Fifth Anniversary of Laudato Si' reflection by Barbara Silva

Posted May 20th, 2020 in
Reflections
 by Joanna Krynski

This Sunday marks the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical Laudato Si’. A document of immense scope and prophetic urgency, it calls humanity to recognize how all issues of justice are intertwined. On this anniversary, amidst this pandemic and all that is going on around us, I’d like to share three themes from this encyclical that are encouraging me to stay engaged, reflect creatively, and persevere with hope toward a more just future. 

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Sixth Sunday of Easter reflection by Patrick Sinozich

Posted May 13th, 2020 in
Reflections
 by Joanna Krynski
During this pandemic, many of us find ourselves separated from friends and loved ones. Despite calls, texts, emails and Zoom meetings, there remains a distance and a disconnection that is hard to overcome. Some relationships feel as if they’ve been put on hold, waiting for some semblance of normalcy before they can be rebooted. Others in relationships try to hold onto some sense of regularity, striving to recreate the rhythms of routine and habit, establishing, through daily or regular contact, landmarks of connectivity despite the separation enforced by masks and social distancing.
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Letter from Fr. Rex: Sixth Sunday of Easter

Posted May 13th, 2020 in
Reflections
 by Joanna Krynski
Dear Saint Clement Parish family,
 
I remember some years ago watching the movie, Shawshank Redemption. The character Andy Dufresne, in one scene tells his friend Ellis Boyd Redding, “Hope is a good thing, may be even the best of things, and good things never die…” 
 
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Letter from Fr. Rex: Fifth Sunday of Easter

Posted May 6th, 2020 in
Reflections
 by Joanna Krynski
Dear Saint Clement Parish family,
 
One of my favorite sculptors is Henry Moore. Many of his sculptured forms have holes in them. For him the holes have their own significance. What appears essential is left out in order to let the light in. To many people his sculptures are just puzzling, but to many others they have massive dignity. In the Yorkshire mining village where Moore grew up there was always competition between the daylight and the pitch black of the mines. In his work the light always wins. 
 
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Fourth Sunday of Easter reflection by Michael Bayer

Posted April 29th, 2020 in
Reflections
 by Joanna Krynski
“If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God,” we are told in the opening line of today’s second reading.
 
Yet “suffering for doing what is good” can seem far removed from our normal, everyday lives. We might think that it refers primarily to the extraordinary suffering of persecuted Christians in the Middle East, or to historical figures who suffered for righteous causes, like Thomas More, Harriet Tubman, or Oscar Romero. In other words, we might think that this phrase is directed to other people.
 
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Letter from Fr. Rex: Fourth Sunday of Easter

Posted April 29th, 2020 in
Reflections
 by Joanna Krynski

Dear Saint Clement Parish family,

In the New Testament, Jesus uses a variety of metaphors to describe himself. Perhaps, one of the most popular images that is used to describe Jesus is the image of the Good Shepherd. Jesus could not have chosen a more appropriate metaphor to describe his mission on earth. I am sure we are all familiar with the celebrated 23rd Psalm.       

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Third Sunday of Easter reflection by Jessina Branyan-Samuel

Posted April 22nd, 2020 in
Reflections
 by Joanna Krynski
Growing up, no matter the circumstance, the one thing that remained consistent during my childhood and even into early adulthood, was that my family ate supper together, every evening. It was our time to be together, to get to know each other, to learn new things about each other, to share our days’ activities, maybe even concerns or things that made us happy or feel good, as well as to plan things, like a future birthday, or our yearly family vacations.
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Letter from Fr. Rex: Third Sunday of Easter

Posted April 22nd, 2020 in
Reflections
 by Joanna Krynski
Dear Saint Clement Parish family,
 
I am sure we have all experienced times when we knew what was happening but wanted to know what was really going on. It is one thing to know about something but it is another thing to understand it. We all know the difference between having an experience and knowing what it means, between being part of an event and understanding its significance. Yet, when we are not able to do it, it can be frustrating. As T.S. Elliot said, “We have had the experiences but missed the meaning.”  
 
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