From Father Steven - February 18, 2024

Father Steven Clemence • February 16, 2024

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

In the year of the Eucharist we began this initiative of 24Hr Adoration to help us to get closer to Jesus present in the Eucharist. Now, we try to have it once a month in our parish, besides the first Friday all day and our early morning daily adoration (6:30am-7:30am) before daily mass. There are some people who have approached me lately asking questions on what to do during adoration, or how to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Here are a few tips for you.

 

First, there is never a “wrong way” to pray. The holy monks (fathers of the desert) always said that we pray by praying. Every sort of prayer counts. Whether they are recited or from our hearts, whether on the beach, driving, or at church, whether by yourself or with other people, whether using the correct words or from your hearts. Prayer is every sort of communication with God. Even when someone cuts you on the road and you exclaim, “Holy Jesus, Mary and Joseph, have mercy on me.” Indeed, I tell people that have problems by saying the name of the Lord in vain to add a petition after saying OMG, and it turns a sin into a prayer.


Second, before we pray we need some quiet time to gather our thoughts in order and to let the worries out of our head. That is why it is always good to arrive 10 minutes before mass to prepare our hearts for what we are about to do. The same with adoration. Allow some minutes when you arrive to settle down your mind and heart. Don’t worry about the rest of the world. You are in the presence of the Lord himself. Let him worry about it for a second. Then (or as a way to calm your heart) you may thank God for the graces received that day or that week or that month. Realizing the awesomeness of God, it helps us to open our hearts to receive the graces that he has in store for us. If you get distracted in prayer, just get back from your thoughts and get going again. Don’t be discouraged…it happened to the saints as well!

 

Third, invite the Holy Spirit into your heart. You can recite, “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love…” prayer or you can make your own. Repeat it a few times pausing between one and the other. Have the intention to receive the Holy Spirit, the sweet guest of our soul. Then you can follow with the prayer of Samuel, “Lord, speak for your servant is listening.” By now you will be allowing the graces of God to enter your heart. You will experience peace and tranquility in your heart.

 

Fourth, you can choose whatever you want to meditate about. You can pray the Rosary meditating upon each of the mysteries (how God’s power of the resurrection can help you in your struggles, how Christ ascending to the Father is a sign that He is waiting for us, etc…). You can also read a passage from the Scriptures, I would recommend the Gospels. You can read that paragraph or two, and wonder in your heart, how that relates to what you are going through. Read it a second time, and then a third. You will see how there are some words that will pop out. Meditate, reflect on what they mean to you in front of your struggles, difficulties, whatever weighs upon you. Then do a moment of silence and let the Lord speak to you. Not always will the Lord speak to us, but most often He does, or at least guides us in your decisions and feelings.

 

Lastly, you can present before the Lord who is there listening to your petitions. Following the example of Jesus, we can say, “Lord, if it is your will, please _____ and there you add whatever petition you have. Whether something that the Lord enlightened you in prayer, your personal intentions, the intentions that you would like to pray regarding people around you, etc. It is always good to pray for the Pope, our Bishops, our priests, our parish community, those who have left the Church and those who never entered the church. It is also good to pray for the souls in purgatory and those who don’t have anyone to pray for them. After you conclude your prayers, just thank the Lord for that wonderful time with Him and whatever He may have revealed to you. Don’t forget to thank the Father and the Holy Spirit and Mary, who always works behind the scenes. 

 

This is only a suggestion. There are thousands of ways of praying. What is important is to pray. The way we pray is secondary. Blessed Carlo Acutis says “If we get in front of the sun, we get sun tans…but when we get in front of Jesus in the Eucharist, we become saints.” Let us take the opportunity this weekend to pray in our 24Hr Adoration, from 6pm on Sunday to 6pm on Monday. Bring your children, although if they are little, I would not have them sit for 1hour…but incrementally you can get there! Be assured of my daily prayers to you and your loved us! Together we can all be saints! 

 

God Bless, 

Fr. Steven

 

From Father Steven- June 14, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • June 12, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Every priest is called to be a man of prayer. Through ordination, we are united to Christ and configured to Him in a unique way. Therefore, when a priest prays, he not only pursues his own sanctification but also deepens his union with Jesus. Whether celebrating Mass publicly or privately, praying the Rosary, or offering short prayers throughout the day, St. Paul’s exhortation to “pray without ceasing” provides the foundation for all that we do. We all live in a world full of demands and expectations. What Frank Sinatra once called New York—the “city that never sleeps”—has, in many ways, become a description of life everywhere. There is so much happening in our lives that we can easily become like Martha in the Gospel. Some parents spend countless hours driving their children to activities and sporting events. Others have demanding jobs that consume most of their time. Still others are occupied with maintaining a household or caring for a sick loved one. Yet when do we become like Mary, who chose to sit beside Jesus and listen to Him? Martha was not doing anything wrong. On the contrary, hospitality was considered a sacred duty in her time. Nevertheless, Jesus reminds us that there is something even more important than all our responsibilities: to be with Him. When we pray, we draw close to Jesus. Suddenly, our burdens seem lighter, we become less irritable, and challenges that once felt overwhelming become manageable. Prayer is not simply a matter of reciting a few Our Fathers or Hail Marys; it is about spending time with Jesus. Next week, Fr. Gabriel and I will be away on retreat for a couple of weeks to spend time with the Lord. Although we maintain our daily prayer routines, there are moments when we need to “retreat” from the world and the busyness of parish life in order to rest our hearts and renew our souls. Fr. Fernando, who was ordained in Warsaw and is currently serving on mission in Ireland, will arrive on Friday to assist Fr. Victor in caring for the parish during our absence. We ask you to keep us in your prayers, just as we continually pray for you. I would also like to take this opportunity to encourage all of us to participate more actively in spiritual activities. Whether it is joining the Cenacle Group, which meets on Mondays from 6:00–7:00 p.m. in the lower church, attending Eucharistic Adoration at least once a week, or reading a spiritual book during the summer, each of these practices can help us grow closer to Christ. In the coming months, we are planning additional opportunities to deepen our relationship with Him through retreats, talks, and other parish events. The good news is that we do not need to wait until the end of summer. In just two weeks, we will have a beautiful opportunity right here in Boston to encounter Jesus in a special way. In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage carries the theme “One Nation Under God.” This is not merely a slogan—it is an invitation to realign our lives, our communities, and our country under the sovereignty of Christ. It is a call to foster unity through prayer and to allow Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist, to renew and heal the heart of our nation, one soul at a time. As pilgrims on this route, we walk with Christ so that His love may draw our nation back to Him. The Archbishop has invited all the faithful to participate in the Eucharistic procession on Saturday, June 27 , beginning at Boston Common. We will follow the Freedom Trail and conclude at the Bunker Hill Monument. A bus will depart from the parish at 8:00 a.m. , and we expect to return by approximately 3:00 p.m. You can reserve your seat for $15 either online using the QR code below or by calling the parish office. Although I will not be present, I hope our parish will be well represented. This pilgrimage offers a wonderful opportunity to step away from the distractions of daily life and spend time with Jesus. Through our presence, we can also invite others to follow Him, just as the Apostles did. God Bless, Fr. Steven

From Father Steven - June 7, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • June 5, 2026
Car Show, Trinity Sunday, and Corpus Christi Dear Brothers and Sisters, I hope that this title hasn’t confused your minds! How is it possible that we can put all these three things together? Very simply, those are our hidden treasures that once a year they are celebrated. Every year I have always walked down the street to the corner of Prospect and Main St. to take a peek at the cars. Last year however, after all the masses, I adventured to look at all the cars. It is amazing how cool and awesome it was. But it is also “sad” that we don’t get to see them that often riding on the streets. Some of the cars are true hidden gems that are probably guarded very safely somewhere away from the curious eyes. The same can be said about our Celebration of The Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). Those are true gems that often are not seen/spoken about. This week we will be celebrating the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi. In the old days we celebrated it on Thursday after Trinity Sunday, but here in the States it has moved to Sunday. For almost 1000 years, the Church has always celebrated this day with a procession with the Blessed Sacrament through the streets around the churches. Even before the Reformation, the Church has always believed and affirmed that “By the consecration, the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: His Body and His Blood, with His soul and His divinity” (CCC 1413 quoting the Council of Trent). Unfortunately, many people nowadays do not believe in the real presence of Christ on the Eucharist. In spite of many miracles around the world and even recently, where the consecrated host became the tissue of a human heart, and the consecrated wine became real human blood, people refuse to believe in it. Recent studies have shown that even a major number of Catholics (including practicing Catholics) do not believe that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist, but it’s a mere representation of him. St. Alphonsus Liguori writes in a great reflection book titled Visits to the Blessed Sacrament , “Loving souls can find no greater delight than to be in the company of those whom they love. If we, then, love Jesus Christ much, behold we are now in his presence…let us console ourselves in his company; let us rejoice in his glory and in the love in which so many enamored souls bear him in the Most Blessed Sacrament.” We are called first of all to be close to Jesus under the sacramental species, not only when he is present inside the tabernacle, but above all when he is exposed. We will have the special grace to do our own Eucharistic Procession here in the Parish. Some parishioners will be working from the early hours of Sunday creating a sawdust carpet with holy images on Prospect St., which will be closed on Sunday. After the trilingual Mass at 11am (rain or shine) all three communities will gather for a procession through downtown Marlboro. It will be our time to take our greatest gem out “from hiding” and show it to everyone!!!! Last year we had a great attendance, and I invite you to reach out to family and friends and invite them to celebrate this awesome event with us! Finally, as I mentioned before, mark on your calendars the National Eucharistic Procession that will pass through Boston as part of the 250 th of the birth of our Country. There will be events on June 26-28 in Plymouth, Freedom Trail and Lexington. God Bless, Fr. Steven