 From the Church:
An unprecedented conference on drugs and addictions will be held at the Vatican by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, from November 29 to December 1. This symposium will deal with all forms of addiction: drugs and alcohol, gambling, sex and pornography, and digital devices and social networks. A particular focus of the event will be to discuss the economic factors involved in such phenomena. One of the objectives is to highlight how the poorest are the most vulnerable. Read More...
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 The first night of jar-filling for the Jars for Life fundraiser will be 11/27 St. Johns Columbia Kitchen 7-9pm
The sale of “Life Jars Mixes ” will be held on weekend of December 1 & 2, 2018 after all the Masses. Order forms can be found on table in church, if you wish to fill out before placing your order. Please join us for the Pilgrimage for Life on January 16th-20th, 2019. The cost is $330 per person/$300 for chaperones, the official red hoodie is $30 extra. The Tuesday Bible Studies at Spencer High School have begun. Please join us in Ms. Lohrentz's room during lunch to engage with God's word, and grow in discipleship. Please join us anytime! Save the Date! I am planning to bring a group to Steubenville Rochester July 12-14, 2019. Religious Education and Youth Ministry are both now primarily using Flocknote for communication (email and text)Please sign up for text or email youth ministry updates through Flocknote..Simply text the word “pope” to 84576, or visit this link to sign up. https://app.flocknote.com/religiousedyouthministry/ Formed is available online, and also available as an app for both android and IOS devices. The parish access code is c7b2ca, you can create an account online at formed.org  Praised be Jesus Christ! My classmate, Father Mark Vander Steeg, recently wrote a great bulletin column and he’s agreed to let me use parts of it for your reading pleasure. Though you don’t know Father Vander Steeg, you might think he’s a wonderful guy by the time you get done reading this . . . . please remember what they say about judging a priest by his column! Okay, here are his thoughts: “We are so blessed here at (St. John’s and Christ the King) to have so many people who appreciate and understand the supernatural value, assistance, and grace of having a Mass offered for a particular intention. It may be for a loved one who has passed on to God, offering the graces of the Mass to assist them on their journey into the full- ness of God. It may be offered for a current world concern or for a local or family need. It all shows love for others. We entrust our intentions and prayers to God, particularly through the Mass, asking that His will be done in all things. With this shared knowledge of the value of the Mass also comes the reality that our parish is not always able to fit in every Mass intention (this is more the case at Saint John’s than Christ the King). Sometimes people are saddened when they find out that a particular day is ‘already taken’. We are limited to accepting four Mass intentions a year (two on weekends and two on week- days) for each person. We also cannot double up intentions without the consent of the original person. However, there are other options for you to remember your deceased loved ones through a Mass intention or have one offered for some other special concern. We have retired priests as well as priests in mission areas that would be very happy to pray for your intention at the Masses they celebrate. All altars are God’s altar. You may contact the parish office to make this arrangement. The suggested offering/stipend for a Mass is $10.00. In conclusion, the Mass is the most powerful prayer on earth because it is the living passion, death, and resurrection of Christ made present to us. It is to the Father, through the Son, by the pow- er of the Holy Spirit. We are privileged to participate and receive. How beautiful when the blessing can be shared with our deceased loved ones, friends, and to advance the Lord’s will on earth. Thank you for your reverence and faith in the gift of the Holy Mass.” Lots of good insights, especially about the power of the Mass . . . . and in a surprisingly short amount of space! My homilies may be shorter than the league average, but the length of my columns is probably near the top! As we bask in the glow of Thanksgiving, we pause to remember that the very word Eucharist means thanksgiving and reminds us that love is sacrificial and generous, even to the point of death. And while we offer the Mass for our deceased loved ones so that they might be found worthy of eternal life, we need the Mass too so that we do not grow cold in love, stale in faith or despondent in hope. The greatest reason for sadness in the world is a lack of intimacy with Jesus and His Father. As you know, people are falling away from their faith because of the scandals and we might feel helpless as we watch family and friends leave. Thank God for the Eucharist – we can offer our Communions for this intention and many others. That will bring grace to others while protecting us from becoming judgmental or cynical. God revealed that the Church would endure until the end and that we’re so much better off in the Church than outside of her. Let’s pray for perseverance in these tumultuous times – we’re in this together and with God we cannot fail.
May the graces we receive from the Mass bring healing and hope to us and to the world! Your friend in Christ, Father Martin  Mass Schedule for Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8 The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception this year is Saturday, December 8, and it remains a holyday of obligation. Masses on Friday evening, December 7, and during the day of Saturday, December 8, will observe the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Masses beginning the evening of Saturday, December 8 will observe the Second Sunday of Advent. Catholics are to attend Mass twice that weekend, once to fulfill the holyday of obligation (Immaculate Conception) and once to satisfy the Sunday obligation. Holy Day masses @ Christ the King are: Friday-December 7, 2018 @ 7 pm Saturday-December 8, 2018 @ 8:30 am Ministry Participants are needed and sign-up sheets have been placed on table in gathering room of church.
 From the Church:
On the third day of the USCCB’s fall meeting in Baltimore, the bishops voted in favor of supporting the cause for canonization of Sr. Thea Bowman, a religious member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration based in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Read More...  I am planning on attending the Pilgrimage for Life with a group on January 16th- 20th, 2019. The cost is $330 per person/$300 for chaperones, the official red hoodie is extra. The Pilgrimage for Life info meeting will be in the Columbia Room on Monday November 19th at 7pm The first night of jar-filling for the Jars for Life fundraiser will be 11/27 St. Johns Columbia Kitchen 7-9 pm The Tuesday Bible Studies at Spencer High School have begun. Please join us in Ms. Lohrentz's room during lunch to engage with God's word, and grow in discipleship. Please join us anytime! Religious Education and Youth Ministry are both now primarily using Flocknote for communication (email and text)Please sign up for text or email youth ministry updates through Flocknote..Simply text the word “pope” to 84576, or visit this link to sign up. https://app.flocknote.com/religiousedyouthministry/ We are planning on launching 7 Scripture-based small groups during Lent 2019, the leaders are currently training with wonderful material provided by Evangelical Catholic. The Director of Crosswoods Camp (the camp where Adventure Camp is held) took a new job and is selling the camp. The Diocese of La Crosse is holding a meeting to determine the future of Adventure Camp.  Praised be Jesus Christ! The following comes from an article written by Monsignor Charles Pope that was passed along to me by a friend: “Over 29 years ago, as I was finishing seminary and about to be ordained, my spiritual director at the time gave me some advice on seeking a new one in my diocese. ‘Look for someone who has suffered,’ he said. At the time I wondered about this but have come to find that it was good advice.” The title of the article is “On the Relationship of Suffering and Wisdom,” which is provocative in and of itself. Years ago a wise old priest remarked on how we learn more from our failures than from our successes... what do you think about that? Old timers always talk about the “school of hard knocks” and though we fancy ourselves an evolving race, some elements never seem to change. Each person who lives long enough in this world to become self-conscious learns many things. We marvel as we watch children experience things for the first time – their awe and wonder are a gift to us and remind us of the miracle of life and the ability to experience it in a deeply spiritual way. Unlike other creatures, we’re able to think about what we experience and decide whether we should seek such experiences again. For example, John F. Kennedy believed it was the safety and warmth of our mother’s womb that draws so many of us to the ocean and its rhythmic waves. Yes, it’s fairly safe to claim that we are drawn to beauty and goodness and truth. But the path that leads us to these transcendent realities almost inevitably weaves through the hurts and sorrows that we would otherwise choose to avoid. Every human being suffers in this life – God told us that original sin had won for us a valley of tears and that life would be much harder now than if we had only trusted Him enough to obey Him. And yet, as God is wont to do, He said He could draw good from such sorrow and that suffering, for those who accept it with deep faith, could impart a wisdom that is not of this world. Think for a moment of the wisest person you know – take some time here to really think – have you come up with someone? What sets that person apart? What is the source of their wisdom? Have they suffered? When I was pondering these things a number of people came to mind and I could see behind their many years and wrinkles a gentleness that can only come from a person who has learned to accept life as a gift – and that means to accept the suffering too. For those who believe in a God who suffers, the life we live in this world is transformed from the rat race to accumulate the most stuff (i.e. fame and fortune) to a slow but sure process that makes us truly kind and holy. Did I mention that it’s a slow process? As a rock thrown into the ocean and retrieved after a week shows little change, so too our day to day living the Catholic faith seems to change us hardly at all. But leave that rock in the ocean for 10 or 20 or 50 years and you’ll see a wonderful transformation as it becomes smooth with all the rough edges worn away by sand and salt. So too our faith and its acceptance of suffering; we naturally rebel when it comes, but with God’s help we begin to realize that Our Lord only allows this to help us become what He knows we can be. As Jesus revealed to Saint Rose of Lima some centuries ago, “Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burdens of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. Let men take care not to stray and be deceived. This is the only true staircase to paradise, and without the cross they can find no road to climb.” Yes, the cross is our means of salvation, even if we sometimes try to avoid it. As we pray this month for the holy souls that have gone before us, we remember that they now know the indispensable role of suffering in preparing us to live with God. May they rest in peace and may their prayers help us to trust in the Lord, who suffered and died that we might live.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace! Your friend in Christ, Father Martin  In celebration of “Feast of Christ the King” an invitation is extended for you to attend Saturday-
Nov. 24th after the 4 p.m. Mass serving of Pizza and beverage. Sunday-Nov. 25 after the 8 am and 10 am Mass serving of doughnuts and beverage in the dining hall of church. We look forward to seeing you after Mass.
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MASS SCHEDULE
Tuesday - Friday: 8:00 AM Saturday: 4:00 PM Sunday: 8:00 AM & 10:00 AM RECONCILIATION
Saturday: 3:15 - 3:45 PM OFFICE HOURS
Monday - Thursday: 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM Friday: 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM Stay Connected with Our ParishWelcome from Our Pastor
Welcome to Christ the King Catholic Church! Ever since 1938 this parish has been assisting souls in their quest for deeper union with God. Our mission statement is essentially found in the stained glass window above the main altar: “For Christ our King.” Insofar as God made us and we belong to Him, we have come to... Read More
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