Dear Holy Trinity Family,

For this pastor’s message corner, I would like to begin by sharing one amazing news with you. Our Holy Trinity School’s girls’ basketball team won the CYO Championship last Saturday. It is a moment of history for our school and parish. We all remember well that our school’s girls’ volleyball team won the CYO Championship in November last year, didn’t we? Winning both the CYO basketball Championship and the CYO volleyball Championship in one same academic year is a huge achievement and accomplishment. I am not sure how many parochial schools have achieved what our school achieved. If there are some, let me tell you, it is not easy to win both. Why? Because there are over 170 schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who compete in CYO sport tournaments. Again, for those of you who are not familiar with what CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) is, it is a catholic sport organization that offers basketball, volleyball, soccer, golf, track & field for boys and girls in the third through eighth grades. Approximately 170 parochial schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles participate in CYO sports and around 25, 000 student-athletes play interscholastic sports for elementary schools. So, winning the CYO Championship in any sport tournament is a huge achievement and honor not only for players and their school. But our tiny but mighty school won both championships. We are so proud of our players for their achievement, teamwork, and of course the trophies. I thank every single girl for your hard works and dedication, and my huge appreciation also goes to all the families of our players, teachers and coaches who made it possible with their endless supports and passion. Without them, it wouldn’t be possible to win both CYO Championships. Thank you very much! All of you made us proud!

As we cherish our school’s winnings! Why not we try to win against our daily battles against temptations and sins in this season of Lent. The more we win against them, the more we will get ready to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ when our Lenten journey concludes at the end of Holy Week. Lent invites us not only to repent, but also to believe in the Gospel. While we say “sorry” to God and others for all our sins and wrongdoings, we need to put our total trust in God who is our source of sanctifying grace and furthermore we need to believe ourselves that we can produce something good and special in this Lent. For this reason, we keep using our tools – prayers, fasting, and almsgiving – to continue our Lenten journey with the Suffering Christ to reach our goal of becoming one with the Risen Christ. Let us not give up on this spiritual war against Sin and Death with arrays of hope and faith in God!

May Holy Triune God continuously bless us and guide us through the intercessions of our Blessed Mother Mary today and always!

Blessings,

Fr. Brian