Bonus prayer testing! September 28 is our bonus prayer testing night! Any student who can recite their prayers, on or before that night will earn a special reward that includes Father Martin!! Last year we had 14 students earn this reward, let’s see if we can increase that number - we already have students who have learned their prayers for this year!! Thank you to Fr. Sedlacek who gave our 1st and 2nd grade students a tour of the church this past Wednesday! They had a chance to learn what things are called and about why we have certain items in church. Anointing of the Sick / Opening Mass is October 5 at 6:40pm * Sign-up sheet has been placed on back table, in gathering room, for those who wish to receive “The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick” . Sunday, October 16 is our 7th grade class Mass. NEXT SUNDAY: Sunday School will begin (on October 2)!! We are in need of a Sunday School catechist, this if for our 4 and 5 year olds. Please contact Deb to help. **We may be able to split this between 2 (or more) volunteers and alternate weeks**​

High School CCD & Youth Group CCD class time for high school students will be on Wednesday night from 6:30 until 7:45p.m. and Youth Group will meet from 8 until 9pm. For questions about high school CCD or Youth Group , contact Mr. Dan Kitzhaber.

Young Adults The next gatherings for all young adults in the area will be Tues., Oct. 11 at 6:30pm in St. Francis Hall at St. John’s. There will be time for socializing, praying and learning! For more information contact Dan Kitzhaber or Fr Sedlacek. 

Diocesan Youth Rally – October 2 On Sunday, October 2, join a road trip to La Crosse for a Diocesan Youth Rally to celebrate this Year of Mercy. This event is for grades 6-12. The cost per person is ONLY $15 per person and a new pair of socks. This includes bus transportation. The socks will be used to make care bags for the homeless. The day will include Lunch, Mass and some GREAT youth speakers. PLEASE RSVP BY SEPT. 15th by contacting contact Mr. Dan Kitzhaber. 

SHS High School Luncheon Bible Study: Starting September 13, then every Tuesday meet in room 310 during your lunch period. Bring a hunger to grow in your faith. We take turns providing the food. We read, discuss & share God’s Word and the food. This year, we’ll be reading the Gospel of Mark. 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.

​Often when we go to Mass it is easy to slip into the habit of "going through the motions."

We stand. We sit. We kneel. We leave.

Nothing much changes week-to-week, besides some extra flowers and maybe a different color.

What is the whole point? Why do we we stand, sit, kneel and receive Holy Communion?

In order to answer that question, over the next several weeks we will be walking through the Mass, going through the symbolism that is present in the celebration. Hopefully this will open your eyes anew to this ancient liturgy and will help you stop "going through the motions" and recognize that you are participating in something much greater than yourselves.

In fact, what you are doing today at Sunday Mass is not much different than what the early Christians did in the 2nd century, almost 2,000 years ago!

If you want evidence, here is a passage from Saint Justin Martyr, who wrote in 155 AD about the common celebration of the liturgy:

"No one may share the Eucharist with us unless he believes that what we teach is true, unless he is washed in the regenerating waters of baptism for the remission of his sins, and unless he lives in accordance with the principles given us by Christ. 

"On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or the outlying districts. The recollections of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as there is time. When the reader has finished, the president of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we all stand up together and pray. 

"On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and water are brought forward. The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give assent by saying, “Amen”. The eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates, and the deacons take it to those who are absent. 

"The wealthy, if they wish, may make a contribution, and they themselves decide the amount. The collection is placed in the custody of the president, who uses it to help the orphans and widows and all who for any reason are in distress, whether because they are sick, in prison, or away from home. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need. 

"We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the first day of the week, the day on which God put darkness and chaos to flight and created the world, and because on that same day our savior Jesus Christ rose from the dead. For he was crucified on Friday and on Sunday he appeared to his apostles and disciples and taught them the things that we have passed on for your consideration."
​
Did anything sound familiar? Look back and see if you can identify these part of the Mass:

Introductory Rites
- Penitential Rite
Liturgy of the Word
-Readings
-Homily
-Profession of Faith
-Collection
Liturgy of the Eucharist
-Presentation of the Gifts and Preparation of the Altar
-Prayer over the Offerings
-Eucharistic Prayer
-Reception of Communion
-Dismissal

Over the next several weeks we will dive into each part of the Mass and discover the symbolism behind the ancient rites and discover the beauty and glory of the Mass anew.

Anointing of the Sick / Opening Mass is Wednesday - Oct 5 at 6:40pm with the religious education students * if you would like to received the “Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick”, a sign-up sheet can be located on back table, in the gathering room for you to place your name.

REMINDER to Parishioners * 24 Hour Eucharistic Adoration – 2016 -First Friday – Oct. 7 through Oct 8. 2016 ** 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.

Community Care Walk will be held on Sunday-October 2, 2016. * The Green Bay Packers do not play on this Sunday-it is their bye week . We encourage you to walk and bring a friend to enjoy walking thru Spencer. This walk supports the Kings Community Food Pantry. Registration is @ 12:30 pm at the Spencer Lion’s Park Shelter with the walk starting @ 1 pm. Christ the King Social Justice Committee

The next “Baptismal” preparation class will be on Tuesday - October 4, 2016 @ 5:30 pm - 8 pm. @ St. John’s in Mfld. / Columbia room of the school. Pre-registration is required; please do so by calling 715-659-4480. For those not registered as members at Christ the King parish, information will be given on how to do so. This class is mandatory for all parents expecting their first child and/or those who have not taken Father Martin’s baptismal class. 

* 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 October 6 @ Christ the King Theme: St Teresa of Avila 

During the “Month of October ” the rosary only will be recited 20 minutes before Mass * Needed: Parishioners of the parish to lead the congregation in reciting the rosary. A sign-up sheet can be found on back table in gathering room. Your help in being a prayer leader (Ladies, men or young adults) in reciting the rosary would be greatly appreciated. Parishioners * Please show respect for the rosary being prayed and enter church quietly. Thank you. 

Inner Life on Relevant Radio: Some of you have asked if I would provide the dates and times when I’m on the radio. Once a month I work with Chuck Neff on a wonderful program called “The Inner Life.” It’s a call-in show that offers spiritual direction and is a beautiful experience of the Holy Spirit. The show is every day from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and it replays each evening from 9:00-10:00 p.m. I’ll be on the show (barring a funeral, in which case another priest takes my place) on September 7th, October 5th, November 21st, December 14th , and January 19th . Relevant Radio is at 93.9 FM or you can download their app. Please pray for the remarkable work being done by Relevant Radio! Father Samuel Martin

The weekend of October 15th and 16th, 2016 . Representatives from Blest Art, Inc. will be selling religious items, after all the weekend masses. These items hold special value, as they are not only unique, but purchasing them helps support the Christian people, in the Holy Land. Blest Art, Inc. is not a team of merchants, rather family ambassadors for the 600 plus families working to stimulate the economy once thriving that is now troubled. This art is an invaluable way to sustain the Christian community in the Holy Land. The handiwork has been passed down from many generations. Blest Art, Inc. strives to keep this tradition alive. This company accepts all forms of payment (cash / credit card / personal checks) Check out the website: wwwblestart.com to view their wonderful items. ​

News from the USCCB: 
Worldwide Day Of Prayer For Sexual Abuse Survivors - WASHINGTON—Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, welcomed Pope Francis' call for a World Day of Prayer for Victims of Sexual Abuse and highlighted the efforts in dioceses across the country guided by the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People...Read More

News from the Pope: 
Pope tells us 'not to judge, not to condemn, but to forgive' -(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis urged the faithful to be as merciful as the Lord, because – he said – that is the best way to be “a sign, a channel, a witness of His love”. He was speaking on Wednesday morning during the weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square....Read More
​
News from the Church:
Thousands Gather at Berlin March for Life to Say ‘No Child Is Unsuitable’ - BERLIN — More than 7,500 people took part in the annual March for Life in Berlin on Saturday, under the motto: “No Child is Unsuitable.” The peaceful gathering was organized by the Federal Association for the Right to Life. Participants held aloft placards supporting the right to life from conception to natural death. Five bishops took part in the event: Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg, who also celebrated the closing ecumenical Church service, Berlin's Archbishop Heiner Koch, and Auxiliary Bishops Matthias Heinrich of Berlin, Dominikus Schwaderlapp of Cologne, and Florian Wörner of Augsburg.....Read more

Religious Education classes have begun! Please pray for our students and catechists as we begin the new year! Today, Sunday, Sept. 18 is Catechetical Sunday! Thank you to all of our catechists for their part in passing on the faith! (Parents - this includes you of course!) Bonus prayer testing! September 28 is our bonus prayer testing night! Any student who can recite their prayers, on or before that night will earn a special reward that includes Father Martin !! Last year we had 14 students earn this reward, let’s see if we can increase that number!! Sunday School will begin on October 2!! We are in need of a Sunday School catechist, please contact Deb for more information. ** We may be able to split this between 2 volunteers to alternate weeks ** Anointing of the Sick / Opening Mass is October 5 at 6:40pm * Sign-up sheet has been placed on back table, in gathering room, for those who wish to receive “The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick” .

High School CCD & Youth Group CCD class time for high school students will be on Wednesday night from 6:30 until 7:45p.m. and Youth Group will meet from 8 until 9pm. For questions about high school CCD or Youth Group , contact Mr. Dan Kitzhaber.

Diocesan Youth Rally – October 2 On Sunday, October 2, join a road trip to La Crosse for a Diocesan Youth Rally to celebrate this Year of Mercy. This event is for grades 6-12. The cost per person is ONLY $15 per person and a new pair of socks. This includes bus transportation. The socks will be used to make care bags for the homeless. The day will include Lunch, Mass and some GREAT youth speakers. PLEASE RSVP BY SEPT. 15th by contacting contact Mr. Dan Kitzhaber. 

SHS High School Luncheon Bible Study: Starting September 13, then every Tuesday meet in room 310 during your lunch period. Bring a hunger to grow in your faith. We take turns providing the food. We read, discuss & share God’s Word and the food. This year, we’ll be reading the Gospel of Mark. 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.

​As we conclude our series on the liturgical year, let us reflect on the beauty that God has given us in the variety and change that bolsters our spiritual life.

God knows us better than we know ourselves and He is well aware that we need seasons throughout the year to break up the monotony of life and this is no different in the liturgy. God has inspired His church to set in motion a liturgical year that changes and focuses our attention on different aspects on the life of Christ.

This allows us to deepen our love of God each year as we learn more about Him and as different things touch our hearts at different times.

To further reflect on this beautiful gift God has given us, below is a short reflection by Dom Prosper Guéranger on this wondrous gift of the liturgical year.

"Would that we might worthily describe the sacred wonders of this mystical calendar, of which all others are but images and humble auxiliaries! Happy indeed should we deem ourselves, if we could make the faithful understand the grand glory which is given to the blessed Trinity, to our Saviour, to Mary, to the angels, and to the saints, by this annual commemoration of the wondrous works of our God! If, every year, the Church renews her youth as that of the eagle [Ps. cii. 5], she does so because, by means of the cycle of the liturgy, she is visited by her divine Spouse, who supplies all her wants."

"Each year she again sees Him an Infant in the manger, fasting in the desert, offering Himself on the cross, rising from the grave, founding His Church, instituting the Sacraments, ascending to the right hand of His Father, and sending the Holy Spirit upon men. The graces of all these divine mysteries are renewed in her; so that, being made fruitful in every good thing, the mystic garden yields to the Spouse, in every season, under the influence of the Spirit He breathes into her, the sweet perfume of aromatic spices [Cant. iv. 16]. Each year the Spirit of God retakes possession of His well-beloved and gives her light and love; each year she derives an increase of life from the maternal influence which the blessed Virgin exercises over her, on the feasts of her joys, her dolours, and her glories; and lastly, the brilliant constellation formed by the successive appearance of the nine choirs of the angels, and of the saints in their varied orders of apostles, martyrs, confessors, and virgins, sheds on her, each year, powerful help and abundant consolation.

"Now, what the liturgical year does for the Church at large, it does also for the soul of each one of the faithful that is careful to receive the gift of God. This succession of mystic seasons imparts to the Christian the elements of that supernatural life, without which every other life is but a sort of death, more or less disguised. Nay, there are some souls, so far acted upon by the divine succession of the Catholic cycle, that they experience even a physical effect from each evolution: the supernatural life has gained ascendancy over the natural, and the calendar of the Church makes them forget that of astronomers.

"Let the Catholic who reads this work be on his guard against that coldness of faith, and that want of love, which have well-nigh turned into an object of indifference that admirable cycle of the Church, which heretofore was, and always ought to be, the joy of the people, the source of light to the learned, and the book of the humblest of the faithful."

As we progress through the year with the Church, let us be attentive to the different movements of God and appreciate the great beauty of the liturgical year.

Anointing of the Sick / Opening Mass is Wednesday - Oct 5 at 6:40pm with the religious education students * if you would like to received the “Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick”, a sign-up sheet can be located on back table, in the gathering room for you to place your name.

Community Care Walk will be held on Sunday-October 2, 2016. * The Green Bay Packers do not play on this Sunday-it is their bye week . We encourage you to walk and bring a friend to enjoy walking thru Spencer. This walk supports the Kings Community Food Pantry. Registration is @ 12:30 pm at the Spencer Lion’s Park Shelter with the walk starting @ 1 pm. Christ the King Social Justice Committee

The next “Baptismal” preparation class will be on Tuesday - October 4, 2016 @ 5:30 pm - 8 pm. @ St. John’s in Mfld. / Columbia room of the school. Pre-registration is required; please do so by calling 715-659-4480. For those not registered as members at Christ the King parish, information will be given on how to do so. This class is mandatory for all parents expecting their first child and/or those who have not taken Father Martin’s baptismal class. 

* 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 October 6 @ Christ the King Theme: St Teresa of Avila 

Inner Life on Relevant Radio: Some of you have asked if I would provide the dates and times when I’m on the radio. Once a month I work with Chuck Neff on a wonderful program called “The Inner Life.” It’s a call-in show that offers spiritual direction and is a beautiful experience of the Holy Spirit. The show is every day from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and it replays each evening from 9:00-10:00 p.m. I’ll be on the show (barring a funeral, in which case another priest takes my place) on September 7th, October 5th, November 21st, December 14th , and January 19th . Relevant Radio is at 93.9 FM or you can download their app. Please pray for the remarkable work being done by Relevant Radio! Father Samuel Martin

​On September 21-22, 2016, St. John's will host the world-famous International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima, traveling worldwide since 1947. The Fatima statue is on an historic two-year journey across America, March 2016 – December 2017, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima, visiting more than 100 dioceses in 50 states. The Diocese of La Crosse is participating in the tour September 21-25, 2016. St. John’s parish is planning a event to commemorate the Fatima apparitions. The church will be open September 21, from noon until 8:00 PM, and September 22, from 6:30AM until noon.

The weekend of October 15th and 16th, 2016 . Representatives from Blest Art, Inc. will be selling religious items, after all the weekend masses. These items hold special value, as they are not only unique, but purchasing them helps support the Christian people, in the Holy Land. Blest Art, Inc. is not a team of merchants, rather family ambassadors for the 600 plus families working to stimulate the economy once thriving that is now troubled. This art is an invaluable way to sustain the Christian community in the Holy Land. The handiwork has been passed down from many generations. Blest Art, Inc. strives to keep this tradition alive. This company accepts all forms of payment (cash / credit card / personal checks) Check out the website: wwwblestart.com to view their wonderful items.