Episode Transcript
[00:00:10] Speaker A: Welcome to a new edition of our diocesan podcast, Big City Catholics, with Bishop Robert Brennan, the diocesan bishop of Brooklyn, myself, Father Christopher Henyu. Today, bishop has an opportunity to sit with some of the pilgrims as we begun our national pilgrimage, the national eucharistic pilgrimage here through the diocese of Brooklyn. So as we come to the feast of Corpus Christi. What a beautiful theme to be able to reflect on the Eucharist and this day. But we'll begin in prayer in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. Asking the intercession of all the angels and saints. We pray through the intercession of St. Michael the Archangel for our pilgrims as they continue this beautiful witness of faith. St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And to thou, o prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who roam about the world seeking the rune of souls. Amen. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
[00:01:07] Speaker B: Amen. Well, Father Christopher, this was an amazing day. We're sitting here in the undercroft of the co cathedral of St. Joseph after a full day of walking. Now, for me, that day began at about 03:00 where I was at St. James Cathedral. And we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, met the pilgrims part way, but they've been walking since 10:00 mass this morning. And this is the 9th day of their walking.
[00:01:32] Speaker A: Wow. And I see how excited they are yet, you know, at the end of this long day, they're tired. But you had a chance to sit with a few of them.
[00:01:40] Speaker B: Great collection of young people. So one of them is a young lady from Astoria. Another is a recent convert to the faith and tells a great story of her coming to want to know more about the Eucharist and how that led her to the faith. And then the third is a fellow who grew up in Wisconsin and grew up in the milieu of the church, talked about what that has meant for him in his life. And all of them talked about how they came to know the pilgrimage and each in a different way. So I ended up asking each of them to tell the story. I thought I'd choose one, but, boy, each one came up with a different experience and they're filled with energy.
[00:02:13] Speaker A: Without further ado, let's take a listen.
[00:02:15] Speaker B: I'm sitting with Zoe Donkas, who is one of the, what do you call? Perpetual.
[00:02:19] Speaker C: Perpetual pilgrims.
[00:02:20] Speaker B: Yeah, perpetual pilgrims for the national eucharistic pilgrimage. And we're sitting here on Sunday night after a very long day. Yes. I met up with Zoe and the crowd on the Brooklyn bridge at about 04:00 this afternoon. But you had been traveling for several hours already.
[00:02:35] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. We started with mass with Cardinal Dolan at 1015 at St. Patrick's. And then we walked down, I think, Lexington Avenue down to St. Peter's, which is where St. Elizabeth and Seaton.
[00:02:47] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:02:48] Speaker C: Was received into the church and venerable Pierre Toussaint went. And then we went over to the Seton shrine with the Sisters of life, and then we went to the Brooklyn bridge, which is my first time on the Brooklyn bridge.
[00:02:57] Speaker B: Is it really? Now, you might not think that's so amazing, except that Zoe's from Astoria.
[00:03:04] Speaker C: It was great. I was like, wow, this is. I've been meaning to go here.
[00:03:07] Speaker B: Oh, yes, it's great. Every year on Good Friday, communion and liberation has the stations. We begin at St. James Cathedral. We walk over. We used to go to the sisters of life church over there, but now this year we went to a park nearby. It really is quite amazing.
[00:03:24] Speaker C: I remember seeing the pictures. I heard it was so beautiful this year.
[00:03:26] Speaker B: What was your impression as you're walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and seeing all the people there and their reaction to this pilgrimage?
[00:03:33] Speaker C: Yeah, it was so beautiful to see all the different ways that, like, people within the group of people that were doing the pilgrimage, the faithful kind of praising in their own ways. I was really lucky I got to do music for the pilgrimage. And so getting to work with the CFRs and just getting to, like, to feel the joy of us all celebrating our Lord together. But also it was interesting to, like, see all the people that had never seen a eucharistic procession. Like the people just kind of watching from the side people. Some people had their phones out. Some people were singing these songs. I'm really hoping that it was a beautiful moment of encounter for those, especially who it is.
[00:04:06] Speaker B: That's it. That's the idea of encounter. Witness for us who believe, to witness to it. Hopefully somebody who saw us along the way would say, hey, you know, I've been meaning to get back to church.
[00:04:17] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Or like, I remember that song from when I was a kid. Like, I want to go back. I want to know what that felt like or know who this is about.
[00:04:25] Speaker B: That's right, exactly. And the other thing is you've been doing, I mentioned today, but the pilgrimage started in Connecticut. So it was New Haven, where Father Michael McGivney began his ministry of the Knights of Columbus.
[00:04:37] Speaker C: It was a kind of, like, perfect place to start in a parish where this parish priest did so much for his community and to do it on Pentecost vigil. We did, like, the Pentecost vigil mass. I'd never done the, like, kind of special mass for that before. And, yeah, we took a boat from New Haven to Bridgeport. We were, like, doing praise and worship on a boat, and we're singing, you know, the song oceans. Like, singing oceans on the ocean. It was so surreal.
[00:05:01] Speaker B: Oh, that's great.
[00:05:02] Speaker C: Yeah, such a gift.
[00:05:04] Speaker B: Zoe, did you grow up here in Astoria, Queens?
[00:05:06] Speaker C: I actually grew up in Nashville. I moved to Astoria about two and a half years ago.
[00:05:10] Speaker B: Okay, good.
[00:05:10] Speaker C: So, yeah, I've been here since then.
[00:05:11] Speaker B: So how's life in New York City?
[00:05:13] Speaker C: You know, it is awesome. It's such a gift. I've met so many wonderful people. To be surrounded by so many amazing religious and amazing, like the diocese of Brooklyn and the Archdiocese of New York. Just to receive from the community has been such a gift. So I'm really blessed to be able to kind of give back in this way and to be a part of the pilgrimage, to share as well, give our community some love.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: That's beautiful.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: That's beautiful. How did you come to encounter the national eucharistic pilgrimage? How did you get chosen?
[00:05:43] Speaker C: Okay, I think that I heard about eucharistic revival. I heard about it kind of late. I heard about it after I'd done a corpus Christi procession, I believe is at St. Joseph's in Astoria. Like, they did a corpus Christi. I was just going there for mass. I don't usually go to that parish, but I happened to go there, and then they were doing a procession. I was like, oh, I'll join. I don't know what this is. And we did a procession, and I think I either grabbed a bulletin or someone talked about eucharistic revival, and I was like, oh, what is that? And so then I went down a rabbit hole, and I heard about the pilgrimage this last summer, and I was like, wow, the idea of doing a pilgrimage with Jesus, like, the whole time, that sounds amazing, because I'd really been hoping to do a camino, but then, like, to do that, do a camino with Jesus, it's even better. So I applied in the fall, and there's, like, an application process, interviews, and then we ultimately end up getting invited to do it in January of this year, and then we've been prepping ever since.
[00:06:33] Speaker B: Yeah, you must be somewhat exhausted now, but we've only just begun. Right.
[00:06:37] Speaker C: I know. I think you have another day here tomorrow.
[00:06:39] Speaker B: And day nine, you're going all the way into July, so.
And the tougher weather's coming.
[00:06:44] Speaker C: Oh, my goodness. Yeah. The other day it rained. It was kind of surreal. It was like downpouring when we were in, I think, port Chester or on our way to Yonkers. But it was really like once we were all like, yeah, it's raining, but Jesus is okay, so we can keep going. You just kind of like, accept that it's raining. And then the sisters are like, shouting the rosary.
[00:07:01] Speaker B: Well, that's great. So it's so nice to meet you, and I hope to see you up in Astoria.
[00:07:05] Speaker C: Thank you so much.
[00:07:06] Speaker B: God bless you on the rest of the journey.
[00:07:08] Speaker C: Thanks.
[00:07:08] Speaker B: Thanks. Bye bye.
So I'm sitting here with Marina Fattaroli. And where are you from, Marina?
[00:07:14] Speaker D: I'm from Dallas, Texas, but I've been living in Manhattan for the past four years.
[00:07:17] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Okay. Very good. How do you like living in the city of New York?
[00:07:21] Speaker D: I love it. It's the place to be. There's so much to do, so much to see, so many people. It's awesome. I'm very happy to be here.
[00:07:26] Speaker B: That's great. You're part of the National Eucharistic pilgrimage. We just had a pretty full Sunday. How are you feeling now?
[00:07:33] Speaker D: I'm feeling tired. My legs are a little heavy, but I am full of joy because what we did was awesome. And it's one of the biggest, most beautiful things that's happened to the city of New York in its long history.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: I would say the same. It really is a real awakening for us in the city of New York.
[00:07:50] Speaker D: Absolutely. We've been praying for revival, and I've been praying especially for New York City as it's my home. It's a privilege to see it come to life.
[00:07:57] Speaker B: Yes. How did you feel? I mean, you've been on this pilgrimage since coming from New Haven, working your way down through Connecticut, through Westchester county. You crossed the threshold into New York City and then eventually into Manhattan. How was it coming back to New York but coming back with the Lord?
[00:08:13] Speaker D: Incredible. It was awesome. I mean, coming back here, walking past my neighborhood with Jesus and not being alone with all these people who are on the same journey with us. And as a pilgrim, it's just such a beautiful reminder that I'm always walking with the Lord, but I'm just doing so in more ways than usual right.
[00:08:31] Speaker B: Now, in a very visible, tangible kind of way.
[00:08:34] Speaker D: And so I hope that just so many others have come away with that sense. Well, and that that leaves, you know, overflows from this moment we share together and into their daily lives that they walk with Jesus every step. So that's my prayer.
[00:08:48] Speaker B: Good for you. How did you come to find out about the national eucharistic pilgrimage?
[00:08:52] Speaker D: So, four years ago on Twitter, I saw the words eucharistic revival, and these words, I didn't know what they meant, and so I googled them and I found the website. And before that, I was a Protestant at the time, and it really clarified me, the catholic teaching on the Eucharist, which I didn't know. I had heard the term transubstantiation, and I knew that was a point of division, but I had never contemplated the depth of what it means that Catholics believe that the Holy Eucharist is God himself, and it's Jesus's body, blood, soul, and divinity. And it was just a mind blowing moment. And from that, I just had to start integrating that realization with my knowledge of history and my knowledge of art history and architecture. That journey led me to the Catholic Church.
Yes. And so when I heard that the revival was putting on this pilgrimage, I knew I had to apply, and I did, and it happened to be just right after I graduated. And so it ended up being one of the few, few free moments I've had in my life because I've been in school and working. So it's just so providential that I get to be a program on this.
[00:09:58] Speaker B: I'm thrilled that you are. Thank you for doing that. That's great. Now, you've got quite a journey coming up, don't you?
[00:10:04] Speaker D: Yes. We are just eight or nine days into a 65 day journey, so the bulk is ahead of us.
[00:10:11] Speaker B: So what are some of the things you're looking forward to as you go along the way? So some of the cities you're looking forward to visiting?
[00:10:15] Speaker D: I'm so excited to bring our lord to our nation's capital. I'm excited because one of our pilgrims is from Philadelphia, and she's hyping us up for Philly.
I'm excited to see places I've never been. Ohio. I'm really excited into the congress. I think it's going to be a momentous event.
[00:10:30] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:10:31] Speaker D: Just going to be fabulous to be a part of.
[00:10:33] Speaker B: So I'll see you in Indiana in July, right? Yes, I will reunite. We'll seek you out.
[00:10:37] Speaker D: Please do.
[00:10:39] Speaker B: Before coming here in Brooklyn, I was bishop in Columbus, and you're going to be spending a good amount of time in the diocese of Columbus, so I hear. Yes. Well, the diocese of Columbus, let me tell you how it's a bit different from Brooklyn. Diocese of Columbus consists of 23 counties, so there's a lot of land, not as many people. We've got a lot of people, but we're about 180 sq. Mi, so we're pretty tight here. But Columbus, just getting through Columbus will take you a little bit of time.
[00:11:02] Speaker D: Yes, that makes sense. I do expect for the Seton route in particular, we've started in these very concentrated northeastern cities, and then we're going to get a little bit less dense as we approach Indiana, and so I think it's going to become a more contemplative endeavor as we proceed.
[00:11:18] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a good point. You're right. You're not going to be walking through these dense communities like today. Imagine, wasn't it something? Handing off the monsters from New York to Brooklyn. So it was like one jam packed area into another jam packed area. What a sightseeing. So many pilgrims along the way, right?
[00:11:34] Speaker D: Yes, it was amazing. It was just so full of energy. I mean, we started off mass at St. Patrick's, hitting amazing sights from Elizabeth Ann Seton's life, Brooklyn Bridge, several amazing parishes here in Brooklyn. And it's just so packed, and it's so full of life, and so many friends have come and, like, that's beautiful. But I do think long stretches, you're gonna have stretches.
[00:11:56] Speaker B: Cause you're gonna be walking through rural areas.
[00:11:58] Speaker D: We're used to this high stimulation. Been so beautiful. But I think God has something different in store for us as we proceed with our journey.
[00:12:05] Speaker B: Well, you know, I was thinking today, for us, it's amazing, but it zaps everything out of you, and that's great. I'm glad to pour it on for two days, but you've got to do this every day. You've got to be up. So you're probably welcome. Some of the more contemplative steps along the way as well.
[00:12:22] Speaker D: It's true. But it's also such a privilege to be a part of this because it's rare that you can give so much of yourself to God. Like as pilgrims, we're up early, we go to bed late. We have a lot to do in the in between. We have so much that we can bring to every moment. We can always be more prayerful. We can always be more intentional and more loving to both our team and the other pilgrims around us. And so it's really a beautiful and refining process to be a pilgrim in this, because I could always sing louder. I could always pray more reverently. And so it's really, as someone who's normally in the hustle and bustle of my school life and my work life, I feel like I'm just learning so much from this journey as a pilgrim, in giving as much as I can.
[00:13:04] Speaker B: And I have to tell you, and teaching as much as you can, you're really doing a great job. You're coming to the faith over these last four years, I should say, is really an inspiration to all of us who take these things for granted, who grew up with the Eucharist. And your desire to know more about it inspires us to want to know the Lord better, to love him more. So thank you. Thank you for visiting us. Thank you for making this pilgrimage.
[00:13:26] Speaker D: Oh, it's my pleasure.
[00:13:27] Speaker B: And God bless you on the way.
[00:13:29] Speaker D: Thank you. Bishop.
[00:13:30] Speaker B: So I'm sitting with Dominic Costens, one of the pilgrims, and you're about nine days into this journey. How are you feeling at this point?
[00:13:38] Speaker E: Bishop I am feeling tired, but very spiritually full.
[00:13:42] Speaker B: Wonderful. Wonderful. Tell me about today.
[00:13:45] Speaker E: Today was a long and wonderful day. We started off early this morning at St. Vincent's. It was really neat. This is my first time in New York, so I've never been to New York before, and it is an entirely different experience to see New York through the lens of the Eucharist. Like, I was on procession with our Lord, and as I was walking and following him, I could look to my left and to my right, and skyscrapers would just rise above me. And that's kind of strange. That was kind of a weird way to experience the city for the first time. So that was really awesome. And then just seeing the people and faces light up, people that were drawn in by the music and then captivated by the monsters, that was really neat to see. And then getting all the way through the Brooklyn Bridge, that was my first time on the Brooklyn Bridge and getting to follow our Lord on that crazy, crazy with tons and tons of people. So it was a wonderful day, but.
[00:14:40] Speaker B: It was a lot of walking and a lot of walking in the heat and a lot of emotional energy, too. One of the things that was so exciting for me to be on the BRooklyn BRIdge and to watch you approaching, to see the canopy coming and then to see the monstrous under the canopy and all the pilgrims, before we had our pilgrims gathered around the kind of dividing line, there's this wonderful plaque there that takes note of the city of New YORK and the city of Brooklyn back at the time when the bridge was built. So it was a great meeting spot, a very symbolic meeting spot. And that I thought was kind of cool until I saw you. And then when I saw you, everything else went by the wayside. And it was just so emotional, so beautiful to see the meeting of the pilgrims.
[00:15:21] Speaker E: I had a similar thought earlier in the day. It was, since it's my first time in NeW York, I'm seeing tons of cool places, cool people. And with all that, as wonderful and amazing as New York and even Brooklyn is none of it compared to our Lord. And the emotion of all the people who were there following him, that was truly the most special part of the whole day.
[00:15:43] Speaker B: One lady came up to me as we were getting closer to the co cathedral here in Brooklyn. We lived by the firehouse, and she says, the faith is deep. And we talked about it a little more and we said, maybe it needs to be wider, more people, but where there is faith, the faith is deep. Wasn't that amazing to see not only the help that we got from the police and the fire department, but wasn't it great to see their welcome of us?
[00:16:08] Speaker E: It was honestly one of the most moving experiences on this pilgrimage has been meeting people with deep faith. A few days ago, I met a man named Frank. He was 89 years old, and he, because of his love of the Lord, and the Lord being his source and summit, this 89 year old man hiked 3 miles in the sweltering heat because he loved our Lord so much. And that sort of deep faith, someone who gains their energy from the Lord and their strength, that's moving. And that was really wonderful to see. And it's. That's what I've been meeting all around on this pilgrimage. And it's great.
[00:16:44] Speaker B: People lifting each other up, people encouraging each other, each other believers encouraging each other along the way, but also witnessing. Then to others outside, I'm sure you noticed some of the people doing their regular Sunday afternoon routines out on the street and taking notice of what was happening. I saw the faith of the pilgrims, but on the Brooklyn bridge, I saw people out there and blessing themselves as we went by. I saw one family. There was a woman in a wheelchair, and they came out of their yard, their front area, and held it for a blessing. Just beautiful, the people on the pilgrimage, but the people along the way who are drawing encouragement from this.
[00:17:22] Speaker E: Yeah, Christ is so captivating. And when people just get to see our Lord passing by their house there every day, it is so special. Our Lord, who walked by the sea of Galilee 2000 years ago, is now walking in their small small street. It's wonderful to see, and they feel touched, and it is great to. To see their faith.
[00:17:44] Speaker B: Tell me about yourself. Where are you from?
[00:17:45] Speaker E: So I'm originally from a small farm in southwest Wisconsin. So I'm part of the La crosse diocese originally. So I grew up on a small farm with my siblings, great parents that raised me in the faith. My dad works for the diocese, so faith and liturgy has always been a strong part of my life. And then growing up in a small rural area where, you know, where everyone else lives, it's really neat. But it's been kind of a big change going from that to New York. New York is a bit different, in my opinion. Yeah. So I had a wonderful childhood, steeped in the faith. Then I went to college at Wyoming Catholic college in Wyoming, where there's also not a whole lot of people out there. But I had a great education that gave me some of the tools I needed just to be able to engage with people and evangelize. And so I've been well prepared for this.
[00:18:35] Speaker B: Then how did you find out about the pilgrimage?
[00:18:38] Speaker E: Yeah, I used to work in the outdoor industry, and so I worked with core expeditions, an outreach of Wyoming Catholic college. It's its own company that works on trying to get people to encounter Christ through creation, through experiences in the backcountry, through God's first book, Christ is first seen in his own creation. And so I used to work for them, and they did the safety consulting for the pilgrimage. So my old boss sent me a link and said, hey, they're looking for pilgrims. Myself at the time, still a senior in college, I didn't have plans for after college, but I was like, you know, I'll cast my net into the deep and see what fish the Lord brings in. And apparently this pilgrimage was one of them.
[00:19:19] Speaker B: So, yeah, good for you. It'll be quite the experience. We'll be together, I guess, in Indiana, you got to keep up your energy, I'm telling you. I was saying earlier that I'm doing this for two days, and it's exciting, but you give it your roll for two days, you've got it for 65.
[00:19:34] Speaker E: It's amazing.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: The walking itself is a lot, but it's keeping up that energy, the emotional energy, the joy.
[00:19:41] Speaker E: So much of our lord is shown through the smile on your face, even with the people you don't say a word to. It's the smile that you pass by and showing that you are excited to be following the Lord. And what's kind of been curious for me is I've been exhausted. But for some reason, that smile just can't seem to fade.
[00:20:00] Speaker B: Good for you.
[00:20:01] Speaker E: Just can't seem to fade. And I hope that continues to be the case for the rest of this time.
[00:20:05] Speaker B: Well, I wish you well on the rest of the journey. I look forward to seeing you in Indianapolis.
[00:20:08] Speaker E: Thank you so much.
[00:20:08] Speaker B: Thanks for giving me your time. Dominic, good to meet you.
[00:20:12] Speaker A: Wow. Those were incredible witnesses, bishops. A great opportunity for you to see it, to see the young people, to see the witness of them, and a.
[00:20:19] Speaker B: Wonderful way to cap off a meaningful day. These are the pilgrims. They call them perpetual pilgrims. They're the ones that are making the whole journey from New Haven to Indianapolis on one of four routes. There were three other routes going through the country. I was struck by the people from Brooklyn and Queens and from Nassau and Suffolk, because, in a sense, this was a visit to Long island. Pilgrimage passing through Long island. And so Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, Suffolk were all represented. Bishop Barris joined us. Bishop Anje joined us. Tomorrow, Bishop Romero will join us from Rockville center. And there were pilgrims from all over who joined. And so the perpetual pilgrims who are making the whole 65 days, but also the pilgrims from here in New York who joined with the ones who came from Manhattan. It was quite a blessing just to see everybody, the depth of the faith. I told one of the perpetual pilgrims, a woman came to me as we went past the local firehouse here. She said to me, you know, the faith is deep. We kind of agreed that maybe it needs to be wider, get more people into the embrace, but the faith is deep. Those who believe are full of love for. For Jesus. And we saw that at our revival, and we saw it here in the pilgrimage. God is doing great things in Brooklyn, Queens. I say it all the time, bishop.
[00:21:33] Speaker A: You know, we come to this corpus Christi Sunday. Perfect opportunity for us to reflect on the Eucharist, for you to be strengthened as well in our priesthood and the faithful of our diocese during these few days. What a great blessing for our parishes. Is there more processions? Corpus Christi processions throughout the diocese?
[00:21:49] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:21:50] Speaker A: Here at the co cathedral. We have one and other places throughout the diocese, so we're really bringing the Lord Jesus.
Bishop, would you like to end with a prayer?
[00:22:00] Speaker B: The Lord be with you and with your spirit. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he look upon you with kindness and grant you with peace. And may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit come upon you and remain with you forever. Amen.
[00:22:13] Speaker A: Thanks for listening and tuning in to another edition of our diocesan podcast. We hope that you'll join us again next next week. God bless.
