Connect with us on:
Most Holy Trinity
  • Home
    • Parish Staff
    • Councils >
      • Knights of Columbus
      • Christian Mothers
    • Serving our Community
    • Cemetery
    • Church History
    • Parish Festival
    • Educational Trust Fund
  • Sacraments
    • Baptism
    • Confirmation
    • Marriage Prep >
      • Natural Family Planning
    • RCIA
  • Ministry
    • Adult Evangelization >
      • Adult Retreat
    • Family Ministry
    • Music Ministry
    • Religious Education >
      • kNOw Program Safe Environment
    • Youth Ministry >
      • Middle School Events >
        • Holy Fire
        • 8th Grade Retreat
      • High School Events >
        • High School Retreat
        • The Mission
        • Alt Spring Break
        • Steubenville
      • H.S. Youth Group
  • School
    • School Announcements
    • Parent Links
    • Student Links
    • MHT School Education Commission
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Parish Live-stream Videos
    • Parish Audio Archive

Paul Fahey

9/28/2020

0 Comments

 
​Last year Corey Luna and I began implementing a new preparation process for students seeking Confirmation and I wanted to give you an update on how that’s going.
For many years Confirmation was widely seen as a Catholic rite of passage, a sacred ritual where someone accepts the faith for themselves and commits to the responsibilities of being an adult Catholic. What that has looked like here at MHT is that when a student reached a particular grade they started Confirmation preparation and were, for the most part, expected to receive the sacrament along with everyone in that grade.
However, for the past few years the diocese has been rethinking how we prepare students for Confirmation. They began by looking at what the Catechism and Canon Law say about Confirmation and discovered that the approach presented in these documents is much more personal. The Church is clear Confirmation is not a rite of passage where the individual confirms their own faith but rather an outpouring of grace where God confirms and strengthens the recipient. So rather than a “conveyor belt” of students receiving Confirmation because they reached a certain age, the Church expects the local parish to discern each individual’s desire and disposition for the sacrament they want to receive. Neither is it the decision of a candidate’s parents or family. There are only two people that discern the readiness of a candidate to receive Confirmation: the person themselves and the Church. 
Based on this, Corey and I discerned that the best way to determine something so personal was to have multiple interviews with students. Those meetings focus on a student’s desire and disposition for Confirmation. Based on that interview we give each student a preparation program tailored to them that could include recommendations for daily prayer, retreats, catechesis, Mass, Confession, etc. These recommendations are their “Confirmation requirements” and each student’s recommendations look different. Then after a few months each student schedules another interview with us where we follow up on those recommendations. From that meeting the student and the interviewer discern if they are ready for Confirmation or if they should wait a few more months and meet again. Whenever they are ready they will attend a Confirmation retreat later in the year and then be Confirmed at the next Confirmation Mass with Bishop Boyea. This process means students are free to take however long they need and can be Confirmed any year during high school. 
The switch from large group Confirmation preparation to personal discernment has been really fruitful. Because the personal interviews are focused on helping students articulate their relationship with God now and where they want it to grow, they have been like spiritual direction. Corey and I are able to provide really personal and concrete direction for each student to grow in their prayer life. We are able to answer their questions about the faith and address the specific struggles that they may have about a particular Church teaching. We are able to help them see where God is acting in their life and how He’s speaking to them in prayer. 
Beyond that, because of the personal insight we are gaining about the students, Corey and I have been able to adjust our other events in order to meet the needs that we hear being expressed in the interviews. Further, one very practical and unexpected benefit of moving away from large group preparation was that the social distancing restrictions due to COVID have had little negative impact on Confirmation preparation because we are still able to meet with students one on one. Now, we are still figuring out the best way to have a Confirmation retreat later in the school year with the restrictions, but that shouldn’t be too difficult. 
Please pray for all of the students in this process. Please pray specifically that the Lord will meet them exactly where they are at in their faith life and lead them forward. Pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal Himself personally to them and empower them like He did for the Apostles at Pentecost. Pray that they will have a renewed relationship with the Holy Spirit and, like Mary, hear His voice and respond to His promptings throughout their entire life. 
God Bless,
Paul
 
0 Comments

Andrea Schneider

9/15/2020

0 Comments

 
Our last adult retreat was February 14-16, 2020.  This was the last event we were able to have before the pandemic hit.  There was such a sense of excitement after the retreat, and we planned to really build off that moment moving into the spring.  We had a Holy Spirit Encounter planned, we had another Praise and Worship night scheduled, in addition to our monthly Heart of Jesus Holy Hours.  It was really exciting because it finally felt like adult ministry was taking off.  A lot of our events are encounter base, meaning we provide opportunities for our parishioners to not only learn about who God is, but to experience him!  So to say it was a disappointment to have to cancel these events due to the pandemic would be an understatement.

For me personally, I really enjoy serving others.  To have that aspect of ministry get taken away was difficult.  I was stripped of all my “normal” modes of doing ministry.  Making the transition to an online platform was exhausting and a brand new experience for me.  It was really hard trying to find ways to still help parishioners in their faith journey.  A major component of our events is to build community.  This is really difficult to do when you are supposed to stay home or social distance from others.  Live streaming Adoration and doing the Staff Sharings (short testimonies) on Facebook were a few ways we were able to reach people during this time, but it still didn’t have that same retreat feel.

As September grew closer, so did the date for the next Adult Retreat.  The idea of planning a weekend retreat, when things are changing on a daily basis seemed like such a daunting task.  Once I got over the idea that I wouldn’t be able to do the retreat like we normally would, we started getting creative and thinking what can we do.  It was really exciting planning an event again!  Here’s what we came up with.

On Saturday, September 26, we will be hosting a day retreat.  This event will take place outside, behind the youth center.  Registration will start at 12:30, with the first session starting at 1:00pm.  There will be 4:30 Mass in the Church, followed by dinner, and ending with an outdoor Adoration.  

Being able to bring the community together again to focus on the Lord and his goodness will be so refreshing.  There’s a sense of excitement in providing an opportunity to experience Christ and allow his spirit to move freely and bring healing, hope, and peace for people.  This pandemic has been difficult and challenging for so many people.  People are experiencing hopelessness, fear, frustration, isolation, and loneliness.  Our goal is to bring God into those areas and restore hope, faith in God, peace, and a sense of belonging.  In prayer we have a sense that God wants to shatter walls people are putting up and restore hope.  

Registration for this event can be found on our website.   ​


0 Comments

Fr. Dennis

9/1/2020

0 Comments

 
Dear friends in Christ,

​This weekend we happily celebrate with our young people who are receiving their First Holy Communion.  We had to postpone our original plans because of the shut-down due to COVID-19 but once again, this is a reminder that we are not in control.  And in God’s providence, this weekend is the moment to celebrate.  Let’s be thankful we can, when so many around the world are persecuted for their faith and must celebrate their Catholic faith in secret.

 
Our young people have arrived at this important moment in their lives because of the faith of their parents. Parents made a solemn promise at their child’s baptism to raise them in the faith and bring them to church.  We know that approximately 30% of Catholic in the US practice their faith.  There are many reasons for this…  But Our Lord is constantly calling us back to Himself.
 
“Always remain close to the Catholic Church, because it alone can give you true peace, since it alone possesses Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the true Prince of Peace.”  St. Padre Pio
 
During this time of COVID-19 there have been many voices that have complained that the church is not being courageous or bowing to the government and that it should be ignoring the restrictions.  This is nonsense.  The Church is also equally concerned with the health and well being of the faithful.  We must exercise prudence and wisdom in all things.  The Church has always taught that even if we do not have access to the Eucharistic celebration of the Mass, we can still receive it’s graces through Spiritual Communion.
 
The Sunday obligation springs from the commandment to keep holy the Sabbath:  “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” Exodus 20:2-17
 
Although our bishop dispensed from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass, we are still obliged to keep holy the Lord’s Day (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2168-2195).  The Church places great emphasis that on the Lord’s Day (Sunday) we are to engage in prayer, both personally and as a family.
 
Saint Justin, the Martyr, wrote about this in 150 AD: “We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead” (First Apology #67).
 
Even if we cannot go to Mass, we are still required to keep the day holy.  Just because we are temporarily limited in what we can do on Sunday, it is not an excuse to be lazy or ignore the call to pray and remember what the Lord has done for us. 
 
How often, in the past, did we attend Mass and then spend the rest of the day in drudgery, consumption, and isolation.  We work, we shop, we fail to spend quality time with the loved ones under our own roof. While we are may be unable to go to Mass we can focus on making the day restful and joyful throughout as well as prayerfully joining in spiritual communion with the mass celebrated throughout the world.
 
Don’t blame the government if we do not take our faith seriously.  This time of COVID-19 is going to test our metal.  Will we slip into laziness and apathy, complaining and excuses?  Or will we rise to the occasion?
 
The resurrection is the very heart of our faith as Christians. To ignore this day is to ignore Christ. This is his day and he wishes to spend it with us, that at least this one day in the week will be clearly marked off for him and with him. This is why the Church obliges us to attend Mass, unless otherwise dispensed, and to keep the day holy. The Catechism of the Catholic Church emphasizes this: “The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship….  Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people” (#2176).
 
The resurrection of the Lord is a great mystery but also the promise of our own future when we will share in God’s own glory.
 
Spiritual communion, according to St. Thomas, is “an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament and a loving embrace as though we had already received Him.” 
 
In the next few weeks we will be easing some restrictions and trying to make more room so that more people can come to Mass and still be safe. 
 
Our Church is open every day for personal prayer and devotion. 
 
Instead of complaining we can offer up our sufferings and the little inconveniences this virus has brought about. We have lived our faith in great freedom and ease for a long time here in the West.  When in the not distant future we return to normal, and we will, we will remember that Sunday mass is not merely an obligation.
 
As our young people celebrate their First Holy Communion this Sunday, their joy and excitement reminds us that the Eucharist is a joyful, astonishing, abundant blessing and privilege.
 
God bless
Fr. Dennis
0 Comments

    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017

    RSS Feed

Location

Contact Information:

​​545 N. Maple St.
Fowler, MI 48835

Parish Office Phone: (989) 593-2162
School Office Phone (989) 593-2616

​E-mail: office@mhtparish.com