“Keen, delicately skillful, penetrating . . .”

That’s how Webster defines “subtle”. I love that word, that concept. It’s a way of communicating a meaning, an emotion, a truth. But it merely points, it doesn’t shout. It can come with a spoken word, a gesture, a look. Often times a subtle look can speak much more than dozens of words.

Let’s mention a few moments of subtle to see if you can recognize this lovely way of communicating.

• You take a child’s hand (or they take yours) as you walk through the mall. It says, “I’m with you; you and me together.”
• A smile. A genuine smile, with eyes full of friendship can literally change someone’s day for the better.
• A kiss. A subtle kiss says what? “Not just a friend . . . you’re a good friend.”
• Look for sadness in people you see. Say a secret prayer for them.
• Words too can be subtle. Things like, “How nice”, “Take care”, “Well done” or cautionary words like, “Be careful”, or “Please don’t” are brief and to the point. Subtle words are few.
• Music, theatre, novels, so many things, convey a quiet secret meaning.

The point is, are we alert to the subtle messages all around us? Unfortunately; our culture favors the laud and frenetic. (Have you noticed the television commercials are louder than the program you’re watching?) The squeaky wheel gets all the attention, right?

The season of Advent is all about the “subtle”. It applies (if we let it) long forgotten practices our grand- parents knew so well . . . waiting, expecting, helping others, remembering. It avoids the loud and noisy. Why? Because God speaks in a whisper. Quickly and subtly the Spirit touches our minds and hearts.

Let this holy season teach you to see and hear God’s gentle promptings. Listen to the music . . . Oh Come Oh Come Emanuel. See the need of the total stranger in the checkout line. Watch the children. See their innocence. Protect their young hearts.

God will show you.

Fr. Tim

A few years back I was having coffee with a friend in a family restaurant in town. In the back ground was the, oh so familiar tune of Jingle Bells, playing slightly louder than was comfortable. “Oh what fun it is to ride . . . “ This was followed by that new classic of recent years, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree. . . “Oh Rock’n around the Christmas tree at the Christmas Party Hop . . .”

Somehow my ”holiday spirit” sank pretty low. Why do they do that to us? Why do they start the Christmas music five weeks too early. Because it’s beautiful; one of a kind music and fresh every year . . . for awhile.

Did you know the Church encourages us to avoid flagrant displays of Christmas prior to Christmas? Rather, she encourages us to enter into that beautiful and subtle season we know as Advent. Ask any expectant mother . . . we can’t hurry the birth of the child.

Advent gets us ready for Christmas. It builds expectation and longing. It makes us hungry for the Feast Day, increases our anxiousness to celebrate its power and beauty. The world would rather have Christmas without the wait. Sort of like the cake before the potatoes. Ever get sick of Christmas before Christmas?

How can we keep the proper order? Advent first, then Christmas? Here are some suggestions . . . and I mean suggestions. Each family has to make their own decisions here.

• Christmas carols. You’ll hear them everywhere, but fill your home with Advent music. Gregorian Chant has wonderful Advent hymns. (Google “Advent Gregorian Chant”; you’ll find beautiful restful music.
• Greet people with “Happy Advent”, instead of “Merry Christmas” until the feast.
• Let decorations be around the Advent Wreath with Advent colors of Purple and Rose.
• Christmas Parties? Of course. But closer to Christmas please.
• Keep Santa sightings to a minimum.
• Advent is a season for Hope. Christmas is a season for Joy.

I know this sounds “elitist” and out of touch with the world around us. But try it. I think you’ll find this slower pace and softer sounds starts an “Advent Spirit” in you. One that will be ready to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas.

By the way, Christmas is celebrated for three weeks!! All the more reason to not be sick of Christmas before Christmas. I hope these beautiful Advent Days help your spirit to appreciate the small humble things that God will send you.

Things like:

• Seeing Christ in the young, the vulnerable, the poor.
• Experiencing a desire to give and help situations that need a gentle touch.
• Remembering times when you were helped by the unexpected kindness of others.
• Moments of sadness and compassion for others (even strangers) in your daily travels.

Bless you.

Fr. Tim

This “Thank You” was written a couple years ago; but in this week where we celebrate our national holiday of Thanksgiving I think it bears repeating. (All the ministries you see here are in full operation to this day. God bless you all!)

You need to know how this parish runs and the people needed to make it happen. What follows is a shout out to all who make it Holy Trinity a special parish. (No names. You know who you are.)

Thank you for:

• Whoever puts the morning paper outside the rectory door!
• For sacristans setting up the wine and water, chalice and candles for mass. Lectors, Cantors, Altar Servers.
• For our Choirs and Choir Directors who help us pray at mass.
• For our Ushers who help us find seats (and take our money every week!)
• For the Greeters who smile and welcome us to mass.
• For all who sit on the committees that do such critical advising and stepping up. Parish Council, Finance, Facilities, Liturgy, and Cemetery Committees, Senior Advisory Board, Legion of Mary, and the Maplewood Ministries, Men’s Spirituality Group, the Shawl and Knitting Ministries.
• For the meals that parishioners drop off each week to keep Fr.’s John and Tim alive.
• For our Catechists teaching the children, our Pre-Cana Team for soon to be marrieds, The RCIA and RCIC journeys of faith.
• For the Parish Staff that does such a fine job ensuring the day to day care of the parish: The religious education of children, parent baptismal preparation, the office management, ministry co-ordination, the Parish Office that processes hundreds of calls each week, our maintenance co-ordinator and assistant who keep our campus beautiful, for our regional and diocesan finance connection.
• For Webster Hope that feeds and comforts hundreds and hundreds.
• Had enough? Wait, there’s more.
• Sanctuary Care (linens and flowers), Office Volunteers, Videographers, Money Counters, Bereavement Ministry, Martha Committee, Corpus Christi Ministry, Cursillo, CYO Coaches, Parish Picnic.
• Vacation Bible School, Children’s Liturgy of the Word,

Whew!!! Thank you all. You make this place hum. (I’ve tried to include everyone but I bet I missed someone. Sorry.) And you know the best part of all of this? It’s a joy. “My yoke is easy. My burden is light.”

Happy Thanksgiving.

Fr. Tim

Many of you have heard the term Eucharistic Adoration (or Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament) but need a bit more explanation of this centuries old prayer experience.

First a little history. Our Catholic Faith in Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist began that first night when Jesus gathered with the apostles at the Last Supper. “This is my body.” Jesus said. “This is my blood.” From that time on, our unbroken Faith tells us, “He is there.”

By the third century the Eucharist, consecrated at mass, was afterwards reserved in a place of beauty and honor (what today we have reserved in the Tabernacle). Centuries later (1264) there developed in France the tradition of “exposing” the consecrated Host (Blessed Sacrament) on special commissioned altars there.

There’s lots more to say about the evolution of Eucharistic Adoration. What’s most interesting is that this desire to “see” the Host was fostered by the simple Faithful. It was the people who hungered for this prayer experience. The Pope and bishops had to catch up!

Fast forward to today. What happens during Eucharistic Adoration? The priest or minister takes the large consecrated Host (the Blessed Sacrament) from the tabernacle and places it in a beautiful receptacle called the “monstrance” (from the latin monstrare – “to show”).

This is accompanied by a hymn and introductory prayers. Incense is usually used to further signify the holiness of what is now present on the altar.
And then? Silence.

Jesus Christ, the entire person, born of Mary, nailed to the cross, and now in the Resurrection, is present to us on the altar under the visible appearance of bread.

So what does one do with that stark statement of Faith? That’s the question Jesus asks in the silence of the church. “I am truly with you. Do you believe?”

Your answer may take some time. You’ve just come from the business of the world. Your ears may be still ringing from the traffic outside, an incident on the phone, a personal worry you’ve been carrying. It takes time to silence the world and get down to being with the Lord.

Over time something happens. The quiet becomes a blanket around you. The beautiful monstrance dramatically shows forth its precious content – – Jesus. You can begin to speak to him from your heart. There is no script to follow. It’s you and the Lord. What do you want to say to Him? Your fears, your joys, sadness, hopes . . . yes even your doubts. The Lord wants to hear it all.

St. Theresa of Lisieux, when asked what she did during Eucharistic Adoration, responded – it’s really very simple, “He looks at me. And I look at Him.” It’s a look of love. And Jesus wants you to experience it. It’s a moment of grace.

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St. Theresa of Lisieux, when asked what she did during Eucharistic Adoration, responded – it’s really very simple, “He looks at me. And I look at Him.” It’s a look of love. And Jesus wants you to experience it. It’s a moment of grace.

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Please join us each third Thursday of the month for Eucharistic Adoration at Holy Trinity Church. Exposition begins at 3:00 pm. and closes with a holy hour (7-8 pm) when a spiritual reflection and Benediction (incensing) will occur.

Friends, this is a powerful way to increase or restart your relationship with Christ. It’s an intensely personal en- counter with graces just for you and where you are in your life.

We begin November 17. I recommend you come for the 7-8 pm. hour to hear the spiritual reflection.

Bless you.

Fr. Tim

This will be the third year that Holy Trinity’s STAR Christmas program has collected monitory donations rather than gifts and food items. COVID made us think about the health and availability of our recipients and volunteers. I miss the comradery that this program brought to our Holy Trinity family. Do you remember setting up a “grocery store” in the old gym, picking out stars at weekend Mass and lovingly filling the sanctuary with gifts for our recipients? Not to mention the numerous other tasks that enlisted hundreds of volunteers each year? I miss that, it was fun! But there is a new joy discovered. We have been delightfully astounded the past few years with the generosity of our HT family. You should be too! YOU, the parishioners of Holy Trinity contributed just over $30,000.00 in 2020 and just over $32,000.00 in 2021. That is joyful!

Oh, come on, let’s do it again! Would you be able to give the same amount you gave last year, perhaps a bit more? Help create and celebrate the true joy of Christmas that is found in giving. In this small, small way, we can reflect the love of Jesus who gave everything…….for us.

Who are we helping?

Holy Trinity assists families at Nativity Preparatory Academy, ROC Love Will End Abortion, St. Monica’s Church, St. Michael’s Church and Corpus Christi Church. That is approximately 70 families or 360 individuals. We have also been able to provide some extra food to Sr. Regis Food Ministry and Webster HOPE. As a reminder, Webster HOPE has a Christmas Program that helps families from Webster that are in need of extra support. Please give Webster Hope a call for more information about their program @265-6694.

What is being asked of me?

We are asking everyone to take some time to consider all the ways you have helped STAR in the past. Did you bring in a bag of groceries each week? Maybe each one of your family members chose a star gift. Was your contribution a Christmas turkey or ham? Can you add that all up this year and put it in the form of a monetary gift to help bring Christmas to so many? Perhaps you are new to Holy Trinity in the past few years and you don’t remember “how it used to be”. To you dear friend, welcome! Welcome to this wonderful tradition at Holy Trinity and please join in with all the generosity you can muster!

How do I help?

There are three ways to donate:

Mail a check to Holy Trinity with “Star 2022” in the memo line on or before Sunday, November 27.

If you already donate online, login to your account and select the option for Star 2022.

In-person donations can be dropped in the Penny Sunday STAR Collection baskets the weekend of November 12th & 13th.

Please know how much your donations are appreciated and please do not hesitate to reach out if you have questions. Contact Helen Sleeman at 265-1616 x 337 or helen.sleeman@dor.org.

God gave us the sense of hearing. We share with the animal world a sense that alerts us to the world around us. We hear thunder and we know rain will soon fall. Sirens tell us of some emergency situation. Music soothes our soul or stirs emotion. A whisper gives us someone’s secret thought. To live without hearing is like eating a sugar free cookie. We lose the gusto and subtle meanings of life.

But, we take it for granted, don’t we? These days we are over loaded with sound. Our brains have to choose whether to merely “hear something” or to really “listen”. Remember Musak? It was that bland orchestra music that played on elevators to keep everyone calm waiting for their floor. Did you ever give it a listen? Of course not. No one ever said, “Oh, they’re playing my favorite song!”

It’s only when we LISTEN that we receive creation around us. To hear a bird’s song is different than listening to it. That bird . . . is singing . . . its song! How lovely.

Our brains make that same choice with people; whether to merely hear them, or to really listen to them?

We’ve all developed skills that give the impression we’re listening. We nod at the right times; we comment as appropriate. But, many times we’re simply waiting for our chance to start talking. Or hearing one or two sentences we think we already know what someone is going to say. And rather than listen, we’re preparing our response to them while they’re still talking.

That’s why, to truly listen is a gift to the one who is speaking. Have you had the experience of being listened to? What did it do for you?

I bet it touched you; gave you the feeling that you had connected with someone. Being listened to (especially with a friend) can lighten our burden – – Finally! Someone else knows what I’ve been carrying. Now you both carry it.

By the way . . . that’s one of the healing powers of telling your sins to Christ in Confession.

Yes, God gets in here too.

Sometimes, when we really listen, we hear something from the Holy Spirit. Something God wants us to hear. I’ve had that experience. A friend came to me at a very busy moment as I prepared for an important interview. “Tim, listen to me” he said. “I have to tell you something. They’re going to push your buttons. Stay calm and don’t be a wise guy.” I listened; and it was just what I needed at that moment. The Holy Spirit used my friend.

So husbands/wives. Listen, really listen to each other. You don’t have to fix things right then. Your full attention to what she’s saying is a gift. You might even reflect her feelings with words like, “that must have really surprised/ shocked/bothered/helped/made you happy.”

To be listened to is wonderful. Try it with your children. Withhold judgement for those moments . . . just listen. They’ll know you are with them in whatever they are going through. Scripture tells us, “bear one another’s burdens.” Galatians 6:2.

As you develop your listening skills, it will improve your prayer as well. You will look back over your day to see those moments when you heard something God wanted you to hear.

. . . . If you were listening.

Bless you.

Fr. Tim

Growing up idolizing Rocky Colavito of the Cleveland Indians and inspired by the greatest rock and roll ever written (Beatles forever!), like any young person, I hoped to make my mark on the world in a memorable way.

I would be a journalist, a writer, a teacher, a lawyer (if not a judge!), and later in life maybe I’d go into politics and make laws and stuff. Something big.

Well as you know, that’s all changed. I’m a priest who says your morning mass, hears your confession, and visits you in the hospital. Simple, but there’s a life there. (I smile at the headlines on People Magazine as I wait to check out at the grocery . . . “Be Your Passion”, “Don’t Let Anyone Stand in the Way”, “You Can be Anything You Dream”.)

Well dreams are good. They can light a fire in us. But most often we have to settle for less than we hoped for. Life comes in and best laid plans get put on hold – – – elderly parents need special care, money just isn’t there to support the dream, or . . . we find we just don’t have what it takes to do it right.

So what do we do? It’s a critical moment really. Some people can be embittered at life not turning out how they had imagined. Some people think that Plan B (or C or D!) for their life is second or third best. Sadness or disillusion can follow. We’ve all experienced it.

But there’s some help here from the Gospel. Jesus tells the story of The Ten Gold Coins. (Lk 19: 11-19. Read it!) In it three servants are charged with different amounts of money to watch over during the master’s absence. When he returns, he calls them one by one to see what they’ve done with the money.

Two of them had increased their master’s holdings and were equally praised for what they’d done. The third did nothing. He buried the little money he’d been given and handed it back to the master.

The point is, God doesn’t care how big the return on his investment is. What He wants is that we try. “The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones.” Lk 16:10. God will increase our own faithfulness in the “small things”.

Let me give you an example. I stopped into a store to get a piece of foam rubber (I’m making rubber duckies for Fr. John’s Christmas present).

The young salesperson was there to help me find just the right piece. He crawled over shelf after shelf to find what we were looking for. Finally we got it – – but it needed cutting. “I can do that. No problem.” He said.

Cutting the foam rubber required a band saw which he carefully lined up. As the cut was almost through, the band jumped forward and nicked his hand drawing a little blood. I was mortified. “I’m sooo sorry”, I said. Washing his hand and putting a bandaid on his hand he said, “Don’t worry it’s just a little nick.” He smiled as he wrote up the order and handed me my foam rubber.

Simple, eh? No big woop. But something was visible in that young man that touched me. It was his simple kindness and desire to help. He wanted no praise and my going on about his great service only embarrassed him. I wrote his manager to tell him what a prince he had in the Foam Department.

That’s how it is with the “little things” – – – they mean a lot.

Let’s do the little things just right. God will help us when the big things come around.

Bless you.

Fr. Tim

(Give this to a 20/30 Something)

Just west of Des Moines, Iowa, Interstate 80 hits a fork in the road. If you’re going to San Francisco, you keep on I-80 heading west. If you want to go to Houston, you bear south on I-35 - two roads heading to two different places. Where do you want to go?

It’s like life. Where you want to go determines which road you take. Most times our choices are “day to day” and have to do with groceries or family gatherings or what’s on TV. Seldom do we think of the Big Picture (Where AM I going with my life?).

Two roads lie ahead of us. One directs our lives to God. Do you want to meet Him in heaven? The other road is in search of some happiness here on earth before the lights get turned off.

The God Factor is critical in how you experience life. Things go off in two very different directions depending on what you believe about God and whether this God has a purpose for your life. See what you think. . . . .

Here’s what happens if there is no God

(or if there’s no way of knowing anything about him anyway).

1. Nothing means anything. “Good” or “bad” is merely your opinion. What you think is “your truth”. What I think is “my truth”. In fact, there is no ultimate truth.
2. Since there is no ultimate goodness to guide our actions, then “lesser gods” will serve. Money, possessions, leisure and pleasure are what life is about.
3. Might makes right. My wanting more makes me a potential threat to what you have. (Why can’t I take what you have? You say, “that’s not right!” I say, “Says who?!”)
4. Sickness, poverty, or tragic happenings can only be seen as absurd or real bad luck. Flee these things. Pity those who encounter them. They are the “unlucky ones”.
5. Any moment of beauty or longing that our lives have ultimate meaning is an illusion and should be tolerated like Santa Claus with our children. (Let this God myth continue as long as it keeps people happy).

6. An “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” is the best way of dealing with human conflict. But who has the authority to declare something as righteous or criminal?
7. Our best hopes for our children would be that they were skillful hunters in getting what they want in a world that doesn’t care.
8. About the best thing we can wish anybody is “Good Luck”.

Pretty grim, wouldn’t you say? Yet that is the way of the human heart without God. You see, we humans were MADE FOR God. Made to enter into relationship with Him and without Him . . . . we lose our purpose for existing. We become, as the great theologian Romano Guardini put it, “clever animals”.

The revealed God of Christianity changes everything.

Here’s what happens when you let God into your life. (These contrast with 1-8 above).

Everything means something. The fact that something “is” gives it purpose in the plan of God. All that exists shares to some degree in the truth of its maker.

The “lesser goods” become what they were intended to be joys in life that point to a loving God who wishes our happiness. They are not an end in themselves.

By God’s love (revealed in Christ), we become brothers and sisters to each other, NOT “threats” or rivals.

The hard things in life (sickness, etc.) have been re- deemed. They too now serve God’s purpose. They reveal true love. (We only know this by Jesus Christ who took suffering and death to himself to reveal what God’s love is like.) “Love bears all things.” 1 Corinthians 13.

Longing for peace or purpose in life is a grace put there by God to remind us of our true home. “Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee Oh Lord.” St Augustine

“We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator . . .”

Our best hope for our children is that they would grow to be good and kind and happy in “doing what is right and just”. And that they too would come to know the presence of God in their life.

Our best wish for someone? “Go with God”. Go with God.

Fr. Tim

One of the common human habits we all share to some degree is curiosity. At first glance it can seem a harmless practice; in fact, good things can come from it. For example, a student is curious about what causes thunderstorms or hail. It moves them to pursue a deeper knowledge of weather. Your doctor is curious about your blood pressure and why it’s so high. This is good curiosity.

Bad curiosity (or what we call nosiness) is something else. It’s a habit of inquiring about people   concerning matters that are none of our business. “I wonder what he makes at that job.” “Where do they stay when they go on vacation?” “Who is she dating?” “Why are those two friends?” “I wonder what their marriage is really like.”

Why do we do that? Because it brings us pleasure. Such knowledge about others brings a certain power; now we know something that unlocks a side of them they choose not to reveal to us. On the surface it can seem a harmless habit; “I just want to know more about this person.” (So why not just ask them?).

But let’s be honest. Underneath most of this inquisitiveness is a desire to find some “dirt”. Much of the grocery tabloids and the internet play on our hunger for seamy details about celebrities. Paparazzi make their living delivering photos to feed our curiosity. There’s a certain pleasure in seeing someone weak or out of control (the German’s call it Shadenfreuda – – pleasure derived from other’s problems).

Why can curiosity be sinful? Because it violates two virtues we owe to others. The first is Justice. People have a right to privacy about personal matters. Prying eyes and ears serve to “steal” something that doesn’t belong to them. Thou shalt not steal.

Secondly, Charity. Scripture tells us we are to do to others what we would want done to ourselves. How do we like it when someone wants to know our thoughts and feelings about matters we deem to be private? It’s not theirs to have. So that same respect must be shown to others.

But there is another matter sinful curiosity can cause. Sadness.

Think about it. “Love does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.” 1Cor. 13:6. There’s a certain darkness that happens when we wander into people’s lives in search of private things. We become less a good friend to that person (or at least a less respectful fellow citizen).

When we carry matters obtained through curiosity, it can affect the way we interact with that person. We become less transparent because “we know something”. Over time cynicism and suspicion can grow about anyone and “what they’re REALLY like.”

So what can we do to curb our curiosity appetite? These might help.

• Recognize what you’re doing. Ask yourself why you want to know or am I just curious?
• Would I like someone else to be inquisitive about me as I am doing to them?
• When prying thoughts about others occurs . . . change them to a quick prayer for the person.
• Parents have a right to be curious about their children. You are their guardians. (Teens need a little more slack!)
• Avoid conversations that deal in private matters about others not present. Gossip.
• Be glad you don’t know stuff!! It frees you up.

Bless you.

Fr. Tim