“Movie of the Month” @ St. John’s * Columbia Room in Mfld. * Doors open @ 12:30 pm with movie starting @ 1 pm. Coming Attractions: Sunday – March 5, 2017 * Movie title: A Man For All Seasons 

Men / Sons of the Parish: Mark your calendars for the Annual Father/Son Breakfast taking place on Sunday-March 19, 2017 after the 8 a.m. Mass sponsored by the Parish Council of Catholic Women. Menu will be Biscuits and gravy * Scrambled Eggs with sausage and beverage. We look forward to having you attend .

* Evenings of Recollection * Eucharistic Adoration and Reflection * Meditations in honor of the “Year of Mercy” led by Father Samuel Martin * Evenings will alternate between the parishes of St. John’s / Mfld and Christ the King / Spencer . Time: 6:30 pm-8 pm on Thursday-Thursday March 2, 2017 @ St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Mfld.. Theme: Lectio Divina 

REMINDER to Parishioners * 24 Hour Eucharistic Adoration – 2017 - First Friday – March 3 through March 4 ** Starting at 9 am on Friday an ending at 9 am on Saturday) Note: There will be a prayer petition book placed out the week prior to our First Friday Eucharistic Adoration. Anyone wishing to have petitions offered during Adoration may enter their petition into the book and they will be prayed for. Attention: Church doors are locked @ 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. if you are coming to pray during this time please knock on door (under carport) 5 minutes before the start of each hour and you will be let in by person already inside of church.

Save the date: Our next parish pilgrimage (God willing) is tentatively scheduled for April 16-26, 2018. The date could change a day on either end, depending on flight confirmation. We’ll start in Paris, then fly to Lourdes, then bus from Lourdes across Spain from east to west, ending in Fatima and flying home from Lisbon. Cost will be in the range of $3,000.00.

As winter comes to an end in the next couple months * Please keep in mind we will be collecting gently used, clean winter outerwear items in October of 2017 for Mariann’s Closet at Spencer Schools. Last year was a huge success and we would like to continue this tradition. Mariann Maki was a beloved 4K teacher who lost her battle to cancer 5 years ago. Even though Mariann and Oskar never had kids of their own, Mariann loved to shop clearance racks and garage sales to find deals on clothes for her nieces, nephews, friends’ kids and kids at school in need. Kids outgrow coats, hats and boots so quickly! To keep Mariann's spirit of giving alive, it makes sense to trade and share outerwear your family no longer needs to help keep all Spencer kids warm next winter. Drop off gently used, clean winter outerwear items kids have outgrown at any of these locations October of 2017. Sizes can range from 4 year old to adult sizes that will fit high school students. Note: Donations will not be taken until October of 2017’', but keep in mind when packing away winter items this spring.​

News from the USCCB
USCCB Chairmen Ask President Trump To Fulfill His Promise To Protect Religious Liberty - WASHINGTON—In early February, several media outlets reported that President Donald J. Trump is considering issuing an executive order establishing a government-wide initiative to respect religious freedom. A copy of a draft executive order was published by multiple news outlets. The President has not yet signed the executive order on religious freedom. Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap., of Philadelphia, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, and Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, jointly issued the following statement urging support for the draft executive order:....Read More

News from the Pope:
Pope sends message to popular movements meeting in California - (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a message to hundreds of faith and community leaders taking part in a national meeting of popular movements in Modesto, California, in the United States. The encounter, taking place from February 16th to 18th, has been organised with the support of the Vatican’s new Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, the U.S. Catholic Campaign for Human Development and the National Network of People Improving Communities through Organizing (PICO)....Read More

News from the Church:
Archdiocese of Denver Reiterates Warning About Charlie Johnston - On Feb. 15, the Archdiocese of Denver issued a press release regarding self-proclaimed visionary Charlie Johnston. It referred to the March 1, 2016 statement, which explained: Mr. Johnston’s alleged messages were reviewed by an archdiocesan theological commission and Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila determined that the faithful should be warned to be prudent and cautious about Mr. Johnston’s predictions. In addition, Mr. Johnston is not permitted to speak in Church-owned venues in the Archdiocese of Denver....Read more

Shadow Stations This Lent, we will be presenting the passion of our Lord using a multimedia method known as Shadow Stations. We need both young people AND adults to help bring to life this dramatic performance. A cast of ~ 12 young people grades 6-12 will learn and share this prior to Easter. We also need help with music. Practice will begin Thursday, March 23rd. There will be one presentation at 6:30pm April 12 at the Marshfield Sr. High Auditorium.
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Youth Fundraiser All teens can begin to earn money toward Adventure Camp, World Youth Day, Steubenville Conference, Mission Trip … or any of the great opportunities offered. The fundraiser presently available is selling Younkers Community Day booklets. You sell the booklet for $5 (you earn the entire $5), the buyer gets a $10 coupon (a $5 savings) and everyone is happy! This is only available through Feb 22. For more details, contact Mr. Dan Kitzhaber. 

RESCHEDULED RALLY IN ROZELLVILLE The Marshfield Deanery will be hosting a youth rally at St. Andrew’s in Rozellville expecting hundred of teens from across the Diocese to celebrate faith sometime on Sun., Mar. 5 from 1-4pm featuring a Catholic Worship band from the Twin Cities. For more information, contact Mr. Dan Kitzhaber. 

SHS High School Luncheon Bible Study: Every Tuesday meet in room 310 during your lunch period. Bring a hunger to grow in your faith 7 a bag lunch (or school lunch). We read, discuss & share God’s Word and the food. This is a GREAT opportunity! Bring your friends!! 

Teen & Young Adult Retreat Team Looking for teens and young adults to help lead youth retreats. Living Stones is the name of the group and it rocks! Meet lots of great people, grow in your faith, and have tons of fun. If interested, contact Mr. Dan Kitzhaber

​Praised be Jesus Christ! Constructive criticism, while not always wanted or easily welcomed by us, generally is the way we grow and become more what God wants us to be. Sometimes priests receive anonymous mail – most of us were trained not to read it because it will only serve to upset us without having any hope of a future discussion with the person who sent it. For whatever reason, I have always read the anonymous mail that comes my way . . . . and it’s safe to say that a large percentage of it is not useful in any way. Just the same, once in a while the person has some good insights and the latest letter falls into that category. A self-proclaimed “old lady” suggested that we need to hear more about the 10 Commandments – “that’s the way to make America great again!” I agree. I think the letter was hinting at a lack of clarity in homilies these days and I know there’s room for improvement in my preaching. Whatever Became of Sin? is a book written by Karl Menninger back in 1973 (a fantastic year, incidentally) – its thesis is easily intuited, namely nobody talks about sin anymore. These days living together before marriage or using illicit drugs have become so common that it’s considered bad manners to claim that a person is living in sin. Only when the moral law is effectively taught can we hope to find true freedom and not the addictions that ensue when we always do what we feel like doing. A good illustration of this occurs in Evelyn Waugh’s book Brideshead Revisited (probably my favorite book of all time): Julia and Charles are having an extra-marital affair and this complicates the lives of their family who feel compromised by their sin. At one point Julia’s brother refuses to bring his fianceé to lunch because she knows they are “living in sin.” Julia is offended and incensed, so she responds with these timeless words, “’Living in sin’; not just doing wrong, as I did when I went to America; doing wrong, knowing it is wrong, stopping doing it, forgetting. That’s not what they mean . . . living in sin, with sin, by sin, for sin, every hour, every day, year in, year out. Waking up with sin in the morning, seeing the curtains drawn on sin, bathing it, dressing it . . .” Now the anonymous letter referred to above suggests that more concrete and blunt discussion about the 10 Commandments would better form consciences so that people would know right from wrong and choose wisely. Once again, I agree. For Lent, this column will be dedicated to candid articles about what is sinful and what is not. Because we are all compromised by sin to one degree or another, this will be offensive at times and may upset a few of you along the way. Should you be really perturbed, you’re welcome to write and tell me . . . . and now that you know that I read anonymous mail, you don’t even have to take responsibility for what you’ve written. As you can see, this column is coming to a close and next week’s issue will be a tour de force of what spiritual opportunities are available for Lent. But before I close, let’s briefly meditate on the 1st Commandment: “I am the Lord your God; you shall not put false gods before me.” If you miss Mass on Sundays because of anything other than illness or unavoidable travel or work then you are putting something or someone else before God and that is a serious sin, one that usually requires confession before we can receive Holy Communion again (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2181). Please take this as the encouragement it is meant to be. May God, who wrote the law on our hearts, give us the grace, courage, and humility to try to live it!
​Your Friend in Christ, Father Martin

Men / Sons of the Parish: Mark your calendars for the Annual Father/Son Breakfast taking place on Sunday-March 19, 2017 after the 8 a.m. Mass sponsored by the Parish Council of Catholic Women. Menu will be Biscuits and gravy * Scrambled Eggs with sausage and beverage. We look forward to having you attend .

Holy Name Society Annual Pancake & Sausage Luncheon Sunday-February 26, 2017 Christ the King Parish in Spencer Serving from 9 am until 1 pm Adults - $7.00 Students - $5.00 - Preschool-FREE Carry-outs are available. Pancakes, Potato Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs, Ham, Sausage, Cheese Curds & Applesauce, Coffee, Milk & Juice also Raffle to take place @ 1 p.m. buy raffle tickets to win one of these prizes: Grand Prize: 50 “ Smart TV * 1st Prize: $200.00 Kwik Trip Gas Card 2nd Prize: $100.00 Scratch Off /LOTO Tickets * 3rd Prize: $100 Cash 

* Evenings of Recollection * Eucharistic Adoration and Reflection * Meditations in honor of the “Year of Mercy” led by Father Samuel Martin * Evenings will alternate between the parishes of St. John’s / Mfld and Christ the King / Spencer . Time: 6:30 pm-8 pm on Thursday-Thursday March 2, 2017 @ St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Mfld.. Theme: Lectio Divina 

REMINDER to Parishioners * 24 Hour Eucharistic Adoration – 2017 - First Friday – March 3 through March 4 ** Starting at 9 am on Friday an ending at 9 am on Saturday) Note: There will be a prayer petition book placed out the week prior to our First Friday Eucharistic Adoration. Anyone wishing to have petitions offered during Adoration may enter their petition into the book and they will be prayed for. Attention: Church doors are locked @ 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. if you are coming to pray during this time please knock on door (under carport) 5 minutes before the start of each hour and you will be let in by person already inside of church.

Mfld. Deanery Perpetual Adoration * Prayer * Potluck * Presentation will be taking place Sunday-February 26, 2017 @ 12:00 p.m. at Our Lady of Peace * Father Dillenburg Parish Hall 12:00 pm / Divine Mercy Chaplet lead by Armata Bianca / 12:20 pm Potluck * Please bring a dish to pass / 1 pm Presentation by Rita Johnson: My Journey to Recovery form Mental Illness”. / 1:30 pm Personal Testimony by Karyn Kostka / Sponsored by: Pope Saint John Paul II Perpetual Adoration Committee For more information, contact Jean Kaiser @ 715-387-0571

As winter comes to an end in the next couple months * Please keep in mind we will be collecting gently used, clean winter outerwear items in October of 2017 for Mariann’s Closet at Spencer Schools. Last year was a huge success and we would like to continue this tradition. Mariann Maki was a beloved 4K teacher who lost her battle to cancer 5 years ago. Even though Mariann and Oskar never had kids of their own, Mariann loved to shop clearance racks and garage sales to find deals on clothes for her nieces, nephews, friends’ kids and kids at school in need. Kids outgrow coats, hats and boots so quickly! To keep Mariann's spirit of giving alive, it makes sense to trade and share outerwear your family no longer needs to help keep all Spencer kids warm next winter. Drop off gently used, clean winter outerwear items kids have outgrown at any of these locations October of 2017. Sizes can range from 4 year old to adult sizes that will fit high school students. Note: Donations will not be taken until October of 2017’', but keep in mind when packing away winter items this spring.​

Praised be Jesus Christ! Our Diocese hosted the annual Brains and Brawn event a couple weeks ago to signal the start of Catholic Schools Week. It was then that I was reminded of how we hosted our own informal Quiz bowl in this column last August, but I failed to subsequently list the answers. Well, as they say, “it’s better late than never.” For those of you who were left in suspense all this time, the questions and their answers are as follows: 1) Name at least three of the first ten Popes: Peter, Linus, Cletus, Clement, Evaristus, Alexander, Sixtus, Telesphorus, Hyginus, Pius; 2) Name the two levels of Holy Orders that come before Bishop: Priest and Deacon; 3) List four of the seven capital sins: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, lust; 4) Name the patron saint of lost objects and lost causes: St. Anthony – lost objects, St. Jude – lost causes; 5) List two of the three things kept in the Ark of the Covenant: manna, rod of Aaron, and 10 Commandments; 6) Where is the putative burial cloth of Jesus? Turin, Italy, aka the Shroud of Turin; 7) How many books are there in a Catholic Bible? 73: 46 in O.T., 27 in N.T.; 8) Who was the first to witness the Resurrection? Mary Magdalene; 9) Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem? Because of the census conducted by the Emperor – Joseph was from Bethlehem; 10) How many dioceses are there in Wisconsin? Five; 11) What is the smallest country in the world? Vatican City State; 12) Name the Pope’s army: Swiss guard; 13) List three corporal or spiritual works of mercy: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, give clothing to the naked, give shelter to the homeless, bury the dead, admonish the sinner, instruct the ignorant, console the sorrowful, counsel the doubtful, forgive all willingly, bear wrongs patiently, pray for the living and the dead; 14) List the four Gospel writers and at least two of their attending symbols: Matthew – man/angel; Mark – lion; Luke – Ox; John – Eagle; 15) Name our last three bishops: Callahan, Listecki, Burke, John Paul, Freking, Treacy; 16) Name an American Saint: St. Philippine Duchesne, St. Junipero Serra, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Katharine Drexel, St. John Neumann, St. Mother Cabrini; 17) List two of the four Patriarchal Basilicas: St. Peter, St. Paul outside the walls, St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran; 18) List one of the two minor basilicas in Wisconsin: Holy Hill and St. Josaphat in Milwaukee; 19) Where did St. Paul die? Outside the city walls of Rome; 20) List the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Okay, how did you do? Remember what the prize was for a perfect score . . . . a week’s trip in Father Sedlacek’s car. Sadly, he drives a Chevy, so it might not be a very enjoyable ride. As you know, I was in an accident in Milwaukee on my way to the airport on January 18th. I was not at fault and nobody got hurt, thanks be to God. My poor Ford Focus was rear -ended and damaged to the point that it was declared totaled. At 10 years old with just over 151,000 miles, our glorious run together had come to an end. The insurance company offered a generous settlement and my car was taken away to be turned into SpongeBob lunch boxes. In the meantime, I followed the path of inevitability and bought another Focus. This one is Virgin Blue in honor of our Blessed Mother. Keep your eyes peeled for another quiz sometime this year . . . the winner gets a ride to Pittsville in my new car. And for $20.00, I’ll even give you a ride back!

May God help us to know the truth of His teachings, so that our hearts may be free to love wisely!

​Your friend in Christ, Father Martin