Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Welcome back to a new edition of our diocesan podcast, Big City Catholics, with Bishop Robert Brennan, the Diocesan Bishop of Brooklyn and Queens, and myself, Father Christopher Henry, pastor of St. Joan of Arc Parish here in Jackson Heights, Queens. We're happy that you join us again this week when we talk about a difficult yet beautiful topic of certainly the sufferings of the cross, the sufferings in our lives, but yet the redemption and the joy and the hope that comes with it.
As we come to the beginning of this podcast, we'll begin in prayer. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Asking our Blessed Mother's intercession, we 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.
[00:00:52] Speaker B: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
[00:00:57] Speaker A: In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen. Bishop Wilda, the topic of this week's conversation revolves around certainly the anniversary of September 11, the triumph of the cross this Sunday, the feast of Our lady of Sorrows on Monday. Not all of this conversation is about the sorrows. There are certainly the joys of our daily lives, the joys of our pastoral lives. You're in the car right now, Bishop, as we record this podcast, because your responsibilities have taken you to Washington, D.C. right?
[00:01:26] Speaker B: So I was down in Washington, D.C. as chair of the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church. I'm on what's called the Administrative Committee. And so as part of the Administrative Committee, we meet in anticipation of our November meeting, kind of to lay out the agenda for that November meeting. But it's also a little bit of a yearly check in with all of the other committees. It's a bit of bureaucracy, but it's actually a change of pace. And it was good to see some of the bishops from around the country. It's a small group relative to the body, but still, it was good to reconnect.
[00:02:03] Speaker A: And just for a point of clarification, as I mentioned, you're in the car. You're not the one driving.
[00:02:08] Speaker B: I am not the one driving. I can promise you that.
[00:02:10] Speaker A: It's not one of those Teslas, is it, that drives themselves?
[00:02:13] Speaker B: No, no, no. Father John is taking good care of the road, so we're on our way back.
[00:02:18] Speaker A: Very good, Bishop. And as we enter into the topic of this podcast, certainly recognizing that we record this before the release date, which will release on 12th of September, but we are preparing and you are preparing for the anniversary of September 11th, which will take place on Thursday the 11th.
[00:02:37] Speaker B: And, you know, last year, Father Anthony Palumbo, a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, joined us for that Mass. He has Brooklyn roots before his family relocated to Jersey, but his dad worked at the firehouse on Dean street and sadly died in that horrific occasion on September 11th of 2001. This year, he's going to join us again, but he'll be preaching the homily. I remember last year, the families of the people in that firehouse. You could see the connection. And so I'm looking forward to that. I think he's a sign of hope in time of darkness.
[00:03:11] Speaker A: Father Anthony Palumbo, now Cardinal Tobin's secretary, was a senior in high school at Cathedral Prep when I was a freshman. And so we have that connection together as well. And I remember that day. And I believe, you know, as you mentioned, he has a great rapport with the men and women of that local firehouse because he was sort of like a child. He was one of many children in his family. They were taken in by the members of that fire department, that fire, local firehouse on the day of September 11th and the days and the months and the years following. But, Bishop, interestingly, we have this convergence of few dates of importance. We have September 11, of course, a tragic day, and the way in which our liturgical calendar falls, that this Sunday would be the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.
And then on Monday, the 15th of September, we have the memorial of Our lady of Sorrows, Our Blessed Mother's title, Our lady of Sorrows. These three days, they converge together in such a powerful way and so, so close to one another.
I think it's an opportunity for great reflection. That's the topic of our podcast today.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: Absolutely. So even last week, in the Gospel of Sunday's Mass, we heard the invitation of Jesus was more than an invitation to take up the Cross and to follow him. If you are going to be my disciple, you have to take up the Cross and follow me. We're reminded that the Cross is present really in all the areas of our life. The sin and death and suffering.
These are realities in this world. We've seen some of the powers of that awful reality of sin and death. We're still reeling from that shooting in Minneapolis. We also remember the reality of violence and crime. We saw a horrific, horrific attack on an older couple in Belarus, Queens, just this week. And we have the remembrance 24 years ago of September 11th. These are constant reminders of evil and of suffering, of loss, of death.
But on Sunday when we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, we remember that the cross isn't the final answer. And in fact there's more. The name of the feast day is the exaltation, the triumph of the Holy Cross, the invitation to mass. The trenchants antipon. We should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is our life, our resurrection and our hope. In him we are saved and set free. That's the thing, that's the reminder as we deal with suffering and death. But we do it as people of hope because we've seen the victory of Jesus Christ.
[00:05:57] Speaker A: It's true. It's incredible. When we think about the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the song usually that's sung as an entrance hymn is Lift high the Cross. And we're told to proclaim that it's not just on that day, it's throughout our lives we lift high the cross. The cross with is an instrument of torture. It's an instrument of humility and death. Yet for us it's a sign of victory. It's a sign of victory, it's a sign of salvation.
[00:06:22] Speaker B: It is on Sunday. We're honest. Jesus doesn't ask us to pretend that there's no cross. This is, I think, the amazing thing about Christianity and Catholic Christianity. We don't run away from the cross. We don't pretend it's not rose colored glasses. We don't pretend everything's right with the world. We see and experience suffering. I'm sorry, but we also know there's something greater and we embrace the cross like Jesus embraced his cross because we know we don't carry our crosses on and following.
[00:06:50] Speaker A: You know, you think about at the foot of the cross is our blessed Mother Mary. And we then celebrate on Monday the day Our lady of Sorrows, which commemorates her presence there. The tears that she shed, the reality of the sadness that pained her heart, we can share in that as well, right?
[00:07:08] Speaker B: You know, you talk about the love of a mother. His pain was her pain. And standing by, she experienced his pain. But she also approached that with hope. And she teaches us to do the same. She gives all of us a little bit of hope and teaches us to look to Jesus with hope, to seek in him the healing that we need, the confidence that we need to be able to move forward in our lives and to be instruments of consolation to one another. It's a beautiful scene in the Gospel of John on the cross where Jesus has every right to be concentrating on his own pain and suffering. And he turns to Mary and the beloved disciple, presumably John, and says, woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother. And one level, he's making sure that she's cared for. On another level, he's giving her through the beloved disciple, to the church, to us. And it just goes to show that the depth of Jesus love, even in the midst of the most horrible suffering and pain. There's a great meditation in the office of Readings that comes up in the summer talking about, you know, death is strong, it robs us of an awful lot, but love is stronger. And that's what we see at the Cross, and that's what we see on Monday's Feast of Our lady of Sorrows, that love indeed is stronger than death.
The love of Mary for Jesus, the love of Jesus for Mary, for his beloved disciple, and the love of Jesus for all of us. The love of Christ is stronger than even the cross. He tried himself at that cross. So even Monday's feast is kind of harkens us back to the day before, to that exaltation of the Cross.
[00:08:52] Speaker A: It certainly does. It's a great opportunity for us as a diocese, as you've offered and asked for our diocese to unite in prayer, unite with our Holy Father, Pope Leo, who had called together the Catholics around the world to a day of prayer and fasting for peace. Two weeks ago, we were joined by Father Joe Zwasta, and we talked about this very issue, this very topic of offering this redemptive suffering, offering our penances, our fasting in communion with our Lord, communion with the Church in a moment of prayer, but also in a way in which we are able to do this out rooted in love, like you're mentioning. There was a love that was happening even in the midst of the suffering on the Cross. Jesus loved his mother, loved his disciple, and loved all of us. And out of love for him, we do the same.
[00:09:43] Speaker B: Exactly. So, yes, I'm calling, asking for a day of. I call it a day of prayer and penance. Penance, not in a punitive kind of a sense, but penance in a sense of solidarity with those who are suffering. A day of making those conscious sacrifices, whether it be by fasting, by limiting or even giving up use of social media, by particular very concrete works of charity or service, by taking those prayers and doing some kind of a special devotion, maybe the Stations of the Cross, if you have that opportunity, or time before the Blessed Sacrament.
[00:10:21] Speaker A: And I believe you know that parishes have been announcing this, certainly here at St. Joan of Arc, we've decided to extend our hours of eucharistic adoration to include Monday. Normally, Monday is not a day of extended hours of eucharistic adoration, but on this particular Monday, we will, in order to give our parishioners a chance for more time before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, trying to offer ways in which they can participate and also even in our school children, finding ways for them to participate in this day of prayer and penance for peace in our world. You mentioned all of the situations that we've seen, and it's almost like, Bishop, every day we see a new situation. Our podcast recorded on one particular day, and tomorrow something else can happen. And earlier this week, that poor Ukrainian woman who had been brutally murdered in our own country and just terrible acts of violence. And yet as Catholics, as you mentioned, we're just called to not give up our hope, not give up the pursuit of peace. And it may seem one step forward, two steps backwards, but yet we know that as a people of hope, as a people of prayer, as a people rooted in the cross, yet rooted in the love of the cross and the redemption from the cross, we know that good things are to come. So we certainly have a lot to pray for, both locally in our own local church, in our city, in our nation, and certainly around the world.
[00:11:48] Speaker B: So listen on a little bit more positive note, going back over some of the things we've experienced. Last week I was back in Columbus, Ohio, and I visited some of my own old haunts. I was invited to go there by Damascus. Basically, Damascus is a group of young missionaries. They're great workers. They run a summer camp for teens. And it got all kinds of fun activities, but also a lot of evangelization and focused in on the encounter with Christ. But while I was there, I got to visit with some people, but also to record two interviews. And so we're going to have a couple of crossover sections in the next couple of weeks. You mentioned Our lady of Sorrows. One of the interviews that I had will air there at St Gabriel Radio on September 15th on the Feast of Our lady of Sorrows. We're hoping to be able to release that as a special edition of Big City Catholics.
[00:12:43] Speaker A: Bishop that's absolutely a great, great news and great opportunity for you and for our listeners to participate in and to learn more about these laic movements and these dedicated young folks in our nation who are working as missionaries, whether it be as focus missionaries, Damascus, and even in our own diocese, we have young adults who participate in the frassati movement. I'm sure they were rejoicing last weekend as they witnessed the canonization of Pier Giorgio Frassati. These are great opportunities for us and the young people of our communities to participate and to rejoice with St. Carlo Acutis.
[00:13:26] Speaker B: That's right. Last week I celebrated. We had a Mass at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs and a couple of our youth groups that were present. And then a number of those movements, Shalom de Cristo Focus from Queens College, Juana. They all took an hour. So we had Mass at 07:00', clock, followed by four hours of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. And groups came in and out to keep vigilant in anticipation of the canonization of St Pierre Giorgio Frassati and St Carlo Acutis. And then, of course, all the world was watching on Sunday for the canonization. I was very pleased by the coverage of the canonization in the secular press.
[00:14:10] Speaker A: It certainly was. I'm just so impressed by the great energy that this canonization has caused and the great interest that it's received. You know, Bishop, you and I were present earlier this week at an ordination consecration of an auxiliary bishop in Newark, New Jersey, the now Bishop Bismarck. Chao. Bishop, you know, being ordained yourself as a bishop in 2012 and attending many of these celebrations, but I haven't been to one of those in quite some time. And one of those celebrations, and I was struck by just the beauty of the liturgy and the symbolism within this liturgy. And for me, it was awe inspiring. And I think the same is said when we see canonizations. We're witnessing history. You know, 100 years from now, people will be calling upon the intercession of St. Carlo Tudis. You know, they might be saying, what's an iPhone? You know, but they certainly will call on his intercession. And it's great to see the, the added energy and enthusiasm behind it. Now, maybe 50 years ago, you may have remembered another canonization.
[00:15:16] Speaker B: That's right. This Sunday will mark the 50th anniversary of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton canonization. She was canonized on September 14, 1975.
And yes, I remember that day. I remember the joy and the excitement because she is the first person born in the United States as the United States who was canonized as a saint. And the church in the United States really rejoiced. We were a year before the bicentennial. There was a sense of this national pride. And Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton brings us back to the early days of the nation. Her husband was very ill. She had children. Her husband died. She raised those children. All along she was striving to know the Lord. She was searching to know the Lord. And eventually she found him in the Catholic Church. She's a convert, See, he was an Episcopalian and she found him in the Catholic Church. I think one of the earliest things that connected her to the church was the Eucharist when her husband was ill. And in Italy, she came across a Catholic family. And one of the scenes that really impressed her was that when she saw the priest coming from the church, bringing the Blessed Sacrament to the sick, people in the street would stop, they would kneel, they would really focus in on what was happening. And she to one of her friends, oh, if only we could believe what these dear people believe.
Well, eventually she did. Her searching brought her to the church.
But that sense of searching didn't stop when she became a Catholic. Finding Jesus in the Eucharist drove her to service to she founded a religious order of sisters, the Sisters of Charity. All the different orders of the Sisters of Charity are branches of Elizabeth Ann Seton's work. And of course, one of her great works is she's the beginning of Catholic schools in the United States of which.
[00:17:12] Speaker A: I am so grateful to be the pastor of a parish now with parochial school. I tell you, I miss joining you in last week's podcast with Deacon Kevin McCormick, our superintendent for Catholic schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn. But boy, Bishop, I forgot how good it is to be able to be present for first day of school. And there's just such a liveliness in the parish, such a palpable presence of young people. Yeah, we can thank St Elizabeth Ann Seton for that modern day Catholic education certainly here in our United States of America. So thank you to her. And also just one last piece, super exciting for the parish of St. Joan of Arc. Somebody a parishioner donated who had had an opportunity to meet St. Paula Kudis mother at an event about a year ago in New York City. She donated a first class relic of St. Carlo Acudis for the parish community. And we were able to have a back to school blessing and adore that relic, which has been very exciting for our community as well. So a lot of good things happening. Bishop. So you know, here we are, we're talking about the sufferings, we're talking about the cross, but through it all we are able to lift high that cross and sense that redemption and sense that salvation. So thank you for allowing us to ponder and reflect on that today.
[00:18:31] Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you, Bishop.
[00:18:33] Speaker A: Perhaps you could leave us with a final blessing.
[00:18:36] Speaker B: Sure. 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 his peace. And may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit descend upon you and remain with you forever and ever.
[00:18:50] Speaker A: Amen. Amen. Thank you, Bishop. And thanks to all who continue to join us each and every week on our diocesan podcast, Big City Catholics. We hope that you'll join us again next week. Lift high the cross. God bless you.
