Holy Trinity Church

Every once in awhile it helps me to go back to some of the theological books I collected in seminary and early priesthood. There I find in writing some of the “fundamental principles” that help explain the Christian Faith. Words that define realities like “person”, “truth”, “guilt”, “love”, “spirit”, “history”, etc.

Let’s look at one of these defining principles . . . . Freedom. What is freedom exactly?

For a twelve-year-old mind, freedom means “staying up late ‘cause there’s no school tomorrow!” Or . . . summer vacation starts this Friday! Or . . . no homework. For a child, freedom means “not having to do something”, which thereby makes them free to do whatever they want. In fact, we all have this initial experience of being “set free”.

On closer look however, things go much deeper. Human freedom is what sets man apart from everything else in creation. Think of it. Every creature you see, whether (as we used to say) animal, vegetable, or mineral, is harnessed to a natural order which totally determines what it becomes.

The flowers in spring, the geese flying south in a wing, that stone at the end of your driveway, are all part of a natural order. This “order of nature” requires flower, goose, and stone to act in a particular, predetermined way in order for them to be what they are. (Beware! The goose that stops by your kitchen to have coffee with you is really not a goose!).

Isn’t this fun?!

The human being however is a different creature. We are set in “openness” to becoming. (It’s like we’re driving a convertible with the top down . . . while the rest of nature drives a hard top with the windows closed!)

That means we must discover the character of our nature – – – who I am. Our freedom is not “freedom from” but freedom “for”. We are summoned by our freedom to action that defines us as we go. We become “truth tellers” or “generous” or “patient” or “forgiving”.

Or, equal in possibility, we can become “liars”, “greedy”, “unforgiving”, etc. It’s up to us. We’re free. This is the wonderful dignity of the human being as created by God. God has made us, in effect, co-creators of ourselves. Our actions put into history who we are. We “become”. And because it was done in freedom . . . we become “responsible for it”.

---

Some people don’t like this. The responsibility that weighs on every human to create for themselves their own character and to stand by that as defining who they are . . . is too heavy.

“I just wanna be. I’m the boss. I say what I want to do. And, oh by the way, nobody tells me who I am or what I should become.”

Now here’s the kicker . . . Don’t miss this. Our human nature, as created by God, is to share in His nature! God created us to have His love as our meaning.

We know this because God has revealed it to us in Revelation (Sacred Scripture). What does the bible tell us about ourselves?

1. We are made in God’s image and likeness (Genesis).
2. We are God’s children. 1 John3: 1-3 “But it is not yet clear what we shall become . . . but we know when Christ appears (the Day of the Resurrection) we shall become like him, because we shall see him as he really is.”
3. Ireneaus said it centuries ago; “the glory of man is to see God.”
4. The purpose of the gift of freedom is to one day share in the nature of God…. that is a share in the pure, selfless, joyful, eternal giving of Himself in the relationship of the Trinity. God has a place for us in the Trinity!

So back here on earth – – – what are we to do with our freedom? Love God with all our heart. And love our neighbor as Christ has loved us.

Let’s get to work!

Fr. Tim

There is a teaching in Catholic Moral Theology, rooted in the bible, that tells us we have an obligation to let our neighbor know when they are committing sin. It’s called Fraternal Correction and the obligation occurs first with those who we know to be Christian and hold the same principles of behavior as we do.

Scripture says in effect we are doing them a favor. The hope is they recognize their failure and return to right behavior. By this, you have saved your brother/sister. To remain silent, is an offense against them.

Now some of us respond to this injunction more vigorously than others. They like to correct people. The problem is sometimes we do the “correcting” behind their back in conversation with others. Jesus addressed this when he advised us to take the log out of our own eye first, then we would see clearly to help remove our neighbor’s splinter.

Others of us (perhaps most) are inclined to “just go along”. We close our eyes to the bad stuff happening around us. We don’t want to “get involved”. “It’s none of my business”. This is what happens to me and I bet to you too.

So how do we do the right thing here? How do I know when to speak out and when to remain silent? Certainly the gravity of the situation would require us to act. Serious danger to innocent persons, great scandal to children, a major injustice or unfairness, observed cruelty to others . . . all require us to step forward to witness to goodness, to protect innocence. I think most of us see our duty here. With God’s help let us be up to the test.

But there is something else happening here. You see, along the way of “correcting” someone, we can often end up “judging” them. It is at that point we’ve gone too far, for judgment belongs to God. It can be hard to distinguish between the two (judging/correcting). Let’s see if we can find some guidelines.

–To tell my co-worker that he has his facts wrong or his statement is inaccurate – is correcting. –To say “you’re lying” or “you’re a liar” — is judging.

–To encourage someone to not give up or to “keep on trying” is a way to correct. To call them a lazy quitter is to judge.

–To stress the value of dressing with modesty is correcting. To call someone a tease is judging.

It would seem if there is a name attached to the behavior one is concerned about, chances are I’m judging another person.

So why can’t we judge people? Because we just don’t know the reasons why people do the things they do or the desperate situations in which they must choose. And lacking that knowledge, the goodness or evil of their actions is known only to God. (Remember the woman caught in adultery? “Has no one condemned you?” said Jesus. “Nor do I. Go and avoid this in the future.” This was correction not judgment.)

One key that helps a bit is to try as St. Paul says to “bear with one another”, to accept people as they are with certain weaknesses and faults. Not that we close our eyes to wrong doing, but that we “love the sinner”.

It’s love that brings someone to their senses, not judgment.

Blessings on your week.

Fr. Tim

Years ago there was a home visit in the parish I’ll never forget. I was bringing Holy Communion to a couple in their 80’s. The husband was bed ridden so we said our prayers bedside and they took the Host.

Afterward the Mrs. invited me to their overheated living room to “chat a bit”. Some minutes into our first-time introductions, she asked me, “Do you want to see my braid?” “Excuse me?”, I said. “My braid, I’ve saved my hair.”

So what does one say? “Sure. Let me see your braid.” In a flash she sets a handsome mahogany box on the table. Lined in red velvet, the box contained what looked like a thick dark brown rope about the size of a braided garden hose. It was the hair of a young woman. Her mother had insisted that scissors not touch her hair from birth to her 18th birthday. This box contained the beautiful hair of her youth.

She smiled remembering how she looked with that beautiful auburn hair.

---

My point? There are some things we should never let go. Some things are so precious that they continue to feed us, inspire us, touch us, long after the actual event.

We talked last week about scars and the painful memories they can bring and how God can use them to bring about character and compassion for others. So too, we each have unforgettable memories that make us smile, that warm our hearts, that make us proud. God gives these to us as our very own treasure chest.

He wants us to open it often and remember the wonderful work He let us be a part of. Why? So that we become aware of the goodness of God in our life! So that we can “connect the dots” and find God present to us in the people and events of our life.

So what’s in your treasure chest? Mine? Here’s a couple of mine:

• Our screened in porch and garden growing up.
• My dad reading the newspaper at night in his chair.
• Senior year basketball. Beating Gilmore Academy in triple overtime.
• A moonlit walk with a first love. Fifty years ago. (pretty corny, eh?!)
• My sweet sisters constantly forgiving me for my unkindness.
• A tree, where God sat me down and let me know He was with me.
• Friends who love me and still talk to me after many years!
• The grace to walk away from a harmful habit.
• Some genuinely holy people who have graced my life.

All these cause me to pause, to remember God’s invisible hand guiding me in my life.

Your homework? Think back. Find your moments and . . . Give Him Thanks.

Bless your week.

Fr. Tim

PS. Remember God is not done with you yet. Keep your eyes open.

I’m told that if you travel to Elmira and stand at the main downtown intersection you will see a line on a limestone building (up about 15 feet) that marks the level the floodwater reached in the flood of 1972. All you need do to remember that terrible event is look up on the side of that building.

Scars. They serve as reminders of events long past. I had a broken front tooth served up by my sister swinging a bucket of water (sorry Patty!). We all have physical reminders of bumps, scrapes, and collisions. (Mothers have reminders of their pregnancies.) They don’t hurt any- more but they bring the event back to memory.

You know where I’m going with this right? Yes, there are emotional scars too. Sometimes a place or picture or person can bring back an event that we can still feel. (A couple of swimming episodes in my youth still cause anxiety whenever I’m in water over my head). There are, of course, “good scars”, unforgettable moments of joy or peace. We’ll talk about those next week.

Some of those emotional scars go deep into the psyche and subconscious mind. They create vague, hard to explain motives for our reactions to things. Counselors, psychologists, and spiritual directors help us locate “our issues”. Things like: authority, intimacy, commitment, trust, addictions, can all be affected by emotional scars.

So what are we to do with these “visitors from the past”? Wise spiritual counsel says to be aware of them. “Know your demons”. Facing these things honestly, sometimes with the help of trained professionals, can keep them from immobilizing us.

---

Christian Faith assures us that we are not “defined” by our scars. In other words, what we are is given to us by God and will never be taken away. Our ultimate purpose as Children of God is to receive the love of God (eternal life) and to know and love God in return.

There is no scar, no fear, no devil that can rob us of this dignity. Parents, you especially understand this in your love for your children. Wherever they may be . . . at home, at work, in hospital, in jail, wherever . . . they are always your child. Even in hell (God forbid) I would be God’s son.

So what does this mean for scarred, addicted, fearful humanity? It means that NOTHING can change what God wants for me as his child. In fact our very wounds can become the thing that God uses to show us His love. (I’ve heard people tell me their sickness/addiction is the very thing God used to touch their hearts.)

St. Paul says it beautifully (I quote at length): “We know that all things (even our scars) work for the good for those who love God and who are called according to his purpose. . . . If God is for us, who can be against us? What will separate us from the love of Christ? Anguish?, Distress?, Persecution?, Peril?”

“No! In all these things we conquer through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things (scars!), nor future things, . . . nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8: 28-39.

---

So what does this mean when my demon memories come calling? It means I don’t have to run and hide. It means I have that scar; no denying it. It means I am more than what has afflicted me. But what has scarred me can, by God’s grace, help others to bear theirs.

“Peace be with you.” Jesus said. “Then he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced.” Luke 24:40.

Love bears all things. Love never fails.

Fr. Tim

The fear of embarrassment causes more people to shut down and hide than nearly any other experience. To feel totally exposed to strangers, or those closest to us for that matter; there’s nothing quite like it.

Think of those times when fear of embarrassment took hold of you. How about: singing at mass, dancing while sober, holding hands, taking your drivers test, speaking a foreign language, getting your tax filing audited, asking someone out for the first time, that first kiss . . . and the greatest fear of all? Public speaking.

There’s a ton of them.

And what is it that grips us so tightly, that freezes us up? I think it’s the possibility of being laughed at, ridiculed or rejected. In that scary moment we’re just “out there”, unguarded, vulnerable. The slightest smirk, or roll of the eyes means total rejection. We’ve all experienced it and we never want it to happen again.

It’s why children stop acting like children. Their free, silly, exuberance has met disapproval. “There must be something wrong with me” is the message we get. And so we begin to protect ourselves (a necessary adjustment to life at times). But it can come at a cost of never investing ourselves in what we truly believe. We can turn our back on things dearest and most important to us.

Why did Peter deny the Lord three times? (One of them to a little servant girl!) (Luke 22: 54-62). He was scared and embarrassed. We all know the feeling.

---

Parents and grandparents are expected to get over this fear . . . if only for the sake of children and spouse. You are supposed to be bigger than your fears (or at least be willing to confront them) for the sake of what you love and hold true.

But still the feelings of embarrassment harass us. As a priest I see it when it comes to speaking about your faith in God. Many have gotten away from the religion of their youth (when talking about loving God came as easily as speaking of your love for the family dog.)

We remember the times in life we have strayed. Perhaps the practice of the Catholic Faith has become spotty at best. Consequently, we feel like hypocrites when we talk about God or the commandments or prayer. “If the guys at work heard me saying these things to my child, they’d howl with laughter.” So we console ourselves with the thought that at least I’m not being a phony . . . and we say nothing.

This won’t do. We need to be bigger than our embarrassment. There are some things “you just know in your bones”. Stay true to them. Things like: God has given me this child. I’ve experienced a love for them I never knew I was capable of. When I surrender to God’s plan for me (my here and now), I see how I can add goodness without embarrassment. I can witness to the God I KNOW FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCE.

---

Six simple things you can do with your child to witness to the faith God has given to you.

1. Send your child off to school, to bed, to sports, with the Sign of the Cross traced lightly on their forehead. “God bless you, and protect you. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” is all you need to say.
2. Tell your child, “I’m praying for you.” You don’t know what this knowledge will do for your child.
3. Ask for your child’s prayers. Something like, “I need your help today. Would you pray that my meeting goes well today?” Kids want to help.
4. Tell your child when you’ve experienced God in your life. “I looked at you when you were born and I just knew God had blessed me.”
5. Share your embarrassment with your child. Something like, . . . “you know, I’m not the best at this but maybe TOGETHER we can learn about God.”
6. Bring your child to mass. There is no substitute for this.

Love will help you get over your embarrassment.

Fr. Tim

When I was a kid reading wasn’t at the top of my list of favorite things. I preferred baseball, marbles, and climbing trees. Reading was for school and the rare basketball story where the team won the state championship against all odds.

Seminary, of course, was a whole bunch of reading. We read books on sacred scripture, Christian Anthropology, dogma, Church history, moral ethics etc. I studied hard and enjoyed much of what I read. But the “habit” of reading never caught on. The peace and contentment of reading words that in- structed or inspired was a pleasure unknown to me.

But now, older and less concerned with “proving myself”, I’ve found a whole world out there through books. I’m no voracious reader (Fr. John is!) but I’ve enjoyed this new kind of recreation.

All this to say I’d like to share with you some of the wonderful thoughts about God and human beings that I’ve come across the last couple years.

In the bulletin from time to time there will be a paragraph or two from something I feel is particularly on point. The authors will be mainly theologians . . . cause that’s what I like to read! We’ll call it “Spiritual Masters”. Here’s the first one. Hope you enjoy.

Spiritual Masters …God as a Person

“God is not a universal mathematical formula. He is not just an omniscient present spirit in the world. He is not the ‘harmony of nature’, or an infinity that can not be named. He is the origin of all harmony. The Living One, the Lord.”

“God has all the essential characteristics of what we mean by a ‘person’ . . . conscious awareness, the ability to recognize, and the ability to love. He is someone who can speak and who can listen. That is what I think is essential about God.”

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) God and the World. P. 96

Enjoy your week.

Fr. Tim

I’ve never been much of a joiner of clubs. Let’s see . . . I was a Cub Scout for about three weeks. We had the 15th Street Raiders on my block as a kid. I joined the Camera Club in high school and a book club somewhere along the way. That was about it for clubs.

Some of them had certain rules and regulations and secrets. I can’t remember the “Raider Handshake” but it let us know who was “in” and who wasn’t.

Sometimes we tend to think of religion as a club. The Catholic Club. There is an initiation (Baptism). It’s got rules (10 Commandments). It has a leader (Pope). And there are dues (pass that basket!).

But this view of the Catholic Church tends to liken it to a merely human organization like Kiwanis, or Rotary, or Sierra Club. (These are great organizations by the way. They do much good for our community.) However, each of them receives its origin and purpose from its human founder, and does not profess to be able to connect its members to God or Eternal Life.

That’s not the way it is with the Catholic Church. It’s not a club or even an “organization” founded for some beneficent purpose. It is the living, mystical (spiritual yet physical) body of its founder, Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son.

Yes, the Church is Christ’s Body. We are its members and are connected with each other as fingers on a hand. . Christ’s Hand! Together, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we make up the person of Christ in the world.

The power and beauty of who we are in Christ makes it all the more painful when we hear of the failures of those most trusted with the Faith.

News headlines today tell us how some in the Catholic Clergy have failed to live as that presence and have betrayed the trust of so many in the Church. (In every age the church has both saints and sinners as its members and thereby, stands in constant need of purification.)

But this does not change the fact that God has adopted us as sons and daughters. We become “co-heirs with Christ” to Eternal Life. “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” Acts 17: 28

---

To our friends who are searching . . .

How about you? Would you like to join – – – not a club! – – – but a group of people who are searching for God in their life? Would you like to talk with others who, like yourself, are trying to figure out what life is about and how we might find some bit of happiness while we are on this earth.

Would you like to learn what the Catholic Church teaches about the meaning of our lives, about God and how we can know Him? Would you like to be free to question and maybe disagree with some of what you are hearing? Well come along!

This group is called the RCIA (The Rite of Christian Initiation). It starts SUNDAY, October 6, AFTER THE 10:30 MASS (@11:45 am.), below the church in the Marian Room. Meetings last one hour and we think you’ll find the discussion interesting and fun.

There will be no pressure whatsoever for you to become Catholic. However, if during the sessions you feel God may be inviting you to join the Body of Christ, that will be your gift come this Easter!!

Hope to see all you Searchers on October 6.

God’s Grace to you this week.

Fr. Tim

I went to Greece-Towne Mall not too long ago. I was looking for a picture frame and a birthday card. I was totally lost. The kiosks selling jewelry and engraving and watches were all up and down the mall. Where were the picture frames?

Coming to an intersection of hallways, I spotted a mall directory. I looked with relief at the red dot telling me “you are here”. Quick as a wink I spotted the index of stores and looked for “Michael’s” . . . down five stores on the right.

Don’t you wish it would be as simple to find our way in life as it is to find a certain store? . . . some red dot to tell me where I was and where I needed to go?

---

Well there IS something like that to help people clarify the faith they already have (where they are) and investigate what the Catholic Faith teaches (where God might be calling them). The class is specifically geared to adults who are searching but have not yet entered the Catholic Church.

Do you know someone who might benefit from such a discussion group?

Fr. John and Fr. Tim and other guest speakers will cover all the major topics of our faith: the existence of God, creation, the human being, Jesus, Resurrection, Eucharist and Sacraments, morality, social justice, the Church, the last things (heaven!).

The sessions are fun but at the same time they deal with the fundamental issues of human life and faith. Starting October 6 (three Sundays from now) at 12 noon, this group of inquiring adults will meet in the church. Let us know you’re coming so we can have materials ready (parish office # 265-1616) . . . . OR just come!

Why not join us for this hour? Ask your questions and hear what we’re proposing for you to learn more about the Catholic Faith. It’s called the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults).

Bless you every day.

Join us. Maybe you’ll find your red dot saying “You are here.”

Fr. Tim

PS. Please share this post with someone who might be interested.

Bishop Matano. Next week!

Next Sunday Bishop Salvatore Matano will join us as celebrant at the 10:30 mass.

Please come and join us as we welcome the Chief Shepherd of the diocese to our parish.

The bishop will greet you after mass in the Gathering Space for coffee hour.

Then at 12 noon we will process to the cemetery entrance as the Bishop blesses the new gate and the Annual Blessing of the Graves.

Remember our teacher giving us our first writing assignment of the new school year? “Tell the rest of the class what you did over the summer.”

Soooooo . . . .

Starting in June

• Celebrated the ordination mass of Matt Walter (he’s preached here) and Dan White. Two good men.
• Spent two days in the hills outside Jamestown, NY playing golf with seven old college friends. 4 Canadians vs. 4 Americans. Had a blast.
• Traveled to Ohio to visit sister Maureen and her husband, George. Watched about 4 movies (none of which I can remember.)
• Red Wing Game at Frontier Field with our Holy Trinity group.

July

• Marriage conversations with several couples be- ing married this summer and fall.
• Summer Intensive Program with the children
• Senior Ice Cream Social. 62 Seniors! They ate like carpenter ants!
• Baptized Gemma. Daughter of dear friends Gina and Ben (whom I married).
• Finished a few books. One on Einstein, another on Lincoln. (I think God is revealed in the brilliance and fortitude of some people.)
• Golf . . . once a week. It’s pretty bad.

August

• Back to Ohio to see BOTH sisters this time. Patty joined us from Florida.
• My old college roommate and friend played in a two-day golf tournament. We were terrible. But lots of fun!
• Interviewed a candidate for our choir director. Still looking.
• Finally played golf well enough to win a “Senior” tournament. (That’s where the contest- ants are old and forgetful and need help putting the ball on the tee. I destroyed them.)
• Planning Session for the new Parish Council. (We meet over the summer to lay plans for the focus and outreach activities here at Holy Trinity this year).
• Buried two dear friends I’ve known over the years. (BTW. Guess how many funerals we’ve had at HT on my watch? So far….376).
• Had a beautiful wedding at the Genesee Country Museum. (Horse drawn carriage for the couple).

So what lies ahead here at Holy Trinity? Lots. It’s a busy autumn.

• HOPE House Garage Sale Sept. 11-14
• Parish Picnic Sept. 15
• Bishop Matano visits HT Sept. 22, for the 10:30 mass and blessing of the graves.
• Parish Council, Liturgy Committee, Finance, Facilities, RCIA, Religious ED, CMA, all start up their year long activities.
• AND . . . . The old gym gets renovated!! Wait till you see it!

So are you ready? We can’t do it without you!!

Let’s .

Fr. Tim

In these days, these unhappy days, when we read the tragic tale of clergy abuse – – here in the diocese of Rochester, New York State and elsewhere – – it might be well to tell you, good reader, how happy my life as a priest has been.

You know of course, the happinesses of marriage and family life: spousal love, the birth of children and their thousand “firsts” (first step, first word, first prom, etc.), holidays, vacations, family nights . . . everyone knows these joyful moments.

Did you ever wonder about the secret happinesses of a priest? I am convinced that few people know the joys of this life of priesthood. I know I can speak as well for Fr. John when I tell you of some of our favorite things living life as a priest.

Here’s a list of my favorite things.

• The surprising newness of the tools of our trade: the psalms, scripture, the prayers of the sacraments, seem always fresh and full of power to touch and heal.
• The beauty of the liturgical seasons and the “inside” experience priests have of them each year.
• Secret moments just between God and me. — The deep peace in knowing we were used by God in very specific ways to help a soul that was burdened with sorrow or sickness.
• Watching the beauty of a bride come down the aisle to meet her husband and to know our lives point to the Bride yet to come —- The New Jerusalem.
• To be beside a wedding couple and to hear their vows spoken so tenderly, and to know you helped them get to that moment.
• Of course the confessional . . . we see the guilt and burden of sin lifted from God’s children. The hope and faith that gets fanned into flame with the words, “I absolve you . . .”. (The humble and tender way people speak their sorrow for sin never ceases to touch my heart. “Lord, do you see how much they love you?”, I tell God.)
• The love of God’s people who look at us at times as they would look upon Christ. (Oh how I wish I were as good as your kindness toward me). How touching is your love for the priest.
• The privileged and sacred moment in the pulpit when the living Word of God comes out of you and is received by His people. It’s a holy moment, a goose bump moment.
• To be called “Father” and know it means something very good.
• To have wise old priests, with battle worn faces, light up when they greet you. Their humble lives have been poured out for thousands of people. Now, older and bent, they smile a secret smile. (Fr. John and I love our Saturday night dinners with our brother priests.)
• To see the Paschal Mystery up close and personal every week. To see the suffering and death and (sometimes much later) the rising to new life in the lives of so many.
• The collar. I like wearing it, sometimes for the stares it gets.
• Convocation – seeing my fellow priests all together each year with our bishop. Watching the grey hairs grow!! (or have fled entirely!).
• Time. (I love this one). You can use it as you see fit. In a sense there is no “inconvenient time”. The priest’s time is meant to be spent on the people and their needs – – not the time clock at work.

There are lots more I could mention. (Be sure of course, there is another list of sad or difficult times for the priest. There is for any life here on earth). But after 40 years as a priest (Fr. John’s 55!) I can honestly say I’d be a priest again in a heartbeat.

Let me end with a message to our young men. Take a look into your heart. What do you feel God has given you to share with the world? Could it be His invitation to share His love as a priest?

I’m praying for you.

Fr. Tim