Two Great Women Lead Us to Jesus…

I love how the school year starts off the same week that we celebrate two great women of faith – Holy Mother Mary and St. Clare of Assisi. These two women have so much to teach all of us…as we are all ‘students’ of Jesus’ Gospel.

This weekend, we celebrate our patroness, Holy Mother Clare, whose actual feast day is August 11, but we honor her today as our guiding light to Christ. A brief story about her faith-filled life is on the last page of the bulletin.

As our U.S. bishops have called us to a “Eucharistic Revival,” we especially remember St. Clare’s great devotion to the Eucharist, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Sacred Host. She teaches us to trust in the power and peace that we get from God when we consume the Eucharist at Mass and humbly sit before Him in Eucharistic Adoration. St. Clare had many challenges in her life, but she kept an ‘inner joy’ sustained through her time in prayer and receiving Holy Communion.

Of course, our ultimate model of faith comes from the Virgin Mary, who gave up her own will to follow God’s Will and give us our Savior, Jesus. On Tuesday this week, we celebrate the beautiful Feast of the Assumption, recalling how God’s Grace worked in her life, rewarding her with the gift of heaven for her faithfulness. Her Assumption gives us HOPE that we too may gain the gift of Eternal Life if we stay faithful to Jesus and His teachings of love and forgiveness.

We pray that all of our young students, from Pre-K through college, will stay close to Jesus through the intercession of these two great women.

God’s Peace,
Fr. Jim Deiters

*Please note: The Mass schedule for the Feast of the Assumption: Tuesday, August 15 at 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. There is no Quiet on Cross Street Tuesday night.