Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign welcome to another edition of Ardas of Podcast Big City Catholics with Bishop Robert Brennan Ardas and Bishop of Brooklyn and Queens. We're about to begin this beautiful week, which we call Holy in our church, as Palm Sunday. This Sunday we celebrate entering into the rhythm of that beautiful Holy Holy Triduum and the Das and Chrism Mass. We've got a lot to talk about with Bishop today and a lot of excitement, certainly even in my own life, in my priesthood and celebrating that. So we'll begin in prayer. Bishop and we can begin our podcast. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. Always asking and relying on the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary. We can pray. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
[00:00:58] Speaker A: Name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Amen. So, Bishop, it's an exciting week indeed as we begin Palm Sunday and there's so much to talk about. There's a lot of our own diocesan celebrations, things that you'll be participating in both at the Cathedral and the co Cathedral of St. James and St. Joseph, Palm Sunday processions, and Holy Thursday, Good Friday in the Easter Vigil. It's going to be a beautiful, beautiful week. But before we get into that, it is exciting that we announced this past Sunday, on the fifth Sunday of Lent, my new assignment in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: Yes, very happy that you accepted. I'm asking you to take on the pastorate of St. Joan of Auc in Jackson Heights. It's a large parish with a lot of activity. I appreciate the work you did at the Coke Cathedral and the way you've been working to build up the parish there. And this is going to be a great help for me that you're going to St. Jones. It's a place where I think a lot of your skills can be put to good use. But I also think it's a place that you'll enjoy very, very much. And I look forward that we continue some of our work with DeSales and certainly with the podcast. The new technology gives us more and more ways of being able to overcome distance.
[00:02:07] Speaker A: That's right. We know that the commute from Jackson Heights, Queens, to downtown Brooklyn is probably not the easiest midday at any time, really, unless I jump on one of the E bikes or something. But in order continue these conversations via Zoom and to allow you that opportunity, too, to bring in varied guests, as we've been doing these Past few weeks. It's just a great opportunity. I'm super excited to take on this responsibility. My first parish assignment was Holy Child Jesus in Richmond Hill in queens. And after six years, I came to the Co Cathedral of St Joseph. Holy Child had a school. This parish doesn't. Holy Child had generational families that stayed. This parish has a lot of transitory people and families. There were different challenges, but both were very, very enjoyable. Certainly I loved all the challenges that happened here.
[00:02:54] Speaker B: The life that we're living as priests.
[00:02:56] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:02:57] Speaker B: There were so many different varieties of settings in which we exercise our ministry, and they were all very rewarding, each in their own way.
[00:03:04] Speaker A: They certainly are. And now St. Joan of Arc seems to have a mixture of all things. It's a bustling neighborhood. There's ton of people. As we mentioned, the Mass attendance is near 3,000 people every Sunday. And currently they have 10 Sunday masses. That's eight on Sunday and two on Saturday night, which is just an extraordinary amount. A parish school and a large religious ed program. And the language communities of English speaking and Spanish speaking, which is great for me as I can certainly perfect my Spanish, but I think I have a pretty good handle on it as well.
[00:03:42] Speaker B: You have a good grasp of it and you exercise that really ministry at St Joseph in the Co Cathedral. And so, yeah, I think you'll be doing a lot more ministry in Spanish and Jackson Heights than you were in downtown Brooklyn.
[00:03:53] Speaker A: I think so too. And what's nice certainly, is I grew up in Queens, Bishop, as you know, and in Maspeth and Woodside area. And so St. Joan of Arc is very close to home. Certainly when I, when I was moving from Queens to Brooklyn, there's such an interesting divide, right. As people who grew up in Queens and Brooklyn's another world. People who grew up in Brooklyn, Queens is another world. I remember my mother saying, we're never going to see you again. You're going to be in Brooklyn. As if, like, it was like Timbuktu over here. So it'll be nice to be close to home again, certainly for my parents. They're happy to be welcoming me back. So thanks, Bishop, for this opportunity.
[00:04:26] Speaker B: This is an important point. That area, Jackson Heights, Corona, Elmhurst, all of those communities up there in, I would say north central Queens are really parishes that are large, bustling, with a lot of activity. They're largely Hispanic, so a lot of Spanish being spoken. But we also have many different ethnic communities in those areas. But those parishes are bursting at the seams. And you know, when we talk about some of our diocesan work and trying to have to work together and shifting demographics. It's not that it's all bad news, it's just that people are moving into different territories and that's an area where there are many young families, a lot of faith and devotion.
[00:05:09] Speaker A: It's definitely an exciting opportunity. I'm grateful for it and I really enjoyed certainly my time here at Ethical Cathedral and also sort of, as you mentioned, collaborating with Desales Media, with netv, certainly our Masses being televised. There's a great ministry to the virtual parishioner here. I've really enjoyed getting to know those people. I feel like even though I wouldn't know them to see, I know their name, I write to them, they write to me, they comment on a particular piece of the homily and we kind of go back and forth. So uh, it'll be, It's a different St. Joan of Arc. There's three daily masses as well. That means that, Bishop, you've come to the CO Cathedral for daily Mass. There may be eight people or so in, in our pews, but there's a thousand people watching us. But here perhaps at St. Joan of Arc, there's a number of people that'll be in the pews for each of those three daily Masses.
[00:06:00] Speaker B: That's right. That's a great experience. You know, the other thing is you'll be with the school. That's a lively community. So Father Henry, you'll be taking over four months Senior Hoppy, who did a great job there at St. Joan of Arc and also in service in our diocesan tribune. Now I have a question for you.
[00:06:21] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:06:21] Speaker B: Have you checked out the new parish?
[00:06:23] Speaker A: I was able actually to walk there from my parents house. It's a two mile walk. So I walked around and now we're recording this podcast midweek in this last week of Lent before Holy Week begins. I have a meeting with Monsignor Hoppy tomorrow to sit with him and to begin the discussions of the transition and the exciting things to come. And so I'm sure I'll be beginning that initiation in the next coming weeks.
[00:06:47] Speaker B: Wonderful, wonderful. Well, I wish you a lot of happiness and a lot of success there. We're counting on you.
[00:06:51] Speaker A: Thank you Bishop. Thank you, I appreciate it. Now I have to keep my head in the game here at the Coke Cathedral cause we've got a lot going on.
[00:06:58] Speaker B: It's a Holy Week, a very full week. So all of our parishes busy during Holy Week, but you have the added event of the Chrism Mass which is really, one of our largest, most significant diocesan celebrations, I would say, between the CHRISM Mass and coordination. So those are the two things that really set a cathedral, or in this case, a co cathedral apart. And we're coming up on that week with a lot of busyness, but we're still in the rigors of Lent, coming to the end of this fifth week of Lent. And I'm looking back over the Eucharistic pilgrimage that we've had during this time of Lent. And I've been in a number of parishes. I've been to a couple of parishes with schools and had some school Masses. I had a couple of evening Masses. But earlier this week, on Monday, I had a unique opportunity. I was asked by the Aid to Church in Need. They're an international organization serving the church Aid to the Church in Need, but their national headquarters is located right here in Brooklyn in Green Point. And I received a letter asking that they've asked a number of bishops to help them observe this week of prayer for the persecuted church, for churches persecuted throughout the world, and for persecuted Christians and people who are suffering greatly because of their faith. And many of them are very strong in that faith. So I used Monday, since we were going to be together, for an evening Mass. It was going to be a trilingual celebration at Saint Rose of Lima in Brooklyn. For that celebration, we had a few priests who can celebrate it and the regular Lenten pilgrims, plus other visitors for the special occasion, and representatives from ancient Greek church in need. It was a very moving celebration, a very moving prayer. Aid to the Church in Need provided some informational content. They were able to show images before the Mass on the monitors in the church talking about issues of religious persecution. We shared with the priest in the mailing last week some of their material, and they had those brochures to hand out to people, which is really a report of religious persecution. And the trends are staggering and very disturbing. It said that the 20th century, the last century, had more modest than all the others combined, I believe.
And that trend seems to continue in this 21st century. And we looked at some of the countries from which our people come. Like, we feel a certain sense of solidarity between these countries because these are apparitions, people who are fleeing violence and persecution and making their home here in Brooklyn and Queens. We heard about things that are happening in Nigeria, for example, in Nicaragua, in other parts of Latin America, you know, that have been the case over recent years. Some of these governments take over and really push back on faith. We see it in Asia and in Africa, Nigeria. We're hearing stories all the time about priests, sisters and seminarians being kidnapped and even killed for their faith. So this is very real. Then, of course, some of the Middle Eastern stories that are very well known to us and even sometimes maybe a softer persecution, but very real in places like India and other parts of Europe where it may not be violent, but it's certainly a persecution. So the message of a day like this time of prayer is twofold. One, it's to be aware. It's so important for us to be aware. We can get very comfortable in our own little cocoons and we realize that people are suffering for the faith that we share, the faith that we profess, that's one thing. And then secondly, to pray, to be united, to be in solidarity with each other through prayer. And that's what was given to us. That opportunity was given to us this.
[00:11:03] Speaker A: Week, as you mentioned. It's pretty incredible to think that granted the freedoms we take for granted here in our local church in the United States as well, facing much softer persecutions. I think that's a nice way to phrase it or even say in a.
[00:11:19] Speaker B: Bias rather than a persecution. Yes, that's true.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: We face these certain biases. But to hear the stories. There's actually an article in this week's edition of the Tablet about the Mass that you celebrated with quotes from those, the directors, Edward Clancy, the director of Aid to the Church in Need, and some of the people who were present at the Mass. Just what eye opening experience it was for them to see and to hear about priests as recent as within this past few months who are being kidnapped and murdered, religious sisters, children who are attending Catholic schools in parts of the world. How very disappointing it is and how sad it is. It really requires us to pray for peace.
[00:11:59] Speaker B: Ed Clancy told the story. They had an icon there. And I didn't know this at the time, but we were back in the rectory after Mass. He told me that that icon had faces used the faces of individuals who had been martyred. And he told the story of this one young fellow who was in prison, kidnapped in prison for his faith. And he would pray before meals every day. And so the gods would yell at him or mistreat him for that and he would continue to do it. One day they said, if you do that one more time, you'll be shot. And he said, if that happens, I will pray for you for your conversion. With that, he made the sign of the cross and he was shot.
[00:12:36] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:12:37] Speaker B: And sometime later, fellow who shot him was kind of shaken by the whole thing. I don't know that he converted or not. I didn't hear that part of the strip. The man said, I never saw that kind of courage in anybody in my entire life. It was just very, very moving. Maybe that's another conversation. We have the resources right here in Brooklyn and we be a good opportunity to talk to people from AID to the church in need and see some of the great work that they're doing to help build up churches, to support the formation of priests in these countries where there are persecuted churches and to help them even to build up what is the era of the church. And, you know, it was very poignant. I said this in homily. It's very poignant at St. Rose because a large part of that parish is Polish. Now there's a church that for much of the 20th century was indeed persecuted first by the Nazis and then by the Communists. We certainly know the heroic efforts of Pope St. John Paul II. They said, Here's a church that was persecuted, that emerged from that persecution and now can show inspiration, help, support. They maintain their faith in the midst of all that persecution. In fact, in some ways, the Polish faith was even stronger during times of persecution.
[00:13:51] Speaker A: That's the way in which we triumph over the evil one. And the devil thinks that through persecution we may lose our faith and stray from God. Yet it's most times when we're draw closer to the cross and draw closer to our faith and put him to shame by that.
[00:14:09] Speaker B: Now, the opening prayer for the Mass for persecuted Christians says something along the lines of God in mysterious ways, you invite us to share in the cross of Jesus Christ, and God bless those who do so very bravely and courageously. All of us are called to share in the cross of Jesus Christ in different ways. But for some people, it really does mean paying a deep, deep price. But we come into this week now where we glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Antichrist. For Holy Thursday we should glory the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is our hope, our life, our resurrection, our hope. In him we are saved and set free. Yeah. So as we enter into this solemn week, we glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:14:58] Speaker A: And it starts Praise of glory Hosanna in the highest starts so triumphantly on Palm Sunday, Jesus's journey into Jerusalem. And it's a great opportunity again this year. Thank you for joining the parish community of the co Cathedral of St. Joseph. And all those who are listening are certainly most welcome to join in this procession. Weather permitting, we're looking ahead at the weather reports, not too positive, but it does look wet.
It's forecasted for some rain. If it's heavy rain, of course, we won't be able to maintain that procession, partially because of the Net TV aspect, which has cameras and quite expensive material that need to be protected in the midst of all those storms and water. However, please God, we're able to join together at Grand Army Plaza on Palm Sunday at 12:30 and to process joyfully and triumphantly, waving our palms down the street of Vanderbilt Avenue and heading down to the Co Cathedral for 1:30pm Spanish Mass. But that's the beauty of this sort of the rhythm of this week. It starts joyfully, triumphantly, and it leads us to the Cross and then through the Holy Cross, our Lord has redeemed the world. What a great gift that is for us indeed.
[00:16:13] Speaker B: Of course, Monday is Reconciliation Monday, and we invite people to experience the mercy of God. I'm going to let you say the.
[00:16:20] Speaker A: Hours in this week's edition of the Tablet. There's also a insert with many parishes with their Easter schedule, their Holy Week schedule, and many have included their hours for reconciliation Monday. The diocesan hours that have been asked from the Archdiocese of New York, Rockville center and the Diocese of Brooklyn is 2 to 4pm and 6 to 9pm but of course, we know that because of priestly concerns and sometimes parish priests taking on more than one site, those hours may change. And it's pretty clear in viewing that insert, the times that different parishes are selecting for confession hours, they really do vary and they range. And so it's probably a good idea to contact your local parish ahead of time to see what time they're offering those hours.
[00:17:08] Speaker B: Simply the knowledge that everybody's doing at some point, generally in those areas, it gives people choices. I always say there are some people who only go to a priest they know well and they have a relationship. And then there are other people who prefer to go to anybody but the priest I know well. And that's reconciliation Monday gives us many, many opportunities and choices. You know, for us as priests, there's something special about us all being united in a common effort. But there's something that we're all about on that day, connected with one another, in solidarity with one another, to offer that gift of the mercy of God. So it's also a special day for us as priests to be able to celebrate the sacrament on this day. It's always a privilege to celebrate the sacrament, but especially to do it in such a unified way. And we pray that it'll be a day of grace for many, many people. We always find that we hear some stories from people who are just so grateful. It's a very moving experience. Of course, we don't talk about the actual confessions, but we do hear from people about their gratitude for the sacrament.
[00:18:17] Speaker A: That's true. And no matter how many years it may have been, just, we pray that men and women of our diocese have the courage to return to ask for God's mercy as well, and then to.
[00:18:28] Speaker B: Receive that what is generous beyond measure and that we as priests are there as instruments. We rejoice in that. Our whole role is to help and to be that bridge. You know, speaking of that, one thing that keeps people from going to Compassion is saying, I'm not really sure what to do. And that's fine. That's how you begin your confession. You can walk in and you can start off by saying, father, I'm not really sure what to do. That's the cue for us to lend a hand.
[00:18:56] Speaker A: Amen. And no problem at all. No problem at all.
[00:18:59] Speaker B: On Tuesday, we have the Chrism Mass, and we're really looking forward to that. Like I said before, it's one of the key moments in our diocesan life.
[00:19:08] Speaker A: Each year the Chrism Mass is a beautiful opportunity, certainly for us, to celebrate priesthood and the gift of priesthood as the priests come together in great number. One of the things that you've been able to institute here in the diocese last year was our first time hosting after the Mass, an opportunity for the priests to join and share a supper together and to break bread together. What a nice opportunity that was to have all those guys together downstairs afterwards.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: It really is connecting with the Holy Thursday celebration of the institution of the priesthood and of the Eucharist. And so built into it, not like as a nice thing to do, but built into the ritual is the renewal of the priestly promises. So we make those promises in front of our people. And then I'll bless the oils that will be used throughout the year. It's also a sign of our unity as a local church that the oil of the sick, the oil of catechumens, and the sacred Chrism that will be used in the sacramental life of the church in all of the parishes. You, Brooklyn and Queens, will be blessed that day and then distributed to the parishes for their use. It's sort of a joyful celebration in the midst of Holy Week that kind of gets us ready for the sacred Triduum which will follow shortly after when we sing the glory of that day. We're wearing white vestments. It's a very celebratory occasion.
[00:20:33] Speaker A: It seems, Bishop, that the Chrism Mass is an opportunity too, for you to address the presbyterate in your homily or in some regard, to be united with them. That's something that you'd like to comment on?
[00:20:45] Speaker B: Sure it is. The readings that day really do encourage us. They're meant to encourage us in the exercise of the ministry, in being generous, you know, in remembering Jesus's words, quoting the prophet Isaiah, but assuming it to his own ministry, which he shares then with all his church. The spirit of the Lord is upon me. He sent me. He's anointed me and sent me to bring good news to the poor, release to those in bondage. You go right through the whole litany there. And that always can renew our commitment to following with the Lord Jesus.
[00:21:18] Speaker A: Amen. Yeah. And a great honor certainly for all the priests to come together.
[00:21:23] Speaker B: It's a big crowd because we have a good number of priests who usually show up and there are parish representatives that arrest to come. But it is an open event, even with a crowded Co Cathedral. We invite people, the faithful of the diocese. And for those who can't make it into Brooklyn, it will be broadcast on Net tv, as is our custom. And that will be on Tuesday at April 15th at 4pm but it's a.
[00:21:50] Speaker A: Great week indeed, as we mentioned. And we know that you'll be participating in the Holy Thursday celebrations of the Co Cathedral Good Friday procession, as in years past, over the Brooklyn Bridge.
[00:22:01] Speaker B: Union Liberation. I've said it before, but I've always been intrigued by that celebration. When I was serving on Long Island, I said, wow, that must be amazing. And now I'm actually here, and it begins at the Cathedral of St. James, and we walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and you do the stations. It's not the traditional 14 stations of St. Louis di Montreal, but they are stations recalling the way of the Cross and hearing the message for us in the world today and this year.
It's a beautiful ecumenical moment. But the east and the west come together in a very powerful way because the Orthodox date of Easter is the same as our date of Easter. We're all celebrating the date of Easter. That is one of the things that we're trying to work toward, ecumenism, the way the dates fall by coincidence that they come together, and that's a good thing. So the major archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church will join us. We will be completing the pilgrimage at the Orthodox Church in New York beginning at St. James, but then going over to the Greek Orthodox Church in Manhattan. So that's an added dimension to the beauty of the day. And it's really our expression of having the desire to respond to Jesus call that all may be one.
[00:23:27] Speaker A: Amen. Again, that will be available to the faithful to watch and join. Uniquely the part that begins at St. James on Net TV and then they can join you again at 3pm as you do the Passion of the Lord.
[00:23:41] Speaker B: You're right. At 3pm we have the liturgical remembrance of the Passion of the Lord and the veneration of the cross and Holy Communion.
[00:23:50] Speaker A: And finally, yeah, as we enter in. Because I think that this, Bishop is our last chance to really chat through the beauty of the Holy Week, especially the the true. Since next Friday's podcast that releases will be a recording of your Chrism Mass homily and the week following will be a recording of your Easter message to the faithful. Of course, the Easter vigil taking place at the Co Cathedral that you'll be celebrating at 8pm and there are vigils happening throughout our whole diocese, in every parish. This Mother of all liturgies, this beautiful.
[00:24:21] Speaker B: Liturgy, welcoming the newly baptized with great joy. Celebrating the Easter Sacrament to all the people who've been preparing over these recent years for baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, celebrating those sacraments and celebrating the growth of the Catholic Christian family.
[00:24:38] Speaker A: Truly, truly. We certainly wish everyone who joins us each and every week in this podcast Big City Catholics, a very blessed Holy Week, a blessed Easter and that please God that they join in and the great celebrations of this liturgical week. And Bishop, until we again meet, I wish you a very blessed Holy Week as well.
[00:24:56] Speaker B: And to you and to all our listeners, why don't we pray? I'll pray again in this time of Lent, the prayer of St Francis before the crucifix of San Damiana. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:25:08] Speaker A: Amen.
[00:25:08] Speaker B: Almost high and glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart. Give me right faith, certain hope, perfect love and deep humility. O Lord, give me sense and discernment in order to carry out your true and holy will. Amen.
[00:25:23] Speaker A: Amen.
[00:25:24] Speaker B: Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit descend upon you. Remain with you forever and ever. Amen.
[00:25:31] Speaker A: Amen. Thank you, Bishop, and thanks to all who continue to join us. Each and every week, we wish you again a very blessed Holy Week and a blessed and happy Easter. Take care.
