Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Welcome back to another edition of our diocesan podcast, Big City Catholic, with Bishop Robert Brennan, the Diocesan Bishop of Brooklyn, serving in Brooklyn and Queens, and myself, Father Christopher Henry, pastor of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Queens. As we begin this episode, we'll begin in prayer. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen. Bringing our prayers to our Heavenly Father, we pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
[00:00:36] Speaker B: Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. In the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:00:48] Speaker A: Bishop There's a lot going on as we were prepping for this podcast. We're just talking about everything that's happening.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: It's an exciting time. October is always just jam packed, but this year we are revving up for a big weekend.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: Yes. Well, before we get into that, Bishop, let's go backwards a little bit and talk about some of the excitements that you've been participating in. I know that The Sisters of St. Joseph, we had a beautiful article in our newspaper, the tablet, about their 375th anniversary, and there was a gala event and then you were able to celebrate with them as well.
[00:01:20] Speaker B: Exactly. So, you know, their foundations are here in Brooklyn. So it's 375 years for all of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Six women and a Jesuit priest set out basically to love the dear neighbor, to work on behalf of the people in their area, living out the works of the Gospel in very powerful and concrete ways.
And they began this congregation, a public association of the faithful, which became a religious congregation which has branches all around the world today.
So they did this back in this 17th century when life was difficult for people in Europe, in France, where there was disease and poverty and violence, and they met the needs. And then 175 years, they exactly did that. In the French Revolution, there were martyrs among their numbers. They really. Here in Brooklyn. They were here in Brooklyn. Soon after we became a diocese after Bishop Lachlan began his ministry. I think we began in 1853, and they came to Brooklyn in 1856. The history of the Sisters of St. Joseph really aligns with the history of the Diocese of Brooklyn. And you can see the many different overlappings, their ministries, their presence in our Catholic schools, the presence of a university, St. Joseph's College, now St. Joseph's University, their work in healthcare and Then as educators, some of them going on for further degrees and doing all kinds of work. Missionaries. They had missions in Puerto Rico, in the Dominican Republic. I got to visit one of those missions in the Dominican Republic. They do fascinating work. They work with immigrant populations today and accompany women and families. So it was really a great thing to celebrate with them this tremendous, tremendous legacy. And I thought of how many people were educated by the Sisters of St. Joseph. A lot of appreciation for what they've learned.
[00:03:21] Speaker A: You know, Bishop, Then they celebrated this anniversary. They gave out these beautiful commemorative, like, handbooks. It had basically all the superior generals and now presidents of the congregation. But it did have a chronological timeline of their work. And specifically in Brooklyn, in our diocese. It just was incredible, as you said, like the growth of this community in all these schools throughout the diocese, founding schools, serving in schools, founding hospitals, serving in hospitals. It's incredible the impact that these faithful women had in our diocese. And unfortunately, as we know, there's such a decrease decline in vocations throughout in our society, and they're no stranger to that separation either. The fact still remains that they've made an incredible impact in. In our diocese.
[00:04:09] Speaker B: And yeah, and you know, you speak of vocations, the sisters were responsible for many priestly vocations. It was the sisters who encourage the boys in the grammar schools to think about being a priest and really promoted the idea of a vocation and planted the seed in individual people where they saw some promise of a vocation. A lot of priests my age and older, probably more so because then as the time went on, there were fewer encounters with the sisters. But a lot of priests owe their vocations to a sister or to some sisters. So we're grateful for that. Interestingly, I was with the sisters just a couple of days before on Friday for the 60th anniversary of a Franciscan brother, Brother John Lawrence. He was a great teacher. He was a teacher of languages and he did like to travel. And During Hurricane Sandy 13 years ago, he had a massive stroke and he's been bedridden ever since. 13 years. A man who. He has his intellect, he's fully with it. He's a man of great intellect and yet he's bedridden. I thought of Francis, St. Francis and the stigmata being conformed to Christ and his suffering. And he's been living these 13 years in Maria Regina, which is at the mother house of The Sisters of St. Joseph, where now there's an actual nursing home, rehabilitation center as well. And wow, the care that they have given to him and to so many others is incredible because it has that pastoral heart. You know, it has what another nursing home would have, but it has The Sisters of St. Joseph written all around it. It's in the walls, it's on the lips of the people, is everywhere you go.
[00:05:53] Speaker A: Yeah, bishop, you know, 375 years and there is a great achievement. There's a thousandth anniversary that also you were celebrating with as a diocese with our Polish brethren.
[00:06:04] Speaker B: So this weekend we celebrated our annual Polish Heritage Day. And it was a great gathering of people from all of the many different parishes. There were busloads of people. People came in their native Polish custom, the dress and all of that. There was the traditional music, then the prayers.
I was really touched by the young people. I always am. There's a custom of the Polish schools where they kind of combine the catechesis and Polish customs and language. These kids, they came in procession, that flag bearers who stood the whole mass and they were really very good natured. And my message is always the same to them. Realize what a tremendous gift that has been handed on to you. And it's a little more poignant this year because celebrating a thousand year history as a nation, as a culture. The archbishop who spoke, Archbishop Vyslav, he brought together that sense of faith and culture. And so to say to these young people, not only your parents and their parents before them, but generations of people, people died for the passing on of this legacy, this gift of faith in Polish history. It's replete with martyrs and people making sacrifices and we think in what I would call modern times.
But you know, of the Nazi invasion and the communist occupation, Poland stayed strong in the faith. And of course we celebrated earlier this week the feast of St. John Paul II. And the great Polish pope in the later 20th century was a tremendous voice for faith and culture and for making moon open wide the doors of your heart. Don't be afraid to open wide the doors to Christ.
[00:07:51] Speaker A: A beautiful celebration indeed. And you were quoted in our DAS newspaper in the Tablet about this occasion. And you spoke about the color guard, the young men and people that were standing through the whole ceremony holding the flags. And as you said, it's not like it was penitential for them. It's not some. It's not something new necessarily for them. It's something that they're used to. It's. It's a part of their culture. It's a part of. And how they accept it and how they appreciate it. It's a great thing, especially in a time in a society that's trying to almost, at times, it seems like, forget the past and rewrite history and create new social trends. And yet this they stand as a reminder, especially to teach their young people, don't forget where we came from. And we see it. Not to get too political, Bishop, but we do see, sadly, that all that Pope St. John Paul II helped to fight against socialism and communism and all.
[00:08:48] Speaker B: Back in, you know, a couple of things. One in Poland, as in Ireland, is coming now to a generation that doesn't remember those things. And you do see kind of a move away from the faith, something I go back to all the time. 1979, Pope John Paul, a year into his pontificate, visit Ireland and the United States. And in Galway, long before World Youth Day, he gathered the youth of the country.
And during that gathering, he said, you know, you can see the signs of prosperity coming.
You can see things getting better here, you know.
But he said, ireland, don't lose your soul. What a prophetic message that was. And as you say, even here, it's interesting. It's great to see some of the rise of religion, but you also see great turning away from it, a rise of secularism.
Last week, in that letter of St. Paul to Timothy, Paul says, preach, proclaim the gospel, be persistent in season, out of season, when it's convenient and when it's not.
And people talk about kind of the rise of the faith among young people today, and we are seeing signs of that. And that's good, that's encouraging. But, you know, the seasons change, and this the call of the gospel, to remain faithful, to remain strong, to remain bold, joyful, unapologetic, in season and out of season. And when you have a culture or a group of people who are accepting of it and excited, rejoice, be glad for that. And like, let's advance the kingdom.
But also when it's not convenient, you know, like you say, when you see a rise of secularism, more social difficulty, it's important to stay strong in all seasons.
[00:10:37] Speaker A: Yeah, the message remains the same. It's, you know, holding true to that.
[00:10:40] Speaker B: It's holding true to that firm message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[00:10:44] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:10:46] Speaker B: And speaking about being persistent, speaking about the joyful moments, we have a big weekend coming up.
[00:10:52] Speaker A: So the day that this podcast releases, right. On Friday the 24th of October, you and I, both, in different ways, will be making our way down to Washington, D.C. in preparation for our diocesan pilgrimage taking place on Saturday the 25th.
[00:11:06] Speaker B: The numbers are somewhere over 3,000.
[00:11:09] Speaker A: That's incredible. That's Going to be really incredible. Buses from all over the diocese, parishes coming down in great number to make this diocese and pilgrimage, which happens once every three years. This will be your second. Yeah.
[00:11:23] Speaker B: Just shy of my first year. We made our first pilgrimage. I was so impressed. We're at the perfect distance. You know, it's a good drive, so you're getting away, but it's something you can do there and back in a day. Or if you want to make a weekend of it.
[00:11:38] Speaker A: It's enough to be penitential to an extent, but also.
[00:11:42] Speaker B: But right. But not too bad at that.
[00:11:45] Speaker A: The pilgrimage needs to have some sense.
[00:11:47] Speaker B: Of sacrifice, but, you know, it's a chance to be somewhere else and to pray together. There's a chance for the Church of Brooklyn and Queens to gather in a national spot of importance to make that pilgrimage. Yeah. Penitential, prayerful, joyful. To do something for the Lord, but to do it together. It's always a nice day. So we've been building up to it. When we went for the first pilgrimage, which was, like I said, just within a year of my time in Brooklyn, Queensland, Monsignor Ronano, a Brooklyn priest, was quick to say, so when are you coming next?
And I think at that point, they may have been doing it every other year. We had lost a year because of COVID so we kind of stayed with the three year cycle. It was three years, so let's do another three years. Part of it thinking, you know, 2025 will be a jubilee year. That turned out to be the case. And boy, am I glad we're going this year.
[00:12:46] Speaker A: Yeah, no, it's. It's a great gift to be able to be there and to be able to welcome all the faithful. There's a lot of energy that happens. And next week's podcast will be an on the road podcast with you, Bishop, interviewing some of the pilgrims and catching up with some of those that will be joining us. I'm looking forward to that and I hope that our, our listeners will tune in to that next week. But next week's podcast will Release on the 31st.
Friday the 31st, All Hallows Eve. And we kind of get a chance now to, to talk a little bit about it. We'll have an opportunity to delve into this more deeply throughout the month of November. But boy, I mean, Friday the 31st, we're not going to get much of a chance to talk about this in next week's podcast. But Saturday, the first All Saints Day, Sunday, the second All Souls Day, two super important days in our Church liturgical year and setting the tone for the whole month of November. So, Bishop, it's a great teachable moment.
[00:13:42] Speaker B: It really is. All same say, of course, we think of all those who are in heaven with God, to use the language of the book of Revelation, those who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, who had survived the turmoil, but had washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. In other words, people who did their best, but really had to rely on the help and the mercy of God. And this, we think of some of the great saints whose names are listed in the canon of the church, but we also think about the saints who are lesser known. That's what's so great about this day. This is everybody's feast day. When you think of how many people have made this trek of life, stayed faithful or tried to stay faithful, experience God's mercy and forgiveness. We're now in heaven with God, so we celebrate them.
But at the same time, on Sunday, we remember all those who have died. And that's a little bit more of a somber gathering. So what do we do on that day? Well, you know, we pray for those who have died, who are in need of our prayers, who are making their way, you might say, crossing through the curtain between time and space into eternity, those seeking God's mercy. And we remember, really, what is it about for all of us, you know, that you and I were made to live forever, that our ultimate destiny is to be with God. We have to, on the one hand, try to make choices in this life, try to live a life that leads us to God, leads us to heaven. But we also know that we're not perfect and we're in need of God's help and mercy, and we pray for that for ourselves and for one another.
[00:15:25] Speaker A: What strikes me, I mean, it's a beautiful day, the 2nd of November, and it's an opportunity, you know, to bring our families together, families who have suffered the loss of a loved one throughout that past year. And, and anyone, really, everyone who's lost a loved one at any point of their lives. But what I think is striking, when it falls on a Sunday, as it, it trumps the. The. The day as. As it takes precedence over that Sunday. But Sunday is the day when our faithful are normally available to come for Holy Mass. So it gives them a chance who may not have been able to come to the Mass, even though, regardless of the obligation on the first, that it gives them a chance to come to that Mass, to experience the readings of that Mass, to experience the message of that Mass, of that solemnity, and to be inspired by it precisely when it.
[00:16:18] Speaker B: Falls during the week. You do see more people in the church than you normally would on a weekday or a weeknight. But there's something about the fact that it's on Sunday that's going to have a special blessing this year. And interestingly, the following Sunday is yet another feast, a lesser known feast, but the feast of St. John Lateran, when we celebrate really our communion with the Holy Father, that we're all one in Christ, you know, and united with the Pope, with the Church of Rome. The Lateran Cathedral is the cathedral for the city of Rome. So we have a couple of Sundays coming up that are going to be pretty special. Every once in a while, a break from the routine is good for the soul. I also want to make a point for this week. On Wednesday of this week, 29th October, at 7 o', clock, we have our annual Mass of hope and healing for all those survivors of abuse of any kind, but particularly sexual abuse, whether it be in the church, in families, in society.
It's something that's a great tradition that we have here, and a good number of priests make a point to come to that many faithful come is usually well attended. It's a chance to pray together, pray with the spirit of penance for what's happened or what's been allowed to happen, praying for healing, especially for those who suffered this abuse firsthand, and praying in a sense of hope that healing does in fact come about and we can move together in a spirit of hope, encouraging one another along that path of healing. That's on Wednesday this week, 29 October, at Saint Finbar.
[00:18:01] Speaker A: Again, there's an article in this week's Tablet about this upcoming Mass of hope and healing and how it's been truly beneficial to those survivors of sexual abuse and for those who are there just to show signs of solidarity and support with them. Bishop, thank you. It is true that I know how incredibly important that Mass is for the community and for those who have suffered sexual abuse and those certainly to show signs of solidarity and support in prayer. And I think, speaking of prayer, perhaps you could end with a prayer. And we pray for our diocese, our pilgrims. We pray for those pilgrims down to D.C. we pray for those who are suffering the loss of a loved one, especially during these days of All Souls Day and throughout the month of November, praying for the dead. We've got a lot to pray for. We've got a lot to be grateful for. You could give us your blessing. Sure.
[00:18:55] Speaker B: And the Lord, we place all of these things before you with great hope and confidence, asking your blessing upon us and all of our families. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:19:08] Speaker A: Amen. Thank you, Bishop. I look forward to joining you on the road in Washington, D.C. and all those who join us each and every week in our upcoming podcast, Big City Catholics. God bless you.
