Giving Our Best for God…Before you look at the finance report from our second quarter posted below, I want to sincerely thank each of you who contribute regularly to help us continue the great ministries we have here at St. Clare…all for God’s Glory and Honor. I am especially grateful to those of you who ...READ MORE
The Diocese of Belleville is hosting an informational meeting for men (and their spouses) who are interested in the Permanent Diaconate. This meeting will take place on Saturday, February 3, 2024, at 10:00 AM in the Undercroft of the Cathedral of St. Peter, 200 W. Harrison Street, Belleville, IL 62220. The Office of Permanent Deacon is considering another new class of aspirants starting in the fall of 2025. Eligibility is extended to men who have reached the ages thirty-three (33) to fifty-six (56) by September 2025. Men older than fifty-six may still apply but require special approval from the Deacon Formation Office and the Bishop. The formation process is a ...READ MORE
Happy Epiphany and New Year! How beautiful that this Feast of the Epiphany comes at the same time we begin a New Year of God’s graces. The Star and Light that drew the Magi to Jesus shines into our own lives at every Mass as we encounter Jesus face to face in the Word, in each other, and primarily in the Eucharist. As you reflect on God’s graces of the year past, this Epiphany Mass weekend invites us to become more aware of God’s...READ MORE
INFANT BAPTISM CLASS - Sunday, January 14 at 1:00 p.m. - Room 3. For parents that have not attended a Baptism Class at St. Clare and wish to have their child baptized here. Please call the parish office if you plan to attend! (618) 632-3562.
Holy Family...Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us. This feast of the Holy Family gives us the opportunity to reflect on our own family life and where we most need the intercessory help of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in our relationships. For me, this feast day makes me think about how grateful I am for each of you as my own parish family. For me as a priest, our parish family enriches my life greatly and helps me grow...READ MORE
Merry Christmas! My main prayer this Christmas is simply, “Oh Jesus, give us Your Peace.” Of course, our world is always in need of God to ‘rescue’ us, but it seems more than ever, we need God’s Peace. We need God’s Peace to reign… + in our own heart… + in our homes and families… + in our country… + in all war-torn areas of our world… During these next “twelve days” of the Christmas Season, think and pray about how you want to be a person of peace…READ MORE
Mass Obligation Challenge: Fourth Sunday of Advent & Christmas - I have an invitation and challenge for all of us -- participating in two Holy Days of Obligation in a three days’ timeframe. Since the Fourth Sunday of Advent this year also lands on Christmas Eve, we have two separate Feasts to praise and worship God. Since most people will be celebrating Christmas starting on December 24th (Sunday), we will celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Advent at the Saturday Evening Mass (December 23). We are especially blessed to have a church space that ...READ MORE
New Year’s Eve Eucharistic Adoration - Sunday, Dec. 31 from 11:00pm until 12:30am Mass at 9:00am New Year’s Day. Make this a different New Year’s Eve…“Ring” in the New Year in the silence of Jesus’ presence in the Blessed Sacrament. On this eve of the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, we pray for peace in our families, communities, and world, the Church, sanctity of all life, and ...READ MORE
A Great Christmas Gift for Yourself and Others: A GOOD CONFESSION! Please make time for our Parish Reconciliation Service this Thursday, December 14. Nine other priests will be here for individual confessions. I want to strongly encourage you to join us for this great sacrament that many of us shy away from for various reasons. Perhaps it has been many years and you don’t know ‘where to start’ with a confession. We provide a simple worship aid with the “Act of Contrition” prayer so you do not need to worry about the ‘how to.’...READ MORE
Abundance ...One of God’s many attributes is “abundance,” along with love, mercy, beauty, creativity, etc. When we do acts of abundance, we are participating in God’s Life; what a privilege when we find opportunities to give and live abundantly. I want to express gratitude for those of you who live out this virtue of abundance in the way you give your time and financial support for our parish and the bigger Church. Some ongoing acts of generosity and abundance here in our midst are:...READ MORE
Happy Thanksgiving! In my daily morning prayer, after various psalms, scriptures, and prayers, I always take silent time simply to sit in quiet gratitude. While I can count endless things/persons for which to be grateful, I simply let gratitude flow out of my heart to God for the blessings too numerous to name. Just to name a few things in my heart that keep me extra grateful this year: ...READ MORE
Part of our sound system upgrades is a new listening assistance system. The best way to connect to it is with your smartphone. First, connect to our St. Clare Church Guest Wi-Fi network, then download the Listen Everywhere App. When you open the app, it will detect our listening assistance system. Select that and the sound will play to your hearing aid via Bluetooth connection. ...READ MORE
Gratitude… In my daily morning prayers, in expressing to God my gratitude for all of His blessings, I always take time to reflect on how this parish of St. Clare is such a blessing to me (and our diocese). This past week, a beautiful brochure was mailed to our parishioners with a central theme of gratitude. Our staff created this brief photographic snapshot of our parish’s spiritual and social life as well as our budget for the year (July 2022-June 2023)...READ MORE
Gratitude – A Way of Life...Last Saturday, our parish hosted a prayer-retreat day for women centered around the practice of gratitude. I was so pleased to greet almost 50 women that morning over breakfast and thank them for making time for such a prayerful day. I especially want to thank Kristy Hettenhausen and her lead team members –Lena Hunt, Ellen Gravlin, Joanie Burke, Patricia Sims, Angie Leonelli, Denise Moffett, Laura Michelfelder, Judy Menzies and Toni Stanton… who created this unique experience for women to reflect on and share their experiences of God’s blessings in their life – powerful..READ MORE