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 - January 18, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • January 16, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, This week I would like to share with you some news from our parish. We had a great year during the Jubilee, with many wonderful events. There are also some updates on other things that are happening that people may not be aware of. Lastly, we have a few upcoming events that I would like to bring to your attention. In the past fiscal year (July 2024–June 2025), many people accepted the grace of receiving the sacraments. We had 65 baptisms, 95 confirmations, and 82 First Communions. Some of these were received by adults, others by teenagers, and most by children. We also had 29 couples married during this time. Another statistic worth noting is the number of funerals celebrated. We honored the lives of 76 brothers and sisters who were called home to the Lord. Looking back on the year 2025 as a whole, there were many beautiful moments in our parish life. A few are worth highlighting. In January, we took 56 pilgrims to the March for Life, and we will be doing so again this week. We were also blessed to be designated a Jubilee Pilgrimage Site for the Jubilee Year. After forming four planning groups, we began offering Adoration and Confessions Monday through Friday from 6:00–7:00 p.m. Countless people experienced the mercy of God during this time. We also offered talks three times a week—one in each language—with excellent speakers covering a wide variety of themes. Throughout the year, we hosted 11 retreats and welcomed special guests for various events, including Immaculée Ilibagiza and Sean Forrest. We also held our annual Corpus Christi procession and Parish Festival, both of which were very well attended. We began a bereavement ministry and launched a new parish group, Friends in Faith. In addition, we enjoyed several social events, such as fish fries, bingo, Spanish Family Night, and other dinners. We conducted a parish-wide 33 Days Consecration to Mary and celebrated the Marian feasts of Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Aparecida, the Immaculate Conception, and Our Lady of Guadalupe. This last celebration marked the first visit of our Archbishop, Richard Henning. This is a very brief summary of the 45 events we held in 2025. Looking ahead, we will have 24-hour Adoration this Sunday, taking advantage of the holiday. (If you are able, please sign up online so we can ensure all hours are covered.) Then, on Thursday, 55 youth will travel on pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., to participate in the March for Life. On the weekend of January 31–February 1, Sister Lisa, MSC, will be with us for the Mission Appeal. On February 15, after the 11:00 a.m. Mass, we will hold the annual Anointing of the Sick in observance of the World Day of the Sick. As noted on our cover page, we will host a couples’ retreat on February 21. This will be a wonderful opportunity for couples to rekindle their love for one another. Lent will begin on February 18 with Ash Wednesday. Finally, on February 28, Sister Olga will visit the parish to give two talks: one for women and young ladies on vocation, and another open to the public (topic to be determined). One more novelty, we are very happy to introduce you to Ms. Gabriella Lindhurst as our new Music Director. She got her music degrees from Assumption College (Bachelor) and Notre Dame (Masters). She comes from Southborough and has sang and performed in many different places for the past 10 years. Please make sure to welcome her as you see her this weekend.  There are many other things happening in our parish, but I wanted to share just some of them with you. These events are inspired by the Holy Spirit to fill us with grace and bring us closer to Jesus. I understand that some events may feel challenging or even intimidating, but I encourage you to ask yourself, “Is God calling me to attend this?” If you have any questions or need clarification, please feel free to contact the parish office. As John the Baptist pointed Jesus out to those around him, so do we. Hopefully, one day we can all say, “Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.” God Bless, Fr. Steven

From Father Steven - January 11, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • January 9, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which brings the Christmas season to its conclusion. On Monday, we enter Ordinary Time. On this occasion, I would like to reflect with you on the meaning and importance of Baptism. In our baptism preparation classes, I often ask parents a simple question: What is Baptism? I invite you to ask yourself the same question. After a long silence, words usually begin to surface—original sin, the Holy Spirit, entering the Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church offers a beautiful definition in paragraph 1213: “Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit… the sacrament of regeneration through water and the word.” Through Baptism, God forgives original sin, gives us new life in the Holy Spirit, incorporates us into Christ and His Church, regenerates us, and makes us His adopted children, sharers in His divine nature. Practically speaking, as St. Paul teaches, the old person dies in the waters of Baptism, and a new person rises—conformed to Christ, filled with grace, and called to live in His likeness.  However, Baptism is not a magical ritual. It is not simply a matter of “going through the motions” and then moving on with life. The graces we receive must be nurtured in order to grow. The divine life within us is like having a Ferrari parked in the garage but never taking it out for a drive. It is something so extraordinary that, in the early Church, people were willing to die simply to receive Baptism. To share in the life of Christ makes us capable of loving as He loved, forgiving as He forgave, trusting in the Father, and hoping beyond all hope. In the early Church, Baptism was preceded by a long period of formation called the Catechumenate, during which people learned how to live as disciples of Christ. Today, especially with infant Baptism, the Church reminds us that this formation must continue after the sacrament is received. The Catechism (no. 1231) speaks of the need for a post-baptismal catechumenate—a lifelong formation in faith. It is not enough simply to receive the sacraments; we must allow them to shape our lives. While our parish strives to offer solid faith formation for our children, this formation often ends with Confirmation. But our faith journey cannot stop there. We all need ongoing formation. Here at our parish, we offer opportunities for adult faith formation through talks and through the itinerary of faith of the Neocatechumenal Way. The Church also provides godparents at Baptism, who are called to be guarantors and witnesses of the faith for the child. This is why the Church is rightly serious about the requirements for godparents. They must have received all the sacraments of initiation and strive to live a sacramental life—attending Mass regularly, receiving the sacraments, and living according to the teachings of Christ and His Church. Godparents are meant to be role models and guides in the Christian life. If they do not walk this path themselves, they cannot effectively guide their godchildren in faith. Finally, this leads to the most important question: How do we live our Baptism? Do we act and live as children of God? Do we truly believe that we have a loving Father who provides for us; a Savior who died to forgive our sins and give us new life; a Holy Spirit who guides us and reminds us of all that Jesus taught; a Church who is our Mother, guiding us on our journey; the communion of saints; that all sins can be forgiven when we desire to sin no longer; the resurrection of the body; and heaven? It is never too late to begin again. We are not called to follow the values of our culture, but the values of Christ. The commandments and the Gospel have not changed—why should our faith change? Perhaps this new year is the moment for a fresh start. That divine nature we received at Baptism—like a powerful Ferrari ready to be driven—is waiting to lead us along the path of God. It is never too late. Let us take advantage of this new beginning and start again, living our lives as they were meant to be lived. God Bless, Fr. Steven