Episode Transcript
[00:00:10] Speaker A: The Lord is risen. Hallelujah.
[00:00:11] Speaker B: He is risen indeed.
[00:00:13] Speaker A: Alleluia.
[00:00:14] Speaker B: Happy Easter, and welcome to a special edition of Big City Catholics. During this Easter Octave, I am your host, Bishop Robert Brennan, bishop of Brooklyn, serving in Brooklyn and queens. In these days of Easter, we pray the Regina Celi, a beautiful hymn sharing in the Blessed Mother's joy at the resurrection of her son. Let us pray. Queen of heaven, rejoice. Hallelujah. For the Son whom you merited to bear. Alleluia has risen as he said, alleluia. Pray for us to God. Hallelujah. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary.
[00:00:44] Speaker A: Alleluia.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: For the Lord has truly risen.
[00:00:47] Speaker A: Alleluia.
[00:00:49] Speaker B: Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of your son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Grant, we beseech you, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, his mother, we may obtain the joys of eternal life through the same Christ, our Lord.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: Amen.
[00:01:04] Speaker B: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Spirit.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: Amen.
[00:01:07] Speaker B: I hope you enjoyed a wonderful paschal triduum and Easter. I was fortunate to celebrate Easter Sunday mass at the cathedral basilica of St. James in Brooklyn, where everything was just beautiful. I invite you to listen in on my Easter message, for you have died.
[00:01:24] Speaker C: And your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, your life appears, then you.
[00:01:31] Speaker D: Too will appear with him in glory. We hear these words from St. Paul's letter to the Colossians.
[00:01:38] Speaker C: The Basilica of Saint Clement in Rome contains a great deal of history, quite literally. It is a 12th century church built on top of an older fourth century church built on top of an ancient first century city center. Visitors can walk through the excavations through the different levels to discover a plethora of archaeological history. St. Cyril, who with his brother St. Methodius, was one of the apostles to the east, is buried there. Relatively recently, a fresco was uncovered near his tomb, revealing an image of the descent into hell. We profess that after his death on the cross, Jesus descended into hell, into the land of the dead, opening up the gates of heaven to those who had already died. Now, in this image, Jesus extends his hand out to Adam, the first man to pull him up. Now, there's a little humor mixed in.
[00:02:40] Speaker D: With some profound theology.
[00:02:42] Speaker C: You see, while Jesus is pulling up Adam out of the depths of hell, there's a little demon below pulling Adam's.
[00:02:52] Speaker D: Feet, trying to keep him down.
[00:02:54] Speaker C: Friends, Jesus is risen. Christus vivet alleluia.
Happy Easter, one and all. It is a tremendous joy for me to be with you at our diocesan cathedral on this glorious Easter day. Easter greetings to all the cathedral parishioners. A warm welcome to all those who are visiting with us at Easter. Blessed Easter. To those who join us through net tv, especially to those of you who are sick or homebound. Thank you for being with us and know that you are united with us in prayer.
[00:03:40] Speaker D: We are praying for you who are at home. Your life is hidden with God.
[00:03:45] Speaker C: Friends, we know that through his passion and resurrection, Christ has conquered sin and death definitively. We believe that we who have shared in his death through baptism shall also live with him in glory through his resurrection.
[00:04:02] Speaker D: That's a big deal.
[00:04:04] Speaker C: It gives us hope.
[00:04:05] Speaker D: It gives us confidence.
[00:04:07] Speaker C: Yet while Christ is raising us up, often we can feel the tug of.
[00:04:14] Speaker D: The demons pulling us down, trying to keep us down.
[00:04:19] Speaker C: You see, Satan is vanquished, but he, the prince of lies, tries to convince us of otherwise, that it's not all over.
[00:04:29] Speaker D: How conscious are we of our sins.
[00:04:31] Speaker C: And failings, how easily we can fall into discouragement or despair.
But today we proclaim Easter joy. We hear the greeting of Jesus to his disciples on the night of his resurrection. Shalom. Peace, my very good friends.
[00:04:50] Speaker D: Words of mercy, words of hope.
[00:04:53] Speaker C: We experience the tugs of grief and anguish. We try to live good lives under difficult circumstances. Here in our own city, we see terrible violence. Yesterday morning, I attended the funeral for.
[00:05:10] Speaker D: Police officer Jonathan Diller, who leaves behind a beautiful, beautiful family. He died protecting the people of our city, of our diocese, right in our diocese in Queens. Friends, we can never underestimate or understate the sacrifices and the assistance of our police officers and our first responders. We are all too conscious of the powers of evil in this world.
[00:05:37] Speaker C: It seems every year we find ourselves.
[00:05:40] Speaker D: Calling out for peace in different lands.
[00:05:43] Speaker C: These days, in a city like ours, many of us and many of our neighbors have deep ties to family.
[00:05:52] Speaker D: In these war torn countries, we pray for the gift of shalom, of peace.
[00:05:58] Speaker C: So indeed, we feel the tug of the reality of evil. But we know that's not the end of the story.
Jesus lives. He rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. Because he rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. He lives. Even today. He lifts us up and there is.
[00:06:18] Speaker D: No power, no power that can keep us down.
[00:06:23] Speaker C: May I suggest that you take a look at the four gospels and read the resurrection accounts? It's interesting, amazing even, how after rising from the dead, Jesus goes out to meet those who, as Peter said in.
[00:06:40] Speaker D: The first reading, ate and drank with him beforehand.
[00:06:44] Speaker C: In the gospel. We see how Mary Magdalene discovers the empty tomb. Later we'll see how she is weeping. Copious tears.
[00:06:52] Speaker D: Jesus seeks her out. He appears before her and he engages her with his healing words. He seeks out his disciples in that locked room.
[00:07:01] Speaker C: They weren't quite so macho after all, were they? In their fear and disappointment, he speaks words of shalom.
While they are still trying to figure things out, Peter goes back to his old way of life, to fishing. I see it as sort of like comfort food.
[00:07:19] Speaker D: Jesus meets them in their everyday activities.
[00:07:23] Speaker C: And don't forget the disciples on the road to Emmaus. They were walking away from Jerusalem, walking away from everything in despair they had given up, only to discover that Jesus.
[00:07:35] Speaker D: The risen Lord, was walking with them. He never gave up on them. But how did they come to recognize him? It was in the breaking of the bread.
[00:07:43] Speaker C: Remember, friends, we're in this year of eucharistic revival.
Jesus, our risen Lord, never gives up on us. He meets us in our tears, in our failings, in our disappointments and our fears. He meets us when we're overwhelmed.
He meets us in our everyday activities. But he appears to us in a special way today in this gift of the Eucharist. He speaks his words to us and he feeds us with his very body and blood. We recognize him in the breaking of the bread.
[00:08:18] Speaker D: He gives us this gift so that.
[00:08:20] Speaker C: We might be more aware of his presence in our lives. And we can be attuned to the.
[00:08:27] Speaker D: Fact that he meets us and walks.
[00:08:30] Speaker C: With us in our everyday activities. Tug as they might, there is no power greater than the power of Jesus, our risen Lord, lifting us up.
[00:08:42] Speaker D: In his apostolic exhortation, Christus vivid, written.
[00:08:46] Speaker C: Five years ago this very week, Pope Francis writes, Christ is alive. We need to keep reminding ourselves of this because we can risk seeing Jesus simply as a fine model from the distant past, as a memory, as someone who saved us 2000 years ago. But that would be no use to us. It would leave us unchanged. It wouldn't set us free. The one who fills us with his grace is the one who liberates us, transforms us, heals us and consoles us.
[00:09:20] Speaker D: He is someone who is fully alive. He is the Christ risen from the.
[00:09:26] Speaker C: Dead, filled with supernatural life and energy, robed in boundless light.
[00:09:31] Speaker D: And that's why St. Paul could say, if Christ had not been raised, your faith is futile as it is. Christ is alive. He's alive indeed.
[00:09:40] Speaker C: And your faith? My faith, our faith is well founded. Today, in just a moment we will renew our profession of faith in a special way, recalling how in baptism we share in his new life. You have died, and your life is.
[00:09:56] Speaker D: Hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory. Happy Easter.
[00:10:06] Speaker A: The Lord is risen. Hallelujah.
[00:10:08] Speaker B: He is risen indeed.
[00:10:09] Speaker A: Alleluia.
[00:10:10] Speaker B: May I take a moment to offer a word of profound thanks to the fire department of New York? Here in New York City, you probably heard about the fire at Our lady of the Rosary of Pompeii. Our fire department responded with typical bravery and generosity, but also with great respect and sensitivity to the importance of a parish site. To us as Catholics. I have to say I always appreciated the work of the FDNY, but now I stand even more in gratitude and admiration. Friends, we have a lot ahead of us, but we face the challenges and the fears with renewed confidence in the presence of our risen Lord. On Sunday, we hear his words of Shalom to his fearful disciples as he appeared to them on that Easter evening. He speaks that same word to us. Shalom. Peace. My very good friends, please join us next week for another edition of big city Catholics. May God bless you, especially in these days proclaiming the resurrection of the Lord. May he keep you always in his care. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
