THE LAMB SHALL LEAD THE THIRSTY TO FLOWING WATERS
“The Lamb shall soon stand White as a shout against the sky: His feet shall soon strike rainbows from the rock. The cliffs give up their buried streams.”
~Thomas Merton, excerpt From the Legend of St. Clement poem
We come to the great finale of the Liturgical Year, the Solemnity of Christ the King which coincides this year with the Feast of St. Clement. Our great patron St. Clement of Rome, was the third successor of St. Peter and was exiled by the Emperor Trajan near the end of the 1st Century and sentenced to manual labor in a marble quarry near the Black Sea. The Pope labored humbly alongside his fellow prisoners, heroically ministering to their needs and proclaiming the Gospel.
According to a famous legend portrayed on today’s bulletin cover, the prisoners and soldiers alike were one day baking under the intense sun and dying of thirst. Pope Clement prayed and then broke rank and ran to the crest of a hill where he had seen the vision of Christ the Lamb and began to dig, discovering streams of fresh flowing water. Unexpectedly, rather than punish Clement for his insubordination, the guards and prisoners drank freely and then begged to be baptized. When word reached the Roman procurator, Clement was condemned to being drowned in the Black Sea tied to an anchor which has become his symbol of triumph.
When I was in Rome in early September I was able to have Mass at the tomb of St. Clement in our sister church, La Basilica di San Clemente, one of the most extraordinary of all Roman churches. As I prepare to leave on my sabbatical in early January, I also want to announce that there will be an opportunity to come and join me on pilgrimage. We will focus on the inexhaustible city of Rome and a handful of other excursions in the footsteps of St. Benedict, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Siena and St. Francis and St. Claire of Assisi. One of the lenses for our time will be some of the unique insights of G.K. Chesterton about the depth of meaning of Rome. This trip was fully designed by me in concert with a wonderful pilgrimage company called Verso Ministries. Please consider joining me and fellow parishioners from April 27-May 7 on this great adventure into the depths of our Catholic patrimony. More information about the trip is at: https:// versoministries.com/departures/holy-cross-italy-april-2026/. (You may also scan the QR code to the right.) I was very attentive to keep the price of the trip as affordable as possible. In addition to the information available at the web page, you can also sign up there for a free, no commitment ‘Sneak Peak’ Zoom call that will be hosted on Monday evening, November 24 at 7 pm. Whether you have been to Italy before or not, this will be an exceptional time of prayer, fellowship, discovery and spiritual growth, including an opportunity to receive the blessing of Pope Leo XIV and experience Italy in the beauty of the Easter Season. I am very excited to be able to share my sabbatical experience with you.
St. Clement lived with his eyes peeled to see Christ, both Victim and Victor. As Advent gets underway this coming weekend, may we always have eyes and hearts lifted up watching for the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. May St. Clement intercede for all of us!
As the Entrance Antiphon of this great Feast of Christ’s Kingship exclaims, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain; to Him belong glory and power forever and ever!
-Fr. Howe