St. Clare of Assisi

by Fr. David Halm, C.S.C.  |  04/28/2024  |  Pastor's Letter

St. Clare of Assisi is, rightly, famous for many things. She was a spiritual sister of St. Francis, a rich and beautiful young woman who desired to live detached from any material wealth or comfort. She was zealously committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and founded a group of women to pray - today known as the “Poor Clares.” We are quite blessed to have a house of Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration at Our Lady of Solitude Monastery in Tonopah. They are our neighbors and one of our former parishioners, Aundrea Garcia, is a novice there. Fr. Brian regularly offers Mass for the sisters and I know they pray for all of us.

Some may remember that St. Clare also happens to be the patron saint of television. The ancient story is that in her final days, in 1253, Mother Clare was so sick she could not leave her bed. This was not only physically painful but also spiritually agonizing since she was not able to attend Mass. So… the Lord allowed Clare to see and hear Mass on the wall of her little monastic cell - the first ever live-stream! When technology finally was catching up with Divine Transmission, in 1958 Pope Pius XII named Clare the patron saint of television and today we consider her, by extension, a patron saint for our own SJV YouTube streaming.

For the past several years we have streamed the 9am and 11am Sunday Masses, as well as the students’ Friday Mass and certain weddings and funerals. This has been a wonderful way for our homebound parishioners and all those unable to attend Mass here in-person to still see and hear Mass from SJV. Particularly for those unable to travel here for their loved one’s wedding or funeral it has been a tremendous blessing.

So, after discussion with our terrific head of Parish Technology and Human Resources, Gabriel Jimenez, we’ve switched our streaming to be “24/7”. This means that any time you want to see and hear what’s going on in the Church, all you have to do is come to our St. John Vianney Goodyear AZ YouTube channel @SJVGoodyearAZ. Currently our camera is on the sanctuary and so you’ll see the altar, ambo and tabernacle (with its red sanctuary lamp). I’ve already logged in while traveling to be able to do some late-night Eucharistic Adoration. If you are not able to visit the Blessed Sacrament in-person, this is a remarkable way to do so from your house or hotel. May St. Clare of Assisi pray for us and watch over all who use our SJV streaming services!

Peace be with you and your family, in Christ,

Fr. David