Saint Clement Shrine Podcast

The post Gospel-Homily for Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (2020) appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

In the ancient world, parents told their kids the story of creation. It goes something like this. There was a water god known as the leviathan came into the universe, reached up to the top of the universe and popped the cork. All the rainwater poured in and filled up the universe with water. Sort... The post “And I will give you rest” appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

Once Jesus said, “Give a cup of cold water to a little one and you will have your reward.” That is a hard saying. How do you equate a cup of water to a divine reward? I never really understood what the Lord was implying until one day. I was sitting at the desk in my office... The post The Daughters appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

The post Gospel-Homily for Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time (2020) appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

In the ancient world, people used to worship powers. The sun was very powerful, so they worshiped the sun. Wind can be very destructive, so they worshiped the wind. Rain and water floods and could cause great damage, so they worshiped water. It did not take long to figure out that these gods, who manifested... The post The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

Pentecost is a Jewish harvest feast. What do you harvest in the month of May? You could harvest flowers. Everything grows well in the spring. You also can harvest wheat. Pentecost means fifty, so fifty days of harvesting means there is a lot of wheat, plenty for everyone. Let’s say you live in the ancient... The post Pentecost appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

Before my brother and his wife got married, they made a plan to have a simple wedding. They did not want to spend a lot of money on the wedding so that they could use their resources to start out in life. When they revealed their plan to the family, it did not go over... The post Revealing Plans appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

What do shepherds do all day? They watch sheep. What do sheep do all day? They eat. That is, they graze on alfalfa weeds: very boring, especially for the young shepherd David. So he took out the ancient version of the video game, his slingshot.  scurried across the field or flew around him, he put... The post Ice Cream in Winter appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

“I am the gate.” Why gate? I can understand that Christ is the shepherd of the sheep. I can understand why he is the vine because we are the branches. But the gate? When Abraham lived among the Bedouins, sheep, and lambs were kept inside the gate during the winter months. This made sense because... The post Good Shepherd Sunday appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

When I was in charge of supplies here in the house, I had one company that provided all my cleaning equipment. I could call and say, “The what-do-you-call-it on my red vacuum cleaner broke.” Then they will say, “Okay, you need new belts, I’ll send them out to you.” You can’t do that with Home... The post Emmaus appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

I grew up with four brothers, no sisters. I worked for on a construction crew—all guys. Over the last thirty years, I have lived in a religious community, all men. I spent most of my life dealing with guys. This is what I learned: Whenever you see a group of giddy, happy, and overjoyed bunch... The post Divine Mercy Sunday appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. (John 20:1-19) We do not see the risen Jesus yet; we see burial wrappings. So let’s take a good look at the burial wrappings inside the tomb. The headpiece is rolled up and put... The post Easter Sunday 2020 appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

About 1000 yards away, at the fortress of Antonia, Barabbas was in a jail cell listening to a conversation between Pilate and the crowd. The conversation went something like this: Pilate said to the crowd, “Whom shall I release to you?” The crowd shouted, “Barabbas! Barabbas!” Pilate then said, “What should I do with Jesus,... The post Barabbas appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

Let’s suppose I am Lazarus. My body is lying on a cold, stone shelf in a tomb.  There I will stay for about a year. Then someone will roll back the stone. Put my bones in a bone-box and put a new body on the shelf. Before all of this happens, the stone is moved... The post Limited Warranties and an Unlimited Guarantee appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

The Philistines were a people of nearly giant-like proportions from the North. They decided to seek a warmer climate, so they set out and journeyed south. As they traveled, they pillaged every village and city. They never lost a battle until they attacked Egypt. After the defeat, the Philistines settled along the eastern coast of... The post Great are You, O Lord appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

My brother does the maintenance here at St. Clement. Once a week after work he grabs me, and we go to the art museum. Usually, when you go to the museum, you run around from room to room looking at all the pictures and then you go home. We do not do that. We go... The post A Conversation with the Artist appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

The Father says to the disciples: “This is my Son, listen to Him.” The disciples have a choice. They will listen to the Son or they will not listen to the Son. Which of the two is the correct choice? Of course, listen to the Son. What if the disciples choose the wrong answer and... The post Another Choice appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

I was with my mother as she was doing errands and she stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts. I ordered a plain doughnut. Why would a kid order plain doughnut instead of the usual chocolate-covered doughnut? Because a guy an apron and flour all over his arms just came out of the doughnut-making room and brought out... The post We Can Get Back What Was Lost appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

A Hindu was interested in becoming a member of the Catholic Church and he joined the RCIA program. In one of the classes, he raised his hand and said to the instructor, “Let me get this straight; you are blessed if you are poor; you are blessed if you’re persecuted. If someone strikes me on... The post It is Not That Hard appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

A few months after 9/11, I had to fly to Pittsburgh. Before going through security, I got a bagel at Dunkin’ Donuts. I took my bagel bag and brought it to security, and they found a plastic knife in the bag. Why I ask did the clerk at Dunkin’ Donuts put a plastic knife in... The post Cut a Break appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.