From Father Steven - February 25, 2024

Father Steven Clemence • February 23, 2024


 

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

Have you ever felt the burden of past mistakes weighing heavy on your heart, leading to sadness and hopelessness? Confession, also known as the sacrament of reconciliation, offers a transformative path towards healing and renewal. While some may have doubts about approaching this sacrament, I assure you, as a priest, our focus is not on remembering your sins, but on offering God's forgiveness and guiding you back to the path of light. This week, I'd like to share insights on preparing for and experiencing the profound grace of confession.

 

The first step is to recognize that Christ entrusted to Peter the power to forgive sins (Whose sins you forgive, will be forgiven them – Jn 20:23). Thus, establishing the sacrament of reconciliation (and baptism) as the means through which sins are forgiven. While some may choose to confess directly to God, it is through this sacrament that God has chosen to grant forgiveness. This authority given to the apostles was passed down to their disciples (nowadays bishops). We, priests, have the power to forgive sins, because we share in the ministry of the bishops.

 

Now that we have established the need to be forgiven through the sacrament, we move on to the practicality. In preparation to receive the sacrament, we should ask the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comforts us, dispels our fears, and gives hope as we decide to return to the embrace of our Heavenly Father, much like the prodigal son returning home. Just as sins separate us from God, the sacrament re-unites us to Him, hence the name of “reconciliation.” We begin with an examination of conscience. Prayerfully, we should reflect on our actions since our last confession. Various guides are available to assist with this process, which can be found on our website under the sacraments section. It should only be a help to remember certain things that we did and may have forgotten. Whether you reflect on the 10 commandments or the seven capital sins, what is important is that, to the best of our abilities, we remember our sins. You may write them down, just please be very careful with where you write them. While remorse for our sins is natural, we should also be grateful for the grace of recognizing them and the opportunity for God's forgiveness. With a resolve to abandon sin, we are then prepared to approach the sacrament.

 

 For those who haven't confessed in some time, I recommend scheduling an appointment to allow ample time for reflection. When confessing, begin by making the sign of the cross, and saying “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been ___ amount of time since my last confession, and these are my sins.” Next tell the priest your marital status and if you have children living with you (as the priest may not know you). Then you tell the priest your sins. When confessing sins, there's no need for explicit details; simply name the sin and indicate its frequency. Once you finish confessing with the best of your ability, you may say “for these sins and the ones I don’t remember, I am sorry.” The priest may offer words of encouragement and assign a penance, designed not as punishment but as a means of spiritual healing and growth. It is a medicinal exercise to undo the harm caused by sin or to strengthen you to not fall back again into the same sins. Finally, you will be asked to say the act of Contrition (O my God, I am sorry for my sins. I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin…there are many variations of it.), or the priest can ask you as well. Then, in the person of Christ, the priest will pronounce the words of Absolution to forgive your sins making the sign of the cross. He will dismiss you, allowing you to begin anew with the fire of the Holy Spirit rekindled in your heart full of joy and renewed hope, free from the weight of sins on your shoulders. Confessions are available here at the parish on Tuesdays 5-6pm Saturdays 1-3pm, or by scheduling an appointment at the office.

 

God Bless, 

Fr. Steven

 

From Father Steven - July 13, 2025

By Father Steven Clemence • July 11, 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters, This weekend we will hear the story of the Good Samaritan. We all know the story—but do we act as the Good Samaritan? There are some stories in the Bible that we are so familiar with that we could almost recite them backwards. The danger of becoming too familiar with a story is that it no longer impacts us. We can become numb to the message of Jesus. I would like to offer three thoughts to help us meditate on this Gospel passage. First , the geography is very important. The story takes place on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Therefore, all the characters had just been in the presence of God in the Temple in the Holy City. To bring this into our daily context, it would be as if people had just left Mass. After praying to the Lord, they encounter a victim. Can you imagine—after listening to the commandment of love, they are given the opportunity to put it into practice, but they bypass it? Second , the characters in the story are not horrible people. According to Jewish precepts, if someone touched a corpse, they would become ritually impure. Perhaps they didn’t want to defile themselves. Maybe they didn’t have time to return to Jerusalem to go through the rite of purification. Or perhaps they thought the victim was already dead, or they were simply in a rush. In other words, there could have been a “reasonable” or “justifiable” excuse not to help the needy person. Third , the Samaritans were not on good terms with the Jews. Due to a historical event long ago when the Israelites were taken into exile, their rivalry had deep roots. It would be like the Red Sox and the Yankees, or Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland—they really didn’t like each other. That is why the Samaritan is called “good.” Since Samaritans were generally viewed negatively, this one stood out as “good.” However, this hostility did not stop our Samaritan friend from helping his neighbor. Though they all believed in the same God, not all acted like God. Jesus tells us that all the Law is summed up in love of God and neighbor. We can all know what is right and wrong, like the characters in the Bible. The real question is: do we excuse ourselves like the priest and the Levite, or do we act like the Samaritan? As we approach the Lord at Mass this weekend, let us not be mere consumers. Quite the opposite—let us be re-energized and do what the Lord has done for us. As we witness Christ giving His life for us in His Body and Blood, let us do the same. “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). This command “is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out,” as we hear in the first reading. Finally, I would like to highlight a couple of things. This Sunday, 7/13 , some parishioners will be holding a fundraiser for a group of 50 pilgrims who will attend the Youth Jubilee in Rome this summer. They will host a ticketed Spanish Rock Concert at 3 p.m., either in Meehan Hall or in the parking lot (donations can also be sent to the parish office). We are also promoting the Catholic Fest event next weekend. There will be food and games in the parking lot. We’ll also have Sean Forrest, a singer and missionary, sharing his amazing witness from 2–3:30 p.m. (in the church). I hope you can stop by on Saturday, July 19th , from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Let us not miss these opportunities to support our parish—and to love one another! God Bless, Fr. Steven

From Father Steven - July 6, 2025

By Father Steven Clemence • July 3, 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters, This weekend we celebrate the Independence of the United States of America. With this Jubilee year that we are currently celebrating one can’t help but think that the following year the United States will celebrate a jubilee of its own, 250 years! Let this earthly liberation remind us of a much older spiritual liberation that took place some 2,000 years ago with the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. After the Fall of Adam and Eve we were at the mercy of the world, and the prince of this world who is Satan. The title prince comes from the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John to reference the real but limited power the devil has over this world and us who dwell in it. Christ, however, won us back through the shedding of his blood. Even when he was still with his disciples, already the kingdom of darkness was being destroyed as we hear in today’s Gospel, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.” “He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” (Col 1:13) Just in our parish alone we are from many different countries but we all belong to the same heavenly kingdom by virtue of the Lord’s crucifixion. Let this weekend remind us that we should always keep our eyes fixed on this heavenly Kingdom because ironically, although the war has been won, the battle is still very much present in our own lives. That is why St. Peter exhorts us, “stay sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your faith.” Today, July 6th is the memorial of St. Maria Goretti. Although the Sunday takes precedence over her feast day, nevertheless we can see someone who was solid in her faith. Born in 1890 Corinaldo, Italy, Maria was the third of seven children. When she was just eleven years old a man named Alessandro made advances on her but she refused. As a result of her unwillingness to sin she was stabbed fourteen times. On her death bed, Maria said that she forgave Alessandro, “I forgive him, and I want him with me in heaven!” Alessandro was sentenced to thirty years in prison and after several years in a dream he saw Maria handing him lilies. It was at this moment that he realized that he could be forgiven. Knowing that Maria forgave him, he began to accept the forgiveness of God. After twenty-seven years in prison he was released and went directly to Maria’s mother. To his astonishment, Maria’s mother forgave him and she said that it was because her own daughter had forgiven him. Alessandro became a Franciscan where he remained for the rest of his life. Maria was canonized in 1950 in the presence of her family and Alessandro. As we can see, we are still in the midst of a battle where the devil can lead us to sin. However, God’s mercy and love is far greater than what we can imagine and he can lead us from slavery to sin to the freedom belonging to the children of God. God Bless, Fr. Steven
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