Episode Transcript
[00:00:10] Speaker A: Welcome back to another edition of our diocesan podcast, Big City Catholics, with Bishop Robert Brennan, the diocesan bishop of Brooklyn, and myself, Father Christopher Henu. We are quickly approaching the third Sunday of Advent this weekend, Gaudete Sunday. We'll begin as we begin all things things in prayer this season of Advent. We've opened our podcasts with the opening prayer each Sunday of Advent. And so we'll open with our third Sunday of Advent prayer. In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen. O God, who see how your people faithfully await the feast of the Lord's nativity. Enable us, we pray, to attain the joys of so great a salvation and to celebrate them always with solemn worship and with glad rejoicing through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.
[00:01:00] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
[00:01:04] Speaker B: We're sitting here recording on the feast day of Our lady of Guadalupe, and so we're recording at the end of a very busy day where we had the cathedral filled with 3000 people, two masses, two full masses. And we'll have a chance to talk about that a bit during the podcast. But I wanted to share with you an experience I had last week. Cardinal Dolan convenes a group of religious leaders in the city of New York. The acronym is coral commission of religious leaders. And we meet maybe quarterly or so, and just talk about issues that are important to the faith communities in the city. So it's basically civic issues. We met with the police commission, of the fire commission, things like that. They're productive. The idea of the meeting is really so that when there is a crisis, when something is a problem, we already have a relationship and that we can build on that relationship. And that served this city pretty well, because during some of the tensions in recent years, that group has come together. And really the churches were leading the way, the churches and the synagogues and the mosques were leading the way in calling for a certain calm when the city was in turmoil. Last week we had a special meeting of the commission and we met a family. We met a grandmother and two of her grandchildren, both young women, cousins with each other. They spent 35 hours in the safe room in the kabutz in Israel on that fateful day of October 7, the night, the next day and the following day, and suffered really terrible violence going on all around them. The one girl's father, the son of the grandmother, actually died in the attacks. He was, I say, the equivalent of, like, a reservist. And so when the word first got out that they were under attack, he was pulled into service. And in the midst of defending the people, he died. And so this young girl, she was 15 going on 16, she really describes in detail all that had happened, and I have to say, was really quite inspirational. I can't imagine the courage that it took this young girl not only to endure it, but really to tell the story to all of us. She speaks about how they could hear the terrorists in their house. They could hear people walking around and shooting and breaking things. They had to block the door manually because these safe rooms are really made for bomb shelters, not for intruders. And so they had to take turns manually defending the door. For some reason, her phone worked when all the other phones were out of service. And so she was sort of like commander central, and the adults, basically, they saw her taking responsibility, and so she was coordinating, I guess, through WhatsApp communications with other members of the community there, with the people who were their rescuers eventually. And the rescuers told them early on, we're not here to rescue you. We're here to defend the house, to get rid of the terrorists. We'll come back for you, but largely without food or water, not use of the bathroom. They had to endure those hours and not know what was going on. And at first, when they got the word that this was happening, they got the siren to go to the safe area. And then there were texts. She was getting something from somebody in the family about terrorists, and they're entering the houses and in that community. And she said, no. I couldn't believe it. I just didn't think that was true. And then it was all too true. Many of people in that community did die. They were very fortunate that they were one of the ones that were able to hide long enough to stay out of sight, to be forgotten as the terrorists started moving from place to place. It was a grueling, grueling ordeal, she said. At one point, she actually wrote on her phone a goodbye text to her mother.
[00:04:44] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:04:44] Speaker B: So she was there with her father, with the grandfather. So it was like a family gathering, a family celebration, and it just got terribly ugly. But really brings to mind the terrible suffering that people endured on that terrible, terrible day. And then the things that they saw in the aftermath. The grandmother know the community's gone, the houses are destroyed. I don't know what brought them here to New York. If there was other family here. I know they're working with an organization that's helping to tell the story. Basically, that's what they asked of us, is just to listen, to stand in solidarity, and to tell the story again. I go back to the bravery of these young children who stood tall and stood firm.
[00:05:22] Speaker A: And you think about how every age, young or old, had to endure such incredible suffering and incredible heart wrenching experiences. To see at such a young age the loss of their innocence, the innocence of their childhood just totally ripped from.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: So, you know, we do. We continue to pray. We pray for peace there. We pray for the civilians in the Gaza Strip. We pray for all people who are suffering because of a scoop of terrorists. We need to pray. We pray for peace in this season of advent, in this season of hope. And we get ready to proclaim on Christmas that reading from Isaiah, for unto us a child is born. They call him wonder council. Mighty God, father forever, prince of peace. Pray that the prince of peace will bring peace and move hearts of people. The other thing that's happening is I look more locally. I'm disturbed by some of the acts of anti semitism right in our own city. And I'm not just talking about political statements. And I know there are all kinds of political complications. But the raw anti semitism, we saw it in one of our local high schools. We saw it in a SWAT sticker painted on one of our churches. Somebody came and vandalized the church. It's disturbing to see that kind. It's disturbing to see any kind of racial discrimination or discrimination because of prejudice, because of religion. It's any kind of hate speech, any kind of degrading of anybody's human dignity. We may not always agree on things, but the human dignity is at the core, and that's who we are as beloved children of God. So these days of advent, we pray know we're coming into the third Sunday of Advent, as you mentioned, and we see the figure of John the Baptist. Last week we saw John the Baptist, too. We saw Mark's account of the beginning of the gospel of Jesus. Now, from the prologue of John's gospel, we just get another look at it that's probably a little bit more detailed. And John's conversation with people and saying, well, are you the Christ? And he says, no, I'm not the Christ. But what was it about John? Why were people going to John? They're going to John because they knew things weren't right in the world. There's a sense of wanting something new, something.
You know, sometimes we have this image of John the Baptist pointing a finger, repent repent as if it's a bad thing. His message of repentance was big news because repentance is possible. What was new about what John was saying is that mercy is on the way. It's worth repenting, because God is going to bring mercy. God is going to step in. And so it's not just a grim message, it's actually a joyful message. When you hear repent, turn away from what's been. So all is not well with the world. We sense that need for change, but we realize that that need for change begins within, doesn't it?
[00:08:01] Speaker A: It does. And certainly we're here to support one another by our prayers, by our witness and bishop, you as well have plans to stand in unity and in solidarity with the jewish people.
[00:08:11] Speaker B: I'm glad you said that. I probably got this out of turn, but that's another activity this week, if you will. So we're recording ahead of time. But on the last night of Hanukah, I hope to join the jewish community for the lighting of the menorah on that last day, because it's an opportunity to stand together in solidarity with one another. And I'm very grateful to Rabbi hex for granting me this opportunity and to the jewish community. Hanukkah, though we don't really celebrate it as feasts, it's still part of our biblical tradition from the book of Maccabees. And it recalls a time of tremendous persecution in the jewish nation, in Israel, and just a few centuries before Christ, not a long time before Christ. And again, the desecration of the temple and the anti semitism that was around then. And the miracle, the people who stood strong defending their faith, who stood strong, not compromising. Many people did compromise and kind of spared themselves. But by compromising, they drifted further and further and further away from God. But the heroic who stood strong, identified in their faith, suffered for it, but they preserved that faith, and they handed it on to another generation. And that's all part of God's saving plan. God is constantly in a relationship with his people. I'm looking forward to being able to celebrate that day with the local jewish community here.
[00:09:33] Speaker A: Yeah, as you say, that living our faith in the midst of persecution, of course, without any comparison, the persecution that this family that you've spoke about and that you met with Cardinal Dolan in that encounter, we've experienced nothing like they have in persecution, but yet we are all called still in our own ways, in our own lives, and in the persecution of the secular world, the persecution of our faith in so many small ways in which our faith is mocked or spoken ill of. To stand firm and to stand together and to stand with one another. And as you said today we're recording this as we've just experienced 3000 teenagers, young and old alike.
[00:10:11] Speaker B: Young and old, like a boy. An awful lot of young people.
[00:10:13] Speaker A: A lot, as you're mentioning, these young cousins. And I'm thinking, God bless these teenagers who have joined us today for the feast of our Lady Guadalupe. Yeah, they'll experience some suffering today on this cold winter's day, walking and running, perhaps to their parishes, wherever that may be. And yeah, they'll receive some weird looks from people driving in their cars wondering, what are this group of kids or teenagers or people walking with these torches? Where are they going? What are they doing? They have our blessed mother an image on their sweatshirts. And they may be mocked, they may be looked upon, they may be beeped at people saying, get out of the way. It's rush hour, we want to get home. But yet in their moments of persecution, they are standing as living witnesses.
[00:10:52] Speaker B: What an incredible and joyful witnesses. Yeah, I mean, that's the great thing. You can see that in them again, people, young and old, such great joy as they get ready to make this walk. Just to give some context to it. The tradition here, and I'm so impressed by it, is that people come to the mass. Last year we had to split it into two masses because there were so many people here that they couldn't get into the cathedral. And so even after splitting the masses, we fill the co cathedral twice. So 3000 plus people. And it's a beautiful celebration of the mass. We have the mariachis, but it's very, very much religious catholic music, but it has the mexican flavor to it. It's a joy filled celebration. And people come with different levels of attachment to the church. Some come because it's a connection to a national pride. But I can see, I know these people. I've seen them in their parishes. People are here from their parishes. And so there's a great deal of faith and devotion here at Mass. But then what they do after mass, it's so interesting. I like their torch. And then they carry that torch walking back to their parishes. So Father Vincente from the co cathedral walked a short distance to teasing his walk. That's right. So he walked a few blocks.
[00:12:10] Speaker A: No persecution, no suffering in that walk.
[00:12:13] Speaker B: But others will be walking all over Brooklyn and all over queens. They have a long walk, some of these people, and they do that joyfully. And then when they get to their parishes, the celebration continues, so then the rest of the parish joins with them. And then there are masses, parochial masses and devotions. It's really a rich, full day.
[00:12:34] Speaker A: It's incredible. And that is the joy of this Gaudete Sunday. I mean, we're already tasting the joy today to see it, to see the energy, the excitement. There were a lot of KV bus today. You can never have enough kvas, Kviva Lavirk and Kviva Mexico, Kva Estados and Idos. But all the joy and the energy that's so tangible and that they are reverberating in their lives and that it's contagious, it's absolutely contagious to see it spreading among the youth and a great testimony of faith, as you said to their families, that this is important to you, that they would prioritize this mass, that they would prioritize this moment. Yeah, they were able to get out of school, some of the teenagers and children for the day, but it wasn't to be out of school to sit on the couch. It was to be out of school to come to mass, to come and to make this pilgrimage.
[00:13:25] Speaker B: And we talk about joy, we talk about Gadete Sunday. So when St. Paul talks about rejoicing in the readings, the reading we heard today, St. Paul says, rejoice, always. Pray without, you know, we think of rejoicing when life is good and interesting and fun. That's not what Paul says. Paul says, rejoice always. So when life is a little bit tough, he's not talking about a silly rejoicing. He's not talking about being giddy. He's not talking about putting on rose colored glasses and pretending everything's okay. He's not talking about being dismissive of other people's sufferings. But what he's saying is, rejoice always. Rejoice not just because everything's okay. Everything's not okay. Why would people go into St. John the Baptist because everything wasn't okay. Rejoice because the Lord is near. Rejoice because he never abandons us. Rejoice because he comes to us with mercy and our lives have meaning and purpose because of him. Rejoice because God's got some design and we play a part in it. That's what he's getting at. So this third Sunday of Advent always lifts us up. Rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord, but rejoice in him always.
[00:14:43] Speaker A: So while we rejoice in the Lord bishop, why don't we end with a.
[00:14:47] Speaker B: Prayer and one of the prayers that I really enjoy praying during advent is loving mother of the Redeemer, the amarentoris martyr, or the Stella Morris prayer. One of the traditions in Advent is at the end of night prayer, we always say the hail holy queen. In Easter we say a particular prayer. Well, in Advent we're invited to say this particular prayer, and it's something that just speaks so beautifully to me. In the name of the Father and of the son of the Holy Spirit, amen.
[00:15:14] Speaker A: Amen.
[00:15:14] Speaker B: Loving mother of the Redeemer, gate of heaven, star of the sea, assist your people who have fallen, yet strive to rise again to the wonderment of nature. You bore your creator, yet remained a virgin after as before. You who received Gabriel's joyful greeting, have pity on us poor sinners, and may almighty God bless you, the father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:15:35] Speaker A: Amen. We wish you a blessed third Sunday of Advent and hope you join us again next week for our final edition of our Advent podcast.
[00:15:43] Speaker B: It all comes so close together, advent and Christmas kind of meshed right into one.
[00:15:47] Speaker A: That's right. So our next podcast, Bishop, is fourth Sunday and Christmas in one.
[00:15:52] Speaker B: There'll be a rich full week and.
[00:15:53] Speaker A: Not a lot of sleep needed, so get well rested. God bless you all and thanks for listening. Take care.
