There is much excitement in the air as the Sacred Heart-Griffin (SHG) High School Music Department prepares for the 2020 spring musical, Mary Poppins, which will bring the SHG Dominican Hall Theatre to life Friday, March 20-Sunday, March 22 and Friday, March 27-Sunday, March 29. This is the first time that a high school has performed Mary Poppins, the musical, in Central Illinois.

St. Jude Thaddeus, Apostle of the Lord and preacher of the Good News, is the patron of hope and of difficult situations. This Lent, through the intercession of St. Jude, all are welcome to join the parishioners of St. Aloysius Parish in Springfield as they pray for God’s grace in letting go of what keeps us spiritually “stuck” in the quagmire of life’s difficulties.

All women are invited to attend the 2020 Springfield Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (SDCCW) Lenten retreat March 24-25 at Villa Maria Catholic Life Center on Lake Springfield. Father Brian Alford, pastor of St. Jude Parish in Rochester and vocation director for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, will serve as retreat master.

The Springfield Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (SDCCW) is offering four $500 scholarships to recognize outstanding Catholic female high school seniors. Applicants will be judged on how they exemplify the SDCCW’s mission values of leadership, faith and service.

In honor of Black History Month, here are some examples of extraordinary Catholics who are black and who advanced our faith and are models for discipleship today. In honor of Black History Month, here are some examples of extraordinary Catholics who are black and who advanced our faith and are models for discipleship today.

QUINCY — Father John P. Carberry, a priest of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois for nearly 40 years, died on Jan. 21 at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy. He was 92 years old.

He was born on May 15, 1927, in Springfield, to Thomas and Margaret (Sullivan) Carberry and they preceded him in death.

Limited number of tickets available; Blackhawks vs. Blues game to follow

CHICAGO — Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, known as “The Holy Goalie,” along with Chicago Blackhawks alumni, will take to the ice for the 10th annual “Hockey with Bishop Paprocki” at the United Center in Chicago on Sunday, March 8 at 2:10 p.m. to benefit Catholic Charities Legal Services (CCLS), which provides free legal assistance in civil matters to those with little to no income living in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.

Official appointment from the Office of the Bishop

Can you please tell us why the Feast of the Circumcision is deleted from the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church? I was raised over 70 years ago in our faith. I have the Missal with this in it. Now young Catholics have no idea it ever existed. Will you explain this?

— Joe in Jacksonville

All the readings are so serious from the Bible. Are there any readings that tell us, did Jesus have a sense of humor?

— Mike and Lynn in Sherman