Jesus Christ, King of the Universe – Week of Nov. 25, 2018

Birthday Blessing ~ After Mass on Sunday, November 25, there will be a birthday prayer for all those who celebrated birthdays during November.

The Parish Council will meet this Wednesday, November 28 at 7pm in St. Charles Hall. If you are unable to attend, please contact Mickey Dick (716-832-2540).

Depictions of St. Cecilia appear in two different places in our church. In this photo of Joseph Mazur’s dome mural, St. Cecilia, patron saint of musicians, is the kneeling figure at the far right of the group of Virgins and Widows. She is holding a harp.
Photo credit: Gary Kelley.

Giving Thanks ~ Did you know that the feast of Saint Cecilia, the Patroness of Musicians, fell on Thanksgiving this year?  That means the Blessed Trinity Choir is even *more* grateful than usual.

Part of our ministry as liturgical musicians is to provide musical prayer for the worshiping community. Our task is to enable them to be united in musical prayer, which is even closer than speaking together. When we sing our prayer we are one in melody, word, and rhythm. Liturgical music becomes more of a servant of the liturgy than ever when we do that. This is very different than making music for our people. Music at Mass is not a performance – it is a comprehensive, integral community prayer.

We are grateful for the people of Blessed Trinity, our beautiful space (with an amazing acoustic), and the wonderful instruments used to praise God. We are grateful to the women of the parish who came up to the loft last week to clean for advent. We are grateful for the 70+ year tradition of choral music ministry at BT. We are grateful for each other.

Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions to all musicians – appear and inspire!

Choir practice continues on Tuesday, November 27 at 7:00 in St. Charles Hall. All are welcome – let’s be inspired together! …. Elizabeth

This year’s Christmas concert is Sunday, December 2, at 3 p.m. The German word “freudig” means “joyful,” and that is exactly what the “Christmas Through the Ages” concert by the Freudig Singers of WNY will be. Their blend of beautiful Advent and Christmas music will definitely put you in the mood for the coming season of hope, expectation, and joy! And then, of course, there is the promise of Christmas pie for everyone after the concert! The Freudig Singers have made a tradition of their Christmas concerts at Blessed Trinity – and we love to have them! Bring your friends and relatives. Suggested donation: $15.

Cocoa Challenge 2018 is underway and we need YOU! Blessed Trinity’s goal is 4,200 plus individual packets of Instant Hot Cocoa to help fill over 2,100 gift bags for inmates at the Albion and Wende Correctional Facilities. Two more weekends until our December 9 deadline for donations. Put it on your “to do” list today. If shopping is inconvenient, please consider a cash donation in an envelope marked “Prisoner Gifts” placed in the weekend collection basket. The gift bags will be assembled here at Blessed Trinity during morning and evening sessions on Friday, December 14. There will be two project packing shifts 10am-1pm and 6pm-completion.

Gifts for Homebound Parishioners – This coming Sunday, December 2, marks the end of the Ladies Sodality collection of items for inclusion in Christmas gift bags to be delivered to our homebound parishioners and those in senior care facilities. Please leave your new, unwrapped items in the basket at the far left end of the communion rail. Presents and plants will be ready for delivery on the weekend of Dec. 8/9. The success of this project is dependent on volunteers willing to deliver a gift bag and visit with one of our 14 recipients. If you can help, please contact Vera Andrew (716-704-2944) or Mickey Dick (716-832-2540).

Sodality Christmas Dinner ~ The Sodality’s annual Christmas dinner is Wednesday, December 5, at The Family Tree Restaurant, 4346 Bailey Avenue in Amherst. We will gather at 6pm, with dinner being served at 6:30. The all inclusive $25 per person price includes a choice of five dinners: broiled fish, pot roast, lamb shank, stuffed Greek chicken (rice, spinach, olive, feta cheese, artichoke filling), or Chicken Souvlaki (marinated in herbs). Diners can also choose soup or salad and  potato. Friends are always welcome. Amy Johnson (716-836-4694) is accepting reservations until Thursday, November 29; payment is due Sunday, December 2.

Canisius High School student volunteers Patrick Crowe and Jack Manka and their families teamed up as part of the school’s Nov. 17, 2018 Canisius Family Service Day and helped to clean our church in preparation for Christmas. From left: Patrick, Cortney, Thomas, Pat and Laruen Crowe;
Jennifer, Madeline, Mike, Jack and Alex Manka; Joe Van Volkenberg.

This Thanksgiving, we give prayerful thanks for Canisius High School Associate Campus Minister Joe Van Volkenburg and students Patrick Crowe and Jack Manka, who chose Blessed Trinity as their Canisius Family Service Day volunteer project. On Saturday, November 17, the young men and their family members (Cortney, Pat, Thomas and Lauren Crowe and Jennifer, Mike, Madeline and Alex Manka) washed our pews, scrubbed our floors, and carried in hundreds of books donated for next month’s Christmas Prison Package Project. We are grateful to Mr. Van Volkenburg for his continued support of our parish and delighted to have benefitted from the youthful energy and enthusiasm of the Canisius team. At the same time, we acknowledge the dedication of parishioners Judy Casassa, Bud and Mickey Dick, Dan Korchowsky, Dorothy Manuppelli, Kathy Press, Sr. Liz Savage and Colleen Schroeder who worked along with them and provided direction.

Know Your Faith: Do we each have a guardian angel? Angels are messengers of God. They are spirit beings that sometimes reveal themselves in human form. The message they communicate or actions they carry out sometimes depend on how they present themselves. And because they are spirit beings, they can also work through humans.

Some people believe that each person on Earth has his or her own guardian angel that focuses mainly on helping that one person throughout the person’s life. Others believe that people receive help from various guardian angels as needed, with God matching guardian angels’ abilities to the ways that any person needs help at any given time.

The Bible clearly teaches, “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (Psalm 34:7). Psalm 91:11 tells us, “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” And Hebrews 1:14 says of angels, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”  In Hebrews, we read that “some have unwittingly entertained angels” (13:2).

No one can say for certain whether individually we have a guardian angel, but something Jesus said would imply that perhaps children have guardian angels. He said, “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). This is reassuring, knowing how easily children can get themselves into trouble. Even if they don’t have a personalized angel, we can know that angels are involved in their lives.

Angels are involved in the lives of Christians. We have angelic activity around us every day. Angels are at work in our lives, protecting us, guiding us, and sometimes even speaking to us. But they work undercover. We could describe them as God’s secret agents. From the transitional catholic prayer, “Angel of God, my guardian dear, To whom God’s love commits me here, Ever this day be at my side, To light and guard, to rule and guide” one can say we have guardian angels. One cannot categorically say if they are personalized ones.

Under This Roof Fund ~ We are extremely grateful to everyone who responded to our “Fall Fest” fundraiser — both party attendees and financial supporters. Your response exceeded our expectations and, to date, proceeds total $7,260.00. Thank you to all!

Important News from our Bingo Team ~ After almost ten years as our bingo chair, Francis (“Fran”) Cahill has resigned and is being succeeded by Kathy Press. We are very appreciative of Fran’s decade-long stewardship and of Kathy’s willingness to assume responsibility for the parish’s primary fundraiser.

Do you know that Mass is the highest and greatest form of prayer? The Catechism of the Catholic Church reveals that “from the very earliest days of the Christian religion, [the Church] has honored with great respect the memory of the dead.” In its reference to the Second Vatican Council’s conclusion that “it is a wholly and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins,” the Catechism adds: “Our prayer for them is capable of not only helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective.” Consider contacting the church office (716-833-0301) to request a Mass for yourself, your deceased loved ones, or  for any intention. The stipend is $15.