When Our Lord Jesus Christ started His public ministry in Galilee, He started to preach about the Kingdom of God (cf. Mark 1:14-
15). As a very important element of His preaching, Jesus taught us who God really is, a merciful Father. Jesus used different parables to teach in a simple way that God is a Father who loves us, and always has mercy for each one of us regardless of what we have done (cf. Luke 15:11
-32). However, Jesus did not call God, Father, in the original text, that means, in Greek. Jesus called God Abbá, which means “Dad” or “Daddy.” Therefore, Our Lord wants us to have a relationship with God as our “daddy.” This is a very familiar, close, and intimate relationship with God. God the Father or the “daddy” is not someone strange to us, but someone who is close to us and concerned for each one of us to have our necessities. God is our “daddy” who loves us very much and is always ready to help us anytime, especially when we need Him most. This idea of God as Abbá, “dad,” or “daddy” was revolutionary because the Jewish people, at Jesus’ time, did not have the concept of God as someone who is close to us.

Jesus not only taught us to be good children but also to have a good relationship with our “daddy.” Jesus also taught us to be good fathers, taking as an example God, the Father, who always loves us. All of us have a father. Some of them are great fathers, and others not so much. For those who are fathers… please, take as an example God, our Father. Love, educate, play, share time, and have fun with your children. You are the living image of God the Father. For those who are children… love, respect, enjoy, and obey your fathers. In addition, pray for your fathers. Prayer is the most important and beautiful gift that you can give to your fathers, regardless of whether they are with you or in heaven.

I would like to share some words of Pope Francis to a general audience in Saint Peter’s Square on Wednesday, March 19, 2014.

Happy Fathers’ Day.
God bless you and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

Our Lord Jesus Christ, before going back to the heavenly Father, gave a mission to the apostles and, therefore, the Church to announce the Gospel, “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. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 19-20). Since then, the Church has been preaching the Gospel overcoming all the difficulties she has had through history.

We are fruits of this preaching. Our mother, father, friend, teacher, classmate, husband, wife, deacon, or priest talked to us first about Jesus and His wonderful message of love. We are Christians… we are Catholics… we are followers of Jesus because of the preaching of the Church; however, do we really know why we are Catholics? Do we follow Jesus by a tradition given to us by our family members or someone else, or are we Catholics because we have a strong conviction that Jesus is my Lord and my God? Do we really believe that Jesus can do anything for us? If our answer is that we are Catholics by tradition, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten our hearts and minds in order to fully realize that Jesus is more than a man who lived many centuries ago, and to start a personal encounter with Him. If our answer is, we are Catholics by conviction, we should be happy because we understand well that Jesus is the only one who can save our lives and the lives of all human beings.

After feeling that we really believe in Jesus Christ and all His power as our Lord and God, we need to demonstrate our belief in Jesus through our actions in our daily life. To pray, practice the sacraments (especially Reconciliation and Eucharist), help, and love our brothers and sisters through each one of the works of mercy are some of the ways we can express all our love and faith for Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us go out and proclaim the Good News, the Gospel, to all people with our words and works (actions) so that everyone can realize that Jesus is more than a name of a man who lived many years ago. He is our Lord and Savior. We need to be Catholics by conviction, not only by tradition.

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

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

This Sunday the Church is celebrating the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. “The Feast of Corpus Christi is celebrated in the Catholic Church on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. In some places, it is transferred to the Sunday. The feast was instituted to honor the Lord’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament… On the 11 August 1264, Pope Urban IV published the Bull “Transiturus de hoc mundo”, in which, after having extolled the love of Our Savior as expressed in the Holy Eucharist, he ordered the annual celebration of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi in the universal Church. The bull also granted many indulgences to the faithful for the attendance at Mass and at the Office. To celebrate the feast St Thomas Aquinas wrote the very beautiful liturgy celebrated on the Solemnity.”

The Origins of the Feast of Corpus Christi

In this celebration all Catholics celebrate the most beautiful gift that the Lord Jesus gave us; to be with us in the Eucharist. There should not be any doubt about the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. St. Paul reminds us why we celebrate the Eucharist. He wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians, “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.’ After supper in the same way, He took the cup 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 Corinthians 11: 23-26).

Jesus is present in the Eucharist. We really receive His body and blood; hence, we said to the Lord, thank you because He is with us. We are united with Him in the Communion. Let us remember that the Eucharist is everything. It is the center of our faith because we have a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus in it. In the Eucharist we find the fullness of life, the eternal salvation, the mercy, grace, and happiness from God. The Eucharist is Jesus Christ present in our lives. Let us remember that Jesus is God; the second person of the Holy Trinity. Therefore, the Eucharist is God. The Eucharist is an encounter with God made man.

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

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

After the solemnity of Pentecost, we are back in Ordinary Time. And we resume this season of the liturgical calendar with the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Sadly, some people think that the Holy Trinity is a virgin, like St. Cecilia, St. Pudentiana, or St. Glyceria; however, the Holy Trinity is not a virgin, but the most important person that all of believers have: God Himself. The Most Holy Trinity is the most perfect manifestation of love: the Father loves the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Son loves the Father and the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit loves the Father and the Son. Many saints of the Church have thought about this beautiful mystery, but they never understood its real meaning. St. Augustine or St. Thomas Aquinas, for instance, tried to understand the mystery, but they couldn’t. Other Saints, priests, and people from the Church have tried to explain a little bit of this mystery in their preaching or catechesis, but their explanation was not enough in comparison to the real dimension of God. St. Patrick, for example, made an analogy to explain God.

According to a legend, “St. Patrick was traveling and happened upon a number of Irish chieftains along a meadow. The tribal leaders were curious about the Trinity and asked St. Patrick for an explanation. So, he bent down, picked a shamrock, and showed it to them, and explained how the three leaves are part of the one plant, and how similarly the three Persons, Father, Son, and Spirit, are part of one Supreme Being.”

Saint Patrick, The Shamrock, and The Trinity

There is an interesting story about St. Augustine trying to understand the Holy Trinity.

“While Augustine was working on his book On the Trinity, he was walking by the seaside one day, meditating on the difficult problem of how God could be three Persons at once. He came upon a little child. The child had dug a little hole in the sand, and with a small spoon or seashell was scooping water from the sea into the small hole. Augustine watched him for a while and finally asked the child what he was doing. The child answered that he would scoop all the water from the sea and pour it into the little hole in the sand. ‘What?’ Augustine said. ‘That is impossible. Obviously, the sea is too large and the hole too small.’ ‘Indeed,’ said the child, ‘but I will sooner draw all the water from the sea and empty it into this hole than you will succeed in penetrating the mystery of the Holy Trinity with your limited understanding.’ Augustine turned away in amazement and when he looked back the child had disappeared.”

The child by the seaside: a medieval story about Saint Augustine

It is not important to understand the mystery of God, but to believe in Him. We need to accept and believe the words of St. John, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Because God is love, the Father created us, sent His Son to save us, and sent the Holy Spirit to sanctify us. God is love, and He is present in each one of the persons of the Most Holy Trinity.

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

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

We, Catholics, believe that God is only one and at the same time is three different persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Probably, we have heard very much about the Father and the Son, but a little bit about the Holy Spirit. So, who is the Holy Spirit?

The Church, after receiving the Holy Spirit in the day of Pentecost, started to believe in the Holy Spirit as a member of the Holy Trinity, and it is present in the Creed of the Apostles, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” However, this is not enough to try to understand who really the Holy Spirit is. In 325 AD, the Church talks about Jesus in the Council of Nicaea, and in 385 AD, the Church in the First Council of Constantinople talks about the third person of the Trinity. Both councils made the Creed that all of us profess every Sunday and in Solemnities. This creed is called the Nicaea Constantinople creed, better called as the Nicaea Creed. The third part of this creed says about the Holy Spirit, “I believe

in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.”

If we study only the third part of the Creed, we probably could talk for hours about this. However, I want to highlight this first part that says, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life.” The Holy Spirit gives the reason of our existence. Without the Holy Spirit, probably you and I would not be here. The Holy Spirit transforms our reality and helps us to listen better to God’s voice. The Holy Spirit sustains the Church; therefore, regardless of all the problems that the Church has had, she continues working for the Kingdom of God.

My brothers and sisters, it is more important to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives than to know a lot of theology about Him. Let us say not only in Pentecost, but every day of our lives, “Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth” (cf. Psalm 104).

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

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

This is a good question.

We have the tradition of celebrating Mother’s Day during May. We see on television how important our mothers are, and television ads recommend buying them clothes, jewelry, appliances, a car, or just to give them money. I wonder, is this really a good way to celebrate Mother’s Day?

Of course, material possessions are good to demonstrate our appreciation for them; however, it is not enough. If we only remember our mothers once a year, buying expensive stuff for them is not enough if we do not demonstrate with our words and actions how much we love them every day of the year.

So, is it really Mother’s Day? I believe that the most important thing is to demonstrate the love we have for our mothers. If we are at home with them, say “Mom, I love you,” kiss her, give her a big hug, prepare dinner for her, and express with your actions all the gratitude and love you have for her. If your mother is far away, call her, make a video call, write a letter or card, and send it by mail, and express everything you feel for her. In addition, something very special that you can do for her is to pray.

We can pray the Holy Rosary for our mothers, especially for those in heaven. The Blessed Virgin Mary, who is also our mother, is always ready to intercede for us. She loves us very much, and she always desires to protect us and our loved ones. Our mother is one of the most beautiful gifts that the Lord God has given us. Let us pray always for our mothers and express our gratitude and love for them always.

If you ask me, if today is really Mother’s Day, my answer is NO. Today is not Mother’s Day, because Mother’s Day should be every day of the year. Therefore, let us always express our love for our mothers, not only in May.

May God continue to bless our mothers always!
Fr. Jorge Ramirez.

A Prayer in Gratitude for Our Mothers

Good and Gentle God, we pray in gratitude for our mothers and for all the women of theory who have joined with you in the wonder of bringing forth new life. You who became human through a woman, grant to all mothers the courage they need to face the uncertain future that life with children always brings. Give them the strength to live and to be loved in return, not perfectly, but humanly. Give them the faithful support of husband, family, and friends as they care for the physical and spiritual growth of their children. Give them joy and delight in their children to sustain them through the trials of motherhood. Most of all, give them the wisdom to turn to you for help when they need it most.

Author Unknown

This is some important information for all of us.

May is a month that the Catholic Church has consecrated to our mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. People pray the rosary, crown Mary, or have a personal and special devotion to the Mother of God. On May 12, we celebrate also our Mother’s Day, and we will have the crown of Mary. Let us ask Mary, our heavenly mother, to intercede not only for our mothers, but for all mothers in the world. The Blessed Virgin Mary has been present in human history through her different apparitions. Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Chinquiquirá, Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of the Mount Carmel, Our Lady of the Snow, Our Lady of the Milk, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Our Lady of Graces, Our Lady of La Salette, Our Lady of Knock, Our Lady of the Good Event, Our Lady of Laus, Our Lady of Good Help, Our Lady of Pontmain, Our Lady of Hope, Our Lady of Gietrzwałd, etc., are some of the apparitions of our Blessed Virgin throughout the world. They are manifestations of God’s love to us regardless the culture, nationality, language, or race. For this reason, this month is consecrated to her, so that all humankind can praise the Lord through the presence of our Blessed Mother.

The Roman Catholic Church will celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. Let us remember that this day is one of the Holy Days of obligation. It is very important that we do not confuse the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord with the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Heaven. In the Ascension, Jesus ascends to Heaven by His own power and will because Jesus is divine (let us remember that Jesus is 100% God and 100% human being). On the other hand, Mary, who is only a human being, goes to Heaven by the power of God. God took her to Heaven. The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is one of the most important solemnities in the Roman Catholic Church, and it is described in Mark 16:19, Luke 24:50-51, and Acts 1:2-11. This special moment in the life of the Lord and the Church happened 40 days after the Resurrection of the Lord. This Solemnity will be celebrated on May 9th. Here, at Holy Trinity Church, we will have two Masses: 9:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Let us participate in this celebration as the family who we are.

On May 19th, we will celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost. We will celebrate that day the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the Roman Catholic Church. We ask each one of you to be in red that day as a sign that the Holy Spirit is coming and is in each of us. In addition, we will start to pray the Novena to the Holy Spirit from May 10th to 18th. This Novena will be prayed after the homily in daily Mass, and before starting the Eucharist on weekend masses. I encourage you to pray this Novena and ask for the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.

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

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

Hello my family of Holy Trinity Church!

I asked you some months ago to help my friend, through the Penny Sunday, Fr. Jimmy Gil, a Colombian priest, who is working in Kenya. Fr. Jimmy wrote a thanksgiving letter. In this letter, he is telling us what he has done with our donation. In addition, you can see some photos of his community  Fr. Jorge.

Fr. Jorge Ramirez
Parish priest Holy Trinity
Webster, NY.

A big greeting to your parish community this Easter, hoping that the Lord of life will shower you with blessings. On March 16, the parish of Logungokwe in northern Kenya received the sum of 5,161 USD from the Holy Trinity community. I want to express to all of you my most sincere gratitude for the generosity you have shown us, our parish in a mission territory where we can carry out various activities of evangelization and human promotion thanks to the generosity of people like you. We know that it is not always easy, given that our community is very needy and the maintenance of vehicles and pastoral work is a great challenge for us as missionaries. However, thanks to your help, we will be able to carry out various activities on behalf of our faithful. Thank you because your collaboration allows us to give life, hope and opportunities to our people; Thank you that with your help we can carry out some works of evangelization. I hope you have a happy Easter and I send you some pictures of our Holy Week.

Fr. Jimmy Alexander Gil
Pastor of Saint Joseph Church

How many of us have gone to the theater to enjoy a good movie? I think most of us go to relax and enjoy a good time, whether it is watching an action, horror, comedy, science fiction, or superhero movies. I confess that I like movies a lot, and I am fascinated by the superhero movies. Superman is one of those heroes that I wanted to be when I was a child and that possibly some of you wanted to be as well. But the problem with the movies is that when it is over, life continues its course. Even though Superman may have saved the world, our life continues in the same form, with the same routine.

We, Catholic Christians, just lived through Holy Week where we celebrated the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only true hero because with His death on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead, He has saved all of us; in other words, He has saved the whole world. And although we have certainly seen many movies about the life of Jesus of Nazareth, we know and strongly believe that Jesus is not a character invented by a writer and also acted in a Hollywood movie, but He is a real person who loves us immensely. He protects us from our enemies as a shepherd protects His sheep from the wolf that wants to devour them, just as the Lord Jesus tells us: “I give my life for my sheep” (Jn. 10,14).

The Lord Jesus takes cares of us always, and we should always follow Him. In the same way, Christ Jesus, by the immense love that He has for us, sends the Holy Spirit, so all of us can obey the Lord through our love for Him and for our brothers and sisters. Jesus says: “As the Father loves me, so I love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in

my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you this so that joy may be in you and your joy may be complete” (Jn. 15:911). Hence, Christ is the true hero among heroes because He is not a selfish being who wants power only for himself, but He gives us his power, His strength so that we may follow His steps and make this world a better one.

When a mother worries about her children, when a teacher prepares his lessons with care so that his students may learn, when a policeman ensures the safety of the citizens, or when a priest celebrates the Eucharist with love, all of them are heroes because they have in us the same Spirit of Christ. You and I have the Holy Spirit. And when we manifest the Ho- ly Spirit in our lives, we are true witnesses of the Resurrection of the Lord. We did not just live a week where something that seems fictional was narrated, but we commemorated the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of the Lord. That is why St. Luke reminds us in his Gospel that we are witnesses of these things (Cf. Lk. 24,48). Let us live the Resurrection of the Lord with immense joy, and let Him be the true and only hero among heroes.

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

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

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!

Fr. Jorge Ramirez