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What shall we do next?
Dear Brothers Sisters, There are still many questions lingering about our immediate future. So much so that it’s very hard to plan anything or even control our anxiety. As we continue to pray to Lord to help us in this time of uncertainty, we do need to continue doing what we have always done, that is, TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER! Maybe we are not able to do so in the way we did in the past, but nonetheless, we still can do it! There are two golden opportunities right now to help those in need. We are still promoting the Virtual Walk for the Poor to raise funds for St. Vincent de Paul, and we are looking for volunteers to help us with the Sandwich Ministry. In the Gospel this week we will hear Jesus answering that his brothers are those who HEAR the word of God and ACT ON IT! I believe it’s a call for all of us to look upon our lives and ask, what is God asking me today? I’m sure that God will help you discern his divine will for you. On that note, we will also continue to promote God’s word by ways of talks, prayers, and other initiatives. We will do everything safely, with prudence, and with social distancing. Indeed, some of our groups began meeting again through zoom, like the Bible Study, and IC Book Study, while others continue to meet in the Church, like the Cenacle on Monday’s at 6:00pm. God bless, Fr Steven WE DID IT!
Dear Brothers and Sisters, I’m very happy to announce that the whole parish came together in prayer for 48 continuous hours. I must confess that after launching the initiative, I had second thoughts about the length of exposition. I thought that it was too long and maybe we would not have many people to cover all the hours. As Jesus would say, “O man of little faith”… it was very breathtaking to see so many people of all ages coming to pray at all different times. We certainly need to continue interceding for the whole world before the Eucharist presence of Christ. As we are restricted in many activities due to Covid, certainly praying is not one of them. Even if some of us can’t come physically into church yet (everything is being broadcasted online), we can be united in Christ wherever we are. We are looking into new dates for the next adoration, so stay tuned. If someone has any ideas or feedback, please reach out to us through the website or call us at the office. Thank you for your saying “Yes” to the Lord. God bless, Fr Steven Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As we hear in the Gospel this weekend, “for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” says Jesus, I would like to point out to you a ecumenical group of prayer that meets very month praying for our nation. Please consider joining in prayer next week. God Bless, Fr. Steven United We Pray Bells of Repentance Monthly prayer gatherings at Union Common in Marlborough, corner of Main Street and Route 85 12:00 noon - Rain or shine Second Saturday of every month There is limited on-street parking adjacent to the common. A public parking lot is located diagonally across Main Street. You’ll need about ten minutes to get from the parking lot across the street and onto the Union Common grounds Why gather? We are the only nation on Earth whose founders pointed to God when declaring their independence as a nation, specifically expressing that we derive our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness from God. Despite the freedom, prosperity and many blessings we enjoy as a nation, we now find ourselves deeply divided in a culture that has abandoned the spiritual foundation upon which it was built. While we were never a perfect nation, we believe conditions are so dire today that only divine intervention can heal our land and set us back on course. We agree with President Abraham Lincoln who said, “It is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon.” And so, we gather briefly every month to take personal responsibility, whether we have directly contributed to our nation’s decline or stood by and allowed the decay to take root. Our purpose is to gather in unity, to repent for our failings, to resolve to do better, and appeal for God’s mercy upon our land. If you believe prayer is powerful when two or more are gathered, consider how much more so if a community gathers, united as one. Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Lately in my prayers and reflections, I noticed that there are many bad things happening all over the world. It seems almost as if things are going from bad to worse. Many injustices, cheating, hatred, Covid and other illnesses, and so on. Always praying for the world and interceding before God to "have mercy on us and on the whole world", I ask myself, WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP THIS SITUATION? Personally, there is very little that I can do. Mostly what I can do is to bring God's love to everyone I encounter and be a sign of God's fidelity to the people (...besides that if I am a priest today, indeed nothing is impossible for God.) It's true that you and I can do a lot of little things and if each one of us contributes like this, we will light the world on fire with God's love. However, we need ONE PERSON to help us and everyone else to bring this change in the world, namely, GOD! I have read many times from different people living at different ages exhorting us to reach out to God. With every apparition of the Blessed Mother, and most visions of Jesus, the message is always the same. Let's entrust ourselves and the whole world under the care of God. For every problem that we have, God has already prepared graces to give us. BUT, GOD CANNOT FORCE ANYTHING ON US. We need to ask for what we need. Needless to say that we also need to ask for those in need and for the whole world. In other words, WE NEED TO PRAY. It seems to me that as Europe was faced with immediate danger back at the time of the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, or faced with the Black Plague in 1347, and many other occasions, we are also faced with many challenges in our world, from political divides to the pandemic. The answer is always to entrust everything to the Lord. That doesn't mean that he will remove all problems, but He will give us the strength to overcome every obstacle and difficulty. Some groups began praying the rosary every day. Others are doing 24 hours of Eucharistic Adoration, AND WHAT ARE WE DOING? I'm sure that there are parishioners who pray the Rosary every day, participate (even remotely) in daily mass, spend time with the word of God, come to Church from time to time, and more. But I also observe that more often than not, that those are individual efforts. What if we were to do this together? I WOULD LIKE TO CALL THE WHOLE PARISH TO BE UNITED IN PRAYER FOR 48 HOURS. Let’s invite our friends and family to come together in the Eucharistic presence of Christ in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. As the opening prayer from last week said, “O God, who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed where true gladness is found.” Let’s all be united under this same purpose, in order to find this true happiness. Therefore we will have the ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT FROM 6:00p.m. on SUNDAY, September 6th, THROUGH 6:00p.m. TUESDAY September 8th . Only during our 7:30am daily Mass we will repose the Blessed Sacrament. This past week the Church remembered St. Monica, who spent her whole life praying for the conversion of her husband and her son. Following her example, let’s also pray for the conversion of the whole world. Courage brothers and sisters! "I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me" (Philippians 4:13) PS. We will be sanitizing the Church regularly during that time, masks will be required at all times, and hand sanitizer will be available at the main entrance. God Bless, Fr. Steven |
AuthorFather Steven Clemence Archives
September 2020
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9 Washington Court Marlborough, MA 01752 office: 508-485-0016 email: Parish Office Opening Hours: Mon. - Fri.: 9:00am - 3:00pm |
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Saturday Vigil: 4:00 P.M. Sunday: English: 7:30 A.M.; 11 A.M.; 5 P.M Spanish: 1:00 P.M Portuguese: 9:00 A.M 
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