December 14, 2025
Dear Most Holy Trinity Family,
“The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.”
As you look around the life of our parish, where do you see joy, life, and hope blooming?
Let me point out a few celebrations where I have witnessed joy, life, and hope blooming. I experienced it at celebration of the Vietnamese Martyrs, the Thanksgiving Mass, the Walkathon to raised funds for flood victims in Vietnam, the Advent reconciliation services, MHT School, Sunday Masses, St. Vincent de Paul, the Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration, and in your tireless generosity and hope to witness it in the anticipated celebration of Simbang Gabi – an Advent Filipino celebration.
I have been at MHT for almost six months. And after a short period of time of getting to know the community, I feel more at home and hopeful, then I did six months ago. I have discovered the strength, depth, and beauty of MHT in its diversity, and ministries – along with the vibrancy of MHT School. While MHT is home of at least four different language communities: English, Vietnamese, Spanish, and Tagalog, I am convinced that each one needs the other because MHT is strong only when we see ourselves as one diverse and united body. The evil spirit may try to use our diverse cultural and religious practice to divide us, but the Holy Spirit wants us to use our diverse gifts to bring a rich unity within diversity. Pope Leo XIV has been consistent in saying that diversity within the Church should not be a cause of division, but rather of dialogue, unity, and strength.
As we long for the coming of Emmanuel this Advent season, let us embrace our diverse cultural and religious practices. As we do so, let us be attentive to the manifestation of God in the diverse cultural and religious expressions of our parish community so that we may go and tell others the good news that we we see and hear.
Fr. Elias Puentes, SJ—Pastor
