From Father Steven - April 7, 2024

Father Steven Clemence • April 5, 2024


Dear Brothers & Sisters,

 

Please see the attached letter from Deacon Joe Cooley about the Unbound Conference here at the parish on April 20th.

 

God Bless,

Fr. Steven

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Dear Immaculate Conception Parishioners, 

 

Blessed Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday! My name is Deacon Joe Cooley. I’m married and was ordained in 2016 to the permanent diaconate for the Archdiocese of Boston. I’m passionate about seeing people come alive in their identity and gifting as a son or daughter of an amazing Father. To that end, I’ve founded the nonprofit HOMe Ministries (Houses of Mercy). We teach, equip, and activate people in freedom and the ways of the Gospel and seek to move faith from the head to the heart and home. I am excited to see what the Lord is stirring at Immaculate Conception. This is my favorite time of year when we celebrate the Lord’s goodness and victory over Satan, sin, and death–for love of you and me! This season of the Church calendar is a profound time of grace in which the Lord is inviting us deeper into healing and freedom in mind, body, and spirit. Jesus died with what we deserve so that we might live with what he deserves–a life filled with an abundance of joy and all the fruits of the Holy Spirit! Thank you, Lord! I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your warm welcome during the Lenten Mission this past March 12-14. In my short three evenings with you, I experienced the beauty of the church building and even more, the beauty of the people of Immaculate Conception. The Lord touched us powerfully as we encountered his goodness! Thank you Jesus, and thank you all!

 

I also want to personally invite you to an Unbound Freedom in Christ Conference on Saturday, April 20 at the parish. This is NOT just another “event” but an opportunity to allow the Lord to bring fresh healing and freedom to our hearts! The following testimonies demonstrate the possibilities from a wide variety of people who have attended a conference or experienced Unbound prayer:

 

· “This is the best day of my life.” –A 10-year-old boy

· “[The Unbound prayer session] was incredibly powerful and, for the first time in a long time, I could laugh with genuine pleasure with my family tonight and have a conversation with a friend without growing distracted by fear and anxiety. The feeling of being under attack has abated and I can breathe.”

· “I arrived home exhausted. I felt like I haven't slept in decades. I think the anxiety from all the years of torment left me today. I felt peaceful and in need of resting with the Lord. I feel fresh and rested now and ready for where the Lord is going to take me next.”

· “I believe for the rest of our lives, this conference will be the linchpin we point to that saved our marriage!”

"Jesus has set me free! And, I did not think I was in dire need of help. I only knew the Holy Spirit was prompting me to ask." Use the QR code to learn more details and register (or register at the door) for the conference. Continue reading next to learn more about Unbound and the Lord’s will that you and I experience and live in deep freedom in our lives.

From Father Steven - August 30, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • August 28, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, I was very happy that I finally had the opportunity a month ago to speak about vaping addiction among the youth. Today, I would like to speak about addictions in general that affect and hurt our families, parish, community, and, above all, ourselves. First of all, it is important to understand that usually no one likes to have an addiction. Substance abuse is not something a person simply chooses to become trapped in. Rather, very often, it is the only resource that a person finds in their struggle. The other day, I was talking to a social worker at the hospital about how we have lost so many of our coping skills. We no longer have the resilience that we used to have in the past. Addiction is often more than a bad habit or a lack of willpower. For many people, it can be connected to pain, trauma, loneliness, or an attempt to cope with difficulties they do not know how to face in healthier ways. Therefore, it can often be understood as a cry for help from someone who is suffering. Once we understand that people may turn to drugs, alcohol, or other substances in an attempt to relieve their pain, we also need to recognize that repeated substance use can produce real changes in the brain and body. A person can develop tolerance, dependence, and powerful cravings that make stopping extremely difficult. This is why addiction cannot simply be reduced to a lack of willpower. What may have begun as an attempt to cope with pain can eventually become a dependency that is very difficult to overcome without help. Anyone who suffers from substance abuse does not need judgment, but love and compassion. As Catholics, we believe that love conquers all things. We also believe that for God, nothing is impossible. Therefore, if there is someone in your family, in your circle of friends, an acquaintance, or even a stranger, let us go the extra mile and be compassionate. Christ does not abandon the person who is suffering. He goes out of His way to bring love and consolation, like the Good Samaritan. He certainly suffers with that person. If Christ does this for us, how can we, as His disciples, do anything less for those who are suffering? The more involved I become in helping people here in Marlboro, the more I discover the many resources available through the city and other agencies. I will try to pull together a sheet with different resources in the community and leave them in the church for those who need them. If someone struggles with alcoholism, drug or medication abuse, or some other sort of addiction, YOU ARE NOT ALONE…and YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE ALONE. God wants to help, and so do we. It is okay; we all have problems, and the solutions at times can seem so far from our reach that we give up. Maybe now is the time to get up and start walking back to the Father’s house, like the Prodigal Son. Maybe now is the time that, together, we will overcome the struggles that lead to addiction.  I invite everyone in our parish to join us for the Overdose Awareness Day ceremony here at the Immaculate Conception Church on Monday August 31 at 7:15pm. Let us come together to remember those whose lives have been lost (you may bring their picture), support those who continue to struggle, and pray for their families and loved ones. Always count with your prayers to you and your loved ones, 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