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

Hello my family of Holy Trinity Church. During this first year that I have been your pastor, I started to implement the theological method (watch, judge, and act) in my pastoral plan for Holy Trinity, and I started to identify the necessities of our community. For this reason, I am pleased to introduce you to a new member of our parish staff. She will work very closely with our youth. But, I would like Tricia Kull (Mrs. K), our Faith Formation Coordinator, to introduce you to the great addition to our family.

“Holy Trinity Church has a new Youth Minister! When sharing the top priorities of our parish with Fr. Jorge over this past year, we quickly identified the growing need to reach out to young people. In order to accomplish this goal, we knew we would need to hire a dedicated Youth Minister. We have since been praying for God to call someone to serve as a role model and leader to create an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere where all young people feel valued and accepted. God responded! I am very excited to welcome Michelle to our Faith Formation Ministry, and I look forward to partnering with her to provide a space where our children and youth can explore their faith and actively participate in the life of the Church. Thank you, Michelle, for answering God’s call with enthusiasm and joining our faith community!!”

– Mrs. K –

Michelle Schultheis is our new Youth minister. Now, Michelle will introduce herself to each one of us.

“Hi everyone! My name is Michelle Schultheis and I’m your new Confirmation and Youth Ministry Coordinator. I am so excited to meet you!

I have been working with families and youth over the past several years at various churches and have enjoyed walking with people on their faith journeys. I hold closely to my heart the quote by Kid President, ‘Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody.’ I believe that we, as the body of Christ, are called to love others and to remind them of their inherit dignity.

In my free time, you’ll find me playing volleyball, dancing, and spending time with loved ones. I also enjoy spending time outdoors, especially by lakes and beaches. I am so blessed to be welcomed by you and I look forward to getting to know you!”

In Christ,
Michelle Schultheis

Welcome Michelle to our wonderful family of Holy Trinity Church.

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,

It gives me great joy to share with you that our parish now has a subscription to FORMED, a premier online platform filled with over 4,000 Catholic studies, movies, audio dramas, talks, ebooks, and even cartoons for our children. FORMED has content from over 60 apostolates, including Augustine Institute, Ignatius Press, and the Knights of Columbus, with material that is professionally produced, engaging, and solid in its catechism. Best of all, this material is free to you.

Holy Trinity Church will be using the material on FORMED to support our ministries and provide continuing education for staff members and parishioners, as well as outreach for our sick and homebound members. Much of FORMED’s content is available in both English and Spanish.

You have easy access to all of the material on FORMED to support your own faith journey and that of your family members.

You can enjoy FORMED on your computer or on your television with an inexpensive Roku device or Apple TV. You can even listen on your phone as you commute to work or do chores. My hope and prayer is that the content on FORMED will enrich, deepen, and inspire your faith. Please pray for our benefactors who have made a FORMED subscription a reality for our parish. Please pray for the people at the Augustine Institute who create this wonderful and muchneeded Catholic content for our people.

To gain access to all of FORMED’s content, follow these simple steps:

That’s it! You’re in. Now you can get the free FORMED app for your phone by searching FORMED Catholic in your app store.

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

Fr. Jorge Ramirez