Saint Clement Shrine Podcast

26th Sunday of ordinary time, Luke 2019 So there you are sitting on the grass with the five-thousand holding a half a loaf of bread in your hand. You are so full that you can’t eat another bite. You start thinking about what to do with this half a loaf. You decide that you will... The post The Abundance of Scraps appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. It is the smallest of all the seeds yet it grows into the largest of trees. So, what is a mustard tree? It is an oversized weed. They are big, thickly branched, and ugly. If you have a mustard tree in your... The post In God’s Kingdom, Potential for Greatness appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

My friend Jack taught me how to tie flies for fishing. They were always easy to tie, fun to fish, and they worked. In fact, that is how I produce my homilies: they are easy to write, fun to deliver, and they have to work. Anyway, my friend died and he left me something in... The post The Prodigal Father’s Legacy appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

Let’s suppose I was invited to a banquet. I walk in and someone sees me from the head table and says, “Hey, Father, over here there is a seat.” So I sit down at the table and there I notice that everyone at this table is rich and famous. In fact, Billy Gates is seated... The post Banquets appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

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... The post Eyes to See appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

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... The post Jesus Returns to His Father appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

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 The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity 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 appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

I met with my director at school when I was studying Scripture, and he asks me if I could read German. I told him I could not. So he said, “You need to learn.”  So I put hundreds of German vocabulary flashcards into stacks of 50, and I put rubber bands around them. Whenever I went... The post Opportunities appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

When veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe was injured, a young rookie, Tom Brady, was called in to be the throwing arm for the Patriots. He did a good job. When the playoffs arrived Drew was returned to play again and there was a quarterback controversy. Someone asked for my opinion and I thought they should give... The post The Holy Spirit, Our Advocate appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

In the Book of Revelation, a massive dragon wants to attack heaven. The dragon thinks that the throne is unoccupied. There is no leadership, no organization, so there should be no problem taking over that throne. When he gets there, he sees that the throne is, in fact, occupied by the “lamb that was slain.”... The post Kings and Servants appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

I went to the post office to renew my passport. The lady who was working at the post office asked if I had the old passport and I did. “How old is it?” she asked. To show how dated it was, I turned to the page with my picture inside that was taken in 1983.... The post Marked appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

Just after my mother died, I was with Dad, and he asked me if I wanted to see the new headstone they just delivered at the seminary. As we were going, my father explained to me that the plot he bought had four places one each for mom, dad, my brother, and me. When we... The post The Resurrection and The Life appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

Here is my short list for good health: Get plenty of rest, breath clean air, eat a balanced diet, exercise, and don’t do drugs. What is the first thing they do when you are admitted to the hospital?  They connect you to an I.V. machine, and they place a loud alarm beside your ear so... The post Easter Sunday appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.