From the Pastor’s desk— July 27, 2025

Dear Parishioners,

This week I will be on retreat again with our seminarians. We start at 12:30 mass here at Sacred Heart, then will leave for Forsyth to stay at cabins on a lake. While there the men will have time with Bishop Rice and with each other before they go off to school. We will also be travelling for our Vocation BBQ in Monett, an ordination for the Cistercian monastic community in Ava, and the Vietnamese festival Marian Days in Carthage. It promises to be an inspiring introduction to the peoples and places of our diocese for the seminarians who have not been beyond their hometown.

            This year we are blessed to have nine seminarians, four are returning from last year and five are new. Of the new five, two are just graduated from high school, two are transferring midway through college, and one has a degree in Philosophy from St. John’s college in New Mexico. It’s been a privilege to help them through their application and admissions process. These are very prayerful young men who love the Lord and are ready to serve.

            Our vocations are beginning to boom for several reasons, I believe. First is movements of the culture and of the Holy Spirit. These men see the world’s promises are empty and have found their treasure in God’s promises. Second, more of our parishes are becoming places with a “culture of vocations,” meaning they pray for them, young people feel free to think about them without pressure, and priests and religious are loved and thanked publicly. Thirdly, our priests are mentoring young men in their spiritual lives, helping give them direction, inviting them to consider priesthood, and many of our parishioners are too. In the vocations office, we make an effort to follow-up on any recommendations or inquiries, together with events like dinners with bishop, the upcoming vocations BBQ, and seminary visits. We are blessed to have Bishop Rice who is dedicated to inviting young men to consider the priesthood and he takes the time to meet them and remember them. I invite you to play your part in this culture of vocations in our parish and support our young people listening for God’s call.

         

           

 

             

  

Fr. Joseph