From Father Steven - July 21, 2024

Father Steven Clemence • July 19, 2024

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

 

There is a lot going on the parish. Much more than what we can share at times. Today I asked Jackie Chung to speak about her calling and the new mission that she is about to start. Please keep her in your prayers and all the youth who are searching for their call. 

God Bless, Fr Steven

 

Dear Parishioners,

 

My name is Jacqueline (Jackie) Chung. I'm from Shrewsbury, MA, and Immaculate Conception is my home parish. It is here that I've received all of my Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, First Holy Communion, and Confirmation)! I am a regular at the 4:00pm Saturday Vigil Mass along with my parents- we usually sit in the front, left side of the Church. I have just graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in Civil Engineering. My time at UMass was incredibly formative and I encountered Jesus in very real ways.

 

Going into my freshman year, I was committed to receiving the Sacraments, but my “why” was not strong. As an underclassman, everyone tells you to “get involved,” and “keep yourself busy.” I took this to heart and decided to sign up for some clubs and find ways to fill my schedule. Thanks be to God, one of the first clubs I signed up for was the NCSA (Newman Catholic Student Association). Shortly after that, a missionary reached out to me and invited me to an event… and then to her Bible Study. It was through these simple invitations and her contagious joy that I was led to an encounter with Christ. Suddenly, I found myself desiring to learn more about my Catholic faith and forming friendships centered around the Lord. I finally found what I had been searching for, the One that will truly satisfy. The One who calls me His beloved daughter. The One who has made me in His image and likeness. My relationship with God had never felt more alive.

 

During the summer, between my Sophomore and Junior year, I participated in FOCUS Summer Projects in Newry, Maine. This experience was another pivotal moment in my faith journey. I was surrounded by 40 other Catholic college students, worked a full-time job in food service, and had some of the best Catholic formation each week. We were taught by the missionaries living there with us how to lead Bible studies and formation groups. It was there that I learned how to live out the Christian life while managing a demanding work schedule.

It was through a FOCUS missionary that I was invited and led into a deeper relationship with God. It is my desire to invite other young college students to make Jesus the center of their lives and experience the great joy of the Gospel!

I'm writing all this to share some exciting news with you: during my senior year, I felt the call to give my life to the Lord in a radical way and become a full-time Catholic missionary with FOCUS! The Fellowship of Catholic University Students sends a team of missionaries to colleges all over the United States to evangelize our young people. I have been placed at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, RI, and will be moving there in mid-August! 

 

Each FOCUS missionary has the unique opportunity to fundraise 100% of his/her mission budget. Part of the mission of FOCUS is to engage our family, friends and parish communities in the New Evangelization, inviting those outside of the college campus to participate as active members of our ministry through prayerful and financial support. This means that I will be funded by a support team of mission partners (individuals, families…etc.) who commit to supporting my mission on a monthly basis.

 

This is where you all come in! I would love to invite each of you to join my support team prayerfully and financially. If you are interested in hearing more about the good work FOCUS is doing on college campuses and joining my support team, you can visit this link: https://forms.gle/rK3TVWX9mCqBVeUL7 or scan the QR Code below with your phone. If it's easier for you, you may email your name and phone number to jacqueline.chung@focus.org. This will allow me to reach out to you and schedule an appointment soon!

 

Thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity. Be assured of my continued prayers for you all.

 

All Glory to God,

Jackie Chung                                                                                                                                                                     

 

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

From Father Steven - August 16, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • August 14, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, I hope you are enjoying your summer! Please see the letter below from Fr. Javier. God Bless, Fr. Steven ——————————————— Hello Brothers and Sisters, Time flies, it has already been a few months since my ordination but I feels like it was only yesterday. The ordination has been a gift and a joy. Thank you all for your support in my formation. I would like to share with you two things that have been close to my heart since my ordination to the deaconate and now the priesthood. The first is on God's Providence and the second is a particular part of the Eucharist. My diaconate ordination marked the end of my time of mission and my return for the final year in the seminary. As many of you might remember I was in mission in American Samoa, Samoa, and a short but impactful time in Saipan. During that time I experienced how God opened doors that I never even knew existed. In difficult times God always had a solution in ways that I didn't expect. In short, I experienced God's Providence and I was awe-struck. I felt that God was my Father who was providing what I needed. Looking ahead into my priesthood, I know that there will be challenging moments but I have these core memorials that serve to remind me that God provides the grace needed to carry out his will. Providence comes to you when you seek out God and his will, everything else falls into place. Now as a priest there is a particular part of the Eucharist that I really enjoy, the Holy sung during the Eucharistic Prayer. "Heaven and Earth are full of your glory". That line has stuck with me because it calls to mind all the wonders that I have seen God work in my life, the life of my family, and in the lives of others. Not only this, but the action of singing Holy, Holy, Holy during the Liturgy fulfills our heavenly calling to one day join the angels and saints in Heaven singing the perpetual praises of God. The Book of Revelations says that they never cease to sing Holy, Holy, Holy. In the Eucharist, and in this moment in particular Heaven and Earth come together. What a blessing to celebrate the Eucharist! I remember you in my prayers, please pray for me. In Christ, Fr Javier Alexis Padilla