Mon - Thurs: 8:00 - 5:15
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(217) 698-8500
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Catechist Formation Process - The Catechist Formation Process is designed to help every member of the faith community grow closer to God and be formed in the faith to be more effective catechists. This process can lead to formal diocesan recognition for adults, whether professional or volunteer, who participate in a variety of formation opportunities. Per diocesan policy, all catechists, whether they teach in a school or parish catechetical program, must actively seek formation through the diocesan Catechist Formation Process. For more information about the Catechist Formation Process and a link to the revised handbook, please go to https://oldsite.dio.org/catechesis/catechist-formation-requirements.html. Or contact Kyle Holtgrave, Director for Catechesis, at or (217) 698-8500, ext. 154.
Catechetical Sunday – September 19, 2021- Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to commission catechists for their ministry in the parish for the school year. A sample commissioning service is included on the diocesan website at https://oldsite.dio.org/catechesis/recognition-of-catechists.html. For more suggestions on ways to celebrate Catechetical Sunday in the parish, contact Kyle Holtgrave, Director for Catechesis in the Office for Catholic Education at (217) 698-8500, ext. 154, or .
Community of Religious Educators (CORE) - The next CORE meeting is Thursday, September 30 at 10 AM via webinar. CORE is for anyone involved in the catechetical mission of the parish at any level. The main presentation will be from Ruah Woods on human anthropology and St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. To register for this webinar, please contact Kyle Holtgrave at or call (217) 698-8500, ext. 154.
Vatican Eucharistic Miracles of the World display available – 151 true Eucharistic miracle stories from across the world over the centuries, depicted through photographs and historical descriptions on panels that can be temporarily set up in the parish centers, gyms, or large meeting rooms, are available to parishes and organizations in the diocese free of charge. The Vatican Eucharistic Miracles of the World exhibit was gifted to the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois and presents some of the principal Eucharistic miracles that took place throughout the ages in various countries of the world, and which have been recognized by the Catholic Church. By means of the panels, one can “virtually visit” the places where the miracles took place. To request all or some of the panels at your parish or organization, contact Cindy Callan at 217-698-8500, ext. 137 for further information. Or email her at . When requesting panels for a showing, please consider sufficient lead time.
Dive Deep: Four-time Superbowl winning coach talks faith, family, football - A graduate of Christ the King and Sacred Heart Griffin H.S. in Springfield, Kansas City Chiefs coach Brendan Daly discusses the interesting job of coaching at the highest level in football and how he has leaned on our Catholic faith throughout the ups and downs, constant job stresses, and moving his family several times all over the country. Go to dio.org/podcast to listen and subscribe.
Click here to download a graphic to include in your bulletins
SDCCW convention - The Springfield Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (SDCCW) are inviting all women of the diocese to their 92nd annual convention called “Living God’s Plan for Life, Love and the Family” on Wed. Sept. 29 at Hamilton’s South Ballroom (110 N. East Street, Jacksonville) from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Bishop Paprocki, along with priests of the diocese, will celebrate 11 a.m. Mass for the convention attendees at Our Savior Catholic Church in Jacksonville and join in the banquet luncheon directly afterward at Hamilton’s.
Coleen Kelly Mast, a Quincy native who is a motivational speaker and popular radio host on more than 250 Catholic Radio Stations via the EWTN network and Sirius Satellite Radio, will have morning and afternoon talks, entitled “The 4 heart Healthy Habits for Holiness” and “LoveEd: Witnessing the Truth in Today’s Confused World.”
Parishes are asked to promote the event using this flyer, putting this registration form in public areas, and putting raffle ticket forms in public areas (50-50 raffle and quilt raffle).
Is our website/directory accurate of your parish/school? - We want to ensure the information on our directory and website is up to date.
Website:
Please find your parish on our website by going here. Click on your parish, and then review that information. If you have a school, go to this page on our website. Find your school and then click on the name of your school. That will open up the details of your school. Please review that information.
Directory:
Go to https://directory.dio.org/. Parish listings start on page 27. Schools start on page 93. Please review the information listed about your school. If there are any changes, please indicate if it is the website or the directory and send them to Andrew Hansen, Director of Communications, . Thank you!
Are you being called to be a deacon? There is a special information meeting at St. Mary’s Parish Center in Alton on Sept. 16 at 6:30 p.m. for men interested in becoming a deacon for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. Deacon Dave Sorrell (director of the Office for the Diaconate) will present information for those interested in the Permanent Diaconate Program which begins in the fall of 2022. Applications are being accepted at this time.
The permanent diaconate is open to men between the ages of 32 and 57, who are active in the practice of our faith, and who desire to grow in their relationship with God and in their service to their parish. If interested, and if married, wives are welcome and encouraged to attend. For questions, email Deacon Sorrell: . You can also visit dio.org/diaconate.
Crash Course on Funerals: The Office for Divine Worship and the Catechumenate will host a Crash Course on Funerals for interested clergy at the Catholic Pastoral Center from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 16. Priests and Deacons who wish to attend, please RSVP to Father Daren Zehnle at .
Chant Workshop: Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology is creating the Saint Meinrad Institute for Sacred Music to promote liturgical music and to support and educated pastoral musicians. A chant workshop will be held January 24-28, 2022. For more information, visit www.saintmeinrad.org/chant-workshop.
Unfolding the Mystery:Eliot Kapitan, former director of the Office for Divine Worship and the Catechumenate, recently published a book titled, Unfolding the Mystery of Christ: Sunday by Sunday Formation of Catechumenspublished by Liturgical Press in 2020. It won two awards in 2021 from the Catholic Media Association for first place in Faith Formation and second place in Pastoral Ministry - Catechetical. Details and a free Faith Sharing/Study Guide are available at https://litpress.org/Products/6555/Unfolding-the-Mystery-of-Christ.
20th Anniversary of September 11: The Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions has a compiled a resource that may be used on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center. The resource is available at https://www.fdlc.org/sites/default/files/Twentieth_Anniversary_9-11.pdf.
Litany of St. Joseph: Some weeks ago, Pope Francis approved new invocations in the Litany of St. Joseph. English translations of these invocations have been added by the Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship to the English translation of the litany, which is available at https://www.fdlc.org/sites/default/files/JosephLitany2021.pdf.
The Curia is Hiring:
Please check out our listings at oldsite.dio.org/jobs and include them in your parish bulletins!
Give Aid to the People of Afghanistan - With the current crisis in Afghanistan, parents are struggling to provide their children with food, clean water and education. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been supporting development efforts in Afghanistan since 1998. A financial gift to CRS can help provide essential relief for the people. Go to: https://www.crs.org/our-work-overseas/where-we-work/afghanistan
CRS Resources for School & PSR Teachers - As school is beginning teachers may be interested in knowing about resources available to compliment curriculum. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has an on-line Resource Center with lesson plans for elementary and high school students. The lesson plans teach young people about Church teaching while helping them learn about some of the realities facing our brothers and sisters in different countries around the world. Go to https://www.crs.org/get-involved/resource-center/institution/school
Mission Mass 2021 - Save the date. This year’s Mission Mass is scheduled for Wednesday, October 27 at 11 a.m., at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield. More information to follow.
Annual Respect Life Mass and Rosary Walk - This year’s annual Diocesan Respect Life Mass and Rosary Walk is scheduled for Saturday, October 9, 2021, Holy Family Parish, Granite City. Bishop Paprocki will celebrate Mass at 9:00 am, then lead a rosary walk around the abortion facility in Granite City. Lunch and speaker will follow the rosary walk.
Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat - There will be a Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat for people affected by abortion March 25-27, 2022, at the Villa Maria Retreat Center. The cost is $150, but scholarships are available for those not able to pay the full registration fee. Please let others know about this healing opportunity. For more information go to: oldsite.dio.org/plasm/project-rachel.html call 217-698-4456, or email .
National Migration Week - This year National Migration Week is September 20-26. This is an opportunity for the Church to reflect on circumstances confronting migrants, including immigrants, refugees, children, and victims and survivors of human trafficking. The theme of this year’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR), which always falls on the last Sunday of September, is: “Towards an ever wider ‘WE’”. In his letter announcing this year’s theme, Pope Francis emphasizes that “this focus calls on us to ensure that ‘after all this, we will think no longer in terms of ‘them’ and ‘those,’ but only ‘us’’ (Fratelli tutti, no. 35). And this universal us must become a reality first of all within the Church which is called to cultivate communion in diversity.” A Tool Kit with various resources, including homily suggestions, is located at: FInal-NMW-Toolkit-2021-Temp-2.pdf (justiceforimmigrants.org)
The Canonical Perspective on Abortion – It is commonly thought that the Church excommunicates all Catholics who have procured a successful abortion. However, in probably a great many cases, mitigating or extenuating circumstances prevent the individual from incurring the censure of excommunication. The tragedy of abortion triggers distinct and separate questions regarding the personal responsibility of one who procures a successful abortion: has a sin been committed? If so, was the commission of that sin such that it also resulted in the incurring of a penalty? A sin is a purposeful and deliberate offense against the will of God: an utterance, a deed, or a willfully entertained desire contrary to God’s law. Objectively, abortion is a mortal sin, an act gravely contrary to the moral law. (PR manual pg 67)
Monthly Pro-Life Intercessions and Bulletin Quotes - October’s edition of Word of Life is now available. Word of Life is a monthly resource for parishes. The resource is available in both English and Spanish, in both PDF or Microsoft Word formats. Each monthly issue contains information such as: intercessions for life, quotes for your bulletin, and art for your bulletin, webpage or Facebook page. The following link will direct you to the webpage that lists all current and past editions of this resource - http://dio.org/plasm/word-of-life.html
Victorious Missionaries Virtual Fall Retreat - Victorious Missionaries is a spiritual support group for people with disabilities or who were chronically ill. Its purpose is to encourage those with disabilities to reach out to others with disabilities, sharing their gifts and spreading the Good News of the Gospel. Their Virtual Fall Retreat is Oct 15-17, 2021. Presentation: This is Me! The Power that comes with Knowing Who you are-and Whose you are! For more information go to https://snows.org/reflection21/
NCYC registration open - NCYC 2021 group registration is open. Only 85 tickets remaining. Please visit dio.org/youthministry/ncyc to register.