson—Homeschoolers, new and old, of all grade levels, are invited to participate in the Holy Family Catholic Homeschool Co-op. We aim to support one another in our homeschooling through social, spiritual, and academic meet-ups and field trips. For more informa-tion, call Sarah at (573) 529-0722, or Email [email protected].

Lebanon—St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, located at 345 Grand Ave., is having its an-nual Rummage Sale on Fri., Oct. 30 and Sat., Oct. 31, 7a.m. -2 p.m. Something for everyone including clothes, household items, books, toys, furniture, and so much more. Masks required.

Scott City—Mark your calendars for the Knights of Co-lumbus Hall Council #6420 Third Sunday Breakfasts on Nov. 15 and Dec 20, from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Scott City—The Knights of St. Joseph Parish will have a Spaghetti Dinner on Sat., Nov. 7, 4:30-7 pm., in the lower level with social distancing applied. Carry-out available: call (573) 264-3008 for curbside pickup. Menu: spaghetti, garlic bread, green beans, and salad for $9. For more information or questions answered, please call Brian, (573) 450-4902.

Scott City—The Knights of Columbus Counci l#6420 will hold

a Stuff-A-Truck event on Sat., Nov. 7, from 9 a.m.-12 noon, at the Knights of Columus hall. Donations are for the local food pantries as hunger never takes a holiday. We are also collecting new and un-wrapped toys to help the Marine Corp League with its annual Toys for Tots drive. Please come out and support these great causes.

Springfield—Adorers are needed for Perpetual Adoration at Holy Trinity Parish on Tuesdays: 2 p.m.; and Fridays: 4 p.m. Adoration Hours are weekdays from 1p.m.-5 p.m., in the church. Please observe masking and social distancing requirements. For more informa-tion or to sign up, please call Nicola Mullins at (417) 300-0840. If you are unable to attend, consider making a donation to keep our candles burning bright.

Springfield—Beginning Expe-rience of Springfield has canceled its previously scheduled programs through the remainder of 2020. We value the health and safety of our participants and hope to be able to minister to the divorced and widowed again in 2021. If you would like someone to talk to in the interim, please call one of our facili-tators: Barb, (417) 827-3641; Mary Alice, (417) 838-4651; or Diane, (870) 688-8829.

Springfield—St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish has rescheduled the annual Mass for Deceased Children. It will be held on Wed., Nov. 11, at 6 p.m. This Mass is to honor and celebrate all children who have died. Please plan to attend and share in this beauti-ful Liturgy. Social distancing and masks are required. For questions, please contact Laura Graham, (417) 343-5439 or Barbara Carey, (417) 368-2930.

Springfield—St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish Council of Catho-lic Women (PCCW) has canceled this year’s Annual Bazaar that was originally scheduled for Sat., Nov. 7, and Sun., Nov. 8, 2020.

Springfield—Holy Trinity Par-ish’s CCW Fall Bazaar, scheduled for Nov. 14-15, 2020, has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For questions, please contact Tina Kile at [email protected], or (417) 827-3165.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Please join us in praying for women and men suffering after abortion: May the Church’s post-abortion healing ministry, PROJECT RACHEL, help them find peace and healing.

Through PROJECT RACHEL, the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau offers support for women and men in a diocesan-based, bilingual (English & Spanish) ministry comprised of two trained laypeople and a network of priests who provide a team response of care for those suffering in the aftermath of abortion.

For more information, CONFIDENTIALLY call (417) 242-9300 or Email: [email protected].

Confidentially call (417) 242-9300 or Email [email protected]?


Four principles for Catholics during election seasonWORD ON FIREBp. Robert Barron

Every four years, Catholics face an intense dilemma in regard to the vote. There are ardently Catholic Democrats

who wonder how their co-religionists could possibly choose a Republican candidate, and there are ardently Catholic Republicans who express precisely the opposite opinion. And both sides, typically, look with eager-ness to their bishops and priests to resolve the tension. Each presidential election cycle, the Church endeavors to clarify the issue, usually to the satisfaction of very few. However, under the rubric of “once more unto the breach, dear friends,” let me try to provide some direction by articu-lating four basic principles.

First, Catholic social teach-ing clearly goes beyond the split between Republican and Democrat, between liberal and conservative, and therefore corresponds perfectly with neither political camp. Anyone who says that either of our political parties perfectly, or even adequately, represents Catholic social thought is simply misinformed. Broadly speak-ing, the Democratic Party advocates a number of themes and principles reverenced by the Catholic tradition: concern for the underprivileged, for the migrant and refugee, and for the environment, as well as opposition to capital punishment, and to all forms of racism. And again, broadly

speaking, the Republican Party sides with Catholic teaching in a number of ways: opposition to abortion and euthanasia, defense of the traditional family, advocacy for conscience protection, and freedom of religion. Which of the two parties is more “Catholic?” It seems to me impos-sible to adjudicate the question in the abstract.

Are we left, therefore, simply in a lurch? Not quite, and this leads to the second principle I would like to explicate: among the various values mentioned, a priority must be given to the defense of human life, since life is the most fundamental good of

all, the one without which the other goods wouldn’t obtain. Therefore, in the political calculus of a Catholic, opposition to abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment should take pride of place. Now, just to keep things complicated, Republicans are relatively right in regard to the first two and Democrats in regard to the last one, though, to be sure, the number of those threatened by abortion and euthanasia is far greater than the number of those under threat of capital punishment. Some-times people will say that all lives are equally sacred, but in this context, that observation is something of a red herring. For the relevant question is not which lives are more sacred—those of the un-born, the elderly, the poor, the migrant—but which lives are more direly and directly threatened.

And this leads to a third principle: a Catholic may never vote for a can-didate because that can-didate supports a morally repugnant position, only despite that support and only because of balanc-ing considerations. Thus, for example, a Catholic in good conscience could never say that he or she will vote for Joe Biden because the Democrat is pro-choice, and by the same token, a Catholic in good conscience could never say that he or she will vote for Donald Trump because the Republican is for capital punishment. Each would have to say some version of “despite his unac-ceptable position, I will vote for him because, in prudence, I have deter-mined that other commitments of his and/or his own character counter-balances his objectionable opinion.”

Does this lead us into somewhat murky waters? Frankly, yes, but that’s necessarily the case when we’re deal-ing not with matters of principle but matters of prudence.

And this last statement conduc-es to my fourth and final proposition: Catholics ought never to disagree in regard to moral principles, but they can indeed legitimately disagree about the best means to instantiate those principles. So, for example, I think that every Catholic in America ought to embrace the political ideals that I identified above, some more characteristic of the left and others of the right. Every Catholic ought to be for protecting the environment, serving the poor, defending the tradi-tional family, battling social injustice, advocating for religious liberty and freedom of conscience, etc. But not every Catholic is obliged to subscribe to the same means of attaining those ends. Liberal and conservative Catholics can disagree about the Paris Climate Accords, the legitimacy of off-shore drilling, the advisability of reforming our health-care system, changes to our tax laws, the level of the minimum wage, the best policy in regard to Wall Street regulation, etc., etc. Those latter issues are open to legitimate debate and are matters

for prudential judgment.Perhaps I might,

in closing, not so much propose a fifth principle, as deliver myself of a cri de coeur: Vote! Some Catho-lics are tempted—and I will admit to feeling the tug of this temptation—that because things are so complicated politically for those who advocate Catholic social teaching, it is best to say, “a plague on both your houses,” and keep to the sidelines. But this is not a tenable position. In the Lord’s Prayer, we petition, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The Gospel mes-sage does indeed draw us ultimately to eternal life on high with the Lord, but

it also has real-world implications here below. If we Catholics don’t involve ourselves in the political process, as messy as that often is, we permit Catholic social teaching to remain a set of harmless abstractions. ©TM

Bp. Robert Barron is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

For the relevant question is not which lives are more sacred—those of the unborn, the elderly, the poor, the migrant—but which lives are more direly and directly threatened.

ADULT FAITH

October 16, 2020 The Mirror 7SCRIPTURE READINGS

The fragmentation of societies and cultures is seen in our neighbor-hoods, communities, and society.

The beatitudes offer us a pow-erful alternative to the human con-dition marked by injustice, sin, and greed. Being poor in spirit, meek, merciful, clean of heart, peacemak-ers, and ready to bear insults for the name of Jesus are all ways to be countercultural witnesses to the Gospel. These are ways in which we sow the seeds of love instead of hatred, peace instead of war, and compassion instead of selfishness.

As we celebrate the feast of All Saints, think of one saint who inspires and guides your life in a particular way. Reflect on how that saint is a model of the Christian virtues that the beatitudes describe. Then seek the same grace that in-spired the life of that saint to help you as you strive to live the beati-tudes in your daily life as you pray, “speak to me, Lord.”

Reflection question:How am I called to become a

saint? ©CNS

Sullivan is a professor at The Catholic University of America.

his will. So our longing to know how God wants us to live our lives is a sign that God is already at work in us. And because our seeking is a response to God’s grace, we can seek his wisdom with hope. ©CNS

Perrotta is the editor and an au-thor of the Six Weeks With the Bible series, teaches part-time at Siena Heights University and leads Holy Land pilgrim-ages. He lives in Ann Arbor, MI.

Sunday Scripture reading, Nov. 8, 2020: Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wisdom’s search

Sunday Scripture reading, Nov. 1, 2020: Solemnity of All Saints

Holiness for allBy Jem Sullivan

1) Rv 7:2-4, 9-14Psalm 24:1-62) 1 Jn 3:1-3Gospel: Mt 5:1-12

Holiness is one of the most powerful arguments for the truth of Christianity. The early Christians who

lived under severe persecution, re-jection, and even martyrdom knew this well. Even as they experienced rejection, injustice, and false accusa-tions for their faith in Jesus Christ,

they persevered in their Christian witness.

Their holiness of life, lived in the ordinary moments of each day, became a powerful force for change in society. Within a few hundred years the Roman Empire, once pa-gan and ruthless, was transformed by the power of faith and love through the ordinary witness of holiness by Christians, just like you and me.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives his disciples the beatitudes as quali-ties that mark a saintly life. And as the church celebrates the feast of All

Saints, we are reminded that holiness is not only for a select few in the church.

The saints are not perfect human beings. They are sinners who conform their life to Jesus in radical and simple ways. They responded to Jesus’ call to reflect the pattern of his life, death, and resurrection as the path to encounter God.

In giving his disci-ples the beatitudes, Jesus invited them, and each

But here’s the remarkable thing. God gives us the desire to learn from him: “She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of their desire.” “In anticipation” means she gets there first—and stirs up our desire.

Before we begin to seek wis-dom from God (and don’t we all need it!), God is at work to give us a sense of our need, a desire to hear his voice, a determination to seek

By Kevin Perrotta

1) Wis 6:12-16Psalm 63:2-82) 1 Thes 4:13-18 or 4:13-14Gospel: Mt 25:1-13

Today’s first reading begins simply: “Resplendent and unfading is wisdom.” It’s a kind of marketing statement,

although unlikely ever to appear on a billboard. God’s wisdom is really good, it declares. Get it!

The next few lines are not so simple. The author goes on to speak of wisdom as a person, a “she.” If you get up early and look for her, you’ll find her already sitting by your gate, it says. What’s with that?

The author is being poetic, obviously. He wants readers to desire the wisdom that God is offering, so he speaks of it as an attractive woman (the biblical author, living in a patriarchal culture, addresses him-self primarily to male readers). “Get wisdom” is promoted in an imagina-tive way: “Seek her!”

But something more is going on here. In the author’s imagina-tive ad, the woman who represents wisdom goes looking for people. She does the seeking: “She makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of her, and graciously appears to them.”

God does not communicate wisdom to us like a teacher of an Online course (log on and listen to the lecture). He comes looking for us personally. He wants to make us wise.

Now, the author does under-line the importance of our seek-ing wisdom. As noted, the whole reading begins with a marketing statement. God’s wisdom is avail-able. Act now! Wisdom is readily perceived, the author says, “by those who love her.”

That is to say, God doesn’t distribute wisdom to everybody whether they’re interested or not, like an activist handing out bro-chures to everyone passing on the street. It’s only if we really want to be guided and instructed by God that he will teach us.

one of us, to walk in the same ways of holiness. You and I are called to be nothing less than saints!

“Holiness is the most attrac-tive face of the church,” said Pope Francis in his apostolic exhortation “Gaudete et Exsultate” (“Rejoice and Be Glad”). In his most recent encyclical letter, “Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship,”

Pope Francis con-tinues the theme of holiness as it shapes the web of our human relationships of friendship and social networks. To live the beati-tudes is to change our lives and to change society through justice, compassion, and peace.

One has only to read the daily

headlines and news from around the world to know that the human condition is fragmented and bro-ken. The world continues to struggle through a pandemic and the effects are felt economically and socially.

To live the beatitudes is to change our lives and to change society.


‘Fratelli tutti:’ short summary of Pope Francis’ Social EncyclicalFraternity and social friendship are the ways the Pontiff indicates to build a better, more just and peaceful world, with the contribution of all: people and institutions. With an emphatic confirmation of a ‘no’ to war and to globalized indifference.

By Isabella Piro

What are the great ideals but also the tangible ways to advance for those who wish to build

a more just and fraternal world in their ordinary relationships, in social life, politics, and institutions?

This is mainly the question that Fratelli tutti is intended to answer: the Pope describes it as a “Social Encycli-cal” (6) which borrows the title of the “Admonitions” of St. Francis of Assisi, who used these words to “ad-dress his brothers and sisters and pro-posed to them a way of life marked by the flavour of the Gospel” (Par 1). The Encyclical aims to promote

a universal aspiration toward fra-ternity and social friendship. In the background of the Encyclical is the COVID-19 pandemic which, Francis reveals, “unexpectedly erupted” as he “was writing this letter.” But the global health emergency has helped demonstrate that “no one can face life in isolation” and that the time has truly come to “dream, then, as a single human family” in which we are “brothers and sisters all” (Par 8).

Chapter One: dark clouds cover the world

In the first of eight chapters, which is entitled “Dark Clouds over a Closed World,” the document reflects on the many distortions of the contemporary era: the manipula-tion and deformation of concepts such as democracy, freedom, justice; the loss of the meaning of the social community and history; selfishness and indifference toward the common good; the prevalence of a market logic based on profit and the culture of waste; unemployment, racism, poverty; the disparity of rights and its aberrations such as slavery, traf-ficking, women subjugated and then

forced to abort, organ trafficking (see Par 10-24). It deals with global problems that call for global actions, emphasizes the Pope, also sounding the alarm against a “culture of walls” that favours the proliferation of organized crime, fuelled by fear and loneliness (see Par 27-28).

Chapter Two: strangers on the road

To many shadows, however, the Encyclical responds with a luminous example, a herald of hope: the Good Samaritan. The second chapter, “A stranger on the road,” is dedicated to this figure. In it, the Pope emphasizes that, in an unhealthy society that turns its back on suffering and that is “illiterate” in caring for the frail and vulnerable (see Par 64-65), we are all called—just like the Good Samari-tan—to become neighbours to others (see Par 81), overcoming prejudices, personal interests, historic, and cultural barriers. We all, in fact, are co-responsible in creating a society that is able to include, integrate, and lift up those who have fallen or are suffering (see Par 77). Love builds bridges and “we were made for love” (Par 88), the Pope adds, particularly exhorting Christians to recognize Christ in the face of every excluded person (see Par 85).

Chapter Three: vision of an open world

The principle of the capacity to love according to “a universal dimen-sion” (see Par 83) is also resumed in the third chapter, “Envisaging and engendering an open world.” In this chapter Francis exhorts us to go “‘outside’ the self” in order to find “a fuller existence in another” (Par 88), opening ourselves up to the other according to the dynamism of charity which makes us tend toward “universal fulfilment” (Par 95). In the background—the Encyclical recalls—the spiritual stature of a person’s life is measured by love, which always “takes first place” and leads us to seek better for the life of the other, far from all selfishness (Par 92-93). The sense of solidarity and of fraternity begin within the family, which are to be safeguarded and respected in their “primary and vital mission of educa-tion” (Par 114).

The right to live with dignity cannot be denied to anyone, the Pope again affirms, and since rights have no borders, no one can remain excluded, regardless of where they are born (see Par 121) In this per-spective the Pontiff also calls us to consider “an ethics of international relations” (see Par 126), because ev-ery country also belongs to foreigners and the goods of the territory cannot

be denied to those who are in need and come from another place. Thus, the natural right to private property will be secondary to the principal of the universal destination of created goods (see Par 120). The Encyclical also places specific emphasis on the issue of foreign debt: subject to the principal that it must be paid, it is hoped nonetheless that this does not compromise the growth and subsis-tence of the poorest countries (see Par 126).

Chapter Four: heart open to the world

To the theme of migration, the latter, entitled “A heart open to the whole world.” With their lives “at stake” (Par 37), fleeing from war, persecution, natural catastrophes, unscrupulous trafficking, ripped from their communities of origin, migrants are to be welcomed, pro-tected, supported, and integrated. Unnecessary migration needs to be avoided, the Pontiff affirms, by creating concrete opportunities to live with dignity in the countries of origin. But at the same time, we need to respect the right to seek a better life elsewhere. In receiving countries, the right balance will be between the protection of citizens’ rights and the guarantee of welcome and assistance for migrants (see Par 38-40). Spe-cifically, the Pope points to several “indispensable steps, especially in re-sponse to those who are fleeing grave humanitarian crises:” to increase and simplify the granting of visas; to open humanitarian corridors; to assure lodging, security, and essential services; to offer opportunities for employment and training; to favour family reunification; to protect mi-nors; to guarantee religious freedom. What is needed above all—the docu-ment reads—is global governance, an international collaboration for migration which implements long-term planning, going beyond single emergencies, on behalf of the sup-portive development of all peoples (see Par 129-132).

Chapter Five: better politics

The theme of the fifth chapter is “A better kind of politics,” which represents one of the most valuable forms of charity because it is placed at the service of the common good (see Par 180) and recognizes the importance of people, understood as an open category, available for discussion and dialogue (see Par 160). This is the populism indicated by Francis, which counters that “popu-lism” which ignores the legitimacy of the notion of “people”, by attract-ing consensuses in order to exploit

FEATURE

Joplin, MO

Bette Schoeberl has taught Sec-ond grade at St. Mary Catho-lic School for 26 years. “COVID messes up just

about everything,” said Margie Black, physical education and Spanish teacher, “but we found a way around it and still celebrated her retirement with an outdoor reception.”

The event was held on Oct. 7, during which Schoeberl with

presented a crystal cross from the Joplin Area Catholic School System in appreciation for her love, dedica-tion, and service. She now joins a group of other educators who have also retired from St. Mary’s after a collective total of more than 180 years of Catholic education: Schoe-berl—32 years (26 at St. Mary); Rita Adams—35 years; Judy Clark-son—40 years; Karen Drake—36 years, and Sharon Reeve—39 years. ©TM

Joplin teacher retires after 26 years at St. Mary School

SECOND GRADE—Mrs. Schoeberl with Gigi Fogarty, one of four siblings who all had Mrs. Schoeberl for their second grade teacher. Schoeberl is retiring after 32 years in Catholic education. (Photo by Margie Black/The Mirror)

October 16, 2020 The Mirror 9

‘Fratelli tutti:’ short summary of Pope Francis’ Social Encyclicalthem for its own service and foment-ing selfishness in order to increase its own popularity (see Par 159). But a better politics is also one that protects work, an “essential dimen-sion of social life.” The best strategy against poverty, the Pontiff explains, does not simply aim to contain or render indigents inoffensive, but to promote them in the perspective of solidarity and subsidiarity (see Par 187). The task of politics, moreover, is to find a solution to all that attacks fundamental human rights, such as social exclusion; the marketing of organs, tissues, weapons, and drugs; sexual exploitation; slave labour; terrorism and organized crime. The Pope makes an emphatic appeal to definitively eliminate human traffick-ing, a “source of shame for human-ity,” and hunger, which is “criminal” because food is “an inalienable right” (Par 188-189).

The politics we need, Francis also underscores, is a politics centred on human dignity and not subjected to finance because “the marketplace, by itself, cannot resolve every prob-lem:” the “havoc” wreaked by finan-cial speculation has demonstrated this (see Par 168). Hence, popular movements have taken on particular relevance: as true “torrents of moral energy,” they must be engaged in society with greater coordination. In this way—the Pope states—it will be possible to go beyond a Policy “with” and “of” the poor (see Par 169).

Another hope present in the Encyclical regards the reform of the UN: in the face of the predominance of the economic dimension, a task of the UN will be to give substance to the concept of a “family of nations” working for the common good, the eradication of poverty and the protection of human rights. Tireless recourse “to negotiation, mediation, and arbitration”—the Papal Docu-ment states—the UN must promote the force of law rather than the law of force (see Par 173-175).

Chapter Six: dialogue and friendship

From the sixth chapter, “Dia-logue and friendship in society,” further emerges the concept of life as the “art of encounter” with everyone, even with the world’s peripheries and with original peoples, because “each of us can learn something from oth-ers. No one is useless and no one is expendable” (see Par 215). Then, of particular note, is the Pope’s refer-ence to the miracle of “kindness,” an attitude to be recovered because it is a star “shining in the midst of dark-ness” and “frees us from the cruelty … the anxiety … the frantic flurry of activity” that prevail in the contem-porary era (see Par 222-224).

Chapter Seven: renewed encounter

The value and promotion of peace is reflected on in the seventh chapter, “Paths of renewed encoun-ter”, in which the Pope underlines that peace is connected to truth, jus-tice, and mercy. Far from the desire for vengeance, it is “proactive” and aims at forming a society based on service to others and on the pursuit of reconciliation and mutual de-velopment (see Par 227-229). Thus, peace is an “art” that involves and regards everyone and in which each one must do his or her part in “a never-ending task” (see Par 227-232). Forgiveness is linked to peace: we must love everyone, without exception—the Encyclical reads—but loving an oppressor means helping him to change and not allowing him to continue oppress-ing his neighbour (see Par 241-242). Forgiveness does not mean impu-nity, but rather, justice and remem-brance, because to forgive does not mean to forget, but to renounce the destructive power of evil and the desire for revenge. Never forget “horrors” like the Shoah, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Naga-saki, persecutions and ethnic mas-sacres—exhorts the Pope. They must be remembered always, anew, so as not be become anaesthetized and to keep the flame of collective con-science alive. It is just as important

FEATURE

to remember the good (see Par 246-252).

‘Just War’Part of the seventh chapter,

then, focuses on war: “a constant threat,” that represents “the ne-gation of all rights,” “a failure of politics and of humanity,” and “a stinging defeat before the forces of evil.” Moreover, due to nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that strike many innocent civilians, today we can no longer think, as in the past, of the possibility of a “just war,” but we must vehemently reaffirm: “Never again war!” The total elimination of nuclear arms is “a moral and humanitarian impera-tive.” With the money invested in weapons, the Pope suggests instead the establishment of a global fund for the elimination of hunger (see Par 255-262).

Death penaltyFrancis expresses just as clearly

a position with regard to the death penalty: it is inadmissible and must be abolished worldwide. Not even a murderer loses his personal dig-nity”—the Pope writes—“and God himself pledges to guarantee this” (Par 263-269). There is emphasis on the necessity to respect “the sacred-ness of life” (Par 283) where today “some parts of our human family, it appears, can be readily sacrificed,” such as the unborn, the poor, the disabled and the elderly (Par 18).

FRATELLI TUTTI CHALLENGE—Free copies of L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, with the front page about Pope Francis’ new encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship,” were distributed by volun-teers at the end of the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Oct. 4, 2020. The social encyclical extends a formi-dable challenge to us all, the challenge to create “a different culture.” (CNS photo/ IPA/Sipa USA, Reuters)

Chapter Eight: religion and fraternity

In the eighth and final chapter, the Pontiff focuses on “Religions at the service of fraternity in our world” and emphasizes that terrorism is not due to religion but to erroneous in-terpretations of religious texts, as well as “policies linked to hunger, poverty, injustice, oppression” (Par 282-283). a journey of peace among religions is possible and that it is therefore neces-sary to guarantee religious freedom, a fundamental human right for all believers (see Par 279).

The Encyclical reflects, in par-ticular, on the role of the Church: she does not “restrict her mission to the private sphere,” it states. While not engaging in politics she does not, however, renounce the political dimension of life itself, attention to the common good and concern for integral human development, accord-ing to evangelical principals (see Par 276-278).

Lastly, Francis quotes the “Docu-ment on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together,” which he signed on Feb. 4, 2019 in Abu Dhabi, along with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyib: from that milestone of interreligious dialogue, the Pontiff returns to the appeal that, in the name of human fraternity, dia-logue be adopted as the way, common cooperation as conduct, and mutual knowledge as method and standard (see Par 285). ©VaticanNews

10 The Mirror October 16, 2020DIOCESAN NEWS

Sat., Oct. 24, 2020, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.Onsite at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Springfield or Online through Zoom

Connecting Families toSacramental Ministry

for Children and YouthNational workshop series for Catholic leaders

from the Center for Ministry Development

Please register Online by scanning the code at the right or go tohttps://dioscg.formstack.com/forms/connecting_families.A $10 registration fee for onsite participation includes a packet of information, lunch, and a continental breakfast.Questions or help? Contact Shasta Beckers at (417) 866-0841.

This workshop will provide vision and practical resources for leaders to know, welcome, engage, and empower parents as they share faith and sacramental life with their children.

CASE MANAGEMENT—Jana and son visited the local Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri (CCSOMO) office in Van Buren, a tourism destina-tion impacted by the COVID pandemic resulting in historic levels of un-employment. Jana usually works in food service but after months search-ing for work, she was on the verge of eviction until CCSOMO’s assistance. (PHOTO by John Farmer de la Torre/CCSOMO)

Van Buren, MO

The COVID pandemic has up-ended the lives and finances of millions of Americans including in Missouri where

more than 149,000 people have been infected as of mid-October and tragically, more than 2,600 have died. The impact of the pandemic has been catastrophic for many breadwinners in the diocese as they lose income and food security. One example is Van Buren resident and food service worker, Jana, who returned home to work the local tourism season. COVID crushed that hope, yet Jana hunted employ-ment for months as her unpaid rent piled up.

Finally, without income, Jana faced eviction. She also found her-self unable to move forward with her son’s application for Medicaid health insurance, despite sev-eral years trying to obtain it. Jana contacted Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri (CCSOMO) for help. Case Manager Ashley Jacob-son began work immediately: she saved Jana’s housing with funds for rent assistance; she helped enroll Jana’s son into Medicaid; and most

importantly, CCSOMO partnered with Jana to find new employment, an important part of the agency’s holistic, family-strengthening ap-proach to case management leading to self-sufficiency and security.

Food insecurity, however, has been a major issue for many families like Jana’s, even before the pandem-ic. It has spread with the virus and layoffs. With help from a grant pro-vided by the Walmart Foundation, CCSOMO and Ashley were able to enroll Jana and her son into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as “Food Stamps.”

Jana’s relief is deeply felt.“I cannot imagine not hav-

ing it. I know, I have a hungry little boy,” she said.

Jana is not alone in relying upon SNAP temporarily to put food on the table. Indeed, SNAP has become a critical lifeline for job seekers laid off due to COVID.

“We have seen an increase in the numbers of families requesting assistance with SNAP applications,” said Angie Webb CCSOMO Housing Supervisor. “Most are first-time en-rollees who have not had to worry about food shortages in the past.”

Catholic Charities’ family-strengthening approach changes lives

www.ccsomo.org

Catholic Charities seeks CFOThe Chief Financial Officer will be a strategic thought-partner, and report to the Executive Director (ED). The successful candidate will be a hands-on and partici-pative manager and will lead and develop an internal team to support the following areas: finance, business planning and budgeting, human resources, administration, and IT. The Chief Financial Officer will play a critical role in partnering with the senior leadership team in strategic decision making and operations as Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri continues to enhance its quality programming and build capacity. CPA or MBA preferred. At least 5 years of overall professional experience; 3+ years of broad financial and operations management experience.

For more information and details about the position,please visit www.ccsomo.org/employment

Congratulations on these Novemberordination anniversaries

From a grateful Church:Thank you from all the people whose lives you have touched!

PriestsRev. Thien Toan Nguyen (Dominic Loc), Nov. 5, 5 yrs.Rev. Patrick A. Teter, Nov. 21, 28 yrs.Rev. David L. Miller, Nov. 27, 39 yrs.Rev. John S. Braun, Nov. 27, 33 yrs.Rev. Randolph G. Tochtrop, Nov. 29, 24 yrs.

DeaconDeacon Thomas M. Brewer, Nov. 30, 23 yrs.

Jana is today looking for work and living in her own home because of CCSOMO and its supporters.

“Thank you, to the supporters

who make Catholic Charities pos-sible, and for saving me and my son from the eviction process,” Jana said. ©TM

October 16, 2020 The Mirror 11DIOCESAN NEWS

DISCOVER || CELEBRATE || HONOR

Holy Hours, Live-Stream Mass, Lesson Plans,One-Minute Videos

Join in the diocesan-wide Novena!https://dioscg.org/st-rose-philippine-duchesne-2/

FEAST DAY: NOVEMBER 18

CO-PATRON OF THE DIOCESE OFSPRINGFIELD-CAPE GIRARDEAU

ST. ROSE PHILIPPINEDUCHESNE

Founding member of Nazareth Hermitage diesAva, MO

Sister Miriam Geh-ringer, one of the three founders of Nazareth Hermitage,

in Ava, MO, died Oct. 2, 2020, at age 95.

Sister Gehringer was born July 22, 1925, in Omaha, NE, to Joseph and Helen (McLaren) Gehringer. She was the fifth child in a family of seven. She undertook her religious vows on Aug.15, 1945, recently cel-ebrating her 75th anniversary. She graduated from Creighton Univer-sity and helped establish a house of Prayer in Texas in the late-1960s.

A member of the religious community the Servants of Mary, Sr. Gehringer taught for 33 years and in 1975 was given permission to seek the hermit way of life. It was then in 1976, together with Fr. Leon Brockman and Sr. Mary DeVries, that the Nazareth Her-mitage Catholic Community was founded.

Sister Gehringer enjoyed poetry and literature. She could

recite countless favorite poems by memory. She was especially devoted to the Eucharist; her official name was Sr. Miriam of the Blessed Sacrament. She identified solitude as the draw for seeking the hermit way of life: “Our spiritual nurturing comes primarily from within, it’s

a satisfying life, solitude purifies the senses.” Part of her contribution for the finances at Nazareth Hermitage was as a proof-reader for Cistercian Publications.

The Rite of Christian Burial was celebrated by The Most Rev. Edward M. Rice on Oct. 6, at As-sumption Abbey in Ava. All health safety directives were in place.

Sister Gehringer was preceded in death by her parents, her four siblings, Joseph, Helen, Robert, and Florence, and Nazareth co-founders, Fr. Brockman (2019) and Sr. DeVries (2011). She is survived by her two brothers, Donald and Raymond Gehringer as well as her dear community at the Nazareth Hermitage. ©TM

Sr. Gehringer

Mountain Grove CCW gives back to community

COMMUNITY DONATIONS—The Council of Catholic Women at Sa-cred Heart Church of Mountain Grove, MO, has been privileged to donate to three worthy causes us-ing funds raised mostly through its bi-annual garage sales. First, they unanimously voted to donate $300 to Unique Services, also of Mountain Grove. Erika Martin, a long-time member of Sacred Heart and the women’s council, present-ed the check to LaDonna Kennedy at Unique Services’ monthly meet-ing on Mon., Oct. 5. Martin’s son, Dean, has benefited from the care and programs generously offered to handicapped individuals over the

years at Unique Services. The Council of Catholic Women also donated to the Pregnancy Resource Center of Mountain Grove. The Sacred Heart Council gives them $300 annually so that the center can provide women with the knowledge and support they need during pregnancy and post-delivery. Lastly, the Women’s Council donated $300 to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Brazil. The children of Sacred Heart Par-ish in Mountain Grove, through Deacon Joe Kurtenbach, donate their al-lowances each Sunday during the offertory to this mission. Since COVID has impacted Mass attendance and participation so greatly this year, the Council of Catholic Women of Sacred Heart wanted to compensate by donating to the childrens’ cause. (Photo by Andrea Gomez Ferguson/The Mirror)

12 The Mirror October 16, 2020LETTERS TO EDITOR

There are other issues of in-justice in our United States but when our country maintains a law permitting

one to intentionally destroy God’s creation by taking the life of an in-nocent and defenseless child, how I wonder can we expect Him to address or heal those other issues or for that matter even take us seri-ously when we speak of them.

Mary LowryRichards, MO

Concerning recent Letters to the Editor, we agree that as respon-sible citizens all issues and party platforms should be researched. Our response is limited to four of the issues mentioned: Platforms, chaos in cities, the pandemic re-sponse, and abortion.

Please don’t vote for a candi-date or platform only to discover their position after the election. Seek information on both sides. Platforms are readily available Online.

Most people in this country are frustrated by the disruption and chaos in cities and the empty rhetoric of officials at local and state levels, whose responsibility it is for addressing those problems. We are witnessing attempts similar to the Soviets, Chinese, and Nazis to erase culture and history and to promote instability. This pattern has continued in Venezuela which was once a prosperous country, but after the same methods used to de-stroy culture, church, and law, it is now a communist country (AMAC Magazine, Oct. 2020, 20-24).

As to the pandemic response, we hear attacks toward the cur-rent administration from the Left. Repeatedly, we are told that the Administration has done nothing. Yet, no alternative is mentioned as to what the other side would have done. In the debates, we heard that the Left would do some of the same things that Pres. Trump has already done.

Just a few of the President’s responses were: Developing ad-vanced testing; developing a safe vaccine through Operation Warp Speed; obtaining needed medical equipment quickly through the private sector; providing ventila-tors for patients needing one; and promoting the CARES Act, which included the Paycheck Protection Plan.

If one votes for “multi-prolife issues,” then it follows they must consider abortion among those is-sues. The US Conference of Catho-lic Bishops state, “society, through its laws and social institutions, must protect and nurture human life at every stage of its existence”

(https://www.usccb.org/prolife). If this is our goal, then how can a Catholic voter support “life at every stage” and be for abortion?

Cardinal Gerhard Müller states that anyone who promotes abortion “is not eligible for elec-tion as a Catholic … even though he may otherwise do good.” In ad-dition “you cannot say social jus-tice is more important than life,” as it is not possible to equate the death penalty or the environment with abortion of innocents. “It is better to vote for a good Protestant than a bad Catholic,” (National Catholic Register, Oct. 11-24, 2020, 7-8).

God provided a vision on Mount Sinai (Ex 20:13) and again when He spoke to his Chosen People, “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God (Dt 30: 19-20).

One letters ends, “Just like we can tolerate a little killing during war for the greater good of the whole, so we can tolerate a little evil in a platform for the greater good of the whole.” We fail to see how an average of 1,000,0001 abortions per year since Row v Wade (1973) is a “little killing” (CDC) or that more abortions or breaking US laws will solve any moral dilemmas.

Lon & Evelyn VetterPomona, MO

1 CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_statistics_in_the_United_States Computed from yearly totals for 1973-2016 in “Table C, Number, Ratio and Rate of Reported Induced Abortions United States,” 2016.

In response to a letter printed Oct. 2: Do you truly believe that

any pro-abortion candidate, who does not have concern for the weakest, most helpless members of society could have any REAL concern for any other member of society, in any capacity?

Anne SinclairSalem, MO

Continuing the discussionOne does not have to be a

“single issue” voter to make a choice in the presidential election. There are many issues to consider.

Consider first the party platforms put forth at their re-cent conventions. Have you read these documents? Do you know what the parties say they stand for? I have read much of each and find from my reading the first is-sue that compels me to vote as I will. There are people of faith on both sides, but officially, in their platform, Democrats have aban-doned God. There is a solitary ref-erence to one’s “God given rights.” The Republican platform alludes to God 18 times.

Consider that Democrats are steadfast in supporting abortion, in some cases “up to the moment of birth.” And with Joe Biden’s approval, they are seeking to “codify” Roe v Wade, meaning to Federally take away states rights to make laws regarding abortion restrictions.

Consider that Democrats ad-vocate for the spread of euthana-sia. Most pro life folks are opposed to this. Our own Bp. Edward Rice tells us we should be pro life from conception until natural death. His recent pro-life message in The Mir-ror was eloquent and all inclusive.

Consider the matter of re-ligious freedom. Since 2013, the Obama-Biden administration has engaged in limiting freedom of speech by chaplains in the mili-tary. Dozens of priests and Chris-tian chaplains were required to cease giving Catholic or Christian counsel to their fellow soldiers. Priests were not allowed to be priests, chaplains not allowed to be chaplains. President Trump has begun a turnaround of this policy. Many priests and chaplain’s careers were ruined. But through fighting this in the courts, this attempt to eliminate religious freedom is be-ing overturned.

Consider The Little Sisters of the Poor. Three times this Catho-lic religious order went to the US Supreme Court to fight Obamacare dictates on providing contracep-tive healthcare that the sisters op-posed. Three times the sisters won. Catholic candidate Biden says he will see the sisters in court over this if he is elected.

Consider Planned Parent-hood. Democrats are fully sup-portive of PP and PP returns the favor. Consider Planned Parent-hood’s origin. It was started in the 1930s by Margaret Sanger and her avowed purpose was to suppress and ultimately eliminate the Black race. It is estimated that since PP’s inception, 18 million Black babies have been aborted. Blacks cur-rently make up 13 percent of the US population but about 35 per-cent of all abortions are on Black babies. Most Republicans oppose federal funding for PP. President Trump opposes PP. But Pres. Trump is portrayed as a racist. Really?

Consider the current pan-demic. President Trump quickly stopped travel from China, and soon after that from Europe where people had been infected by the Chinese. These actions no doubt saved countless lives. Joe Biden called him a racist.

The author of the Oct. 2 letter gives us pause for thought with a well-reasoned essay. He says we should not just look at the “pro-life” aspect of a party or its leadership. He adds that we can “tolerate a little killing during war for the greater good of the whole.” Does he mean the estimated 80 million babies killed since 1973’s Roe v Wade ruling? Or the con-tinued massive killing of babies every year? It is not hard to read between the lines and see how he will vote. As for me, consider-ing all the issues, and I have only raised a few, I cannot vote for the candidate who refuses to condemn killing, looting, rioting, restrictions on our freedom of religion, and advocates for further limitations on our freedoms.

Don EikenCarthage, MO

This letter is in response to a letter published the week of Oct. 2, 2020.

I happen to be what some people would call a one issue voter. I am first and foremost PRO-LIFE. I cannot, in all good conscience, vote for a candidate that is for abortion and who would make taxpayers pay for abortions. That being said, it does not mean that I do not care about all the other issues that the church teaches as social justice issues. I do care about those already born, all ages, and do all I can with my time and treasure to help people.

What bothered me in the letter I am referring to is the state-ment, “Just as we can tolerate a little killing during war for the

Discussions continue on issues surrounding upcoming elections

See Letters / 13

LETTERS TO EDITORFrom Our Readers

Letters exist to provide a forum for public comment or opinion. A Letter to the Editor does not represent or express the position or policy of the diocese, the editor, or the publisher: the thoughts contained therein represent the sole expressions of the author. Letters to the Editor may be sent to Editor, The Mirror, 601 S. Jefferson Ave., Springfield, MO 65806-3143, or via Email to [email protected]. Letters will be verified so please provide your name, daytime phone number, or Email address. Preference is given to letters that are direct, concise, and/or no longer than 250 words. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor and subject to editing. Readers’ letters are limited to one per person in a 60-day period. u

October 16, 2020 The Mirror 13LETTERS TO EDITOR/NATIONAL NEWS

Discussions continue on issues surrounding upcoming electionsgreater good of the whole, so we can tolerate a little evil in a plat-form for the greater good of the whole.”

First, why not have the cour-age to call that evil what it is, the killing of innocent unborn babies (abortion). As a retired US Marine friend of mine said when she read that statement, “Killing in war is not the same as killing a baby in the womb. At least the person killed in war has had a life and had a chance to fight the person who was trying to kill them. The baby is just a victim with no chance at all. Also, those who kill innocents in war are subject to prosecution under military law.”

The thought that it is ok to tolerate a little evil is exactly what is wrong with this country. The more evil we tolerate, the more evil we get.

I am 75 years old, and I still believe what the first priest I ever knew taught me as a child, “Wrong is wrong if everybody does it and right is right if nobody does it.”

Thank you Fr. Robert Ready, OSB. May you rest in peace.

Alice O’ConnorCabool, MO

What is the “little evil” the priest in the last edition was will-ing to tolerate? Sixty million dead babies? Innocent babies screaming in pain as they are ripped apart in the mothers’ wombs? Allowing babies that survive abortion to die alone and uncared for? What is a “little evil”?

Constance MaanumAva, MO

Forty-six years ago I had an abortion. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t think about what I did, I am still filled with regret and self-hatred. My boyfriend’s older brother and only sibling, who had also urged his girlfriend to have an abortion, and who advised my boyfriend to pressure me into an abortion, committed suicide shortly after I aborted our baby. I don’t know if my act has harmed me in my relationships, but I’m sure it has, and I have been di-vorced for many years, also leaving behind broken children, broken relationships.

Twenty-five years ago I be-came a Catholic, in part because of the unequivocal stand the Church has taken against abortion. I have been to confession and been forgiven, but it’s hard to forgive myself, even after all these years.

I truly believe we are in the times that Our Lady of Fatima

spoke of, where a great chastise-ment will take place. Just think, we have killed more innocent babies than were killed in the Holocaust and under Joseph Stalin in Russia, etc.: 63 million and counting!

This letter is written in re-sponse to the two letters printed in the Oct. 2, 2020, issue of The Mirror. The two letters urged read-ers as they vote on Nov. 3, 2020, to consider the multiple social issues facing our country today, and not just vote “single issue.” We all know what that “single issue” means: abortion. Yes, there is so much we need to do in our world today, and we can still be engaged in changing our society for the good, but abor-tion is the greatest evil, a sin against Our Heavenly Father, as we are made in His image. Please search in your heart. We need to stand for life and stop murdering the most innocent of humans.

Name withheldSpringfield

Re: a letter printed in the Oct. 2, 2020: The author pursues the ar-gument that there are many other issues to consider in voting besides abortion. I was both appalled and disgusted by his opinion, which is nothing more than another example of secular, moral relativ-ism. It is a Machiavellian argument that supposed “good ends” justify an “evil means.” The author’s at-tempts to candy-coat moral evil are deplorable. Whenever I hear someone’s arguments that begin with such phrases as “there are a number of issues” or that “this is a complex issue,” I know they are going to be followed by a ratio-nalization for bad behavior. Most things, when stripped to the bone, get down to the simple equation of something either is or it isn’t. Either something is morally good or it is morally evil. There seldom is a real in-between. Christianity is not about accommodating the culture but about being its con-science with its principles based on natural law, its moral center; and if it abdicates its role in the center and moves to the periphery in accommodating the culture, then we are lost. AND those who wear the cloak of moral authority and attempt to justify inherent evil are even more morally culpable.

If I might, I’ll counter the argumentation that there are other issues. If someone puts a gun to your head, tell me what other is-sues come to your mind? Will you be wondering what you will eat the next week? Or whether you will be able to afford heat in the winter or buy that car you need for transportation? Won’t the only

thought in your head be whether that person will pull the trigger or not? That is what the unborn child faces, the pulling of that trigger. One cannot cavalierly disregard the ultimate primacy of the anti-abortion position. It is obvious that without life there are no other issues, and that is what we are talk-ing about. To denigrate the impor-tance of the abortion issue as “a little evil,” is reprehensible. Shall we pretend that abortion is not as grisly an action as it is? We are not talking about the removal of an appendix but of the life blood of an innocent child. What we are actually confronted with is: what is the value of human life? Do we possess an inherent dignity, a sa-credness, which is attached to our lives? If such is not the case, we are merely disposable economic units or cogs in some vast machine. Our existence then has no more value than that of a cockroach, perhaps less. What is human life worth if it has no holy and intrinsic value in its earliest and most innocent form?

I promised myself many years

ago that I would only listen to the arguments for the justification or acceptance of abortion from one who had been aborted. Otherwise those arguing or debating for pro-abortion don’t know what they are talking about and have no standing.

What the author’s letter ad-vocates is acquiescence, a passive acceptance to moral evils.

Finally, for guidance, it is always best to go to the Gospels, to see Jesus’ words about children, in-nocent children and their protec-tion. One should refer to parts of chapter 18 of Matthew, chapter 18 of Luke, and Chapter 10 of Mark.

Richard F. KalichPoplar Bluff, MO

I find it unbelieveable that the diocesan newspaper would be the pulpit for a priest to claim that we need to tolerate “a little evil” regarding abortion for the “greater good.” The death of an unborn child is certainly not to be equated with just a little evil.

William W. CoughenourSpringfield

From Page 12

Washington

Earlier this year, the US Con-ference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Ad Hoc Commit-tee Against Racism and

Loyola Press published Everyone Be-longs, an illustrated children’s book addressing racism. The book has been awarded a gold medal in the Religion/Spirituality category of the 2020 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards.

Everyone Belongs, inspired by the November 2018 statement of the USCCB, “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, A Pastoral Letter Against Racism,” empowers young readers to reflect on the dignity of the human person created in God’s image and the reality of racism in our society.

Intended for children ages 5-12, Everyone Belongs helps young readers explore potential solu-tions, reconciliation, and healing. The children’s book, published by Loyola Press, shares the story of a young boy whose family fled violence in their home country to come to the US as refugees. The family’s excitement as they move into a new neighborhood is interrupted when someone spray

paints a hurtful message on their garage. Everyone Belongs will al-low conversations with readers about what our faith calls us to do, especially now, as our coun-try grapples with the realities of racial injustice.

Launched in 2007 by the Jenkins Group, the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators. Everyone Belongs may be purchased at your favorite book retailer or Online at LoyolaPress.com/EveryoneBelongs. Additional education and prayer resources to accompany the bishops’ pastoral letter on racism may be found at usccb.org/racism. ©TM

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On a blistering July afternoon in 1885, a train pulled into a railroad terminal at a boom-ing southwest Missouri min-

ing camp.Among the debarking passengers

were 12 Sisters of Mercy, decked out in the traditional garb worn by Catholic nuns, complete with black cowls. They were weary after a 540-mile journey from Louisville, KY.

It must have been a sight, see-ing these 12 nuns making their way through the loud downtown district, said Fr. J Friedel, pastor of St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Joplin. He is also the pastor at Carthage and Webb City.

“The people who saw them get off that train didn’t even know who they were or what they were all about,” he said. “Some of them

it?” said Florence Orcutt, who attended Catholic schools in Joplin in the 1940s.

“It was a very happy time. I loved the sisters. I just remember re-ally enjoying school. I loved school,” she said, adding that not all students would probably admit that. “But really, I loved it. It was a very good time of my life.”

Jack Messner, a 1948 graduate of what was then called St. Peter’s High School, also has fond memories of the Catholic school system but for a differ-ent reason. It was at school, in seventh grade, where he first laid eyes on his future wife, Theba.

“We moved to Joplin from Cher-ryvale, KS, in 1942, right after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and on the first day of school, I saw my wife … and I’ve been following her around since then.”

His favorite class, he added, “was anything that (Theba) was in.”

They were both 11 years old at the time. The two began dating in high school and married on Dec. 17, 1949.

“I loved the nuns,” he said. “I don’t know anybody who would be intimidated by them—they were won-derful. Oh, they demanded respect and they got it from us … but it was some-thing you wanted to do, not some-thing any of us were forced to do.”

“(My education) couldn’t have been any better,” he added. “They are all great memories.”

Celia Braeckel Sieglinger is a fel-low 1948 graduate of St. Peter’s High School. She was 17 years old when she graduated, and one of the memories that clearly stands out was her con-cerns with the setup of the school’s restrooms.

“The restroom the boys used was downstairs and outside; they had to go into a little building … like a tool shed,” she said. “I just know the girls went indoors where the nuns went, but the boys had to go outside.”

She remembers attending classes with 15 to 20 others inside both the school building and adjacent convent building at 9th Street and Pearl Av-enue, she said, learning subjects taught by nuns that ranged from bookkeeping to chemistry to participating in music recitals in the converted parlor.

“I am happy I went (to St.

Joplin Area Catholic Schools mark 135th anniversary

GEOGRAPHY—Christy Witt helped her world geography students during class in St. Peter Catholic Middle School, Joplin. Joplin Area Catholic Schools marked its 135th anniversary on Oct. 4. (Photo by Roger Nomer/Joplin Globe)

PRE-CALCULUS—McAuley Catho-lic High School senior Thomas Black listened during pre-calculus. Jop-lin Area Catholic Schools marked its 135th anniversary on Oct. 4. (Photo by Roger Nomer/Joplin Globe)

thought (the nuns) were some kind of circus act.”

Crossing a bustling Main Street filled with horses and wagons, the nuns immediately made an impression on the mining town.

“It was like nobody knew what they were dealing with,” Fr. Friedel continued. “I’m sure some of the (men) probably said some very rude things to them along the way.”

According to a Joplin Area Catho-lic Schools (JACS) history written by Patti Stengel, the nuns “were consid-ered a novelty in Joplin,” while the more forward boys “would jostle and touch them to see if they were really human beings.”

When they reached their des-tination—a house owned by Edward Zelleken—a majority of the women wanted to hop on the train and head east to Kentucky. According to a 1935 Joplin Globe article, however, Sr. Mary Regina put an end to such talk. Father Friedel said Sr. Regina reminded the others they’d been sent to Joplin by God to lend a hand, and based on the reception they’d received, she conclud-ed Joplin “obviously needed the help.”

The nuns quickly worked to put their mission into motion, establish-ing Joplin’s first Catholic school. This was accomplished just a few months later when, on Oct. 4, 1885—135 years ago—the Institute of Our Lady of Mercy launched with 64 “children of Joplin’s miners,” and other families in attendance.

“We’re still reaping the benefits of that decision 135 years later,” Fr. Friedel said.

The school system has grown from its 1885 beginning, morphing from classrooms inside the Zelleken home into the three distinct buildings that comprise the Joplin Area Catholic Schools system today. What hasn’t changed is the faith-based approach to education as well as the support of area Catholic families and others who choose to send their children there.

“For us, it’s just being able to incorporate faith into all the areas of learning,” Fr. Friedel said, “and our ability to realize that when we’re edu-cating the whole person—we’re edu-cating body, mind, spirit, and soul.”

Reminisces from alumni“That’s a pretty good run, isn’t

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Peter’s),” Sieglinger said. “I don’t regret it for a minute.”

Carrying on a traditionFor the past 10 years, Sister of

Mercy Joan Margret Schwager, RSM, has continued the tradition of directly teaching students at JACS. She teaches religion and serves as the librarian at St. Mary Elementary in Joplin. Al-though founded by the sisters, classes are taught almost entirely by lay teach-ers today. Sister Schwager was the first teaching nun to lead classrooms in Joplin in 35 years, she said.

“There’s a saying that we’ve had a number of years ago: ‘(JACS) is a school that you can have faith in,’” she said with pride. “We try to bring the whole idea of what Jesus wants us to do in our faith; and basically it’s very simple, to be respectful and kind to each other; to show integrity and … to instill that from the youngest all the way up to the oldest—it’s not just a high school thing. We try to help students to see that this is the better way to go.”

What became McAuley Catholic High School made national headlines on Oct. 22, 1960, when John F. Kenne-dy, the Democratic presidential nomi-nee who would soon become the first Catholic president, made a campaign stop at Joplin’s airport.

Carole (Riley) Goff, a 1961 McAu-ley graduate, was one of the “Kennedy girls” who greeted him as he walked down the steps of the plane. According to a Joplin Globe article, the students rode to the airport in a bus. They wore white, pleated skirts and straw boater hats, each with a banner around the brim that said “Kennedy.”

“We all stood there,” recalled Goff, a junior at the time, “and the only thing I remember about it is when (Kennedy) stepped off the plane, he walked directly toward me.”

Because Goff had recently switched from glasses to contacts, her eyes were still sensitive to sunlight, which is why she was wearing dark glasses during the visit.

“I think the reason … why he came to me first to shake my hand was because I had those sunglasses on and he figured I was blind,” Goff said with a laugh. In actuality, she continued, it was similar to meeting a member of The Beatles in the flesh.

“I remember that he was beauti-ful. He was so young, and when the sun hit his hair, it glowed, Goff said. “He was a rock star. Now, what he said

that day I couldn’t tell you.”It was just one “many fun times”

she said she had while attending McAuley Catholic High School.

“I just love that school. I really do. I just love it. I look at (the students today), and I think, ‘What more could you want?’”

She was taught by five Sisters of Mercy during her years spent in the Joplin Catholic school system, from eighth grade through her senior year in high school.

“They were very strict but very fair—very fair,” she added. “They in-stilled a lot of values in all of us.”

‘McAuley pride’Goff said one thing has always

stood out for her about JACS students: respect for authority.

“If we were wearing the school colors or the school letter jackets, you’d better behave yourself,” she said. “You were a symbol of the school; that is the one thing you could get in a lot of trouble for if you” didn’t adhere to the rules. The Sisters of Mercy and school officials “taught us that bad be-havior wasn’t just a bad reflection on me, but a bad reflection on the entire school.

“And that has not changed,” she said.

When an adult entered a room, students stood up out of respect; that’s just what they did, said Amy Sieglinger, Celia’s daughter: “Not only was it your church, it was your family (being represented). That’s what made it so special.”

A 1978 McAuley graduate, she said a sense of honor and respect “had been instilled in us going all the way the way back to first grade,” Sieglinger said. “(It) enforced and reinforced … and affirmed my education, my religion, and my personality. It was a consistent presence.”

A bird’s-eye viewKaari Schrader has a unique per-

spective concerning the school system in that she’s a 1990 graduate of McAu-ley while also serving as an instructor there for 22 years.

As a student, she said, “I never wanted to go anywhere else. I thought that I was receiving a good education, and I loved the family feeling the school offered.”

And as a teacher, “I have 22

years’ worth of students who touched my life,” she said, adding that she and a group of former JACS faculty and staff still meet online today, calling themselves the “McFamily.”

“Some of them I had in as many as six classes; they became like family, Schrader said. “After graduation, many of them became friends. I think about so many of them regularly.”

Father Friedel said that Joplin Catholic families, through generations of devotion and sacrifice, “made the Catholic schools a possibility for our kids because they believed in educat-ing for life and faith, and not just edu-cating for a job, and I hope that shows forth with everything they do.

As Catholics, he continued, “We tend to get a little bit too proud of our faith because, you know, we’ve messed

up some things down through history. Yet, there are some moments where (as a Catholic), you can sit back and see you’ve done a tremendous good to an area.”

“What the Sisters of Mercy (and so many others) have done for us over the last 135 years makes us proud, collectively, because—we got this one right,” he said. ©TM

This article originally appeared in the Joplin Globe. It is reprinted with permission.

Joplin Area Catholic Schools mark 135th anniversary

SCIENCE—St. Mary Catholic School fifth graders Kayden Williams and Sun-ny Williams watered plants during science class. Joplin Area Catholic Schools marked its 135th anniversary on Oct. 4. (Photo by Roger Nomer/Joplin Globe)

MUSIC—Kayla Crabtree, music teacher, St. Mary Catholic Elementary School, led a second grade class in a song. Joplin Area Catholic Schools marked its 135th anniversary on Oct. 4. (Photo by Roger Nomer/Joplin Globe)

16 The Mirror October 16, 2020CHILD & YOUTH PROTECTION

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