For Parish Membership, Baptisms, Weddings, Communion Calls or any other pastoral need, contact the respective parish office.Bulletin Announcements: Deadline is Monday at Noon to the St. Clement Parish Office or to st_clement@tds.net

Fr. William Vernon, Pastor 723-4990Fr. William Vernon, Pastor 723-4990Bill Manthe, Parish Associate 723-4990Bill Manthe, Parish Associate 723-4990Katie Crosby, Parish Secretary 723-4990Katie Crosby, Parish Secretary 723-4990

Website: www.saintclementparish.comWebsite: www.saintclementparish.com

Josh Jensen, Principal 723-7474Josh Jensen, Principal 723-7474Nick Crosby, CRE 7-12 723-4990Nick Crosby, CRE 7-12 723-4990Rebecca Dean & Melissa Martin, CREs K-6Rebecca Dean & Melissa Martin, CREs K-6

Email: st_clement@tds.net (Katie)Email: st_clement@tds.net (Katie)

Diocese of Madison, Bishop Donald J. HyingDiocese of Madison, Bishop Donald J. Hying

SAINT CLEMENT CATHOLIC PARISHSAINT CLEMENT CATHOLIC PARISH135 South Washington Street – Lancaster, Wisconsin 53813135 South Washington Street – Lancaster, Wisconsin 53813

Founded in 1859Founded in 1859

(1 Corinthians 13:8)(1 Corinthians 13:8)

723-7474723-7474

OFFICE HOURS:Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays:

9 am to 5 pmThursdays & Fridays:

9 am to 2 pm

EPIPHANY OF THE LORD JANUARY 3, 2021

STEWARDSHIP OF TREASURE

December 26 & 27Church Support Envelopes � � � � $10,560�00Offertory Cash� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �$355�00Weekly Electronic Giving � � � � � � $1,048�00Christmas Offering Envelopes � � $4,412�00Christmas Cash � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �$806�00Total � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � $17,181�00Budgeted Offertory for Dec � � � $44,994�00Offertory Received in Dec � � � � � $47,108�00

Monthly Offertory Comparison December 2020 (4 weekends)� � � � $47,108�00December 2019 (5 weekends)� � � � $53,785�00

Weekly Mass Schedule

Tuesday, January 5 � � � � � � � � � � 8:15 AM (Saint John Neumann, Bishop)

† Bernard DushekWednesday, January 6 � � � � � � � � 8:15 AM

(Saint André Bessette, Religious) † Genaro Manano

Thursday, January 7� � � � � � � � � � 8:15 AM (Saint Raymond of Peñafort, Priest)

† Vicci RhodenFriday, January 8 � � � � � � � � � � � � 8:15 AM

† Virgil BlumSaturday, January 9 � � � � � � � � � � 8:15 AM

† Don & Florence Pluemer 5:00 PM

People of Our ParishSunday, January 10� � � � � � � � � � � 7:30 AM

Baptism of the Lord † Joyce Mahr

9:30 AM † Mary Alice Johanning

From Our Pastor:From Our Pastor:This Sunday, January 3, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our

Lord Jesus Christ, also titled “the manifestation of the Lord�” During this Christmas Season (concluding with the Baptism of the Lord, January 10 this year), we recall on the Epiphany when God’s eternal plan of Salvation was revealed to the whole world – represented by the three Magi visiting the manger� This past Friday, January 1, we remembered Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in a special way with the Solemnity of Mary the Holy Mother of God (Mary receives this title, among many, such as Mother of Mercy and Mother of the Eucharist, because she is the mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ)� As we listen to God’s Word during Mass this Sunday, let us join the Magi who came before the Lord bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2:1-12) – that we would be more conscious of praising, thanking, loving and adoring God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, not so much with material goods, but with our very life, in faith, hope and love, centered in His gift of the Holy Eucharist�

When the King of Heaven was born, a prideful and earthly king named Herod was alarmed� Earthly pride is undoubtedly alarmed when heavenly eminence is made manifest, Pope Saint Gregory the Great (540-604 AD) has said� In fact, to this day, some leaders of nations and others attack Christianity and Christians because they see them as a threat to their power – such people remain hard of heart� No such earthly rulers guided the Magi or the shepherds – rather, God guided them with one of His stars and angels� Nevertheless, with all the signs from God, manifested from our Lord’s birth to His death and Resurrection, many people today remain hard of heart, refusing to recognize Him as Lord and Savior� “In truth, all the elements bore witness that their Creator had come,” Pope Saint Gregory said� “Indeed, to speak of them in a human way, the heavens knew that He was God because they immediately sent forth a star; the sea knew Him because it allowed Him to walk upon it; the earth knew Him because it trembled when He died; the sun knew Him because it hid the rays of its light; the stones and walls of houses knew Him because they were broken at the time of His death; the lower world recognized Him because it gave up the dead it was holding; and yet some hearts remained full of unbelief, and did not know that He was God, although all the dumb elements perceived Him as Lord!”

As disciples of Christ, may we always proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior� May our hearts and minds always be open to the grace of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to live His virtues of faith, hope and love, in imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph and all the saints� In our love for God and neighbor, may we witness in word and deed to God’s love and mercy so as to lead all people to discipleship in Jesus Christ� May we realize that the Epiphany calls us, like the Magi, to be led home by another way, the Way of Love – from the wood of the Crib to the wood of the Cross, the Way of Love, the Way of Our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead, the Only Savior of the world�

With peace and prayers for a blessed and joyous New Year in Christ,Fr. William

RECONCILIATIONBefore Daily & Sunday Masses

Saturday at 4:00 PMFace-to-face reconciliation by appointment only�

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!With Jeff Kasparek unable to remove snow from our church and school sidewalks this

year as he continues to recover from surgery, we need volunteers who would be willing to assist with this� We do have a lead person who will take charge of contacting individuals when snow needs to be moved� If you are able to help with snow removal, please let us know when you can help (for example weekends only, mornings, afternoons, any hours of the day) and if you can help shovel or bring a snow blower� We have a snow blower at the parish, but more would be welcome� Contact the parish office with your name, best phone number to reach you, and when you can help� Please do not volunteer if you have a health condition that would put you at risk� We want everyone to stay healthy!

LITURGICAL SCHEDULE: JANUARY 9 & 10

5:00 PM Lector: Tom Schaefer5:00 PM Servers: Logan & Lucas Harding7:30 AM Lector: Rita Schmitz7:30 AM Servers: Oliviah & Elliott Webster9:30 AM Lector: Josy Hoerth9:30 Servers: NEED VOLUNTEERS!!!

EPIPHANY AND BLESSING OF HOMESToday the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Epiphany of

the Lord� Traditionally this occurs on January 6, but its observance has been moved to Sunday because of its importance� The word “epiphany” means to “show” or “manifest�” Throughout Jesus’ life there will be many manifestations of Jesus being the Son of God� Today we have the first of His epiphanies, the coming of the magi� Israel had long awaited the Messiah, but with the coming of the magi, God shows forth that Jesus has come to be the Redeemer of the whole world� The three gifts the magi bring represent who Jesus is: gold, that He is the King of Kings; frankincense, that He is the Great High Priest who offers sacrifice and intercedes for us; and myrrh, that He will suffer and die, and will offer Himself as the eternal sacrifice to the Father out of love for all humanity�

A custom on the feast of Epiphany is the blessing of homes� It’s very easy and all that is needed is a piece of chalk� The blessing of homes involves marking the upper door frame of the house with the date of the New Year and the names of the three magi: Casper, Melchior and Balthasar� Taking chalk, mark the door frame like this: 20+C+M+B+21� The + signs are not addition symbols, but crosses� When blessing a home, a prayer of blessing may be added� Use one you know, make one up appropriate to your household, or use the following�

On this day, dear Savior,Your light shines brightly in our midst.

You are the light of the world, the light in our darkness,ever with us, showing us the way.

On this great feast of Light,when the Magi came guided by a star,

like them, may we offer You gifts that symbolize our love for You.May we offer You the gold of our faith,

the myrrh of our repentance and the frankincense of our devotion.We bow before You, Holy Savior,

as did the magi, with great and abiding joy.On this day, may we too stand in Your light

and give glory to God for the gift He gives us in You, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

FORMED Pick of the Week: “Adventus: A Spiritual Journey” – See the Holy Land and the places associated with Christ’s birth� Haven’t signed up for FORMED? It’s easy� Go to FORMED�org, click “sign up,” then click “Sign up as a Parishioner” and in the next prompt just enter our zip code, 53813� St� Clement Parish will pop up, and simply follow the prompts to get signed up�

“GO MAKE DISCIPLES!”“Jesus Christ came to reconcile us to the Father and to each

other� In His Incarnation, ministry, death, and Resurrection, Christ accomplishes our salvation by forgiving our sins and opening up eternal life� The alienation, sadness, violence, and death which are the fruit of sin since the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden are healed and overcome through the victory of Christ� Baptism is the primary sacrament through which we are joined to God in this new life of grace and our sins are forgiven— both the washing away of original sin and any actual sins committed, if the person being baptized is not an infant� The sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession is the means by which we receive the renewal of that baptismal forgiveness throughout our lives� By confessing our sins to the priest, who is acting in persona Christi, we are acknowledging to the Lord and the Church our sinfulness and seeking His mercy� A large part of Jesus’ public ministry was the forgiveness of sinners� In this sacrament, Jesus continues to heal, love, and save His people, drawing them into relationship with the Blessed Trinity…�When we go to Confession, we receive mercy, forgiveness, grace, and the healing our soul needs in order to make our pilgrim way to the Father’s house� What a difference regular Confession makes in the life of a Christian disciple!” ~ Bishop Donald Hying, “Go Make Disciples” December 2020 Newsletter

On this Solemnity of Epiphany, how might laying down our sins at the feet of Jesus in Confession be a gift to Him?

IN MEMORIAMIn this Christmas Season, please remember in your prayers

Margaret Johansen of our parish who died on December 22 and whose funeral service was offered on December 28� Margaret was 88 at the time of her passing from this life to life eternal with God� Margaret’s vocation was that of a teacher, a job she thoroughly enjoyed� Her true enjoyment and fulfillment in life was her marriage to her husband George and the family that they raised� Family was so central to Margaret’s life� Her friends and the community also knew her devotion, as she enjoyed spending time with loved ones and volunteering for various organizations and our parish� Margaret loved life, she adored her family and friends, and she was close to God� May she now rest in perfect peace, joy and happiness with the Lord, and be numbered among the saints� As we pray for her, may we also pray for her beloved husband George, her children Joan, Lisa (Todd), Jean, Mike (Chris), Tom (Meg), Mark, Dave (Ann), Bill (Margo) Jim (Nichole) and all of her family and friends in this time of sorrow� May God’s consolation and comfort be with them�“Eternal rest grant unto Margaret, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May

she rest in peace. May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.”

C

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