Fourth Sunday of Lent – Week of March 31, 2019

March 31 – April 7, 2019

Weekly Activities

Sunday, March 31 following 10:00 a. m. Mass – “Bring a Friend to Church” luncheon in St. Charles Hall

Monday, April 1 following 6:30 p.m. Mass – CCCB Parish Social in St. Charles Hall

Tuesday, April 2 at 7:00 p.m. ~ Choir Rehearsal in St. Charles Hall

Wednesday, April 3 from 12:00 noon – 4:00 p.m. ~ Catholic Central Food Pantry in St. Charles Hall
(Food Pantry operates every Wednesday from Noon-4pm)

Wednesday, April 3 beginning at 6:45 p.m. ~  Lenten Program in St. Charles Hall ~ “Major World Religions: More Unites Us Than You Think”

Thursday, April 4 at 8:00 p.m. ~ Bingo will be played in St. Charles Hall*

Friday, April 5 at 6:00 p.m. ~ Stations of the Cross in Church

Saturday, April 6 at 8:00 p.m. ~ Bingo will be played in St. Charles Hall*

Sunday, April 7 following 10:00 a. m. Mass – Sodality Meeting and Spring program in St. Charles Hall

*To check the Red, White & Blue and progressive Share-the-Wealth carry over amounts and progressive numbers for this week, click HERE and visit our Facebook page.

 

Click HERE for a complete listing of our Lenten services and programs.

Click HERE for a schedule of 2019 Holy Week Services.

Mass Intentions

Sunday, March 31 ~ Mass at 10:00 a.m. – Birthday Remembrance for Sr. Ann Helene Koenig (Requested by Colleen Schroeder) and Eternal Rest for Barbara Draper (Requested by Nancy DeBoy)

Monday, April 1 ~ St. Francis of Paola ~ CCCB Lenten Journey Mass at 6:30 p.m. in Church – For the intentions of our parishioners, both living and deceased (Blessed Trinity Parish)

Tuesday, April 2 ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – Deceased Members of the Ryan, Reilly, Reynolds and Pfeiffer Families (Estate of Mary Reilly)

Wednesday, April 3 ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – Josephine Zanghi (Palma Zanghi)

Thursday, April 4 ~ Mass at 11:00 a. m. – For the intentions of our parishioners, both living and deceased (Blessed Trinity Parish)

Friday, April 5 ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – Deceased Members of the Ryan, Reilly, Reynolds and Pfeiffer Families (Estate of Mary Reilly)

Friday, April 5 from 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. – First Friday Adoration and Benediction in Daily Mass Chapel

Saturday, April 6 ~ Vigil Mass at 4:30 p.m. – William Pernick (Family)

Sunday, April 7 ~ Mass at 10:00 a.m. – For the intentions of our parishioners, both living and deceased (Blessed Trinity Parish)

Ministry Schedule for Saturday and Sunday, April 6/7, 2019:

Saturday, 4:30 p.m.  Reader: John Curtin; Eucharistic Minister: Lucille Venezia

Sunday, 10:00 a.m.  Readers: Maggie Gatson, Avery White; Eucharistic Ministers: Dan Korchowsky,  Pat Hartinger, Bernice Bradley; Choir – Kathleen Marien

News from our Parish Community

Invite a Friend ~ Sunday, March 31 is our annual Bring your friend, neighbor, or family member to church Sunday. An expanded coffee hour will follow our services. Details have been mailed in a letter to all parishioners.

A Banquet? During Lent? The Fourth Sunday of Lent has been known as Laetare (Lay-tah’-reh) Sunday, taken from the entrance antiphon for today: Rejoice, O Jerusalem.  It marks the midpoint of the Lenten season to encourage the faithful to stay on the course to Easter.  Even though it is still Lent, today’s Liturgy feels less stark and more…joyful! Today’s Responsorial Psalm captures the spirit of the day:

I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the Lord; the lowly will hear me and be glad.
Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress he saved him.

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord!

Choir practice resumes Tuesday, April 2 at 7:00 in St. Charles Hall.  All are welcome! … Elizabeth

Support for Christians in the Holy Land ~ On the weekend of March 30/31, representatives of the Three Kings Bethlehem olive wood group will be present at our church with a display of their sacred wood-carved objects for purchase. These items are made by 25 families from the Holy Land who struggle to make a living due to the detrimental effect that ongoing conflicts in that area have had on tourism. Please take time to visit with them and support their livelihood.

Monday April 1 at 6:30pm ~ Blessed Trinity hosts the CCCB Lenten Journey Mass. Please be there to welcome parishioners from Ss. Columba-Brigid, St. Lawrence and St. Martin dePorres, and plan to stay for the social in St. Charles Hall.

Wednesday Lenten Series ~ This Wednesday, April 3, our Lenten series features Sheila Lyons, a faculty member at Sacred Heart Academy. Her presentation, entitled “Major World Religions: More Unites Us than You Think,” will examine similarities and differences in significant areas of religious expression. This expanded understanding should help us appreciate the interconnections among various belief systems, even as we note the variations and cherish our own faith. Please join us in St. Charles Hall for dessert, served at 6:45pm and Ms. Lyons’ talk at 7pm.

The Ladies Sodality welcomes Spring at our next meeting on Sunday, April 7, immediately after Mass. Following a brief business meeting in St. Charles Hall, we will engage in a bit of nostalgia by viewing a video of our April 30, 2006 Centennial Fashion Show. You can’t help but smile as friends, young and old, take to the runway. Come for the fashion; stay for the fun. All parish women are invited.

Tenebrae Service ~ An adaptation of the Good Friday Liturgy of Tenebrae will take place in our church on Friday evening, April 12, at 7:30, with choral music provided by The St. John Paul II Schola Cantorum. Please make time to attend this moving service which includes seven readings relating the story of Christ’s passion and death. It will be preceded by Stations of the Cross at 6pm.

Know Your Faith ~ What is Lent and why do we observe it?

Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays. Sundays are excluded from the forty days because each Sunday represents a “mini-Easter,” and the reverent spirit of Lent is tempered with joyful anticipation of the Resurrection.The forty days of Lent represent the time Jesus spent in the wilderness enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry (Matt. 4:1-2).

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday when many Christians solemnly mark their foreheads with ash, and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism. Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others.

As part of the Lenten observances, some give up smoking, others give up chewing gum, still others give up over-eating or cursing. The Church calls us to observe Lent as God’s children through three spiritual exercises: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We are also encouraged to attend and participate in Stations of the Cross, and to take up other individual spiritual exercises.

May all the preparations we make to celebrate Easter be a source of strength to us as we everyday prepare for the coming of God’s kingdom.

Membership in the Ladies Sodality runs with the calendar year. If you have not yet paid your $5 dues for 2019 and submitted your preferred method of contact (phone or email), please do so as soon as possible. Membership Vice Pres. Mickey Dick will be revising the organization’s telephone tree based on your updated information. She can be reached at 716-832-2540. If you are not a member but would like to know more about the Sodality, please contact Mickey or President Vera Andrew (716-704-2944).

Your local Victim Assistance Coordinator is available to help you or anyone who has been abused or victimized by someone representing the Catholic Church. We will listen and make a formal compliant.

Report Hotline: 716 895-3010
Diocese of Buffalo
Victim Assistance Coordinator: jacqueline [dot] joy [at] ccwny [dot] org

Thank you to the Franciscan Sisters of the Neumann Community, located in Williamsville, for their recent generous donation of altar candles to be used at Blessed Trinity throughout the coming year. Please keep the Sisters in your prayers.

Charities Annual Appeal is now underway. Donations to the Appeal in 2018 helped to impact the lives of over 152,000 people throughout Western New York with programs ranging from counseling and substance abuse services, education and job training, to specialized services for the elderly. You are now able to choose from three options and direct how your Appeal gift is used: give to the Appeal as in previous years, benefiting Catholic Charities and the Fund for the Faith (which supports ministries and programs of the Diocese); to Catholic Charities only; or to the Fund for the Faith only. For more information about the Fund for the Faith, please visit www.ccwny.org/appeal-programs. Your help is needed to continue this important work. “Help your neighbor FIND HOPE.” If you did not receive a pledge card in the mail, extras are available on the tables by the church entrances. Our chairman, Bob Heicklen, will be happy to accept your pledge or check. Please give generously.

Presentation of Offertory Gifts ~ For those who have requested a Mass and would like to present the Offertory gifts, please see Head Usher, Ed Marien, prior to Mass. This also applies to those whose family members are being remembered during the Liturgy.

Note of Appreciation from Haven House ~ Mary Cornwell, Chief Development Officer with Child  & Family Services, has written a letter to our parish expressing thanks on behalf of Haven House for our January donation of $723 raised through the 2018 Giving Tree. She reminds us that this generosity helps support their 30 programs vital to children and families in the community and extends her appreciation to all of you.

Attention Parents ~ Blessed Trinity is pleased to announce the renewal of our Religious Education Program for your children. Please sign up on the pink sheets located on the tables by the church entrances or call the church office, Office hours are: 10:30am -2:30pm, Tuesday – Thursday.

Blessed Trinity Needs Your Help! We’re not asking for money, but for something maybe even more valuable: a little bit of your TIME. Just a bit. ONE or TWO nights a month that will really help your parish. Our last financial report (included in a recent bulletin) shows the importance of BINGO. Clearly, this fundraiser is essential for our parish’s financial health. Just as clearly, it needs broad parish support in the way of MORE workers. We have Bingo every Thursday and Saturday night. Can you PLEASE commit to one or two nights a month? You can start simply by helping to sell things and — as you learn the routine — cross-train for other essential tasks. Our friendly team of workers stands ready to help you. Please contact Kathy Press at 716-445-8160 for more information. Your Parish Bingo Team thanks you!

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.

Has your contact information changed? Our parish secretary is finding that our parish records contain a growing number of not-in-service phone numbers, and the recent parish mailing resulted in several letters returned for “expired forwarding.” If your contact information has changed, you can notify the rectory office in one of several ways: use the form on the back of the bulletin; phone our secretary at 716-833-0301 any Tuesday-Thursday between 10:30am and 2:30pm; send an email to blessedtrinitychurch [at] gmail [dot] com; or Click HERE to use the contact feature of our web site to submit the information. If you choose either of the last two, please use “New Contact” as the subject of the email or message.

Home Visits ~ Please notify the church office if you know of aged, sick, or homebound parishioners who may wish to receive a visit and the Eucharist on the last Friday of each month.

News from our Vicariate Cluster and the Wider Community

Estate Planning Services available on Wednesdays from 3-5pm at Dr. Blackman School of Excellence (2358 Main Street @ Leroy Ave. in Buffalo). Estate Planning Services (Wills, Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy) offered by Volunteer Lawyers Project and Say Yes Legal Clinic. Pre-registration required to determine income eligibility. Contact Marci Wiseman at 716-847-0662, ext. 300 or mwiseman [at] ecbavlp [dot] com

Saturday April 6 at 3pm ~ “Mark Twain Live!” with Mike Randall at Presbyterian Village / North Church (214 Village Park Dr.ive in Williamsville). RSVP to Lisa at 716-631-3430.

Saturday April 6 at 7:30 ~ Buffalo Choral Arts Society presents “My Spirit Sang All Day” – a concert of Sacred Lenten and Reflective Choral Music to soothe the soul and lift the spirit at St. Michael Church (651 Washington Street in Buffalo). Call 716-775-7664 or visit  BuffaloChoralArts.org.