Construction worker Bill Myers gently hoisted the crucifix into place over the new entrance to Our Lady of Lourdes Interparish School (OLLIS) in Columbia. “Lift high the cross!” called out Father Paul Clark, associate pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes parish. The crucifix has two sides, reminding all who enter, leave or drive past the…

King David first sang of striving for almost-good-enough before letting his aspirations soar toward perfection. That evolution is one of many subtle nuances to be restored in the latest translation of the Book of Psalms for liturgical use in the Church. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has purchased the copyrights to the Revised…

Donna Raymond attended St. Andrew School in Tipton. So did her three youngest children. Now she’s back to teach art. “This is a great school,” she said, “and I feel honored to be part of the staff to provide education to the children in this community.” Mrs. Raymond was one of more than 80 first-time…

A Trailblazer is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. “Extra emphasis on the reverent!” said Doug Callahan, newly appointed president of Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School in Columbia. It was a reference to the 12-point Scout Law of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), which has been…

The annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection will be taken up the weekend of Aug. 17-18 in parishes throughout the Diocese of Jefferson City. Coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) in Washington, D.C., the appeal benefits some 30,000 elderly Catholic sisters, brothers and religious-order priests. “For many generations,” Bishop W. Shawn McKnight noted,…

Shackelford native Sister Mary Eleanor Castle, 87, of the Sisters of Mercy, a former Catholic school principal in Marshall and Glasgow, died on July 22 at Mercy Villa in Omaha, Nebraska. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on July 26 in St. Peter Church in Marshall. Burial was in Mount St. Mary Cemetery in…

Phase I of the Creighton Model FertilityCare Practitioner Education Program will be offered from Sept. 7-14 in the Alphonse J. Schwartze Memorial Catholic Center, 2207 W. Main St. Jefferson City. The program director will be Phyllis A. White CFCE, a member of Sacred Heart parish in Columbia. The medical Consultant will be Dr. Mark Stegman…

The diocesan moderator for spiritual formation offers the following reflections on the opioid crisis and the nature of addiction, and invites anyone affected by these things to attend a Sept. 6 Prayer and Healing Service in Jefferson City: According to the American Psychiatric Association, addiction is a very complex condition, a brain disease that is…

The following article about correctional center employees and the formation of a group offering them mutual support is by the diocesan vicar for ministry to the incarcerated: “I was in prison and you visited Me.” (Matthew 25:36) Most of us have heard this Scripture passage. And it is no surprise, many in northern and mid-Missouri…

In 2016, when Steve Bieser took over the coaching duties for the University of Missouri-Columbia’s baseball team, he pledged to focus on four core values: players, family, education and service to others. The team has succeeded on the field, winning more than 100 games in his three seasons, including 34-22 this year. But he’s also…