From Father Steven - May 4, 2025

Father Steven Clemence • May 2, 2025

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

This is a joyful weekend for our parish family! Our children will be receiving their First Holy Communion, our seminarian Javier will be ordained a deacon, and we are awaiting the election of our new Holy Father.


Every time we celebrate First Communions, we are reminded of the beauty and significance of this sacrament. As we reflect on the many blessings of Pope Francis’s pontificate, I am reminded of a homily he once gave on the Feast of Corpus Christi. In it, he spoke of the “stupendous gift” of the Eucharist, warning us not to fall into the habit of receiving Christ in a passive or mechanical way. Can you imagine the joy of Japanese Catholics who received the Eucharist for the first time after more than 200 years? Or the martyrs who risked everything in places where having a priest was forbidden? We are encouraged to receive the Eucharist as if it were our first, last, and only time. This quote is often attributed to St. Thérèse of Lisieux, though surely many saints lived with this awareness in their hearts. It is truly a profound and special gift to receive Jesus Himself in the Eucharist. We rejoice with the children who will receive their First Communion this weekend—congratulations!


We are also thrilled that our seminarian, Javier, will be ordained a deacon. As you may know, the diaconate is one of the final steps before priesthood. Javier will be ordained as a transitional deacon, which differs from a permanent deacon (who may be married). During this year, he will serve at the altar, visit the sick, baptize children, bury the dead, and carry out other duties as he prepares for priesthood. God willing, he will be ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston next year—just like Mateus. Speaking of Mateus, I encourage everyone to attend his priestly ordination. Archbishop Richard Henning will ordain him on the morning of Saturday, May 17, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. Our parish will be providing buses to make it easier for everyone who wishes to attend. Please see the next page for more details. This is a rare and grace-filled opportunity to witness the miracle of a man being conformed to Christ in the priesthood. We are blessed to have walked with them on their journey.


Finally, many of you are following the news of the upcoming papal conclave. The conclave will begin this Wednesday, with all cardinals under the age of 80 gathering at the Vatican. They will begin with the celebration of Mass, invoking the Holy Spirit to guide their discernment. After taking an oath of secrecy, they will begin voting. A two-thirds majority is required for election. The cardinals cast their ballots in the Sistine Chapel, beneath Michelangelo’s Last Judgment. As each one votes, he prays: “I call as my witness Christ the Lord, who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who before God I think should be elected.” If no one is elected, the ballots are burned and black smoke appears. When a candidate receives the necessary votes and accepts the call, white smoke rises from the chimney, and he chooses a papal name. Soon after, he will appear on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to be presented to the world.



I invite you to pray for the cardinals—that they may be guided by the Holy Spirit—and for the man whom God has chosen to lead His Church. Do not be misled by media speculation, which often distorts the sacredness of this process. I strongly discourage watching films like The Conclave, which falsely portray the Church as purely political. This is not a game of power—it is a work of the Spirit. God will give us the shepherd we need in this time, even if we don’t yet know who that is. Our Archbishop has invited us to “pray fervently that the Holy Spirit might guide the Cardinal Electors in their discernment of the next Holy Father.” He also asks that we “pray each day for the man who will be elected and assume the burden of the office of Supreme Pontiff.” He is Peter in our midst, weak, poor, like all of us, but with the heart decided to love Christ as he can as we hear in this weekend’s Gospel.

 

God Bless,

Fr. Steven

 

 

From Father Steven - April 12, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • April 10, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, HAPPY EASTER!!! We are still celebrating Easter (and we will continue until Pentecost!). I would like to share with you this weekend the article that the Archdiocese has written in response to some media requests to comment on the rise of people coming back to the faith. Over the past 4 years we have seen a steady and significant increase in non-Christians [or unbaptized] becoming Catholic during the Easter season. Regarding specifically catechumens participating in the Rite of Election, these are the numbers for the Archdiocese of Boston: 2023: we had 299; 2024 - 360; 2025-438; 2026-680. What’s the reason? Probably a combination of factors including a fundamental need to be closer to God. The first observation is that we believe it to be the direct action of the Holy Spirit, and not simply a sociological phenomenon or the success of some program or another. In fact, Archbishop Henning has said that “this seems to be something that the Lord is doing - the Spirit of the Lord is always at work in the world and in the Church and we are happy to see such a response in people’s hearts to Jesus’ call to follow Him.” The Archbishop notes that ”we seek to cooperate with the action of the Spirit; but it is His work, not ours.” Has Pope Leo had an impact? Yes. It’s not just being the First American Pope; it is that he has captured a sense of community with Catholics across the world and very clearly in the US Catholic Church. The wave had been growing before his election but is now picking up speed and size. There is a sense of spiritual renewal in the Archdiocese of Boston. We have seen it in our parishes across the Archdiocese. Archbishop Henning has put an emphasis on engaging with Catholics across the archdiocese at the parish level and in our schools, with a particular focus on youth and young adults. In a recent interview, Patrick Krisak, the archdiocese’s director of faith formation and missionary discipleship said, “There may not be a revival across the country, but there are revivals,” he said. “And at what point do all of those pockets of revival that we’re seeing all over the country add up to a revival?” The two main categories of folks we see being welcomed into the Church are children/adolescents, who mostly did not receive their sacraments on the typical schedule, and adults. A key component is the work at the parish level in welcoming and accompanying families where adults and children seek to join communities of faith. In addition, Rev. Eric Cadin, Director of Vocations with the Archdiocese, said that “among college age young people, there is a profound openness to the big questions. This includes questions such as, where do I come from? What is my purpose? What does all this mean? More importantly, so many who are exposed to division and even cruelty, especially online, as well as in real life, are actively resisting and moving away from that. And it leads them to an openness to faith, especially one that promotes love your enemy. That is a radical truth, that captivates young people, especially in the world in which we live. They meet people in the church who engage their real questions with generosity and grace and mercy, and it is very attractive to them.” Here in the parish we are happy to announce that 39 people received Baptism on Easter, and 3 people were welcomed into the Catholic Faith (they were baptized Protestant). Some of them were children, others teenagers, and some adults as well. They were baptized, confirmed and received their first communion all together. Please continue to pray for them as they really began their journey and for those who are still being called into the faith. Congratulations to all of you that received your sacraments and we look forward to walking along with you!  Finally, I would like to invite you all to the Divine Mercy celebration that will take place this Sunday at 3:00pm in the Church. If you have never attended, it is a beautiful moment! If you are not familiar with it, search about and be ready to be marveled by it. God Bless, Fr. Steven

From Father Steven - April 5, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • April 2, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Easter! The other day, Archbishop Richard Henning shared an example during the Chrism Mass that stayed with me: the image of a broken clock. While I will take the idea in a slightly different direction, it offers a helpful way to reflect on the meaning of Easter. A clock is a remarkable piece of craftsmanship. It is made up of springs, gears, dials, and wheels, all carefully designed and assembled. Once everything is in place, we call it a clock. It may come in different shapes, sizes, and styles, but its purpose is the same: to tell time. But what happens when it stops working? Do we still call it a clock? Is it only a clock when it functions properly? In a similar way, we can reflect on our own lives. Each of us has been wonderfully made, with a complexity far greater than any clock—our bodies, our minds, our souls, all working together in harmony. And we, too, have a purpose: to love. Yet there are times when we fail. There are moments when we struggle to love as we should. But do we cease to be who we are because of that? Of course not. Just as a broken clock is still a clock, we do not stop being children of God—created in His image and likeness—even when we fall short. This is precisely why Christ comes to us. Through His Resurrection, He does not simply “fix” us in a superficial way. He comes to restore us completely—to make us whole. He does not just replace a part or patch us up; He offers us new life. He gives us His Spirit, a life that can overcome sin, temptation, and despair. A clock cannot repair itself, and neither can we. We often think that if we just try harder, we can fix everything on our own. But what we truly need is the One who made us. We need God to restore in us what is missing. And He desires to do so—if only we allow Him.  The Gospel of the Resurrection tells us about Mary Magdalene going to the tomb of Jesus. She and the other women wondered who would roll away the stone. It seemed like an impossible obstacle. And yet, when they arrived, the stone had already been removed. The angel announced to them that Jesus was no longer among the dead. Later, Mary encountered the Risen Lord, though at first she mistook Him for the gardener. How often do we experience something similar in our own lives? We see obstacles that feel immovable—stones we believe we cannot roll away. But Easter proclaims to us today that the stone has already been moved. What seems impossible to us is not impossible for God. This message is like the voice of the angel speaking to each of us: do not be afraid. The Risen Christ is near. But we must be willing to seek Him. Among all those who knew Jesus, it was the women—those who went looking for Him—who first received the joy of encountering Him alive. It is not a matter of worthiness or merit, but of desire. Those who long for Christ, who seek Him, will find Him. Those who remain indifferent or closed off may miss the grace that is being offered. So today, we are invited to make a decision. Do we want to remain as we are, or do we want to be made new? Christ rose from the dead to give us a new life—life in abundance—for all who are willing to receive it. And this life is given so that we may love one another as He has loved us. Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all who made these Holy Week celebrations possible: our staff, volunteers, musicians, and all who worked so generously behind the scenes. Please keep them in your prayers. And to all of you who have come today—whether you attend Mass every week or are here for the first time in a long while—know this: you belong here. This is your home. If there is anything we, as a parish, can do for you, please reach out. We may not be perfect, but we promise to give you our very best. Christ is Risen! Alleluia! He is truly Risen Alleluia, Alleluia! God Bless, Fr. Steven