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

Dear family of Holy Trinity Church.

I cannot believe that we are already in October. It looks like Christmas was the last week, and in less than two months we are going to celebrate Christmas again. Like many people say, “Time flies when we are having fun.” The Roman Catholic Church has different intentions for each month. October is not the exception. This month that we are starting has different intentions and celebrations.

First, October is Respect Life Month. Commonly, people believe that respect life corresponds only to work against abortion. This is true; however, it goes beyond that. Being pro-life means to respect and defend life in all its forms. Human life is very important; hence, we need to fight to preserve it always. Abortion is wrong, but euthanasia, capital punishment, murders, hungriness, social injustice, and so on, are wrong as well. Life is the most important gift that God gave us; therefore, we need to work and pray together to preserve life in all creation. Not only human lives are important, also animals and plants are too. Let us participate in the Eucharistic Adoration on October 21 through 25 from 9:30 am (after Mass) to 6:00 pm. We will finish with Benediction.

Second, October is the Month of the Missions. For this reason, the Roman Catholic Church emphasizes in the constant necessity to proclaim the Gospel for all peoples. There are many missionaries around the world announcing the Good News of Our Lord Jesus Christ in many difficult and dangerous places, following the great mission that the Lord gave the Church, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). In October we celebrate the life of two extraordinary missionaries: St. Therese of Liseux (Oct. 1st) who spent her life in prayer for the missions (she is the saint patron of missions), and St. Francis of Assisi (Oct. 4th), who responded with love to the Lord’s call to rebuild the Church. Let us pray as well for the Roman Catholic Church and all her faithful people who are preaching the Gospel of the Lord.

Third, October is also the month of the Rosary, which is one of the best known of all Catholic devotions. We celebrate the day of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7th. The Holy Rosary is one of the best ways to contemplate the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ by the hands of Our Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Holy Rosary is not only to say 5 Lord’s prayers, 50 Hail Mary’s, and 5 Glory be to… The prayer of the Rosary means to enter and reflect on the life of Jesus and say to Him, “Thank you” for coming and saving all of us through His sacrifice on the Cross and of course, His resurrection. Let us come on the day of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7th at 6:00 pm to pray the rosary with our children who participate in the Faith Formation Program. Check the bulletin for more details.

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 Diocese of Rochester (therefore, Holy Trinity Church) is starting the Catholic Ministries Appeal this weekend for 2024-2025. “Begun more than forty years ago in 1981-1982 as the “Thanks Giving Appeal,” the purpose of the CMA is to raise money to support diocesan-wide ministries and outreach. The fund was renamed in 2006 to better reflect the appeal’s intent: helping to support crucial outreach and ministries of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester and the mission of each of our parishes”. (Details)

This year’s mission theme is “Extending Christ’s Mission through the Catholic Ministries Appeal.” This theme encourages us in our call to be modern disciples to teach, serve, and spread the Gospel message. This theme is especially fitting as we enter the third year of our three-year national Eucharistic Revival.”

Last year, our parish family of Holy Trinity did extraordinary work, almost achieving last year’s goal proposed by the Diocese of Rochester. Last year, our CMA goal was $185,000 dollars, and we were $1,160 short. The Diocese of Rochester made up that difference from excess amounts donated by other parishes so Holy Trinity Church did not need to pay that amount from parish funds. Even though we could not make the CMA goal, the CMA committee of the Diocese was impressed with our participation rates in CMA. Any participation in this campaign is very important, even if it is a small one.

All of this was possible because of you. Your participation and hard work during the 2023-2024 CMA reflects your commitment to the Lord and our parish family of Holy Trinity Church. I ask you to continue your donation and, if it is possible for you, to increase it. I hope we can reach the 2024-2025 goal for CMA as soon as possible, hopefully by the end of this year, by Christmas.

Our goal for CMA has increased for this year. Our goal for 2024 – 2025 is $192,000 representing an increase of $7,000 dollars.

You and I will receive a letter from Bishop Matano asking you to participate in this campaign. My wish is that each member in our great family of Holy Trinity Church participates in this campaign. I know that you have a wonderful and beautiful spirit of service and generosity. Let us work together to achieve our goal for CMA.

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

GIVE A GIFT ONLINE TO SUPPORT YOUR PARISH

My dear family of Holy Trinity Church.

The Diocese of Rochester is currently in the process of carrying out a census initiative. The purpose of this census is to gather accurate and up-to-date information about all our registered parishioners, as well as those Catholics not yet registered in our parishes. By conducting this comprehensive survey and obtaining accurate contact information, we aim to strengthen pastoral care, stewardship, and enhance communication by having a reliable means of informing you about events, programs, ministries, and greater opportunities for spiritual growth at your parish and throughout the Diocese.

Kindly be assured that all information provided will be handled with the utmost confidentiality. The data collected will be used solely for pastoral, stewardship, and communication purposes.

Action Steps

Over the coming months, every Catholic in the Diocese will be asked to participate in the census. In the coming days, you will receive an email with a link asking you to complete the digital census. This email is not spam, and I encourage you to complete it. The email is from me, but it will not be from my DOR email address. Should you feel uncomfortable completing the census shared in the email, we will have opportunities over the next few weeks to complete the census form in digital or paper format.

Should you have any questions about the census process, please contact the parish office at (585) 265-1616. I appreciate your participation in this initiative.

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

Hello my family of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity.

Even though I am not an American Citizen yet (I hope to become a citizen in a couple of years), I understand that this period of election is chaotic and stressful for some people. Some parishioners have come to me and expressed their concerns for these coming elections and the referendum that is on the general ballot for this coming November. I do not know anything about American politics. It is not my job to talk to you about politics or if some elements of this referendum are correct or not, or who is the best presidential candidate for the future of the United States of America. However, my position is the same position that the Lord Jesus took when He got a political question, and He answered, “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (cf. Mt. 22:21). In other words, we need to be good citizens and good Catholics.

We need to know what is happening in our country. We need to think about the future of our nation and state. We need to realize how, from my Catholic perspective, I can help in the construction of a better society and world. Therefore, I invite you to read this message given to us by the Diocese of Rochester through Mrs. Elizabeth M. Johnson, Coordinator of Life Issues & Cultural Ministries.

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

For us, for Catholics, September is the month of the Bible because in this month, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Jerome (September 30th), who translated the Bible from Arameic, Hebrew, and Greek into Latin, the Vulgata, which means “popular.”

According to fundamental theology, God reveals Himself through the Sacred Scriptures, the tradition in Jesus Christ, and the teachings of the Church. Believing that God talks to us through the Bible, we consider it as the Word of God. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God who is always present in our lives and wants the best for us.

Some people come to me asking how to start to read the Bible. My answer is simple. Start to read the Gospels, especially the Gospel of Mark. Why the Gospels? Because all of the Bible (Old and New Testament) points to Jesus. He is the center of the Holy Scriptures. Why the Gospel of Mark? Because it was the first Gospel written (circa 70 AD), it is the shorter Gospel (it has 16 chapters), and talks about the life, passion, death, and of course resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. For instance, the Gospel of Mark 1:1 says, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ [the Son of God].” From the first verse, Mark identifies Jesus as the Christ, that means the Messiah, and the Son of God. In addition, Mark is saying that this is the beginning of the Gospel, that means the beginning of the life of Jesus and the beginning of the preaching of Jesus which is the Gospel, the Kingdom of God.

Some other people have said to me that they are reading the Bible from Genesis, and even some of them say that they have read the entire Bible (from Genesis to Revelation) several times. This is wonderful; however, not many people are able to read the complete Bible.

Questions: How often are you reading the Bible? Are you reading one of the Gospels or another book of the Bible? Are you following a podcast, videos on Formed, EWTN, YouTube, reading magazines, articles, or participating in Bible study to understand better the Word of the Lord? Here at Holy Trinity Church, we have a Bible study. They meet every other week on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm or Thursdays at 10:00 am in Trinity Hall. This is a great element that our parish offers to all of us to understand much better the Holy Scriptures. If you want to participate, you can check the bulletin to be sure when the Bible study meeting is.

Our Church is giving us many tools that help us to understand the Holy Scripture. September reminds us of the importance of the Holy Scriptures in our lives; hence, let us always pray to the Holy Spirit to give us knowledge and wisdom to comprehend the word of God every time that we read the Bible. God has a wonderful message for each one of 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