So, Jeremiah was forced down a cistern. Why, after so many centuries, are we still reading about this? We all have encounters with bullies. Why is it important for us to know that Jeremiah was in a cistern? The reason is this. Jeremiah is a prophet, and every experience of a prophet, every action and...

The post A Time to Mend appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

I got a call from someone who wanted to visit our seminary. I prepared his room, picked him up at the airport, got him something to eat and gave him a tour of the city. Then over the next two days, I talked to him about his vocation, and I took him to see St....

The post What Servants Do appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

A guy successfully climbs up to the mountain of success. He has more money than he will ever spend, he is a king who rules over many nations so he wields great power, and he has vast wisdom and knowledge. Not many people can claim to have acquired so much in a lifetime. Most of us...

The post Vanishing Vapors, Holes in the Ground, and Empty Barns appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

I was on a roofing job working in my father’s company. My uncle, who was on top of the roof, yelled down to me and my cousin to start bringing up the roof shingles. I reached down and shouldered an 80lb bundle of shingles and started up the ladder. A pretty college girl came by...

The post His Yoke and Our Inheritance appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

One day I was at my desk, and I was on the phone. Apparently, someone tried to buy Rhode Island with my credit card and I was trying to figure out how to get a new card. While I was on hold the doorbell rang. So I hung up and answered the door. There was...

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The post The Good Samaritan appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

You remember the Acts of the Apostles. The book begins with the Ascension of Jesus. After that, the Apostles receive the Holy Spirit and they begin to “act” just as Jesus did before his resurrection. They preached like Jesus, they cured people like Jesus, and they got the authorities upset like Jesus. It is almost...

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Two years ago I had the façade of the church repaired. We replaced over 150 concrete blocks. The casts had to match by texture, shape, and color. The project cost over four hundred thousand dollars. Think about that. You could buy a condo with a view for four hundred thousand dollars. You can take a...

The post Worth It appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

One early morning my father called to tell me that my mother took a turn for the worst, and I should come to see her. When I got to the nursing home, Dad told me that he was going home to wash up and come back. I understood at the time that this could be...

The post Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (2019) appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

There are two things you cannot do when you are underwater. You can’t breathe, and you can’t cry for help. That is why the ancients feared to be under the water. To them, it was a tomb. When John the Baptist pulls you out of the water at baptism, what is the first thing you...

The post The Lord, the Giver of Life: A Homily for Pentecost (2019) appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.