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January 30, 2022 Church of theMost Holy Trinity 1460 Ridge Road Webster, New York14580 (585)265 1616 Fax 265 1627 (website) www.holytrinityweb.com(email) wholytri@dor.org Faith and Reason:Both Gifts from God. Sometimes it seems religion and science describe twodifferent worlds. The world of science and nature is theone that roots us in our daily lives. Religion, on the otherhand, is about a world we hope exists but we cannot see.(Unfortunately, science sometimes discredits theknowledge Faith gives.) Some think when we talk about religion we have to putour knowledge of this world on the shelf (Eg. ourknowledge of astronomy.) Our Faith tells us Jesus “camedown from heaven”, “he suffered death and was buried . . and rose again”, then he “ascended into heaven”, and“is seated at the right hand of the Father.” The words seem to indicate a heaven situated a few milesabove us, from which he “came down” and then“ascended” back. It’s like a palace in the air with twochairs set side by side. One chair is for God the Father(he’s the older looking one with the silver hair); the otherfor the Son (who’s a youngish man (33) wearing sandalsand a beard. This is Heaven. Add to this Jesus saying, “in my Father’s house there aremany mansions. . . I am going to prepare a place foryou.” Jn. 14:2 and one can imagine a place not unlikeCandyland. There’s the Candy Castle and there on histhrone is King Candy. I’m not trying to be a smart aleck here. This is what thewords of the bible can cause us to imagine about Godand Jesus and heaven. And these imaginings can seemchildish next to the hard and sometimes scary facts aboutthe limitless cosmos. What can we say to help here? I think the first thing toremember is the difference between believing andimagining. “I believe in God the Father Almighty,maker of heaven and earth.” This is a statement of faith . . there is one God, and all that is, comes from God. But then we imagine. “What did making the earth looklike?” Michelangelo tried his brilliant best in the SistineChapel. Remember that painting of God the Father on thecloud reaching out with his divine finger to touch the finger of the sleeping Adam? Did it really look like that? No.But does it convey a truth? Of course. God created us outof love. How exactly? We don’t know. Science can helphere. Or the story of Adam and Eve, the Serpent and the Apple.Did the “Fall of humanity” look like that? No. But is ittrue? Was there a moment, when, by the actions of thefirst human couple, we have become strangers to God andto ourselves? Absolutely!! (Read St. Paul’s Letter to theRomans Ch. 7). So, two things are happening here. The WHAT of Faithand the HOW it happened. x The WHAT of Faith . . . God the Eternal has come into our world from outside time and space to becomeone with the human race in the man Jesus. x The HOW it happened . . . the Nativity scene or most any Christmas card. x The WHAT of Faith . . . Jesus ascends into heaven to be with the Father and Holy Spirit. x The HOW it happened . . . The picture in the dome atHoly Trinity Church or El Greco’s “Ascension”. The church wants us to know what is true; then artists andpoets imagine the visuals. Science offers some facts andthen some theories. Some of those are helpful and inspiring. Some are silly and wrong. What is needed is a deeperunderstanding of MYSTERY. And science needs to keepin its lane as to what it knows and what it doesn’t know.How does science describe the moment of creation? Thebest it’s come up with so far . . . “something went Bang!” There’s lot’s more to talk about here. Another time perhaps. Hey it’s winter . . . stay warm . . . I’m in Florida! Heh,heh. Fr. Tim

Page Two Holy Trinity Church, Webster, New York January 30, 2022 Webster Blood Drive: 2/07/22 From the Faith Formation Office The American Red Cross will hold a Blood Drive At Holy Trinity Church on Monday, February 7 From 1:00 7:00 pm. in the Peace and Unity Room To schedule your life saving appointment, please call 1 800 red cross or visit www.redcrossblood.org and usesponsor keyword: Holy Trinity Webster. Give Blood. Help save lives. There are several celebrations in our faith to learnabout and participate in this month. The Presentation of the Lord honors the day thatMary and Joseph presented the infant Jesus at the Temple.The date is always February 2nd because it is exactly 40days after Christmas. According to Mosaic Law, a childwould be presented at the Temple 40 days after they wereborn to be dedicated to the Lord. This week, let’s maketime to celebrate with the Holy Family during this veryspecial time in the life of Jesus by praying together, enjoying a family meal, or doing something else specialwith our own families. Feast Day of St. Blaise on February 3, the Church celebrates the feast day of Saint Blaise. During Blaise’s life inthe early 4th century, it took a lot of courage to be a Christian as they were often persecuted by the Roman government. Yet Blaise also knew he could not live in fear. Before he became a bishop, it is said that Saint Blaise was aphysician blessed with healing power.When Blaise was thrown into prison, herefused to give up his faith and worshipthe Roman gods. While Blaise was inprison, he is said to have performed a miraculous healing on a child choking on afish bone. Blaise prayed that God wouldheal the child, and suddenly, the bonebecame dislodged, and the boy could breathe again!Blaise reminded the people who had witnessed the miracle to thank God for this sign of his love. As a result ofthis story, people pray to Saint Blaise for healing of allillnesses of the throat. Pretzel Sunday see this month’s Faith Formation newsletter, The Good News, for more on this tradition celebrated on the Sunday before Lent begins (February 27) alongwith a recipe to share this yummy lesson with children! Ifyou do not get this newsletter, and would like to, emailTricia.Kull@dor.org to sign up. SAFETY FIRST Blood donation is a safe process, and people should nothesitate to give and receive blood. At each blood drive,Red Cross employees follow thorough safety protocols.In addition to our standard procedures, you will noticethe following at your local blood drive: Pre Donation Donor Temperature Screening All donors will be asked to have their temperature taken before being permitted into the blood drive. If a donor has a temperature greater than 99.5 F theywill be asked to come back to donate when they arehealthy and will be asked to leave the drive. Masks All donors, staff and volunteers are required to wearmasks. If someone does not have one, they will be provided with one. Enhanced Disinfecting Hand sanitizer will be available at check in, health history and refreshment areas. Blood donors will be asked to use hand sanitizer priorto using tablets and laptops. Donor beds will be sanitized between every donor. Social Distancing Implementation of separated drive set up to allow asmuch distance as possible between donors. Staff Wellness and Protection. All staff members will have a temperature check beforepresenting to work, and they've been asked not to cometo work if they are feeling sick. Staff will wear gloves throughout entire blood drive,changing gloves between every donor. Educational Materials Donor educational materials on COVID 19. Stop sign at entrances to avert ineligible donors frompresenting. Becoming Catholic BECOMING CATHOLIC: RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION FOR ADULTS (RCIA): Prepares adults toenter fully into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. Sundays, 12:00 1:00 pm. (October April). For moreinformation, please contact Mary Kramer atmary.kramer@dor.org. Our Mission We are a Catholic faith community blessed with the joy of God’s love. Together we share this love with allwho hunger for God’s presence in their lives. We follow Christ who taught us to find God by giving our livesin service to others and gathering to celebrate a Eucharist that welcomes everyone. Join us on this journey!

Page Three Holy Trinity Church, Webster, New York Please Remember in Prayer Our Beloved Dead Dick Hasenauer; Leroy Anthony Ange, brother ofAnthony Ange; and those who mourn for them. Altar Candles will burn this week for the following: The Sanctuary Lamp will burn in loving memory of WilliamPawluckie, req. Carol and Family. Our Blessed Mother’s Altar Candle will burn for the specialintentions of Mia and Family, req. Denny and Pam Schultz. St. Joseph’s Altar Candle will burn for Special Intentions. If you would like a candle in memory of a loved one or forspecial intentions, please call the parish office. If you need a devotional candle lit immediately for a loved one, aspecial occasion, or special intentions, you are invited to light thesmall votives that are on the side altars of the Blessed Mother andSt. Joseph. They will burn for about 4 5 hours. This thank you came from another one of our STARrecipient’s charities. Dear Fr. Tim and Helen Sleeman, We were all blown away by the generous donation by theSTAR Program for the pregnant moms we work with, whoare choosing life for their babies. We were able to purchase, wrap, and deliver gifts for 8 needyfamilies; all single moms struggling to get by. It was so funto see the excited faces of the children and hear the words ofgratitude from the moms as we delivered their gifts. It was wonderful to know that they were all able to enjoy anice Christmas this year despite their circumstances. One ofthe little girls drew us a beautiful picture to say thanks. Several of the moms just wanted to talk and am sure they feltsupported and loved by this effort. Holy Trinity Parish is amazingly generous. We are so appreciative of you including the families from ROC Love WillEnd Abortion this year. Year End Contribution As soon as the year end contributions are recorded, theywill be printed off and mailed by January 31. Our gratitude to everyone who has given their time, talent andtreasure to Holy Trinity Church this past year. You aretrue stewards of our Lord. We thank you! Bless you all!! Thank you to everyone who has responded with a gift orpledge. Every gift to the CMA helps those in need, supports themission of the Church and comes back to help our parish. OUR PARISH OBLIGATION IS FULFILLED!!!! Holy Trinity parishioners have not failed our CMA goal. Thankyou for your wonderful generosity. Any overage we receivewill come back to Holy Trinity. You are an amazing parishand our heartfelt gratitude to all those who contributed. GOAL: 167,495.00 TOTAL TO DATE: 168,064.00 DONORS: 537 % TO GOAL: 100.34% December 2021 Totals Blessings to all who donated through the mail, on line and dropping off at the Parish Office. We continue to strive to maintainour goals for the month. Holy Trinity is grateful for your continued support. Please consider going online1616 ext. 304. GOAL: OFFERTORY ENVELOPES:LOOSE COLLECTION: CHILDREN’S OFFERING ONLINE GIVING VARIANCE: God bless you and all your hard work, Gratefully, Jan Healey and the Mom Mentor Team Legion of Mary Our Legion of Mary is an association of Catholic men andwomen under the leadership of our Blessed Mother and theinfluence of the Holy Spirit. The Legion of Mary will be praying the rosary in front ofPlanned Parenthood on University Avenue on the firstThursday of the month. (February 3rd).We will leavepromptly at 10 am. from Holy Trinity’s east parking lot foranyone interested in wanting a ride, as parking is limited. For more information please call Rick Duncan @ 265 9015or email happyman454@yahoo.com. January 30, 2022 to give Call Tim Reetz @265 62,400.00 55,736.85 2,257.00 9.01 35,121.50 30,724.36 Total Attendance for: January 22/23 646 Christmas 17,703.00 STAR PROGRAM 28,000.00 blessings! I Kyle Kuebler and Marissa Rotolo Quote of the Day If you fell down yesterday, stand up today! HG Wells