From Father Steven - February 23, 2025

Father Steven Clemence • February 21, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

This week’s readings urge us to love our neighbors. It is certainly not easy, but not impossible either. Let us reflect on what God is asking us and how we can do it.

 

The greatest and most important tenet of our faith, and the first commandment is to love God and Him alone. The other day someone came to my office asking how we can love God. There are many ways to love God, talking to Him, listening to what He has to tell us, and putting into practice what He revealed to us. Another way we have to love God is to love everything that he created and to love Him in other people. Sometimes we don’t see God in other people. We forget that every single person was created in His image and likeness. Therefore, God can be seen in each person. Surely if we look at a person’s actions, we might not see God. However, He is present in that person in one way or another. Then, it flows from there what Christ will tell us what the other commandment is, “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mt22:39)

 

One important observation is that these are not merely laws or suggestions which we can follow or break. The Jews see the 10 commandments as the “words of Life.” That is, these are the words that give us (eternal) life. Sometimes we understand only the legality of the law. We don’t understand the spirit through which it was passed onto us. A father does not have to create a law for his children saying that it is wrong to stick the finger into a power outlet. He teaches his children that it will hurt them if they do that. God in his pedagogy with the people of Israel and by extension with ourselves, he also teaches us what to do and what to avoid. These teachings that are meant to help lead us to heaven are handed down to us through the optic of the legal/judiciary mentality of the Roman Law. It is no longer a matter of doing the will of God or following the path to holiness, but rather to follow the dictate of the law.

 

Returning to the original topic of our reflection, we can now read that through a different way. The love of the other person, it is no longer a matter of personal preference, but rather, it is a path to salvation. It is interesting to observe that Christ will say to “love” one another. He never said that we have to like other people. Then he adds on, love “as I have loved you.” (Jn 13:34). Here we qualify what kind of love we are to give, that is, the same that we have received. Then the moment that we understand that by loving each other is the path to salvation, why should we not do it? What could prevent us from loving the other? Of course, to love the people that love us is easy, and to love the ones that are good to us is also natural. However, what about loving the people that persecute, hurt, and despise us? Let us look at St. Stephen while he is being stoned, or St Paul as he writes to the persecuted Christian community of Rome “bless those who persecute you.” (12:14). There are so many other testimonies of countless Christians that showed love to their executioners. Then, again, why should we not follow their example? One may add that he does not have the graces or he is not a saint like them, which is a valid response. I insist on asking the same question, what prevents us from being like them? We were all created in the same image and likeness of God. We all received the same Holy Spirit. We all received the same blessings through the sacraments.

 

In this Jubilee year, God wants to give many special graces. These graces are all means to help us to go to heaven by putting into practice that which God has called us. That is why we will be doing many activities this year to help flourish the graces in us and reject sin and the disordered desire for worldly things. I would even dare to say that God allows difficult people in our lives as a way to help us, not the contrary. In the life of St. Therese of Lisieux, we learn how challenging her mother superior was and how providential she was to make her a saint. Then, starting in Lent, we invite you to come to adoration and take advantage of the sacrament of confession Monday, Wednesday, Friday in English, Tuesday in Spanish, Thursday in Portuguese (Monday to Friday 6-7pm). We are also preparing talks every week where everyone is welcome to attend.

 

God Bless,

Fr. Steven

 

From Father Steven - May 24, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • May 22, 2026
A Call to Pray for Priests Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, This weekend, as we celebrate Pentecost, we are all called to be with the Virgin Mary and the apostles praying in the Cenacle for the revelation of God through the Holy Spirit. A long-time parishioner has asked me to share with you a letter she wrote about a special ministry that she is promoting here in the parish. Please read her letter below. God Bless, Fr. Steven =============================== How privileged we are as a parish to have celebrated recently the ordination of Father Javier. What a joy and gift a priest is to God’s people! Priests accompany us at some of the most intimate, joyful and difficult moments of our lives. These self-sacrificing shepherds, our brothers, carry not only the full weight of our burdens but their own as well….please pray for them. We parishioners have a great privilege and duty, out of love, to pray for priests, especially those who serve us so tirelessly and unselfishly here at Immaculate Conception Parish. We all need prayer. It is the start of holiness. No one can become a saint without praying. Our priests need prayer too! They are our brothers along with us on this path to holiness, all as members of The Body of Christ with Jesus as the Head. On Friday, June 12th, the Church will celebrate the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. How grateful I am for this day to remind us to pray for our priests. Recently I was introduced to a beautiful apostolate dedicated to praying for priests: The Seven Sisters Apostolate. The Seven Sisters Apostolate is a call to strengthen the Church by ensuring that a Holy Hour is prayed each day of the week for the sole intention of a specific priest or bishop, a “holy wasting” (cf. Mt. 26:10) or lavishing of prayer for his deeper conformity to Christ. Seven women each commit to one holy hour a week on a specific day, praying exclusively for a particular priest and his priesthood for one year: A Seven Sister, One Holy Hour, One Day, One Priest, Each week, One Heart of Prayer. Since its founding in 2011, Seven Sisters has established sisterhoods praying for bishops and priests worldwide. The ultimate goal is for every priest and bishop in every diocese to have a sisterhood covering them in prayer. Each group is started by an Anchoress who recruits members, passes on needed information, and communicates the existence and intentions of the group to the particular priest. There are also opportunities for men to support this apostolic work by substituting for Sisters to make a holy hour and also by fasting on one given day a week for the priest. I have always prayed for priests but not in this particular way. I think my attraction to the Seven Sisters Apostolate is the fruit of my prayers and nudges from the Holy Spirit during the many hours of Adoration and opportunities for confession I have enjoyed here in our parish. Everyone can pray for priests. You do not need to belong to any kind of group or apostolate, although that is an encouragement for keeping one’s commitment to pray. Keep on with your prayers without ceasing. Pray every day for God’s priests who suffer the same struggles, temptations, discouragements and sorrows that we all do. Wrap them in your prayers, fasting, and sacrifices. Beg the Blessed Virgin Mary to keep them pure and holy for her son, Jesus Christ. You only need to do it.  There will be a Q&A meeting for those interested on Wednesday, May 27th at 7:00pm in the Upper Church. If you would like to find out more about The Seven Sisters Apostolate visit their website: www.sevensistersapostolate.org or email Christine Lehane: cmolehane@gmail.com .

From Father Steven - May 17, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • May 15, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, This weekend we celebrate the ordination of Father Javier! It is always a great privilege for us to witness the transformation of a young man into a priest, a servant of God configured to Christ. This weekend, I would like to reflect with you on the different vocations to which God calls His people. The first vocation, as we see in the Book of Genesis, is matrimony. We hear that God created man and woman to complement one another. “It is not good for the man to be alone.” Therefore, it is natural for a man and a woman to be united in marriage. However, marriage is not about seeking the satisfaction of one’s own needs in another person. Rather, the sacrament of matrimony is a sacrament of self-giving and service. Husband and wife are called to serve one another in love. Matrimony is defined as “the covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, and which is ORDERED TOWARD THE GOOD OF THE SPOUSES and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament” (Canon 1055 §1). Marriage, then, is a path by which God sanctifies us through self-giving love, just as Christ gave Himself for us. Spouses become a gift to one another, and it is in this gift of self that true joy is found. Some people receive a different call. If it is natural for a man and woman to be united to one another, then it is supernatural for a person to be united entirely to God. The religious vocation anticipates the reality of heaven by seeking union with God already in this life. One can be called to become “eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven,” living celibacy for the love of God and His Kingdom. This includes consecrated virgins who live in the world while dedicating their lives entirely to the Lord and those who do not get married. Others are called to religious life as sisters, nuns, brothers, or monks. There are many religious communities and institutes through which a person is consecrated to God according to a particular charism or mission. Some are called to serve through teaching, serving the poor, caring for the sick or children, immigrants, or those most in need. There are also contemplative communities whose principal work is prayer and total dedication to the Lord, often lived in cloistered monasteries. Finally, we also have the priestly vocation. This call invites men to act in the person of Christ the Head ( in persona Christi capitis ) in the world. Through ordination, a man is configured in a profound way to Jesus Christ. This does not mean that the individual ceases to be himself; rather, by the grace of God, he is united to Christ in a unique and sacramental way. The priesthood is not only for a select few. Many saints throughout history have spoken about how God calls many men to this vocation. Sometimes there is hesitation because a person feels unworthy or inadequate. Yet throughout Scripture we see that God often chooses ordinary people with weaknesses and imperfections. The Apostles and the saints were not extraordinary because of their own abilities, but because they allowed God’s grace to work through them. As the saying goes, God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called. As you can see in Fr. Gabriel, Fr. Victor, and myself, we are very ordinary and imperfect men. It is the grace of God that enables us to do what we do. A man may feel incapable of becoming a priest or discouraged by his sins and limitations. Yet, just as Peter told Jesus, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man,” we remember that it is not we who choose Christ, but Christ who chooses us. Ultimately, our primary vocation is holiness. We are all called to become saints. The particular path we take—whether marriage, religious or single life, or priesthood—is secondary to the greater call to holiness. Those called to matrimony are called to holy matrimony, to become holy husbands and holy wives. Those called to religious life are called to become holy sisters, brothers, monks, and consecrated virgins. Those called to the priesthood are called to become holy priests. Each vocation is not an end in itself, but a path by which we are led to heaven and united more fully with God. God Bless, Fr. Steven