Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 <silence>
Speaker 1 00:00:10 Hello and welcome to another edition of Big City Catholics. I'm Bishop Robert Brennan serving in Brooklyn and in Queens, and I'm glad to bring you the third of our three part series reflecting on the experience of World Youth Day in Lisbon. Last week I had the chance to share with you some of the conversations I had with our young pilgrims during the wrap up dinner as they told me about the experience and about the moments that touch them along the way. Today we'd like to do a shortened podcast and focus in on our experience in Fatima. You know, last week we celebrated on Tuesday the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. And this coming Tuesday we'll celebrate the Queenship of Mary. And so it's a good opportunity to ask Mary's inter session and to realize the role that Mary plays in our lives even now assume body and soul into heaven.
Speaker 1 00:01:02 She continues to lead us, her children, the church to Christ begin as always with the prayer in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Oh God, who made the mother of your son to be our mother and our queen. Graciously grant that sustained by her intercession we may attain in the heavenly kingdom. The glory promise to your children through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I mentioned in this podcast my desire always to have wanted to get to Fatima and to Woods. This was my chance to get to Fatima and I found it to be a very moving experience and I was so glad to see that many of our pilgrims experienced the same. Some of our pilgrims were tapped to take part in the rosary procession at night and I'm glad to bring to you this conversation I had with Patrick. Invite you to listen into that interview. Patrick is a student at St. John's University going into his senior year, but he's also a parishioner of Maria Regina Parish in Seaford Parish and Seaford joined with the Brooklyn Queens' contingent for the pilgrimage. How was the experience of the pilgrimage for you? I
Speaker 2 00:02:16 Thought it was pretty cool. I thought it was really eyeopening. The main thing that stuck out to me was definitely the energy of the people. Just seeing people from all around the world, all sharing that one special, I guess trait you can call it and like our Catholic faith is, it's really cool to see 'cause in the modern world, you feel like, especially now, like especially being young, practicing your faith is kind of like, you feel like you're in the minority a little bit, but um, when you're in that environment with millions of people, it makes you feel right at home. So I would definitely say the energy that people,
Speaker 1 00:02:46 It was great seeing it all build up during the week, wasn't it Pilgrim's groups with the flags? Oh yeah. People shouting to one another.
Speaker 2 00:02:53 Yeah, we were actually, it's funny you say that. We were in the subway station going, I think it was going to stations of the cross to see the pope. I think it was a big group from Spain. They had their speakers, their, their drums, their tambourines, their singing songs. It's pretty cool to see like different cultures too. And tapping into what I said before, like just seeing all different kinds of people from all around the world. But all sharing that same love for the faith was, it was a really cool experience.
Speaker 1 00:03:18 You know, one of the things I was most looking forward to was the visit to Fatima. I always wanted to get to Fatima and to Lloyd's. I've never been to either place. So I was really looking forward to this visit. Turns out I was there twice <laugh> with the bishops one day and then the pilgrimage the next day. And I have to say the Pilgrim group was just so much more amazing because it was filled with a lot of different experiences. We didn't just go to the shrine, we went to the village and we were there for the candlelight procession at night. Now you were called to take a pretty special role in that.
Speaker 2 00:03:49 I was last minute too. I was asked to uh, helping carry the blessed mother around during the procession. And uh, I thought that was a really cool experience overall. It was a little nerve wracking at first. 'cause first off, this actions there didn't really speak the language very well, so that was kind of hard to figure out exactly what to do. But also it's just a lot. And there was like a lot of pressure 'cause it's a very big group, but, um, we got it done and it was, uh, it was, it was pretty cool. It was a good honor.
Speaker 1 00:04:15 That's great. The procession with the blessed mother, you have how many people hold the statue? Six, six people holding the anda. Yeah, that's the stand of the statue. And that's a pretty famous statue. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, that's the statue that would've had the bullet that Pope John Paul the second would've given. That's a pretty important emotional piece. And you were bringing it around to the people and all of us were following with all the candles and you had a unique point of view from what you were doing.
Speaker 2 00:04:42 Yeah, I mean, one thing that I'd like to highlight was when you're carrying that, you're obviously, I was saying before there's so many people watching, but at the same time that means that you get to watch all these different people too. Everybody has their eyes focused on it and you get to see everybody's reaction. It was really powerful seeing some people, like there were a lot of people crying and just really in the moment and it's, it hits pretty hard and it's like, it's a strong moment. So I'd definitely say that was one of the turning points that really got me into the, the whole World East Day event.
Speaker 1 00:05:15 You know, the message of Fattom is so important and it makes sense today. It's more than a hundred years ago that it happened and it happened during the First World War and people were really suffering. It would come to call out the names of the war dead from the different cities. And so people were really overwhelmed by the reality of war. We hear a lot of that today, don't we? Yeah. Yet Mary comes speaking a message of peace. The message of mercy. When people are ready to give up on the world, she reminds us that God never gives up on us and she points us in the direction of mercy. So you brought that gift of mercy by leading the procession? Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:05:52 I I, I hope so.
Speaker 1 00:05:54 Now, you and I met before this pilgrimage and in fact as we were talking before you served mass at St. John's University, I was there for the student mass and you were serving, and St. John's community was raising money for their part of this pilgrimage. And you told me then that you were coming not with St John's, but with your parish, the parishes, Marie Regina. Have you been serving there for a while?
Speaker 2 00:06:15 Uh, yeah. I served there from a young age, I wanna say like fourth grade. And then, uh, in high school I worked as a ston there for like four or five years. So I'd say, I mean, not as much now as I used to be, but I'm more, I'm more involved at, obviously at school 'cause I'm living there. But when I can, I try to be involved in my home parish as much as possible.
Speaker 1 00:06:32 That's a great thing. What drew you to answer the call to come on this pilgrimage?
Speaker 2 00:06:37 I would've to say, there's a couple reasons. A lot of my friends from St. John's were going, I found that out, so I thought that would be pretty cool. My mom helped me with some convincing 'cause it is a big commitment. It's in Europe, but also I just, I felt an urge to just go and experience that and just to kind of see what happens because for my, the group that I went with my home parish, I didn't really know anybody that well. So that was a little nerve wracking going by myself, not really knowing too many people, not knowing who I was gonna spend the next eight or so days with. But I made some really good friends. We shed a lot of laughs and a lot of, a lot of good memories for sure. So I'm, I'm definitely glad I decided to, to push through.
Speaker 1 00:07:14 I'm so glad you did too. These days really do stretch our limits a bit, don't they? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you're coming off of two long journeys by foot on hot days. Two unusually hot days in Lisbon. Oh yeah. How did that happen? Right. Weather was so beautiful and, and then it hits a hundred on the very days she were walking to and from the celebration. So there's a lot of stretching, but I think that through this experience, sometimes through the hard times, your friendships are even stronger because mm-hmm. <affirmative>, it's something that happens in relationships.
Speaker 2 00:07:43 Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 00:07:45 Well, thank you. We are now having our farewell dinner wrapping things up, and I think everyone's gotten the excitement back after an exhausting couple of days. Oh
Speaker 2 00:07:52 Yeah. I'm ready to go.
Speaker 1 00:07:53 Well, good. Thank you very much. Thank you for bearing witness to Marriot Fatima, you did a great service to thousands of people you'll never meet again, but who are really touched by you leading the procession. Thanks for being part of this and you bring the whole experience home with you now. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 00:08:07 <affirmative>. Absolutely. I gotta spread the
Speaker 1 00:08:09 Word. I'll see you at St. John's. See you Bishop. Thanks again to Patrick and to all of those who participated in the various conversations that I shared with you over the last couple of weeks. As I mentioned at the beginning of the podcast, we just celebrated the feast of the assumption of Mary, and we heard the gospel of the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, where Mary rises up in haste and makes way to the hill country of Judea. After she hears the message of the angel Gabriel. She goes, she rises up, she goes and haste, she goes to be with Elizabeth in her need. That was one of the major themes throughout the world. Youth Day this year. Rise up, rise up, marry your rose in haste, and our Holy Father then encouraged the young people to do the same. Now, to have encountered Jesus, to rise up and to bring the message of Jesus back home.
Speaker 1 00:09:00 Over these last few weeks, I've been asking you to pray for the pilgrims that they might have this powerful encounter with Jesus Christ. Now, I ask you to pray for them. Pray for them that now with this encounter, they may be for us powerful witnesses of the love of God in the world, powerful witnesses of faith in Jesus Christ, powerful witnesses with his message of hope, of peace in Fatima, we looked to Mary, who is the queen of peace and remembered her appearance to those young children during a time of great war. I ask you to close with me now. We pray the Memorare asking Mary to pray with us for peace in our world, for peace, in our homes, for peace, in our cities, for peace, for all those who are struggling. In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1 00:09:49 Amen. Remember almost gracious Virgin Mary that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection implore yours, help or sought your intercession, was left unh inspired with this confidence we fly unto you, oh, Virgin of Virgins, our mother to you. We come before you. We stand sinful and sorrowful or mother of the word incarnate, despised not our petitions, but in your clemency here and answer us. Amen. The Lord be with you. And with your spirit, may Almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Friends, I look forward to being home this coming week and to resuming our regular schedule for big city Catholics. Until then, God bless you and enjoy these days of summer.
