From Father Steven - February 4, 2024

Father Steven Clemence • February 2, 2024

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

It is with great joy that I would like to share with you some of the testimonies of the youth that went to the pilgrimage of the March for Life. There were 40 people from our parish and we were joined with another 13 from another parish. The theme of our pilgrimage was “It is good that you exist.” With that in mind, we departed from Marlboro at 6am on Thursday Jan 18th towards the Shrine of St Frances Cabrini in NY. There we celebrated Mass and had an opportunity to listen about her life. From there we headed to Washington, where we stopped at the St. Matthew’s Cathedral for a time of praise and worship with adoration and confession. On the following day, we woke up early to go to a youth rally that had 6,000 people! There were also lots of priests and nuns there. After that, we went to the National Mall to join the march. Cardinal Sean O’Malley marched with us and he led us in the rosary as we were walking. It was one of the best pilgrimages I ever participated in. It was brief, but it felt like we were together for a month. I asked the youth to write something that I could share with you. So here are some quotes that they wrote:

 

“Before the pilgrimage, I didn’t feel the presence of the Holy Spirit because I was committing a lot of bad sins. At the cathedral I had the opportunity to confess and I did. I can now feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life.”

 

“I confessed every sin i had done and now i feel like a new person.”

 

“I enjoyed when we went on the march because it made me get a better understanding that abortion is not right and realize that it’s still a baby. it was such a wonderful experience.” 

 

“This pilgrimage not only helped me increase my faith. But it also helped me understand that all lives matter and that we should stand up for those who can’t speak for themselves. It also helped me become closer to God and understand that we were all made with a purpose for our life and that it is good that we exist. For me personally this pilgrimage was a sign from God that it is time that I really focus on my faith and continue on this path to heaven. My faith is so much stronger now than it was before this trip and I am so grateful.”

 

“I loved the retreat and what we did on it, but what changed throughout the retreat or made me look at things in a different way were the people who went on it with me. The way they love the Lord, so openly, made me realize that I can love him so much more. So I think that this retreat was a wonderful experience in the aspect of the theme and why we went on it and for the fact that even the people that are there with you can change you.”

 

“The pilgrimage gave me a realization of what abortion really is. After listening to some stories about people who have had it and the regrets they had, it changed my perspective from pro-choice to pro-life”

 

“I returned so happy and very loved by God, I had a great opportunity to talk to God and tell him everything I wanted. The event not only showed me that abortion is not the way to go, but it also showed me that my life has a meaning and that God himself put me on earth. I came back very happy to have had the opportunity to really only talk to him and only to him in that chapel, because there I was not distracted by the world outside, because the world outside does not have great news to bring us, only God. God will always be the one who will satisfy you. I invite all those who have not yet gone, because it will be the most memorable memory of your life, it will be an unforgettable experience.”

 

This is only a little summary of some of the experiences that they shared. We would like to thank everyone who prayed for us, and those who helped us financially. A special word to the Knights of Columbus for their support. We look forward to attending next year’s March for Life.

 

God Bless,

Fr. Steven

 

From Father Steven - January 25, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • January 23, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, As we come to the end of January, it is certainly a good time to have a deep sense of gratitude in recognition that we are truly loved by God and that we are called to spread that love to everyone. Perhaps today we could take some time to think about God’s goodness to us and how He invites us to share our faith with those who have not yet heard the Good News. For our annual Mission Appeal for 2025 (sorry for the delay!), Sister Lisa Valentini, MSC, a Missionary Sister of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, is coming here to Marlborough next weekend to share with all of us about the Missionary endeavors of her Sisters in Mission around the globe. Right now, the MSC Sisters who are serving in a place called Kurugodu in the Bellary area of Karnataka State in India, have a specific project for which they are in desperate need of support: They need to build an addition onto their elementary school. When Sister Lisa was in India six years ago, there were 550 students in Sacred Heart of Jesus School. Now, there are 1,400 students and the school continues to GROW. Sister Lisa will share with us how the children in Sacred Heart are coming to know about Jesus because the MSC Sisters are there. There are two ways of being a Missionary: One is to GIVE by GOING – which is what the MSC Sisters do… the other is to GO by GIVING. . . This Mission Appeal gives us the opportunity to “GIVE” so that we can be a part of the Missionary work of the MSC Sisters. We will be having a second collection next weekend to help them in their mission. We always invite you to be generous to them as God has been generous to us! On a separate but related topic, I would like to highlight that here in the parish, we also have 2 women who are missionaries. Jackie Chung is currently serving the college students of University of Rhode Island in Providence through Focus. Along with other missionaries, they evangelize other young adults who are studying at URI. They try to touch their lives and rekindle God’s love by offering them opportunities to encounter Jesus, either by bible study groups, retreats, or peer to peer conversations. This is her second year. The other person is Janet Guzman. She is in her third year in mission in Turks and Caicos through the Neocatechumenal Way. Although the surroundings are beautiful, she is currently serving the underprivileged local population in a school that the local parish opened a few years ago. The whole school is run by women who have heard the call from the Lord to serve. Some are trained professional teachers while others serve in other capacities. Janet is very happy working with the children and teaching them about the love of God and a few other things. We also have 5 seminarians from the parish. We have one parishioner in a seminary and 4 seminarians that were adopted by the parish. Leonardo Orellana after discerning his vocation, desired to follow the call to be a missionary priest and was assigned to a seminary in Washington, DC. Then we have the guys that you usually see around, Deacon Javier, Alex, Henry, and Michael (that is currently in mission in California). There are a few young people who are also discerning their vocation. Some have felt called to serve God as priests, others as nuns, missionaries, or holy couples. It is very important that we pray for them EVERYDAY! It is not easy to be young these days. There are many challenges that we didn’t face when we were young. We priests also ask for your prayers so that we can continue serving the people and doing God’s work! There is much hope for the future! Although the news and politics seem to paint a gloomy picture, the future is very bright!!! Let us never lose hope! God Bless, Fr. Steven 

From Father Steven - January 18, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • January 16, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, This week I would like to share with you some news from our parish. We had a great year during the Jubilee, with many wonderful events. There are also some updates on other things that are happening that people may not be aware of. Lastly, we have a few upcoming events that I would like to bring to your attention. In the past fiscal year (July 2024–June 2025), many people accepted the grace of receiving the sacraments. We had 65 baptisms, 95 confirmations, and 82 First Communions. Some of these were received by adults, others by teenagers, and most by children. We also had 29 couples married during this time. Another statistic worth noting is the number of funerals celebrated. We honored the lives of 76 brothers and sisters who were called home to the Lord. Looking back on the year 2025 as a whole, there were many beautiful moments in our parish life. A few are worth highlighting. In January, we took 56 pilgrims to the March for Life, and we will be doing so again this week. We were also blessed to be designated a Jubilee Pilgrimage Site for the Jubilee Year. After forming four planning groups, we began offering Adoration and Confessions Monday through Friday from 6:00–7:00 p.m. Countless people experienced the mercy of God during this time. We also offered talks three times a week—one in each language—with excellent speakers covering a wide variety of themes. Throughout the year, we hosted 11 retreats and welcomed special guests for various events, including Immaculée Ilibagiza and Sean Forrest. We also held our annual Corpus Christi procession and Parish Festival, both of which were very well attended. We began a bereavement ministry and launched a new parish group, Friends in Faith. In addition, we enjoyed several social events, such as fish fries, bingo, Spanish Family Night, and other dinners. We conducted a parish-wide 33 Days Consecration to Mary and celebrated the Marian feasts of Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Aparecida, the Immaculate Conception, and Our Lady of Guadalupe. This last celebration marked the first visit of our Archbishop, Richard Henning. This is a very brief summary of the 45 events we held in 2025. Looking ahead, we will have 24-hour Adoration this Sunday, taking advantage of the holiday. (If you are able, please sign up online so we can ensure all hours are covered.) Then, on Thursday, 55 youth will travel on pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., to participate in the March for Life. On the weekend of January 31–February 1, Sister Lisa, MSC, will be with us for the Mission Appeal. On February 15, after the 11:00 a.m. Mass, we will hold the annual Anointing of the Sick in observance of the World Day of the Sick. As noted on our cover page, we will host a couples’ retreat on February 21. This will be a wonderful opportunity for couples to rekindle their love for one another. Lent will begin on February 18 with Ash Wednesday. Finally, on February 28, Sister Olga will visit the parish to give two talks: one for women and young ladies on vocation, and another open to the public (topic to be determined). One more novelty, we are very happy to introduce you to Ms. Gabriella Lindhurst as our new Music Director. She got her music degrees from Assumption College (Bachelor) and Notre Dame (Masters). She comes from Southborough and has sang and performed in many different places for the past 10 years. Please make sure to welcome her as you see her this weekend.  There are many other things happening in our parish, but I wanted to share just some of them with you. These events are inspired by the Holy Spirit to fill us with grace and bring us closer to Jesus. I understand that some events may feel challenging or even intimidating, but I encourage you to ask yourself, “Is God calling me to attend this?” If you have any questions or need clarification, please feel free to contact the parish office. As John the Baptist pointed Jesus out to those around him, so do we. Hopefully, one day we can all say, “Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.” God Bless, Fr. Steven