Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign hello and welcome to this week's edition of Big City Catholics. I'm your host, Bishop Robert Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, serving in Brooklyn and Queens, New York. Each year I have the honor of celebrating one of the Sunday Masses at Citi Field in Queens for the benefit of those who serve in the many different ways to provide a safe and meaningful experience for the many people come out to the ball game. The experience means an awful lot to me as a lifelong Met fan. I was born in 1962, as were the Mets. But it's also meaningful because, well, let's face it, they are our hometown team. Last Sunday, I had the chance for this year to get to the ball field. And after mess, I had the chance to to speak with Monsignor Thomas Mahalski, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Bayside, Queens, and chaplain to the New York Mets. And as well to speak with James Benish, who is responsible for the ballpark experience and who coordinates the Sunday Mass for us.
Let's begin, as we do each week, in prayer. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Blessed indeed, are you God of all creation, for you laid the foundations of the world and have arranged the changing of times and seasons.
Yes, you created us in your own image and set us over the whole world in all its wonders.
May these days of summer refresh and renew us. May we rejoice in the wonders of your world, and may we remember that you sent your son that we might have life and have life in abundance. We thank you today for these and your many blessings and always turn to you through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I'm sitting with James Benish, who's responsible for ballpark experience, really a very important person within the organization here at Citi Field. But for us, what's so important is that you're the coordinator for the Sunday Mass. And that's something I think we really, we as priests, we're always edified when people go out of their way to come to Sunday Mass. So tell me a little bit about the Sunday Mass and what the meaning of it is for the people who are here.
[00:02:26] Speaker B: Yeah, I've been here for a bunch of years, and for my first few years, I actually didn't even know that this was taking place here. When someone said, you should pop over to Mass in the auxiliary locker room, I honestly didn't really know what they were talking about. I had no clue and then went and it turned out it was a great option for staff, players, coaches, etc. To attend each Sunday with the early games. It's a whole lot easier than trying to make it to your local parish.
[00:02:51] Speaker A: Well, especially if you have a Saturday night game and a Sunday morning report for the afternoon game. Your day's taken.
[00:02:57] Speaker B: And before I knew I had been going to my local parish at 7:30 in the morning prior to driving over. And it was tough to stay awake. Nothing to do with the Mass, but just because we, you know, we're on such little sleep. So this is a really, really great option for the staff.
[00:03:09] Speaker A: And I am always impressed to see that people make it a priority so to be here. And you've had different seasons, you might say ups and downs. I remember years back before I was in Brooklyn, but I was a priest in Rockwell Center. Players like Mike Piazza were pretty faithful and pretty persuasive to other players to get involved. He was very close with Bishop Canello. And we've had plays coming and this weekend we had Jesse Winker, who was with us recent years past. Trevor Williams had been part of it. And then visiting teams often send players. So that's always a nice part of it. Again, I'm used to seeing guys making the sign of the cross at the plate. Yeah, it's a shot in the arm for all of us when somebody says, yeah, no, this is important.
[00:03:54] Speaker B: I think again, what you guys do and going around to the stadiums around the country, just you make this a very easy option. And I think it's great for those who are able to attend. Schedules aren't always permitting, but when they are able to attend, being able to come in, attend this from player to staff, I think is a great thing.
[00:04:11] Speaker A: My brother was a New York City police officer and the New York City Police Department had a connection with this mess years back. And I know that it was something that was meaningful to him. I know the structures of things have changed that have made it not as easy for them to come, but a lot of the people serve in the different concessions, a lot of security, a lot of back office people. When you come to a Mass like this, you get to see behind the scenes what makes an enjoyable day at the ballpark really happened.
[00:04:37] Speaker B: It's not dissimilar from, you know, an actual parish where you get to know all the different people in the community doing different things and you sort of get to break the barriers of communication that you might not normally interact with different people, but you get to know everybody, what their different career paths are. Etc. You know, at your local parish, we get to do that here too, Right. You know, a concession worker, security, to your point, might get to know somebody by way of coming to this Mass, which I think is great.
[00:05:00] Speaker A: It is. Last question. I don't want to put you on the spot, but I'm going to ask you about your own faith. Like, so you originally from St. Paul in Flushing and now you are at St. Patrick's in Huntington, a great parish. I knew that many years as I was a priest in Rockville Center. You and your wife are very much practicing your faith, living that out. This week we had the story of Martha and Mary and, you know, the balancing out of day to day work and being close to the Lord, just sitting at his feet. How do you find that your faith grounds you in everyday life?
[00:05:33] Speaker B: To your point earlier, during the homily, like, there's a lot going on, right. Between work, between home life, between family life and I think very simply put, knowing that there's someone on your side at all times makes everything a whole lot easier.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: Well said. Listen, thanks for what you do to make families have a great experience here. Thanks for what you do to bring us all together for Mass and God bless all of you and your family.
[00:05:56] Speaker B: And we really appreciate you coming out. This is a great day each year.
[00:05:59] Speaker A: It's a great day for me. It really is. And it's always nice to catch up with you on these days.
[00:06:03] Speaker B: Likewise.
[00:06:03] Speaker A: Good.
[00:06:03] Speaker B: Great seeing you again.
[00:06:04] Speaker A: Monsignor Tom Mahalski is the pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Bayside, Queens, but has been pretty active in this ministry to staff here and to everybody at Citi Field for Sunday Mass for quite some time. Going back and forth, you've been very involved, less involved, more involved. And now you're very involved again.
[00:06:24] Speaker C: So, yeah, 2007, when I started, took over when Bishop Catanello became ill. Then it was all the way until 2011 when I left to go to Michigan to be rector of the seminary. And then when I came back, I would fill in on occasion for Father Holcomb, who stepped in in my place. And then when Father Holcomb moved up to St. Joseph Seminary in Dunwoody, and then he got the job of being the Yankees chaplain, which is more appropriate for him since he's a Yankee fan. So I stepped in and took the Mets chaplaincy over again.
[00:06:54] Speaker A: And this work of the Sunday Mass in stadiums is really an extension of.
[00:07:01] Speaker C: Catholic Athletes for Christ, right?
[00:07:03] Speaker A: Yes. And that's an important organization. Tell me about that a little bit.
[00:07:06] Speaker C: Yeah. Catholic Athletes for Christ was really the genius of Mr. Ray McKenna, who was the founder of it. He knew that there was an organized set of ministers that came in and ministered to the Protestant players, but there was nothing for Catholics. He really wanted to make sure that that got into every stadium. However, we could go back, Bishop, the first stadium to really have Catholic Mass in it was Shea Stadium. And that was at the request of Rusty Staub. He asked for the Catholic Mass, and God rest his soul, Father Danny Murphy.
[00:07:38] Speaker A: Okay. That's right. I remember when we were in the seminary, you and I were in the seminary at Contemporaries in the seminary. And I remember Father Danny Murphy being the chaplain to the Mets.
[00:07:48] Speaker C: Correct. He somehow got hooked up with Father Danny Murphy. I think one of the workers here that Rusty was friends with was a parishioner at Resurrection Ascension, where Father Murphy was at the time. And then Father Murphy for years filled that role. Then it kind of went by the wayside, and then it picked up again because Mr. Ray McKenna, as I said, Ray McKenna is a Bronx Irish boy who went to St. John's University, a lawyer, and he really worked hard to make sure that we've gotten this ministry into every Major League Baseball stadium. And it's not only the Mass on Sunday. The players and workers know that they could come to us anytime during the week. They have information.
[00:08:25] Speaker A: Yes, they had many interactions with different.
[00:08:28] Speaker C: Players, baptized some of their grandchildren, baptized some of their children, officiated at some weddings of, you know, children or grandchildren, been at wakes, funerals. You know, unfortunately, that's part of our life, too. So, yeah, I've become involved in the lives of some of these people. Yes.
[00:08:43] Speaker A: You know, one of the committee that I serve on as chair in the USCCP is Cultural Diversity in the Church. But a subcommittee is for people who are on the move. And, you know, so you have airport circus ministry and all that. But this, too, when you talk about the players themselves, it's hard to have grounding, you know, so that. To be rooted in a parish, because you could be rooted in parish a certain number of months a year, but then you have to go down to spring training and the season, and then you run the road, and you're possibly on a team that's far from your home, even your home team, is a bit of a way, so you can be rooted in your faith, but it's hard to be rooted in the parish. And so having the chaplaincy available to players on the move is probably very important. It is.
[00:09:29] Speaker C: And we try to get to know them in Spring training. The chaplains who have teams that are in Arizona try to go there. The chaplains who have our teams that go in Florida try to go there. So actually we call it Men in Black east and Men in Black West. You know, not everybody can get there because a lot of us also have parishes and other responsibilities.
But we try our best to already at bring training.
That's where you get to meet some of the younger players and the newer players after trades and to introduce yourself to them and to let them know these services are available.
Catholic Athletes of Christ also has a division in it for Catholic high schools. There are some dioceses where the bishops have made sure that every high school has Catholic Athletes for Christ chapter in it, where they also try to get the young people to understand, yes, sports is important, but sports needs to be grounded in faith and needs to be carried off the field so that a component of that is being involved in charitable work or volunteer work, things like that. That's another important aspect of Catholic Athletes for Christ. And we're expanding it now from baseball. We have some football chaplains that have already become part of it. Hoping to get some NHL chaplains involved eventually.
Not as many chaplains in the NHL. NFL has more chaplains than most people think. And depending on the ownership, some of those chaplains actually travel with the team from place to place and through Catholic Athletes for Christ. One of my other things, for many years, when the Cowboys came to play the Giants, they would ask me to go into Jersey the night before the game and I would celebrate Mass for the Cowboys in the hotel in New Jersey.
[00:11:07] Speaker A: That's pretty good. Yeah, that is pretty good. I remember my friend Monsignor Vaughan in Rockland center for the Jets. But also the same kind of things. You'd get requests when other teams are right are in town and it would often be Saturday night because they have a full workday and Saturday, the game on Sunday.
[00:11:22] Speaker C: And there's another thing that's not connected to Catholic Athletes for Christ, but kind of has the same purpose. One of the umpires, Mark Wegner, who's been an umpire for 20 plus years, is an extremely devout Catholic and he created a ministry where he has a number of priests and deacons spread throughout the United States that he's met. Because Mark goes to Mass every day, no matter where he is on the road, and so boils down to like three or four times a year. This group, I think there's maybe 15 of us, 16 of us, we write a homily and we have it to him. In that given week that we were assigned before Thursday. And then he sends it out to all the major league umpires who have signed up for that, Catholic and Protestant. Because sometimes they're in a place where they can't get to Mass for whatever reason. So at least they have something spiritual for that Sunday.
[00:12:13] Speaker A: It's amazing. Stepping away from the play is a little bit. The people on the move. You also have a very stable group of people. And as we were saying before Mass, and I noticed it today, that seems to be a group of people that's growing. So we have people who work in the different concessions and all that. I've been here now a little more than three years. This is my fourth time is doing this Mass as the Bishop of Brooklyn. And there are a number of familiar faces. One of them is a Catholic school teacher.
[00:12:39] Speaker C: Yes, she is.
[00:12:40] Speaker A: She teaches during the year and then she does this in the summer. Yes. Security concessions, Fan experience. Yeah.
[00:12:46] Speaker C: Front office. There's a lot of different people.
[00:12:48] Speaker A: So media, it's great to see that combination of the stable, the people who are weak after week, and the people who come and go because of the work that has to be done.
[00:12:57] Speaker C: Yes, absolutely.
[00:12:58] Speaker A: This is a special time right now in the church. As this is being released. I'm in Rome preparing for the Jubilee for young people. We'll be called together by Pope Leo. I'm looking forward to that experience.
While we were a little disappointed that canonizations were put off until September, it's still a reality and it's still going to be very exciting. So there's a great interest and a growing interest in our young people in Blessed Carlo Acutis. And I know that you've taken a special interest in his cause. You have the shrine. We're looking forward to dedicating that the fall after his canonization. And hopefully you'll be leading a pilgrimage.
[00:13:34] Speaker C: Yep. Hopefully we'll be there from September 1st to September 8th and be at the Mass on September 7th for the canonization.
[00:13:41] Speaker A: And I know that you have different relics and the devotion to different saints. I've been with you for the Cancer Mass for St. Peregrine. What drew you closer to Blessed Carlo?
[00:13:52] Speaker C: Yeah, it's really amazing how God works. It really all started by I was reading an article on my iPhone in Polish about a Polish bishop who asked for his relic.
And, you know, within the article, it said that the bishop, you know, wanted it because he wanted to use it as an outreach to especially the young people of his diocese, somebody they could relate to more than perhaps saints. That are from centuries ago and that he was going to have it travel to all the parishes in his diocese. And then after that, house the relic in the cathedral, you know, where people could come to venerate it when they visited the cathedral. And I don't know why, Bishop, but you know how the Holy Spirit works. You've had the experiences, I'm sure, yourself in life. All week long, while I was praying, it just kept coming to me. You need to ask for the relic. You need to ask for the wreck. I'm saying to myself, I'm not going to get it if I ask for it. I sat down and I wrote an email to Bishop DeMarcio and I told him what had happened. And I said, you know, bishop, we have so many young people who are in the category of none. N o n e. Or they say they're spiritual but not religious. This is somebody they could relate to, somebody that was into computer games and coding and the things that are relevant to them.
Maybe if we get this relic and have it travel around the diocese, it would be a good tool of evangelization and a good way to bring some of these young people back. And that was really my introduction. And then began to read more and more about Carlo and study his life and gather different stories and facts about him. And it's kind of become something that's just a part of my life now.
[00:15:38] Speaker A: And you had the opportunity to meet his mother.
[00:15:41] Speaker C: To meet his mother, yes. It was quite fascinating. Her talk was incredible. St Patrick's Cathedral was jammed to capacity. It was just incredible. And she spoke for about an hour, and then she fielded questions from the young people as well. But, I mean, she told all different sorts of stories about him and was very candid and very honest, saying, you know, has nothing to do with her or her husband because they were the least religious people you could ever find on the planet. And she. She actually kind of makes a joke. She goes, yeah, I was a bad mother. I was a bad mother.
[00:16:13] Speaker A: And yet Carlo brought her back. Yeah, you did. I often tell a story about being asked about what can blessed Carlo teach our young people? And my reaction at the time was, well, actually, it's. That's the wrong question. It's really. Blessed Kahlo teaches us that we older folk have a lot to learn from the younger folk, you know, and I think that's really, to me, the strength of the school story of soon to be Saint Color Kutis. So we'll pray for each other. You while I'm on my journey.
[00:16:44] Speaker C: And absolutely Bishop, I appreciate that and.
[00:16:46] Speaker A: Thanks for what you do here at Citi Fields and thank you for coming.
[00:16:50] Speaker C: Every year when we invite you. Bishop people look forward to it.
[00:16:52] Speaker A: Thanks. Thank you for joining us today and every week.
You know, today, the 25th of July, the day that this edition is released, is the Feast of the Apostle James.
St. James plays an important role for us as the patron of our diocesan cathedral. I was ordained a bishop along with Archbishop Perez on this day 13 years ago. But I'll tell you something else. St. James is the patron saint of pilgrims. Please God, I should be in Rome today preparing to meet a couple of groups of pilgrims from Brooklyn and Queens, responding to Pope Francis's invitation to celebrate the Pilgrimage of youth and to be together with our Holy Father, Pope Leo. Know that we bring all of the church in Brooklyn and Queens with us in a very spiritual way, and we will pray for God's blessings on our church, especially for the young people in our diocese. I hope I have the chance to bring you some conversations from Rome in the weeks ahead.
But allow me now to close today's edition of Big City Catholics with the blessing of pilgrims that we prayed last week in anticipation of our journey. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. All powerful God, you always show mercy toward those who love you, and you are never far away from those who seek you. Remain with your servants on this holy pilgrimage and guide their way in accord with your will. Shelter them with your protection by day, give them the light of your grace by night, and as their companion on the journey, bring them to their destination in safety through Christ our Lord. Amen. The Lord be with you with your spirit. May Almighty God bless you and your families in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
