Even though The Feast of Divine Mercy was established back in the year 2000, by Pope John Paul II, many Catholics have still ‘wrapped their minds around’ the depth of its meaning. It is rooted in a vision that St. Faustina had in which Jesus appeared to her ... READ MORE

Triduum Liturgies 2021...Like drive-by birthday parades, plexiglass screens, mask lanyards, and so much more, we have adapted every aspect of our lives to “work” with COVID. Even as science and modern medicine tells us that the end is in sight, we are still “making it work” until we get the all-clear sign. We all have a favorite Triduum liturgy...READ MORE

Every year, around the world, the Catholic Church initiates unbaptized adults and older children into the Body of Christ through Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. This year, at St. Clare, we are excited to initiate Alexis Deets and her son, Owen Frazier...READ MORE

Holy Week 2021...This year, we are so fortunate to be able to celebrate these sacred days together. Like almost everything else in our lives, still, there will be modifications this year to how we gather and celebrate these liturgies. Let’s start with signups…READ MORE

The Meaning of Incense at Mass...Since we are using incense at Sunday Mass during the Lent and Easter seasons, I like to give my once-a-year overview of its importance in Scripture and our Catholic liturgy. And, since some people cannot be around incense for health issues, I point out that we do not use it during the Saturday evening Mass. The use of incense is an expression of prayer...READ MORE

CSMA - What it means to belong to a Diocese… One of my jobs as a pastor is to help keep our parish connected to the ‘bigger Church’ of the diocese and the universal Catholic Church. Our own Diocese of Belleville includes over 100 parishes throughout southern Illinois. The diocese has a variety of offices run by lay people who provide resources for each parish to have great ...READ MORE

Prayer Opportunities...Besides fasting and almsgiving (giving more away to those in need), the third pillar of Lenten practices is praying. As I have preached many times, prayer takes many different forms, primarily deepening our relationship with God through a friendship with Jesus. This takes daily practice...READ MORE

Lent Terms Each year at the beginning of Lent, I think it is helpful to review some of our Catholic terminology as we hear words and phrases during this season that may still be new for some people. Fast – doing with less…less food, fewer material things; to eliminate something from my daily routine in order to make more room for God in my life...READ MORE

Learning to Pray, Fast, and ‘Be Generous’…. As we begin the Season of Lent on Wednesday, we will hear about the main themes of praying, fasting, and almsgiving (being generous with those in need). We are meant to practice these virtues for 40 days…READ MORE

Keeping us all safe and healthy… I want to thank all of you who continue to help us stay healthy here at St. Clare by following all the normal regulations regarding the virus, namely wearing masks, social distancing, sanitizing hands, and staying home if you feel any symptoms ...READ MORE

Welcome to Visitors and New Parishioners! Each weekend I am blessed to meet new parishioners and/or visitors after Mass at St. Clare Parish. I have been edified to learn that, even with all the limits due to COVID since last March, we are blessed to have...READ MORE

Celebrating Catholic Schools! Next week across the country we kick off “Catholic Schools Week.” After each Mass next weekend, instead of our traditional “Open House” tours of the school for new families, several of our School Board members will be here in the Fellowship Hall to host an opportunity to learn about our school for those who are interested. We welcome all new parish families with children as well as parishioners who are considering changing to our Catholic School...READ MORE

The Power of Prayer One of the spiritual works of mercy is the privilege of praying for others. One special group of people that needs our prayers is our diocesan seminarians. These young men have stepped forward to begin the process of discerning whether or not God is calling them to the priesthood. Our prayers for them help them keep their heart open to ...READ MORE

Baptism of the Lord – Gifts of the Spirit! I always feel like I can never say THANK YOU enough to all of you who do your part in making St. Clare Parish such a spiritual home of faith and community. As today’s feast officially brings a close to the Christmas Season, I especially want to thank the following...

Merry Christmas! This holy season always lifts my heart with a joyful Spirit as I see the children filled with expectation… and the adults counting their blessings and recentering themselves in God and ... READ MORE

The Twelve Days of Christmas We Catholics always ‘stand out’ from the culture around us. So too, on December 25, we only begin the “Christmas Season” of celebrating Jesus being born in human flesh… while the world around us is taking Christmas decorations...READ MORE

Sacrament of Freedom When I teach sessions on the why and how of going to confession, I often talk about the real ‘freedom’ that the sacrament offers. We underestimate the burden that guilt and shame ...READ MORE

An Advent of Gratitude... I always like the way the celebration of Thanksgiving flows right into the liturgical season of Advent. Since the Advent scriptures call us to “get ready” to meet Christ at any moment which may be our last breath on this Earth, it is so important to “be ready” by having an inner disposition of gratitude ... READ MORE

Happy Thanksgiving! In such a challenging year for everyone, especially with the limits of Covid, how we think of ‘giving thanks’ this year calls us to dig deep to remain aware of the blessings from God in our life. Like many of you, one of the biggest challenges is how and if we can actually ...READ MORE

Praying Together with Respectful Safety...Here at St. Clare, we are doing everything we can to keep our church and offices open while also keeping everyone safe during these trying times of the COVID-19 Pandemic. With the rise in cases and serious health problems it is causing in our area, I want to remind everyone of how they can stay safe and be a blessing to ...READ MORE