Episode Transcript
[00:00:10] Speaker A: Welcome back to another edition of our diocesan podcast, big city Catholics with bishop Robert Brennan, the bishop of the diocese of Brooklyn and queens. Myself, father Christopher hennyu, the rector of the co cathedral of st. Joseph. We begin our podcast always in prayer. In a particular way. We pray for peace, this time, peace in our world, as we pray the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
[00:00:32] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:00:33] Speaker A: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned. And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. Bishop, speaking of peace, this past week we celebrated, on behalf of the Holy Father's request, a day of prayer.
[00:01:20] Speaker B: Last Friday was designated by Pope Francis as a day of prayer and fasting for peace. And when I had gathered with the pastors earlier in the week, we spoke about doing something at some appropriate time. And I think the next day, or maybe even that very day, the Pope called for and designated last Friday. So it was timely. It meant getting the word out rather quickly. And I know a number of the pastors in the diocese did want to do things. So a lot of our parishes had devotions after the Friday Mass. A lot of our parishes, like at the Coke Cathedral, have adoration regularly on Fridays.
[00:01:58] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:01:58] Speaker B: And so, basically, they use that time as a dedicated time for prayer for peace. Some prayed the rosary, but prayed the rosary with special prayers for peace. People did all kinds of things. So here on a diocesan level, I took advantage of the noon Mass at St. James Cathedral. And there, too, Father Patterson always has on Fridays a holy hour before the Mass leading into the Mass. So we made that an hour of prayer for peace. But it was great because Pope Francis was praying at 06:00, Rome time.
[00:02:30] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:02:31] Speaker B: And so we had Mass at noon. Here, I believe NetTV showed his prayer later on after the Mass so that people could participate with him in prayer. But at least we were all united in a moment of prayer. I often say we all placed ourselves in the heart of God at the same time. Same time. Obviously, God isn't bound by time and place. Eternity isn't just forever and ever. Eternity is outside of this space of time. But on a human level, we gathered together. We were united even across the globe.
[00:03:03] Speaker A: I'm struck by that in our universal know, the beauty of the power of the Holy Father calling to all of us together in one day across the again, like, sometimes I think we can focus on our local church here in Brooklyn, here in Queens, and with our blinders on. Yet the whole world was united in prayer. And I preached at that Friday morning. I said, Please make this a real day of prayer. Like, this is an invitation that the Holy Father is asking you. Make a sacrifice, offer a prayer, please.
[00:03:32] Speaker B: And two things about that. One. He certainly called Catholics to prayer, he certainly called Catholics to prayer, but he extended it to all people to Christians, non Christians, for all people of goodwill to be praying for peace, especially given the terrorist attacks in Israel and praying for those who are now living with the aftermath of those terrorist attacks and the concerns of this possibly escalating. But the other interesting thing I was asked, well, what difference does it make? Actually, I was asked these questions in the context of the media, and I love that fact that they asked those questions because it gives you the chance to talk about it. Like, what does it really do? What difference about me getting on my knees in Brooklyn have over in Israel or in Ukraine or these wars around the world? And the answer is, it does make a difference. Prayer isn't about trying to change God's mind. It's not that at all. It's not like God saying, okay, I think I'm going to throw war in this place of the world. Prayer is about making an act of the will, placing ourselves before God, humbling ourselves before God, and asking that we and the world be conformed to God's will. I don't have the exact quote, and I don't know exactly where he said it, but I know the late Saint Oscar Romero had a line, something along the lines, there's no revolution more effective than the authentic conversion of the human does. And, you know, like the yeast we had in the Gospel this week, like the yeast in the bread a little bit, it has a greater effect. But the key thing, I love this pope Francis, back at the time of the Pandemic, in his prayer then, and even in his prayer for peace here, he said, god, we've tried it our way and we're failing miserably. We try to do it our way.
[00:05:22] Speaker A: It's not working.
[00:05:23] Speaker B: It's not working. And we turn to you. The other thing that happened a week ago, I was in Orysville for the Eucharistic revival on the state level, and Bishop Espayati, he had a great line in there. He says, one of our problems for us Christians is that our knees are too.
[00:05:48] Speaker A: Profound.
[00:05:49] Speaker B: So, yeah, that we did pray. Now, the war in itself is concerning, and the terrorist attacks and the ongoing terrorism, and even the way that Hamas is treating its own people, human shields and all that, it's just incomprehensible. But that said, I am deeply concerned about what's going on right here around us. I had mentioned that I was concerned about the rise of anti Semitic rhetoric in New York City. I mentioned the concern about violence that's happened in some places around the world. Anti Semitic violence. I'm horrified by the level of anti Semitic violence. Now, I know the political situation in Israel. It's a very complicated situation, and there are political debates that can and should be had that's legitimate. But what's showing itself is raw anti Semitism, and that's abhorrent. We had an issue this week. One of our churches was targeted. St. Charles church was targeted with the SWAT sticker on Sunday afternoon. Sunday evening? Wow. Who would do that? Who would do that? You know what? Who would do part of it? Part of it is an ignorant group of people who don't know the reality of what happened under the Nazi regime. Part of it is a level of hatred. So who would attack, in a sense, a Catholic church with a symbol of Jewish hate? It's just inconceivable. It's absolutely despicable. And some of the local I'm not going to say that the demonstrations I mean, demonstrations are part of our heritage as Americans, part of our rights. Yeah. But some of them display pure hatred, pure anti Semitic hatred. And anti Semitism is a form of racism. And racism is prejudice against any group because of race, ethnicity, religion. And so we have to decry any bit of racism that exists in the world. I think what really is concerning is, on the one hand, to see it happening, but on the other hand, to see it as being excused. That's baffling when you see in some circles that they try to justify these acts, the acts and the hatred against a group of people. So indeed, we pray for peace. We pray for peace throughout the world. We pray for those who are in harm's way, pray for all the innocent civilians, and we pray for everybody, jewish people, Palestinians. But first of all, I need to say a word of solidarity with our Jewish neighbors and friends. There are many Jewish families here, and especially Brooklyn Queens, who have family affected by the war and are incredibly worried. So we stand with them. We stand with those who are suffering because of some of the hatred that's around. We stand in strong solidarity with our neighbors. So we keep praying. Can you believe we're already in November? It's wild.
[00:08:33] Speaker A: And we talk about all this that's happening in the world, I think, in a sort of a light way, but in a real way. It makes me long for when the Prince of Peace will reign in our world and where eternal life comes in, where we can be in a place of eternal peace with God. November is a month of remembrance, a month of prayer.
[00:08:53] Speaker B: It starts off in an impactful way, but November starts off very, very powerfully. We get right to it. On the 1 November we celebrated this week, All Saints Day.
[00:09:03] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:09:03] Speaker B: A holy day of obligation. We celebrated with all the saints, and then on Thursday, we celebrated All Souls Day in that sense of remembrance. So we get right to the heart of it, right to the point. And we're reminded in the Western Hemisphere, it kind of fits the time in the season, right?
[00:09:22] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:09:22] Speaker B: As the leaves are turning, just this week, watching to see the colors, and I saw them upstate, saw a little bit, but all of a sudden, this week, with the rain on Sunday, I'm seeing them on the ground.
[00:09:33] Speaker A: They're all on.
[00:09:35] Speaker B: So you see the signs of the harvest, you see the signs of the changing of the seasons. In a sense, it's like a dying a time of dormition.
[00:09:43] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:09:44] Speaker B: But this time of dormission always has the hope of new life to come. And that's exactly what these days of November are for us in the Church, we remember those who have died from our own members of family. All Saints Day is actually celebrating not only the canonized saints, but all the saints who are in heaven with God.
[00:10:04] Speaker A: What a beautiful way to be reminded of the need for the hope of eternal life and what's to come. To be inspired by the lives of the saints, inspired by their example and, as you said, both canonized and not officially canonized. The lives of so many that are inspirational to us, and then to realize our earthly existence is not one that is meant to be forever and that.
[00:10:27] Speaker B: We are, but we are created for eternity. Exactly. So this life on earth is not forever, but that we're created for something greater. I'm struck in a nice way about how on November 1, before we get to the commemoration of all the dead, we begin by proclaiming our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We begin in a joyful way and boldly celebrating all those who are living eternity in heaven with God I love on All Saints Day the reading from the Book of Revelation. There's a great line there like, who are these people who are standing before the throne and before the Lamb? And the answer is, you know the answer. These are the ones who have survived the trials and the tribulations and have washed their cloaks in the blood of the Lamb. The saints aren't meant to be superheroes. They're the men and the women who dealt with the trials and the tribulations of life.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:11:24] Speaker B: We all go through it. We've all gone through it. Who are the saints? The Saints are the people who live the lives that you and I are living and doing the best they can with what they have, dealing with the struggles of ordinary human life. They didn't live in plastic bubbles. They lived the reality of human life with all its good and bad. And yet they've strived to be faithful in the midst of that living in the world and all of its difficulties. They held tight and they washed their cloaks in the blood of the Lamb, which means they realized they couldn't do it themselves.
[00:11:55] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:11:55] Speaker B: They needed the help and the mercy that comes from God. They turned to Jesus Christ and they attached themselves to him. That's what makes us saint. To do the best you can, to live faithfully in the midst of everything going on in the world, but also to realize that none of us makes it on our own. It's like that prayer for peace. We tried it our way, can't do it our way, not work without attach ourselves to Jesus. And that's how we begin. So we begin on a joyful note, and, if I may, and a hopeful.
[00:12:23] Speaker A: Note we certainly do. What I loved about being at a parish with a Catholic academy and many of our Catholic academies throughout the diocese on All Saints Day, the young children will dress up as a particular saint. That's right.
[00:12:35] Speaker B: And so we do remember the canonized saints. And exactly. In fact, my niece, who lives down in Baltimore, sent me a photo of her children. The four of them were dressed as saints, even the youngest, the almost two year old. So they all went to church as saints or as Blessed Carlo or Kudas.
It's refreshing to see that tradition continue.
[00:12:57] Speaker A: On, but it's joy filled as we start the month on that note of joy, celebrating the lives of the great saints and of all those.
[00:13:06] Speaker B: And then, in a sense, it's like I don't know if you've ever done this. You begin the mystery by reading the last chapter.
We know the end of the story. We start off with the end of the story. And so that's what we are doing. We're starting with the end of the story. Yeah.
[00:13:20] Speaker A: And so then we move into this beautiful month of just remembrance. Of course not just, certainly All Souls Day, which I think you and I had spoken about of the two days, All Saints and All Souls. Maybe it's the Irish and me. I love All Souls Day. I think for me, as a priest, the people who come to Mass on that day, although not a day of obligation, many more come, I think, on All Souls Day, to remember in a particular way their loved ones, their parents, their grandparents, but to be reminded that every day at Mass is a day of remembrance. Every day at Mass is a chance to pray for those who have died and to be united with our loved ones. And so we enter into that month of remembrance.
[00:14:03] Speaker B: It has a more somber, serious tone. We're not making believe. We're not putting on emotions. It has the serious tones, but it still has the undercurrent of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus, of his victory over sin and death. But yeah, there's something a little more personal about All Souls Day. I think we can connect with personal losses, sometimes recent losses, sometimes generational losses. So there is that sense that draws you back to the reality of life and death. It touches us all. We all lose people we love. It's a reality. And one of the things Christians don't run away from reality. We don't pretend that there's not death, and we don't pretend that death isn't sorrowful. Again, I love the line of St. Paul in his letter to the thessalonians brothers and sisters. We would have you be clear about those who sleep in death. Otherwise you might grieve like those who have no hope. He doesn't say, don't grieve. Grief is real. Grief is an expression of love. But we would have you grieve as people who have hope. We have you grieve as people who have hope, and that's the difference. So I'm saddened for the loss of the person who I knew and loved and the change that this means for my life. And there's an ache that remains for a very long time, especially like with the widow or widower or it might be a lifetime. There's an ache that doesn't necessarily go away. We grieve, but we grieve with hope because we look forward to the fullness of life for that person. And we look forward to the life to come where we will be reunited with God, with our loved ones, for all eternity.
[00:15:49] Speaker A: When you mentioned we don't run away from reality, I often am asked a good number of times. People say, why are Catholic funerals? If we're meant to be celebrating the life and celebrating eternal life of the deceased, of the departed? Why does it seem so sad? Because we're not running from reality. We are sad.
[00:16:08] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:09] Speaker A: We are both saddened by the loss of our loved one and joy filled in the hope of what's to come for them.
[00:16:15] Speaker B: And some of those situations are tragic too. You can see the depths of the emotion. But we don't give up. I'm going through all the different funeral readings. One of the readings we don't use very often, but that I reflect on a lot is from the Book of Maccabees. And basically what happened is that there was a battle and a lot of people were fallen. And it turns out that some of them were wearing an amulet, a medallion to a pagan god, kind of like covering all bases. And basically the faithful prayed for them and took up a collection to make a sacrificial offering on behalf of those who had died, to pray for those who had died, for the forgiveness of their sins. And I love this in doing so. The author of the Book of Maccabee says they acted in an excellent and noble way. For they had the view of the resurrection of the dead in mind, because if they did not believe in the resurrection from the dead, it would be useless to pray for them. And so there too, even grief itself is an expression of faith in the resurrection, because what good does it do to grieve? What's gone is gone, what's over is over. But that's what grieving with hope is about. We grieve because we long, because we long for something, we long for the fullness. We long with hope for the resurrection. And that's another piece that we need to recover too. November is not only about remembrance, it's about prayer. It's about praying for those who died. The Scriptures tell us over and over again that we need to pray. We pray asking for the mercy, for God's forgiveness. We pray asking for the Lord to grant to this person the fullness of life. Again, as I said in the beginning, we're not trying to change God's mind, but it's that conforming, it's our reuniting with the person who died. And we ask them to pray for us still on the way. So we talk about the communion of saints, the bonds of affection that tie us together in this life do not unravel in death. So we're still connected to one another. And we do need to pray for those who have died. That's what the Lord asks us to do. And that prayer, like the Book of Maccabee says, is an expression of that faith and hope. Because prayers would be useless if we didn't believe in the resurrection, if we didn't believe that there was life after death, and if we didn't believe the last things, death and judgment and eternal life, we take with us all the good we've attempted to do. We pray for those who have died, that they lived the faithful life, survived the trials and tribulations of this life. We pray that they united with Jesus Christ, and so we commend them to the loving hands of God. In prayer.
[00:18:53] Speaker A: I once heard someone say it's a very depressing thought, but it's just this sort of this secular world that's seeping into the minds of our youth and people of this world that when the last person on earth who remembers us say, someone died 100 years ago, and the last person on earth who remembered that person dies. Once your memory ceases from existence, you're not an author, you're not written about that. You're no longer remembered, you're forgotten forever. They thought like, this is why we have to make a name for ourself. It's totally a lack of humility, of totally falling into the sin of pride, et cetera. But the reality is that in our Church, no one is forgotten, ever. We're praying for people who have died, not just yesterday or within this year.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: All Souls Day is about All Souls. So the Church commits itself in a very special way. First of all, every single eucharist. Every single eucharist. We pray for those who have died, for those whom we know and for those who have died throughout the ages.
[00:19:49] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:19:50] Speaker B: Bring them and all the departed into the light of your face. So we're praying we're connected with that communion, saying praying for people, for all the ages. But the other thing is that we're never forgotten by God that's what's know. I may have said this before when I was secretary to Bishop McGann, the rector of the cathedral was Monsignor Mulligan, he was my high school principal. So I ended up serving alongside of my high school principal. And he had an expression he used at funerals all the time. He said this every single funeral. He spoke about how the world talks about they continue to live in our memories. And he said that's probably the most fragile place to live. Yes, of course. Our beloved, more recent dead are in our memories. We keep their memories alive, we tell the stories. Those are things that are important to do. But we don't do it to keep them alive. They're alive, they're living with God. We do that to keep us in their presence, to keep them before our eyes, to remember that they are alive, that we're not just talking about a person from the past but they don't live in our memory, they live in eternity with God. Our memory doesn't keep them alive. Our memory helps us and builds that bond of communion. It transports us to that other world. They don't need to be transported to this world, we need to be transported to theirs. But the reality is, in death they're more alive than we are. And our memories are fragile. Absolutely, our memories are fragile. So I wouldn't want to depend on being alive by memory. The other pet peeve I have is the expression for a funeral, a celebration of life. You see, this world is trying to get away from the reality of death. The world tries to deny death. And so we're not going to have a funeral, we're going to have a celebration of life. And even at the funeral now, we call it it's a celebration of life. Not really, it's actually a celebration of the new life, celebration of life in eternity. But again, there too, it's an act of fervent prayer for the person who died. There was a woman I used to speak to often at St. Agnes and I think she was a tremendously holy woman and she died with the little sisters of the poor. And she used to say don't you dare canonize me. When I die, you pray for me. When I die, pray for me. Fear was she knew that people recognized her goodness and her holiness and she said Please pray for me. And I think of her often as.
[00:22:21] Speaker A: We pray in the prayer over the offerings at many of the funeral masses. Should any stain of sin have clung to him or her, or any human fault have affected them, may it by God's loving grace be forgiven and wiped away. I love to use that, because we have to remember that for every one of us there's the stains of sin.
[00:22:41] Speaker B: That have clunked that prayer is being uttered by one with stains of sin. Exactly.
The priest, in my case, the bishop standing at the altar. But we are united with each other. We wash our garments in the blood of the Lamb. We need his help and mercy. This month of remembrance is also there are many different opportunities for prayer throughout the month of prayer and remembrance. Like I know, we'll have a Mass praying for the deceased bishops, priests and deacons. Many of our religious orders of sisters and brothers will remember their beloved memories throughout this month, many Catholic organizations, the Knights of Columbus, will offer sometimes a mass of remembrance for those who died in the course of the last year, for all of their members, but especially those in the course of the last year. I commend that, I really do. And again, it shows how the seasons lead us to a rhythm of life that just fits, so that we come to the end of this month with the remembrance of Thanksgiving. But the month ends in transitions, depending on the course of the year, into the early days of December. But the month ends with Christ the King, the gathering of the harvest. So we begin on the first, with the celebration of all Saints. We begin on either the last or the penultimate Sunday of the month with Christ the King. And then we go right back into Advent, into that hope of the new life and looking forward to the coming of Jesus among us. So there's a beautiful rhythm to the whole of that bishop.
[00:24:16] Speaker A: There's so much I think, that we can discuss on this topic, especially because our faith is so rich and provides so much to know and to reflect on about death, resurrection, especially now in our society, where we see legislation coming forth about Euthanasia and all the other topics that affect this. So I hope that during this month of November, you and I might be.
[00:24:37] Speaker B: Able to talk about our ultimate hopes, the ultimate hopes that you and I were made to live forever. Not on this earth, but we were made to live forever. This weekend, by the way, is marathon Sunday, right? We all make our plans accordingly, so as not to be trapped in our dwellings. But it talks about how we live our lives. We're not in a sprint, we're on a marathon.
[00:24:57] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:24:58] Speaker B: And we have the long view in mind the fact that we're made to live forever. So, yes, there's so much more we can talk about during these days of November.
[00:25:05] Speaker A: Perhaps maybe you can end with the blessing and prayer.
[00:25:08] Speaker B: The Lord be with you.
[00:25:09] Speaker A: And with your spirit.
[00:25:10] Speaker B: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he look upon you in 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 your family and remain with you forever and ever. Amen. And as we recall those who have died, especially those of our beloved family members and friends and those who have died recently, we pray eternal rest. Grant to them, O Lord, and let.
[00:25:36] Speaker A: Perpetual light shine upon them.
[00:25:37] Speaker B: May they rest in peace.
[00:25:38] Speaker A: Amen.
[00:25:39] Speaker B: May their souls and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
[00:25:44] Speaker A: Bishop thank you so much. I wish you all a very blessed week to come. And thanks for joining us in our dias and podcast us. We hope you join us again next week.
[00:25:52] Speaker B: God bless.
