Week of June 14, 2020 – The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

June 14 – June 21, 2020

Weekly Activities

Services will resume with 10 A. M. Mass on Sunday, June 21.

Services will resume on Sunday, June 21; meetings and activities are cancelled until further notice, with the exception of the Food Pantry.

 Wednesday, June 24, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. ~ EXTENDED HOURS ~ Catholic Central Food Pantry in St. Charles Hall
Now operating every other Wednesday (June 10, June 24, July 8, etc.) but with extended hours. Volunteers will distribute pre-prepared bags of groceries.

Mass Intentions – Services are scheduled to resume on Sunday, June 21, 2020.

Mass for the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) celebrated at neighboring St. Joseph University Church is available on YouTube. You can watch it at any time by Clicking HERE.

We also invite you to follow the daily Mass readings for the week of June 14. They are available on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops by Clicking HERE. Select the desired day on their Roman Liturgical Calendar, and the text of the readings for that day will appear

News from our Parish Community

Father Victor Announces Resumption of Sunday Mass ~ My dear Parishioners, I will like to inform you all that we shall begin first public mass on June 21 following the directives of the bishop. The bishop cautioned that churches must meet all the requirements and guidelines for reopening before Masses can be celebrated. For those who can’t attend due to ill health should please stay at home as you still continue to enjoy the dispensation from Masses till you are strong to do so. The committee for reopening will meet to prepare the church for worship. I hope to see you all soon as we reunite again to continue to praise God as a family. I sincerely missed you all, no one knows the worth of a thing till one is deprived of that thing. After this time I think I should appreciate every seconds of each day. Stay safe, stay healthy, and be firm in Faith. Fr. Victor Ibhawa, Administrator BTC

New Office Hours ~ We are happy to report that the parish has been able to extend office hours to two days each week. Our secretary, Pat Pendleton, will be in the office every Tuesday and Wednesday from 10:30am-2:30pm.

Reflection on the readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord: Deuteronomy 8:2-3,14b-16a; Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20; I Corinthians 10:16-17; John 6: 51-58

We are one body, one body in Christ…

The events of the last few months have been like a muted summons to live more deeply the mystery of the Triduum. What we have not been able to celebrate fully in timeless liturgical ritual, we have been experiencing in real-time events.

We are one body, one body in Christ and he came that we might have life.

Have we not deepened our experience and understanding of our ancestors’ journey for forty years in the desert by our struggle to live in quarantine virtually mourning the sickness and death of so many people?  Have we not seen and experienced the hunger for food and for Eucharist celebrated with Easter joy and festivity?  Would we not say that our God has brought us through the desert despite our weak faith?

We are one body, one body in Christ and he came that we might have life.

Have not the constant images of the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests been a vivid recalling of our apparent failure to live as one body through many years? Are the peaceful marches and protests not the true response in our times to Pilate’s question of who is to be freed?  Is it only when we can participate fully in the true meaning of the breaking of the Body of Christ that we will finally become one with those whose body and spirit are constantly broken by our complicity of silence and our need for distraction from truth and change?

We are one body, one body in Christ and he came that we might have life.

Is it not amazing grace that we celebrate this feast just as many of our churches are able to open for Mass even in the shadows of the pandemic?  How will the festive joy of the small gatherings of brothers and sisters for Eucharist be not only the arrival of the “new normal” but also a reminder of all of our sisters and brothers who are not present because of quarantine, racism, xenophobia…

The procession of the Blessed Sacrament has taken place in ambulances and emergency procedures. As people of faith in action, we choose to go forward in the steps of Jesus who has given his life for the life of the world through our prayer, our donations of time and food, our phone calls. But most of all, this feast calls us to feed one another with life-giving food, with unity in diversity, with compassionate care, with the acknowledgment of our often silent complicity with death-dealing forces.

This feast calls us to life, blessed, broken and shared…

We are one body, one body in Christ and he came that we might have life.

Sr. Mary Laura Lesniak, ssmn

Sunday, June 14, is the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (in Latin, Corpus Christi) ~ Because there is so much symbolism in our house of worship, this weekly post often devotes space to describe its art and iconography as it relates to a particular article of faith, feast, or week on the church calendar. The Rev. Malcolm Guite, an Anglican priest and poet, has gone even further and written a sonnet linking the altar in his church with the Feast of Corpus Christi. Father Guite writes: “As we come toward the feast of Corpus Christi celebrating the wonderful sacrament of Holy Communion, here’s a sonnet about the sixteenth-century oak communion table that we have at my church, St. Edward’s, King & Martyr in Cambridge [England].” It is entitled, “This Table.”

The centuries have settled on this table
Deepened the grain beneath a clean white cloth
Which bears afresh our changing elements.
Year after year of prayer, in hope and trouble,
Were poured out here and blessed and broken, both
In aching absence and in absent presence.

This table too the earth herself has given
And human hands have made. Where candle-flame
At corners burns and turns the air to light
The oak once held its branches up to heaven,
Blessing the elements which it became,
Rooting the dew and rain, branching the light.

Because another tree can bear, unbearable,
For us, the weight of Love, so can this table.

Rosary Video for All Ages ~ As we end the month of May dedicated to Our Lady, our pastoral associate and director of religious education, Pat Dyer, would like to share her YouTube video on The Rosary. The opening portion of her video was made with the children in mind, so be sure they join in.

Diocesan Guidelines for Resumption of Worship Services ~ On May 20, The Diocese of Buffalo issued guidelines for the reopening of our churches, which is now imminent. If you would like to see what our return to the pews might look like on June 21, Click HERE to read the 10-page document. 

Adapting the Bulletin Under New Diocesan Guidelines ~ Under the new diocesan guidelines for our physical return to church, all paper resources (e.g., hymn books, missalettes, bulletins, etc.) must be removed and “[can]not be returned to the church until the [corona virus] outbreak has passed.”  As a result, no PRINTED bulletins will be available to those attending Mass. An electronic copy of the bulletin will be sent to all parishioners who have an email address on file with the church office, but that is only about 40 households. If you are not one of them, please update or share your current email address with Pat Pendleton so that you will be included. You may submit this information using the contact feature at the bottom of this page or by calling Pat at 716-833-0301 on Tuesday or Wednesday between 10:30am and 2:30pm. The information from the bulletin will also be available on this web site. Always look for the “Week of …” post on the home page. If you do not have internet access but would still like access to information in the digital bulletin, please give Pat a call.

Stewardship ~ On behalf of the parish, Father Victor would like to express his gratitude to all who have continued their weekly offerings. While we have not been able to worship together since March 15, many expenses associated with running the parish continue. If you have underlying health conditions and are not yet comfortable with returning to worship services but are blessed to be in a position to support the parish financially, please consider continuing your contributions. Checks payable to “Blessed Trinity Church” should be sent to the church at 317 Leroy Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14214.

Have your responded to the 2020 Census? It is a once-in-a-decade chance to inform how billions of dollars in federal funding are allocated for critical public services. The current corona virus pandemic should certainly enforce in our minds how crucial such funding can be. Census statistics are used to determine the number of seats each state receives in the U.S. House of Representatives, and will also have an impact on planning and funding for health clinics and highways, fire departments and disaster response, education programs such as Head Start and college tuition assistance, and so much more. The Diocese of Buffalo has joined other faith communities and civic organizations in encouraging all people in our community to participate. You should have received a census form in the mail during the month of March. If you misplaced yours, go to 2020census.gov to find out how you obtain another or complete the census online. Then ask your friends and family as well as your neighbors and co-workers if THEY have completed the census, and — if not — encourage them to do the same.

Do you miss being at church? Of course long-time parishioners can probably close their eyes and picture the view from a favorite pew. But until next Sunday when we can be physically present, it is possible to make a virtual visit. Buffalo Rising and Explore Buffalo teamed up to give their online followers a “tour” of Blessed Trinity. You can join them, by Clicking HERE. You will be treated to both exterior and interior photos and more than a little history. Take the “tour” and test your knowledge about your house of worship.

Our Faith Formation Program now has its own page on our web site. Click HERE to look for complete information on the resumption of programs, classes and volunteer opportunities as they become available. 

A Message from Catholic Charities Appeal 2020:

Catholic Charities is doing everything possible to continue to serve our neighbors in need at this time. We are operating every service we safely can and especially those most vital at this time such as basic emergency assistance, including our food pantries (all nine are up and running, assisted by CC staff from other departments) and counseling and mental health services. We are here to help! Many of our staff are working remotely and returning office calls daily.

For the Appeal, our office at 741 Delaware Ave. is closed to visitors. Parishes (and even individual parishioners) are asked to mail donations to our office, 741 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, NY 14209, Attn: Appeal Department. We also encourage online donations:https://www.ccwny.org/donation when possible. Appeal staff are working remotely and returning office calls daily. Please call Clara Moran, 716-713-4410, with questions or concerns. We are grateful for the returns that are being mailed already!

For a daily update about Catholic Charities, go to our home page at ccwny.org. Thank you!

Faith Formation Program Provides On-line Opportunities ~ Buffalo’s Department of Lifelong Faith Formation’s Youth and Young Adult Ministry has officially partnered with “ProjectYM Live” a program designed especially for youth and young adults. In this time of “Social Distancing,” try Church in a way our parents could never have imagined.

Call to Stewardship ~ Our Parish Finance Council seeks a parishioner with accounting skills to join our committee. Please see Father Victor if you are able to serve in this capacity.

Is it time to update your contact information? During the past 3 months when the COVID-19 Protocols prevented us from attending church services, the ability to keep in touch by telephone or email took on increased importance. As we await permission to resume activities, this may be a good time to ask yourself: Does the church office have my correct mailing address and phone number? Have I shared my email address? Make sure that we have been notified of any changes in your contact information by completing this form. This is also a chance to let us know if you: wish to be included in our online email list, register as a parishioner, or request envelopes. You can also submit the requested information by phoning our secretary at 716-833-0301 any Tuesday or Wednesday between 10:30am and 2:30pm; sending an email to blessedtrinitychurch [at] gmail [dot] com; or using the contact feature below to submit the information. If you choose either of the last two, please use “Contact Update” as the subject of the email or message.

Home Visits ~ Because of the COVID-19 protocols, Father Victor has had to discontinue his “last Friday” visits to homebound parishioners. However, if someone is ill and in need of Last Rites, please call him at the rectory.

News from our Vicariate Cluster and the Wider Community

Our Friends at Family Promise of WNY are just finishing renovations to their facility on Hickory Street. When they are able to resume intakes in the coming weeks, they will do so with double the capacity as “a safer, more private and more comfortable shelter” for temporarily homeless families. Their anticipation is heightened as they brace for the housing crisis that they know is coming when the current NYS eviction moratorium is lifted. If you are in a position to lend financial support to this community asset for which Blessed Trinity is a support congregation, your contribution will be doubled by two generous donors. Click HERE to make a donation or learn more about Family Promise.

Help for Victims of Domestic Violence ~ Because of COVID-19, the Family Justice Center (“FJC”) is not accepting walk-in appointments or in-person meetings. In case of emergency, call 911. For help with safety planning or other services you may need during this time, call or text the FJC Safeline, 716-558-SAFE (7233).

Food Assistance for Seniors ~ The County of Erie advises anyone over the age of 60 who is in need of food assistance to call 716-858-8526.