St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church
3131 El Dorado Blvd, Houston, TX 77059
(281) 286-7729
Formation Programs
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That Man Is You!
What is it?
That Man is You! is an interactive, multimedia men’s program produced by Paradisus Dei focused upon the development of authentic male leadership and spirituality.
The program content harmonizes current social and medical science with the teachings of the Church and the wisdom of the saints to develop the vision of man fully alive. It is particularly indebted to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and Pope John Paul II.
That Man is You! is successful at attracting large numbers of men, including younger men still actively parenting, and then transforming their spiritual lives. Indeed, independent research from a Faith Advisor to The Gallup Poll reveals That Man is You! to be one of the most life-transforming programs.
How will it work?
Each year is divided into two, 13-week semesters, which meet in the fall and spring.
Note: Men can enter the program at any time.
You do not have to start at the beginning!Who: Any man who is interested
What: Weekly formation meetings
When: Tuesday evenings, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Where: Zoom (Conference Center, once in-person meetings begin again)
Contact: Randy Plath, rlplath0829@gmail.com, 832-851-6119.
Cost: There is no cost! Refreshments are by donation, and a voluntary donation to support Paradisus Dei is taken up mid-way through the courseHow do I register?
Go to this page here and register for the program. Be sure to pick whether you want to attend on Tuesday evenings or on Thursday mornings.
How do I find out more?
Go to the That Man Is You! website to find out more about the program itself. For information pertaining to the program at St. Clare, contact John Kovacs in the parish office.
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Men's Prayer & Study Group
Join other men of the parish bright and early for fresh coffee, prayer, study, discussion, and accountability.
New-comers are always welcome!
When: Tuesday mornings, 6:00 – 7:00 a.m., year round
Where: Conference Center
Contact: Craig Bernard, cabernard33@gmail.com -
Family Enrichment
Families often struggle with overcoming the many obstacles to foundational relationships. Husbands and wives, parents and children, siblings, and immediate family and extended family alike encounter seemingly insurmountable challenges.
This program employs the case study methodology, commonly found in business and law school classrooms, to examine scenarios relevant to family life. We analyze the complex and sometimes daunting situations faced by families to better understand their causes and identify their resolution. While the case studies are instructive, the experience and wisdom from the parents participating prove invaluable. Guided by an experienced moderator, who is also a parent, couples strengthen their unity and renew their commitment to one another and their families.
The method
The case study method offers practical skills for handling the pressing circumstances that arise each day. Each course has between five and ten cases.
The case study method teaches you to:
- Draw out facts
- Identify problems based on facts
- Discern appropriate solutions
Family Enrichment is designed so you can apply this method to any situation at home, work, etc. It helps you sustain focus and make accomplishments with the things that matter most — your marriage, your family, and your relationships with other people.
Applying the method
For the success of the method, following these steps is essential.
- Individual Study: each spouse reads the case.
- Couple discussion: spouses discuss the case with each other.
- Team Meeting: four to five couples discuss the case as a Team.
- General Meeting: All groups meet in a general session with a moderator that directs the discussion.
How to Register
Visit the Texas Family Enrichment website for more information on what program is currently being offered, and to register. Courses are offered off-site (i.e. not at St. Clare), but a Clear Lake Team may be formed locally for Team Meetings, then carpool to the General Meeting. To find out about the local Team, contact Kathi at 281-507-1672 or jmjdunnefamily@sbcglobal.net.
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Teams of Our Lady:
Program for ALL Married CouplesTeams of Our Lady (TOOL) is an on-going formation program for all married couples–whether you’ve been married one year, ten years, or 50 years–to form you as a couple in married spirituality. Why as a couple? Because God has entrusted you to each other through the Sacrament of Matrimony, and because when your response is made in unison, it deeply affects: the quality of your love, your children, and all whom you meet. Why with other couples? Because as a Team there is more strength. In a world where fidelity is no longer esteemed, meeting with others who value married life can bring joy and hope to all.
Teams are composed of five to seven married couples. Team life revolves around the monthly meetings (in participant homes), and living out the six Endeavors.
This program is open to couples who are in a marriage recognized by the Church. Only one spouse needs to be Catholic.
See the international TOOL site for more info, or check out this site, as well.
What: Information Session
When: Next session TBD — contact John Lawlor, below, to be put on his waiting list
Where: TBD
Contact: John Lawlor, 713-824-8525, jhlawlor@gmail.com -
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Catholic Patriotism:
For God and Country!Summer 2021
Socialism and various ideologies pose an imminent threat to both Christianity and to our country. Religious freedom and our Judeo-Christian moral principles are at stake. What can we do?
Who: All are welcome!
What: Join us for five evening presentations and discussion
When: Mondays, starting June 7, 20216:30 pm - Social
7:00 pm - Talk
8:00 pm - DiscussionWhere: Parish Hall
Cost: Free! Handouts included!What is the Rationale?
This series will enforce the important role Christianity played in our nation’s founding; identify the forces at work in our society that are attempting to diminish the role of the Church and its moral teachings; and provide practical steps we can take as Christians to influence our culture and put God back at the center of our society. What are the responsibilities inherent in Catholic Patriotism?
From the Catechism:
"It is the duty of citizens to contribute along with the civil authorities to the good of society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom. The love and service of one's country follow from the duty of gratitude and belong to the order of charity. Submission to legitimate authorities and service of the common good require citizens to fulfill their roles in the life of the political community." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2239)
"Every institution is inspired, at least implicitly, by a vision of man and his destiny, from which it derives the point of reference for its judgment, its hierarchy of values, its line of conduct. Most societies have formed their institutions in the recognition of a certain preeminence of man over things. Only the divinely revealed religion has clearly recognized man's origin and destiny in God, the Creator and Redeemer. The Church invites political authorities to measure their judgments and decisions against this inspired truth about God and man:
Societies not recognizing this vision or rejecting it in the name of their independence from God are brought to seek their criteria and goal in themselves or to borrow them from some ideology. Since they do not admit that one can defend an objective criterion of good and evil, they arrogate to themselves an explicit or implicit totalitarian power over man and his destiny, as history shows." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2244)
What are the session topics?
June 7 - America as a Christian Country: What has made our country great?
There are three things that made America great: Christianity, the Constitution, and Capitalism. All three will be discussed. For those today who say that America was never a Christian nation, nor was this the intent of our founders, strong evidence will be presented to the contrary. Christianity and its Judeo-Christian moral principles are, in fact, at the root of our founding documents that gave us a national moral conscience. Besides the writings of our founders, evidence from early state charters, the first colleges, and the Supreme Court, itself, affirms that our country was a Christian nation--and never a matter of debate until the 1960’s.
June 14 - The De-christianization of our Country: How has this come about?
As Pope Francis expressed, there are increasing signs that we are living in a post-Christian culture. The alarming statistics from the recent Pew Foundation survey bear this out. Christianity is rapidly declining. What will fill this void? While there are many ideologies (the infamous “-isms”) at work today in society that have contributed to the dechristianization of our nation, the myth of secular neutrality and the erroneous, radical “separation of church and state,” will be the primary focus. Where is this in the Constitution? The founders, in fact, never mandated a complete exclusion of Christianity from the public square. They wanted a marketplace of ideas wherein Christianity would remain vibrant, including the free exercise of religious beliefs.
June 21 - Threats to our Country: Good and evil and the rise of atheistic ideologies
Abraham Lincoln: America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we lose our freedoms, it will be because we have destroyed ourselves from within. There are a number of political and economic movements today in our country that not only threaten our founding principles and liberties, but also cannot be reconciled with the moral and social teachings of the Church: socialism, progressivism, and liberalism. These will be defined. They view the idea of God as harmful, and so they intend to forcefully remove God from society. And the Church and its moral teachings are viewed as competing against their agendas. These ideologies also threaten respect for the dignity of the human person, natural law, and the family nucleus. Their policies also conflict with the Constitution, which emphasizes individualism and the separatation of powers to prevent the centralization of authority in the handful of a relatively few.
June 28 - Changing our Culture: Putting God back at the center of our culture
Once stated: The best way for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing. A Christian should not tolerate the conditions today in this country. The only way we can fight back, besides prayer, is to better inform ourselves and train to counter the threats to our freedoms and religion. We must also work to increase our numbers. We must be willing to stand up for the truth, and be willing to die for the truth. Are there some practical steps WE can take as Christians to reverse the direction we are going? Five areas will be reviewed: Getting people back to church again; education reform, both in our nation and the Church; strengthening the family nucleus; taking control of the way news is disseminated; political activism; and prayer. As we experienced in the early 19th century, we need a “new awakening.” This is something we all can participate in to change the moral character of our society, one heart at a time. Changing hearts must come first. Changing our culture must be a goal.
July 12 - Praying for our Country: The importance of faith and trust in God
We must not be discouraged. We must not lose heart. In the end, we must trust in God. St. Paul (Eph 6:12): "For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." We must be a holy people and offer reparation for the sins of our nation through prayer, fasting, and good works. We must receive the sacraments regularly and spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The importance of the Rosary as a weapon will be stressed. Just as Moses had his staff--we have the Rosary. The history of the Church will be reviewed, bearing testimony to the power of the Rosary, not just spiritually, but also literally in everyday life situations and crises, prayed against extreme odds, in hopeless military campaigns, e.g. the Battles of Muret, Lepanto, Temesvar, others. Activities such as the formation of prayer groups and prayer cells at homes and in parishes to pray for healing and the healing of our nation are encouraged.
What needs to be done by Catholics today for their country? The answer is: Don’t lie. If we say we’re Catholic, we need to prove it. America’s public life needs people willing to stand alone, without apologies, for the truth of the Catholic faith and the common human values it defends. One person can make a difference – if that individual has a faith he or she is willing to suffer for.
Archbishop Charles Chaput, Render Unto Caesar
Who is the speaker?
Rich May -- A St. Clare parishioner, Rich is a former Air Force pilot and aerospace engineer, with undergraduate and graduate degrees in theology from the University of St. Thomas and Franciscan University of Steubenville.He has appeared several times on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) for Living the Life Abundantly TV / radio programs, contributed programming on Houston Catholic radio, and has previously had a weekly, live radio program on Radio Maria for 6 years, broadcasting in several states. He still appears as a guest on many shows.
Rich May has 30 years experience teaching catechesis at all levels and has authored several booklets, including The Rosary, a Prayer For All Christians, and has developed catechetical materials for both students and teachers, including Baptism and Confirmation programs at use at parishes both within and outside his home Archdiocese. Recently he has produced a 3-booklet Rosary series to teach Native Americans the Rosary, distributed nationally by The Black & Indian Mission Office in Washington D.C. He’s a keynote speaker at the annual Tekakwitha Conference. His website is HaveTruth.org.
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Updated 6-1-2021/jwk