From Father Steven - May 26, 2024

Father Steven Clemence • May 24, 2024


Dear Brothers and Sisters,


Our parish community has experienced a range of emotions lately. We've celebrated joyful moments

like First Communions and the Crowning of Mary, but also faced sorrow in farewells like Fr.

Kevin's departure and personal struggles. How do we find strength through these ups and

downs? The answer lies in the very heart of our faith: the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ,

Next week we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi. A feast that reminds us of the incredible gift

Jesus left us.


Just as we prepare for a journey, Christ prepared for ours by leaving His Body and Blood. Before

his sacrifice, He established the Eucharist as our sustenance on our pilgrimage to heaven. Communion

nourishes our souls like food nourishes our bodies. Imagine if we didn't have access to this

essential nourishment! The Eucharist is like the sun for our souls – vital for our spiritual well-being.

Without this “energy pill,” we become weak and succumb to the smallest temptation. With it, we become

Christ-like, by loving, forgiving, helping others, giving without counting the cost. Now imagine

that instead of receiving this “pill” once a week you were able to receive it during the week? This is

why we have mass every morning at 7:30am!!! Come and join us!


To fully receive this gift, we need to prepare ourselves. Proper preparation is key. Think of the Eucharist

like a special family dinner. We wouldn't attend in dirty clothes. Similarly, we need to prepare

our hearts through the sacrament of Confession. Serious sin, like missing Mass or one of the 7 capital

sins, separates us from God's grace. Confession allows us to restore communion and receive

the Eucharist worthily. St. Paul says that when we receive communion in mortal sin we partake of

our own condemnation. Please, understand that it is not a matter of being worthy of receiving communion,

because no one is. It's not about being perfect, but about being prepared. The Church recommends

annual confession at least, but more frequent reconciliation is always encouraged. If you

need to confess your sins, we can help you.


Finally, it is important to share the understanding of the Eucharist with others. Many people, including

Catholics, do not believe that the consecrated host is the Body of Christ, often thinking it is

merely symbolic. There have been numerous instances where the consecrated host bled in the

hands of the priest or the blood of Christ coagulated in the chalice. Some of these occurrences have

happened recently.


Next week, we will hold a grand celebration to honor the Body and Blood of our Lord. We will have a

mega trilingual mass outside (rain or shine) at 11 a.m., followed by a procession through the streets

of Marlboro. So we will not have the 9:00am or the 1:00pm masses. Despite the challenge posed by

the car show on Main Street, we trust in Our Lord to provide for us. A special sawdust carpet, following

the tradition of some South American countries decorated to welcome our Lord, will be created

on Prospect Street (which will be closed for traffic on Sunday). Some parishioners have been

preparing for this moment for months. I invite you to attend the mass and join our procession, bringing

Jesus to the streets of our city. See you next week.


God Bless,

Fr. Steven




From Father Steven - September 14, 2025

By Father Steven Clemence • September 12, 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Saint Augustine defines sacraments as visible signs of an invisible reality. We have all heard about the sacraments and we know them, but we do not always fully understand what they mean. This week, I would like to reflect with you a bit more on the sacraments. God has chosen specific ways to share His divine nature with us. There are concrete actions which, when carried out with the right intention and proper form, bring about special graces for the recipient. The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes the definition of a sacrament as “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions” (1131). That is a lot to take in, but each term is important. Let us begin with “efficacious.” It means that each sacrament has an effect on the recipient. We may not feel the effects immediately, but they are always there. Perhaps you have heard someone say they walked out of Mass the same way they came in. That is impossible! Even if we do not see or feel them, special graces are at work in our souls. Each sacrament imparts different graces. The seven sacraments were instituted by Jesus and entrusted to the care of the Church. No one has the power to change or modify them, not even the Pope; they are Christ’s gift to us. The sacraments are regulated by the Church in terms of who may minister them, how, and where they are celebrated. Their effectiveness does not depend on the personal holiness of the minister, but on the action itself and the openness of the recipient. As the Church teaches: the grace of the sacrament works by the action performed, not by the performer. This means our openness to sacramental grace is essential for the sacrament to bear fruit. If we close ourselves off, God respects our freedom. That is our greatest danger—that we can reject God’s grace. For example, when a couple chooses not to marry in the Church, they ultimately refuse the graces God desires to give them. Similarly, when someone sins and refuses to go to confession, God cannot forgive them, because they have chosen to remain apart from the sacrament of reconciliation. I do not intend to enter deeply into sacramental theology here, but I want to share these key ideas with you. This is also the time when our parish begins sacramental preparation. Whether a person is a child, a youth, or an adult, everyone can receive the sacraments with the proper preparation and instruction. Recently, our Archdiocese made a change regarding the Sacrament of Confirmation for teenagers: it is now offered in 7th grade. For younger children, we provide a two-year program for sacramental preparation. Our goal is not simply to “sacramentalize,” but to truly catechize—to form them in faith. The sacraments are the way to salvation. They make present here on earth the invisible reality of heaven that God longs to share with us. Therefore, if you or someone you know has not yet received one or more of the sacraments—Baptism, Eucharist (Communion), Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, Reconciliation (Confession), or, for those in danger of death, Anointing of the Sick—this is the time to consider it. If someone is not Catholic but wishes to receive the sacraments—that is, to become Catholic—we also form a group each year for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (formerly known as RCIA). Please see the religious education section of the bulletin for more information. Catechetical instruction is a volunteer based initiative. We are always in need of volunteers to help us. If you feel called to help in this important ministry, please call the office and let us know. Finally, we are resuming our Jubilee Talks after the summer break. They are offered every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., following Adoration. Let us take advantage of the opportunities God places before us, and let us not refuse the graces that prepare us for heaven. God Bless, Fr. Steven

From Father Steven - September 7, 2025

By Father Steven Clemence • September 5, 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Next Monday, 9/15, the Church will celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. In this jubilee year, we are called to console the sorrowing. The intention of our 7:30 a.m. daily Mass that day will be for all who are in need of consolation. Loss is never easy. If a dollar slips from our pocket, we feel upset—more so if it is $20 or $100. When what we lose carries emotional value, the pain is even deeper, because it cannot be replaced. Those are only objects, yet they can cause sadness. How much more difficult it is to lose a loved one. Even when illness makes death seem inevitable, it remains painful. Sudden loss is harder still. Moments of grief can weigh heavily, like a storm cloud blocking the sun. Mary, the Mother of Jesus, shared a profound bond between her Immaculate Heart and the Sacred Heart of her Son. She shared His joys, but also His deepest sorrows as she witnessed His suffering. I once read an exhortation on the EWTN website that said: “If you are enduring intense sorrow, flee to our Blessed Mother. Take refuge in her Immaculate Heart, and implore her maternal consolation and guidance. For she who endured unspeakable grief will never fail you as your spiritual mother. As St. Louis de Montfort said: If you put all the love of all the mothers into one heart, it would not equal the love of Mary’s Heart for her children.” Here in our parish, we will begin a bereavement ministry on October 14. Meetings will take place Tuesday evenings (time to be announced) in the lower church. Using a Scripture-based program, we will encounter the healing power of God’s Word. We invite you—or someone you know who is grieving—to come and be consoled by the Lord. Humanity has reached the moon, explored the depths of the sea, and advanced technology beyond imagination. Yet we still have no human answer to death. Only Christ holds that answer. We must listen to Him, encounter the Risen Lord, and discover that death is not the end. I also recommend My Son Carlo by Antonia Salzano Acutis, the mother of Saint Carlo Acutis. She testifies to the power of Christ and how He sustained her through the sudden loss of her son. I have only read the first chapter, and it is already inspiring. Whatever pain of loss you carry, God desires to console your heart and strengthen you to endure the storm. We never fully “get over” a loss, but we learn to live with it. Yes, it is hard, but not impossible. Please join us for the special Mass on Monday, 9/15, for all who need consolation. And remember, you are welcome to speak with one of the priests if you would like to share more about your loss. God Bless, Fr. Steven