Weekend of June 4-5, 2022

Dear Friends,

We celebrate this weekend great feast of Pentecost, which commemorates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the infant Church, as well as the beginning of that same Church. Pentecost reminds us that the Lord is continually pouring forth his Spirit upon us, his Church, and as we open ourselves to the power of that Spirit, and to the gifts which only he can give us, we commit ourselves to sharing those gifts with everyone we meet. God’s mercy certainly does endure for ever!

Pentecost also marks for us the official end of our fifty day long Easter season (the word Pentecost actually means “the fiftieth day”). Our Easter celebration this year was a very fruitful one, especially liturgically, as we powerfully began it at the Easter Vigil with the baptism and reception of several new members of the Church, and celebrated, just a few weeks ago, the confirmation of another group of young Catholic Christians. As we begin Ordinary Time this coming Monday, may the Spirit of Easter, which is, of course, the Spirit of Jesus, continue to live in our minds and in our hearts.

            I am happy to officially announce to you that Father Andrew Lane has been appointed as Parochial Vicar (assistant pastor) of our parish. Father’s appointment becomes effective June 20^th.

            Father Lane is one of the newly-ordained priests who were ordained at the hands of Archbishop Perez in the Cathedral on May 21^st. Along with his classmates, he studied for the priesthood at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook. He is familiar with the city and the Northeast in particular, since he served his deacon internship this past year at Saint Katherine of Siena Parish on Frankford Avenue. I met with Father last Friday afternoon, and can tell you that he delighted to be coming to us, and very eager to begin his priestly ministry among us.

            In a time when very few parishes anywhere, including in this Archdiocese, have assistant pastors, it is quite an honor for us, as a parish community, to  have Father Lane assigned to us (you will recall that we haven’t had an assistant since Father Monahan left us in the winter of 2018). The fact that we were among the six parishes chosen to receive a newly-ordained, speaks volumes about who we are as a community of faith. In so many ways, all of us together will help to form Father Lane as a young priest, and that is not only a sacred privilege but also an awesome responsibility. I know that you will welcome Father with open arms, and will help him to quickly realize he is a member of our family.

Congratulations to all of our graduates this year, especially those students who will graduate this week from our own Blessed Trinity Catholic School as well as those who graduated from our diocesan high schools. Besides our Blessed Trinity eighth grade graduation this coming Wednesday evening, we will also be celebrating our Pre-K and Kindergarten graduations on Monday.  We are very proud of all our graduates’ accomplishments, and we wish them well as they move with God into the future. I hope all our graduates know that we love you very much! Congratulations, as well, to our students who are moving on to the next grade level. Enjoy your summer and remember to continue to make God an important part of your vacation days.

It is with a great measure of gratitude, as well as much sadness, that I announce to you the retirement of our Blessed Trinity principal, Ms. Linda Milewski. Ms. Milewski’s retirement brings to a close a long and fruitful career in Catholic education. Ms. Milewski was a long-time teacher at Saint Adalbert School in Port Richmond, and then became Principal of Saint John Cantius School (which later became Pope John Paul II School), and then, eleven years ago, Principal of Blessed Trinity.

Being administrator of any school is not an easy job, and bringing two schools together to form a new school is even more challenging, but Ms. Milewski has faced all of her work with great poise, a strong work ethic, and a deep and profound faith in God. These qualities have been especially evident during the time of COVID, when everything has been more challenging, especially in school. It has been a pleasure for me to collaborate with her as the chief administrators of Blessed Trinity School, and I am truly grateful for her dedication to our students and their parents, our faculty, and to me.

On behalf of all of us, I wish Ms. Milewski every blessing, as she begins her much-deserved retirement. As I have reminded her, and will continue to do so, she will always be an important member of our Blessed Trinity and Saint Timothy family. Thank you, Linda, for all you have done and for all you are to all of us.

I remind you that we are once again participating in the archdiocesan Manna food drive. The brown Manna bags are still available for pick up in church. We ask every family/household to take a bag and fill it with non-perishable food items for the benefit of our sisters and brothers who are most in need. We ask you to return your filled bag to church by next weekend. Most of the food collected will be brought to the food pantry at Mother of Mercy House in Kensington. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Know that you and those you love are daily remembered in my Mass and my prayers.

                                                                                    Love and prayers,
                                                                                    Father Olivere