From Father Steven - July 13, 2025

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 19, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • July 17, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, As you may remember, Fr. Gabriel and I were away on a retreat in Italy these past few weeks. I would like to share a bit of my experience with you. Hopefully, in the near future, he will be able to share his experience as well. You may know that the three of us priests were formed in a missionary-diocesan seminary called Redemptoris Mater , which is a seminary that was first created by Pope Saint John Paul II in Rome. His desire was to have priests who belonged to the diocese and, at the same time, were missionaries (either outside the diocese or within it) to assist in the new evangelization born after the Second Vatican Council. Also, the vocations to this seminary come from the Neocatechumenal Way, which is an itinerary of Christian formation that is present all over the world. This way, those who feel called by God to this specific mission can also continue the growth of their faith in this reality. From Rome, other bishops also desired to have such priests in their own dioceses. In 2005, Cardinal Seán requested that this seminary begin here in Boston, and that's how we all ended up here. Well, this retreat we attended was for all the priests ordained in the approximately 40 Redemptoris Mater seminaries present throughout the Americas (North, Central/Caribbean, and South). We were about 800 priests who were able to be there. It took place in Porto San Giorgio, which is on the Adriatic Sea. The initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way were there to give us a word of encouragement, to help us convert, and to rest. We were given a special place in St. Peter's Square for the Pope's Audience, and later we celebrated Mass inside the Basilica, at the Chair of St. Peter. We also went twice to Loreto, which houses the walls of the house of Mary in Nazareth. We also had the opportunity to be sent throughout all of Italy to announce the Kingdom of God two by two for four days, like the Apostles, without money, a cellphone, extra clothes, or a place to sleep... no securities, except God. We only took the Bible and the breviary. I was assigned to the city of Trent, where the famous council took place 500 years ago. After the retreat, I was able to visit the house of St. Maria Goretti, her tomb, and the place where she died. On my way back, I had a 24-hour layover in Barcelona, where I got to visit the Basilica of the Holy Family and the Shrine of Montserrat. What impacted me the most was being reminded of what God has done in my life. There were a few old friends from my childhood and people whom I have met along the way (Fr. Adriano sent his greetings to everyone). At every step of the way, He was there leading me, comforting me, and lifting me up when I fell. It was good also to rest in the Lord. No, I did not watch the World Cup games, but I had something much better: a time of intimacy with God. Running around all day, every day sometimes takes the focus away from my mission. Like Martha, we can tend to important things and leave the Lord behind. If anything, it is by being close to Christ that I will be enabled to help some people. Lastly, we were also presented with a beautiful symphony performance. In it, they sang the words of St. Victorinus of Pettau, who is an impressive saint from the early Church: "Having come as the Lion to conquer, He became the Lamb, taking upon Himself the wickedness of man, so that He might lead him from death to life."  The mission of the priest is to be Christ to the people. As we heard last week, Jesus is meek and humble of heart. The only answer to the suffering of people is to become a lamb and die for them out of love, just like Christ. The Lion came to conquer and was made the Lamb to die because He loves me. In the retreat, I see that God gives me His Spirit to (hopefully) be a lamb who dies for others. Please keep praying for me and be patient, as I still have a long way to go! God Bless, Fr. Steven

From Father Steven - July 12, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • July 10, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, This week I would like to bring to your attention a very important matter. Recently, electronic cigarettes were developed, and they have become widely popular among teenagers today. Also known as vaping, they can have all sorts of shapes and colors, but they are nonetheless nicotine-based cigarettes that are immensely harmful to consumers. Here in town, there is a petition to ban the sale of nicotine products to the younger generation (the ban would be for anyone born after Jan. 1, 2010). Vaping is like smoking cigarettes; however, vapes are odorless, widely accessible, and very discreet. The electronic device can be as small as a USB drive. You may have seen people with a pen-like device that produces a white smoke, at times with a sweet smell. Many of the flavors come in fruit and candy flavors that appeal to youth. E-cigarettes produce an aerosol, which users inhale from the device and exhale. The aerosol can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances, including: nicotine; ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs; flavoring such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease; volatile organic compounds; cancer-causing chemicals; and heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, e-cigarettes are not safe for youth, young adults, pregnant women, or adults who do not currently use tobacco products. E-cigarettes have not been approved by the FDA as a smoking cessation device, and additional research is needed to help understand the long-term health effects of e-cigarette use. Furthermore, e-cigarettes contain nicotine. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance. According to the Surgeon General, because the brain isn’t fully developed until the mid-20s, youth and young adults are uniquely at risk for long-term effects of exposing their developing brains to nicotine. These risks include nicotine addiction, mood disorders, and permanently lowered impulse control. Nicotine also changes the way synapses are formed, which can harm the parts of the brain that control attention and learning. Another danger is that other substances may be used with vaping, such as cannabis/marijuana or other CBD or THC products, which could cause a person to become high. The latest reports from the CDC from 2024 show that 43.6% of students (both middle and high school) report current use of vaping. Another study reports that 63.9% of students who currently use e-cigarettes reported wanting to quit or having tried to quit. I have seen firsthand the destructive power of vaping among our youth. Unfortunately, many parents are not aware of their use. They even hide and use them in their schools. They are too young to understand the harm caused by vaping and the future consequences it can have. Nicotine pouches are increasingly more popular among youth. Therefore, in order to help them, we are supporting the Nicotine-Free Generation program that is currently being revised by the Board of Health, and it will be presented to the mayor. The idea behind it is to aid those already using nicotine products. The city will offer robust smoking cessation programs, ensuring adolescents and adults alike have the resources to quit. Additionally, by restricting access to nicotine products, we can deter adolescents from starting to use these harmful substances, significantly reducing the risk of lifelong addiction and potential cancer.  Therefore, at the end of the Masses for the next two weeks, we will be collecting signatures from those who would like to support this petition. God Bless, Fr. Steven