St. Clement is once again taking part in the Grant County Holiday Project to assist families in need have a better Christmas. The “Giving Trees” are up and ready for you to grab a leaf. Please return all gifts to the church by Sunday, December 15, wrapping will begin right after Mass. Gift cards or cash should be placed in the wooden podium outside the parish office. Be sure to attach the tag to the gift! We have adopted 7 families who will be grateful for our care and compassion this Christmas. Thank you to Lynn Crooks, Ashleigh Hampton, Cheryl Raisbeck, and Emily and Sue Schildgen for organizing this work of mercy and love.

Our next week to host families with children experiencing homelessness will be the week of December 1 – 7. Volunteer sign-up sheets are in the back of the church. Last Monday was the feast of St. Martin of Tours. One night, Martin, a Roman soldier, was entering a city during the winter. There at the gates he met a beggar freezing in the cold. Martin took his military cloak and cut it into 2 pieces, giving one to the beggar. That night, Jesus appeared to him in a dream, telling Martin that He, Jesus, was that beggar in disguise. That event changed his life. Like St. Martin, we put our faith into action by our care and concern for God’s children, especially those in need. Help us support families that are trying to make ends meet and to achieve independence by volunteering for our host week. Contact Bill Manthe at 723-4990 or Peg Jonas at 723-2051 if you have questions.

St. Clement CCW invites women of St. Joseph The Worker Pastorate to an Advent Celebration at the historic L. J. Arthur House, 210 N. Jefferson St, Lancaster, on Thursday, Dec. 12, 6:00-8:00 p.m. A light meal of appetizers, sweet treats and punch will be served. Fr. Mark Miller will give an Advent reflection. All women of our pastorate are members of CCW and welcome to attend. Please let us know by Dec. 9 that you plan to celebrate with us. Call or text Bernadette Schaefer at 608-732-7475, or Marcia Hampton at 608-732-8849.

The long-awaited and overdue 2023 St. Clement Parish Directories have finally arrived! It was my understanding that the directories, like the photographs, would be mailed directly to those who had photos taken at the parish. But that is not the case. All were delivered to the parish office. We will be distributing them after the weekend Masses to those who had photos taken or who submitted photos. We will also be hand delivering some of them. You can stop by the office to pick yours up too. If you did not have your photo taken, directories can be purchased for $15 (the cost of a photo submission). The 2023 directory summarizes and totals the number of sacramental events that have taken place since we were established in 1859. This is the last photo directory for St. Clement Parish. Once our pastorate is merged, the next directory will be that of St. Joseph the Worker Parish which will include all seven churches. ~Bill Manthe

Thank You to everyone who attended our and special thanks to the many wonderful volunteers and generous donors. We couldn’t have a successful festival without you! Congratulations to our raffle winners: $5,000 - Maddie Driscoll (gave $500 back) $3,000 - Stan Miles $1,000 - Mary Jo Roesch $500 - Tom McLimans $100 - Kathy Edwards (gave all to school) $100 - Patricia Adams $100 - Larry Duncan $100 - Connie Murray $50 - Judy Leeser $50 - Mary Chapman

October is traditionally devoted to the Holy Rosary! Legend has it that St. Dominic received the Rosary from Our Lady after he had been praying and doing penance for his lack of success in combatting the Albigensian heresy; in his vision, Mary gave Dominic the Rosary as a spiritual weapon and encouraged him to preach its use to others. The Mysteries of the Rosary are rooted in Scripture and offer us a summary of the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we pray the Rosary, we join Mary in the contemplation of these Mysteries and ask her to unite and conform us to her Son as we ponder His Paschal Mystery. This month, consider adding a Rosary to your daily prayer routine! The Joyful Mysteries are typically prayed on Monday and Saturday, the Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesday and Friday, the Luminous Mysteries on Thursday, and the Glorious Mysteries on Wednesday and Sunday, but the faithful are welcome to pray any Mysteries at any time. If you have a longer morning and evening commute, that can be a good time to get in a Rosary! And if a full Rosary each day feels like too much, try praying one Decade a day, perhaps accompanying it with a meditation on the corresponding Scripture passage to help you pray the Mystery more deeply. A guide to the Rosary can be found here: https://www.usccb.org/how-to-pray-the-rosary "May Mary help us to welcome within ourselves the grace emanating from these Mysteries, so that through us we can 'water' society, beginning with our daily relationships, and purifying them from so many negative forces, thus opening them to the newness of God. The Rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic way, not mechanical and superficial but profoundly, it brings, in fact, peace and reconciliation. It contains within itself the healing power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, invoked with faith and love at the center of each 'Hail Mary'." -Pope Benedict XVI

On Friday, November 1, we will be having our monthly First Friday Exposition and Adoration of our Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Adoration begins following the 8:15 morning Mass and continues through the day and night, concluding with Benediction at 9 AM on Saturday. Spend an hour with our Lord in quiet and prayer by signing up on the form by the Fatima Chapel. As one man told St. John Vianney, when asked about what he did during Adoration, “I look at Him [Jesus] and He looks at me.” Those in love gaze at one another, and spend time talking, listening and being together. Spend time with the One who loves you infinitely and intimately by being with Him in Adoration.

A month ago I was concerned about the status of our parish directories, as they should have arrived. I called the company and what I was told didn't seem right. So I called again the next day to clarify what was the delay. It seems that two things happened. First, when the directory was received by them after proofing, it was forgotten due to a clerical error. Second, after they realized their error, staff/worker shortages at the company prevented them from printing the directories. Due to my call, they emailed me another proof to look over. I have proofed it again and I have sent it back to the company for printing. How quickly this will happen is dependent upon their worker status. Be sure that I will be following up with them until the directories arrive. Patience is a virtue, right? Thank you for this! ~Bill

The St. Clement Adult Faith Formation continues this week on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 9 AM. We will be viewing Part 2 of Bishop Robert Barron’s Pivotal Players episode on G. K. Chesterton. Gilbert Keith Chesterton became a Catholic late in life and is often referred to as, “The Apostle of Common Sense.” Join us as we learn more about the life and wisdom of this remarkable man. All are welcome!