Trinity House Community

With the treasure of Dilexit Nos, Pope Francis has given us all a stunning gift. He has invited us—our own hearts, our marriages, our families—into the hushed silence of awe and gratitude that comes when we kneel before the pierced heart of Jesus.
Consider choosing one of these proposed “action items”:
• Begin by rediscovering your own heart. Pope Francis challenges us to “rediscover the importance of the heart” in our “age of superficiality, rushing frenetically from one thing to another without really knowing why” (2).
• Place a Sacred Heart image in your home. Pope Francis proposes, “to the whole Church renewed reflection on the love of Christ represented in his Sacred Heart. For there we find the whole Gospel…” (89).
• Consecrate your family to the Sacred Heart. “…There is in the Sacred Heart a symbol and the express image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ that moves us to love one another…” (Annum Sacrum).
• Beg God to help you put your heart back into the center of your daily family life. Challenging our “hectic pace,” Pope Francis invites us to “speak from the heart, to act with the heart, to cultivate and heal the heart” (11).
Learn from Mary how to ponder and treasure love. Pope Francis writes, “She was able to dialogue with the things she experienced by pondering them in her heart, treasuring their memory and viewing them in a greater perspective” (19).
• Practice compunction and reparation. “Reparation can be understood as our removal of the obstacles we place before the expansion of Christ’s love in the world by our lack of trust, gratitude and self-sacrifice” (194).
Connect the Sacred Heart to your Trinity House. “The Savior’s heart invites us to return to the Father’s love, which is the source of every authentic love.’ This is precisely what the Holy Spirit, who comes to us through the heart of Christ, seeks to nurture in our heart” (77).
Go forth! “As we contemplate the Sacred Heart, mission becomes a matter of love. For the greatest danger in mission is that… we fail to bring about a joyful encounter with the love of Christ who embraces us and saves us” (208)

Our friends texted us a dinner invitation for 7pm on a Tuesday evening. We didn’t know anyone who would be there but we felt honored to be included… and truth be told, a bit enticed by the thought of a rare night out in the middle of the week.

Just seconds after the opening prayer, any assumptions of small talk were proved wrong. Raising a toast to the Franciscan and guest of honor and the order’s ministry, our host went on to share how the Franciscans had played an outsized role in his journey of faith.
Our hostess then followed with her own deeply personal reflections on how God had met her through that same ministry. And then… gulp… they invited us to go around the table and share with the group about ourselves and our own faith journeys.
When we stood up to pray together in the living room and then on to coffee and dessert, our hearts were full. What happened?

What happened over delicious pasta, salad, and bread was that 11 guests chose to listen and share deeply, to take a risk and open their hearts. We all know how easy it is to share our achievements, triumphs, and status. But that’s not what happened around this table.

Our host returned the gift of the evening to God in prayer, and we delved deeper into conversations that had sparked from one another’s stories.

In the weeks ahead- as friends and family come and go from our homes, tasting of our hospitality- let’s remember how we experienced a taste of heaven in our friend’s home and invite the Holy Spirit to do the same in ours.

Swipe for some hospitality tips >

What a blessing these first 10 years have been, and we continue to ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance for the next 10!

Trinity House marks 10 years - Arlington Catholic Herald Friends and supporters of Trinity House Café & Market in Leesburg gathered Oct. 19 to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

Looking for a community of faith-filled couples and parents to help you grow in your own faith and share it with your family?
Are you looking for and longing to have a taste of Heaven in your Home?

Here are some events coming soon to help you find that community of faith.
Not one near you or want to learn more? Contact us!

- Nov. 2nd at Blessed Sacrament in Alexandria, VA
- Nov. 9th at St. John the Apostle in Leesburg, VA
- Nov. 9th at St. Theresa in Austin, TX
- Nov. 16th at Ss. Philip and James in Baltimore, MD
- Nov. 22nd at the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, VA
- Nov. 22nd at Queen of Apostles in Alexandria, VA
- Nov. 23rd at St. Bernadette in Springfield, VA
- Nov. 23rd at St. Bridget of Ireland in Berryville, VA
- Nov. 23rd at St. Theresa in Ashburn, VA

Oct. 1, 2014—the opening day of our ministry’s Trinity House Café + Market—was a Wednesday.
It seemed that risk was in the air as we opened the doors on the corner of Church & Market.

“God never stops asking us to risk more,” we heard entrepreneur Geoff Gentile share at a recent conference, “it’s the underpinnings of the Gospels.”
 
We are grateful to reflect on the risks and steps of faith taken by:

- Hundreds of thousands of customers who have stepped across the threshold.
- Scores of staff who chose to work at a start-up café with a crucifix in the front hallway, an icon of the Holy Trinity in the main dining room, and a mission to provide a “little taste of heaven.”  
- Many generous volunteers who have stepped forward over the years.
- Hundreds of donors who have made the café ministry—and the growth of the ministry’s outreach to families across our nation—possible.
- So many kind souls who pray regularly for the café staff, volunteers, and all who come through its doors.
- Dozens of artists, musicians, artisans, vendors and authors who have chosen to exhibit and share their God-given gifts at the cafe.
- Multitudes of pastors, church leaders, and lay leaders who have encouraged us.
- Our landlord, who took a risk in leasing to us in 2014.
- St. Therese of Lisieux, whose feast day today reminds us of her “Little Way” and her unstoppable faith, which she called “confident to the point of audacity in the goodness of our Father.”
 
Yes, we did take a risk. But in doing so, we followed the Way-Maker, Jesus, whose life was defined by ever-greater risk and surrender to his Father. Then, as we “risked Jesus” day by day, a community of loving risk-takers stepped forward to help.
 
And God’s abundant blessings flowed.

Is Jesus calling you out into the deep? Are you willing to trust Him enough to cast your nets just one more time?

Notice that Jesus doesn’t send Peter out alone, but goes with Him.

Our God is a God of abundance and He wants to pour out His love on you until your own “nets are tearing.”

In prayer, ask Jesus for the grace to receive the love He wants to give you.

“I once heard a priest say that marriages and families are transformed, not so much through individual effort but through sustained involvement in a supportive community of believers. And by ‘believers,’ he was not only referring to believers in the faith but more broadly to those who believe in the gifts of marriage and children and want to help others enjoy these gifts.”

We absolutely love family life…

When we brought our firstborn home, we were overwhelmed from day one! And that was arguably with a lot of resources- we both grew up in loving and faith-filled homes. We both had graduate degrees and could write papers about the Catholic vision for the family. But there we were - arguing, tired, and unsure of our next steps. We wrote “Heaven in Your Home” for couples like us, who are looking for a basic roadmap that they can adapt. We absolutely love family life. We wrote it to share some of the simple, quiet joys that we experience alongside the inevitable challenges.

“The perfect family does not exist,” Pope Francis said. And every family, at any stage, can begin to take intentional steps toward finding heaven in your home. In fact, since the family is a communion of persons, our families are already much closer to holiness, to being like God, than we might think. Whether you’re a new parent, empty nester, or grandparent, you play a vital role in your child’s life. Rather than be overwhelmed, just take one small step.

We would love to walk with you as you navigate family life and living out your faith, and we’re happy to offer resources such as our “Heaven in Your Home Letters & Guide” book, weekly e-letters, and Heaven in Your Home parish programs for the whole family. Visit our website to learn more about each of these and feel free to contact us - we’d love to hear from you!

Read more about our ministry and love for family life in the recent article on the Institute for Family Studies website.

families catholic ministry nonprofit church

Last week, we attended the SENT “Build Like Saints” Summit in Fort Worth, TX, and we were encouraged by all the stories of fellow Catholics following God’s call to mission.

During one fascinating panel, Alex, a co-founder of Hallow, recounted a moment of surrender with the personal mission God had entrusted to him.

“Jesus doesn’t ask us to feed the crowd. He asks us to bring our loaves and fishes. Work hard, pursue excellence, give the best you can to Jesus, and then surrender the outcomes to God.”

As you come before the Lord to further respond to the unique call He has given you, take heart. He only asks you to do your best. And then to risk a little more, for Him. To bring your loaves and fishes. To surrender the outcomes. And yes, to take up your cross, knowing that His burden is easy, and His yoke is light.

We are so grateful to EWTN and the EWTN News Nightly team for coming out to Trinity House Café recently and sharing the message about our ministry.
It was a joyful afternoon with a bustling cafe full of friends both new and old, sharing how the Lord has worked in their lives through their time at Trinity House Cafe + Market.

https://youtu.be/XNrQwOkyJrg?si=tjanrap3N2pF-wCH

“To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek Him is the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest human achievement.”
- St Augustine of Hippo

augustine feast day catholic saint quote

Happy Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary!
(and Holy Day of Obligation!!)

Munificentissimus Deus (Pope Pius XII)

38: “All these proofs and considerations of the holy Fathers and the theologians are based upon the Sacred Writings as their ultimate foundation. These set the loving Mother of God as it were before our very eyes as most intimately joined to her divine Son and as always sharing his lot. Consequently it seems impossible to think of her, the one who conceived Christ, brought him forth, nursed him with her milk, held him in her arms, and clasped him to her breast, as being apart from him in body, even though not in soul, after this earthly life. Since our Redeemer is the Son of Mary, he could not do otherwise, as the perfect observer of God’s law, than to honor, not only his eternal Father, but also his most beloved Mother. And, since it was within his power to grant her this great honor, to preserve her from the corruption of the tomb, we must believe that he really acted this way.”

Truly a beautiful document and we highly suggest reading it if you can make the time!

Mother Mary, pray for us!

With back-to-school season comes excitement, nerves, and a touch of chaos. If we get on the same page with our children now, then as we navigate the roller-coaster of August, we can intersperse the busyness with meaningful touch points to make their transition more peaceful.

Here are some ways to strengthen those relationships in the last few weeks of summer:

•Plan a one-on-one date with each of the kids. Whatever that is, our job is to ask questions, listen, and discern the way forward.

• Get back to family prayer. Whether it’s the family rosary, evening prayer, or singing a hymn, parents can set the tone by bringing the daily stress and back-to-school anticipation to the Lord.

• Make one last day-trip or family outing and lead an “inventory of gratitude.” Invite each family member to share what they’re grateful for as they reflect back on the summer.

Read the full article on our website or on Foryourmarriage.org