Greetings everyone here present. I shall begin with a short song:

The Sisters of St. Therese of the Child Jesus of Cameroon, Africa, is a group of Consecrated women founded in 1963 whose main purpose is to glorify God through our lives in the service of his Church. We were founded mainly to raise the status of women and those living on society’s margins. This we do through our apostolates of health services, education at all levels, and socio-pastoral care.

At this moment in our history and the history of my country Cameroon, there is an ongoing political crisis that started in 2016 and has caused so many lives (about 6,000 have lost their lives as of July 2023), many have been displaced (about 638,400 internally to the Frenchspeaking regions of the country), and 64,000 to neighboring Nigeria. All these statistics can be verified on the Human Rights Watch website. I personally watched people’s houses being burnt down, people being shot dead, schools closed down, and hospitals burned down.

Many displaced young people have resorted to prostitution as the easy way out to survive. Four years ago, the sisters took the bull by the horns and rented a shelter in one of the Frenchspeaking towns where they gathered some girls, and mothers with babies and tried to provide feeding and education for the young. So far, about 5 girls have graduated from high school already. Two of these girls lost their parents during the crisis and have nowhere to go.

Our vision is to construct a bigger shelter that can accommodate at least 100 and begin some training in skill acquisition such as poultry, fish farming, weaving of baskets, dressmaking, etc which can benefit everyone. We managed to purchase land and now need about $285,000 for construction. To keep a child in the shelter for one year costs $250. To send a child to school for one whole year costs $266.

Every one cent donation will be very much appreciated and well accounted for, and will go a long way to relieve the suffering of these beloved children of God and put smiles once more on their beautiful faces distorted by so much suffering.

God bless you all.
Thank you,
Sister Vera Ndifoin, SST

For more information, please visit their website: sevfoundation.org

My dear brothers and sisters.
I hope everyone is doing very well.

I am very sad to tell you that Clare Schreiber, who has been working in our parish as our Liturgical Music Director, is leaving her position because she is retiring. She has been working for our parish family since 2007; however, she has been involved in the parish life since she was 10, helping her mom and volunteering in the music ministry. I would like to express all my gratitude to Clare for all that she has done in the parish. Even though she is retiring from her position, she will continue to be around, volunteering in the different liturgies of our parish community. Please, express your gratitude to Clare when you see her. Clare, ¡Muchas gracias! Thank you very much for everything. God continue to bless you and your family.

Hence, I want to introduce you to our new Liturgical Music Director. Her name is Lauralynne Davis. She is very well prepared in music and has worked in other churches. Lauralynne is very excited to work with each one of us. If you see her, give her a warm welcome. Lauralynne wants to share some words for us. She says,

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

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

According to scientists, our planet’s surface is covered by water. About 71% of the world has water, and the oceans retain 96.5% of all the Earth’s water. Water is also present in the air as vapors, clouds, ice, and glaciers. We have rivers and lakes as well. If you want to see water, just go, and visit our Lake Ontario, about 10 minutes away from our parish.

Water is an essential element for the lives of all nature and creation. All of us need water. Animals, plants, and human beings need this precious element of creation for living. For instance, the Greek philosopher Thales of Milletus, remembering as one of the first philosophers who talked about Cosmos and his originating principle (Αρ†χη φψσισ – Arche physis), says that water as the essence of all matter. Everything has water and needs water to exist. Pope Francis, in his encyclical Laudato sì, highlights the importance to care for water because it is a great resource provided by God. Water is not only for our generations, but for all generations to come.

The book of Genesis in its first chapter says that the Spirit of God was over the waters (cf. Gen. 1:1). God created Adam (humans) from dust (earth and water). God used the image of water in the creation to tell us the importance of it for all of us and the necessity to use it for our own benefit. In the Gospel, Jesus has a conversation with the Samaritan Woman. Jesus said to her that He is the living water (cf. John 4:10). If the Lord Jesus said to this woman, and He is saying to us, that He is the living water, and we know how important the water is for our lives, why do we not go to drink from the water who is giving us the eternal life? The Lord Jesus is the living water who will calm our thirst for righteousness, justice, and love. Once we received water in our baptism, but we need to come always to receive more of this living water in the reception of the sacraments, especially the sacrament of Reconciliation and Eucharist.

Imagine yourself walking through a desert without water. How many miles can you walk without the necessity to drink water? In the same way, we cannot walk in this world without the living water. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can calm our thirst.

Hopefully, all of us really understand the real importance to care for the water of our planet, and the im- portance of receiving the living water, Jesus Christ.

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

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

WHERE GOD GUIDES…HE PROVIDES!!

Thank you to all campers, volunteers, families, parishioners, and staff who helped make our 2024 VBS ~ God is Good!! A blessed experience for everyone!!

Our gymnasium was transformed into a beautiful garden last week with walls featuring murals of several Bible stories as we enjoyed discovering that WHERE GOD GUIDES…HE PROVIDES! Our days were full of fun and faith as we created Rainbow Art to learn God’s Promises, God’s Blessing Spy Bottles to help remember all that we are thankful for, played Moses Croquet in the Wilderness collecting Manna, made Stained Glass with our Blessed Mother, challenged ourselves with an Obstacle Course learning how we can Trust God in All Things, and created a beautiful Monstrance as we discovered the peace of spending quiet time with Jesus in Adoration.

A special word of thanks to all those who gave their time and talents before and during VBS…we have an AMAZING team of adult and youth volunteers who brought this year’s VBS to life. And we thank our entire parish family for the generosity with donating materials for our activities, enthusiastically responding to our Wish List needs, and for being a Church who believes in the importance of loving and educating our children in faith. We are blessed to be a part of such a community.

Thank you to all who donated to our VBS “Military Care Packages” to help fill the loving packages to be sent by the Rochester Chapter of Blue Star Mothers of America to our deployed men and women in our US Military overseas.

I want to express all my gratitude to Mrs. Tricia Kull (Mrs. K), all the volunteers, children and their families who participated in our Vacation Bible School (VBS) during these days. These were awesome days where our children learned more about God and the Church, and the importance to recognize the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Our children had a lot of fun where they prayed, played, and learned. I am very sure that you, parents, heard wonderful stories from your children about our 2024 VBS.

Even though VBS is now done, we need to continue to educate our children in faith and not wait until our religious program starts again this coming fall. Remember that is the responsibility to educate our children in faith because it is one of the effects of the sacrament of matrimony. According to Canon Law, “Parents have the most grave duty and the primary right to take care as best they can for the physical, social, cultural, moral, and religious education of their offspring” (Can. 1136). Therefore, parents should continue to teach all the Christian values to your children.

So, what to do? Well… start to pray with your children. Pray the Guardian Angel prayer before going to sleep, say grace before meals, pray as a family the Holy Rosary, come as a family to the Mass, teach your children the Christian prayers (The Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father…), read the Bible (there are children’s bibles with illustrations), and so on. There are many activities that you can also do with your children such us watch religious videos for children (if you type “Catholic videos for children” on YouTube, you can find wonderful videos and movies to watch as a family), catholic crafts for kids (catholicicing.com), etc. If you still are not sure what to do with your children, you can ask Mrs. K. I am very sure that she will be happy to give some ideas. I am also available for you anytime.

I will continue to pray for you and your kids.
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

I came to this wonderful country on August 26, 2009. I came not only to learn the language and theology, but I also came to learn the culture. I came during summer, which was very cold in my opinion (coming from a tropical country). Obviously, I was wrong because I had not experienced winter yet. When I came, many people among the Latino community wanted to welcome the new seminarians. They invited my fellows and me, and we had a lot of fun. Among the different celebrations, we were invited to go to a picnic. Only God knows how much I ate, and how much weight I won. Hahaha! I really enjoyed starting this new experience in the United States of America through these kinds of celebrations, like picnics.

A picnic is a wonderful way not only to eat everything, for instance, hamburgers, hotdogs, corn, potatoes, beer, soda, water, etc; but also, to celebrate friendship. Family and friends gather together to enjoy this wonderful weather (because summer is too short). We have games, songs, jokes, music during our time outside our homes. Here, at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, we will also have a picnic this coming July 21st following 10:30 am Mass until 3:00 pm. Come after Mass! Participate in this wonderful opportunity to celebrate as the wonderful family of Holy Trinity that we are.

Our parish is also looking for volunteers for this picnic. If you want to help, please contact Dick and Nora Doser at (315) 310-7277. I am very sure that you can help us.

Once again, come and participate as the great family of Holy Trinity in this wonderful picnic that we are preparing for all of you!

Remember, The parish that I 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. During this first week of July that we are going to start soon, we will celebrate two important celebrations.

The first one is the Fourth of July. In this holiday we not only gather together with our family, relatives, and friends to have a picnic and fun, watching the show if fireworks, for example. One of the questions that any Catholic can wonder is how to celebrate this holiday from a Catholic perspective because this important celebration for the United States is more than hotdogs, burgers, games, and fireworks. First, during this day, we have the opportunity to say thank you to God for allowing us to live in this country. Having a thanksgiving attitude is the best way that we can start to celebrate not only this day, but all the days of the year. Second, what about to honor the Catholic contribution to the Declaration of Independence. “Thomas Jefferson’s phrase ‘all men are created equal’ was inspired by an Italian Catholic named Phillip Mazzei who wrote to Jefferson that ‘all men are by nature equally free and independent’” (more information). The Christian ideas of equality and human dignity comes from the Bible, and Our Lord Jesus Christ always is inviting us to love our neighbors, even those who we do not know. Are we loving people who are also living in this country, regardless their religion, race, color of the skin, or language? Third, let us know about our American Saints. People who, during their lives, preached the Gospel working for the goodness of all people in this amazing country, regardless if they were citizens or not. Do you know them? What about reading the stories of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. John Neumann, St. Marianne Cope, St. Junipero Serra, St. Katharine Mary Drexel, St. Damien de Veuster of Molokai, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, and so on. If you want to know a little bit about their lives, I invite you to go to USCCB website and check their stories. These are some examples of how a Catholic can celebrate this Fourth of July.

The second celebration that we will honor this week is the passing of our beloved pastor and friend, Fr. Tim Horan. Surprisingly, he also passed away on the Fourth of July, last year. Can you believe that it has been a year since he departed to the house of our Heavenly Father? I cannot. Sometimes, I think that he just left yesterday. All of us miss him very much, but we know that he is in a better place waiting for us. The best way that we can honor Fr. Tim in his first anniversary of his death, is not only remembering him, but praying for him. He, like any person, needs our prayers. On July 4th, we not only celebrate a Mass for our country, but we too celebrate Fr. Tim’s life at 9:00 in the morning. Come, participate in the Eucharist, and let us pray for our beloved pastor who is now resting in the peace of Christ. Another way that we can celebrate the life of Fr. Tim is reading his book. Have we read it yet? If you have not, I invite you to read it. If you already did it, what about reading it again. In any case, you will discover or rediscover wonderful messages from God through Fr. Tim. Let us keep in our memory, heart, and prayers our beloved pastor. He from heaven is praying for each one of us.

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

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

I would like to express all my gratitude to each member of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity. Even though the entire community was sad because of the death of Fr. Tim, who all of us love very much, you welcomed me with love and joy. Each one of the manifestations and expressions of affection were very important to me to start this journey as your Pastor. I cannot believe that I have been your pastor a year already. I ask God to continue to work for Him through my pastoral ministry at Holy Trinity Church.

As I expressed before, my intention as the Pastor is that each member of this wonderful community feel that they are at home. We are one family who are walking together to rejoice in the presence of the Lord in each one of the activities that we do as a parochial family. All of us are disciples of Christ; therefore, each one of the members of this community is very important for us. All of us contribute something important and valuable in the construction of our parish mission statement which you can read every week in our parish bulletin.

I have a phrase that probably you have heard from me many times: The parish we dream is the parish I help to build. We have been working as a family, a big family who dreams to be truly disciples of Christ. Each one of us has the responsibility to contribute with something so that our dream be a reality. No matter how big or little our contribution to our community is (as a lector, usher, altar server, volunteer, sacristan, CMA, collection, donations, and so on); our contribution is very important for the life and future of our communities.

This is not only my community, but it is the community of each one of us. This is our home. And because it is our home, I work so that my home becomes a welcoming place not only for each one of the members of this wonderful family, but also for those who are visiting us. Remember… this is our parish; let us work for our parish; let us love our parish; let us feel all the blessings by God through our parish.

I would like to express all my gratitude to each one of you for making this year very special for me. Family Mass, the Night of the Little Candles (La Noche de las Velitas), Christmas, Holy Week, Easter, Blessing of the Pets, Catechesis, First Reconciliation, First Communions, Confirmations, VBS, Eucharists, Funerals, Matrimonies, Confessions, CMA, and so on, have been wonderful experiences of love that all of us have for God and the Church.

Let us continue to work in this new year 2024-2025 for the Kingdom of God through all our manifestations of love. Let us continue feeling that we are a family who walks together to build this kingdom on earth. Let us work together as a big family who is always doing God’s will. Remember… The parish we dream is the parish I help to build.

¡Gracias, muchas gracias! Thank you very much!

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

Fr. George.

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