From Father Steven - August 18, 2024

Father Steven Clemence • August 16, 2024

 

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

 

I hope you are all enjoying your summer with your loved ones! I have asked Fr. Gabriel to write a letter this week about his experience so far as a priest. Please see the letter below.



God Bless,

Fr. Steven

———————————--

It’s been about 3 months now since I was ordained a priest, and it hasn’t taken long to discover what a treasure this vocation is. One of the greatest gifts of the priesthood is the ability to administer the sacraments of reconciliation and being able to celebrate the Eucharist.


It is within the confessional that I, as a confessor, experience the love of the Lord, because in spite of my weakness and shortcomings, the Lord has sought to convince me of His gratuitous love by entrusting to me the hearts of His flock when they are most delicate.


It impresses me to see how in this sacrament, people leave behind their superficiality and let their true self surface. It is always moving to witness the profundity and the uniqueness that each person is often reluctant to expose. It brings to mind the days of creation and how after each day the Lord saw that it was good, but after creating Adam and Eve, He saw that it was very good. And somehow I delight in those that come to confession in a similar way; seeing beyond the sins that they present to me and peering into that dignity that the Lord originally formed them with, I can say with the Lord that He has made us very good.


This brings me back to my previous thought on how the Lord has given me the priesthood as my means of sanctification. I see that it is through the exercise of my ministry that He seeks to shape my heart after His own. Because while He is giving me the gift of compassion for sinners and using me as an instrument of His mercy, it is through that same ministering that I realize more and more deeply that it is with that same mercy that the Lord looks upon me.


One other experience I would like to share is what it has been like to celebrate the mass and there was one instance in which its power really showed. It was my first week as a priest when we went to celebrate mass with the priests of Regina Cleri (the home for retired priests in Boston). At the moment of the consecration when we said all together “take this all of you and eat of it for this is my body which will be given up for you.” I was unexpectedly overwhelmed with emotion, but after some reflection it all made sense. I recalled the years of resistance while at the seminary and how I often distrusted God’s plan for me. But it was through the ordination and in the celebration of the Eucharist that God sealed within me the handing over my own body to His call and it has been a source of great joy. 


I see that God is calling me to live a Eucharistic life, where I give of myself so that others may share in God’s divine life, but rather than being depleted from spending myself in ministry, I am instead being filled up.


I thank the Lord for his generosity and for the assignment He has given me here at Immaculate Conception where I have been able to build on the experiences and relationships that I formed already as a deacon. I am grateful for the warmth of the flock and the company and teaching of Fr. Steven and Fr. Victor whose years in the priesthood now lend themselves to help form me as I begin my ministry.


 

In Christ,





Fr. Gabriel Hanley




 

 

From Father Steven - November 30, 2025

By Father Steven Clemence • November 26, 2025
Dear Brothers & Sisters, I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving with your loved ones! Please see the letter below from Fr. Victor about Advent. God Bless, Fr. Steven —————————————————————————————————- Growing up I have always associated ADVENT with Christmas with all the Christmas carols, food, gifts and family reunions. It was much later that I understood that Advent is the month-long preparation for that much awaited day. If we have 4 seasons throughout the year: winter, spring, summer & fall; the Church has 6: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Paschal Triduum, Easter and the Ordinary time. And Advent is the first season that ushers the first day of the Church’s liturgical year. It is like New Year, like January 1. Advent comes from the Latin word, adventus, meaning coming or arrival. A Father of the Church speaks of Jesus’ three comings. First, we all know that Jesus Christ was born more than two thousand years ago in that town called Bethlehem. Second, when he ascended to his Father, he promised to remain with us always, but will come again at the end of time. As to when, we do not know. That is why, he tells us: 'be vigilant and ready anytime as he may come at a time and hour we do not expect.’ That is why, advent fills us with so much hope and expectation. Finally, there is also his third coming. The first one was in the past. The second will happen in the future, but his third coming is today, in the daily events of our life. The book of Revelation presents this very well. ‘He is outside, knocking at the door of our heart, if we let him in, he will come and dine with us.’ What a gift, to be graced by the presence of our Lord. This year 2025, Advent coincides with the feast day of St. Andrew, November 30. Each week has its theme: the anticipation of Christ’s second coming - the first week; then John the Baptist tells us “prepare the way of the Lord.” on the second Sunday; then we switch to a joyful note, the Gaudete Sunday for the Lord is to come; and the fourth Sunday, Mary & Joseph leading us up to the nativity. The date when Advent was first observed is hard to determine as this evolved over time in several places. In its earliest form however, it may be traced back to the church in France in the 4th century. It was a time of preparation for the Feast of the Epiphany when converts were baptized. In the 5th century it was officially introduced into the church calendar. But its character was similar to Lent but later became more joyful in anticipation for the birth of Christ. The Advent we know today began in Rome. Pope Gregory I in the late 6 th and early 7th century, composed many prayers, psalms, and themes. And by the 10th century the season of Advent included 4 Sundays & weekdays leading to Christmas as we have today. Like Lent, Advent has some elements of penance in preparing, quieting and disciplining our minds & hearts for the full joy of Christmas. Its liturgical color is purple, except on Gaudete, meaning “rejoice” Sunday, where the priest may wear the rose color vestment. The late Pope Francis reminds us: “Advent is a journey towards Bethlehem,” and that memory directs us with eager longing for the second coming of Christ at the end of time.” Advent comes at the dark[est] time of the year, when the day is short and night is at its longest. Yet it is during this time when Jesus Christ, the true light comes to cast away our darkness. Truly advent is a hopeful season that keeps pointing towards the eternal light that shines in the ‘night of our life’ to show us our way back home to the Father. God Bless, Fr. Victor

From Father Steven - November 23, 2025

By Father Steven Clemence • November 21, 2025
Dear Brothers & Sisters, This week we have the opportunity to gather around our loved ones to give thanks! Eukariston in Greek… if it sounds familiar, it is because the Eucharist—Mass—is a great thanksgiving! I’m sorry for the turkey and stuffing lovers… but the Lamb of God is the one who truly satisfies us! However, how often are we grateful to God and to our loved ones? How often do we stop to give sincere thanks for all their hard work? How often do we return their goodness to us? Unfortunately, not enough… so let’s change that script. Let’s take this opportunity to voice our inner gratitude to those around us and to Jesus! Even though there can be some tension when getting everyone together under the same roof, let’s not forget what we are doing and why we are doing it. There is nothing better than to love… even when that love is not returned! The following day is known as Black Friday—deep discounts and great sales everywhere. In the past, people lined up in front of stores in the middle of the night. Now stores begin their sales almost a week before Friday. Online retailers have also kept people from waking up in the middle of the night. Here in the parish, this Friday there will be a great opportunity to score wonderful deals… and we won’t need to wake up so early! Starting at 8:00 a.m., we will have another 24-hour adoration. We thought that these days would be perfect to give people the opportunity to come and give thanks to God as well. He has been so good to us! How could we not return His infinite love through finite means? As we come together on Thursday and acknowledge what our loved ones have done for us, let us also do the same for God. I invite all of you to come and take a moment to think and contemplate all the good things God has done for us throughout our lives. Instead of having Black Friday, we shall introduce Adoration Friday! Next week will be First Friday, and I invite you to learn more about it—how the Sacred Heart of Jesus manifests itself on the First Friday of each month. As we know Friday to be a penitential day for the Church, it is also a day full of graces for those who do not miss out! I would like to take this opportunity to give you some updates regarding upcoming events. Archbishop Richard Henning has asked all the parishes in the Archdiocese to pray a Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe in preparation for the upcoming 500th anniversary of her apparition to St. Juan Diego. He will be visiting parishes and presiding at this very important moment for us. We will begin the novena on Thursday, December 4th, at 7:00 p.m. It will be trilingual so that the whole parish can participate. Each day, different parish groups will be responsible for leading the novena. We will conclude it with Mass on December 12th, with the presence of our shepherd, Archbishop Henning! It will be very important for him to meet part of his flock. It will also be a great moment for our parish to welcome him into our spiritual home! We are still planning it. We also decided that, in this Jubilee Year, we will have a Christmas Concert on December 21st at 3:00 p.m. All the parish choirs will come together to sing Christmas carols. We are very excited to gather everyone once again! I mentioned before, but I remind you again, that we also have our parish feast in the middle of all this. The Immaculate Conception will be celebrated on Monday, December 8th. We will have the regular holy day of obligation schedule 07:30 a.m. and 12:10 p.m. as well as our traditional trilingual Mass at 7:00 p.m. We will pray the novena before Mass, and then proceed with the celebration. There are many good things coming up… and many more that we cannot imagine! Let us give thanks, for God’s love is everlasting (Ps. 136). God Bless, Fr. Steven