Fall Festival Canned Beef We are canning beef for the St. Charles Fall Festival on Monday, April 21, 9:30 at St. Charles School Kitchen if anyone is free to help wash jars, cut up beef or stuff jars, we would appreciate the help. We are also in need of donations to help offset the cost of the beef and jar flats. Please leave donations in the collection basket marked “Beef” or leave at St. Charles School Office. Thank you so much. We are grateful to such a generous parish!

The St. Anne’s Sodality in Fennimore (St. Mary’s Church/Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament Parish will be hosting the Spring Vicariate Meeting on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Registration will begin at 3:00 PM followed by a short meeting and Mass will be celebrated at 4:00 PM. Supper will be served at 5:00 PM. The theme for the meeting is “Disciples Wear Many Hats”. We will be having Marge Karsten from the Grant County Right to Life group and Judy Vesperman from the Grant County Historical Society in Lancaster speak to us. Please wear your finest Derby Hat, Easter Bonnet, or historical hat from days of old. Every hat tells a story. Registrations are due by May 1. All ladies are welcome. The cost for the event is $15/person. Please send your registrations to Rita Moore at 14791 Homer Rd, Fennimore, WI, 53809. If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Loy at 608-822-6412 or [email protected].

St. Mary School is looking to hire two middle school teachers (grades 5-8) for the 2025-2026 school year. Please contact Kelly Copsey if you are interested in being a part of our St. Mary's family. [email protected] / (608)994-2435.

After looking over St. Mary's Rectory roof and windows, St. Mary's Parish Council has decided to have the remaining 30 original 1949 rectory windows replaced this year. This project will cost approximately $51,000.00 and should be completed sometime later this summer or early fall. While there are some restricted maintenance funds that can be used toward the cost, St. Mary's Parish Council is hoping that generous people in our parish and pastorate will be able to help with this expense by making donations to ST. MARY'S RECTORY WINDOW PROJECT. Please contact St. Mary's Parish office at 608-994-2526 for more information.

Due to mistakes in the previous registration form, I am sending out this NEW form. It can be mailed to: Saint Clement Attn. Leigh Boorn 135 S. Washington Street Lancaster, WI 53813 Or returned to your local school or parish office with Checks made to Saint Clement, or the checks can be turned in the week of Totus Tuus. If you would like to help as a volunteer—an online form is available on the stjworkerparish.com website with various opportunities to help. Thank You! Leigh

The Knights of Columbus Lancaster Council #2820 will be holding a “40 Cans for Lent” food drive. The goal is for each parishioner/family to contribute one can of food per day during the forty days of Lent. The “40 cans” can be boxes and plastic jars, and others food packages (just not homemade). Please consider donating one can a day (or what you are able) as part of giving alms during your Lenten journey. Please check the dates, we cannot use expired items. There is a donation box by the Holy Water tank in church. Monetary donations also appreciated, please drop in the collection basket at Mass with donation labeled “40 Cans for Lent.” At the end of Lent, the Knights of Columbus will deliver all donations to the LAC Food Pantry. God Bless and thank you for your support. -KC’s Lancaster Council #2820

Leigh is navigating the heartbreaking loss of her daughter, Cassie, who tragically passed away in a car accident on August 16, 2024. In this time of grief, Leigh has found comfort in her God's mercy and in the love and prayers of her family, friends, and community. This fundraiser has been created for those who feel called to help ease the burdens Leigh is carrying. Contributions will help alleviate the financial strain from the accident and burial, as she leans into God’s grace. Leigh is deeply grateful for your prayers, generosity, and compassion. She holds close the promise of Christ’s peace. Thank you for walking alongside her during this journey

What is Totus Tuus? Totus Tuus is a summer Catholic youth program dedicated to sharing the Gospel and promoting the Catholic faith through evangelization, catechesis, Christian witness, and Eucharistic worship. Our week-long Parish Summer Catechetical Program and Summer Camps assist parents and parishes in the evangelizing and catechizing of their youth by supplementing the work they are already doing. The methodology, structure, content, and enthusiasm of Totus Tuus is concerned not only with teaching the faith but also igniting the hearts of the team members and young people. The result has been the formation of young adults who continue to dedicate themselves to the Church’s mission of evangelization. The success and popularity of Totus Tuus is demonstrated by its broad expansion and utilization throughout the country over more than 20 years. We are excited to offer Totus Tuus in addition to the many other excellent youth outreach offerings in the Diocese of Madison for the summer of 2025.

St. Mary's 3K Program is enrolling children for the 2025-26 school year.

Women of the pastorate, give your week a Great Start on Monday mornings with coffee and donuts at 8:00 AM, prayer, Scripture readings of the day and discussion, 8:15 – 9:15, lower level of St. Clement Rectory, beginning Monday, Feb. 24. Sponsored by St. Clement Council of Catholic Women. Bring your copy of Word Among Us or Magnificat. Questions? Call or text Bernadette Schaefer at 608-732-7475.

High School kids: June 8-13 at St. John Vianney, Janesville. Middle School kids: July 7-10 at St. Joseph, Dodgeville. Registration is now open at www.madisondiocese.org/lbhregistration Click on the NEW or RETURNING family for instructions. This year we will not sign in as “lost sheep”, but as St. Joseph The Worker Pastorate. 10 spots are saved for our pastorate children in each location. Email [email protected] to receive more information.

We are looking for a few good men/women who like to bake to help make desserts for our Youth Nights in Lancaster. The next gathering would be January 29 at 7:00 p.m. Please contact Leigh Boorn via email [email protected] if you can help. Thank You in Advance!

Still considering a New Year’s resolution? Decide now to take part in one of Grant Co. Right to Life’s upcoming 2025 activities! 1. Pray for GCRTL’s efforts to bring a Safe Haven Baby Box to Grant County. 2. Help plan a movie night! Join a team to bring the full-length documentary, Unthinkable, by former PP clinic director, Abby Johnson, to a Grant Co. theater. (Or donate to offset costs.) 3. 2/4/25: Participate - from anywhere – in a 6 p.m. GCRTL Zoom meeting. Call for log-in info. 4. 3/1/25: Volunteer at a GCRTL table at a late a.m. Platteville Public Library Involvement Fair. 5. 4/5/25: Attend a free WI RTL Pregnancy Help Center conference in Wausau. By 3/21/25, register at https://www.classy.org/event/2025-pregnancy-help-center-spring-conference/e626057 . 6. Participate in a group to distribute small gifts to nursing home residents. Consider making a walker bag or lap blanket for residents. (GCRTL will provide materials.) For more info., text or call Marge at 608.732.0850 or email [email protected] (NEW address!)

Other Religions This week in our continuing series on evangelization tips we're talking about evangelizing people who belong to other religions. When you encounter a person who is of a non-Christian religion, it can be challenging to know how to convince them of the divinity of Jesus and the truth of the Catholic Church. We first have to remember that it is God who does the real work in the heart, while we only offer points for consideration. Perhaps a place to start is with the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who once stated a universal truth that, "All men by nature desire to know." Despite all of our differences, one thing brings together non-Christians who believe in God. To some degree, all of them desire "something greater." When sharing the Gospel with non-Christian believers in God, there are many arguments that you can use in a discussion. Here are a few: 1) Lord, Liar, Lunatic or Legend, 2) prophecies, and 3) miracles and private revelation. The Lord, Liar, Lunatic, or Legend argument, developed from C.S. Lewis' "trilemma," makes the case that Jesus can't be simply a good moral teacher if He is not also God. He has to be lying about being God, which would make Him evil, or must be crazy to proclaim such a thing, which makes him unfit to be God. Or He's simply a legend, that is, people in the early church exaggerated accounts of Him, making Him a deity. While this argument doesn't prove that Jesus was God, it does narrow down things. When carried on to its conclusion, it shows that the best explanation for Jesus' life was that He is divine. That is, the deity of Christ (while not irrefutable) has more explanatory power than the other available options. The argument from prophecies shows that biblical prophecies have come to fruition and reveal a God who loves us and wants us to know Him. The Virgin Birth is one such prophecy which is mentioned in Isaiah 7:14. It is fulfilled in the Incarnation of Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary (Matt. 1:18-23; Luke 1:26- 38). This is just a starting point ... there are numerous more. The argument from miracles and private revelation shows God's continual care and providence for His people in the present. A final point: personal testimonies and stories add to these arguments by presenting a sincere witness to the Faith. This evangelization tip was brought to you by St. Paul Street Evangelization. Take our course, One Good Reason for Non-Christian Believers at evangelizationschool.com. ©Copyright St. Paul Street Evangelization 2024

This week in our continuing series on evangelization tips, we’re talking about evangelizing Protestants with One Good Reason. While we certainly have a lot in common with our separated brethren, there’s a lot that makes us different too. We need to strive for genuine Catholic ecumenism … promoting unity among the world's Christian Churches. Here’s a quote from a document of the Second Vatican Council that helps describe how we should practically approach this ecumenism: “Catholics, in their ecumenical work, must assuredly be concerned for their separated brethren, praying for them, keeping them informed about the Church, making the first approaches toward them … But their primary duty is to make a careful and honest appraisal of whatever needs to be done in order that its life may bear witness more clearly and faithfully to the teachings and institutions which have come to it from Christ through the Apostles.” (Unitatis Redintegratio, Ch. 1, Par. 4) You might still be wondering, what does this ecuminism look like in everyday life, applying the One Good Reason technique? Here are two examples: Maybe you’d like to focus on the beauty, truth, and mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist. You could say something like, “One good reason I’m Catholic is that we have the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. During the words of consecration, we believe that He becomes present under the appearances of bread and wine. We then consume Him, which means His divine presence lives inside of us. Having Jesus in me keeps me on the path to heaven.” Or how about the sacrament of penance? Here, you might say something like the following: “One good reason I’m Catholic is that I can go to Confession. Jesus established this sacrament in John 20:23, saying to the apostles, ‘If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ He knew that we’d need to unload our transgressions to another human being, and hear the words of forgiveness … so he allowed the priest to stand in as a representative of Christ.” These are just a couple examples. However you approach it, just make sure to remain charitable without straying from the truth. This evangelization tip was brought to you by St. Paul Street Evangelization. Take our course One Good Reason for Protestants at evangelizationschool.com.

This week in our continuing series on evangelization tips, we’re talking about using the One Good Reason method to evangelize atheists. For our purposes, atheists are people who either say there is no God, or say they don’t know whether or not there’s a God. Here’s a refresher on the One Good Reason method: Listen. Start with questions and not arguments. Befriend. Search for common ground and try to relate to them. Make it personal. Share your struggles and let them know they’re not alone. One Good Reason. When the time is right, share your one good reason for (in this case) believing in God. Invite. Offer them to take the next step, whatever that may be. If they are open to listening to your one good reason for believing in God, let them know that God is the best and simplest explanation for so many things. God is, 1. The best explanation for why anything exists instead of nothing 2. The best explanation for why the universe began to exist 3. The best explanation for the fine-tuning of physics for intelligent life 4. The best explanation for our perception of of objective moral values and duties 5. The best explanation for religious experience, mystical experience, near death experience and miracles 6. The best explanation for why consciousness is not reducible to mere physical processes alone 7. The best explanation for the order and intelligibility of the universe 8. The best explanation for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the rise of Christian belief This is just scratching the surface of the topic, for you will need to study one or more of these areas to get any traction in a conversation. But these should at least get you started. This evangelization tip was brought to you by St. Paul Street Evangelization. For more information, take our course One Good Reason for Atheists at evangelizationschool.com.

This week in our continuing series on evangelization tips, we’re talking about how to evangelize Catholics that have fallen away from the faith. Many Catholics have fallen away completely from the practice of their faith, and a large number of them have done so primarily because of the recent clergy sex abuse scandals. How are we to handle such a difficult situation? We must remind them that from the days of the Apostles to present day, the church has faced scandals. While it is normal and reasonable to be outraged, what ultimately is the proper response to these scandals? The answer is to stay in the Church and fight. Why? Because the Church is the one true church established by God for our salvation. Also, because scandal doesn’t change the Church’s authority. The personal lives of the clergy and hierarchy might be scandalous, but that doesn’t affect the divine calling and authority of the Church herself. Think of democracy. Just because America has had some corrupt presidents and politicians doesn’t mean we should throw out the democratic process. We must gently remind the person we’re evangelizing that we’re not Catholic because of the current leadership, or lack thereof, but because Jesus established the Catholic Church. It may help to also add that when we love something, we don’t abandon it or desire to change it, but strive to help it. This evangelization tip was brought to you by St. Paul Street Evangelization. Take our course entitled One Good Reason for Catholics at evangelizationschool.com. © Copyright St. Paul Street Evangelization 2024

The upcoming Southwest Wisconsin CEW (Christian Experience Weekend) will be held at Immaculate Conception School in Kieler, WI. The women’s weekend will be February 14-16, 2025. The men’s weekend will be February 21-23, 2025. These weekends begin at 7:00 p.m. Friday and end on Sunday at approximately 4:30 pm. If you want to do something special for yourself, attend a CEW weekend. Application forms are available at www.swwicew.org or in some of the church entrances. For more information on the women’s weekend, call Patti Eggers at 608-574-6665. For the men’s weekend, call Jeff Schaefer at 608-778-9321. Weekends fill up fast. Applications will be taken on a first come first serve basis.

Every parent has the serious responsibility of raising their children to love the Lord, and of making sure they do everything in their power to get them to heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "Through the grace of the sacrament of marriage, parents receive the responsibility and privilege of evangelizing their children. Parents should initiate their children at an early age into the mysteries of the faith of which they are the 'first heralds' for their children" (CCC 2225). A simple, but profound daily practice that parents can utilize is the daily blessing. You have spiritual authority over your children, and can call down God's blessing on them as often as you wish. This will leave them feeling safe, protected and loved. A parent can say one of the following brief blessings at basically any time, such as when a child is going to play or to school, or when the child is going to bed each night. The parent makes the sign of the cross on the child's forehead or heart and can say one of the following blessing options offered by the USCCB: May God bless you. May God keep you safe. God be with you. God be in your heart. May God bless and protect you. Or you can offer your own personally worded blessing. One of our staff members likes to say "May God bless you and keep you today and every day of your life." Either way, this practice will likely help your child live in peace, and may help ensure their practice of the faith down the road. This evangelization tip was brought to you by St. Paul Street Evangelization. To learn more or to enroll in our online classes, make sure to visit St. Paul School of Evangelization at evangelizationschool.com.