From Father Steven - December 3, 2023

December 4, 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

This week we have the celebration of Immaculate Conception, our patroness. It is also our parish feast! I’m not sure how many people are aware of our parish history. I would like to share a few facts from the beginning of the Immaculate Conception Parish.

 

The first priest assigned to Marlboro was Fr. Edward Farrelly back in 1850. Prior to that, families had to walk eight miles to the nearest mass in Saxonville. With the growth of the population due to the shoe factories, Bishop Fitzpatrick saw the need to send a priest to minister to the Catholics of the area. In 1854, Father Farrelly began to build a church on Charles Street and in November he celebrated the first mass. Originally he named the church St. Columba (Columbkille) after one of the Irish patron saints. However, that same year the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception was approved by the church under Pope Pius IX. Although the belief that the Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin was a long-standing tradition of the Church, only then it was declared a definite teaching. Bishop Fitzpatrick intervened at the creation of the parish and decided to dedicate it to the Immaculate Conception. A few years later in 1862, under the new pastor, Fr Walsh, the property on Prospect Street was purchased and they started the construction of the new church. Nine years later, the new church was dedicated by Archbishop Williams. The bell tower was incorporated into the church roughly twenty years later. It was the same that fell during the hurricane of 1938 (one of the most severe to hit New England). A new one, shorter in height, would be built after that.

 

Much more could be said about our parish and the church building, such as the emblems of the different titles of Mary on the top of the walls of the main nave. However, the parish and the church are more than the buildings. WE ARE THE PARISH. Now, as a parish, we are called to be a sign of the presence of Christ in Marlboro both in word and deed. Although times have changed from the beginning of the parish, people are still in need of Jesus. Many families are breaking up, people who cannot forgive, and those who are lost. This week God calls us to reflect upon our actions in the church. What are we doing to help in the mission of Christ in the world? There are many people who are evangelizing in different ways, whether visiting houses door to door, helping the poor through St. Vincent de Paul, and many other groups. And what about the rest of us? Today we have an average of almost 2000 people coming to all the masses of the parish through the weekend. Imagine what we can all do together?! As we continue in this process of discernment and growth of the parish, we can follow the example of the Blessed Mother, who made herself available to whatever God called her. In order to help us prepare to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Friday, I would like to invite everyone to participate in the Triduum (3 days) of prayer with the preaching of guests reflecting upon the life of Mary. Please see the information below. As for the Feast day, December 8th, which is a day of Obligation, we will have masses at 7:30am, 12:10pm, and a major celebration at 7:00pm with the Trilingual mass following reception. Please join us as much as you can! 

 

God Bless,

Fr. Steven

From Father Steven - July 26, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • July 23, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Please see the letter below from Fr. Gabriel about his experience at the retreat we recently had in Italy. God Bless, Fr. Steven ———————————————- As Father Steven mentioned in his last bulletin entry, he and I have returned from a wonderful retreat in Italy, where we were together with about 800 priests from the Redemptoris Mater seminaries of the Americas. I would like to take the time to also share a bit of my experience. The first day we arrived at the Airport in Rome, but the retreat was to take place in Porto San Giorgio, Italy, which is located on the eastern coast of the country. This presented me with the opportunity to visit Assisi on the way to the retreat house which was precisely what I was hoping to do during my travels. The Pope has named this year the Jubilee of Saint Francis as this October 4th, we will be celebrating the 800th anniversary of his passing, so there was no better time to visit. I am fond of saying that it is the saints who often choose us, inviting us into a friendship with them, which has been the case for me in a special way with Saint Francis. During the retreat, I reflected on how the spirit of Saint Francis has accompanied me most especially throughout my seminary formation, with the presence of our late franciscan spiritual director, Fr. Roderick Crispo O.F.M., the time spent with Cardinal Sean, learning from the example of his prayer life, and the honor of being the last class that was ordained by him and also being ordained on Padre Pio’s birthday. Reflecting on all of this led me to ponder the words that the Lord spoke to Francis at the beginning of his conversion, “Rebuild my Church.” Sure enough, Francis’ Jubilee in the background and those words spoken to him resounding in my heart, it all fit perfectly into the theme that threaded our entire retreat; the readings that were proclaimed each day were all taken from the Prophets calling on Israel to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem after the exile. The first day we heard from the Prophet Haggai, “be strong, all you people of the land...and work! For I am with you...and I will fill this house with glory.” These words felt very personal, that God is calling me in my ministry to participate in the rebuilding of his Church. Nevertheless, I also remembered that Saint Francis initially took the Lord’s words too literally and started rebuilding an actual Church, when in fact the Lord was calling for a spiritual renewal, not the reconstruction of a building. This also was important for me, because I have asked myself again and again in these past two years as a priest, is what I have to offer enough for this mission? Am I doing enough? The words of the retreat reoriented me to look inwardly and see that before I help anyone else, God desires to rebuild me by granting me a renewed experience of His love for me. This I saw clearly during the 2 by 2 mission that we did during the retreat, announcing the love of God as the apostles and Saint Francis did, without food, money, or cell phones, leaning entirely on the Lord’s providence. I was sent north of Rome to a port city called Civitavecchia where their Cathedral, the first Church we visited, happened to be dedicated to Saint Francis. One night during the mission, my companion and I were welcomed by a couple from the cathedral who had three teenage sons. When I entered the apartment I spotted three skateboards under their beds and proceeded to ask who of them skateboarded, two of them responded emphatically that they did. When I mentioned that I also grew up skateboarding, they were eager to take me down to the central plaza to skate together. It was moving to share that joy with them. One of the boys, Simone, at some point said, “I’ve never met a priest that skateboards.” Back at their house, I felt compelled to tell their father that I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them had a vocation to the priesthood. Their father responded saying, “as a matter of fact, the other day, we were asking them what vocation they would like to have when they were older and Simone told us ‘but if I become a priest, I won’t be able to skate anymore,’ and see now how God has sent you to us.” At that moment I saw how God was showing me that He knows my heart through and through, and that He uses my life as an expression of His tenderness toward this family and all of you that I minister to; that in serving you as a priest, you discover God’s love for you, but I also discover the Lord’s love for me and it is in this way that the Church continues to be built up. God Bless, Fr. Gabriel 

From Father Steven - July 19, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • July 17, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, As you may remember, Fr. Gabriel and I were away on a retreat in Italy these past few weeks. I would like to share a bit of my experience with you. Hopefully, in the near future, he will be able to share his experience as well. You may know that the three of us priests were formed in a missionary-diocesan seminary called Redemptoris Mater , which is a seminary that was first created by Pope Saint John Paul II in Rome. His desire was to have priests who belonged to the diocese and, at the same time, were missionaries (either outside the diocese or within it) to assist in the new evangelization born after the Second Vatican Council. Also, the vocations to this seminary come from the Neocatechumenal Way, which is an itinerary of Christian formation that is present all over the world. This way, those who feel called by God to this specific mission can also continue the growth of their faith in this reality. From Rome, other bishops also desired to have such priests in their own dioceses. In 2005, Cardinal Seán requested that this seminary begin here in Boston, and that's how we all ended up here. Well, this retreat we attended was for all the priests ordained in the approximately 40 Redemptoris Mater seminaries present throughout the Americas (North, Central/Caribbean, and South). We were about 800 priests who were able to be there. It took place in Porto San Giorgio, which is on the Adriatic Sea. The initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way were there to give us a word of encouragement, to help us convert, and to rest. We were given a special place in St. Peter's Square for the Pope's Audience, and later we celebrated Mass inside the Basilica, at the Chair of St. Peter. We also went twice to Loreto, which houses the walls of the house of Mary in Nazareth. We also had the opportunity to be sent throughout all of Italy to announce the Kingdom of God two by two for four days, like the Apostles, without money, a cellphone, extra clothes, or a place to sleep... no securities, except God. We only took the Bible and the breviary. I was assigned to the city of Trent, where the famous council took place 500 years ago. After the retreat, I was able to visit the house of St. Maria Goretti, her tomb, and the place where she died. On my way back, I had a 24-hour layover in Barcelona, where I got to visit the Basilica of the Holy Family and the Shrine of Montserrat. What impacted me the most was being reminded of what God has done in my life. There were a few old friends from my childhood and people whom I have met along the way (Fr. Adriano sent his greetings to everyone). At every step of the way, He was there leading me, comforting me, and lifting me up when I fell. It was good also to rest in the Lord. No, I did not watch the World Cup games, but I had something much better: a time of intimacy with God. Running around all day, every day sometimes takes the focus away from my mission. Like Martha, we can tend to important things and leave the Lord behind. If anything, it is by being close to Christ that I will be enabled to help some people. Lastly, we were also presented with a beautiful symphony performance. In it, they sang the words of St. Victorinus of Pettau, who is an impressive saint from the early Church: "Having come as the Lion to conquer, He became the Lamb, taking upon Himself the wickedness of man, so that He might lead him from death to life."  The mission of the priest is to be Christ to the people. As we heard last week, Jesus is meek and humble of heart. The only answer to the suffering of people is to become a lamb and die for them out of love, just like Christ. The Lion came to conquer and was made the Lamb to die because He loves me. In the retreat, I see that God gives me His Spirit to (hopefully) be a lamb who dies for others. Please keep praying for me and be patient, as I still have a long way to go! God Bless, Fr. Steven