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, the rector of the co cathedral of St. Joseph. Bishop, let's begin with prayer. In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit, amen. Asking our Blessed Mother's intercession, we pray. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
[00:00:35] Speaker B: Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
[00:00:40] Speaker A: In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. Bishop, at the conclusion of last week's podcast, we assured you of our prayers for the vocations retreat with the young men heading out to Huntington. How did that all go?
[00:00:52] Speaker B: The prayers worked, I have to tell you. We had 40 young fellas ranging from upper high school, like maybe junior, senior, mostly senior into college. And we had various levels of interest, guys who were just there to hear what had to be said, guys who came in small groups of friends. But there were guys who were very serious about discerning this call. They're near the application process, that's what I should say. And we had some good exchanges, some good time in prayer. I have to say something, with all the retreats I've done over the years, this particular group, wow. Talk about being disciplined. Usually you have a talk at 02:00 in the afternoon and you're glad if you get it started by 215, right? Everybody's there sitting at 02:00 this was prompt. They were right in there. We had a little bit of snow on Saturday morning and we were out in Huntington at Seminary Huntington. It was a beautiful sight, I bet, and curtailed the outdoor activities. I don't think there were any soccer games out on the snow, but actually gave some new adventures. Right? Snowballs and things like that. It was a very good retreat and really admirable fellas.
[00:02:06] Speaker A: That's great to hear. And they're from all over our diocese, particularly, or are there certain groups?
[00:02:12] Speaker B: No, from all over our diocese. Some came as parish. You could tell the pastor sent three, four or five guys, and they were comfortable traveling together, sure. But they were all open to where God is calling him. And it really was a conversation about vocations in general. Obviously, we wanted to ask the fellows to consider a vocation to being a priest, but it was more about listening to God's call, hearing God's call. The number one vocation for every one of us is holiness. We're all called to holiness. And then beyond that, we're called in specific vocations as to how we are best made to answer that call to holiness, how we can use our gifts and our talents, whether it be as a priest, as a husband or a father, as a single person, or as a religious priest or a religious brother. For women, the same thing. Religious life, consecrated life in different forms, as a wife and mother, as a single person, we see the many different vocations being worked out, but the primary vocation is that to be holy. And so then you have the secondary vocation in different states of life, and then there are different ways of expressing this. But I would say there's now the third layer. And that is there are certain careers that are in themselves callings. People live out certain callings in medicine or in law, if you're doing it for more than the money. Some people are responding to their careers. They see what they're doing as a calling as well, and a way of serving the common good, serving the well being, all of God's people. So we took the moment really to reflect on the fact that every one of us is called and then to say, now, if it is the call to be a priest, how do you discern that and how do you respond to it? So that's where it came in. And many of the things you would do to prepare to be a good priest are things you would hopefully do to prepare to be a good christian gentleman, a good father, or a good community person. So I used a little bit of Father Bret Brandon's book. Are you familiar with that book? To save a thousand souls?
[00:04:25] Speaker A: To save a thousand souls.
[00:04:26] Speaker B: Yes, he wrote that book ten years ago. And actually I found this out during the retreat. Father Chris Betche, our vocation director, said that he wrote it ten years ago, and he based it on the idea that there was one priest to every thousand Catholics in the United States. He said, if I was writing that book today, ten years later, it would be to save 2000 souls. He wrote this book, and I was using questions Father Betchy suggested, whom does God call? How does God call? When does God call? Why does God call? So that was the first one. Why does God call? Where does God call? So framing it around those questions we talked about, first of all, why does God call? And what sets vocation to priesthood apart? And it really is that sacramental life and a real love for the Eucharist.
[00:05:17] Speaker A: Celebration of the Eucharist.
[00:05:19] Speaker B: The eucharist and reconciliation, the sacraments. It's not that's all we do. But that's why we make the sacrifices we make, and that's certainly what feeds our souls. Sure, as priests. Right it is.
[00:05:31] Speaker A: The book itself was given out to priests here in the diocese as well when it was first published, and I remember it being a very impactful read as well, and certainly a good one for young men to be reading now.
[00:05:44] Speaker B: And thinking about the first part of the book. Really, it's very well done. The first part of the book is really to help discern, help think about the questions. But then the second part is more practical. How do I talk about this with people? What is it like in the seminary and some of the challenges and that the church has to challenge us to live good lives, to live chaste lives, to live generous lives. It's very well done. Father Brannon is well known in the vocation world. I consider him a friend. He came on the faculty at the Joseph phenom, the national seminary that's located in Columbus, Ohio. And I got to know him through his tenure there. He's back now in Savannah, Georgia, but I got to know him through his service on the Joseph enum. He's a wonderful priest. He came here with another priest soon after I got here, just to come and pray with me and pray for my work here, just to encourage. It was really that simple. It wasn't even like, let's go see New York City kind of visit. He and this other priest came simply to pray with me as I began this work in Brooklyn. I always remember that he did that with great gratitude.
[00:06:57] Speaker A: Truly a true minister of the church.
[00:07:00] Speaker B: And he's coming again, but not for me. He's going to be giving the priest retreat in early March at the seminary in Huntington. Some of our priests will be on retreat with him in March. I'm so glad Father Fonti is really working hard to provide our priests with retreats, opportunities for retreats in the fall and in the spring so that you could choose from different opportunities and take advantage of the one that suits you. So he'll be doing the one in.
[00:07:25] Speaker A: March, part of the practical aspects of the book. What is it like in the seminary? I guess it must have been a little nostalgic for you to go back to Huntington for the weekend. You studied there a few years ago.
[00:07:37] Speaker B: I studied there, yeah, I started there. It'll be 40 years ago. It feels like yesterday, especially when you're in there. You just jump right in and you feel like you're at home there. And the pipes still as the steam heat comes up you can still hear the banging on the pipes.
Yes, it's very much there.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: But the seminary has changed a lot in the last 40 years. The building itself, in a few years.
[00:07:59] Speaker B: Ago, we entered into a partnership with Brooklyn, Rockville center and New York, and we did our formation together. So we combined our programs up in Dunwoody, and then last year, we took another step with that merging of programs with the pre theology year going to Dunwoody, and then the college guys are going to different colleges. But Huntington is really now a retreat center, and it's a thriving retreat center. It's a very important place with spirituality here on Long Island. I know a lot of our Brooklyn groups use it. We were there. The place was packed this weekend with activity. Wow, it was really encouraging. We had 40 guys there. St. Robert, Bellamin parish in Bayside had a youth retreat, 8th through 12th graders. They had about 40 or 50 people there. And boy, were they disciplined, and they were impressive. I had a chance to meet with them. Father June Healy was giving that retreat, and then the deacons, the recently ordained deacons from Brooklyn, Rockville center and New York were there. Father Jose Diaz from our diocese was giving that retreat. And then there was a small group from Columbia University, from the catholic campus ministry. And finally, there was a good sized group of people from Our lady of Loretto in Hempstead, a parish where I used to say mass from time to time, that I loved our lady of Loretto in Hempstead, and they had a parish group.
Wow, what impressive numbers. And you'd see they'd be coming from their conference. The couples would all come into the dining room walking hand in hand as they walked. And I thought, what powerful witnesses the marriage encounter. Couples and the deacons were edified, filled with hope, because they saw the young people there, and they said, wow, there's real hope in the church. These are impressive, both groups, our group, the vocation group, and St. Robert. But then on the other side, for those young people to see the deacon group taking retreats seriously and the marriage encounter, so that marriage isn't some kind of a fairy tale, but it involves the hardcore living out day to day grittiness of commitment and seeing the witness of those couples living that joyfully. Those images really came together in a very powerful way.
[00:10:24] Speaker A: It would be a beautiful sight, especially as you're reflecting on the call to holiness. No matter how we live our lives, no matter for those young men, what a great thing to see.
[00:10:35] Speaker B: And really, for a man who's discerning priesthood, seeing committed marriage is an encouragement, I think I certainly saw that in my folks, right. And I saw that very powerfully lived in these last few years with my father, caring for my mother, and seeing the sense of loss right now. But likewise, through the years that their sacrifice and their commitment to living faithfully in marriage was an inspiration for me. I would imagine you would say the same thing.
[00:11:07] Speaker A: They say, certainly in discerning a vocation to the priesthood, it's not something where a man wouldn't say, I could never be a husband. No.
We're called to be fathers now, spiritual fathers, and to be sacrificing our lives as well for the church as a father would for his family. And so there's a lot of commonality between the two.
[00:11:30] Speaker B: Seeing commitment, seeing sacrifice, seeing perseverance. Those are things that really can inspire. It was a great weekend for all of those different movements.
[00:11:41] Speaker A: Your weekends don't just end at 02:00.
[00:11:43] Speaker B: P.M. On a Sunday, the first Sunday of Lent, the first Sunday of Lent. The bishop of the diocese, no matter, all over the world, the bishop of the diocese calls together all of the catechumens who are preparing for the Easter sacraments this year to enter that next phase and calls them elect. That's a huge step, and it's an exciting and joyful step. And so we want to make that celebration joyful. So we had what's called the rite of election. These people are elected called. They are called now, and they change their name. You don't call them catechumens anymore. You call them the elect, because these are people chosen by name, by God, to enter into the fullness of the Catholic Church through baptism, confirmation, and eucharist. And so this is the chance for the diocesan bishop to be with that group of people before they make that plunge, so to speak. Sure.
[00:12:43] Speaker A: And I was reading in this week's tablet, too, that even how you greeted the faithful, how you greeted them at the doors, you're welcoming them in. The whole aspect is an aspect of welcome.
[00:12:54] Speaker B: It is.
[00:12:54] Speaker A: This is your home. This is now your faith.
[00:12:57] Speaker B: We did this a little differently this year. So for many years, because of the numbers, I think we had about 450. We had about 450 catechumens who were chosen, called forth. We had about 450 catechumens who are now elect.
So we've always had to do it in two sessions, and we've traditionally done one in Brooklyn and one in Queens. And while that makes it accessible in some ways, I and the rest of the team, we were running from one side of the diocese to the other on a Sunday afternoon. Not that I mind doing that at all. But the result was we were doing a session and then hightailing it out to get to the next session, because you didn't know what the traffic would be like. Even if you got to the next session early, you didn't know. You couldn't count on it. So we did two sessions, but we did it in the same place. We used resurrection, ascension parish in Rego park. That has access to the expressway, the Grand Central, and Woodhaven Boulevard. So it gives a lot of road access to all of Brooklyn and Queens, and at the same time is a major hub for transit. So the subway stations and the buses, hopefully that was a convenient place. What it allowed for is the true meaning of the right. It's not just, yeah, we're glad to have you called you by name. We're welcoming you, but by the way, I got to get moving. It was really to be able to welcome and embrace spiritual way.
[00:14:30] Speaker A: Hospitality is an important tenet of our faith, truly. How. Even Matthew's gospel, right. When did I see you hungry and feed you? When did I see you thirsty and give you drink? When did I see you a stranger and welcome you? So we are called to live that. The Irish do it pretty well, too. We're known for it, but certainly rooted in our Catholic.
[00:14:50] Speaker B: Actually looking out that day. Beautiful, beautiful sight. This year we had a chinese choir at one of the sessions. We had one of the readings in Chinese. Many of our converts are chinese, and then we have many from different latin american countries, but we had people from all over the world. And I actually said. I said, I'm looking out, and I'm seeing the richness of everybody here, the diversity of culture. And this is Brooklyn and Queens. But more importantly, this is the Catholic Church. This is the holy, Catholic, apostolic Church, spread throughout the world, and God's embrace of people from all nations and all walks of life. And that was certainly visible here in the rite of election, and that was so encouraging.
[00:15:36] Speaker A: When you see, demographically, Chinatown in our diocese is outgrowing the Chinatown of the archdiocese in Manhattan.
[00:15:45] Speaker B: Here, it's more concentrated. That's, I think, is what we see, is we see people living in greater concentrations. Those are the places where large numbers of conversions are taking place. I think Our lady of Perpetual help in Brooklyn had 75. Now, I don't know how they're going to do that, but 75, isn't that something? Wow. So this is the embrace of the Catholic Church. This is who we are, and God is I always say this, God is doing amazing things in Brooklyn and queens. Oh, yeah. I was asked about. We talk about the numbers, the loss. It's not about numbers. Certainly, we worry about anyone who leaves the church, but it's really about the conversion of heart. It's people coming to encounter Jesus Christ in the sacraments, through the church, and to experience his love. And it doesn't end there with the 450 baptisms next Sunday, or this coming Sunday, I should say, is what we call the rite of continuing conversion. So there are many other people who are baptized in other christian denominations. We accept baptism, but they're making their profession of faith, entering into the Catholic Church and then receiving communion and confirmation. So that's also happening at Easter Vigil. So they will meet and the other bishops will have to share the wealth. The other bishops will receive them and welcome them for the sacraments. In this last phase, this intense phase, that's really where the origin of Lent came. It's the 40 days of Jesus in the desert. But modeling after that 40 days, this was meant as the intense time of preparation before baptism. And so we all enter into this with the sense of renewing our baptism promises at Easter vigilant Easter day. But we're accompanying, we're walking with those who are themselves making the journey to baptism. First week, rite of election. Second week, call to continuing conversion, and then 3rd, fourth and fifth in the parishes would be the scrutinies. And the priest prays with the community gathered around and speaks to their hearts about this call to conversion. And it's based on the images from the gospel of Matthew during year a, the woman at the well, the thirst for the living waters, the man born blind, the desire to be able to see, and then Lazarus, the coming to new life. Images that remind us of baptism are incorporated into the scrutinies. And then you're there at Holy Week. My goodness, it just flies right by, doesn't?
[00:18:24] Speaker A: You're making me anxious now, making sure I'm there.
[00:18:30] Speaker B: Chocolate here, we know.
[00:18:33] Speaker A: Not for you either.
[00:18:34] Speaker B: No, not for me, no.
[00:18:36] Speaker A: But a beautiful gift, certainly, to see the whole diocese coming together in these forms of these rituals, right?
[00:18:42] Speaker B: And rejoicing, being glad. A family jumps for joy at the birth of a child. A family jumps for joy that the family is growing, and this family, too, is jumping for joy, to welcome its new members into the family. Father Henu, our pilgrimage continues. I've been to a couple of parishes this week. Early in the week, I started off the days with the morning mass, which inaugurated the day of prayer in the parish. And what I'm finding is similar to what we found last year, that for the parish that's hosting, there's a grace to it, there's a blessing, and there's a real joy in receiving visitors. The end of the week, I'm joining at later parts in the day, in the midday, or in the evening. For me, it's been a very rich experience. The app that the sales media put out for this thing is fantastic. And they've been present, salespeople have been present in the pilgrimage sites to assist people. But it's more than just checking in, because it's not just about credit. It's checking in to be connected with the other pilgrims and then to be connected with the people of the diocese. I am amazed by the prayer request. People are using that app. So people not making the pilgrimage physically are making it spiritually and downloading the app and then adding prayer intentions. It's really been encouraging.
[00:20:04] Speaker A: That's great. It's a very unique way and a great way to use technology. I think it's interesting when you read recently, he leadeth me the book by Walter Chisick. Father Walter Chisick.
[00:20:19] Speaker B: Oh, I know.
[00:20:20] Speaker A: One of the best selling books now on Amazon.
[00:20:23] Speaker B: Is it really?
[00:20:24] Speaker A: Because Hallow, which is another religious app, is the number one downloaded app on Apple Store.
[00:20:31] Speaker B: There's a push for religious apps, and it's not cheap. I thought it was a freebie. I went to download it. It's not free and it's not.
[00:20:41] Speaker A: The Lenten pilgrimage app is free.
[00:20:42] Speaker B: The Lenten pilgrimage app is free. But you know what? It's probably worth every penny. I'm not saying that to knock it. I'm saying that to say people are willing to invest in it.
[00:20:52] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:20:52] Speaker B: They're not just doing it because, oh, let me see what it's like. That's right. There's some level of commitment to that. It's a unique thing.
[00:20:59] Speaker A: And to ask ourselves, and I think even to ask our listeners, how can we better use technology to help our faith, the spread of our faith, our own prayer life? There are apps, there are Bible apps, there are YouTube videos, there's the rosary on Apple Music or whatever, there's plenty of different opportunities for all of us. It's just a blessing that the Diocese of Brooklyn is also through to sales media pushing forward on this as well.
[00:21:25] Speaker B: It is. And even more so that people are responding in, bishop.
[00:21:31] Speaker A: So you're driving around through the diocese for the pilgrimage as usual, but you're also moving around the diocese, the continuation of deanery meetings.
[00:21:39] Speaker B: Yes, those continues. I've been having my generally, it's been Tuesday night meetings with, it's dinner with priest and then a conversation, picking up on that letter that I issued in November, talking about the fact that we're going to have to address some of the needs here and parishes. We have to think less about being this parish or that parish, and more about being Catholic together, more about being Catholic and how do we work together and help each other out. And now that we're getting deeper into it, I'm hearing reports of how parish councils are starting to work together, how we can complement mass schedules. We're not in panic stage, but we're in a sense of like a family saying, okay, how are we going to work this out to function as a family? And already we've had parishes that have combined and merged for many years. We need to think, where are we going to be in the next couple of years and how do we do it in a way that's not chaotic, but that builds on our working together.
[00:22:42] Speaker A: Interestingly, you often give thanks to Bishop Demarcio for instituting the synodal deanery meetings when you first arrived. And so you had a chance to sit with those same priests in those deanery meetings two years ago. Now you're back at it two years later.
[00:23:01] Speaker B: And hopefully we're counting on the deaneries and the priests in their parishes to continue those conversations. This is, in a sense, part of a response to that. People are the same. We know things have to change. We want to be part of it. We're moving toward that next phase by meeting with the priest. It's not excluding the rest of the people in the diocese, but we need to do it in a structured kind of a way. So hopefully equipping that these conversations can happen at the deanry level, and then maybe we can build up with representation so that, like we did at the synod, where then we had some representation at which I'm present. But the key takeaways from the synod discussions were, we know there have to be changes, we want to be able to think about it, and we want to be part of the conversation. And so that's important. Second thing, the focus and the concern about the youth, and we're talking about that, a big thing was about the numbers of people winning people back after Covid, and again, that the numbers aren't where they had been before and formation, knowing our faith. So all of these are part of our discussions. Again, it's not just economic efficiencies this is about how can we collaborate at local levels to respond to the pastoral needs in this particular area. And I'm really very grateful to our pastors, to the deans, and then I'm grateful to the parish councils and people in the parishes for responding to that call. You may or may not have seen these conversations in your parish, but you will. If you haven't already, you will, more likely. We're still in the early stages of this, but we want to make sure it's known that this is a conversation that's continuing. And again, it's rooted in who we are as Catholics, rooted in who we are as the family of God, rooted in that vocation, that common vocation that all of us have to holiness. Amen.
[00:24:57] Speaker A: Speaking of, perhaps you could give us a blessing and send us on our way, Bishop gladly.
[00:25:04] Speaker B: During Lent, the missile gives us a prayer of blessing over the people each day as an option. But there's some very beautiful prayers, and so we'll use the prayer of blessing for this Sunday, which, by the way, focuses in on the transfiguration. The second Sunday of Lent is always focused in on the transfiguration of Jesus encountering Jesus anew.
[00:25:26] Speaker A: The Lord be with you and with your spirit.
[00:25:28] Speaker B: Bless your faithful, we pray, O Lord, with a blessing that endures forever and keep them faithful to the gospel of your only begotten son, so that they may always desire and at last attain that glory whose beauty he showed in his own body to the amazement of his apostles, through Christ our Lord.
[00:25:45] Speaker A: Amen.
[00:25:46] Speaker B: And may almighty God bless you, the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:25:52] Speaker A: Thank you, bishop, and thank you again for joining us in another edition of our Daos and podcast big city Catholics. We hope that you'll share this on your social media platforms and join us again next week for another edition. God bless.
