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 Mission Team Bake Sale: Hola, hola, hola! The Peru Mission Team is here today! We have brought many wonderful baked goods for your enjoyment! We have cakes and cookies, breads and brownies, pies and many other goodies including some Gluten Free items. Please stop by and help us to help the children at the Casa Hogar orphanage by buying some of our yummy treats. Thank you for your help, Sra. Kennedy & Peru Mission Team 2020
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 From the Pope
Speaking to French pilgrims present at the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis thanked the many people who risked their lives to salvage Notre Dame as fire tore through Paris’ Cathedral. “The gratitude of the whole Church goes to those who did everything they could, even risking their lives, to save the Basilica,” he said. The Holy Father said he felt a great sense of sorrow for the damage caused by the devastating blaze. Read More...  Please donate to our upcoming Rummage Sale and support our Youth Ministry Program! Do you have items that are just taking up space? Bring them to the St. John's Religious Education Office Wed. May 15th 3-7pm or Thursday May 16th, noon-3pm, or contact David Alcott to make arrangements. The Rummage sale will be held on Thursday May 16th 3-7pm and Friday May 17th, 8am-3pm in the Columbia Room of St. John's School. Please visit: http://www.stjohnsmarshfield.org/fundraising-opportunities.html
 Happy Easter! Many of you are familiar with the game show “Jeopardy!” and probably already know that the longtime host Alex Trebek is sick with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. When he spoke to the public about his illness he assured folks that “I’m going to fight this. And I’m going to keep working, and with the love and support of my family and friends, and with the help of your prayers, I plan to beat the low survival rate for this disease.” And just to show that his sense of humor is still intact, Trebek added, “Truth told, I have to (keep working). Because under the terms of my contract, I have to host “Jeopardy!” for three more years.” I’ve been praying for him ever since I heard and wonder if he’ll still be with us by the time you sit down to read this (I’m writing in late March, before the big Lenten rush swallows me up and chews up all of my free time). So, I’d like to dedicate this column to Alex Trebek and all of the many fans of “Jeopardy!” who will be saddened by his departure from the world as we know it. Though I’ve rarely had the time to watch the show, I always found “Jeopardy!” to be one of the few programs on TV that actually promotes education. A friend used to watch it religiously and while he found the depth of learning in the contestants to be outstanding, he always remarked that they were simultaneously very ignorant about nearly everything having to do with religion. Well, let’s see you how you fare with a few easy ones: Knock knock, who’s there? It’s members of this denomination whose name references Isaiah 43:10. Answer: Who are the Jehovah’s Witnesses? It’s the act of dying for one’s faith. Answer: What is martyrdom? Christmas is December 25th; this holiday around the same time starts on Kislev 25 on the Jewish calendar. Answer: What is Hanukkah? Pope Benedict XVI’s first of these was titled “Deus caritas est” – God is love. Answer: What is an encyclical? Okay, now that you’re warmed up and feeling good, we’ll move into more current events with a splash of religion. If you are able to solve all of them without recourse to your phone or any weird new age divination, the grand prize is a 2016 Ford Focus. It only has 36,000 miles, is completely paid for and insured, and has been in the shop twice in the first year I owned it. It’s now two-toned blue and has been recalled for a faulty gas valve that results in nearly stalling every time I back out of the garage and start up the little incline on Chestnut. I’d like to trade it but I’m assured I’d only get a new pair of pajama pants and a rancid box of Swisher Sweets in exchange. So you can have it if you get a perfect score... good luck! 1) Formerly known as the Baron of Blenker, he’s tall, mean and not nearly as funny as he thinks. Answer: Who is Father Burish? 2) Possibly the nicest of my former associates (which really isn’t saying much), he stopped eating Big Macs and instantly dropped 50 pounds. Answer: Who is Father Kuhn? 3) He drove a car named “The Great White Hope,” and was frequently forced to walk because it was a Chevy. Answer: Who is Father Sedlacek? 4) He was born in 1940 and thinks he’s pretty smart. Answer: Who is Father Barry? Oops, sorry about that... the answer is actually Who is Alex Trebek? Well, how did you do? By the way, I love my Ford Focus and was only kidding when I said you could have it... the people who sold it to me might be reading this and I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship! Now to end this Easter special, the bonus round: He wore a yarmulke, spoke fluent Aramaic, knew the Psalms by heart, was accused of blasphemy and crucified for claiming to be God’s Son. But He was Who He claimed to be and when Alex Trebek dies and you die and I die, we will meet Him and be judged by Him. Answer: Who is Jesus Christ? May God fill your heart with the hope and healing of Easter! Your friend in Christ, Father Martin  Evenings of Recollection: The next Evening of Recollection will be held Thursday, May 2nd from 6:30-8:00pm. Receiving Holy Communion with devotion is the theme for the night. The evening will begin by exposing the Blessed Sacrament followed by a half hour meditation. There will be time for silent adoration and confession. Benediction will close the evening. This evening of Recollection will be held at St. John’s.
 From the Church
In the first part, I aim to present briefly the wider social context of the question, without which the problem cannot be understood. I try to show that in the 1960s an egregious event occurred, on a scale unprecedented in history. It could be said that in the 20 years from 1960 to 1980, the previously normative standards regarding sexuality collapsed entirely, and a new normalcy arose that has by now been the subject of laborious attempts at disruption. In the second part, I aim to point out the effects of this situation on the formation of priests and on the lives of priests. Read More..  There is still time to sign up for Adventure Camp and Steubenville Rochester - Adventure Camp will be held Aug. 4th - 9th. Cost is $450 for youth and $300 for chaperones. Steubenville will be held July 12th - 14th and the cost is $320 per person for registration, bus, hotel, t-shirt and meals. Please visit the “Youth and Young Adult Ministry” section of our website for more details - Hope you can join us!  Praised be Jesus Christ! Last year Mr. David Eaton wrote a letter before Holy Week to the parents of all of the Catholic school students. Mr. Eaton is the President of Columbus Catholic Schools and has given me permission to share some of his thoughts. His reflection has to do with Holy Week, so the timing is perfect for us: “The three days of the Easter Triduum make up the shortest season of the Church year. On Holy Thursday we celebrate again the Last Supper. In Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians we are witness to the first Eucharist and hear Christ’s words still spoken at each Mass, “Do this in remembrance of me.” In the Gospel we see Jesus washing the apostles’ feet and saying to them, “As I have done, so you must do.” In Christ’s directions to his apostles, to celebrate the Eucharist in his memory and to serve others, we see the beginning of the priesthood. This is not only a striking reminder of the priests’ service to the church, but of our call to serve each other. On Good Friday we read the Passion and hear of Christ’s betrayal, torture, and crucifixion. In the Veneration of the Cross the congregation is invited to come forward and give a sign of gratitude for our salvation through Christ’s death by genuflecting before, or kissing, the cross. On Good Friday we also have special intentions. Of these, I find the prayers for Christian unity, for the Jewish People, and for unbelievers to be the most moving. On Holy Saturday we have the Easter Vigil. This celebration is truly extraordinary. The first thing that happens is the lighting of a fire; from this fire, the Paschal Candle is lit. This candle represents for us Christ’s light to the world. The Easter Proclamation is then sung. This song encourages us to rejoice in the knowledge that Christ will rise from the dead. The Vigil continues as we hear a series of Scriptural readings: if you follow along closely, you will see that those readings are about the covenant between God and his chosen ones. Then something simple, but profound happens: the Alleluia, silent since Ash Wednesday, celebrates the Risen Christ! If the parish is lucky enough to have baptisms you will see another of the important events of the Vigil. The Easter Vigil has always been a time for new members to join the church. A word of encouragement and a word of caution about the Easter Vigil: the Vigil is absolutely the high point of the liturgical year and can be profoundly moving; it is, however, long. To fully understand and appreciate our faith we must understand and appreciate the events of the Triduum and how the Church commemorates them. Hopefully this will give you some help in explaining to your children just what the days leading up to Easter are all about.” Every year we have the opportunity to really enter into the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection. Sometimes our work schedule or other demands make this impossible. But it would be a great sadness if we died without ever having experienced the raw emotions that Our Lord’s sacrificial death causes in us. Before you go, consider making a good confession – there are many times available and you honor the gift of priesthood by receiving sacramental absolution. As this Palm Sunday makes manifest to the world, there can be no true crown without the cross because there can be no true love without suffering. Please remember to pray for all of us who are ordained on Tuesday, as we celebrate the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral in La Crosse (you’re very welcome to attend – it begins at 10:30 a.m.). We renew our vows at that Mass and it’s a powerful reminder of how God is faithful to His Church, especially in the midst of human frailty and sin. I’ll be asking for the grace to serve Him and you more generously in the year to come – I rely on your prayers to keep this promise. May this Holy Week deepen our ability to trust God so that no suffering will ever separate us from Him! Your friend in Christ, Father Martin |
MASS SCHEDULE
Monday - Friday: 7:00 AM Saturday: 8:00 AM Saturday: 4:30 & 7:00 PM Sunday: 7:00, 9:00 & 11:00 AM CONFESSION SCHEDULE
Tuesday–Friday: 6:30 - 6:50 AM First Friday: 6:00-7:00 PM Saturday:3:45 -4:15 PM & 6:15 -6:45 PM ADORATION
PERPETUAL ADORATION: The Marshfield Deanery has the John Paul II Adoration Chapel located in the basement of St. John the Baptist Parish, at 201 W. Blodgett St. The chapel is accessible from the rear parking lot. For more information or to sign up: contact Dale at 715-383-2262 or Jean Kaiser 715-387-0571. Click on the image below for more information. 
Stay Connected with Our ParishWelcome From Our Pastor
Welcome to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church! Ever since 1877 this parish has been assisting souls in their quest for deeper union with God. Pope John Paul II called the parish a “school of prayer” and St. John’s is committed to promoting growth in holiness in every state in life. Each of us is called... Read More
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