I do remember when I was preparing myself to receive Jesus for the first time. I went every week to the parish of San Cayetano (St. Cajetan) in Medellin, Colombia, to receive the classes that helped me understand the beautiful miracle of the Eucharist. Jesus Christ, who died and rose from the dead for us, is present in a piece of bread and a little bit of wine. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who loves us very much, wanted to stay with us in the Eucharist.
During these weeks, thirty children of our parish family of the Most Holy Trinity are celebrating their First Communion. But, not only them, also their families and each one of us are happy because they are receiving the bread of life for the first time. We are celebrating First Communions these two weeks. Fourteen children received this sacrament on April 13th for the first time. Another sixteen children will receive Jesus on April 20th, and one on April 21st. My family of Holy Trinity, let us pray for them, so they may be loyal to the Lord and can always recognize the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Let us congratulate them for this important sacrament in their lives.
“My first communicants… congratulations on your First Communion. I am so proud of you. You are growing into graceful and Godly young people. Just as you are blessed with God’s love today, I know that our Holy Trinity family is blessed by you every day.”
Let us pray for our First communicants:
“Lord Jesus Christ, bless the children coming forward to receive Holy Communion for the first time. May this day be the step toward a lifelong love of the Eucharist. Give them a hunger for this sacred food so that they turn to you for comfort, guidance, and wisdom as they grow into full discipleship. Thank you for their innocence and goodness. May their hands, extended in anticipation of your body and blood, inspire all of us to cherish this sacred Sacrament. Amen.”
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!
This Sunday, April 7th, the Church celebrates the second Sunday of Easter, also called the Sunday of the Divine Mercy and it ends the Octave of Easter. The Octave of Easter is the eightday period during which Easter Sunday is celebrated during these days. In other words, the whole week (from Easter Sunday to Divine Mercy Sunday) is only one day, where all Christians celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord as only one big day. Pope St. John Paul II, on April 30, 2000, during the canonization of sister Faustina Kowalska, designated the second Sunday of Easter as the Divine Mercy Sunday. Do you know something about this devotion to the Divine Mercy? Here is a summary of this wonderful devotion.
The History of the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy
In 1935, St. Faustina received a vision of an angel sent by God to chastise a certain city. She began to pray for mercy, but her prayers were powerless. Suddenly she saw the Holy Trinity and felt the power of Jesus’ grace within her. At the same time, she found herself pleading with God for mercy with words she heard interiorly: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us. (Diary, 475)
As she continued saying this inspired prayer, the angel became helpless and could not carry out the deserved punishment (see 474). The next day, as she was entering the chapel, she again heard this interior voice, instructing her how to recite the prayer that our Lord later called “the Chaplet.” This time, after “have mercy on us” were added the words “and on the whole world” (476). From then on, she recited this form of prayer almost constantly, offering it especially for the dying.
In subsequent revelations, the Lord made it clear that the Chaplet was not just for her, but for the whole world. He also attached extraordinary promises to its recitation.
Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you (1541). Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death (687). When they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the Merciful Savior (1541). Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this Chaplet only once, he would re- ceive grace from My infinite mercy (687). I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy (687). Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will. (1731)
Prayed on ordinary rosary beads, The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy is an intercessory prayer that extends the offering of the Eucharist, so it is especially appropriate to use it after having received Holy Communion at Holy Mass. It may be said at any time, but our Lord specifically told St. Faustina to recite it during the nine days before the Feast of Mercy (the first Sunday after Easter). He then added: “By this Novena, [of Chaplets] I will grant every possible grace to souls.” (796)
It is likewise appropriate to pray the Chaplet during the “Hour of Great Mercy”—three o’clock each afternoon (recalling the time of Christ’s death on the cross). In His revelations to St. Faustina, Our Lord asked for a special remembrance of His Passion at that hour. (source)
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you.
For forty days we, the followers of Christ, were in a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We were preparing ourselves during that time to celebrate the most important mystery of our faith: the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Resurrection of Christ came three days after His death. This is a great teaching for all of us because not only with the death and resurrection of Jesus we were saved from the slavery of sin, but also, we receive a message of hope. This message tells us that among the darkness that we are living with, we see the light of hope. The light, the Risen Lord, who triumphantly rose from the dead, is saying to us that we cannot fear, especially at this time of crisis in which humanity is living. We need to rejoice not only because Jesus rose from the dead, but because He is always with us. He is the only one who can help us in moments of distress and sorrow. We need to rejoice because the Lord has changed our mourning into dancing; He took off our sackcloth and clothed us with gladness (cf. Psalm 30:12).
“Pope Francis reminds us in Evangelii Gaudium that Christ’s resurrection is not an event of the past; something that happened to Jesus 2000 years ago. Rather it is a vital power, an irresistible force permeating the world. He reminds us that there are signs of resurrection everywhere transforming situations of injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty. He says: ‘Where all seems to be dead, signs of the resurrection suddenly spring up. However dark things are, goodness always reemerges and spreads’ (EG 276). And we, missionary disciples, are instruments of that transformation” (Holy Family Bordeaux).
Our mission as Jesus’ disciples is to share the Risen Lord with our brothers and sisters who lose hope, are in sorrow, and do not see the light. Our mission is to tell others that Jesus is alive, and He will give us strength in difficult times of our lives. Let us feel the joy of the Risen Lord and share this joy with our brothers and sisters who need a word of hope.
May the Risen Lord be with all of you! Happy Easter 2024!
God bless you and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!
I came to the United States in 2009. Little by little I started not only to learn English, but also to learn about American culture. All of its traditions were new to me. Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, the Fourth of July, etc. Once, I was chatting with a friend, and he asked me about the celebration of Holy Week in the United States. Immediately, I started to remember the way that we celebrated Holy Week in Colombia, and of course, it was very different. Colombia has a lot of processions, a lot of people, activities for children, youth, and adults. Long lines of people waiting for their turn to go to the sacrament of Reconciliation, long ceremonies (people do not care about time), and even the Easter Vigil was a long celebration (around 4 hours). Of course, all of these flashbacks happened in a second. I then described the way Americans celebrate the Holy Week, which of course was very different. My friend said to me that Holy Week in America was “boring.” I laughed and explained that Holy week in America is just very different.
I believe that even though there are not the same expressions of faith during the most important week of the year for all Christian people, the Americans have wonderful expressions of faith because they understand the real importance of this week (At least, I want to believe so).
We praise the Lord on Palm Sunday and recognize Jesus not only as the King of the Jews, but also as the King of the Universe. He is the King of our lives. We praise Him with palms saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9).
On Holy Thursday we celebrate the sacrament of Love, the Eucharist. At the Last Supper, Our Lord Jesus Christ wanted to stay with us in the bread and wine. We need to say to the Lord “thank you” for all the wonderful gifts that the Lord gave us in this Supper.
On Good Friday Jesus died for us on the Cross. He cleansed us of our sins through His sacrifice because by the Holy Cross, He has redeemed the world. We call this day “Good” not because it was good to see a man die on a Cross, but by the act of Jesus through His death, He restored our friendship with God.
On Easter vigil the Christians rejoice at the triumphant Resurrection of the Lord. St. Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, then empty [too] is our preaching; empty, too, your faith” (1 Cor. 15, 14). Easter Vigil is the center of our faith. The resurrection of Christ gave us hope and the possibility to go to the house of our Heavenly Father.
Even though the way Christians celebrate Holy Week is different, we have the same spirit. The Lord Jesus saved all of us regardless of our traditions, nationality, language, or culture. We commemorate His passion, death, and resurrection. We live these sacred mysteries with faith and love. We say thank you to the Lord for His sacrifice on the Cross and His resurrection from death.
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin be with you always
“Six year old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor. He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten. Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad. He didn’t know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove, (and he didn’t know how the stove worked)! Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas dirty. And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon’s eyes. All he wanted to do was something good, but he’d made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a smacking. But his father just watched him. Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas dirty in the process. That’s how God deals with us. We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky or we insult a friend or we can’t stand our job or our health goes sour. Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can’t think of anything else to do. That’s when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him. But just because we might mess up, we can’t stop trying to ‘make pancakes,’ for God or for others. Sooner or later we’ll get it right, and then they’ll be glad we tried.”
Pope Francis reminds us that it is not easy to trust in God’s mercy because our sins do not allow us to go to His Presence and enjoy His love and mercy. The Pope says during his homily on March 17, 2013, “It is not easy to entrust oneself to God’s mercy, because it is an abyss beyond our comprehension. But we must! … ‘Oh, I am a great sinner!’ ‘All the better! Go to Jesus: He likes you to tell him these things!’ He forgets, He has a very special capacity for forgetting. He forgets, He kisses you, He embraces you and He simply says to you: ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more’ (Jn 8:11).”
Let us not be afraid to go to the sacrament of reconciliation and to experience the wonderful mercy of God. Let us remember that our parish offers this wonderful sacrament on Tuesdays at 4:30 pm* and Saturdays at 3:00 pm. In addition, there will be an evening of penance service with individual confessions this Monday, March 18th at 7:00 p.m. You can also call me and ask for an appointment for confession.
*Confessions will not be available on Tuesday, March 18th.
God is our Father who is always ready to forgive us regardless of what we did. The only condition to receive His forgiveness is to want to receive God’s forgiveness. Let us make a good examination of conscience and go to this marvelous sacrament.
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!
Once I was presiding at the Eucharist wearing the rose vestments on the Fourth Sunday of Lent. In my homily, I explained why the priest wears this color, which is not very often used in the liturgy. Some people said to me, “Father, you look very nice in ‘pink’ ”, or “this is a very unusual color in Church.” These were nice comments, but the most significant comment that day for me came from a 4 year old boy. After Mass, he came to me, looked at me, and said, “Father… don’t wear pink… pink is for girls.” His parents, people who were there, and me just laughed. I knelt down to his level, smiled, and said to him, “thank you very much for your words… I will keep in mind what you said to me.” He smiled with me at that moment. Even though I continue to wear the “pink” color because this is a suggestion by the Church (it is not obligatory to wear this color), I remember in a special way this boy who reminded me of the simplicity of the gospel, and how God expresses His love through these “little ones.”
The little boy saw a color that in his understanding was only for girls, not for boys. In the understanding of the Church this color is used to manifest the joy that we feel for knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ came to save all of us. To see the priest wearing the “pink” or “rose” color should produce in us a big smile because this color is telling us that the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon. We smile because we are happy. We smile because Jesus gave us salvation and eternal life through His Death and Resurrection. For this reason, the priest wears the “rose” color. A color which is a combination of two colors: red, which means the Passion and Death, the blood that Jesus shed for us on the Cross, and white which is the color of the resurrection. I learned in elementary school that red and white produces “pink” or “rose.”
This Fourth Sunday of Lent is called Laetare Sunday or Sunday of Rejoicing, and it is very different from Gaudete Sunday which is celebrated on the Third Sunday of Advent. This one also means joy. However, the joy of Advent is because the savior of the world is coming on Christmas, but the joy of Lent is because Christ saved us through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. “In Lent it comes in the form of Laetare Sunday and in Advent it comes in the form of Gaudete Sunday. Both days get their name from Latin roots which are principally used to express joy. The difference between the two is that Laetare reflects a joy that is manifest outwardly whereas Gaudete reflects a way of rejoicing internally” (Gaudete v. Laetare).
It does not matter what you call this color, “pink” or “rose.” The most important thing is to start to celebrate the joy of the Risen Lord. Let us prepare ourselves for the coming celebration of Easter with joy and always have a thanksgiving attitude toward the Lord.
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!
During this sacred time, the Church introduces us to the Lenten observances. Almsgiving is one of them. What is the meaning of Almsgiving? Almsgiving is simply “the act of charity to another.” It is to help in the necessities of other people. These necessities could be physical or spiritual ones. The Lord, in the gospel of Matthew (Mt. 25: 31-46), is telling us the parable of the Judgment of the nations. In this parable, we see how a king came to judge people according to their actions. Those who helped other people were taken to the Kingdom of heaven, and those who didn’t help their neighbors were sent to eternal punishment. From this parable, the Catholic Church teaches us the works of mercy. They are 14 works of mercy, and they are divided into two groups: corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
Physical works of mercy
Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Shelter the homeless
Visit the sick
Visit the prisoners
Bury the dead
Give alms to the poor
Corporal works of mercy
Counseling the doubtful
Instructing the ignorant
Admonishing the sinner
Comforting the sorrowful
Forgiving injuries
Bearing wrongs patiently
Praying for the living and the dead
The works of mercy are good works that we can do to give alms to other people, especially to the poor. Other ways we can help people who are most in need is through our Webster Hope (donating items that will help others) or helping economically to any organization, such as hospitals, churches, organizations or our Diocese of Rochester. For instance, at Holy Trinity Church, we have our weekly collections, Operation Rice Bowl, and the Catholic Ministry Appeal (CMA) that our diocese is working on throughout the year. So far, our parish has reached 84.79% (based on February 26, 2024) of our goal for 2024. Hopefully, we can reach this goal, and in that way, we can help people in the different ministries of our Diocese.
Let us pray so all of us have a spirit of giving to all people in their physical and spiritual necessities.
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always! Fr. Jorge Ramirez
We usually hear about the necessity to pray, especially during this time of Lent. But, what is prayer? Prayer simply is to talk to God. Think about God as your best friend. We usually want to talk to our friends to tell them our concerns, problems, goals, success, and so on. If God is our best friend, we should tell Him everything about ourselves. For instance, Saint Teresa of Avila refers to the early stages of prayer as “frequent solitary conversation with Him who, as we know, loves us.” God loves us very much, and He desires to talk to us. For this reason, we need to try to pray always, anytime, anywhere. Jesus frequently says to us in the Gospel that all of us need to pray always (cf. Lk. 18:18).
There are different forms of prayer:
Blessing or adoration prayer: We can bless people or things, wishing for them all of God’s gifts. For example, we can bless our children before they go to sleep or bless our meals before eating. More over, we can bless God in response to God’s blessing for us. One way to bless or adore God is going to the Blessed Sacrament and to worship Him because we recognize that we cannot do anything without Him.
Petition prayer: We ask God for our necessities; e.g. we ask God for our health or economic situation. We express to God our concerns and trust in God’s providence. We believe that God will help us always. We need a spirit of humility in this prayer, recognizing that without God we cannot do anything.
Intercession prayer: We ask God for the necessities for someone else. For instance, we pray for a brother, our mother, our father, or a friend who has a problem or hard situation in their lives. Also, we ask Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or one of the saints to intercede for us or for somebody else before God, the Father.
Thanksgiving prayer: We recognize that God has done wonderful things in our lives and say thanks to Him. For example, we say thanks to God for your job, your children, or your life. The Eucharist is a thanksgiving prayer. Next time that we go to the Mass, do not forget to say thanks to God.
These are some ways to pray. We can always pray using common prayers, such as the Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, the Holy Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, and so on. These prayers are very important in the Church because they are part of the tradition of the Church, and when we pray these prayers, we spiritually join with the rest of the community.
Let us pray always, at all times, in any place. God is always there to listen to us because He is our best friend who loves us very much.
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!
During Lent, the Roman Catholic Church invites us to practice the Lenten observances: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. These practices help us to have a better understanding of the real meaning of this wonderful liturgical season called Lent. In addition to the Lenten observances, the Church also is insisting, not only during these 40 days of conversion, but through the whole year that we go to the wonderful Sacrament of Penance.
Penance is the sacrament in which we experience the mercy of God. This is a wonderful sacrament. Unfortunately, not everyone goes to receive forgiveness, and they are denying themselves the gift of many graces and blessings from God.
I would like to remind you about the steps to have a good confession:
Before Confession
How to Make a Good Confession
Confession is not difficult, but it does require preparation. We should begin with prayer, placing ourselves in the presence of God, our loving Father. We seek healing and forgiveness through repentance and a resolve to sin no more. Then we review our lives since our last confession, searching our thoughts, words, and actions for that which did not conform to God’s command to love Him and one another through His laws and the laws of His Church. This is called an examination of conscience.
To make an examination of conscience:
Begin with a prayer asking for God’s help. Review your life with the help of some questions, which are based on the 10 Commandments. Tell God how truly sorry you are for your sins. Make a firm resolution not to sin again.
During Confession
The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) involves four steps:
Contrition: A sincere sorrow for having offended God, and the most important act of the person confessing. There can be no forgiveness of sin if we do not have sorrow and a firm resolve not to repeat our sin.
Confession: Naming our sins2aloud2to the priest, who represents Christ and the Church. Penance: The prayers2or sometimes, the good deeds2the priest gives, for our healing and the healing of those we have hurt by our sins.
Absolution: The words the priest speaks by which “God, the Father of mercies” reconciles us to himself through his death and resurrection, called the Prayer of Absolution.
Very soon, a wonderful season in the Church will begin again: Lent. I say “again” because year after year the Roman Catholic Church insists on repentance, conversion, to see God faceto face, and to ask Him to forgive our sins. But, why does the Church say this again and again, year after year? Why does the Church always invite us to prayer, fasting, almsgiving, penance, sacrifice, conversion? How many times have we heard about this in the sanctuary through the preaching of many priests? Once? Twice? Three times? Thirty times? Fifty times? Eighty times? One hundred times?… In my case, I have heard about this fortythree times, because that is how old I am.
The answer to these questions is very simple, and sometimes we do not pay enough attention. The Church is inviting us year after year to think about all of these because she is thinking about our salvation. If you and I belong to the
Roman Catholic Church, go to the Eucharist, practice the sacraments, it is not because we do not have anything else to do, but because we want to go to the Kingdom of God, that means to gain eternal life.
We need to think about our salvation; hence, all the elements that the Church is introducing us, such as fasting, penance, almsgiving, sacrifice, service, etc., are tools that help us to think how we can be closer to God, surrender to Him, and reach eternal life. If we do not think about our salvation and eternal life, our faith does not make sense. I do not go to Church because I have nothing interesting to do or because my mom, dad, child, or friends are there, but because I want to have a closer encounter with Christ.
Thus, not only during this Lenten season, but all the days of our lives that we should pray and celebrate the sacraments, such as the sacraments of Eucharist and Penance (confession or reconciliation). Let us serve one another and let us allow our love for Christ to be reflected in our service to our neighbors. Through this love and service, we gain salvation and eternal life.
May this Lenten season lead us to have a special encounter with Christ to get to the house of our Heavenly Father.
So, when we go to Church this coming Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of this great season, let us think about the words that our priest or lay people say at the moment we receive ashes on our forehead: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel,” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Both sentences should, once again, make us to think about our salvation. Why will we go to receive ashes this coming Wednesday? Will I receive because of tradition, or because I really want to change my life? May this Ash Wednesday help us to think about our spiritual life, change many aspects in our lives, and prepare ourselves to go to the house of our heavenly Father.
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!
Fr. Jorge Ramirez
Ash Wednesday is one of the most popular and important holy days in the liturgical calendar. Ash Wednesday opens Lent, a season of fasting and prayer. Ash Wednesday takes place 40 days before Easter Tridium, and is chiefly observed by Catholics, although many other Christians observe it too. Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. The practice includes the wearing of ashes on the head. The ashes symbolize the dust from which God made us. As the priest or one of the ministers of the parish applies the ashes to a person’s forehead, they speak the words: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Alternatively, they may speak the words, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”
The hours for Ash Wednesday are:
6:30 am
Morning Prayer and reception of Ashes
9:00 am
Mass and reception of Ashes
11:05 am
Mass and reception of Ashes at Maplewood
12:15 pm
Prayer service and reception of Ashes
5:30 pm
Mass and reception of Ashes
If you have relatives or friends who are sick and cannot come to the Church and want to receive the Ashes, Confession, Holy Communion, or Anointing of the sick, please let me know. For more information, please contact the parish office at (585) 265-1616.
St. Valentine’s Day is coming soon. Renew the love that you have for your spouse, family, relative, or friend at Mass. On February 10th and 11th, during the Mass, there will be a special blessing for matrimonies and couples who are engaged, or dating. Those who are single, don’t worry. We’ll also have a special blessing for you because we appreciate your friendship and support for our parish. St. Valentine’s Day is also the friendship day. Please, come and receive this wonderful blessing by God.
