Episode Transcript
[00:00:10] Speaker A: Welcome to a special edition of Big City Catholics with Bishop Robert Brennan, the diocesan bishop of Brooklyn, myself, Father Christopher Henyu, the rector here at the co cathedral of St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila parish. We're really blessed to be joined by the ordination class of 2023, the four men of the Diocese of Brooklyn who were ordained priests almost a year ago. As we did last year with the ordination class celebrating their first year. So too, we start again, inviting these four men to join us and Bishop Brennan and this diocesan podcast to talk a little bit about their experiences in their parishes and to express to us and to the bishop all the joys and the fun moments of this first year of their priestly ministry. But as we do all times, we begin with prayer. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:00:58] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:00:58] Speaker A: And so asking our Blessed Mother's intercession upon us and upon our priestly ministry, 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.
[00:01:10] Speaker C: Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for.
[00:01:12] Speaker D: Us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
[00:01:14] Speaker E: Amen.
[00:01:15] Speaker A: St. Joseph, pray for us. St. John Vianney, pray for us. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, amen. So, gentlemen, it's great to have you in the podcast, big city Catholics, to join us and to join Bishop Brennan. How has this first year been for you as priests? How have you experienced it? How have you enjoyed your experiences? Perhaps maybe we could start with Father Timothy. Where are you assigned, Father?
[00:01:37] Speaker B: I'm assigned at St. Matthias in Redwood. It's a beautiful church. I'm very happy there, so I thank God for those, you know, it's always like, you know, one year, always one year since I ordained and I give thanks to the Lord, and then I get some joy over there and then my greatest one is to, is like when I'm listening to people, for some reason, I never get tired, you know, I don't know, because I'm new, I don't know, but I never get tired of confessions, you know, when they come, you know, it's a joy, you know, to listen to people and then to try to advise them, you know? You know, with the guide of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes I say, you know, who am I? I mean, like, to guide people, like, much more older than I. So it's like, it's a great joy. Great joy.
[00:02:23] Speaker A: Yeah, that's great. I mean, you know, I think we all probably remember the first moment we are put in the confessional box. And what a humbling experience that is for all of us. Father Ernesto, how has life been this past year for you? Where is it that you're assigned?
[00:02:38] Speaker C: I am in St. Leo's in Corona, Queens, which was before an italian neighborhood, and the church was mostly for Italians, but now is mostly hispanic. And there is people from Ecuador, from Dominican Republic, from Colombia, Mexico. And it is really a vibrant community. It is a busy parish. I have been so blessed this first year in the community in all the aspects, in the pastoral, in the interaction with my brother. Priests at the rectory, two of them, and a lot of work, a lot of time, as Father Timothy said in the confessional, and also kind of helping people with grieving, because we have two funeral homes across from the street, so we do a lot of funerals every week. Every single week. We have sometimes more than one or two or three funerals. So it's a lot of accompanying those families. Also, we have the school, St. Leo's, and we have a large amount of people in CCD, so it's a lot of caricasses also, and big celebrations. Every Sunday is like Easter because the church is always packed every month since.
[00:03:53] Speaker A: 07:00 a.m. That's an incredible experience. That's probably very vibrant. Very vibrant. It is life giving.
[00:04:00] Speaker C: If you want to listen good music there and you want to participate in a very vibrant Eucharist, that's the place.
[00:04:07] Speaker A: This has been a commercial by St. Leo's.
Father Eusebius, you're assigned at St. Gregory the great parish in Belrose. How has life been there for this past year?
[00:04:20] Speaker D: Yeah. Yes, so far so good. First of all, I thank God for the people of the parish. They are very supportive. Personally, I think the best I can just do for them is prepare my homely very well and make sure I'm there for them in terms of sacrament, confession, be it baptism. Just like last week, we had first communion. So it was a beautiful experience there, and I thank God for what is going on in the parish. Also. I appreciate a lot my pastor, you know, his support, you know, knowing that I'm really ordained, he's going well in the parish, and I'm grateful to God for his help, you know, also we have school, we have academy, and it's just a beautiful thing to, you know, spend time with the kids in the school, you know, play soccer with them during the. We had a catholic school week. It was a wonderful experience, you know, spending time with them, playing volleyball, basketball. It's amazing experience, and I thank God for the one year that we have been in priesthood.
[00:05:19] Speaker A: That's great. That's great.
[00:05:20] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:05:20] Speaker A: We've gotten a chance to listen to Father Ernesto, Father Timothy, Father Eusebius, but we have one more. Father Samuel, how has your first year of assignment been?
[00:05:30] Speaker F: So I've been assigning immaculate Conception in Astoria, and my first year is so wonderful new experience. It's a chance to put into reality all that I've been doing in school to interact with the parishioners and the school there. And the greatest thing that I would say is people appreciate, people always appreciative. Whatever you're doing at the parish, being present there, my presence there is really appreciate. And for that reason, I thank all the parishioners, the priests that we are working together.
It's a wonderful experience.
[00:06:06] Speaker A: That's great. That's great. Now, I know that when the diocese assigns newly ordained for their first assignments, they often keep into consideration the priests that you'll be working with, the pastors that they send you to. How has your experiences working with your pastors, you know, in terms of. These are men who have been ordained for many years. Most of them I know in your case, Father Samuel, Monsignor Ferrero Rese is probably the closest to retirement, I think, of all of the four pastors of your classmates. But how has that been? Maybe you can speak to that.
[00:06:38] Speaker F: Father Samuel, Monsieur Ferreris is so helpful to me, and whatever we are doing there at the party, she is a prayerful priest. We pray together most of the time and also most of the experiences and the challenges sometimes I encountered during my first time at the parish, I used to consult him, consult for the gym there, for the mike, and also with Monsignor Vini. Monsignor Vini has a lot of experience in the field of priesthood and is a very knowledgeable person. So working with all of them there, it has been a good experience for me. In case of anything, I consult them. Working together as a people who have gone the same mission, it's something wonderful.
[00:07:26] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:07:27] Speaker B: My pastor, Father Darish, the introduction was really well. Really well. He introduced me to the parish, and the thing is, he knows that I'm a newly ordained priest, meaning that he's welcome to. I mean, my mistakes, you know, like, my humble questions, you know, he's. He's always happy, ready to answer them, because, like I said, he knows that I'm a newly ordained priest. I'm there to learn, and I make mistakes. Is a good one. It's a good one. Good priest to live with.
[00:07:55] Speaker C: In my case, I have been assigned to Father Carlos Agudelo. I think if I have to say in one word what I meant to use, and my recommendation for any newly ordained is to use common sense, a lot of common sense, a lot of asking for permission, consultation, because we are new and then we are bringing our life, our Joe ministry to the parish. But there is structures in the parishes and stuff that we have to accommodate ourselves to. So it's a lot of learning this first year and asking anything, any initiative or something that you can do for the good of the parish, but you always ask for permission. In my case, I have two examples, quick examples. I want the parish to have more adoration time in front of the Blessed Sacrament. And I ask Father, I always consult first with my mentor. I ask Father, could we have adoration during the week? He said, yes. He said, yes. And now we have adoration every Thursday from five to seven. And there is a lot of youth in the parish. So I noted every Sunday giving communion to a lot of young people. And I said, can we create a youth group? And he said, yes. We have now around 50 or 60 guys every Friday for our St. Leo's youth group. It's a matter of working as a teamwork, but it works.
[00:09:20] Speaker A: That's great.
[00:09:20] Speaker D: Yeah. For me, I think it has been a wonderful experience working with Father Edward Kachoka. I had an easy transition after my ordination simply because I did my pastoral year with him. So, you know, we already familiar with each other. And, you know, I thank God working with him. I learned a lot from him, you know, his love for the church. And I thank God for, you know, his willingness to always know, correct me in a good manner, which is helpful. And then I thank God that I'm with somebody like him.
[00:09:51] Speaker A: That's great. After your ordination, you know, I know that certainly for me, when I was ordained, my family's from Ireland, so I had the opportunity to travel to Ireland and celebrate my first masses through the country of Ireland, where my mother's from, where my father's from, and also many first masses, even throughout the diocese, masses of thanksgiving. Now, all of you are also immigrants to this country. And did you have a chance to visit? Certainly a little bit different in your case, Father Ernesto, but you did have the chance to visit. Did everyone have a chance to visit?
[00:10:24] Speaker B: No, not me. Not me. I haven't got yet.
[00:10:27] Speaker F: Not yet.
[00:10:27] Speaker B: I haven't gotten any chance yet to go back to Haiti because, you know, as we know from the news that the situation over there is not too pleasant. So I cannot go back now. So I hope, you know, in the future and I can go there to say my first mass to my friends, my people over there. So I would be very delighted to do that.
[00:10:49] Speaker F: And Samuel, not yet, but I plan to go there on this May 20 to June 20. That's where I'll be at my home. And my parents, my brothers and sisters are waiting right now. They are preparing everything.
[00:11:03] Speaker A: Where is home for you?
[00:11:04] Speaker F: Kenya.
[00:11:05] Speaker E: Kenya.
[00:11:06] Speaker A: And that's gonna be great. They'll have a big party to welcome you back.
[00:11:09] Speaker F: Right, right.
[00:11:10] Speaker A: Father Eusebius yeah.
[00:11:12] Speaker D: I mean, in every honesty, the people, they are really waiting for me to, you know, come back and, you know, celebrate mass for them, my first mass for them. But, you know, it's something I have to plan for. You know, I can't just, you know, live and go anyhow. So, yeah, so I'm just taking my time, make sure that I plan it very well in a way that, you know, I won't have problem in terms of immigration issue and this and that. But hopefully as soon as possible, I will go and celebrate the mass for them.
[00:11:36] Speaker C: I had the chance last June on visiting my country, Cuba, and I celebrate the first mass there in the same church that I was baptized in Havana. After Mass, the pastor took me to the baptismal font where I was baptized. And it was such a blessing for me and my family and friends. And also, as Father Chris said, I had the chance also to celebrate masses in the parishes here where I was assigned for pastoral year in immaculate concession in San Simon and Jude and also here in the cathedral, which is always a big blessing because we were ordained here. And when you are the main celebrant on the same altar, you always feel like this is the place when everything starts. A year ago, I think that's an.
[00:12:20] Speaker A: Invitation for the rector to make sure that everybody else gets a chance to say mass here at the co cathedral. I got it twice with the haitian Creole mass.
The joy of your first masses. Where did you celebrate your first mass? And what was that experience like the first time? Raising the Eucharist, raising the host in adoration, raising the chalice. How was that experience? What was that like?
[00:12:43] Speaker F: Father Samuel my first mass I celebrated in St. Bernard in Milbesin. It was a wonderful experience and full of emotions. It's something that I've been waiting for and it comes to fruition, so you just feel overwhelmed with joy. And the parishioners showed up in numbers, so it was something good. And also the second mass I celebrated in St. Catherine of Genoa in East Flatbush. It was a wonderful experience. The church is packed and raising the body of Christ. You know, it's a joy. It's joy full of emotion and overwhelming. So it's something that I practice and even I remember Monsignor Grimaldi joking, like, oh, whenever I wake up in the middle of the night, I see light in the church that I'm practicing there with Monsignor Francis from Ghana. So he used to make a joke that I stay overnight in the church practicing. And when I did my first mass, everything was perfect. Like I've been doing it for many years. And that was an event to remember.
[00:13:56] Speaker B: Yeah, at my parish, lady of miracles in Connor Sea, my adoptive parish, and since I moved to New York. And it was beautiful. It was beautiful. Let's say weeks ago I was like basically seminarian there. Now I'm a priest, you know, saying mass and there was a lot of nervousness too. I mean, because first time, you know, raising bread and then it was beautiful, mixed joy and like, kind of like some pressure. But it was at the end wonderful. And then we have a beautiful party afterward. And then people, they were very happy. And then it was a good, good, very good, beautiful experience.
[00:14:34] Speaker D: Yes. Mine, I was at Sacred Heart, Canberra Heights in Queens. It was a beautiful moment. And I would say the reason being that the people of the parish, they were kind of the first people that welcomed me in this, in the country when I arrived. And, you know, I've developed such a relationship with them. So, you know, celebrating my first mass there for me was, it was joyful and, you know, I really thank God for the people there and I continued to pray for them. And even when I get in contact with them, they also tell me that they are praying for me. So it was a wonderful experience.
[00:15:09] Speaker C: In my case, it was where Samuel is now, an immaculate Concession in Astoria because I spent my pastoral year there with Monsignor Ferraresi. Father Mike, Father Jim. I'm Monsignor Fulham. It was such a blessing for me to be back there and especially for me because of my devotion to our blessed Mother. I am coming from a marian parish in Cuba, our Lady of the Miraculous medal. And then being at the Immaculate Conception is like feeling her welcome me back. There is something that I want to bring up is the fraternity of the priest. All my priest friends were there. It was a Sunday, but they took their time to be there with me and to welcome me to the presbyterate of Brooklyn and queens. And that was a beautiful, a beautiful sign of priestly fraternity also.
[00:16:03] Speaker E: Great, great.
[00:16:04] Speaker A: This is certainly a diocese of immigrants.
[00:16:07] Speaker C: We know that.
[00:16:07] Speaker A: And a great gift that that is that we're able to offer masses in so many languages, even sitting in this room. We all come from different parts of the world. You know, perhaps it'd be a nice opportunity for you to say a few words in your own native tongue to someone who may be listening to talk about just your offering, your gift of the vocation, and what that means to you.
[00:16:28] Speaker C: In my case, since I am in an hispanic community, mostly, there is a big population of, as I said before, young adults. And I will like to say in Spanish, paraesa familias que tienenjos ejas jovenes, por favor. Resin and familia unidos por bocaciones, necessitamo ma bocaciones al sacerdosio alavida religios alavida consagrada porqueno de pertaren, lojovenes de oy el de CEO de cervira. Senor, siendo sacerdoti emu importante que uno de losijos de esa familia seas parafuturo de la iglesia sanctificacion de pueblo de dios.
[00:17:14] Speaker B: This is my message for the haitian community, in Creole.
[00:17:43] Speaker F: For me, I would like to encourage anyone who has a vocation. Just start. Everything begins with a first step, and you'll make thousands more steps.
[00:17:55] Speaker E: Beautiful, beautiful. So all of you, father Nesta, father Timothy, father Eusebius, and Father Samuel, thank you for being here today. It's amazing that a year has gone by, but just around this time last year, you were getting ready for ordination. We were thinking about where you might be assigned, and it's been quite a year, I would imagine.
[00:18:15] Speaker B: The thing is, the pastor knows that I'm a newly ordained priest, meaning that he's open for mistakes. You know, I make mistakes, you know, some, let's put it that way, humble questions, you know, and he's very patient with me, very patient with me. He's a good pastor, and he's a blessing. People there, and they know also, I'm like, you know, I'm a newly ordained priest, you know, and they are really patient. It's a blessing to be there. It's a blessing. It's a wonderful place. So I'm very happy.
[00:18:42] Speaker E: I'm a big proponent that we learn from our mistakes. And what I mean by that, it's not just, okay, we make a mistake and learn from it. But in a sense, I think I've learned more from the things where I failed at something, succeeded in something, that those experiences, it's basically trial and error. They really shape us and that's a healthy attitude that you bring to it. Father Timothy, you're going through this as a year of learning and you're right. People are incredibly generous to us if we're sincere.
[00:19:11] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:19:12] Speaker F: They're talking about mistakes in maculate Conception. I remember beginning my several masses. Few of them have made a mistake. And probably when you preach, you find out that you had prepared well. But once you start talking, you find that these are very important information that you would like to share with the Christians and you find that, oh, I made a mistake. I didn't say this, but once you go back, it's like you recover from that and also some of mistakes. Also, Monsignor Ferrerisi corrects me whenever we are together. And that's a humble thing to know that we all make mistakes and we learn from dirt. So that's. Yeah, right. That's important.
[00:19:58] Speaker E: Exactly how has been for you?
[00:20:00] Speaker D: Fine bishop? You know, I really thank God for the opportunity to serve the people of God and I would say it has been a wonderful experience. Thank God for my pastor, do learn for him and thank God for his willingness to correct me. And also have been a wonderful in terms of the activities that we have in the parish. It's just wonderful opportunity to minister to them, to learn from them, and also to share the word of God with them.
[00:20:25] Speaker F: That's beautiful.
[00:20:26] Speaker E: That really is, you know, four of you talk about learning from mistakes and things like that, but I have to tell you something. What I hear on the ground is that you're making a positive impact in each of the communities where you're serving. All of you are known to bring a certain enthusiasm and a certain joy. I'm thinking now that I'm just looking around the room, all of you are in parishes where there are schools. Unfortunately, the school where you're serving, Father Timothe is one of those. We talked about this in our podcast last week that will close. But between schools, religious education, these are very busy places. Right, right.
[00:21:04] Speaker F: Actually, for me, I like that we have a school there in Immaculate Conception and I like the kids there. Sometimes we play together soccer, and even they have now requested that before the end of this may we should play basketball against each other. So we are looking forward for that time. My presence there, I feel it very much appreciated at the parish and working with everyone.
[00:21:32] Speaker E: You all making very, very good impacts. Tell me, what, what was holy week like?
[00:21:39] Speaker D: Yeah, bishop, I must confess, it was. It was really busy. Like really busy, you know, but, you know, I thank God for that wonderful opportunity to celebrate my first Holy Week as a priest. It was a moment of prayer and reflection for me. It was obvious to the people, I mean, people of God, because all of them, they came to church, they participated, and it was a wonderful experience for all of us. You know, it was a wonderful experience. And the church full and packed, modern as it used to be. And, you know, I thank God that the people are aware of what is going on, that it was a holy week. And for me, it was a wonderful, wonderful time. Yeah, good.
[00:22:19] Speaker E: Very good. Father Samuel, how was holy week in immaculate conception?
[00:22:22] Speaker F: It was busy. It was really busy. And there are many parts that once you are as a priest, to walk in those parts of the. Of the Holy Week. It gives you a good moment to experience the same journey that Jesus Christ walk. And also you are also walking.
[00:22:43] Speaker E: Did you preside over any of the liturgies of Holy Week and was there anything that touched you specifically?
[00:22:49] Speaker F: Yes, especially frustrating. Frustrating.
[00:22:53] Speaker E: On good Friday.
[00:22:53] Speaker F: A good Friday. That was moment I was recalling when I prostrated, when I was being ordained. I was like, wow, this is the same thing that I did during my ordination. So that was a touching moment for me.
[00:23:08] Speaker E: How about you, Fanny?
[00:23:09] Speaker D: Yeah, I did the Easter vigil. Yeah. Which for me, it was a good experience. Thank God for my pastor because, you know, he kind of accompanied me, told me what to do, and we did practice.
[00:23:21] Speaker E: Did you have baptism?
[00:23:23] Speaker D: No no no.
[00:23:24] Speaker E: How about you? Fantasy.
[00:23:26] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm gonna like, kind of steal his word. It was like busy, busy because we had a lot to do and trying to catch up with all communities because, you know, we have Spanish. Trying to catch up, you know, it was busy. Like, I was here and there, you know, trying to be there, you know, for every community. But it's a moment of learning. I learned a lot. I learned a lot. And then, you know, what really caught me, especially, I didn't preside, you know, any of that, because the pastor said, you know, let me be with you. But I preach, you know, I preach on good Friday. On good Friday I preach. And that was really, I mean, touchy. It's a very touching moment. And also holy Thursday, you know, the washing of the feet, I didn't do it, but I was there with the pastor. He was washing the feet of the people. So that was like, you know, that's what Jesus did. What Jesus did. And maybe soon I'll do it, maybe next year, maybe next year. And I have. And we had a lot of baptism and then. Yeah, yeah. And confirmation, too. And it was. It was good. Like I said, it was a moment of. To learn, to learn to observe that. That sense, you know, to see, you know, how.
[00:24:33] Speaker E: You know, when I was in seminary, we did all of a week in the seminary. Your practice in St. Joseph's is a little bit different where. That you're at parishes, right, when you were in the seminary?
[00:24:45] Speaker B: Yeah, we were like, you know, in the beginning, my first year, we were out there, but, you know, from second year up, we stayed in the. In the seminary.
[00:24:55] Speaker E: You did stay in the seminary?
[00:24:55] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:56] Speaker B: That's why we call it.
[00:24:57] Speaker E: So coming out of a seminary celebration, going into a parish celebration, it's the same liturgy, but very different.
[00:25:03] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. It's like, you are the main actor now. You know, it's basically, you are the main actor in the seminary. The priests, the others are the actors now at the parish, you are like the main actor. You do things, you know, it was like another experience. And I sang the exalted.
[00:25:20] Speaker D: Did you? Wow.
[00:25:21] Speaker E: It was like, I tried it.
[00:25:24] Speaker B: It was good, I guess.
[00:25:26] Speaker E: How about you, Father Luis?
[00:25:28] Speaker C: I remember telling the community on Easter Sunday that this holy week was the end of a spiritual journey for me, because I told them today, Easter Sunday, as a newly ordained priest, I have celebrated all the liturgical year, starting with advent, with Christmas, then my first lent as a priest, and my first holy week. So I told them, this is a big blessing for me, being here after all these celebrations. And I recount the Easter vigil where we had catechumens that I prepared personally with another catechist, and the pastor baptized them, and they received the sacraments of initiation. So that was like a collaborative effort between us and also celebrating holy Thursday. I was the main celebrant on Holy Thursday, but in an parish that I was helping a priest that was on retreat, and this gave me such an opportunity to see how we are ordained for the diocese of Brooklyn. So if we go to another parish to help and to celebrate with another community is something beautiful as well. It was a blessing.
[00:26:36] Speaker E: Now, in your parish, like many of our parishes, processions are very important.
[00:26:42] Speaker C: Did you have any experience with procession on Good Friday? We have the stations of the cross. It was like a long procession around the neighborhood, Corona park, and a lot of people joining. It was during the morning, early hours of Good Friday, and we ended up with a lot of people behind us with the police and everything escorting us, and it was a demonstration of faith, public faith in the neighborhood.
[00:27:08] Speaker E: As we come now on the year anniversary, what advice would you give to this year's group? Would you have any advice to give to the newly ordained priests who are on their way?
[00:27:19] Speaker B: I would say be humble.
[00:27:21] Speaker E: Wow.
[00:27:22] Speaker B: And be open to learn. Accept your mistakes. You will make a lot of mistakes, but be humble. Be open to learn from the elders, from your pastor, from all the priests you know. Be open to learn. And also remember, when you leave the seminary, you don't leave prayer. So you keep your prayer with you. So always pray, always do your bravery every day, because even though you are busy in the church or still create some time for your prayer, you need prayer because prayer is a booster going to boost us every day. So without prayer, like, forget it, forget it. So we need to pray. So that's very, very important.
[00:28:03] Speaker C: I'm going to take from what Father Timothy said because this is my main advice. We are busy, but there is no such excuse to leave prayers behind. We have smartphones. We are on the train. We can pray. We are in our car. We can pray. We have to do that first and then everything else going to run in a good way in our pastoral work. And also because I know when you come out from seminary and you said, how am I going to preach to the people, the preaching part of the priesthood? And I learned from my parishioners and from myself. Speak from your heart. When you tell people your personal stories, your life of faith, and you bring up your experiences with God to them, and you speak from your heart, they love it. And you touch people. The Holy Spirit works through you. Because sometimes we tend to look in the books and this and that, but when you speak from your experiences, this is what people really appreciate.
[00:29:03] Speaker E: That's very, very well put. Very well put. Father Samuel, the advice you would give.
[00:29:09] Speaker F: For me, I will give them advice of being patient. Be patient with yourself, be patient with everyone that you encounter at the parish. Give them listening here. They will appreciate so much.
[00:29:22] Speaker E: I like that. That's good. We listen.
That's certainly a thing that we hear from the Holy Father a lot, that we're walking together. We need to be able to listen to one another, really listen deeply. Good. Eusebius.
[00:29:37] Speaker D: Yeah. For me, I would just say, don't be afraid. It has been a wonderful experience for me being a priest, and I hope they will also experience that. And I just pray that they understand that God loves us. He loves us more than we can ever imagine. And that's just my advice for them.
[00:29:54] Speaker E: What are you looking forward to now as you're going into your second year?
[00:29:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:58] Speaker E: You've seen the lay of the land, you've gone through the liturgical seasons. Now that you've seen, what are you looking forward to coming back to? You're going to come right back to a festival. Right.
[00:30:10] Speaker D: What I'm looking forward to coming back. I think, in a way, for me, I want to experience the parish, you know, life more like, in terms of get more close to the people of God, be there to them, minister to them. Yeah. And develop myself. Myself, nearly.
I'm looking for a kind of area of life where we're kind of, you know, develop myself skills and. Yeah, that's just for me, I think that's what I'm looking forward to, self development.
[00:30:37] Speaker E: I think that's beautiful. You want to deepen those ties. That's really what we are called to be. We're called to be in solidarity with one another, really, to understand the source of it all is our relationship with Christ. So anything that any of you are.
[00:30:51] Speaker C: Looking forward to being in a very Joan parish, because of the demographic of the parish with John, families with a lot of children and also the school, I always emphasize the families to pray at home because that's the first school of faith. It's not CCD, it's not the catholic school. It's in the family. When we learn to pray and to love God first. And also in my hispanic community, we were speaking in our languages before with Father Chris. And for this kind of audience, also to think about vocations and promote in the family since early ages, vocations to the priesthood and to the religious life and to missionary work, because this is the future of the church.
[00:31:36] Speaker B: I'm looking forward to, let's say now I have seen what's going on in the parish. So, yeah, now I'm looking forward to working with the pastor, like, try to add more activities in the church. You know, for all three communities, we have three community, polish, spanish, and english community. And that's what I'm looking for, like, to implement or to add on, you know, some, like, for example, in my parish, we don't have any choir. So that's, I think I already said, spoke with the pastor, like, about how we can start at least with one choir.
[00:32:07] Speaker F: For me, I look forward to what Jesus said when he was with his disciples at the show after resurrection is he told his disciples, throw your net into the deep waters. So I look to see more deep into what I've been learning before. I'll be asking myself questions, is there anything that I can do to enrich what I've already learned, to put into perspective what I've learned, or to bring in new flavor to the ministry such that will bring more people? And if it is in youth, if it is in different groups, how can I enrich them?
[00:32:53] Speaker E: So that will be my segues into my last question. I think we don't ever stop learning. We don't ever stop being informed. And certainly you mentioned prayer and continuing to pray, but even that academic formation, we constantly need to renew ourselves, to continue reading, to be intellectually curious, but also as priests, we have opportunities to do things together. So as a Presbyterian, we have complications and all that. But after kind, we had a couple of years post COVID, everybody's having a hard time getting back on track, but we finally got our newly ordained follow up going. Basically, we ended up taking responsibility back here within the diocese. So some shifts. And so you've been working with Father Fanti and Monsignor Ogle.
Have you found that to be helpful?
[00:33:43] Speaker D: Yeah, it's helpful. And also, like, the conferences that we had, the kind of, the first one was kind of into spiritual life, so they help us, you know, a kind of, how is our spiritual life going? What are we doing about that? And also, we also had another one in the dog lesson where we discussed about, you know, even, how do you even file your task, your tax. As a practical thing. Yeah, practical things. Yeah.
[00:34:10] Speaker E: And also responsibilities.
[00:34:12] Speaker D: Yeah. And also, do, you know, do you exercise? Do you have any sports that you engage? So I find it really helpful. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:34:20] Speaker B: I like this continued formation because it's good, like, you know, that we meet together like each other.
Yeah. Some I didn't really know, but we meet together, like, and then we talk to it, we eat together, and we share together. That is community. That is community. That's things we should encourage, we should always constantly do, because it's good to get together, to get together and to be together, to share together, and then to share some joy and some setbacks, you know, stuff like that. It's good. It's very wonderful.
[00:34:53] Speaker C: You know, last year we were ordained for four different countries.
This year will be four different countries again. And when we have those kind of meetings, we feel like we're brothers, like we need each other. And it's always joyful to see our brothers back. For me, that's my experience. And since we were in the first meeting, I told them, this is good, because if we don't have time to get together, this is the moment to get together.
[00:35:21] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:35:22] Speaker F: Continuing information is something very important, and especially to update yourself with what the church is teaching. And because constantly Pope Francis keeps on teaching, and most of his encyclicals and sometimes his homilies, he carries a lot of messages to the church. And for me, I would say for me, if I will listen to all these teachings, it keeps me updated to what the church requires, what I need to put up front in order to make sure that people of God knows what is required of them.
[00:36:03] Speaker E: That's great. Well, I hope that that is fruitful for you. And, you know, I appreciate all the good that you're doing. So proud of you. Please, all of you who are listening today we give thanks for the priests who serve us. My experience is that you love your priest, that you show that love to your priests. And boy, do we ever appreciate that. And I ask you also to pray. Pray for them. And let's pray for vocations. We need all kinds of vocations in the church these days. Vocations to holy marriages, and we need vocations to religious life. And God's doing amazing things here in Brooklyn and Queens. And there are other people, people living out vocations in the single life, but serving community, serving the church in so many ways, but in a very particular way. Today I'm going to ask you to pray for vocations to diocesan priesthood. We count on you so, so very much. I give a lot of credit to people who are stepping forward. I always tell them, takes a good amount of courage to step forward and a lot of humility, because on the one hand, takes courage to step forward, to say, yes, this is what I'd like to do, but then humility, to put yourself through a period of formation and then to begin something new. So, thanks to the four of you for accepting that call. Thanks for responding so generously and effectively in this last year. And as the expression goes in Latin, ad multos annus. That's your bishop. I'm saying for many years. I mean, when I say that for many years. We're looking forward to your continued service. This week we celebrated the feast of the Ascension of the Lord. Next week we'll be celebrating Pentecost Sunday in this period of time, sort of a mini novena of nine days between the feast of the Ascension and the vigil of Pentecost. And so we make this a time of prayer, anticipate the workings of the Holy Spirit in our life through the renewal of the Holy Spirit. So maybe we'll close with the prayer to the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit.
[00:38:03] Speaker F: Amen.
[00:38:04] Speaker E: Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and they shall be created and you shall.
[00:38:14] Speaker F: Renew the face of the spirit.
[00:38:16] Speaker E: Let us pray. O God, who have taught the hearts of the faithful, by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that in the same spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation. Through Christ our word.
[00:38:27] Speaker D: Amen.
[00:38:27] Speaker E: And may the blessing of almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit descend upon you and your family remain with you forever and ever.
[00:38:35] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:38:36] Speaker E: Once again, thank you to our recently ordained priest. Can't call you newly ordained anymore. Our recently ordained priest. Thank you for sharing with us this day. Thanks to you Father Chris, for leading us into this podcast. Thank you for joining us for another edition of Big City Catholics. As you know, we look forward to meeting with you next week and every week. May God bless you and have a wonderful weekend.
