American people usually prepare themselves for the coming holidays doing different activities. Families go to find the right tree and put all the ornaments on it; moms prepare cookies and delicious food for the family and friends; dads put up all the Christmas lights, the Nativity scene, Santa, the snowman… people start to sing Christmas carols, and watch Christmas movies. This is something I have seen throughout the 15 years that I have been living in the United States. But, what do you know about other Christmas traditions?

Probably you can talk about “Las Posadas,” which is a novenario (an extended devotional prayer). It is celebrated chiefly in Latin America, Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, Spain, and by Hispanics in the United States. It is typically celebrated each year between December 16 and December 24. Latin American countries have continued to celebrate the holiday, with very few changes to the tradition. People gather together waiting for the coming of the Lord, and share as one family delicious food, just as “tamales,” “horchata,” chocolate, or other candies.

You can also talk about “Las Parrandas,” which are celebrated in Puerto Rico during Christmas season. “A parranda (English: party or spree) is a Puerto Rican music tradition that takes place in Puerto Rico during the Christmas holiday season. Parrandas are social events that feature traditional Puerto Rican music, food, and drinks. They are associated with pride for the customs of the traditional Puerto Rican jíbaro. The traditional events have been likened to Christmas caroling, but the contents of the songs are secular rather than religious. They are sometimes carried out in the evening, but most traditionally occur in the night, even into the wee hours of the morning. The songs sung are almost exclusively aguinaldos.

In my home country Colombia, we celebrate this beautiful season with music, food, and dancing as well. Also, we celebrate this season with faith, praying that baby Jesus comes to our hearts and transform each one of us. We start Christmas season on December 7th, the evening before the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. That day, Colombians light the candles in honor to our Mother. This night is called “La Noche de las Velitas” (The Night of the Little Candles). Also that night, we light the Christmas lights and eat the traditional Colombian Christmas Dessert: Natilla y Buñuelo. I have done the Night of the Little Candles and shared this dessert with you. On December 16th, Colombians start to pray the Christmas Novena. We pray during nine days, asking the Lord to come soon to our lives. We finish this novena on December 24th. That night Colombians make a huge party: music, drinks, food, and of course the gifts. At midnight on December 25th, all people start to look at what the baby Jesus brought. By the way, Santa does not go to Colombia, but Baby Jesus. Why? I guess Santa is very busy in America. The party continues all night long until the evening of December 25th. People continues to have fun even after Christmas day, because the New Year’s Eve celebration is very similar to Christmas Eve. More dancing, more food, more drinks, more fun is around to receive the New Year. People after the traditional “Feliz Año Nuevo” (Happy New Year) continue dancing and having the rest of the day, and sometimes until January 6th, the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord.

I do not know how many of you knew my Colombian tradition, but I wanted to share with you. However, it does not matter how we celebrate Christmas. The most important thing is to celebrate Christmas with faith and prayer, and wishing that the Lord Jesus comes to our hearts.

Remember, The parish that we dream is the parish that I help to build.

God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!

Fr. George

My brothers and sisters in Christ.

This Sunday, December 1st, is the first Sunday of Advent; therefore, we are starting a new liturgical year in the Catholic Church. We are starting to read the Gospel according to Luke. With this new year in the Church, Holy Trinity family is also starting to celebrate this wonderful season of Advent with different activities.

We start to light the Advent wreath every Sunday. “Advent candles readily demonstrate the strong contrast between darkness and light, which is an important biblical image. Jesus referred to himself as the “Light of the World” that dispels the darkness of sin: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12) (The Advent Wreath Tradition). When we light one of these candles, we are telling all people that Jesus Christ, the light of the world, is coming. We are very excited and preparing for His coming.

We are not only starting a new liturgical year, but our Jubilee 2025. This tradition dates back to 1300 AD, when Pope Boniface VIII declared a universal festival for the entire Church. Originally, the Church celebrates the Jubilee every 100 years, but now we celebrate it every 25 years in order that all faithful participates at least once in their life. I do remember the last Jubilee, which was in the year 2000, when I was a seminarian in Colombia.

The official day for the opening of the Holy Door and the Jubilee will be on Christmas Eve, when Pope Francis opens the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. This will be at 7:00 p.m. Rome Time. In our Diocese of Rochester, there will be a special Mass on December 24th at 11:15 a.m. at Sacred Heart Cathedral. All are welcome to join Bishop Matano and participate in this Eucharist at the Cathedral. In addition to the great tradition of opening this Holy Door, other holy doors will be open at the different basilicas in Rome. For pilgrims who cannot travel to Rome, the local bishops will designate the

cathedral as a place of pilgrimage for prayer, offering opportunities of reconciliation, indulgences, and other moments to strengthen our Catholic faith. The theme is “Pilgrims of Hope”, and it will be a year of hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of COVID-19 pandemic, and a climate crisis.

Let us start this new liturgical year in the company of the Lord, participating in this Holy Year of Jubilee. Let us renew our faith in the Lord, always feeling joy because the Lord God is always with us.

Remember, The parish that we dream is the parish that I help to build. God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

My dear brothers and sisters.

It is not a secret that I came from Colombia; therefore, my native language is Spanish. My priestly ministry is at Holy Trinity Church (it is my priority); however, I help sometimes with the migrant ministry, presiding the Eucharist and other sacraments in Spanish in different places of the twelve counties of the Diocese of Rochester. There is a great necessity to offer the sacraments in Spanish.

Few parishes of the Diocese of Rochester offer Spanish Mass. It is not enough to evangelize in this language. Those who speak Spanish and do not have the possibility to go to the parish in Rochester in Spanish, deserves to worship the Lord in their language.

I heard about Spanish speakers who live in Webster and wish to have a Spanish Mass here. Some of you have manifested the interest to have the Eucharist in this language at Holy Trinity. Therefore, being the pastor for over a year already, and answering the petitions of some parishioners, I decided to have a Spanish Mass at Holy Trinity Church once a month.

Since this new liturgical year, which starts on December 1st (the first Sunday of Advent), I will preside at the Spanish Mass at Holy Trinity Church the first Saturday of each month at 6:30 p.m. That means that our first Spanish Mass will be on December 7th.

If you speak Spanish or want to have the experience of a Spanish Mass, you are welcome to join us. Invite your family, relatives, and friends to participate in this Eucharist. Moreover, if you want to actively participate as a lector or usher, please let me know. You can contact me anytime.

Remember that I can preside other sacraments in Spanish, such as baptisms or confessions. I am here to serve all of you.

Never forget that God loves all of us regardless of our language.

Remember, The parish that we dream is the parish that I help to build. God Bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always.

Fr. Jorge Ramírez

When we study the catechism, we learn that one of the spiritual works of mercy is to pray for the living and the dead. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), “Prayer is one of the most powerful ways we can support others. Joining together in prayer for the living and the dead entrusts us all into God’s care” (Spiritual Works of Mercy). God is always caring for us; it does not matter if the person is alive or dead. Usually, we pray for people who are sick, without a job, or in serious difficulties, and we pray for people who are gone, resting in the peace of Christ. Frequently, at Mass, people pray for their family and friends who have passed away. Because we do not know exactly if they are in heaven, purgatory, or hell, we pray for them so that God has mercy on them. We pray for them because we want them to enjoy the presence of the Lord in His Kingdom in the company of all the Angels and the Saints.

Purgatory is more like heaven than hell because all souls there are not in the hands of Satan, but they are waiting for the lovely hands of God. They have their sorrows, but also joys. They know that God is close. Because of this knowledge, they suffer because they cannot see God yet. But they also rejoice, because they also know that this suffering will end, and they can enjoy the presence of the Lord when they get to heaven. They have this hope. St. Catherine of Genoa wrote,

I believe no happiness can be found worthy to be compared with that of a soul in Purgatory except that of the saints in Paradise; and day by day this happiness grows as God flows into these souls, more and more as the hindrance to His entrance is consumed. Sin’s rust is the hindrance, and the fire burns the rust away so that more and more the soul opens itself up to the divine inflowing. A thing which is covered cannot respond to the sun’s rays, not because of any defect in the sun, which is shining all the time, but because the cover is an obstacle; if the cover be burnt away, this thing is open to the sun; more and more as the cover is consumed does it respond to the rays of the sun.

It is in this way that rust, which is sin, covers souls, and in Purgatory is burnt away by fire; the more it is consumed, the more do the souls respond to God, the true sun. As the rust lessens and the soul is opened up to the divine ray, happiness grows; until the time be accomplished the one wanes and the other waxes. Pain however does not lessen but only the time for which pain is endured. As for will: never can the souls say these pains are pains, so contented are they with God’s ordaining with which, in pure charity, their will is united. (Treatise on Purgatory)

Therefore, let us pray for the souls in purgatory. Let us pray for our brothers and sisters who are waiting to enter the Presence of the Lord. Let us pray for them in the Eucharist, the Holy Rosary, or a Novena. Let us pray not only for our faithful departed, but also for those who no one ever prays for. They deserve also to be in the presence of the Lord.

Remember, The parish that we dream is the parish that I help to build.

God Bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always.

Fr. Jorge Ramírez

My dear family of Holy Trinity Church.
I have very important news to communicate.

We will have a new schedule for daily Masses. From December 2nd (the first Monday of Advent), daily Mass will be at 8:30 a.m. instead of 9:00 a.m. Some months ago, I asked some parishioners about the idea to change the hour of daily Mass. They supported me in this idea, so I decided to change the hour. Why? First, the new hour helps other parishioners come to the Mass. Some people want to come to daily Mass, but they cannot come because of work. Second, that gives me extra time to prepare myself for a funeral.

Sometimes, I need to rush from morning Mass to funerals. Third, there will a consistency with Sunday Mass, which is at 8:30 a.m. as well. In that way, we will have everyday Masses at 8:30 a.m., except Saturday. We do not have Mass on Saturday morning.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is very important for us. This year, December 8th will fall on Sunday; therefore, the Roman Catholic Church will celebrate this day on the next day. For this reason, I invite you to come and participate in the wonderful celebration of La Noche de las Velitas (The Night of the Little Candles) on December 9th at 5:30 p.m. with the Solemn Mass, then the celebration of the Night of the Little Candles, followed with a reception where we can taste delicious Colombian food. Please, call the parish office if you want to attend this celebration to know how much food I need to prepare by November 22nd. Likewise, if you would like to help me cook our typical Colombian dessert for Christmas, let us know calling the parish. You can also bring something delicious to share with our great family of Holy Trinity.

As I told you, Advent is coming soon. With Advent, we will place our Family Christmas Tree in the Gathering Space. Last year we had our wonderful Christmas Tree, decorated by the members of our marvelous family of Holy Trinity Church. I invite you to place your family ornament on our Family Christmas Tree anytime between the first Sunday of Advent (December 1st) to Christmas Day (December 25th).

Remember, The parish that we dream is the parish that I help to build.

God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

My dear family of Holy Trinity Church.

The life of the Roman Catholic Church is very rich in elements and teachings that help us to be closer to the Lord through the practice of the sacraments and prayers. We come to study the Bible, the catechism, we read spiritual books, and help in the Church when she asks us to do something . We believe we are fine and know everything that we need to know to have a good and healthy spiritual life. However, we do not know very much about the position of the Church regarding politics or social justice. Why? Well, perhaps because we understand the separation between Church and State, we do not pay enough attention to the different social teachings of the Church. It is true that this separation exits; however, the Church is still involved in creating a mentality for each one of her members about the different social problems that we are living. Since Pope Leo XIII, with his Encyclical on capital and labor called Rerum Novarum and written on May 15, 1891, the Church has been present and spoken out the social situation of all humankind.

What is the social teaching of the Church? ‘The Church’s social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. Modern Catholic social teaching has been articulated through a tradition of papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents” (usccb.org). We can read the different documents in the Vatican website.

We are living in a society where human dignity is losing its sense. The values, apparently, are changing. I said apparently because it is our responsibility to work that we continue having strong values that go according to each of the teachings given to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ and promulgated by the Roman Catholic Church through her doctrine.

Very soon, Americans will make very important decisions for the future of this amazing country. And as I said in the bulletin on September 15, 2024, “It is not my job to talk to you about politics.” However, it is my responsibility to teach you what is the position of the Church regarding the coming elections and especially topics about “Equal Rights Amendment – Proposal One.” My task is to help you create a social awareness according to the teachings of the Church so you can make the best decision for our country. I invite you to read the position of the Church regarding the Equal Rights Amendment and why the New York State Catholic Conference says NO to this amendment.

Why vote NO? “The amendment would render it impossible for any change to the law if the hearts and minds of New Yorkers were ever to shift toward protecting the child in the womb. Also, the inclusion of “age” as a protected class could also lead to parents’ rights being stripped away. The relationship between parents and their children is sacred. Parents must be able to support and guide their children in accord with the natural law, without interference from the government or courts, which would be reaching beyond children’s competency,” per a statement released by the New York State Catholic Conference (NYSCC). You can read about this and more.

Let us pray so that all New Yorkers can make the best decision in pro of our children and those who serve, love, and protect them.

Remember, The parish that we dream is the parish that I help to build. God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

My dear family of Holy Trinity Church.

Some years ago, as you probably know, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) made a survey and found that many Catholics in the United States do not believe in the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. According to an article from Pew Research Center (August 5, 2019), “Nearly seven-in-ten Catholics (69%) say they personally believe that during Catholic Mass, the bread and wine used in Communion ‘are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.’ Just one- third of U.S. Catholics (31%) say they believe that ‘during Catholic Mass, the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus’ (Pew Research).

For this reason, the USCCB has launched the National Eucharistic Revival in 2022. Three years where the Church has been working hard that all of us understand and believe this wonderful miracle: The Eucharist. Why do we celebrate the Eucharist? St. Paul explained why all of us should participate in the Mass. St. Paul says, “For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night He was handed over, took bread, and, after He had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:23-26).

We celebrate the Eucharist because it is a mandate of the Lord. Jesus is present in it. I go to Mass to have an intimacy, a close relationship with the Lord, and receive His body and blood. It is true that we are not receiving the precious blood since Covid appeared (at least in the Diocese of Rochester), but the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus is always present in Holy Communion. Jesus is the Eucharist.

Therefore, when we come and receive Communion by the bishop, priest, deacon, or one of the
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC), we should consume it; therefore, we should not walk with Holy Communion in our hands around the church. How to receive the Communion? According to USCCB, “Those who receive Communion may receive either in the hand or on the tongue, and the decision should be that of the individual receiving, not of the person distributing Communion. If Communion is received in the hand, the hands should first of all be clean. If one is right handed the left hand should rest upon the right. The host will then be laid in the palm of the left hand and then taken by the right hand to the mouth. If one is left-handed this is reversed. It is not appropriate to reach out with the fingers and take the host from the person distributing” (USCCB). Please, show your hands at the level of your chest with anticipation to the person who is distributing Holy Communion. That is very helpful to our ordinary or extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. If your hands are not clean, use the restroom and wash your hands before Mass begins. Remember that we have restrooms in the church. It is very important to show respect for the Lord, who is present in the Eucharist.

Remember, The parish that we dream is the parish that I help to build.

God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!

Fr. Jorge Ramirez