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 Parish Pull Results: It has been awhile, but the results are in! All your hard work pulled off as we profited $14,000.00 on our 7th Annual Parish Pull! This year the money made above and beyond the expenses went to assist St. John’s parish improvement, Columbus Catholic Schools and PIER (Parents Information & Education Resource Center. Save the date July 10th, 2020 for next year’s 8th Annual Parish Pull. Again, thanks to everyone’s effort in making this happen!  FALL CHECKLIST As I was preparing for the letter this week, I came across an article for a fall checklist for the upcoming winter season. Although this was an article about getting our lawn mowers and summer equipment ready for an extended time of storage or looking at the needs for getting our winter equipment prepared for what we know soon will come, I thought of this in another light. Personally, am I prepared for the upcoming year? The end of our liturgical year is fast approaching, with Advent not that far away. School is back in session, and for the most part, summer get-aways are a thing of the past. So the question for us to ask is: am I prepared? How can I prepare? First, we need to plan. If we fail to plan, life will simply overtake us. Advent will be over before we even know it has arrived; Christmas becomes nothing more than a hectic time of celebrations, shopping and office parties that lead into New Year’s Day and mid-winter blues settling in. Planning puts us in charge of our schedule. There are times we need to say no, but without a plan things that come up can take on an importance of their own, and we can find ourselves agreeing to more things than we can do justice to, and we find the business of the season driving us. Planning today takes the burden of tomorrow and puts it into perspective. Another way to plan is to take advantage of an opportunity to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. There will be opportunities to receive this sacrament during Advent, but we have regular times in each parish as well. Many times I am asked ‘how often should I receive this sacrament?’There is no hard and fast rule, but I often suggest that we tie these into the seasons. Living in Wisconsin, with the four seasons being so drastically different from one another, is certainly a blessing. Time itself is both linear and cyclical, and the seasons reflect this in nature. This is also reflected in our lives, which unfold before us in these ways as well, with anniversaries and birthdays celebrated each year, but never two alike (except for one of my sisters-in-law, I think she is on her 23rd 29th birthday this year). However, in order to take advantage of the blessings and graces God desires to offer us, we need to have a clear path. Just as we need to have the sidewalks and roads plowed in order to get to our destinations in the middle of winter, our spirit needs a clear path as well. The sacrament of reconciliation is similar to a snow plow; clearing sin from our lives opens channels of grace so we can receive the good things God desires to give us. It is also similar to an oil change, allowing our souls to operate in grace, which is another way to say efficiently. When this is the state of our soul, the graces of Marriage, Holy Communion, Holy Orders or any other sacrament we celebrate continue to flow in our lives, and become more powerful, more effective and bring more healing. As we enter into this beautiful fall season, let it be a time of spiritual beauty for each of our families. God bless Fr Jim  The PCCW has again chartered a bus for the Women of Christ Conference in West Bend. Ladies from all area parishes are welcome.Speakers are Kimberly Hahn, Steve Ray, Derya Little, and Bishop Donald Hying, Diocese of Madison. Archbishop Jerome Listecki will offer Mass. Go to womenofchrist.net for more information. Come join us for a day of prayer and inspiration. A group rate of $40 for registration is available. Student rate is $25. The conference fills up quickly! Call Susan Youngwith  Build up Father/Son Bonds The 2019 Men of the Cross conference theme is The Father’s Way. A special rate is being offered for Father -Son attendees. Held in La Crosse on Sat., Oct. 26th, this year’s keynote speaker will be Steve Ray, a dynamic convert sure to engage men of all ages. To register, go to menofthecross.org.
 Youth Group will kick-off on Wednesday September 25th, from 7:45pm to 9pm in the St. Francis Room. All youth in grades 8 to 12 are invited. The purpose of youth group is help young people become disciples of Jesus, and to teach them how to make other disciples. We sing, pray, learn, laugh, and grow together every Wednesday. To get reminders and cancellation notices, please join the "St. Johns Marshfield Youth Ministry" group within Flocknote, or contact David Alcott at evangelize@frontier.com
 SCAMS It doesn’t take long for some scam artists to get up to speed. In my first 2 months here, there have been at least 2 scams that I am aware of that have been tried. The first was an email sent in my name, but not from my email address, requesting gift cards to help me with a certain need. They asked for the card numbers to be sent to them. NEVER do this; it is a scam, and most times there is nothing law enforcement can do to get your money back. When these first started, I had a parishioner that made the mistake of sending the gift card numbers and losing their money, After contacting the local police chief we discovered nothing could be done. The second event here in Marshfield was the first I have heard of this particular scam. The person texted another priest, claiming to be me and asking for a similar thing, that they get some gift cards and send them the numbers in order to help me with whatever it was they were asking for. This particular scam artist then texted the priest, continuing to pressure him. He caught on early, and thankfully did not fall for their tricks. Again, it was a phone number from out of state, and had nothing to do with me. Please know I will never ask for gift cards for some obscure purpose, and in fact I will never ask by phone or email for any purpose. Never send anyone the numbers off the back of gift cards, as this is the same as sending cash. Once they have these numbers, the money is gone. If you get something like this, the best thing to do is to delete the message and ignore it. Some of these scammers are pretty good at disguising their identities, and it is best to just cut off any communication. CONFIRMATION This Sunday evening we will celebrate Confirmation with 30 some of our young people from our congregations. This is a special event for them and for their sponsors, but it is also a special day for the entire parish family, as we continue striving for lives of faith and growth in our personal relationship with the Holy Trinity. We owe a debt of gratitude to those that have prepared these young people for this sacrament. It is also a day to celebrate with our bishop, offering our prayers and support for him in a difficult mission. What does Confirmation mean? There is an old German story about a farmer with 3 sons. When he got old, he told them he would give the farm to the first one who could fill the barn. The oldest son brought in all the cows, the chickens and the pigs. There was still room, so they emptied the barn for the second son, who brought in load after load of hay. This didn’t fill the barn either, so again they emptied the barn. The third son waited until nightfall, and went into the barn with a candle which he lit. Looking from the outside, the father saw the entire barn filled with light, and so he gave the youngest son, who did the least amount of physical work, the farm. Today, our young people will receive the fire of the Holy Spirit in their hearts and souls in a special sacrament. It is not about the amount of work we do, although there is work involved. For those of us who have been confirmed, it is about how we cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and this takes work. For our confirmandi, he will fill you with his light, and give you his gifts: wisdom, knowledge, courage, counsel, understanding, fortitude and piety. These are the gifts that will fill your hearts today, tomorrow, for all time, and these will bring power into your Catholic Christian lives. It takes courage today to live a Christian life; to speak up for what is right, to make choices in line with our faith, to stand solid when the current of the prevailing culture, which grows stronger every day, is pushing you along. Use the gifts you receive today to be that light that fills the world, to help bring the light of Christ into every corner of the world God sends you. It will not be a farm you are inheriting, but eternal life. May God keep and bless you on this special day and always. Fr. Jim  St. John’s Parish Family has the opportunity to aid the less fortunate in our area by serving a fellowship meal in the Gathering Room of St. Vincent de Paul Center. We meet on September 25th at 3pm to set up, serve the meal at 5pm and finish with clean-up by 6:30pm. If you are able to help, call Richard  From the Diocese
Father Brandon Guenther and Father Ethan Hokamp celebrate their vocations to the priesthood On June 22, 2019, Bishop William Patrick Callahan ordained Deacons Brandon Guenther and Ethan Hokamp to the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Years of discernment and their time as seminarians brought them to the sacrament of holy orders, which was joyfully shared with clergy, their family and friends. Read More...  Confirmation Mass - 5:00pm, Sunday, Sept. 15th: Please keep our Confirmation students in prayer as they will be Confirmed by Bishop Callahan. Thank you! |
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 Jean Kaiser 715-503-0118. 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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