From Father Steven - February 9, 2025

Father Steven Clemence • February 7, 2025

Living Out the Jubilee Year: A Call to Renewal and Hope

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

As we prepare to celebrate the extraordinary Jubilee Year of 2025, proclaimed by Pope Francis under the theme Pilgrims of Hope, we are invited to embark on a spiritual journey that goes beyond grand public celebrations. This Holy Year is not just about pilgrimages to sacred sites, indulgences, or large gatherings, it is about living a deep and personal renewal in our daily lives.

 

At its heart, a Jubilee Year is a time of grace, reconciliation, and transformation. The Church invites us to seek God’s mercy, embrace forgiveness, and be bearers of hope in a world that desperately needs it. While communal expressions of faith are essential, living out this Jubilee personally is where its true power lies.

 

1. A Time to Strengthen Your Relationship with God

The Jubilee Year offers a unique opportunity to renew our relationship with God. In the busyness of life, it’s easy to lose sight of His presence. Take time each day to pray, reflect on Scripture, and listen to what God is saying to you. Consider attending daily Mass when possible, going to Confession more frequently, and setting aside moments of silence to cultivate a deeper awareness of His love and mercy.

 

2. A Call to Conversion and Reconciliation

Pope Francis emphasizes that hope comes from reconciliation with God, others, and ourselves. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is central to the Jubilee Year. Let us not be afraid to approach God with our weaknesses and failures, trusting in His boundless mercy. In your private life, reflect on relationships that may need healing. Extend forgiveness to those who have hurt you and seek forgiveness where you have caused harm.

 

3. Be a Beacon of Hope

Living as Pilgrims of Hope means being agents of positivity, compassion, and encouragement in a world often marked by despair. In your family, workplace, and community, choose words and actions that build up rather than tear down. Offer a listening ear, speak with kindness, and be a source of joy to those around you.

 

4. Practice Works of Mercy

The Jubilee Year reminds us of the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, counseling the doubtful, and more. Find ways to integrate these acts of love into your daily routine. It doesn’t have to be grand gestures; simple acts of kindness, such as checking in on a neighbor or volunteering at a local shelter, can make a significant difference.

 

5. Care for Creation

Pope Francis encyclical Laudato Si calls us to be stewards of God’s creation. As part of your Jubilee journey, reflect on how you can live more sustainably and respectfully toward the environment. Small changes, like reducing waste and conserving resources, honor God’s gift of creation and promote hope for future generations.

 

6. Foster Gratitude and Joy

The Jubilee Year is a time of celebration and gratitude. Cultivate a habit of recognizing the blessings in your life, no matter how small. Keeping a gratitude journal or simply pausing each day to thank God for His gifts can transform your outlook and bring peace to your heart.

 

7. Share the Jubilee Message

Finally, share the joy and message of the Jubilee with others. Invite family members and friends to join you in prayer, acts of charity, or simply a conversation about faith. As Pope Francis reminds us, hope is contagious let’s spread it far and wide.

 

In this Jubilee Year, may we all be renewed in faith, filled with hope, and transformed by love. Let us journey together, living out this sacred time in our hearts, homes, and communities. May God bless you and guide you on your path as a true Pilgrim of Hope.

 

We have a lot of events planned starting in the beginning of March. More information will be in next week’s bulletin.

 

God Bless,

Fr. Steven

 



By Father Steven Clemence April 17, 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters, CHRIST IS RISEN, ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA!!! I pray that during these next 50 days of the Easter season, you may truly experience the resurrection of Christ in your life. The resurrection is not something magical, as though Christ waves a wand and suddenly we are converted. Lent is our preparation, a spiritual journey that leads us to the moment of Jesus passing through our lives at Easter. According to the Gospels, on Easter morning only Mary Magdalene encounters the Risen Christ. No one else does at first. Over the coming weeks, we will hear different Gospel accounts of others meeting the Risen Lord in a variety of places and situations—reminding us that Christ reveals Himself in many ways, often when we least expect it. We live in a world that doesn’t like to wait. We’ve grown accustomed to instant everything. It’s funny to think how different things were not so long ago—waiting through commercials on TV, or sending letters by mail that took days or weeks to arrive. Today, we can get deliveries within hours and watch any show, anywhere, anytime. Yet, when we read Scripture, we discover that God often calls His people to wait. Abraham waited most of his life for God to fulfill His promises. Then he waited again to hear His voice. The Israelites wandered 40 years in the desert. Clearly, God is in no rush. He could have created the world in an instant, yet He chose to take seven days. After our Lenten preparation, now we enter the season of hope and anticipation—waiting for the Lord to appear. We don’t know when or how, but we trust that He will come. Let us not be like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, who walked and spoke with Jesus without recognizing Him. Each year, Christ seeks to free us from the lies and chains of the enemy. We are often tempted to believe that we are not good enough, that we cannot forgive ourselves for past mistakes, or that a certain person will always remain a painful burden in our lives. The suffering we see around us can deepen that grief. The disciples, too, experienced this kind of “death” of the soul—sadness, confusion, even despair. But in the midst of this brokenness, Christ appears. He comes to reveal that those things no longer have power over us. He breaks the chains of darkness. A better image might be this: Christ has flung open the doors of our prison cell—but we must choose to walk out. The Holy Spirit comes to give us the strength to take that step into freedom. The freedom to forgive. The freedom to see how valuable and loved we truly are. It doesn’t matter if we are “good enough”—God loves us as we are. He knows we have our struggles. I like to say, respectfully and with humor, that we are sometimes God’s “high-maintenance children.” Yet He loves us just the same! So now that we have heard the news of the Resurrection—what do we do? Peter and John ran to the tomb. They left the place where they were and sought Christ. We are invited to do the same. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been coming to church regularly, or if this is your first time here in a while—the invitation is for everyone . This Jubilee Year is a special time of grace. Come out of fear and into the freedom of the Risen Christ! Encounter Him in the many opportunities offered in our parish: Daily Mass (Monday to Saturday at 7:30 AM), Adoration (6:30–7:30 AM and 6–7 PM), Confessions (6–7 PM), Jubilee Talks every Wednesday (7–8 PM), Tuesdays in Spanish, Thursdays in Portuguese Upcoming retreats: Unbound in English (May 24), Brazilian retreat (May 24–25), Spanish couples retreat (June 1), Join one of our many ministries—Cenacle, Knights of Columbus, St. Vincent de Paul, Neocatechumenal Way, Bible Study, Friends of Faith, Bereavement Ministry—or serve at Mass as a catechist, lector, singer, or Eucharistic minister. Maybe the wait is over. The Risen Christ is already here, waiting to encounter you . He will free you. He will give you new life. Come and see! God Bless, Fr. Steven 
By Father Steven Clemence April 11, 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Not long ago, we sang with joy, “O Come, Let Us Adore Him.” . Though this beloved hymn celebrates the response of the shepherds to the birth of the Savior, it echoes once again this Palm Sunday. Today, we are also invited to come and adore Him —this time as He enters Jerusalem, not as an infant, but as the suffering King. The child born in Bethlehem came with a mission: to give His life for the salvation of humanity. From the very beginning, the Nativity foreshadowed the Passion. In traditional Greek icons of the Nativity, Jesus is wrapped in swaddling clothes—foreshadowing the burial linens He will later wear. He is born in a cave-like stable, reminiscent of the tomb in which He will be laid. In Jesus’ time, the dead were placed in stone-cut tombs, not buried underground. The Gospel notes that the tomb of Nicodemus “had not yet been used,” emphasizing its sacred role in God’s plan. Even the reactions to Jesus’ birth and His triumphant entry into Jerusalem are strikingly similar. When Herod heard of the newborn King, he was "greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him" (Mt 2:3). Centuries later, as Jesus enters Jerusalem amid palm branches and acclamations, the entire city is once again shaken—stirred by the arrival of a King who does not come with power and might, but with humility and love. This is no coincidence. Everything in salvation history unfolds according to God's perfect plan. It prompts us to reflect: What is the image we hold of Christ as King? Do we see Him as the one who should take away our sufferings, fix our problems, and restore order to the world? While Christ certainly brings healing and hope, He often does so in ways we do not expect. He is not a King who comes to conquer with force, but one who walks alongside us—through our struggles, pain, and even death—inviting us to place our full trust in God. To grasp the depth of God’s love, consider the image of a parent keeping vigil by their sick child, or a spouse caring tenderly for their beloved in illness or death. These acts of love go beyond obligation—they are a gift of self. In the same way, Christ enters Jerusalem not with glory as the world defines it, but with compassion —literally, "to suffer with." He doesn’t remove suffering from our lives, but instead enters into it with us. Emmanuel— God is with us —even in our darkest hours. We are not alone. Christ calls us to accompany others in their pain, to bring His presence to those who are suffering, and to love as He loves. Only love has the power to conquer sin and death. Palm Sunday’s liturgy begins with celebration—the waving of palms, the joyful acclamation of Christ the King. But it moves swiftly into the solemn reading of His Passion. This contrast invites us to welcome the King who comes not to reign from a throne, but from the Cross. He comes to suffer with us, to carry our sins, and to free us—not from Roman oppression, as many in His time expected—but from the grip of sin and death itself. So, dear friends, let us enter this Holy Week with faith, love, and hope. It is easy to go through the motions, to let these sacred days pass by. But Christ desires to live this time with us and in us . As St. Paul reminds us, “If we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him” (Rom 6:8). Let us then walk this path with Christ—through the Cross, into the joy of the Resurrection. May this Holy Week transform us, renew us, and prepare our hearts to truly celebrate the miracle of Easter.  God Bless, Fr. Steven
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