Ordinary Time

We are called to love our neighbor regardless of our differences, which means we do not avoid, reject, or cancel others. Is this easy? No - but the most important things rarely are.

It's sometimes necessary to say 'goodbye' in order to say 'hello'. Last week, we said 'goodbye' to Fr. Dave and Fr. Tony; this week, we say 'hello' to our new Pastor, Fr. Bill Holtzinger!

For his final homily at Holy Trinity, Fr. Dave reviews the three major themes that developed and drove his ministry these past 15 years:
Invite God into everything in your life. When we put Him first, all else falls into place.
This is not heaven. Expect and accept difficulties, questions, and the cross.
Learn to carry a dynamic tension, knowing that in real life with real people most issues are not simply black and white. Jesus calls us to meet people where they are and walk with them.

Sometimes we think we need to present a sanitized version of ourselves or of our lives to God, and then we wonder why we’re not healed. Why do we do that? Jesus ate with sinners, willingly. He touched the sick, physically. He sought out the lost, intentionally. He’s comfortable with our weakness, our brokenness, our foolishness. And in the Eucharist, he waits for us, like a parent waiting for their hurt child to move their hands so they can treat their owie.

In honor of Trinity Sunday, and with his departure approaching at the end of the month, Fr. Tony speaks to his personal and ongoing experience of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit during his time here at Holy Trinity.

The way we speak to others is so important - our words can either bless others or curse others. Fr. Dave challenges us to be mindful and intentional with our words this Lent, speaking words that encourage and build apart instead of words that accuse and tear down. 
Fr. Dave quotes the following passage from Pope Francis' encyclical Fratelli tutti (On fraternity and social friendship):
Approaching, speaking, listening, looking at, coming to know and understand one another, and to find common ground: all these things are summed up in the one word “dialogue”. . . . It involves “speaking words of comfort, strength, consolation and encouragement” and not “words that demean, sadden, anger or show scorn” [208, Amoris Laetitia]. (198, 223, Fratelli tutti)

We celebrated our Confirmation Mass this weekend, with 72 youth and adults receiving the sacrament on Saturday morning. Fr. Dave invited Chris Storm, our Director of Religious Education, to talk about confirmation and what it means for each of us.
Chris answers the question he poses - if you had to choose, Christ or Chicken Wings? - with the point that it isn't either/or; we don't have to make a choice. This is not where we are Church - this is where we come because we are Church out there. We gather here to become Church when we go out for chicken wings, or to the river, or to a movie. Don't take for granted what a beautiful thing it is to be Church together.

Our world is beset with serious problems, as are our personal lives at one time or another. But those problems don't have the last word. Every once in a while, turn off the screeching - the cable and talk radio and social media - and find a way to laugh, to play, to be delighted. This is still God's world, we are still His beloved children, and our Father's plan hasn't been derailed.