Behind altar is a stained glass that has both Indian and Christian symbols
St. Kateri Tekawatha, for whom the main Parish is named
Martha and me and Fr. Dono, ST, in front of one of the mission altars. They really love the Saints and dress them up very colorfully.
Native made crucifix
We, as Catholics, should be very proud because our Church feeds, clothes, heals, educates and cares for more people than any other organization on the face of the earth. We do this because this is what Jesus asks us to do. The Church has many different charities that do this. On this Trinity Sunday, I would like to share with you about one charity that I have supported for over thirty years. They are Trinity Missions, also known as Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity. They describe themselves; As apostles – our missionaries preach and live the word of God to bring hope, comfort, and relief to the suffering of the poor, the abandoned, and the most neglected by:
- Spreading the Gospel;
- Responding to the needs of the poor, isolated, marginalized, and those without hope; and
- Guiding, forming, and ministering with lay missionaries in parishes, neighborhoods, and communities across the United States and Latin America.
I have firsthand knowledge that they really do this quite well, with very limited resources. Over thirty years ago, I read about the work that they do with Native Americans on reservations throughout the United States. Since I have some Native American blood in me, I became quite interested. We started donating to them and each month kept looking forward to the letters that we received from some of the Priest Missionaries that were on the reservations. These letters described all the work that they did, and all the work that they really hoped to get done. There was no doubt that they had a formidable task, but they learned to do as much as they could with what they had. Personally, I think that they do very well in serving the Lord in His poor.
In the early 80’s, I attended several Priests and Deacons Conferences at the Franciscan University in Steubenville Ohio. At one of these conferences, I was in a small discussion group with other priests, deacons, and bishops. We all introduced ourselves and where we were from. After the introductions, one of the Missionary Priests from Trinity Missions asked me if I were the Deacon Marty from Patchogue, New York. I told him that I was, and he told me that he had heard about what a great preacher I was. Now I was ordained only a few years them and I wondered how a missionary priest living on an Indian reservation out West could possibly have heard about me. It turns out that his parents lived in my parish and liked my sermons and had told him about me. This began a very good friendship with him. This last winter, my wife and I visited with him on his missionary post at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in South Tucson, Arizona. He and another priest and one brother serve seven local Indian reservation Parishes. All, but one, of the reservations are quite poor. The other is starting to come out of poverty due to a local Casino that they had opened up. It seems that the Lord can draw good out of gambling. We spent five days touring all seven reservations and spent time with the peoples and attended different liturgies there. It was a beautiful, loving, learning, faith filled experience. I was very impressed by the faith that these Native Americans had, thanks to the work of many missionaries.
We must not forget the mission that God gave to us; namely, to spread the Gospel and to care for His people. The Church does a wonderful job of this, but needs the help of all of its members. We have to personally do this in our own lives with the people that are around us. However, we cannot forget that the Church reaches out to all peoples and needs us to join in on its global missionary call by our financial support and by our prayers. On this Trinity Sunday, where we celebrate the Three in One, bound together by perfect love, let us remember that we are all one and called to be bound together in love. We certainly can do this by supporting our Church missions and charities through prayer and financial assistance. God bless.
Check out Trinity Missions at: http://www.trinitymissions.org