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!

“Will Only a Few People Be Saved?”

Jesus was asked this question and responded that we must “enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and restricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14).

People have debated for centuries about what Jesus meant by “many” and “few.” No one knows. What we do know, however, is that we want to be among the few. How can we do that? Well, for one thing, we can keep the Ten Commandments, as Jesus told the rich young man who wanted to know what he had to do to get to Heaven.

The Commandments explain in more detail what Jesus called the two great commandments. First, we must love God with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our souls. Second, we must love our neighbor at ourselves.

If you were to ask people if they expect to go to Heaven, many would respond in the affirmative. If you ask them why, they will say, “Because I’m a good person. I shop for my elderly neighbor, I help out at a homeless shelter, I coach youth sports, etc.”

But that’s only the second great commandment — to love our neighbor. What about the first great command-ment — to love God above everything and everyone else?

Does helping other people make up for neglecting God? Does coaching sports on Sunday morning make up for not going to Mass? We would say no.

A good person should first of all be a “Godperson.” The two should go hand in hand, always putting God first in our lives and others second. Then we can be sure of being saved.

Baptisms and Marriages

Two great Sacraments that God has given to His Church are the sacraments of Marriage and Baptism. We encourage those who are planning to get married to contact one of our priests for an initial meeting at least six months prior to the wedding date you have in mind. And for newborn babies, bring them to the fountain of Baptism as soon as possible to give them the greatest gift of all — the grace to become children of God.

Baptism begins our journey to Heaven. We cannot receive any of the other Sacraments without having been baptized. It is imperative that parents not neglect to have their children baptized shortly after birth.

On the steps of Saint Paul: A Pilgrimage to Greece, Ephesus and Greek Isles Cruise.

Join Father Paco, the Angel Connection Group and fellow Parishioners and friends for an unbelievable Pilgrimage that will include the First Christian Communities formed by Saint Paul, the House of the Blessed Mother in Ephesus, a relaxing cruise to the Greek Islands, Athens, Santorini, and much more.

September 9 to the 19, 2025 $ 5,783 per person from Boston (based on double occupancy) For Reservation and more information go to: 206tours.com/angelconnection

From now until March 15th, Knights of Columbus Council 87 of Framingham is helping the American Red Cross

to collect blood for those in need. You are invited to join them at a Red Cross blood drive or donation center.

Please use the Bloodlink below to sign up. Once you have done so, you will be given an appointment at the nearest Red Cross donation center.

Your Bloodlink ID is 1713 and your reference number is 1380501:

https://rcblood.org/3ZvgBzp

Remember, hospital patients are counting on us, so spread the word, bring a friend, make an appointment and donate together, and then celebrate your accomplishment by knowing that you have helped someone in need.

Thank you on behalf of the patients you may have touched.

A Prayer for Pope Leo XIV

Heavenly Father, you have raised your servant, Pope Leo XIV, to the Chair of St. Peter. Pour out your abundant blessings upon him.

Through him, guide your Pilgrim Church along the path to Heaven. Grant him wisdom to discern your will, courage to fulfill it, and charity to shepherd your people with the heart of Christ. In this time of transition, bring peace to troubled hearts, joy to those who suffer, and hope to the despairing. May he be a faithful successor to St. Peter, a humble servant of your Word, and a fearless herald of your Divine Mercy and Truth. Strengthen him with the grace of the Holy Spirit, that he may lead the Church in unity, holiness, and fidelity.

We entrust him to the maternal care of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the prayers of all the saints. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

At our Confirmation last Friday, fiftyseven persons were given the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

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 forming 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 persons 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.

The month of June: Dedicated to foster devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

In the Catholic Tradition, each month is dedicated to a particular devotion: June it is the month dedicated to foster devotion to the﷯ Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus this year falls on Friday, June 27. Two Masses will be offered on that particular Friday, to honor the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. One will be in English at 8:00 a.m. and the other in Spanish at 7:00 p.m.

Also, the following day, on Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m., a Mass will be offered in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, whose Feast always follows that of the Most Sacred Heart of her Son.

Let us show our special devotion to these two most loving of Hearts during this month and always; our families will be greatly blessed by our devotion

Parochial Vicar: Fr. Eric Velazquez

It is with great joy that we welcome Rev. Eric Velazquez in our midst as a new Parochial Vicar. Archbishop Henning appointed him in this capacity as of June 1st of this year.

He is originally from Honduras in Central America, he was ordained by Cardinal Sean O’Malley at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in 2018 and has been serving the Archdiocese of Boston ever since. He most recently comes from serving as a Parochial Vicar at Saint Patrick in Brockton. We will get to meet him and know him in the following weeks. Welcome to our Parish Family here at Saint Stephen’s in Framingham!