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49: Now we journey with Jesus during Holy Week · Beyond The Beacon

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Beyond the Beacon with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson, New Jersey.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: Join us for weekly conversations about our Catholic faith, and together let's strive to live a life of faith, hope, and love.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Jay Agnish.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: With me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: Bishop, how are you today?
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Oh good, Jay.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: How are you?
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: Doing well, thanks.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: A little busy holy week.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, happy holy week.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: This is like the in between the two storms of the earlier part with the the chrism mass, Palm Sunday and the Chris Mass, and then kind of a lull, I suppose, before the trituum.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: Something like that.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: Although I don't think you're ever uh ever not busy, Bishop.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: So this morning you were at the uh the Morris County jail, right?
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: You were celebrating Mass there.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, sir.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: What was that like?
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, Sheriff Gannon and Father Owen Moran and Father Alex Nevitt, uh, along with the Order of Malta and some volunteers.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: They're there every week on Wednesday.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um women and men uh are are both in that prison, and there's some women who work with the women and and and men who work with the men, and uh for mass they have everyone together.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: And the last couple of years I've gone the week before Holy Week, and we did a Palm Sunday Mass.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but this we this year at Father Moran's suggestion, I was able to go this Wednesday of Holy Week, and we anticipated Holy Thursday uh and celebrated the Mass of the Lord's Supper and the washing of the feet because of the you know special circumstances.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: But uh that beautiful image that Jesus gives to us of it's sometimes called a mandatum, the the washing of the feet, which we do in parishes every Holy Thursday evening, and uh to do it uh in the prison um really was uh a powerful experience.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: So um again grateful for all those who made it happen.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the things in Matthew 25, Jesus says I was in prison and you visited me, so um it's you know uh Good Friday also starts the um Novena to Divine Mercy and uh the Sunday after Easter Divine Mercy Sunday and that lesson of God being a merciful God, yes, justice, absolutely.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and those many uh in prison are you know paying uh a price for uh some bad decisions, but nobody is beyond God's mercy and love, and uh so it was um a blessed opportunity to be able to to be with some of our sisters and brothers who are going through a hard time and and be able to share the good news of the gospel.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: So and I yeah, maybe rewind.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: I I have to ask you uh about baseball, right?
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: Is opening days tomorrow?
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's tomorrowing day kind of weekend or week, I guess.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Well opening day is opening day, although the Yankees are opening on the road, so there'll kind of be a second opening day, I guess, uh a week from Friday.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so but it's just for baseball fans, it's uh a little, you know, not the best that opening day is holy Thursday and the second game is it's the calendar.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: It happens the way it worked out.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Baseball has been open opening a little bit earlier than they used to.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh right, uh March 28th, is it right?
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Tomorrow.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um they used to open the first days of April, but but uh with Easter falling at different times, you know, it's it's hard.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um so um mass tomorrow night at the cathedral for uh holy Thursdays, seven o'clock.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: The Yankees are uh opening at four o'clock in Houston.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm hoping I'll be able to at least get the first few innings uh and get that feel of opening day and the season starting again.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's great, great time of year.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, hopefully they're it's gonna start warming up a little again.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: Should we should we pray, Bishop?
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: As we come to this holy week, um we'll ask help an intercession of Mary, our blessed mother, we'll place ourselves in God's presence in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: In these days of Holy Week, as we journey together with the whole church towards the sacred trituleum that will begin tomorrow night on Holy Thursday evening with the Mass of the Lord's Supper and continue on Good Friday and bring us to the joy of Easter.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: We realize that our Blessed Mother was with Jesus each step of the way, especially on the way of the cross.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: And we ask her to help us to be close to Jesus, especially in these days.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: And we pray for all those who are suffering at this time.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: We think of those in in Baltimore with the terrible bridge collapse, and we pray for the repository souls of those who were were killed and in Thanksgiving for rescue workers and those who keep us safe.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: And we pray for peace in our world, and as we prepare to enter into the sacred Trudum during this holy week, we now once again ask the help and intercession of Mary, our blessed mother, as we pray.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us, all holy men and women, pray.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Pray for us in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so we could go all different sorts of directions.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: I uh for the sake of trying to keep it condensed.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: And um what do you where do you want where do you want to take the conversation today?
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, Holy Week is kind of free.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe uh a word to the viewers and and listeners that um we uh offer this podcast as a way of kind of being together, uh sharing information and getting to know uh the Church of our Diocese.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: I um I I love that we usually have guests, uh, but we felt uh this week it would be good just to spend a little time reflecting and preparing uh for these most holy days.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so um most importantly, I think just uh having had the chrism mass last night, that may be a good place to start because um that annual uh mass at which we bless the oils that are used in the sacraments, the oil of the sick, which is used in the anointing of the sick, the oil of catechumens, which is used for those preparing for baptism, and then the oil of chrism, the sacred oil of chrism coming from the word Christ.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: The word Christ means anointed.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Christians, we are anointed in our baptism uh with that same oil of chrism.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um I remember hearing that it's chrism is used in sacraments that can never be repeated because as the phrase we used to use where they make a mark on the soul or they they change us at the level of our being.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: So um when we're baptized um uh into the water of baptism, baptized in the name of Jesus, the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, excuse me, uh, and then we're anointed with the oil of chrism uh because we share in the life of Jesus, who is priest, prophet, and king.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um David was anointed as the king of Israel and Jesus as the Messiah, the anointed.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um we share in his life from baptism, then the sacrament of confirmation, which I'm privileged to celebrate so regularly.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we use that same chrism.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Father Stephen Prisk and Father Jared Brogan uh uh who helped with um uh master of ceremonies, and uh they made sure my oil for confirmation was changed last night, so out with the old oil and in with the newly blessed oil.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um your oil at the cathedral?
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Well, uh so the oil is blessed at the cathedral, and then each parish gets uh a bottle of the oil because you're the one doing the Well no, um the oil stock, as it said, uh the uh I I bring the chrism with me just in case I could use the what's in the parish, but for confirmation, there's a little inside confirmation uh here.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: But uh uh so um uh the when I carry my stuff to from Parish to Parish, uh I have there's a little um uh kind of container that I use uh for the actual anointing and confirmation with the oil of chrism.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so since last night we blessed the new oil for this year, we we changed it in the the the what I carry with me.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I see.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: So um That's a cool little thing.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah and then uh chrism is also used to anoint the hands of the newly ordained priest at the um at the rite of ordination.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so at the chrism mass uh priests will renew their promises of ordination, and it's a time for the bishop and the priest to be together.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: And thanks be to God, most of our priests um uh make it a priority to be there, and they were there uh in great numbers last night.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um and uh it was a privilege as bishops for them to renew their promises of ordination.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: You had something there in the well, it's just your column here.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: I have a little cheat sheet.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I thought your beacon columns this week and the week before were were great uh primers, but also deep reflections on this time.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: And uh yeah, great job on your on your columns.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: So definitely check out the bishop's column in the beacon, which he writes every every week.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: Except for this coming week, we're gonna take a week off.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: You'll take a week off mostly every week, just about every week, yeah.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: So um uh in the chrism last last night, uh there's uh struck me, I said them, you know, all my life, uh or excuse me, not all my life, all my priesthood.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: Uh in in Brooklyn I would try to get to the chris of mass each year.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: And really meaningful to renew the promises of ordination at the chris of mass with the bishop, with the other priests, uh, which we did last night.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: And it struck me in preparation the the words of the prayers or the words of the promises, um, as I mentioned last night, uh at the ordination ceremony.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: We for religious, we talk about uh poverty, chastity, and obedience, and they make those promises first in simple vows or temporary vows and then in final vows.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: For priests, we talk about um the promise of obedience, which is certainly there and and and needed in a gift.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um the the promise to celibacy is actually made in the diaconate ordination when a guy is going to be ordained a priest, he's uh he's first a deacon and he makes the promise to celibacy.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: He he renews it at at at priesthood, but it starts at diaconate.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then um rather than poverty, uh a simple life.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: So a Dasin priest priest doesn't necessarily take a vow of poverty.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: They shouldn't be living a rich life, but they should be, and the and the promises talk about a simple life, but they also promise to pray for the church.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's actually six promises uh that that the priest makes at the rite of ordination to priesthood, but we don't repeat those six at the chrism mass.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: They they're kind of condensed into two questions where the priests are asked uh if they're um ready to recommit themselves to uh their sacred duties is one of the phrases that's used beautifully.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, because you willingly and joyfully uh motivated by love.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: This may not be the exact, but that's basically that's the idea.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh are you ready to keep doing that?
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: And um then uh I mentioned last night uh the second question talks about having a zeal for souls.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: You know that we should um uh be highly motivated uh uh by love uh to share the good news and and bring people to Christ.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so again, we're blessed.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what's it was a chance for me last night to say thank you to our priests.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: And as I shared in a homily uh at the charisma mass, we can remember our own being anointed at baptism.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Those who are confirmed were anointed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: So how do we live out those those promises uh in by living our call to holiness?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I mentioned some groups and people that do that throughout the year, day by day, week by week, month by month, uh here in our diocese.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: So uh so that was a uh a wonderful opportunity.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think um I'll remember always my first chrism mass as bishop uh was in August.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's usually in Holy Week, but it was 2020, and so it had been postponed.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so um uh I had uh two chrism masses within my first uh uh I think ten months as bishop.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: So um so yeah, that was a wonderful, wonderful.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: There was I'm looking through the program here of the Chris Mass, and you, Bishop, also make some sort of promise or or or I guess it's not a recommitment.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's yeah, so there is.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh um I promise to be the best shepherd I can be, and uh and then we ask the people to pray for the priests, and we I asked the people to to to pray for me as their bishop.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: So yes, keep up those prayers.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: We all it's maybe the whole church seems to really recommit themselves.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, and certainly we we do that in in these days, and uh us at the Easter Vigil or Easter Mass, uh usually there's the opportunity to um renew our baptismal promises uh that focus on baptism from the Easter Vigil and throughout the Easter season.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um we die with Christ and rise with him in baptism as St.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Paul tells us.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: So um for those who are gonna be at Mass Saturday evening or Easter Sunday, you may very well uh um it's an option, but usually we choose it to uh invite the people to renew their baptismal promises and then we usually sprinkle with the the newly blessed Easter water as as we call it, uh the holy water blessed, blessed at Easter.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um so wonderful, wonderful days.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: And um it started with uh Palm Sunday this past weekend, and uh I was happy to actually I said Mass Saturday evening at St.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: Brendan's Parish in Clifton, and then Sunday morning at St.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Paul's Parish also in Clifton, and then at the cathedral for the Spanish Mass at 1 p.m.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: Which was packed.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, you were there, right?
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah, it was beautiful.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: It was uh standing room only.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: It was it was pretty neat.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: You um so you and the other concelebrating uh pre and the concelebrating priests uh began in the courtyard to the I guess the west of the cathedral, and then uh that's where you read the first gospel and then uh blessed the palms, and then you came out and around and in into the front door.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I recall from again my parish experience and different parishes do it differently, but there's that option in the in the rite in the ritual to uh begin uh at a place outside the church and or even at the door of the church.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: And because on Palm Sunday we remember Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, that sense of um uh coming in uh with the palm branches and Hosanna and so we do excuse me, we did that uh excuse me, at uh at the cathedral on on Sunday afternoon.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: And um, and again it was great.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's always uh wonderful to see a full church.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I said to you, the full church and full cathedral is great, and that was the case last night, and sure will be the case in the coming days.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll be happy to be with um Monsignor Silva and the priests and staff and people of the cathedral uh tomorrow night for Mass on Holy Thursday, the washing of the feet, yeah, the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood, the Mass of the Lord's Supper.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so the beginning of the tritum, right?
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: The tritum, right.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh begins with uh the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday evening.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, uh realizing that he gave us the Eucharist and uh the priesthood at the Last Supper, uh He also gave us the new commandment to love one another as he loves us.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then as I mentioned in my article, chapter 14 to 17 of John's Gospel, his uh long lengthy prayer and instruction.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh if you haven't read it, I I highly recommend it.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: And many, and uh there's a a tradition here in the diocese and other places uh that some will visit churches.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think in Passaic, uh many try to get to nine churches even uh because most churches uh after the mass ends on Thursday evening, um maybe you know, 8 30, 9 o'clock, the churches usually remain open till midnight.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: And uh we call it the stripping of the altar, right?
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because on Good Friday there's no Mass.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there's the liturgy, the Lord's Passing, as I mentioned in the article, but uh there's enough hosts consecrated so that people can receive Holy Communion at the liturgy on Good Friday, but it's not Mass.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's we don't because uh we're actually living the Mass at that moment uh it in in the suffering, death, and resurrection.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, powerful.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: And then Good Friday, of course, at the cathedral is our um really uh moving, powerful uh Via Crucis or the way of the cross, which is uh a tradition that I learned is very much still carried on.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: Did you i i in many other countries, South America and and even Ukraine and and all over?
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: But the now I was um emailing with one of the re one of the reporters.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: We're having some reporters come out to cover the event and uh we've gotten some great coverage leading up to it.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: And um or was it you who say did you ever experience the Way of the Cross growing up in Queens or in Brookl in Brooklyn or when you were um in the city or in my home parish, um as it happens in other places, uh it would be the Station of the Cross.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: So Station of the Cross on Fridays during Lent, uh and then a lot of parishes might have um the um Liturgy, the Lord's Passion usually at 3 o'clock, and then Friday evening, what do you have?
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: And some some have Station of the Cross Friday evening, which is beautiful.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh sometimes parish will have youth group doing uh a living stations or something along those lines.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: I remember actually in um in parts of Brooklyn and Queens, both when I was growing up, and in recent years, the Italian apostolate would all often organize a procession from one parish to another uh on on Good Friday.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes as in my second parish in Corona, um uh there's some of the Latin or Central American countries that um uh have the uh uh custom of processing with the body of the Lord.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh they have uh the Lord stretched out kind of in a coffin or uh and um but um so growing up uh that I was more of the station of the cross, but um my second parish and and the parish where I was pastor for 10 years, uh beautiful, beautiful um living stations, way of the cross, Via Cruces in Spanish is usually the term.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: And um I guess amongst the Mexican community and Dominican community and Puerto Rican, Ecuadorian, uh many of our Spanish-speaking uh sisters and brothers have those uh tradition of um walking through the streets, um the stations of the cross, uh and acting out.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so here in Patterson it's done so beautifully, as you mentioned, the coverage uh I think in some of the secular media, which we're happy for, and uh the uh Knights of Columbus, they have a magazine, Columbia, which uh had a beautiful article uh with some wonderful pictures from last year's uh event.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're familiar with Columbia magazine, uh check that out and and the story.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and so if your parish is having something um that's great and encourage you to be part of that.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: If you're looking for a different experience uh here in our cathedral, uh 1230, I think, is it on Friday?
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, yeah.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: It starts with um so there's a reenactment of up to the first uh station of the cross.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um30 to one thirty is the reenactment of the Passion Up at the First Station.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: And then it moves out into the streets for the the rest and and it winds up back at the cathedral.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh different things trigger us, but uh um uh you know, the was my experience in Brooklyn and Queens and other places here in Patterson.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: Certainly uh we thank our uh police officers and city leaders uh for helping with some of those uh processions, uh, you know, with closing a street or um accompanying us often and um mentioning that uh funeral yesterday at the cathedral for one of our Patterson police officers, Bob excuse me, excuse me, parish uh Patterson firefighters.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, yeah.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he mentioned that fire yesterday.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh Bobby Allen um uh uh fought a battle with cancer and it seems that it's one of those 9-11 related cancers.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: He was there um after the World Trade Center fell in um after September 11, 2001.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: As unfortunately, we've lost many firefighters and police officers and first responders from 91 September 11th related cancer.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: But um we thank God for them.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and his parents were there at the Mass and his wife, and we pray for them.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: And we, you know, should never take for granted those women and men that wear the uniform of the fire department or police department um in New York City.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: Sadly, uh police officer was killed in line of duty the night before last.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but you know, we I mentioned also in the homily last night to wake up on yesterday morning and hear that a bridge collapsed in Baltimore.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: My goodness.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um but um and sadly, um uh I think the the the construction workers who who who seem to have died, the six of them were I think all recent immigrants.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so we pray for them and and their families and loved ones.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um but uh you know uh professionals who do their job and think in the most difficult situation whatever happened on the ship and it was you know seemed to have lost steering and but somebody on that ship called to someone on shore and yeah the Mayday call I guess saved some lives from I mean to see that bridge go down and think that there wasn't you know if if the if if the traffic hadn't been stopped what it would have been like my goodness thank God uh so um at the uh at the at the prison today uh one of the things I shared with um those who were there um what we celebrate this week um from in the Tritum especially from the Last Supper to his agony in the garden to the way of the cross to his suffering and death to the resurrection um passion death and resurrection uh that's the life we live every day you know um the bishop who ordained me uh bishop Daly in Brooklyn would often begin the mass by saying we prepare to celebrate the Paschal mysteries and that we're called to live each day the Paschal mysteries the Easter mystery yes we celebrate them in a dramatic way um in a prayerful way um in in these holy days but um Jesus is calling us every day he said you know if you would be my disciple you have to deny yourself take up your cross there's going to be difficult moments whether it be tragedy or um other painful or difficult experiences that we face death is a part of life um very uh to lose someone we love we all know how difficult that experience is but we um have the hope that we'll celebrate Saturday night and Sunday of everlasting life in heaven as he conquers sin and death and so we um we share in the cross yes uh our lady our lady our blessed mother is our lady of sorrows and um we um go through those experiences but um it's been said in uh in my own um pastoral experience uh we don't look for that suffering but yet sometimes those most difficult painful moments are the moments when we can feel his presence most close to us um so uh when we talk about sometimes you know you have suffering or uh uh an annoying thing or um uh uh whatever it might be on a smaller large scale that uh we can unite our sufferings to his suffering we can the phrase was used some still used sometimes offer that up right uh so I don't want to go through this but I'm going through this but I unite my suffering with the suffering of Jesus and uh and allow him to transform that to kind of use that to to save others uh and also to help us know that that he has conquered sin and death and while we have to pass through the cross it will lead ultimately to to the joy of Easter the joy of the resurrection.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah so sorry about the homily uh no no that's great I and of course you know we we being Holy Week and there's many holy days leading up to how would you describe Easter as the as the uh pinnacle of our our faith or or can should we move to Easter?
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: Are we ready to well that's again the Lord's invitation the um we can know the joy of Easter because of what we go through on this week from the entrance on Palm Sunday to the beautiful chrys of best to the Last Supper the agony in the garden the betrayal the trial the Peter's denial um uh the way of the cross Mother Teresa would talk about it's not how many times you fall it's how many times you get up and and Jesus teaches us that we can even if we fall we can always get up again and he helps us to get up and that even getting up can lead us to Calvary but um the cross is his the sign of his victory over sin and death which so all that leads us to the great joy that we'll celebrate Saturday night.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: I look forward and um I believe Monsignor Gino said that there are going to be 23 people baptized adults baptized at the cathedral on Holy Saturday night and they'll receive their first Holy Communion and confirmation the Easter sacraments the sacraments of initiation so very much looking forward to that.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah the Easter Vigil which begins with the lighting of the Paschal candle lighting of the fire first then the candle and then the candle which and then in turn the the uh the faithful's candles the church begins the mass and church is in darkness we we begin after sunset um and then the fire is lit it's blessed the candle paschal candle is lit then that light is spread from one to the other amongst the baptized and uh the light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it and and we see that in a very physical tangible way in the church uh at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah so John John chapter one um great and what um what what I want to ask you I mean all these holy days do you have a favorite one?
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I've I've said I uh Holy Thursday is one of my favorite days of the year.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh um in in the past this changed many parts of the country uh the chrismass used to be on Thursday morning so you'd have the chris mass in the morning at the cathedral often have some lunch with some priest friends yeah and then have the Master Lord's Supper on Thursday evening.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: But uh Cardell Dolan was talking about this on his podcast yesterday and um when you have to drive a distance two hours maybe to get to the cathedral for a priest to get to the chris mass on Thursday morning and get back to the parish um uh it's been happening for a long time in you know more rural or spread out diocese that the chris mass would often be on Monday or Tuesday of Holy Week.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um and glad you mentioned that because uh uh one thanking our priest for so many things uh welcome home to healing the Mondays of Lent and and the sacrament of reconciliation we moved our chris mass from Monday to Tuesday so that we can have that extra Monday uh for confessions and from what I heard from some of the priests it was uh people responded um throughout the Mondays of Lent and and also this past Monday and Holy Week.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: Nice well um I wonder if you have any sort of Easter message or blessing you can share?
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well uh just before uh that um also to mention since I don't think we're gonna be on next week uh um I mentioned earlier the beautiful um uh celebration of divine mercy uh Saint Pope John Paul II uh his Polish compatriot Saint Faustina Kowalska received these rev revelations she died at 33 years old I think in the 1940s early 50s and um uh her her diary um talks about God's divine mercy and that image of Jesus with his arms outstretched and the white and red rays coming from his heart.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: Very famous image uh uh really growing devotion to the church and and we need it uh but I forget the year I think in the early 2000s uh St.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: Pope John Paul II designated uh the Sunday after um Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday uh each year the beautiful gospel of Saint Thomas uh so-called doubting Thomas um but the prayers even before it was named Divine Mercy Sunday talk about God's mercy and those upper you know Jesus appearing um risen from the dead uh so many will pray the novena um of divine mercy beginning on Good Friday going to the Sunday um after Easter and uh in many um Hispanic uh communities it's uh popular devotion and our sisters and brothers from Poland may bless so with so many here in our diocese as I as Sister Faustina it started all started the Divine Mercy at least uh uh started in Poland with Sister Faustina and was promoted by say Pom John Paul II Kawytiwa uh and uh um so it's a big it's a popular devotion in Poland as well so look look forward to to that um and um to wish everyone a happy Easter we're looking forward to getting to Easter through Holy Thursday and Good Friday Holy Saturday the quiet waiting um for that um rising sun uh which we celebrate the Easter vigil and its tradition started in the night and went all the way to sunrise so the consecration would uh coincide with the rising sun um uh S-O-N excuse me S-U-N the the the the sun and the moon and the stars uh and the sun that gives us light uh here on earth uh the rising of the S-O-N the Son of God uh uh this the sunrise is a symbol of his resurrection again the light bursting through the darkness so um we walk this journey together and in prayer for one another and asking God's blessing in these holy days and that these days of this sacred trituum would lead us to the great joy of holy Saturday night Easter Sunday morning he is risen he is truly risen they went to the tomb and they were told um who are you looking for Jesus of Nazareth He's not here he's risen and he'll go ahead of you to Galilee uh so um um and that's the resurrection that happened 2,000 years ago uh and now we're still celebrating and proclaiming and it's the the heart of our faith and the promise of new life in heaven and uh it's basically what we're all about so uh encourage everyone to have a prayerful sacred and um hopefully a very happy and holy and peaceful and joyful Easter and you too bishop thank you Jay miss you next week I hope you get some downtime um okay anything else um looking forward to it all okay well thanks Bishop and thank you for joining us please subscribe comment and leave a positive rating get to know us a little better by following Beyond the Beacon on Facebook or Instagram email questions and podcast topic ideas to the to us and to the bishop at beyond at pattersondiocese.org discover our other podcasts Coffee with Cupkey and the Paul Street Journal.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_01: God bless thank you God bless you happy Easter