From Father Steven - March 31, 2024

Father Steven Clemence • March 28, 2024




CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS ALIVE!

 

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

Today is EASTER, the most solemn day of the year! We celebrate Jesus, who was crucified on Good Friday, and mourned on Holy Saturday. But today we celebrate with the angels that CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS ALIVE!

 

In the beginning, we read in Genesis, there darkness. But God created light. Today, sin may seem to reign over the earth, a new light appears. Christ's resurrection is like a new creation. St. Paul says, "the old has gone, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christ offers us new life! One of the hardest things about sin is the disappointment we feel when we fail again. Despite our promises and desires to change, we often find ourselves stuck in the same patterns. We hurt people we love and feel terrible about ourselves. We keep promising to change, but we fall back into the same sins. We feel defeated. We just accept it as a condition of our lives. But today is different! Jesus' death pays for our sins, and His resurrection gives us new life! He breaks the chains of sin that have held us captive. Jesus is Alive! He comes to meet us today!

 

The Gospels tell the story of women and disciples who find Jesus' tomb empty with Jesus’ burial cloths on the ground. A large stone blocked the entrance. In our lives, there may be big obstacles that keep us from living the life God wants for us. Whether it is a sin or a trauma, we cannot get past them. Instead, we adapt ourselves to live enclosed in a tomb. But today, God removes the stone! He offers us the chance to move from death to life with Christ. Like Jesus we can rise from darkness of sin to the light of love. What seems impossible for us is possible for the Risen Lord. Today Christ enters into our tombs, and opens the way for us. He conquers death, and comes to take us to Passover from death to Life, from darkness to light, from sin to grace. Courage Brothers and Sisters, Pharaoh was defeated, the Red Sea was opened, let us take the opportunity to leave behind all our slavery and fears!

 

Easter is a celebration of freedom! You are invited to join us in a special retreat on April 20th with Deacon Joe Cooley here in the parish. The "Unbound: Freedom in Christ" conference offers us an opportunity to experience true liberation and healing in areas of our lives where we still struggle. These sins, habits, trauma, and bondages are the devil’s door to tempt us to think and act as though we were still slaves held in bondage. Deliverance is removing the power of the lies so that we can hear the voice of our Father that has always been speaking deep within. Freedom is to live as a beloved child of God. It is where broken humanity is healed. This is what we celebrate on Easter! Join us on this adventure as we enter deeper into freedom together. It has changed the lives of many people beyond what words can express and I am confident the Lord wants similar for you! You can sign up at the parish office or directly at the website https://housesofmercy.regfox.com/apr-20-2024-unbound-freedom-in-christ-conference. The cost is $40 per person (second family member is $20, and third is free). You can also sign up using the QR code on the eighth page of the bulletin. Note that this conference is for individuals and families but may be too much teaching for small children. Parents can learn and teach their younger children. The prayer that you will learn is appropriate for all ages.

 

 

God Bless,

Fr. Steven

 

From Father Steven - November 1, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • October 30, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, This weekend we observe All Saints Day, and on Monday we will remember all the faithful departed (All Souls’ Day). It is important for us to understand the relationship we have with the saints and the dead. First of all, it is crucial to know that the saints are great examples of our faith. They are to be venerated, not worshipped, and serve as role models for us. Their lives show us a path that can lead us closer to God. In a similar way that Tom Brady, Larry Bird, and Big Papi inspire young people around here to become professional athletes, the saints do the same for those who want to be part of Team Jesus. We not only look up to them, but we can also model our lives according to their practices of faith. Secondly, not all the saints lived perfect lives. Some had very troubled pasts, others were known for their vices, and still others converted near the end of their lives. What is important is how they responded to God's grace and surrendered their lives to Him. St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Charles de Foucauld all experienced periods in their early lives when they were far from the holiness they later embraced. St. John of God was admitted to a psychiatric hospital before fully embracing his mission after his conversion. St. Bartolo Longo became involved in satanism before turning to Christ. St. Dismas, the Good Thief who was crucified alongside Jesus, was not a follower of Christ during His public ministry. Yet, at the very end of his life, he professed his faith in Jesus and received the promise of paradise. Therefore, our past does not have to define our future. What matters is whether we turn to Christ, repent of our sins, and accept His forgiveness and the salvation He offers us. Finally, the saints want us to be with them in heaven. Therefore, we can ask for their help and intercession, especially for spiritual goods that will help us conform our lives to Jesus. Getting to know the saints and their lives is extremely rewarding. I personally read the description of the saint of the day every day. Do not treat them like the genie in the lamp, asking for mundane favors or help finding lost objects. Of course, they can also intercede for us in our daily needs as a sign of their love for us. But imagine asking Tom Brady to come here to the parish to help us find our keys! It would be a waste of his time. This weekend, all the relics we have will be exposed in the church, with a brief description of each, for veneration after Mass. Take advantage of this opportunity to ask the saints for a special spiritual favor that will help you get to heaven. On Monday, we will pray for all the faithful departed. We believe that those who die face the particular judgment of God. At that moment, their eternal destiny is determined: those who die in God's grace and friendship and are fully purified enter heaven; those who definitively reject God separate themselves from Him forever in hell. Those who die in God's grace but still need purification before entering heaven undergo that purification in purgatory. Our prayers cannot change the fate of those who are in hell, and the saints in heaven do not need our prayers. However, the souls being purified in purgatory can benefit from our prayers. We can offer prayers, sacrifices, and indulgences for them. That is why we pray for the souls in purgatory and for all the faithful departed. We do not know with certainty whether a particular person is in heaven or hell, unless the Church has declared someone a saint. Therefore, it is always good to pray for those who have died. We have a book in which you can write the names of your deceased loved ones, and we will pray for them throughout the month of November. Lastly, and briefly, Fr. Carlos Martins, who has a special ministry, will be coming to our parish on Monday, November 16, to host a “Night with an Exorcist.” He will give a talk to clarify some of the misleading information about spiritual warfare circulating on social media. It is important to hear how the Church understands evil and how we can protect ourselves spiritually. Save the date on your calendars! God Bless, Fr. Steven

From Father Steven - October 25, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • October 23, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, How fitting is the Gospel we have this weekend as we welcome the Marlboro Fire Department for Firefighter Sunday! As we continue our observance of Respect Life Month, it is important to remember that we are called to respect not only the vulnerable and those in need, but every single person. Throughout the years that I have served as chaplain of the fire department, I have always been impressed by their kindness and willingness to serve all those in need. Certain calls, such as house fires, accidents, and dire medical emergencies, make it easy to understand why they rush to the truck and are ready to rescue the victims. However, I have also seen them give their best in response to other calls, whether to help someone in a nursing home, provide lift assistance, or respond to a residential lockout, regardless of the time of day or the weather. They don't rescue cats from trees anymore, but if there were a call for such a need, I am sure they would be there. Now it is time for us to reflect on how often we respond to the call to help someone and what our attitude is when we do so. The call we have received is not simply to perform a task, but to do it out of love. We can help someone with kindness or do so begrudgingly, like teenagers taking out the trash. The Gospel this weekend is a call to love God and our neighbor. The call to love God is to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. The call to love our neighbor is to love our neighbor as ourselves. No one treats himself or herself with contempt, rolls their eyes at their own needs, or remains indifferent to them. Therefore, we are called to follow the example of the men and women who serve in our fire department as we fulfill our Christian call to love. Sometimes, love means responding to an ordinary need, even when it is inconvenient. To respect life is to respect the other person, regardless of their color, race, religion, or sex. God does not treat us as we deserve, nor is His love based on our merits. Rather, God has loved us with a love beyond all telling, even when we have misbehaved, been disobedient, or disregarded Him. In another passage of the Gospel of John, Christ commands us to love one another as He has loved us (Jn 13:34). To show us that this call is not impossible, next week we shall celebrate All Saints' Day! Since it falls on a Sunday this year, all the weekend Masses will celebrate this solemnity. The saints were not superheroes, nor were they special beings. They were ordinary people like you and me. I am sure that some of them had difficult personalities, some had a rough past, and others did not always walk a straight line. However, they all loved! They allowed God's grace to transform their lives and learned to love as Christ loved. In the Gospel, Jesus concludes that the whole law depends on loving God and our neighbor. Everything else is secondary. The moment we choose to act out of love, God will give us the necessary graces to bring that action to completion. Lastly, as we do every year, we invite all the children (and I would invite the adults as well!) to dress up as a saint for the 11 a.m. Mass. We shall have the procession of the saints during Mass. It will be both a fun moment and a special devotion to our favorite saints. I am sure this devotion will go a long way in helping us when we need their intercession. For All Souls' Day we shall have a trilingual mass at 6:00pm in addition to the regular 7:30am mass. We will honor all the deceased of the parish of this past year, and all of those you would like to include in the book located in front of the St. Joseph statue (on the right side altar). Please join me as we honor, acknowledge, and pray for our firefighters, asking God to always give them courage, protect them, and bless them and their families. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! God Bless, Fr. Steven