St. Clement Keeping the Faith

          What is my attitude about being in relationship to God? Most of the beatitudes are easy to understand, but not easy to live. Here are my thoughts:  Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they know that they need God every minute of every day. Blessed are they who mourn, for they feel the pain of their brothers and sisters, family, friends, co-workers, and the oppressed.  Blessed are the meek, for they willing follow God’s command.  Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they recognize the physical and spiritual needs of those who are forgotten or ignored.  Blessed are the merciful, for they forgive before others say, “I am sorry.”  Blessed are the clean of heart, for they recognize what is important to God.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they are relationship builders not destroyers.  Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for they choose to love and forgive as G...

      Prayers are powerful! I think the prayers of youth are especially powerful since they have an innocence, determination, and sense of playfulness that tugs at the heart. Children do not worry about how prayers are phrased, and they pray for whatever is happening: a sick grandparent, a precious pet that just died, or to win the basketball game. Please join those who are writing prayer notes by saying prayers for our young people at home. Here are their names:  Samuel           Lila             Ashlin         Diego           Helen           Eli            Jy’Aire           Brooklyn           Josue    Jackson           Wesley      Jason         ...

 Give 2022 Back to God  Last Sunday at the 9:30 Mass, I heard Father Fred say, “Give 2022 back to God.” I then had an epiphany. I had a sudden moment of insight. The year 2022 was a year of ordinary happenings, hardships, and extraordinary blessings. Giving God my ordinary happenings allows for the potential of these events becoming extraordinary. Returning the many blessings I have received allows my gratitude to praise my God for his steady presence in my life. But best of all, giving God my hardships and pains allows for their transformation into gifts and blessings. God is the only one who can heal the brokenness in my past and reveal the beauty and truth of his abundant, love, forgiveness and joy. The year 2023 will be a year of boring ordinary (which does not sound unpleasant to me) painful hardship, and tremendous joy and hope. I invite you to join me in giving back to God the year 2022 for God’s transformation and in looking forward to 2023 with hope and peace. Colleen...

          The feast of the Epiphany, celebrated by the Catholic Church in the United States this year on January 8, is the traditional day to bless your home. Here is the traditional method. Above the entrance to your home, use chalk to write 20+C+M+B+23 . The 20 and 23 are for the year 2023. The letters C, M, and B are for the names of the Three Kings: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. Say a prayer asking God to bless your house and all who enter your home throughout the year. To involve more family members, you can do more. You can use holy water to bless all your entrances and the rooms in your home. Sprinkle holy water in each room while asking God to bless the activities that happen there -- preparing food, eating meals, sleeping, work, etc. You can also use a candle and incense while moving from room to room to pray. Prayer is powerful. Pope St. John Paul II said families should become what they are: holy. You are a holy family if you are a household of...

If you have not already done so, check out Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto in St. Clement Church basement. It is a beautiful place to spend quiet time, reflect, and pray. Here is information about it from our 150th anniversary document:  The original grotto was constructed in 1899 and was lit by gas light. It is the "Out Lady of Lourdes Grotto.  When it was dedicated in 1900, there was even a song, "Hymn to Our Lady of Lourdes, written to mark the day.  It was much larger.  It was not uncommon for weddings to be celebrated there.  It has undergone several renovations.  It was the renovation in 1993 under the leadership of Fr. Al Hudepohl that made the grotto much smaller to allow for a new heating system as well as central air-conditioning. Artistic ceramic tiles line the walls.  The tiles represent titles of Mary: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Our Lady of Grace, the Madonna and Child, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Queen of the Holy Rosary, Quee...

  "Master, I want to see."  Do you ever want to see?   I do not mean physically see.   Maybe you want to see the future or see with understanding why things are the way they are.   I feel that way.   Then there is that adage, “Hindsight is 20-20.”   Sometimes, I just don’t want to wait for hindsight, I just want to understand right now.     It in these times that my faith in the goodness of a loving God gets me through my impatience.   My trust in God’s goodness keeps me grounded.   My hope, grounded in the example of Jesus the forgiving Lord, allows me to move forward into the unknown and unsure with blind faith.   May we see with the eyes of hope and trust grounded in the love and mercy of Jesus Christ our Savior.