From Father Steven - November 24, 2024

Father Steven Clemence • November 22, 2024


Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

 

Although this week our minds are fully immersed in Thanksgiving, we are not focusing on the pilgrims or the Native Americans. On the last liturgical Sunday of Ordinary Time, we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. Therefore, I would like to reflect together on the profound reality of having Christ as our King. In this weekend’s Gospel, we encounter the dialogue between Pontius Pilate and Jesus. Pilate begins by asking, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (John 18:33). This question calls us to reflect deeply: Is Christ truly our King, or do we have another ruler? In other words, who governs our lives? Who is in charge of our actions, our thoughts, and to whom do we pledge our obedience? Surely, it should be Jesus, but if we are honest with ourselves, that is not always the case. As St. Augustine once said, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You" (Confessions, 1.1). We know that our hearts were made to rest in Christ, but we often allow other things to take precedence.

 

A few weeks ago, we heard the Gospel calling us to love God with all our hearts, to love Him above all else. That would be ideal, but it is not always the case. At times, we put other priorities before God—skipping Mass on Sunday, failing to make time for prayer, or neglecting the needs of others because of something or someone else. This is a sign of whose voice we are listening to. We can easily become distracted and follow our own desires—whether laziness, gluttony, pride, or envy. We may act not because it is God’s will, but because we have other intentions.

 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, whose voice do we obey? Many times, we have clearly heard God’s voice. Whether He was calling us to go to confession, pray the rosary, attend Mass, forgive someone, or respond to another prompt, we knew it was God speaking. But how often do we disregard that voice? We also hear a different voice—one that calls us to do the opposite—sometimes accusing us or justifying our own actions. St. Francis de Sales beautifully reminds us, "Be who you are and be that well" (Introduction to the Devout Life), which speaks to the necessity of aligning our will with God’s. Therefore, this weekend, we are all asked: Is Jesus truly our King?

 

As the dialogue continues, Jesus reveals that His kingdom is not of this world. He tells Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). If we look closely at the Gospels, we see that Jesus repeatedly affirms His heavenly origin. In the Gospel of John, He speaks often of being "from above" (John 8:23), and in the Catechism, we are reminded that "Christ’s kingdom is present in mystery" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 865). He also tells us, "You are in the world, but you are not of the world" (John 17:14-16). So, the question becomes: Do we live as if our kingdom is in heaven? Today, more than ever, there is a sense of everything happening instantly. The world moves so fast that we rarely have to wait for anything. We are conditioned to desire the "here and now," with little patience for delay. We have grown up hearing that "time is money," and we are constantly reminded not to waste it. But Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which takes time to grow (Matthew 13:31-32). This is the opposite of the world’s fast-paced, instant-gratification mindset. Once again, we are in the world, but we are not of the world.

 

Consequently, if our ultimate prize is eternal life—if everything we long for will be given to us after death—then we can endure suffering, trials, and tribulations. These are the ways God purifies us and prepares us to enter His Kingdom. As St. Teresa of Ávila said, "The Lord does not give us an easy way to heaven. He wants us to come through the narrow door, and He calls us to embrace the cross" (The Interior Castle). This is what the martyrs discovered. This is why many saints gave up their lives, careers, and families to follow this higher call. Therefore, we are asked this weekend: Where is our kingdom? Where is our treasure? Jesus tells us, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). In Hebrews 12:2, we are urged to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who "for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame," so that He could sit at the right hand of the throne of God. Would you be willing today to embrace your cross (your suffering), face rejection and humiliation, in order to have this joy and enter the Kingdom of God?

 

While your answer may not be a definitive "yes," Christ, this weekend, desires to be our King and rule our lives—both on earth and in heaven. There is little we can do about our past, but today we can change our future. The Catechism teaches us, "The Kingdom of God is the reign of God, the reign of love, the reign of peace" (CCC, 2816). Let us listen to His voice, and let us do His will. After all we have heard in Mass throughout the year, today let us recognize Jesus as our sovereign King and follow in His footsteps, so that where He is, we too may be.

 

We wish you and your loved ones a very Happy Thanksgiving!

 

God Bless,

Fr. Steven

 



From Father Steven - July 13, 2025

By Father Steven Clemence • July 11, 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters, This weekend we will hear the story of the Good Samaritan. We all know the story—but do we act as the Good Samaritan? There are some stories in the Bible that we are so familiar with that we could almost recite them backwards. The danger of becoming too familiar with a story is that it no longer impacts us. We can become numb to the message of Jesus. I would like to offer three thoughts to help us meditate on this Gospel passage. First , the geography is very important. The story takes place on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Therefore, all the characters had just been in the presence of God in the Temple in the Holy City. To bring this into our daily context, it would be as if people had just left Mass. After praying to the Lord, they encounter a victim. Can you imagine—after listening to the commandment of love, they are given the opportunity to put it into practice, but they bypass it? Second , the characters in the story are not horrible people. According to Jewish precepts, if someone touched a corpse, they would become ritually impure. Perhaps they didn’t want to defile themselves. Maybe they didn’t have time to return to Jerusalem to go through the rite of purification. Or perhaps they thought the victim was already dead, or they were simply in a rush. In other words, there could have been a “reasonable” or “justifiable” excuse not to help the needy person. Third , the Samaritans were not on good terms with the Jews. Due to a historical event long ago when the Israelites were taken into exile, their rivalry had deep roots. It would be like the Red Sox and the Yankees, or Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland—they really didn’t like each other. That is why the Samaritan is called “good.” Since Samaritans were generally viewed negatively, this one stood out as “good.” However, this hostility did not stop our Samaritan friend from helping his neighbor. Though they all believed in the same God, not all acted like God. Jesus tells us that all the Law is summed up in love of God and neighbor. We can all know what is right and wrong, like the characters in the Bible. The real question is: do we excuse ourselves like the priest and the Levite, or do we act like the Samaritan? As we approach the Lord at Mass this weekend, let us not be mere consumers. Quite the opposite—let us be re-energized and do what the Lord has done for us. As we witness Christ giving His life for us in His Body and Blood, let us do the same. “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). This command “is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out,” as we hear in the first reading. Finally, I would like to highlight a couple of things. This Sunday, 7/13 , some parishioners will be holding a fundraiser for a group of 50 pilgrims who will attend the Youth Jubilee in Rome this summer. They will host a ticketed Spanish Rock Concert at 3 p.m., either in Meehan Hall or in the parking lot (donations can also be sent to the parish office). We are also promoting the Catholic Fest event next weekend. There will be food and games in the parking lot. We’ll also have Sean Forrest, a singer and missionary, sharing his amazing witness from 2–3:30 p.m. (in the church). I hope you can stop by on Saturday, July 19th , from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Let us not miss these opportunities to support our parish—and to love one another! God Bless, Fr. Steven

From Father Steven - July 6, 2025

By Father Steven Clemence • July 3, 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters, This weekend we celebrate the Independence of the United States of America. With this Jubilee year that we are currently celebrating one can’t help but think that the following year the United States will celebrate a jubilee of its own, 250 years! Let this earthly liberation remind us of a much older spiritual liberation that took place some 2,000 years ago with the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. After the Fall of Adam and Eve we were at the mercy of the world, and the prince of this world who is Satan. The title prince comes from the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John to reference the real but limited power the devil has over this world and us who dwell in it. Christ, however, won us back through the shedding of his blood. Even when he was still with his disciples, already the kingdom of darkness was being destroyed as we hear in today’s Gospel, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.” “He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” (Col 1:13) Just in our parish alone we are from many different countries but we all belong to the same heavenly kingdom by virtue of the Lord’s crucifixion. Let this weekend remind us that we should always keep our eyes fixed on this heavenly Kingdom because ironically, although the war has been won, the battle is still very much present in our own lives. That is why St. Peter exhorts us, “stay sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your faith.” Today, July 6th is the memorial of St. Maria Goretti. Although the Sunday takes precedence over her feast day, nevertheless we can see someone who was solid in her faith. Born in 1890 Corinaldo, Italy, Maria was the third of seven children. When she was just eleven years old a man named Alessandro made advances on her but she refused. As a result of her unwillingness to sin she was stabbed fourteen times. On her death bed, Maria said that she forgave Alessandro, “I forgive him, and I want him with me in heaven!” Alessandro was sentenced to thirty years in prison and after several years in a dream he saw Maria handing him lilies. It was at this moment that he realized that he could be forgiven. Knowing that Maria forgave him, he began to accept the forgiveness of God. After twenty-seven years in prison he was released and went directly to Maria’s mother. To his astonishment, Maria’s mother forgave him and she said that it was because her own daughter had forgiven him. Alessandro became a Franciscan where he remained for the rest of his life. Maria was canonized in 1950 in the presence of her family and Alessandro. As we can see, we are still in the midst of a battle where the devil can lead us to sin. However, God’s mercy and love is far greater than what we can imagine and he can lead us from slavery to sin to the freedom belonging to the children of God. God Bless, Fr. Steven
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