From Father Steven - October 12, 2025

Father Steven Clemence • October 10, 2025

 

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

 

I write to you this week to share a powerful and life-changing devotion that has brought countless blessings to individuals, families, and entire communities throughout the centuries—the Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This spiritual practice is more than a simple act of piety; it is a profound commitment to grow closer to Jesus through His Mother, Mary.


Why consecrate ourselves to Mary? As Catholics, we believe that Mary plays a unique role in the plan of salvation. She is not only the Mother of Jesus but also our spiritual Mother, given to us by Christ Himself as He hung on the Cross (John 19:26–27). Just as she nurtured and guided Jesus in His earthly life, she desires to nurture us in our spiritual lives, always pointing us to her Son. When we consecrate ourselves to Mary, we are not worshiping her—we are entrusting ourselves to her motherly care and guidance, allowing her to form us into better disciples of Christ. As St. Louis de Montfort, one of the foremost promoters of Marian consecration, beautifully put it: “To Jesus through Mary.” He taught that by giving ourselves entirely to Mary, she gives us entirely to Jesus, in the most perfect and pleasing way.


This consecration is a voluntary act of love. It is a renewal of our baptismal promises, made with Mary as our model and advocate. Many saints and popes, including St. John Paul II, who took “Totus Tuus” ("Totally Yours") as his papal motto, have emphasized the transforming grace that comes from Marian consecration. St. Maximilian Kolbe called it “the quickest, easiest, surest and most perfect way to become a saint.” Practically speaking, consecration involves a period of preparation—traditionally 33 days—during which we reflect on Scripture, Marian devotion, and the call to holiness. Various methods exist. One of the most famous is by St. Louis de Montfort. Here in the parish we will use Fr. Michael Gaitley’s 33 Days to Morning Glory which is spiritually enriching and accessible. There is a book which we will encourage people to purchase that will guide us through this process. If someone has any difficulty in acquiring this book, please contact the parish office.


I encourage every member of our parish family, whether young or old, to prayerfully consider making this consecration. Whether you are seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus, struggling in your spiritual life, or simply looking for a way to grow in faith, turning to Mary is a sure path. She is a gentle, powerful intercessor who will never lead us astray. One could do this consecration by oneself. However, we are planning to begin a parish-wide preparation for Marian Consecration next month, starting on Wednesday November 5th. All three communities will do this consecration together. It will conclude with an Act of Consecration during the Trilingual Mass on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Dec 8th.


Additionally, Bishop Reed has also invited us to serve as one of the host churches for a special “Day of Prayer for Harmony in Our Nation and Peace in the World.” On Wednesday, October 22, from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Immaculate Conception will be open for Eucharistic Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.


What a blessing it is to welcome such a day of prayer! In a time marked by deep division in our nation and turmoil across the world, we are called to bring everything before Jesus, the Prince of Peace. As we sit in silence before the Eucharist, we are reminded that true harmony and reconciliation are possible—not through our efforts alone, but through Christ, who tears down walls of division and unites us, when we open our hearts to Him.


The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed on the altar throughout the day, concluding with Benediction at 7:00 PM in the Upper Church. Morning Mass will be held as usual in the Lower Church. In order to support this day of Adoration, we ask that at least two adorers be present for each hour while the Eucharist is exposed. I encourage parishioners to consider committing to one hour of prayer during this sacred time.


To help coordinate coverage of 2–3 people per hour, an online sign-up is available through our website via Signup Genius, or you may call the parish office directly. While all are welcome to come and pray at any time, we rely on scheduled commitments to ensure continuous presence before the Blessed Sacrament throughout the day.


God Bless,

Fr. Steven

 

 

From Father Steven - August 23, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • August 19, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, I hope you are enjoying your summer! I, along with some of the youth of our parish, attended the Steubenville East conference in Springfield a few weeks ago. It is a 3 day catholic conference for high school teens to encounter Christ through eucharistic adoration, the sacraments and dynamic sessions all produced by Lifeteen and Franciscan University. The conference was attended by thousands of youth from all over New England with the hope to ignite life long discipleship in our teens. We have asked one of our youth to share with you a bit of his experience. Please see the letter written by Gabriel Torres below. God Bless, Fr. Gabriel ——————————————— Hello and Happy Sunday, or whenever it is that you read this. I am Gabriel Torres and I am a part of the youth group here, at Immaculate Conception. We, the youth, Fr. Gabriel, and a handful of chaperones recently attended a life changing 3 day Steubenville conference in Springfield. And when I say life changing, I really mean it. I thought the same as you, when Cecilia, our religious education director told us about it. I wanted to go, but was kinda doubting that it could be that fun and life changing, as it is a big statement. I thought that it would just be us, listening to priests talk about Jesus, and I would have gone for that, but it turned out to be so much more. On the first day after the first talk and mini worship concert (with a mosh pit and everything), we were asked to come up with one word to describe how we felt about the conference so far. The word that I chose was Connection. And I still agree, and I think anyone that went would agree. Just feeling the connection between yourself and the Lord, and how that connection spread between each signing heart was just purely gorgeous and fulfilling. Seeing thousands of youth come together and praise the Lord was inspiring. The conference was fun with singing and dancing breaks, with people trying to be as close to the music as possible, and games that got the whole center laughing, all the way down to the serious moments when the speakers were speaking the truths of our hearts. The way that you could just raise your hands and pray to the Lord without having to worry what others might think, but instead feeling the connection to those around you and feeling how through God we were all connected, loved, and worthy, brought tears to even those of us who ‘never’ cry. There was just a rawness at this conference that I have never felt anywhere else. So, if you are a youth, teen, or know someone who might be interested in this conference, I encourage you to come next year. If you have friends that are not fully in the faith, or are Christian and not Catholic, invite them. A Christian teen that I got closer to at the conference told us on day one that he didn’t fully understand everything we did or why, but that he believed in Jesus Christ and that he wanted to follow Jesus, wherever it took him. And that was here. Thank you to all who donated to make this possible, and thank you for allowing us to experience the Lord in a new way. Thank you, and God Bless you all. Your brother in Christ, Gabriel Torres

From Father Steven - August 16, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • August 14, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, I hope you are enjoying your summer! Please see the letter below from Fr. Javier. God Bless, Fr. Steven ——————————————— Hello Brothers and Sisters, Time flies, it has already been a few months since my ordination but I feels like it was only yesterday. The ordination has been a gift and a joy. Thank you all for your support in my formation. I would like to share with you two things that have been close to my heart since my ordination to the deaconate and now the priesthood. The first is on God's Providence and the second is a particular part of the Eucharist. My diaconate ordination marked the end of my time of mission and my return for the final year in the seminary. As many of you might remember I was in mission in American Samoa, Samoa, and a short but impactful time in Saipan. During that time I experienced how God opened doors that I never even knew existed. In difficult times God always had a solution in ways that I didn't expect. In short, I experienced God's Providence and I was awe-struck. I felt that God was my Father who was providing what I needed. Looking ahead into my priesthood, I know that there will be challenging moments but I have these core memorials that serve to remind me that God provides the grace needed to carry out his will. Providence comes to you when you seek out God and his will, everything else falls into place. Now as a priest there is a particular part of the Eucharist that I really enjoy, the Holy sung during the Eucharistic Prayer. "Heaven and Earth are full of your glory". That line has stuck with me because it calls to mind all the wonders that I have seen God work in my life, the life of my family, and in the lives of others. Not only this, but the action of singing Holy, Holy, Holy during the Liturgy fulfills our heavenly calling to one day join the angels and saints in Heaven singing the perpetual praises of God. The Book of Revelations says that they never cease to sing Holy, Holy, Holy. In the Eucharist, and in this moment in particular Heaven and Earth come together. What a blessing to celebrate the Eucharist! I remember you in my prayers, please pray for me. In Christ, Fr Javier Alexis Padilla