Celebrating Catholic Schools - Each year at the end of January, Catholic parishes around the country celebrate ‘Catholic Schools Week.’ We do this for several reasons: 1. To thank all of our parishioners for their prayerful and financial support of this important ministry in our parish. 2. To promote the value of Catholic schools to those who may not be familiar with this parish ministry that helps parents pass on the faith to their children. 3. To help the school children realize ...READ MORE

High school youth and eighth graders: We are headed to Steubenville Youth Conference! July 14-16 in Springfield, Missouri. Steubenville STL Mid-America is a high-energy youth conference where thousands of teens are invited to encounter Jesus Christ through dynamic speakers, engaging music, the sacraments, small group discussions, and fellowship with other teens. Want to know more? Informational meetings: 6:05 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28 or 8:35 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 29 Meeting Room 3

Ordinary Time of Discipleship...We now enter into this holy season that the Church calls “Ordinary Time”, which lasts until Lent (beginning on Ash Wednesday), February 22. The universal Church will primarily be reading the Gospel of Matthew on Sundays (Mark on weekdays). Matthew invites us to consider all the connections between the Old (Hebrew) Testament and the life of Jesus so that we recognize Him as the long-awaited Messiah and stay committed as ...READ MORE

I H S Meaning… We are so blessed at St. Clare Church to have such beautiful artwork in statues, stained glass, icons, paintings, and more. Catholic teachings on church art and architecture require that all things in churches be created of true beauty and the original work of artists. Here in our parish, we have worked hard at keeping true to these teachings by always searching for faith-filled, excellent artists when selecting new pieces for our church...READ MORE

New Year’s Blessings - One of the top signs of a being a Dynamic Catholic is GRATITUDE. Making it a daily practice to be more aware of God’s blessings in our life is rooted in scripture. Gratitude is also a great way to counter our usual thoughts about all the things we ‘don’t have’ or wish were different. For the New Year, try and begin each day with thanking God for everything in your life. And every night, end the day with a prayer of naming 3-5 ways that God blessed your life that day...READ MORE

Merry Christmas! Our parish staff and I express a special welcome to all visitors and all those in our midst who have been away and are ‘coming home’ for Christmas. It is always encouraging to see the church so full for Christmas and I hope and pray that those who are ‘returning to Church’ today will be inspired to join us every Sunday as we all seek to keep God and Sunday Mass as our top priority each week. Special thanks to all of our parishioners who are here so faithfully each weekend to worship God and support your parish. St. Clare Parish is a place of Christ’s light and hope. Especially in our broken world, we as a parish will continue to...READ MORE

For November & December, we studied Canon Law or what might be called the “legal system” of the Catholic Church. We covered areas of Canon Law history, theological background for Law, obligations of the Christian faithful and the valid celebration and reception of the Sacraments. A special emphasis was given to areas related to the Deacon Ministry...READ MORE

Our Welcoming Parish…especially for Christmas. I am always grateful for each of you who go out of your way to continue to make our parish a welcoming place for people. Each weekend we have more and more people either visiting for the first time or coming to join us as new members. Thanks to each of you who make an extra effort to introduce yourself to someone whom you have not met before. This need of hospitality is especially true for next weekend at our Christmas Masses when many extra folks will be joining us for the liturgies...READ MORE

Women of St. Clare Parish...JOIN US as we share our experiences with the book Set the World on Fire: A 4-Week Personal Retreat with the Female Doctors of the Church. What do St. Theresa of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Hildegard of Bingen have in common? While their lives spanned eight centuries and they lived with different struggles and temptations, they all choose to ...READ MORE

Sacrament of Freedom (Confession)... When I teach about the value of going to confession, I often talk about the real ‘freedom’ that the sacrament offers. We underestimate the burden that guilt and shame cause on our heart and mind. God can’t stand seeing us weighed down…so Jesus’ main message was often about God’s forgiveness. This Thursday evening, 7:00 PM, we will have 10 priests here to offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation…to help you allow God to “set you free.” It is a new liturgical year…and in this sacrament, God gives us a new opportunity to be freed from the past and fill us with the grace to change sinful habits. Logistics: For those who are “coming back” to the sacrament or new to the form called “Communal Reconciliation,” we start in the church ...READ MORE

New Year…New Beginnings: The holy season of Advent begins this weekend, which for us Catholics is the beginning of a new liturgical year. A new year is an opportunity for new ‘beginnings’ and fresh ideas about our personal and spiritual lives. As a parish, we begin our liturgical year with gratitude for all the graces God has bestowed on us as a community and in our personal lives...READ MORE

This collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) supports economic and community development programs that empower people in poverty to address the obstacles they face while bringing permanent positive change to their communities. All programs adhere to the moral teachings of the Catholic Church....READ MORE AND FOR LINK TO GIVE

Amazing Energy of the Holy Spirit…Every morning in my prayer, I take time to simply marvel at how the Holy Spirit is so ‘energetic’ and vibrant in our parish. One example is seeing the increase in how many new people have joined our liturgical ministries in the past few months. To see the young people (and other ages!) stepping forward in the roles as ushers, readers, cantors, etc., inspires me greatly...READ MORE

Deacon Formation…Two St. Clare parishioners, Dan Kimutis and Len Ratajczyk, are close to finishing a five year Deacon Formation Program with our Diocese. Their formation training has included in depth learning on topics related to Scripture, Church History, Sacraments and Spirituality. The formation process prepares them for the Ministry of Deacon including service to the parish and local community. Please keep them in your prayers as they approach their ordination which will be on June 3, 2023 at St. Peter Cathedral in Belleville...READ MORE

RECENT CLASS SUMMARY — After a short summer break, we are back for our 5th and final year. Earlier this month, we spent a full week at Saint Meinrad Seminary in Indiana. It was a privilege to spend time in daily prayer with the Benedictine Monks that live at Saint Meinrad. The topic for our class was sermon preparation and delivery. To prepare... READ MORE