Donations

We would like to thank you for your continued generosity to your parish.

We are family!

A message of love and solidarity.

Here at Saint Stephen Parish, we will never stop living and promoting our Catholic Faith!

Each day we will post news, initiatives and information that is important to all of us as a parish family.

We are going to use, to the best of our ability and creativity, the means that this era of technology offers us, to stay connected with our brothers and sisters because “We are family”.

That is the title of the brief posts you’ll find on our web page or on the Parish Facebook page. Since we are a bilingual community, everything will be posted in the two languages, you just need to scroll down the page to find the English post. So, log on to www.ststephenparish.org each day and let us stay connected with each other.

Feel free also to comment and sent suggestions that may be helpful, thanks.

Altar Servers Invited Back

After a hiatus of several years, we would like to have our young people resume their role of serving at Mass.

This is a great privilege in assisting the priest as he brings Jesus down from Heaven into our parish churches.

This service is open to boys and girls who have served in the past or who would like to serve now. You must have received your First Communion to be eligible and you must be available to fulfill your assigned Masses.

Training will be provided. If you are interested, please contact Mr. Drummey at classes on Sunday,

Helping the St. Vincent de Paul Society

We know that many of you gave up things during Lent that may have saved you some money. Some of that money has been used in past years to help different charities, like the Rice Bowl program, the Bethany project to help prisoners, the Pro-Life movement, etc.

How about this time donating the money you saved by denying yourself certain pleasures to the St. Vincent de Paul Society? The SVDP does a wonderful job helping the most needy among us. This is the way we try to respond to our call to help the poor here at Saint Stephen's

Faith Formation in the Fall

Religious Education in English and Spanish for the young people in our Parish, especially for those receiving First Communion and Confirmation, will begin on Sun-day,

 September 17th, at 10:15 a.m. for grades 1 to 6 and at 11:45 for grades 7 to 10.

Registration forms will be going out shortly or you can scan the QR code here to sign up on line. If you have any questions, please call Mr. Drummey at (508) 875-4788.

Visits and Holy Communion to the sick and homebound.

As Catholics, if we have the misfortune to end up being sick for a while, or in recovery; one of the most comforting things for us is, to be able to watch Mass on TV, and that is why we continue to broadcast our Masses that you may follow each weekend by linking to our webpage and, most of all, to receive Holy Communion. If you hap-pen to know any of our Parishioners to be in this situation, please, call the office and notify us about it. One of our Priests, Deacons or Extraordinary Minister of Communion will be more than happy to visit your relative and bring him/her Holy Communion. Please, let us know!

The Promise of Jesus to St. Faustina

While celebrating the Feast of Divine Mercy today, consider these words which Jesus spoke in 1936 to St. Faustina, the Polish nun who first revealed the vast treasury of Jesus’ grace and mercy:

“My daughter, tell the world about my inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day, the very depths of my tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who ap-proach the Fount of my Mercy.

The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day, all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.

Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of my most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate my love and mercy throughout eter-nity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from my very depths of tenderness. It is my desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of my Mercy.”

Prayer for Catechumens and Our Confirmandi

Please say the following prayer for the six persons who were welcomed into the Church at the Easter Vigil and especially for the 60 adults and high schoolers who are being confirmed on April 12th. Our prayers can be of great importance to them.

Let us pray for all those receiving the Sacraments of Initiation, whose spiritual lives lie ahead of them, that they may go forward with open and receptive minds to meet their future, that they may learn to accept themselves and not lose heart, and that they will be courageous witnesses to the love and message of Jesus Christ.

We pray that they may be generous and honest toward their parents and all those they meet, that they will not write off the older generation but honor the achievements of the past, and, above all, that they be faithful to their friends and unselfish in love.

We pray further that they will not fall for the tempta-tions of our immoral culture and indulge in what is cheap and futile, that they may not ruin their own lives or the lives of others in the pursuit of the false gods of our time, but will be ready to make this world a better place in which to live.

We urge them to place their faith and trust in the one, true God and pray often for His grace and guid-ance. We make this prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Confirmations Here Last Friday

Alexander ALEXANDER Alfaro

Michael STEPHEN Barrientos

Theodore ANTONIO Bell

Vincent DAVID Bell

Shayla ANNE Boconzaca

Michael DOMINIC Bonilla

Alan DAVID Campos

Ana ELIZABETH Castillo

Anthony PAUL Contreras

Viviana MARY De Leon

Grace MARIA Encalada

Diego NICHOLAS Figueroa

Anthony SEBASTIAN Garcia

Cesar FRANCIS Garcia

Hannahlee ROSE Gonzalez

Jimena ROSE Granados

Zhenefer ROSE Guaman

Nychelle KATHERINE Jaramillo

Cristian PEDRO Loja

Stephanie CECILIA Madrid

Kally GUADALUPE Mayancela

Maylin TERESA Mejia

Lunaelise CLARA Mesa

William ALEXANDER Mizhirumbay

Rodrigo MICHAEL Morais

Stephanie GUADALUPE Morales

Carmen GUADALUPE Reyes

Kevin JOSEPH Roach

Johana JACINTA Rodriguez

Gabriel MARY Salguero

Claudia MARY MAGDALENE Tejada

Litzy GUADALUPE Tobar

ADULTS

Carlos CARLOS Azogue

Luis DANIEL Caguana

Angel ALEXANDER Caiza

Brandon CAYETANO Carias

Elida LUCIA Cruz

Estelle LUCY Del Cid

Christopher MIGUEL Diaz

Angel ANTONIO DE PADUA Fuentes

Julia ANNE Gorman

James MICHAEL Herbert

Jennifer ANASTASIA Landaverde

Maria D. MARIA Lema

Maria M. MARIA Lema

Gloria KATHERINE Masabanda

Jairo DAVID Maza

Yesenia GUADALUPE Mijangos

Doris ELIZABETH Noguera

Brian CHRISTOPHER Previte

Oscar GUADALUPE Ramirez

Camila MICHAEL Rendon

Roxana GUADALUPE Rivas

Christian BENEDICT Rodriguez

Diego PAUL Santos

Dulce ANASTASIA Santos

John PATRICK Sullivan

Melisa CATHERINE Victoria

CONFIRMATIONS 2024 Photos

If you would like to purchase confirmation photos please click on the link below, it will take you to a website where you can place your order.  God Bless.

ORDER YOUR Confirmation Photos Here!

Bible Study to Start

Again Next Wednesday

Our Study of the Gospel of Matthew will resume this Wednesday, April 17th, at 1:00 p.m. in the Rectory Meeting Room. We will be covering chapters 22-28 of Matthew.

Even if you haven’t attended the previous sessions of this particular study, you are welcome to join us.

The classes will continue every Wednesday until May 29th. Materials will be provided for the study and there is no fee for participating. We Catholics need to deepen our knowledge of Holy Scripture. As Saint Jerome said: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ!” All are welcome to attend!!!!

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

At our Confirmation last Friday, fifty-eight persons were given the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Like all gifts, however, we are free to ignore them or put them aside. This would be foolhardy since these gifts can help us get to Heaven. Here are the gifts:

Wisdom — the gift of seeing things as God sees them, not as the world sees things, and acting in a way pleasing to God.

Understanding — the gift of comprehending the teachings of God and putting them into practice in our lives and form-ing our conscience according to those teachings.

Knowledge — the gift of learning the truths that God has revealed to us and telling others about them.

Counsel — the gift of seeking advice from God, the Church, and holy persons who will help us to make good decisions.

Fortitude — the gift of doing good and avoiding evil, of being a witness to Christ, and of doing the right thing when it is difficult or even dangerous.

Piety — the gift of showing deep respect for God and per-sons and things associated with God, and treating other persons the way we would want them to treat us.

Fear of the Lord — the gift of avoiding any words or

actions that would separate us from God and keep us from getting to Heaven. God loves us so much that He will never turn away from us, but we have the free will to turn away from Him.

Our Monthly Eucharistic Adoration

As we continue to celebrate our Easter Joy, we return to our traditional practices here at the Parish. Our time of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament will take place in the Church on First Friday, May 3rd, after the 8:00 Mass and on First Saturday, May 4th, also after the morning Mass. Please plan to spend an hour with us before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

An additional hour and a half of Adoration will also take place with some Spanish prayers at 7:00 p.m. on the First Friday for those who cannot make the morning hour and would like to participate. All are welcome.