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 Henyu, the rector of the co cathedral of St. Joseph. We begin each podcast in prayer. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
[00:00:32] 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.
[00:00:41] Speaker A: Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Bishop, it might be the second week of February, but I wish you a happy new year.
[00:00:47] Speaker B: Yes, exactly. I started the week at St. Michael's in Flushing, and we had the diocese in celebration for the Lunar new year. I think the actual day was Saturday, but it kind of continues, and it's a joyful celebration. Many, many people gather. It was a big crowd. It was Super Bowl Sunday. A lot of people were celebrating Super Bowl Sunday. But I can tell you that the Chinese Catholics at least, were in church and praying at the beginning of a new year. And what a beautiful custom it is, right, that as we have new beginnings, new starts, people come together to pray, to ask the Lord's blessing, to give thanks for the year before, to give thanks, and then to ask his help and his blessing as we begin something new. Sure.
[00:01:31] Speaker A: I saw that in this week's edition of the tablet. There's an article about that celebration. And were you handing out the traditional red envelope envelopes?
[00:01:39] Speaker B: Yes, I think with a little bit of cash.
[00:01:41] Speaker A: Yeah, that's right.
[00:01:42] Speaker B: People exchange red envelopes. It's a very interesting concept. I celebrated Lunar New Year once before in Columbus, Ohio. That was for a vietnamese community, but this is the first time I actually celebrated it here. And it's beautiful. There's a lot of red. That's the color for celebrating the new year. Some beautiful music. The mass was principally in English because yours truly was celebrating the mass, but the readings and many of the prayers were in Chinese. Very prayerful community. It started out with a procession of women playing drums. It's very impressive. Then again at the end and then downstairs at the dinner, there was this procession of the women playing the drums after they had all kinds of, I'm going to say, entertainment, but really cultural performances as well as the dinner. And they have an interesting custom, which I think is kind of baptizing an ancient custom. So after Mass is over, completely over. We have a short procession and then come back. There's the veneration of the ancestors. And for us as Catholics, that really brings us to the communion of saints. It's showing our respect and praying for the people who have gone before us, the people who are with God. Now we add the prayers for those on the journey. So we have our prayers, but also prayers that they are indeed with God. But we are surrounded, as the letter to the Hebrew says, we're surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses who spur us on, who encourage us while we're riding the race. I love that image of the cloud of witnesses, as if they were the spectators in a great contest. And we're running the race like the marathon along the way, and they're cheering us on, calling us to the finish line, which they've already crossed. And so I see that in the letter to the Hebrews, and that's what came to mind as they were doing the veneration of the ancestors.
[00:03:31] Speaker A: This year is the year of the dragon as well. There was a dance of the dragon throughout the.
[00:03:36] Speaker B: We did not do that. Yes, you're right. It was the year of the dragon. I did not see a dance of the dragon, but there were many other cultural events, so it was a nice way to start the week and in a sense, little bit of a joyful celebration. The custom of Mardi Gras, fat Tuesday, all of that. It just so happened that the year fell this way, but just a festive celebration in anticipation to beginning this week. The rigors of Lent.
[00:04:04] Speaker A: That's right. A very happy lent to you, bishop. I know when this podcast will release on Friday, the first few days of Lent. Exciting. You had Father Giobino on last week at the podcast, talking about certainly the great initiative here in the diocese of the Lenten pilgrimage. I know that we spoke a lot about it, but I've had a chance to download the app. I was really excited.
[00:04:24] Speaker B: He was really very excited himself about the app. But now that I've actually seen it myself, it is very impressive and very practical.
[00:04:29] Speaker A: That's right, yeah. And allows you to sort of check in at certain churches, see what their schedules are. So Lent begins certainly on Ash Wednesday, but the pilgrimage begins at the St.
[00:04:40] Speaker B: James Cathedral Cathedral on Ash Wednesday. So we began there. Mass was at noon, as is traditional, and then that led us into exposition adoration. So that the first station on this journey you see the Lenten pilgrimage is sort of modeled after the station churches in Rome, and you had the chance to study in Rome, so you're familiar with that tradition. It was sort of revived in recent years by the american seminarians.
[00:05:04] Speaker A: It was, yes.
[00:05:04] Speaker B: And so in Rome, the seminarians would go out to the different churches, and it would be certain churches that were designated for particular days, and those were always steady. So we're doing something different. We're trying to bring people to different churches. So we have different churches this year than we did last year, and so people will go and visit the churches. The idea of setting a station church, that that becomes the designated spot for that day. And hopefully it's a day of blessing for the parish, which is designated, and for pilgrims who make their way to the different churches. So on Ash Wednesday Mass and then adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, prayer, just quiet prayer, and then benediction later in the day, and then we continue from there. But the app also gives people the chance to make this really a participation for everybody and for us to be united with each other in prayer. So there's an opportunity for people to put prayer intentions that's right down. And so maybe if you're not able to make the pilgrimage, but you're asking people to pray, and we ask to pray for each other along the way. Pilgrims do that. Pilgrims aren't just sightseers or people on a destination or running a race, but pilgrims basically bond with each other, and we're united in prayer with each other. So I thought that was a nice addition. So we'll do that. And then going from place to place, we have the schedule right there. So in the days before the first Sunday, we started at the cathedral, then went to St. Charles. On the day this releases, it's St. Mary's, star of the sea, Sacred Heart, St. Stephen's. Those two churches are working together as parishes, and so they are also working together on the pilgrimage. And then on Saturday, St. Peter and Paul, St. Bridget's. Basically, Sunday. The station church is always your parish church. We want to encourage people to be at mass in their parish church. And then next week, you'll see the pilgrimage kind of takes a northern journey and then around and back down toward the south. So we go the opposite direction of what we did last year. And so on Monday, we're at Our lady of Fatima in Astoria. On Tuesday, Our lady of Mount Carmel, also in Astoria. Wednesday, immaculate Conception, also in Astoria. Thursday, Queen of Angels in Sunnyside. Sunnyside. I was going to say Woodside or Sunnyside?
I know you're supposed to make the distinction. And then in Woodside, St. Sebastian's on Friday, and then St. Paul Hasang the korean church. I'm so glad we're going there. That's going to be Saturday's day.
[00:07:33] Speaker A: Great.
[00:07:33] Speaker B: So the schedule, you can connect through our diocesan website or through the app, which is available, I think, on Apple products. I don't know if it's on all App Stores, but it's certainly on the apple products. And then there should be a link on our diocesan webpage.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: I know last year you really tried your hardest to be, at most of these least visiting, or you plan to do the same.
[00:07:53] Speaker B: I intend to do the same as much as it's possible. Last year, I had the double motivation. I was trying to finish in that first year and a half, getting all the parishes, and I got to do largely that. The Lenten pilgrimage helped me to do that, to get to a lot of our parishes. That's part of my life, visiting our parishes, that's always going to be a part of my life. So I'm looking forward to doing that. And this pilgrimage gives me a chance to do that again. Personally, it's the spiritual idea of a pilgrimage, but it is walking among our people and praying alongside of our people. So it's a great gift for me that we're doing this.
[00:08:27] Speaker A: And it's not like the parishes are announcing at this hour. Bishop Brennan is just.
[00:08:32] Speaker B: And I do different things. Again, it really works around the calendar, and the calendar being where I have to be the rest of the day. So I'll try to schedule the calendar in such a way that I can be in queens on those days when we're in queens, for example. But, yeah, there'll be times, I'll be there for the morning mass and begin the day and then spend some time in prayer. There may be times that I, just, like other pilgrims, slip in for a short prayer about 1520 minutes and pray or take part in whatever's going on. And there'll be times that I'll take part in a particular event. I think holy family, for example, is having a gathering of all the schools in the area in the midday, and I'll get to that and pray with them. And then there'll be times when I'll finish the day close with benediction. I'm going to try to do what the pilgrims are doing, make it a part of a schedule for the day.
[00:09:19] Speaker A: That's great. That's a great gift, certainly.
[00:09:21] Speaker B: Well, it is for me.
It makes lent a little bit different. And again, we're connected to an ancient tradition, albeit in Rome. We're in Brooklyn and Queens. But, hey, what's wrong with Brooklyn and queens.
[00:09:32] Speaker A: That's right. We're ancient enough when you go to Europe and you say to them like, oh, my church was built in years ago, they're like, not very honorable for us, and to kind of participate in that. And the co cathedral, St. James begins it. The co cathedral concludes it. We have some time here exactly to get our plans ready.
[00:09:54] Speaker B: Now, of course, this time of Lent, the pilgrimage gives us a chance to do something special during Lent, and I extend that invitation. But it's also really the traditional acts of prayer, fasting and alms giving, or works of mercy. Prayer, fasting, and works of mercy. And so we want to encourage one another, even if you haven't started already, we're still in the early days of Lent to think of what it is that you want to do a little bit differently. There's always, and I never belittle this, there's always the idea of giving something up. We don't live in a world that's used to sacrifice. In fact, the idea of making sacrifices, which was so much a part of prior generations, is largely lost in the world today. Why would you make sacrifices, and why would we make sacrifices? One, to unite ourselves with the Lord Jesus. Two, maybe to become aware of the deprivations of other people who don't have the choice to make sacrifices but who do without. And then three, to connect it with the other works of mercy, alms giving. Maybe by foregoing something, that part of our morning routine, let's take the extra cup of coffee, throwing a little bit of change aside so that maybe you have an offering for the poor.
[00:11:06] Speaker A: Yesterday I was on the train heading into the city for an event, and a man walked through begging. Now we're beginning the season of Lent, and I'm thinking about certainly alms giving. And embarrassingly, I had no small bills in my pocket. I really had to just put my head down. And I was inspired by this father with two young sons, and the son had a quarter in his pocket. I mean, maybe the kid was eight years old. And he said, dad, can I give the man this, my quarter? Just beautiful act of alms giving. We can be inspired by each other, certainly to be motivated.
[00:11:43] Speaker B: Those sometimes present such dilemmas, people we meet along the way. It sometimes is difficult. You don't know the situation. But there were also other ways of giving to the poor through different charitable organizations who really do work with the know, St. Vincent de Paul, St. John's bread and life, catholic charities. So we want to make deliberate decisions. It's really the big question is my life about me, or is it about God and others?
[00:12:11] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:12:11] Speaker B: Lent gets us to concretize that, to say, no, I'm about living for God and for other people. That's right. I spend enough time living for myself. It's time to think about God and to think about know what you do. For the least of my brothers and sisters, the early days of Lent, the readings take us to those practices of prayer, fasting, and know on Ash Wednesday, Jesus talked about fasting. And that comes again up on Friday, today, the day that this is released. The idea that don't show off what you're doing, don't do it for show, but really sincerely, to enter into union with the Lord so that your father sees what you're doing on Friday, that reading from Isaiah, I think it is. Is this the kind of fast I want? That you make yourself look miserable and complain bitterly because you've given something up? Or is your fast actually having an effect, freeing the yokes of those who are in bondage, lifting other people's burdens? So these early days get us to the tools, if you will, of Lent. There are days early on, you started our session with the our Father in that first week of Lent. One of the weekday readings is about the Lord teaching us how to pray. When you pray, don't rattle on like everybody else. Then he gives us, the Lord himself, teaches us how to pray. And then again, the sense of giving alms. That too was on Ash Wednesday. So these early days focus on what we call the tools of our Lenten practices. And just a simple thing, if you're looking for something to do that involves prayer, maybe using one of the things like magnificent publications or a daily missile, if you have it. Maybe just focus on the gospels for the days of Lent. You want to read the Bible? Read the Bible. Or if you want, you can read the Bible by focusing on the message that we're getting in the daily know there are all kinds of things now, again, applications that give the daily readings. The USCCB, their website has the daily readings. But maybe if you can get to mass during that. Wow. If you can take part in the pilgrimage, wow. And I would really encourage those things. But if you can't, maybe focusing in on the daily readings is one way to be in touch and to let our prayer life connect with the prayer of the church and let the Lord speak to us as he's speaking to the church. These readings are designed for us to be able to hear the voice of the Lord during these days.
[00:14:31] Speaker A: And bishop, I imagine certainly your participation in the Lenten pilgrimage is part of your act of this Lenten observance as well.
[00:14:39] Speaker B: It is very much so. It would draw me back in. And even there, sometimes that involves making some sacrifices. Certainly getting out on the road early so that you can do that and still be and do the work.
[00:14:50] Speaker A: Getting out of the office, sometimes getting.
[00:14:53] Speaker B: Out of the office is not a second.
[00:14:55] Speaker A: Certainly making that time and your schedule is an important gift.
[00:15:00] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:15:00] Speaker A: My plan this lent is to be more intentional about just the daily celebration of the mass. To arrive and give myself ten minutes at least to pray prior to mass, and then another ten minutes after Mass, just as an opportunity to. Sometimes I reflect on my day and I say, I've rushed in, we celebrate mass, and then I have something to do almost immediately.
[00:15:21] Speaker B: Sounds like you've been listening to St. Charles Borough Mayo.
That's one of his encouragements in the office of reading that comes on his feast day. He says to the priest, he says, you say that you're distracted during Mass. And he says, what were you doing before?
[00:15:36] Speaker A: That's right. Yeah, that's the key. That's the key. Not the first time I've reflected on that. Just to be able to really understand and to deepen our understanding of what it is we just celebrated, the mystery, the magnificence of it all, in addition to other things, the giving up things that I try to do, and of.
[00:15:54] Speaker B: Course, things that we make as personal practices, but also things that the church does together. So on Ash Wednesday, we had a day of fast on Good Friday. That will be the case as well. The day of fast. Fast meaning two light meals and one regular meal. And then all the Fridays are days of abstinence. That means making that intentional act of setting your day around, not eating meat. And it is interesting, I've talked about this before. Isn't it interesting how the secular society yearns for something? And so what? Know the new religion, Monsignor Shea, who wrote that book about from christendom to apostolic succession, has another book out now called the Religion of the day. It's really quite good, but basically what happens is when we're not focused on God, we end up substituting other things and we're longing for the things that God is offering to us. And so some of these practices draw us in. So you hear things like meatless Monday.
[00:16:50] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:16:50] Speaker B: And dry January, when we've got the real thing. Lent gives us that time of emptying ourselves, but it's not emptying ourselves and doing sacrifices just for the sake of doing it or for self improvement. It's really to make room for something else. It's really to make room for God and to answer his invitation. We were created for God, and we spend all our time filling ourselves up with other things or ideas. And so God doesn't look for us to be miserable. God looks for us to empty ourselves or let go of the things that take us away or hold us down or weigh us down, but so that he can fill it up, because God wants to be so much a part of our lives. So Fridays are days of abstinence that we make that intentional act of not eating meat on those days.
[00:17:38] Speaker A: Bishop, obviously these 40 days remind us of our Lord Jesus in the desert, which we will hear this coming Sunday very briefly.
[00:17:45] Speaker B: Right. It's a very short gospel. Mark tells this story in two sentences, and actually he has two sentences about that. And then what we heard already earlier this year about Jesus going and saying the words that we heard on Nash Wednesday, now is the time of fulfillment. Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. So we hear this invitation to Jesus on Sunday. I'll also have the privilege of welcoming our catechumens, who we will now call elect, who are ready, getting close now to the more intense time of preparation for baptism at the Easter vigil. So it's a time for all of us to focus, too, on that connection with baptism. So, Father Henry, last week we had some sad news with the announcement of the closing of Visitation academy. Really, that closing of the academy connected more to the closing, if you will, of the visitation monastery. Visitation monastery has been such a source of blessing for this diocese 121 years. The Visitation sisters have been here in a semicoistered way. They're an interesting community. They're in this charism of St. Jane Francis D. Chantel, who herself was formed by Francis de Sales. So they have that silesian charism, but they were a powerhouse of prayer and of presence. But they also became a spot, a place of prayer. And then what makes them different? They live a monastic life, a private life, but they ran the school as well. And so that was their one connection on the outside. But they haven't had the vocations, and they need different levels of the sisters to do formation, to do the governance. And the number of professed sisters who were able to do that just weren't there. They had some vocations coming in, but they weren't able really to do the formation necessary. They were caring for their elderly sisters, who now are at the infirmary in Georgetown. So I can say nothing, but thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the grace of having had the Visitation sisters here. We're going to miss their presence and certainly the heritage, the legacy of who they are and what they contributed to the life of the church here in Brooklyn will always be a part of us.
[00:20:00] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:20:00] Speaker B: They had a special devotion to the Sacred Heart, and they always ran the novena to the Sacred Heart. That devotion. They would like that to continue as their legacy. So that's something we want to be able to honor.
[00:20:11] Speaker A: Sure. I was reading in this week's tablet edition that there are just two professed sisters working and living in the convent, in the school.
[00:20:20] Speaker B: So they're down to the last two sisters. The sisters who were there are starting to go to other convents. They'll be going to other monasteries. I should say it's a sadness for us, because now, about a year ago, before I came, we already knew that the carmelite sisters were moving, and they left. And then the visitation sisters are going. Now we still have the presence, the contemplative presence, of the missionaries of charity, who have sisters, apostolic sisters, doing the work out in the world, making the presence known, but also the contemplative sisters, because Mother Teresa always saw the need of the two parts of the community working together, that prayer and apostolic works go together. So we're glad that we still have the contemplative presence of the missionaries as a charity. But also this past week, we lost the last of the precious blood sisters at precious blood monastery in Borough park. But in that case, we still have a monastery there, because at one point, a need. We had a group of sisters who needed a monastery. We were seeing the last of the precious blood sisters. They worked together. And so the sisters, the servants of the Lord and of the Blessed Virgin of Matara, originally from Argentina, but they have many local vocations now, so they're continuing that presence, that contemplative monastic presence in Borough park. They continue the retreat house. That's, you know, we feel the pain of loss. We pray, by the way, for Sister Eileen, the last of the precious blood sisters. And we pray for the precious blood sisters who are in other places around the country, but we pray for these newer communities that are emerging. And I look at some of the local vocations who are entering these sisters, other groups of sisters. I've spoken about the silesian sisters. A young woman from my home parish in Lindenhurst will be making her final profession with the Trapestine sisters this year. We have a number of religious who are entering into religious life from other places.
[00:22:23] Speaker A: That's true. When you look back at the story of the visitation monastery and you think that there were two sisters working actively in that house that once probably held dozens of sisters, you might get depressed by that thought. But this weekend, bishop, you're hosting a bishop's vocation retreat, and that would be for priests.
[00:22:41] Speaker B: So we have 40 young men, basically late high school and college age. And then later on we'll probably do something for older men.
[00:22:48] Speaker A: But we have 40 is a great number.
[00:22:50] Speaker B: Great number. Now, of course, they're not every one of them go and become priests, but these are men who are open to asking the question to see where God is leading them in their life. And so as we come to the end of our podcast, I'm going to ask special prayers of people who are joining us in this conversation. Please pray for us during that retreat. Pray for me and pray for Father betchie that we might be able to allow God's grace to speak through us. And then pray for these young men who are discerning the vocations. Pray for all young people, men and women who are discerning vocations in different religious communities who are making retreats in other places. Pray for all of our young people that they may hear where the voice of the Lord is calling. God calls everyone to holiness, and then God calls people to live out that holiness in particular, right?
[00:23:40] Speaker A: That's right. Well, bishop, perhaps you could end with a prayer and be assured of our prayers for you and for the men on that retreat.
[00:23:47] Speaker B: Lord, we ask you to guide us through these days of lent that we may reflect on the depth of your love for us. And we ask you, Lord, to send your blessing upon us. The Lord be with you and with your spirit. May the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit come upon you and remain with you forever and ever.
[00:24:08] Speaker A: Amen. A blessed lent to you, bishop, and to all of our listeners. We thank you for joining us in this edition of big City Catholics. We hope that you will share it on your social media platforms and join us again next Friday for a new edition. God bless.
