Fr. Clark's Letters

Let the Children Come to Me - August 1, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The largest ‘monastery’ in Christianity was created in the last century. It was called Pfarrerblock (Priest block) located in southern Germany with nearly 2,600 priests at Dachau Nazi concentration camp.

One of the young priests, Fr. Gerhard Hirschfelder, died in Dachau this day, August 1^st in 1942 at the age of 35. What sent this new cleric to his death? He criticized Nazism in his sermons. He was concerned that the Hitler Youth took precedence over Mass on Sunday. In late July 1941 he wrote, "He who tears from the heart of young people their faith in Christ is a criminal" and he was sentenced to the concentration camp.

The evil one is sly. Nazism did not outright condemn religion but rather tried to replace it. Hitler’s henchmen knew that to influence young minds, they needed to keep them busy on Sundays and away from the worship of God at Mass.

I ask you today, what prevents our youth from attending Mass over the summer? Vacations? Sports? Entertainment? Or does school break equal church break?

The greatest joy of being a pastor for me is seeing the children at Mass. Thank you, parents, for bringing them to Jesus. Afterall, our Lord said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14).

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

PS – please sign your child up for faith formation this year by clicking here.

Pilgrimage- July 25, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The 2010 movie The Way, starring real life father and son, Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez tells the story of a young man (Estevez) who dies on his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. His dad (Sheen) collects his body ashes and finishes the pilgrimage for his son. The story is about the journey of life and who we meet along the way.

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. James. He was the first of the Apostles to die for the faith and his body was buried in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Every year nearly a half a million people journey four different pilgrimage routes to the tomb of St. James. The scallop shell symbol is used as a way marker on the Camino, and is commonly seen on pilgrims themselves, who are thereby identified as pilgrims. During the medieval period, the shell was more a proof of completion than a symbol worn during the pilgrimage.

The word pilgrimage comes from the Latin word peregre, which means to journey through the land. St. Paul identifying that Christians “are pilgrims and strangers on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13). Each and every one of us are on a journey towards our ultimate goal, heaven or hell. With God’s grace and the company of other disciples, may we reach our homeland of heaven and rejoice with St. James.

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

Relationships- July 18, 2025

July 18, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Growing up with livestock, my family had seldom opportunity to take a family vacation. One summer, we decided to take a trip to Colorado and we were not even out of York County when my older sister and I began to fight. It was the threat of our mom to turn the family truckster around that brought peace to the vehicle.

I learned at an early age that relationships are hard. Relationship has its origin in the Latin word, relatio, which means “to bring back.” We were made for relationship—first with God, and then with one another. This truth is woven into the fabric of creation itself. Relationships are sharing the journey of life towards our ultimate goal, heaven or hell. Relationships are a need. Yes, you can survive without them. But you cannot thrive and become ultimately happy and fulfilled. There is a restlessness, within each of us, that wants to be calmed, tamed. This restlessness is our heart’s yearning to know and be known, the process of mutual self-revelation in relationships.

In the Gospel this weekend we hear about two sisters, Martha and Mary, who have squabble in front of Jesus. Martha is anxious because she is doing all the work while her sister Mary just sits there listening to Jesus (Luke 10). Jesus wants to heal their relationship so out of love he fraternally corrects Martha.

Jesus also wants to heal our relationships. Let’s not forget that we are also in relationship with one another here—as a parish family. We are not isolated individuals sitting in pews; we are the Body of Christ. That means being present to one another, helping each other in our relationships.

I ask each person over the age of 18 (married, dating, divorced, widowed, single, engaged) to take three minutes to complete the anonymous and confidential relationship survey. This information will assist us at St. Peter Church in serving your relationship needs.

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

PS – please click here to take the relationship health survey.

Hospitality - July 13, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It was the summer of 2012 and I was getting ready to enter into my third year of theology, which meant that in less than a year, I would make my commitment to God and His Church through the sacrament of Holy Orders. In order to prepare for the life-long commitment, I asked for permission to do a thirty-day retreat with the Benedictine monks of Assumption Abbey in Richardton, ND.

What drew me to ora et labora (work and pray), the Benedictine motto, to these monks on the Dakota plain was their hospitality. Hospitality is one of the cornerstones of Benedictine spirituality, and it is based on seeing Christ in the guest, just as he is seen in the monks.

Christ told his disciples that their service and disservice to others would also be directed at him, and this teaching is the foundation for the Benedictine attitude on hospitality: “Let all guests who arrive be received as Christ, because He will say: ‘I was a stranger and you took me in’ (Mt 25:35).

Today is the feast day of St. Benedictine and like him, we should exercise the virtue of hospitality to all who enter our homes. After all, those who we show hospitality towards could be angels sent from God (Hebrews 13:2 in reference to Genesis 18).

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

PS – this weekend we will have Holy Land items for sale in St. John Paul II Hall.

Marriage & Freedom - July 4, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This week we celebrate our freedom to be called Americans! We live in one of the greatest nations on this beautiful earth. We are blessed with so much here, but above all, we are blessed with the freedom for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

On July 4th, 1776, our nation declared our freedom from the tyrannical rule of England. England, as we know through history, was forcing its laws, policies, and taxes upon the people of the American colonies. However, did you know, two hundred years prior to the American Revolution, the King of England was forcing unjust laws upon its own people in their own country.

We know, as history tells us, that King Henry VIII desired to break his marital bond and any citizen who did not recognize his new ‘marriage’ was considered a traitor. Heroic Catholic martyrs like St. Thomas More, lost their lives because they stood for the dignity and indissolubility of the great sacrament of marriage.

Beloved children of God, soldiers for Christ, patriotic Americans, the time has come for us to be prophets of true marital love. It is a daunting task, but may we find strength from the English Martyrs.

You and I must become authentic witnesses to marriage by the fidelity to the sacrament of marriage which reflects the greatest love this world has ever known, the love of Jesus Christ for His bride the Church.

Once our nation turns back to God we will truly find life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Only when we convert our hearts will we experience true freedom, which is the independence from the yoke of evil. “For freedoms sake, Christ has truly set us free” (Gal. 5)!

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

PS – Please support the St. Peter’s Knights of Columbus Fireworks Tent located at 1339 West O Street

Who are your three? - June 27, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“Who are your three?” This was a question asked to me in prayer after I felt overwhelmed of trying to meet with everyone that wants my time. This question has helped me recognize my limitations and a pastoral plan modeled after the Master.

When we look at the ministry of Jesus and how He laid down His life for others, He was quite systematic. He preached to the multitudes (Luke 6). From that group, He had seventy disciples that He sent out to proclaim the Good News (Luke 10). Jesus also did not want to leave us abandoned, so He called the twelve apostles (Matthew 10). And from that close-knit group Peter, James and John to invest most of His time into. As His inner circle, they were entrusted with witnessing His most profound miracles (Luke 8:51) and moments of glory (Matthew 17:1) and sorrow (Matthew 26:37).

In our parish at St. Peter Church, the ‘multitudes’ that Jesus wants to reach are each and every household in our parish boundaries. The ‘seventy disciples’ represents our faithful ministry leaders who work to bring the message of Jesus to every person at St. Peter Church. The ‘apostles’ are my wonderful staff who are coworkers in the vineyard of the Lord with me.

In order to fulfill the ministry of Christ, priest, prophet and king, my three staff members that I will be spending more time and energy with this year are Fr. Tines (priest), Blake Vajgrt (prophet), and Brenda Shields (king). The reason for this is the apostolic nature of the Church. Each of us are limited and cannot give completely to each person but we can transmit the faith and build the Church by investing in just a few key people in our lives.

As St. Paul writes, “What you heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will have the ability to teach others as well” (2 Tim. 2:2). As we celebrate the apostolic foundations of the Church this weekend during the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, I ask you, “Who are your three?”

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark,

Pastor

PS – Please prayerfully consider signing up for Eucharist adoration using the link below. We have open hours that need filled:

Click Here to sign up for Adoration

Corpus Christi- June 20, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Sometimes in life, we have difficult conversations. A few years ago I had one of these conversations. A former student at Pius said, “I am leaving the Catholic Church.” These were the most difficult words I have ever heard. I told this student, “I can give you a thousand reasons to leave the Church: scandal, lack of fellowship, pews, architecture, etc... but I give you one reason why you should stay, Jesus Christ who is with us in the Eucharist.”

This weekend we celebrate Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) Sunday. Having recognized the authenticity of the Eucharistic Miracle of Orvieto in 1264, the Pope Urban IV established the feast of Corpus Christi.

The Eucharist is important to us for two main reasons: salvation and intimacy with God. At the Passover, the Jewish people had to slaughter a lamb and then eat it in order to be saved from death. All Christians acknowledge that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins but not all Christians are eating the body of Christ to be saved (see John 6).

The second reason why you and I partake in the Eucharist is because we long for intimacy with God. Intimacy occurs when a bride and groom who are vowed together share the one-flesh union. The Church is the bride of Christ and He gives us His flesh so we can experience spousal unity with Him.

Like my former student, you may have a thousand reasons to leave the Church, but today I offer you only one reason to stay, the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

PS – Please prayerfully consider signing up for Eucharist adoration using the button below.

Farewell Letter- June 13, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On this Trinity Sunday and Father’s Day weekend, it is with a heavy (just tears not rain) but grateful heart that I write this letter to you. In Death Comes For the Archbishop, Willa Cather states it best: “Where there is great love there are always miracles.”

In five years as a priest, the greatest blessing is the gift of fatherhood. I am beyond thankful for my father and all fathers. Not only does a father beget the most precious gift of life, but equally, a father is called to be the head of his family, a model of prayer, sacrifice, love, mercy, and wisdom.

Speaking on St. Joseph, Pope Paul VI states that Joseph expressed his fatherhood “by making his life a sacrificial service to the mystery of the Incarnation and its redemptive purpose… turning his vocation to domestic love into a superhuman oblation of himself…”

Truly, a father is only able to love in view of God, who is Love.

In all sincerity, I pray that I have been able to be such a loving and spiritual father to all of you via Word and Sacrament. As Jesus prayed to the Father via the Spirit, you all have been a gift to me and are a gift of the Father. What has been three years serving as your Assistant Pastor has felt like weeks. Yet, as our time together comes to a close, I am excited for the opportunity to become a Pastor in Roseland (Sacred Heart) and Juniata (Assumption). I would not be in this position without you, your continual prayers, and the intentional discipleship we have entered into during this time.

I am so thankful and cherish all the opportunities we’ve had to grow closer together as One Body to our Eucharistic Lord as disciples, to know God more intimately as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Thank you for the kindness and love you have shown me these years. After two assignments in consecutive years, St. Peter has truly been a Rock for me and nothing short of a blessing. This Jubilee Year, know that I am filled with abundant hope, thanksgiving, and love for each and every one of you always.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart. Make our hearts like unto Thine.

In His Love,

Fr. Wirth

New Assistant Pastor- May 23, 2025

Deacon David Tines (pronounced TEA-niss) is from St. Joseph Parish in Lincoln. He was ordained a deacon in May 2024 and served at North American Martyrs in Lincoln last summer. He just finished formation at Mount St. Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md.

Ordinations are today at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln.

“To whom shall we go, Lord? You have the words of everlasting life.” John 6:68

I think Peter said it best. Jesus had just finished his Bread of Life discourse, proclaiming a difficult and confusing teaching to his disciples, and many of his disciples had left. He then turns to the 12 and asks, “Will you also go away?” And I love how Peter responds. He doesn’t seem to indicate that he understands the difficult teaching, and he certainly doesn’t know where following Christ will lead. But, if he’s honest, he knows he only has two options: follow Christ, or walk away. And he goes for it, he chooses Christ. This is one of the best things about Peter: he leaps without looking, he trusts before fully understanding.

I was born, the oldest of three, and raised in Lincoln. I was home-schooled for the first few years of my education, attended St. Joseph School from third through eighth grade, and Pius X High School. Throughout this time, I had a hit-and-miss relationship with the faith. My family always went to Mass and prayed before meals, but I struggled with prayer and didn’t have a sense that God was active in my life.

Yet despite this, by God’s grace, I kept trying. Why? I think that a little like Peter, I recognized the all-or-nothing-ness of the faith. By some particular grace, I had a sense that either God exists or nothing ultimately matters, that if there isn’t a benevolent creator that made the world with a purpose that lasts beyond death, then we really are just a bunch of atoms bouncing off one another, spinning around in a cold dead universe. So, I kept coming back, drawn by an instinct that there must be some eternal meaning. I participated in a Godteens group throughout high school and went to a holy hour with a few friends at Blessed Sacrament Parish. I just kept showing up, though prayer was still frustrating, confusing, and seemingly silent.

After graduating from Pius, I went to the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, majoring in computer engineering with a minor in business. There at UNL, on my own for the first time, I found myself with a choice to make: take the faith as my own or stop practicing; go to Mass or don’t. But the same grace that kept me coming back in high school remained. I knew that walking away from the Church would be walking away from the very possibility of purpose and meaning. So, while I didn’t understand, I kept going. I went to Mass and got involved in a FOCUS bible study.

It was during this time that I took my leap toward putting God at the center of my life. One day, I found myself with a lack of peace that I couldn’t shake: I had a sense that God was guiding me to make a significant change in my life, but I didn’t understand why. Honestly, I was angry. I realized that if I made this big decision based on following God and not on my own reasoning, that would mean honestly admitting something to myself: it would mean admitting that God is actually real, and God is actually God. I would be admitting that I’m not the master of my own destiny, a relationship with God is the only thing that ultimately matters, and the ideal of academic and financial success I had been pursuing, compared to God, was straw.

By God’s grace, I made that change, and by His grace he helped me make more changes, one by one. When I had a conversation with a high school friend a year later, I realized that God must have made me for some purpose, and when I thought about what that purpose might be, I had a sense that I was supposed to be a priest.

Though I initially had absolutely no desire to go to seminary, the same choice was set before me: follow God or run from God. So, I went to seminary and each year, one year at a time, I stayed. Gradually, through formation and prayer, God reduced my resistance and uncovered my deep desire for the priesthood. And through it all, whenever the temptation to give up would rear its ugly head, the same question returned to me: “To whom shall we go, Lord? You have the words of everlasting life.”

Which brings me to today. I am preparing to be ordained a priest of Jesus Christ, the eternal Word, the way, the truth, and the life. I have received so much love and support over the years, being received into the homes of my professors and families from parish assignments for dinners, cooking with them, and just sharing time together. I have received an excellent education at St. Gregory the Great and Mount St. Mary seminaries, inspiring a love of study and giving me a bounty of knowledge to draw on in the coming years of teaching. I have received innumerable prayers from across the diocese, especially my home parish, St. Joseph. But most of all, God has been so kind to me, drawing me to himself, one day at a time, and I am excited to begin service to him, through service to you, his people.

In His Mercy,

Deacon David Tines, (soon to be) Assistant Pastor

Habemus Papam! (We have a Pope!)

Here are the opening remarks of Pope Leo XIV looking out from St. Peter Basilica:

“Peace be with you! Dearest brothers and sisters, this was the first greeting of the risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave His life for the flock of God. I, too, would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families and all people, wherever they are; and all the peoples, and all the earth: Peace be with you.

This is the peace of the Risen Christ, a disarming and humble and preserving peace. It comes from God. God, who loves all of us, without any limits or conditions. Let us keep in our ears the weak but always brave voice of Pope Francis, who blessed Rome - the Pope who blessed Rome and the world that day on the morning of Easter.

Allow me to continue that same blessing. God loves us, all of us, evil will not prevail. We are all in the hands of God. Without fear, united, hand in hand with God and among ourselves, we will go forward. We are disciples of Christ, Christ goes before us, and the world needs His light. Humanity needs Him like a bridge to reach God and His love. You help us to build bridges with dialogue and encounter so we can all be one people always in peace.

Thank you Pope Francis!

Thank you to my Cardinal brothers who chose me to be the Successor of Peter and to walk together with you as a united Church searching all together for peace and justice, working together as women and men, faithful to Jesus Christ without fear, proclaiming Christ, to be missionaries, faithful to the gospel.

I am a son of Saint Augustine, an Augustinian. He said, “With you I am a Christian, for you a bishop." So may we all walk together towards that homeland that God has prepared for us.

To the Church of Rome, a special greeting: We have to look together how to be a missionary Church, building bridges, dialogue, always open to receiving with open arms for everyone, like this square, open to all, to all who need our charity, our presence, dialogue, love.

Hello to all and especially to those of my diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, a loyal, faithful people accompanying the bishop and helping the bishop.

To all you brothers and sisters of Rome, Italy, of all the world, we want to be a synodal church, walking and always seeking peace, charity, closeness, especially to those who are suffering.

Today is the day of Our Lady of Pompei.

Our blessed mother Mary always wants to walk with us, be close to us, she always wants to help us with her intercession and her love. So let us pray together for this mission, and for all of the Church, and for peace in the world.

We ask for this special grace from Mary, our Mother.”

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

Luau- May 2, 2025

Aloha!

What does a Christian church look like? Many people and churches have tried to define or redefine this over the years.

The simplest way to find what an authentic Christian church is to look at what the early Church looked like. If you go back to the beginning of Christianity in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, you will find that they had four defining characteristics – breaking of bread (Mass), teaching of the Apostles, prayer and fellowship (Acts 2:42).

I consider myself blessed to be the pastor of St. Peter since our parish community lives out these four characteristics well. We have many parishioners who gather together for Mass each day. There are people who are engaged at learning the faith through various opportunities. Many others commit to praying as a family or making a Eucharistic holy hour weekly. And we have fun and fellowship while growing closer to the Lord.

This weekend, we have a great opportunity to grow in fellowship. Tonight (May 2^nd), our annual parish fellowship event, Lei’d Back Luau will take place. Join parishioners and friends for fellowship, live entertainment, delicious food, signature cocktails, exclusive live and silent auctions, games and more! If you have not ordered your tickets, you can get them at the door tonight.

I look forward to having fellowship with you tonight at this fun event and at Mass this weekend!

Ke Akua pu, (God bless you)

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

PS – please click here to see the Lei’d Back Luau events tonight.

Trust- April 25, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

There was a great circus performer by the name of Blondin who stretched a long steel cable across Niagara Falls. During high winds and without a safety net, he walked, ran, and even danced across the tightrope to the amazement and delight of the large crowd of people who watched. He even took a wheelbarrow full of bricks and pushed it effortlessly across the cable, from one side of the falls to the other.

Blondin then turned to the crowd and asked, "Now, how many of you believe that I could push a man across the wire in the wheelbarrow?" The vote was unanimous. Everyone cheered and held their hands high. They all believed he could do it!

"Then," asked Blondin, "would one of you please volunteer to be that man?" As quickly as the hands went up, they went back down. Not a single person would volunteer to ride in the wheelbarrow and to trust his life to Blondin.

We may have a belief in Jesus Christ but how much have we put that trust into practice? Jesus asks us to trust our lives to Him and get into the ‘wheelbarrow’ of His heart so we can be taken across the turbulent waters of this world towards paradise in heaven.

Think about your relationships, they must be built on trust. Trust is the bridge that we must all cross from time into eternity; from material to spiritual. We are called to trust Jesus because He has first trusted us to carry out His mission.

One of the ways to trust Jesus is to foster a devotion to His Divine Mercy. He told St. Faustina, “Your duty will be to trust completely in My goodness, and My duty will be to give you all you need. I am making Myself dependent upon your trust: If your trust is great, then My generosity will be without limit.”

Jesus, I trust in you!

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

PS – please join us Divine Mercy retreat & confessions Sunday at 2:30PM

I Thirst- April 18, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thirst is a physical need that craves to be satisfied. It is a painful longing for what is missing. One can last three weeks without food but can only go three days without water.

From the cross, Jesus cried out, “I thirst.” He was fulfilling the Jewish prophecy, “My being thirsts for God, the living God. When can I enter and see your face.” (Psalm 42:3). Israel was called the vineyard of the Lord. But they became vinegar, spoiled wine by their corruption of the world and their hearts became like sponges, holes in them. Jesus was thirsting for them.

Jesus said ‘I thirst’ on the cross when He was deprived of every consolation, dying in absolute Poverty, despised and broken in body and soul. He spoke of His thirst – not for water but for love. Everyone thirsts for love, but not everyone realizes that the love for which they thirst is the love of God.

In each of Saint Mother Teresa’s Missionary of Charity convents, you find a crucifix with the words, “I thirst” beside it. She told her sisters, “Until you know deep inside that Jesus thirsts for you – you can’t begin to know who He wants to be for you. Or who He wants you to be for Him.”

In the passion of our Lord we see two thirsts seeking each other out. Each one seeks the other in order to satisfy its thirst. The Lord has a great thirst for our faith and our love. We have a thirst for real love that can save us, which He has today.

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

PS – Please join us today for Stations of the Cross at 3pm and Good Friday Liturgy at 7pm. Last chance for confessions this week at 4pm; 6pm; and 8pm.

Drama - April 11, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

One of the most critically acclaimed drama movies of all time is The Shawshank Redemption (1994). The film tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins), who is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Penitentiary for the murders of his wife and her lover, despite his claims of innocence.

Arguably, drama is the greatest genre of entertainment since it offers intense character development and tells an honest story of human struggle. In a drama, there is always a tragic hero who is the protagonist of a heartbreaking story. These tragic heroes, despite their virtuous and sympathetic traits and ambitions, ultimately meet defeat, suffering or even an untimely death.

The greatest drama of all time happens during this week. This is Divine Drama, authored by God the Father Himself, in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. This is God’s Divine Drama, and these events actually happened in history, in time and in reality. But for all eternity!

The Christian faith is the most exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man—and the dogma is the drama. That drama is summarized quite clearly in the creeds of the Church, and if we think it dull it is because we either have never really read those amazing documents, or have recited them so often and so mechanically as to have lost all sense of their meaning.

During this Holy Week, experience for yourself this drama authored by God. You are invited, again, to participate in the great drama of Holy Week. When you participate in this drama, you are not simply called to remember but rather, the Holy Week liturgies, like all liturgies, remind us that we too are characters in God’s salvation story.

We, too, are needed to tell the dramatic story of how God saves the world through his love poured out in Jesus Christ.

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

PS – Holy Week Confessions:

Condemn, Condone, or Compassion - April 4, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Over the past seventeen years, ABC TV has had a show entitled What Would You Do? The show is hosted by John Quiñones and the premise to create scenarios with actors that are quite appalling to people while placing a hidden camera to catch how people would react.

In our Gospel this weekend, we have the situation of the woman caught in adultery (Jn. 8:1-11). In Jewish law, the three gravest sins were murder, idolatry, and adultery. Therefore, she was condemned to death by stoning from the law of Moses (Deut. 22:24). And on top of that must have been her shame and a burning desire to crawl into the ground and disappear as the crowds mocked her with stones in their hands.

So, what should Jesus do? If he says, “stone her,” He would violate Roman law which forbid the Jews from carrying out capital punishment. But if Jesus does not allow her to be stoned and condones her actions, He violates Jewish Law.

Jesus neither condemns her nor condones her wicked ways but has compassion. “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). This is a Gospel of second chances. Jesus is not only interested in what a person had been but also in what a person could be, this is true compassion. John Paul II once said: “We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son.”

So, what would you do if you knew someone was committing an evil act such as adultery, abortion or homosexuality? Some Pharisaical Christians want to ‘throw stones’ and the other extreme the world demands us to accept the evil. Christians cannot condemn nor should we condone. Rather we are called to have compassion. In doing this, we become another Christ in the world that needs His mercy. Compassion is meeting them where they are at but loving them too much to leave them there for every life is unfinished until it stands before God.

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

Conversion - March 28, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As I left for college to UNL in the fall of 1999, I believed that college was about trying adventurous things like rodeo; success in getting good grades; and trying to find the perfect romance. Although I promised my mom that I would go to Mass on Sunday, I did not believe that I needed God in my daily life. I could live as a sinner six days a week but on the seventh, I would pretend to be a saint.

That was until one November day when a fraternity brother, Josh, asked me if I had a personal relationship with Jesus. Since I trusted him, I knew I needed to take this to prayer. As I prayed, I heard Jesus say, “No, you do not have a personal relationship with me, you have so much more, intimacy, but you have been unfaithful.” I was cut to the heart.

I began to be open to spiritual change. Soon I began growing in my intimacy with Christ by being involved in a bible study. As I was engaged in this spiritual quest, I knew Christ was calling me out of my brokenness to leave my sinful lifestyle behind to follow Him.

Providentially, another person asked me how long it had been since I went to confession. I was at the point of decision. Would I live an abundant life for Christ or a shallow one in the world? By His grace, I was moved to go to confession for the first time in many years. The grace of that conversion moment prompted me to get involved with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) at UNL.

Over the next several years, I embarked on the faith formation journey guided by a FOCUS missionary named Jim Jansen. Jim taught me how to live a life of virtue, how to pray and eventually equip me for a lifelong mission to share my faith and help others grow spiritually.

I was searching for adventure, success, and romance my freshman year and I found it in the person of Jesus Christ. Or as St. Augustine (another notorious sinner) once wrote, “To seek God is the greatest adventure; to find Him is the greatest success; and to fall in love with Him is the greatest romance.”

This was the beginning of my discipleship journey and a road that I want to pave for each one of you.

We all, at St. Peter Church, should desire that all find the greatest adventure, success, and romance that is life in Jesus. We can do this by developing a clear path of discipleship to guide people from being far from Christ to fruitful discipleship in Him. This is why, we will be committed to our mission to make disciples by befriending others, inviting them to experience life-changing conversions, forming them in discipleship, and preparing them to be sent out as apostles. In doing this, we fulfill the great commission of Jesus (Mt. 28:19).

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

PS – please join us this weekend for Mass for the state of the parish address.

Repentance - March 21, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Alfred Nobel, the man who instituted and endowed the Nobel Peace Prize, was a Swedish chemist who made his fortune by inventing powerful explosives and licensing the formula to governments to make weapons.

One day Nobel's brother died. By accident, a newspaper printed an obituary notice for Alfred instead of the deceased brother. It identified him as the inventor of dynamite who made a fortune by enabling armies to achieve new levels of mass destruction. Nobel had the unique opportunity to read his own obituary in his lifetime and get a glimpse of how he would be remembered: as a merchant of death and destruction.

The newspaper's mistake forced him to turn around and to see what impact his life was really having.

That's when he decided to change directions. He took his fortune and used it to establish the awards for accomplishments contributing to life rather than death.

That's a highly visible case of what it means to repent, to turn around.

In the Gospel this weekend, Jesus' emphasizes that everyone who refuses to repent (the barren fig tree symbolizes someone who lacks the fruits of repentance) will stay separated from God. And if they die in such a state of alienation (and death can come at any time), they will continue in it for all eternity: "If you do not repent, you will all perish."

This is an uncomfortable truth, but one that the Church wants us to consider deeply, especially during the penitential season of Lent.

We need to repent from our sins. The end can come at any time. We need to live each moment of our lives in communion with God. God is always ready to forgive us, if we ask.

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

The sacrament of repentance times at St. Peter Church are:

Monday:7:00am to 8:00am
Wednesday:4:30pm to 5:30pm
Friday: 7:00am to 8:00am
Saturday:3:00pm to 4:00pm
Sunday: 30 minutes before each Mass

Stations of the Cross - March 14, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Have you ever tried to invite someone who is non-Catholic to a Catholic Mass and wondered how to explain it? Maybe if the Church had a devotional that was great for relational outreach to non-Catholics…. Well, we do. The Stations of the Cross is one of the greatest things to invite a non-Catholic to since it is easy to follow and full of scripture. I encourage you to invite your friends, neighbors and coworkers to join us today at 6PM for this great Lenten devotion. And invite them to join us for some great fish afterwards downstairs in St. John Paul II Hall.

The Stations of the Cross began as a pilgrimage to Jerusalem as one followed the Via Dolorosa (The Way of the Sorrowful Mother). It was expected that at least once in a Christian’s life one would make a pilgrimage to follow the footsteps of Christ to Calvary. That was until the fall of Jerusalem to the Muslims in 1187AD. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Franciscans began to build a series of outdoor shrines in Europe to duplicate their counterparts in the Holy Land. And it was the duty of Franciscans to erect stations of the cross in parishes until 1862 when the Church allowed any priest to start the stations of the cross devotion in their parish.

“Holy Mother! pierce me through,

in my heart each wound renew

of my Savior crucified:

Let me share with thee His pain,

who for all my sins was slain,

who for me in torments died.

Let me mingle tears with thee,

mourning Him who mourned for me,

all the days that I may live:

By the Cross with thee to stay,

there with thee to weep and pray,

is all I ask of thee to give.” Sabat Mater; 13th century hymn for Station of the Cross

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

PS – Please join us for Stations of the Cross on Friday’s at 2:30PM and 6PM.

Fish- March 7, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Something smells fishy. This 19^th century colloquialism is used when something seems suspicious but could also be used if you walk into a Catholic home or parish social hall on a Friday during Lent.

The law of the Church states that Lent is a season to do penance both privately and communally. Every Friday throughout the year is a private penitential day and during Lent, Fridays are also a communal penitential day, hence we cannot eat warm blooded meat. This penance is for those who are above the age of 15. We also have two days of fasting (two small meals and one normal meal) for those between the ages of 18 and 60 (Code of Canon Law 1250-1252).

Eating fish (or alligator, snake, turtles) on Fridays may not be much of a sacrifice for people on the bayou of Louisiana or the coast of Maine but it sure is for this corn-fed beef raised pastor. Especially since today is the feast day of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, the patron saints of beef. Tradition has it they were martyred for the faith by being trampled to death by some wild cows in the gladiator arena of Carthage in the 3^rd century.

In honor of these great saints, maybe I should get dispensation from Bishop Conley to have a steak fry instead of fish tonight at St. Peter Church. Wouldn’t that smell much better? Well, I suppose this first Friday of Lent will be a very penitential day but only through the cross comes the glory.

Have a blessed Lent!

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

PS – It's not too late to join a small group at St. Peter this Lent. Click the link below to get connected to a group!

Join a Lenten Small Group

Sacred Art- February 28, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Are you an audio or visual learner? When I was completing my Agricultural Economics degree at UNL, I found it more helpful to study graphs in Econ 311 than listening to the professor explain marginal cost and revenue. I dare say, that a majority of us are more visual learners than audio since it is the mode of sight that more information is transmitted to our intellect.

This is why I praise the power of the Holy Spirit working through the bishops from around the world at the 4^th Council of Constantinople which ended this day (Feb. 28^th) in the year 870AD. It was during this council that the Church had dealt with the Iconoclasm heresy. Iconoclasm basically said that you could not depict any sacred art in a church out of fear of breaking the 2^nd commandment God gave Moses. In reality, the Iconoclasm heresy was the influence of Islam into the eastern Church.

At the 4^th Council of Constantinople, the Church declared, “If anyone does not venerate the image of Christ our Lord, let him be deprived of seeing Him in glory at His second coming. The image of His all pure Mother and the images of the holy angels as well as the images of all the saints are equally the object of our homage and veneration…… We decree that the sacred image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the liberator and Savior of all people, must be venerated with the same honor as is given the book of the holy Gospels….. For what speech conveys in words, pictures announce and bring out in colors.”

Too often our modern Catholic churches have turned into a neo-Iconoclasm which has been influenced by the reduction of the sacred to look more Protestant. But a Catholic worldview today must also include the eternal world.

This is why Church art matters and why our newly designed church of St. Peter draws us up into the heavenly realm. May the colors our local parish prepare us for the goodness of God and the glory to come.

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

PS – click here to see all the ways you can grow in your faith this Lent at St. Peter Church.

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