Go therefore...

Welcome!

Words cannot convey how excited I am to take on the role of Director of Campus Ministry.  I am grateful to Mr. Mailloux and Mr. Gadecki for their faith and trust in me and I thank them for the opportunity to serve our school in this capacity.


I also want to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to Mr. Joe Malinowski.  Mr. Mal has been incredibly helpful to me during this time of transition and has provided me with a lot of guidance and insight.  Over the past three years, he has shown us that he is a man of deep faith and he has an amazing love of God, his wife, and his Church.  He has taught me a lot about being a person of prayer and devotion and he is a model of what it means to be a good husband.  May his patron, Saint Joseph, guide him and his wife Amy as they begin the next chapter of their lives.  Thank you Mr. Mal!

For sometime now, many of you have been sharing ideas and ways in which we can continue to make Campus Ministry the heartbeat of Trinity High School.  We have such an amazing school and community and it is my hope that Campus Ministry will help foster the Pride, Spirit, and Tradition of Trinity High School.

I will be using this blog as a way to tell our story and to keep you updated on the goings-on in Campus Ministry.  Last summer we launched a new website and we dove right into social media, especially with Facebook and videos.  This blog, I hope, will be another way in which students, faculty, families, friends...anyone really...can learn and hear about what Trinity High School is all about.  We have so much going on and so much to share - I hope you will come back frequently to read all about it.

I wanted to use my first blog post to provide you with some ideas I have for Campus Ministry. This is by no means an exhaustive list but it should give you a sense of what we have in store for next year.  

The three pillars of Campus Ministry will be Prayer, Service, and Community.  I have broken down the list below under each of these pillars.  If you’re interested in learning more about any of these ideas and opportunities, please feel free to e-mail me at bflaherty {at} trinity-hs {dot} org.

Prayer

“Whenever two or more are gathered in my name, I am there.”  Matthew 18:20.

1. Students, parents, alumni, and staff members are invited to compose the daily prayers that are read by Mr. Mailloux at the start of the day.  The prayers will also be posted on this blog.

2. We will say a prayer (grace) at the beginning of each lunch mod in the cafeteria.

3. We will be producing a series of videos explaining the upcoming changes to the Mass as well as the theology of the Mass.

4. Every Wednesday, a group of parents will gather in the Saint Basil Chapel to pray for the intentions of our school community.  Afterwards, they are invited to stay for coffee and fellowship.

5. School community members will compose the Prayers of the Faithful that are read at our school-wide Masses.

6. We will have brief (3-5 minutes) reflections at the end of each school-wide Mass led by members of the school community.

7. Each family is invited to spiritually adopt a priest and deacon of our diocese to pray for throughout the school year.

8. We will have a holy water font for use at our school-wide Masses.

9. Light music will play in the gym before school-wide Masses and a spirit of prayer and reflection will permeate the gym.

10. Class retreats will all be held in the fall and weekend retreats will be offered for upperclassmen.

Service

“If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet.  I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” John 13:14-15.

1. We will begin to implement a comprehensive four-year service learning program.

2. We will hold a Service Fair in the Fall to make students aware of needs and service opportunities - locally, nationally, and internationally.

3. Students are invited to participate in Urban Immersion programs - weekend or day long.

4. We will collaborate with National Honor Society and provide opportunities for NHS students to fulfill their service requirements.

5. There will be various service opportunities provided throughout the school year.

6. Students are invited to participate in summer service trips, particularly to Saint Francis Inn in Philadelphia and the Annual Lasallian Youth Assembly.

7. As always, we will attend the March for Life in Washington, DC in January.

8. We will continue to honor our veterans and active servicemen and women in various ways.

9. Saint Anselm College will work with us on developing service opportunities and invite us to share in their existing service programs.

10. We will invite the alumni of Trinity High School (and our predecessor schools) to join us in our service efforts.

Community

“How good it is, how pleasant, where the people dwell as one!” Psalm 133

1. We will celebrate the birthdays of school community members with daily recognition and monthly cakes.

2. Sometime in the fall or spring, we will host a Grandparents Day.

3. We will have a Sledding Party somewhere in the area this winter.

4. We will begin Bagel/Donut/Whatever Day on Fridays for faculty members.

5. We will celebrate each class with specific class Masses and celebrations: i.e. Freshman Welcome Liturgy, 100 Days to Graduation, etc.

6. We will honor our faculty and staff in various ways, especially with annual recognitions of milestone anniversaries.  There is a BIG one coming up next year!  Stay tuned.

7. We will develop our students as leaders by inviting them to participate in leadership conferences and activities.

8. Students are invited to a cruise dance on a boat in Boston Harbor in July along with other Catholic high school students from all over the area.  

9. We will build community and relationships with our priests and seminarians.

10. We will build community and relationships with Saint Joseph’s Regional Junior High School as well as the other Catholic elementary schools in Greater Manchester.