A Time for Recreation!

Summer is upon us, and our local schools have wrapped up the academic year. That means it’s vacation time in earnest! Vacations are something we look forward to for months—a chance to step away from our daily routines and a wonderful opportunity to rest and recreate.

Ah, recreate! I love that word. Its roots are re- and create—a reminder that we all need to be refreshed and renewed. Even God set aside a day for us to rest!

So, do you have plans? Will you be staying home, traveling nearby, visiting another state, or going abroad? Wherever you go, there’s one thing you don’t want to do—take a vacation from your faith.

That’s right—take your faith with you wherever you go. What does that mean? Simply put, as you plan for a fun and restful time, don’t forget to go to Mass. Vacation can be a wonderful way to experience the Church in a fresh, new way. Maybe you’ll be more open than usual. Maybe you’ll realize how much you love Holy Trinity. Who knows? Here’s a link to use when planning: masstimes.org

But one thing is certain: bringing God with you will make your experiences even richer. I plan to do the same and, as always, I look forward to coming back and being with all of you. Your presence at Mass is truly the highlight of my week. I love being with you as we share our common faith and seek the Lord, who longs to nourish us with His Word and Sacrament.

Blessings,

Fr. Bill Holtzinger
Pastor

Image: ChatGPT

Rest In Peace, Pope Francis!

Dear Friends,

This Easter Monday, we woke to the news of the passing of Pope Francis. He was a beloved and sometimes controversial shepherd who focused on mercy and evangelization. He was also, in many ways, a reformer who deeply desired that we stay focused on the centrality of Jesus and the caring for our neighbor, especially the poor.

From the moment he stepped out onto the balcony at St. Peter’s Basilica, after being elected pope in 2013, I couldn’t help but notice that something was different. He showed this by his vestiture, words, and gestures that he was a man of simplicity, humility, and love. He did much to decentralize the Church, most notably the Synod on Synodality as well as reforming the Curia. His frequent use of informal phrases confused the press but spoke plainly to the faithful. Here are some of his memorable colloquialisms that grabbed my attention (guess which ones were directed at us priests!) some might comfort and some might discomfort

“Smell like the sheep.”

“The Eucharist ‘is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.”

“Who am I to judge?”

“The confessional should not be a torture chamber.”

“The meeting is the message.”

“There is no sin that God's mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father.”

“Remember the poor.”

“God is not afraid of new things.”

“You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That's how prayer works.”

“The Church is a field hospital.”

“We must recognize the dramatic urgency of caring for the common home.”

May his passing inspire in us the call of mercy and the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ in the days, months, and years ahead.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

The Joy of the Resurrection

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord—what we joyfully call Easter. My prayer is that this day reminds you of the greatest gift Jesus offers: salvation. Through His suffering and death, He conquered death itself, transforming it into a doorway to eternal life. And in His Resurrection, Jesus opens that victory to us—raising to new life all whom He has chosen.

Each of us carries wounds, burdens, struggles, and sins. Some run deep, made heavier by resentments that seem impossible to release. But if you’ve been hurt in any way, I invite you to open your heart to the healing grace of Christ’s Resurrection. Let the joy of Easter confront whatever sadness, anger, or fear may be holding you back—and begin the journey toward freedom.

Even a simple prayer—asking Jesus to enter your heart and mind—can be powerful. The grace poured out through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection has the power to change lives. I’ve seen it—and I’ve experienced it myself.

When I let Jesus into my heart, mind, and soul, I began to discover the freedom that flows from His merciful love. I’m not perfect, and I still struggle. Being a Christian doesn’t mean life becomes easy. But it does mean we have the strength to rise above whatever weighs us down. And thanks be to God—Jesus has already carried the heaviest burden. He now invites us to follow Him into a new life.

On behalf of myself, Fr. Anthony, Dcn. Brett, and our entire staff, may this Easter bring you a joy that fills your soul and a strength you never knew you had.Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Holy Week

And so we begin—Holy Week is upon us. Palm Sunday marks the start of the most sacred days in our Church calendar. This coming Monday, I invite you to consider attending the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. There, you’ll witness the largest gathering of clergy in our Archdiocese, all united around our Archbishop. The entrance procession alone is powerful and inspiring. If you’ve ever felt disheartened by the decline in vocations to the priesthood, this Mass may surprise and uplift you—you might even recognize someone in the procession!

Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday all begin at 7:00 PM. Together, these services form one continuous liturgy—known as the Sacred Triduum—which is the shortest season in the Church year, yet the most profound. I encourage you to come early and experience how these liturgies are beautifully interconnected. Notice how Holy Thursday “ends” without a dismissal, and how Good Friday begins and ends in silence, reflecting the solemnity of Christ’s Passion. Holy Saturday serves as the sacred bridge between these days, drawing us toward the joy of the Resurrection.

At the Easter Vigil on Saturday night, we hear a sweeping arc of Scripture, reminding us of God’s saving work throughout history. After a very brief homily (really!), we joyfully welcome our Elect into the Catholic Church through Baptism. They are then Confirmed and receive their First Holy Communion. Those who joined our OCIA program this fall and were already baptized will also be Confirmed and receive the Eucharist for the first time with us.

Then comes Easter Sunday, the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! All three of our regularly scheduled Sunday Masses will be filled with joy—marked by music, flowing water, Scripture, and the Eucharist. Come dressed in your Sunday best and come early! This is a time to rejoice in everything Jesus has done to save us. What better news could there be?

Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is Risen!!

Get Ready for Holiest Days of the Year

This weekend, we present our Elect and Candidates for a special rite in which, together with the entire congregation, they will scrutinize their consciences. As a reminder, the Elect are those preparing to receive Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist, while the Candidates are already baptized in another Christian tradition and are seeking full communion with the Catholic Church through Confirmation and Eucharist. This rite will take place at the 9:30 AM Mass.

All of this leads to the Easter Vigil—the pinnacle of our liturgical year. Beginning next weekend, we enter Holy Week, which opens with Palm Sunday. The Chrism Mass at the Cathedral follows on Monday. Then, we transition from Lent into the sacred Triduum: three holy days beginning with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, followed by Good Friday, and Holy Saturday when the Easter Vigil takes place. It is on this evening where our Elect and Candidates will receive the three awesome Sacraments in the journey to become Catholics. This is a celebration you should not miss! The celebrations don’t stop there. Easter Sunday then follows the Triduum, and it is this Sunday when coming to Mass early is truly an important strategy in order to simply get a seat in the church. So, plan well now for these celebrations and pray for all of us who will be leading use through these sacred days.

It all begins in just one week. This annual journey of feasts draws us deeper into the mystery of how God rescued us from darkness and brought us into His marvelous light. Please refer to this bulletin for dates and times for each of these powerful celebrations!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Graphic Credit: ChatGPT

Lent Has Arrived!

Lent Has Arrived

We’re now officially in Lent, a time of prayer, fasting, and alms giving. The Pastoral Council and our Liturgy Committee thought it would be great if we all did a lenten observance together as a parish. You can each do whatever you want, of course, but I’d love for you to consider doing something that focuses on the spiritual health of our families and those of the parishes around us, also called the “domestic church” in theology. What is it? I’m glad you asked.

Parish-wide Lenten Commitment

I’d love for all of our family members who live in the same house to commit to having a meal, ideally dinner, as a whole family once a week. Step it up even: Keep all electronics in another room, dim the lights, maybe add a single candle in the center of the table if it’s safe, and just sharing your meal and lives. In the past, this was the norm. You see, when families gather for a meal, they talk and listen. They share their stories. Families grow stronger and faith is inspired. We realize how much we need God and each other. Maybe consider a question to kick of the meal like, "Where did you see God act in your day?" Delegate someone to lead the prayer over the meal, and another to close with a short prayer at the end.

What is the hope?

The hope is that when families gather around a table to share a meal, they grow and become stronger. This is a crucial place where the love of God is taught and learned through word and example. In the last few weeks, a popular TV show called Blue Bloods ended its long run. What was the part of each show that everyone who watched loved so much? It was the dinner table where all the family gathered, shared food, joked around, supported each other, and most importantly, asked for God’s grace.

Additional Challenge: A Simple Vicariate Pilgrimage

If you’re single or part of a family looking for a Lenten challenge, here’s an idea to boost your faith and extend yourself beyond the parochial-confines of Holy Trinity Parish. Take some time to visit every parish in our local Vicariate. If they have an Adoration Chapel, make sure to stop by and pray. If not, no worries! Just park a few minutes in their parking lot and spend some time praying. What should you pray for in either situation? Pray for their parishioners, their staff, and their clergy. They are your neighbors, your friends, and your fellow Catholics. Remember, we’re all part of the same Church. So, while you're at it, pray for Pope Francis. He can surely use your prayers. You can do this in a few hours or over a few days, whatever works best for you. Here are the parishes in our Vicariate: Holy Trinity, St. Pius X, St. Cecilia, St. John Fisher, and St. Juan Diego. Consider it more than a field-trip, but a pilgrimage with a mission to pray for others, your neighboring Catholics.

God bless you all this Lent!

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

A Cross or Crucifix

Dear Parishioners,

During Mass, we priests use a large red book, known as the Roman Missal, to guide the prayers, including the eucharistic prayers and others specific to holy days and liturgical seasons. At the beginning of this book, there’s a section called “The General Instructions to the Roman Missal” (GIRM). The GIRM provides detailed guidance on how to celebrate Mass, including gestures (like when to bow or genuflect), the items used (e.g., chalices, bowls, candles) as well as their composition (metal, wood, or glass), and the use of sacred art, (e.g., statues and icons). In 2000, the U.S. Bishops published “Built of Living Stones,” a document that offers additional guidance on how churches should be built and what items they should contain, along with their placement. More recently, in 2018, our Archdiocesan Office for Divine Worship released the “Archdiocesan Liturgical Handbook” (ALH), which expands on these texts and offers detailed instructions.

I’m sharing this overview to help you understand how the Church provides guidance and liturgical laws and why we’ve seen some subtle but important changes in the last two years. One example is the replacement of glass or plastic vessels used for the Eucharist. The GIRM clarifies that easily breakable materials like glass are not appropriate, so we replaced the Ciborium in the Tabernacle with one made of metal. Similarly, we transitioned from small glass cups to metal chalices for those who receive only the Precious Blood. The ALH also specifies that pyxes with plastic liners are improper, so we have been gradually replacing these with all-metal pyxes.

Another matter that arose during my listening sessions in 2022 was the main cross in our sanctuary. It isn’t a crucifix, but rather an expression one of the other mysteries of Christ’s life. I spoke with Greg Lewis, the artisan who created it, who shared that it was meant to express Christ’s Ascension. Before the current guidelines, such designs were more common and became popular in churches. When I was a parishioner at St. Francis in Sherwood during the 80s and early 90s,I admired their resurrected Christ image.

However, the Church now clearly states that a crucifix is to be used in sanctuaries to express the theology of sacrificial love — the love Jesus showed through His Passion and death, which we are called to imitate. A crucifix remains the most powerful symbol of this love. Over the past year and a half, our Liturgy Committee has been discussing the cross, and there is a consensus that we should update it to align more closely with liturgical norms. We’ve also been exploring the possibility of adding statues of Mary and Joseph to our sanctuary. I’ve continued conversations with Mr. Lewis, and he has offered guidance on how to honor the current corpus (the body of Christ on the cross) and those who helped pay for it by relocating it elsewhere on campus.

We’re in the early stages of this process and are open to your feedback. If you have thoughts, concerns, or ideas, please share them with me, Fr.  Anthony, or Dcn. Brett. If you’ve seen sanctuary crucifixes that you find particularly beautiful, feel free to share photos with us! We’re looking for a crucifix that will enhance the warmth and beauty of our modern church.

This process has been ongoing for some time, and we are proceeding thoughtfully. Please pray for me and those involved as we discern the best path forward for our sanctuary. Your input is welcome and encouraged, so don’t hesitate to reach out with your ideas or questions.

Watch a similar reflection in a recent Friday Reflection.

Blesssings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Dr. Erwin and the 2025-26 School Year

Dear Holy Trinity Families,

We are having a remarkable year at Holy Trinity Catholic School and our school continues to flourish. As we move into Christmas Break I hope you and your family have a blessed holiday season and find time to rest and rejoice. I have some news to share with you before the break.

As you know, last February Dr. Anne Erwin came out of retirement and jumped aboard as principal to complete the school year. Transitioning from administration of a public high school to a smaller Catholic grade school presented a significant change for Dr. Erwin. She openly shared that this was an enriching experience.  In other words, she really liked it here. I think that is a sentiment we all shared. So, through mutual discernment, and to the delight of many, she agreed to remain as principal for the 2024-25 academic year.

In recent weeks, Anne and I engaged in discussions regarding the future of our school and the role of principal. I am delighted to announce that Dr. Anne Erwin will be returning for the 2025-26 academic year!  Under her leadership, we will continue to build upon our school’s strong foundation to strengthen the school’s mission. As a community, we will continue to pray, discern, and fortify the school so that when the time is appropriate, we will be well-prepared to welcome her successor. Our goal is to ensure a seamless transition and maintain the high standards upheld by our staff, students, and families.

Thank you, Dr. Erwin, for your tireless efforts of love for our families, their children, the teachers, and faculty who you will continue to shepherd. Here’s to a successful end to this school year and a remarkable 2025-26 school year!

Sincerely, 

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Dreaming Summit Summary And Beyond

Dear Parishioners,

Blessed Advent! As we prepare our hearts for the coming of our Lord, I wanted to provide an update on the Walker Rd. expansion and how it may impact our parish. A month ago, I shared a bulletin article and a Friday Reflection video outlining the potential ramifications of this project.

The most immediate concern is our parish office building. Once the expansion is complete, the sidewalk would be just 10 feet from the building’s outer wall, making it unsuitable for our pastoral needs. Additionally, the disruption caused by construction may require us to set up a temporary modular office until a more permanent solution can be found.

The Dreaming Summit

To address these challenges and plan for the future, we started with a “Dreaming Summit” to develop a 25-year vision for our campus. This committee included 25 parishioners who are leaders in various parish ministries. I affectionately called them the “Dreamers,” and they embraced the task wholeheartedly.

Their goal was to reflect on our mission, parish history, and how our current facilities support—or hinder—our ministries. From there, they brainstormed overarching principles to guide future construction and envisioned ways to improve the campus. Importantly, they didn’t focus on construction details or costs—they were free to dream big.

The Process

Each committee member sketched their vision for the campus on a map. Then, they divided into three groups to discuss the pros and cons of each plan. Each group ultimately created a consensus drawing representing their collective vision (Drawing 1, Drawing 2, Drawing 3). With this accomplished, the committee’s work was complete, and we now have three potential 25-year site plans to consider.

These drawings are not perfect, and it’s unlikely any one plan will be followed exactly. However, they provide a valuable starting point for envisioning our future and addressing the challenges we face.

Next Steps

In early 2025, a new committee will form to take the next step. This group will include some of the original Dreamers along with parishioners with expertise in site planning, designing, permitting, and construction. Their job will be to refine the Dreamers’ work and develop a single, detailed 25-year site plan. They may choose one of the current plans, combine ideas from all three, or create something entirely new.

Additionally, I will work with this new committee and my Parish Leadership Team (PLT) to set priorities for moving forward. While we cannot accomplish everything in the short term, establishing clear priorities—what needs to happen first, second, and beyond—will allow us to create a strategic plan for the campus. This approach will help us focus on “how” to achieve “what” is most important in the immediate future.

How You Can Help

This process has been incredibly inspiring. It has brought parishioners together, fostered new connections, and embraced a synodal approach to decision-making. Your role in this process is simple but powerful: pray. Pray that God’s will is done above all else.

As we move forward, I will continue to keep you updated. If you have questions or thoughts, please feel free to reach out to me, Dana Morano, our Business Manager, or Deacon Brett, our Pastoral Associate. Let us journey together with faith and hope as we prepare for what God has planned for our parish.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Where is Our Hope?

Today, we learned who our next president will be. For better or worse, it’s all part of the American “experiment.” As Christians, we’re called to love one another—not just despite our differences, but through them. Jesus commands us to love each other and even our enemies. We can be a church divided by politics or united by Christ. I urge you to choose latter. Clothe yourself in Christ’s compassion. Don’t gloat over victory or lash out in anger; both will only deepen division and pain. Instead, choose to love—love that binds us together in unity, peace, and hope.

I was grateful to start with Mass the day after the election, recentering my thoughts, heart, and hope on what matters most. Our ultimate hope is not in who governs us, our favorite sports team, or what we own. Our hope is in Jesus Christ who suffered, died, and rose again—so that for us, death is not the end but the beginning of life in the heavenly kingdom.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor