This week I have asked Corey Luna to share with us.

God Bless, Fr. Dennis

I would like to start with a huge thank you to everyone who gave to our fundraising campaign for Steuben-ville. Initially, when I looked at the numbers for this trip earlier this year, it was really difficult to see that it would be necessary to raise the price for the trip. We have been able to keep it the same for quite awhile, so that consistency is something that people count on. Without that con-sistency though, the cost can become

an obstacle for kids not to attend. For any retreat, I almost always have someone that is worried about the cost in some sort of way. So with this in mind, increasing the price seemed like the wrong kind of move, so I started to pray and turn to the people of the parish for back up in this situa-tion. I definitely was not disappointed! We raised almost $2000 for this trip alone and also received some individual donations for kids. This generosity and support for our own youth program parallels a lot with some of this week’s gos-pel reading.

“Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.”

This part of the gospel this weekend has some beautiful meanings that we can take to prayer for the week. Mainly, that for us individually to bear fruit in our faith, we need God. Without Him we would have nothing and wouldn’t be able to see fruit coming from our own lives or in the ways that we minister in this world.

But looking at this on a bigger scale, for us at Most Holy Trinity, we are a branch that has been remaining on the vine. In many different ways, our parish has been doing more and more to build ourselves up and grow. Whether it's in our youth ministry program, Witness to Hope Campaign,

our Adult Retreats, our Healing service, etc. With all of these things happening, I think that we can see that be-cause of the ways we are staying connected to the Lord and allowing Him to work in our parish and build us up, we are seeing a lot of fruits and will continue to see the bless-ing of these fruits.

In my own area of youth ministry, I think we have seen a lot of fruits in our program. Not only have I seen a lot of fruits from individual kids growing in their personal relationship with the Lord through one on one meetings, but I have seen it on a larger scale as well. We had quite a few more kids come on our high school retreat, we tripled our attendance to the Mission: Wixom this year, and our 8th grade Retreat this year was probably one of the most powerful retreats that I have had the pleasure of being a part of in the last couple of years. I can see the fruits of our program and of our parish in the joy and excitement that students have been showing in what we are doing and in the way they have experienced God. These fruits would not be here if our staff wasn’t responding to God, and if our parish as a whole wasn’t responding to God.

Some of the responses to God in our youth ministry have come in the form of people in the parish being supportive of what we are doing in prayer, through volunteering, and also monetarily. All of these things have been instrumental in the trips that we have taken. Especially for Steubenville, our biggest trip that affects the largest number of youth in our parish. We have received so much support and I just ask that the parish continues to support us and allow us to keep experiencing those fruits and the growth that God has in store for us.

We have about 2 months until our Steubenville trip and it’s crazy to think that it’s already this close. For the next couple of months please keep praying for us and encouraging any of the students that you know to go on this trip. Also, please consider responding to the call to give in our investment fundraiser (more information in the bulletin insert). This is a fantastic way to be a part of Steubenville and to also keep building up another piece of our parish. God Bless, Corey

Most Holy Trinity Fifth Sunday of Easter April 29, 2018

Christ

Is

Risen!

Fifth Sunday of Easter Page 2 April 29, 2018

Announcements

Sponsor of the Week

Our thanks to the many businesses that make it Our thanks to the many businesses that make it Our thanks to the many businesses that make it Our thanks to the many businesses that make it possible for the bulletin to be costpossible for the bulletin to be costpossible for the bulletin to be costpossible for the bulletin to be cost----free to our parish.free to our parish.free to our parish.free to our parish.

Ken’s Kar Kare

Mark your calendars!

Most Holy Trinity Parish Presents: Sacred Relics of the Saints Treasures of the Church

With Fr. Carlos Martins Monday, May 7th at 7:30 pm. (after evening Mass)

Fr. Carlos Martins of the Community of the Companions of the Cross will be here with his very special ministry to talk about these holy objects. He will bring with him over 150 relics, some as old as 2000 years. Among the treasures will be relics of St. Maria Goretti, St. Therese of Li-sieux, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Faustina Kowalska. In addition there will also be present a portion of the veil of Our

Blessed Mother, as well as one of the largest remaining pieces of the true Cross in the world.

Those in attendance will be able to examine and venerate each relic. In the Church’s history many miracles and heal-ings have been worked in the presence of relics, and many people have been healed through this ministry. Don’t miss this opportunity. Bring your devotional articles (rosaries, holy cards, etc.) and photos of friends and family members who are ill which you will be able to touch to the reliquaries as a means of intercession.

*****Scrip Gift Giving*****

Graduation, Mothers Day, Fathers Day and Summer Vacation are fast approaching. MHT Scrip offers a wide variety of gift cards

for all of your gift giving and vacation needs; gas, shop-ping, dining, entertainment and hotels. Visit shop-withscrip.com for a complete list. A wide range of gift cards is available in the MHT School office during school hours

Father and Son Breakfast

Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus

Open to all fathers and sons

Sunday, May 6th at 9:30 am.

Featured Speaker: Fowler Native Todd Simon Division 1 basketball coach for Southern Utah Thunderbirds

RSVP Dean Schrauben, 989-640-0341 Good will offering at the door

“Behold the Lamb of God. Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world.

Blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb”

First Holy Communion

Next Saturday, May 5th at the 4:30 pm. Mass, our candidates for First Holy Com-munion will receive the Risen Lord, Body,

Blood, Soul and Divinity. We pray that they will always be filled with gratitude and faith in our

Risen Lord who promises to be with us always.

Cemetery Foundation Orders

If you would like to have a foundation installed in the ceme-tery before Memorial Day please contact Adam at the par-ish office by Monday, May 7.

26th Annual Mid-East Food Festival

St. Joseph Melkite Catholic Church 725 W. Mount Hope, Lansing MI 48910

May 3-4, from 11 am till 7 pm

***Dine in or take out (credit cards accepted)***

Saturday Morning Masses

We are canceling the Saturday morning Masses for the summer. We will reevaluate at the end of summer and make a decision whether to reinstate them in the fall.

May 3rd

Office Phone: 989-593-2162 Page 3 Website: mhtparish.com

Director of Youth Ministry Corey Luna - mhtyouthcorey@gmail.com.

Principal of Most Holy Trinity School Anne Hufnagel—AnneH@mhtparish.com

MHT School – Connecting Faith to Life By connecting our Catholic faith to life, we at Most Holy Trinity School seek to fulfill Christ's mandate to proclaim the Gospel, re-

store all things in Him, strive to lead our students to the Truth for the betterment of this world and prepare them for the age to come.

Important Upcoming Dates: Important Upcoming Dates: Friday, May 4 Grandparents’ Day Friday, May 4 Mass @ 8:15 a.m./May Crowning Tuesday, May 8 Mass @ 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, May 15 Mass @ 8:15 a.m.

2018/19 Registration: Most Holy Trinity School is now registering for the 2018/19 school year. Any children eligi-ble for grades 1 through 8 can be registered. You do not have to be Catholic or members of Most Holy Trinity Parish to enroll. If you would like more information about the school please visit our website www.mhtparish.com or call the office to set up a visit (593-2162). You can use the fol-lowing QR code or the website (https://goo.gl/forms/zh0s0eKa8wf0UmD42) to regis-ter. A link can also be found on our parish website.

Homework sessions: The middle school homework ses-sions for the week of April 30, 2018, are scheduled for Mon-day, Tuesday and Thursday after school until 4:00 p.m. Please check your emails and the school website for sched-ule revisions and updates.

Grandparents/Special Guest Day: Mark your calendars for Friday, May 4, 2018. We will be celebrating a May crowning and Grandparents/Special Guest Day beginning with Mass at 8:15 a.m. Refreshments will be served in the Activity Center following the May Crowning. Grandparents and special guests are welcome to sit with the students at Mass and at the Activity Center.

Prayer: Nothing you can do will benefit you more than prayer. – Paul Y. Cho

Our Parish Stewardship God’s Treasure at Most Holy Trinity

April 21 & 22 Collection……………………….. $10,386.00

Special Collections Easter Offering ………………………………………… 75.00 Cemetery………………………………………………… 65.00 Newspapers……………………………………….……. 50.00

News & Events From Our Parish & Other Areas

“Go and Announce the Gospel of the Lord”

Envelopes are in the pews or you may also go online (mhtparish.com) and make your contribution that way.

Please prayerfully consider how you or your family will respond to this call to carry on Christ’s work in our com

munity.

Little Caesar's Pizza Kits: This is another great opportuni-ty to get that Steubenville trip cost down by this summer. Please contact me by email or stop at the Parish Office for a form. End Date: May 7th & Delivery Date: May 17th

Steubenville: The first Steubenville deadline was last Monday, but there are still spots available for the trip this summer! This is such a powerful retreat experience that we get to have every year! So please sign up as soon as possi-ble to get your spot! This year we have a google form that will sign you up with our parish. So just follow the link and register with us today! Please sign up ASAP.

Our Parish Goal

2018

$65,625.00

Blood Drive

There will be a Red Cross blood drive at St. Mary Parish Hall in Westphalia on Monday, May 7, 2018 from 1:00 - 6:45 p.m. As always, the Red Cross is in need of as

many donors as possible. We hope to see you there!

College Pro-Life Speech Contest Date: Saturday, May 19, 2018

commencing at 10 AM Entry Deadline: May 14, 2018

1st place - $1,000; 2nd place - $750; 3rd place - $500

Research one of the issues below and make a 5-7 minute presentation before a panel of Judges

*Abortion *Euthanasia *Morning After Pill *RU 486 Pills *Breast Cancer/Abortion Connection

*Embryonic Stem Cell Research *Margaret Sanger

Contest location: Grace Presbyterian Church 1084 Irish Rd., Davison, MI (Just North of I-69)

All contestants must be Michigan residents, School ID is required. Contact us for an application or download at our website: FlintRTL.com, Flint Right to Life 4482 N. Gene-see Road, Unit C, Flint, MI 48506 Phone: (810) 250-0218

Euchre Tournament

Congratulations to our winners from our recent Euchre Tournament! Lonnie Schueller took home first place, Paul Fahey second, and Donna Schafer third. Thanks to everyone who came out in the nasty weather to support our Youth Ministry program! Our next Euchre Tournament will be on

Sunday, June 10th after the 10:30 AM Mass.

MHT Pictorial Directory

Our next round of photography sessions are quickly approaching from May 16-26! Check on our parish website for open time slots. Keep checking back as the dates approach

because spots open as we have last minute cancellations.

Fifth Sunday of Easter Page 4 April 29, 2018

On July 25 of this year, the Church celebrates the 50th an-niversary of the promulgation of Blessed Pope Paul VI’s Encyclical, Humanae Vitae “On Human life.”

Often reduced in thought to “the Church’s ban on birth con-trol,” or an intrusive restriction on human freedom and rights, this teaching is actually the opposite. Humanae Vi-tae is a call to live in ultimate human freedom: the freedom that a life of faith gives us. The same message of “loving in deed and truth” is what makes the message of Humanae Vitae so extraordinary: Through the gift of sexuality in mar-riage, God invites men and women to participate with him in the creation of a new human being; a human being with a soul, who is created for the purpose of eternal life and friendship with God. No other explanation of creation tells us that human beings are made in the image and likeness of God.

This prophetic document celebrates, honors, and promotes the absolute and inherent dignity of the human person from the moment of conception until natural death. The Holy Father prophetically warns of the serious consequences of a “contraceptive mentality” which certainly has come about in our times: “Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards.”

“Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contracep-tive methods may forget the reverence due to a wom-an, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equi-librium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.”

“Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they con-sider more effective? Should they regard this as nec-essary, they may even impose their use on every-one.” (HV #17)

One example of the encyclical’s prophetic message is be-ing dramatized in our day is the case of the little English boy, Alfie Evans. Since December 2016 doctors diag-nosed him with a rare degenerative neurological condition. The hospital has argued that keeping him on a ventilator is not in "his best interests" and any further treatment was not only "futile" but also "unkind and inhumane". But his par-

ents want to take him to Rome's Bambino Gesu Paediatric Hospital, which has links to the Vatican, where his pallia-tive care would continue. The parents lost a series of legal challenges to the hospital’s decision. Alfie’s parents ap-pealed directly to the Holy Father, Pope Francis to allow him to be treated in Rome. Pope Francis publicly ex-pressed his support for Alfie and his parents. Does this not concern us? Is this precisely an example of how Blessed Pope Paul VI warned us about the control of government and social agencies over our lives?

"Moved by the prayers and immense solidarity shown little Alfie Evans, I renew my appeal that the suffering of his parents may be heard and that their desire to seek new forms of treatment may be granted."

The dignity of human life is under attack in many parts of the world, and in our own country as well. We would do well to learn more about the Church’s teaching on the dig-nity of every human being.

Marriage, then, is far from being the effect of chance or the result of the blind evolution of natural forces. It is in reality the wise and provident institution of God the Creator, whose purpose was to effect in man His lov-ing design. As a consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves, which is specif-ic and exclusive to them alone, develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, coop-erating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives. (Humanae Vitae paragraph #8)

********************************************

Blessed Pope Paul VI to be canonized

Blessed Paul VI will be canonized in October of this year, during

the Synod of Bishops on the youth.

One of the requirements for the canonization is a second miracle (one is required for their beatification). The miracle attributed to the cause of Paul VI is the healing of an un-born child in the fifth month of pregnancy. The case was brought forward in 2014 for study. The mother, originally from the province of Verona, Italy, had an illness that risked her own life and the life of her unborn child, and was advised to have an abortion. A few days after the beatifi-cation of Paul VI on Oct. 19, 2014, she went to pray to him at the Shrine of Holy Mary of Grace in the town of Brescia. The baby girl was later born in good health, and remains in good health today. The healing was first ruled as medically inexplicable by the medical council of the congregation last year, while the congregation's consulting theologians agreed that the healing occurred through the late pope's intercession. Blessed Paul VI pray for us!

Office Phone: 989-593-2162 Page 5 Website: mhtparish.com

Monday - April 30 10:30 a.m. + Memorial Mass for Dorothy Bradley 7:00 p.m. + Joe & Toni Hafner, Including Joanne Pohl & Living & Deceased Members of the Family Tuesday - May 1 8:15 a.m. + Jim Thelen & Living & Deceased Members of the Family Wednesday - May 2 6:00 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration 7:00 p.m. + Emily Goerge, Including Robert Goerge, Ted & Anne Thelen & Richard Jandernoa Thursday - May 3 8:15 a.m.. + Dorothy Bradley 6:30 p.m. Confessions and Adoration Friday - May 4 -- First Friday 8:15 a.m. + Clem Martin (11th Anniversary), & Living & Deceased Members of the Martin Family Saturday - May 5 -- First Saturday 4:30 p.m. First Communion Mass Sunday - May 6 8:30 a.m. People of the Parish 10:30 a.m. + Clem Thelen & Living & Deceased Members of the Family

Ushers for Saturday & Sunday, May 5 & 6 4:30 p.m. - Tony Schafer, Jerome R. Thelen, Lonnie Schueller, Volunteer 8:30 a.m. -Dean Platte, Gregg Platte, Nick Platte, Adam Platte 10:30 a.m.- Stan Weber, Gene Messer, Leon Schneider, Brian Thelen

Mass Servers for Saturday & Sunday, May 5 & 6 4:30 p.m. - Brooke, Emily, & Amber Epkey, Volunteer 8:30 a.m. - Kara Esch, Nathan Epkey, Tony & Ella Hufnagel 10:30 a.m. - Preston & Camden Braun, Sidney & Dominic Horak

Please pray for our friends and relatives who are sick or recovering especially: Regina Martin, Sean Dush, Charlene Thelen, Davison Curtin, Jeffrey Lee Thelen, Luke Martin, Sara Sanchez, Melissa Schulte, Marie Hengesbach, Edward Wohlscheid, Linda Rogala, Sarah Weber, Julie Wieber Schafer, Bill Barns, Bob Marshall, Dennis Smith, Sandy Herta, Dick Rehmann, Janet Simmon, Scott Kus, Steve Thelen, Tracy Schmitt, Gregg Platte, Frank Hufnagel, Lynda Esch, Janet Armbrustmacher (Allan), Marie Weber, Jenine Kloeckner, Jennifer Ledger, Josiah Ledger, Adam Pohl, Jordy Wohlscheid, Sharon Becker, Jennifer Grace Schrauben, Janet Simon, Dale Young, Brent Baese, Shane Grinnell, Richard Bushamp, Janet (Ray) Armbrustmacher, Alan & Therese Kramer, Christopher Martin, and a special intention.

Please contact the parish office to inform us when we can add or remove a person’s name from the list. Thank you.

Let us also keep in our prayers all those from the Parish Community who are in the Armed Services.

Mass Servers During This Week Mon., 7:00 p.m. - Savanah Martin, Quinten & Nate Esch Tues., 8:15 a.m.- Adult Volunteer Wed., 7:00 p.m.- Nolan & Selena Stump, Braxton Myers Thurs., 8:15 a.m.- Andrew & John Irrer Fri., 8:15 a.m. - MHT School Volunteers

Readings for the Week of April 29, 2018

Monday Acts 14:5-18; Psalms 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16; John 14:21-26 Tuesday Acts 14:19-28; Psalms 145:10-11, 12-13ab, 21; John 14:27-31a (286) or, for the Memorial, Genesis 1:26—2:3 or Colossians 3:14-15, 17, 23-24; Matthew 13:54-58 Wednesday Acts 15:1-6; Psalms 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5; John 15:1-8 Thursday 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Psalms 19:2-3, 4-5; John 14:6-14 Friday Acts 15:22-31; Psalms 57:8-9, 10 and 12; John 15:12-17 Saturday Acts 16:1-10; Psalms 100:1b-2, 3, 5; John 15:18-21

The Rosary is prayed before the 8:15 a.m. weekday Mass. The intention for this week is to pray for those receiving their first Holy Communion. May they always know the peace of Jesus, the light of His love, and the joy of His life within them.

MASSES FOR THE WEEK

April 29, 2018

Pastor - Fr. Dennis Howard

Parish Office Hours 8am-12pm & 1pm-3pm

To Contact Us: Parish Office: 593-2162

Email: office@mhtparish.com Website: mhtparish.com

MHT School - 593-2616

Second Publication: Andrew Koenigsknecht & Catherine Fox

Thank you

The families of Jim and Tonya Platte would like to extend our sincerest and heartfelt thank you to the communities of Westphalia, Fowler and Pewamo. We are completely overwhelmed by the generosity of the peo-ple in these amazing communities and can-not find the words to adequately express our gratitude. The outpouring of prayers, sup-port, food and love means more to us than you will ever know and will not be forgotten. We would also like to thank Fr. Eric, Fr. Gary and Fr. Todd for the beautiful funeral Mass, Chris and Alice and the kitchen help for the wonderful meal, and Lehman Funeral Home. Please continue to pray for our families.

Halie, Hayden (Angelica) & Reece The Platte Family and Simmon Family