Latest / Beyond The Beacon / 1: Lent, Latin Mass, Novus Ordo, Sports, St. Patrick's Day

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1: Lent, Latin Mass, Novus Ordo, Sports, St. Patrick's Day · Beyond The Beacon

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Beyond the Beacon with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Jay Agnish, editor of the Beacon Newspaper and Communications Director for the Diocese.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: With me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: Bishop, how you doing?
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm good, Jay.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: How about yourself?
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm doing I'm doing good.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: So we're uh as we record this episode, we're exactly a month out from Easter.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: How's how's your Lent going so far?
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: So far, so good.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks be to God, yes.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um a lot of good things happening in the diocese.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: So um and hopefully it's a spiritually rewarding time for everyone and something we need to be committed to day by day.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: But uh but here we are already in the second week, so it it goes quickly.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, uh our prayer and penance and fasting allows us to slow down a little bit and take some time for reflection and prayer.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, and I have to say it's been it's been a pleasure uh attending daily mass here at the chancery, and you've been celebrating uh quite a few mornings.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I think back on the column you wrote a couple weeks ago where where you talk about daily mass kind of being the the un under underrated secret of the spiritual uh journey and our growth.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yes, when you talk to people who at some point in their life make a decision to go to daily mass um or to try to get there as often as possible, uh uh they often speak about the difference that it makes in their lives.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, it's something I guess I started in high school because they I had to be there.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: It was uh we had mass every day at uh at the high school I attended.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: But um uh then I found myself going on Saturdays because my mom would often try to be at daily mass.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and then as I went out to college in the seminary, it just became um, you know, part of my life to try to have be at mass every day.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then um obviously as a priest, the pr priests aren't required absolutely to say mass every day, but most of them make that commitment to try to celebrate mass each day, whether they might have a scheduled mass or couldn't celebrate or even say mass privately.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: But um it's uh beautiful.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, private mass is beautiful.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um celebrating mass with the community is also um uh a wonderful way to you know just recognize that we come around the Lord's table uh to to do what Jesus asked us to do.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: And being able to do that with the staff here at the Dawson Center um during Lent and Advent is uh I'm I'm very happy to have that opportunity.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: And certainly you've been getting getting out to plenty of parishes as well.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: So um would can you open us up uh before we get much further?
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Can you open us up with a prayer?
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um In this season of Lent, we during the stages of the cross, we often pray we adore you, O Christ, and we praise you because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: We place ourselves in God's presence, name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: We ask the Holy Spirit to come and be with us to guide us, especially in these days of Lent.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: And on our Lenten journey, we ask Mary, our Blessed Mother, to guide us and strengthen us and comfort us as well.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so we ask her intercession as we pray.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so we have a few topics we want to discuss today.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: One that you uh you call you gave me a call early on Monday morning.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, the the Morris County girls basketball team won the state.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: Morris Catholic, Morris Catholic.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry, right.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: Morris Catholic, our one of our high schools here in the diocese won won their state championship.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: First time since 2006, their fourth in in school history.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: I was a little late to that uh um news as well, but um someone had told me that they were playing in the semifinals last week, and then that I heard that the finals were going to be on Sunday.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh and so it was great to hear the news on Monday morning that they had won.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: And um, thanks to your article in the Beacon, uh um uh it was great, even even more so to hear about uh who the girls are and their coach.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I've known Father Peter Clark now since I came to the diocese and have known the school community and what a wonderful Catholic faithful school community it is.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but to hear that the the girls were not only excellent athletes, are not only excellent athletes, but great students and uh young women of great character as well and dedication.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and it sounds like their coach is a great person and he credits the coaching staff.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: So uh uh really happy to to hear the news.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: I look forward to maybe having a chance to to meet with the girls uh sometime in the in the near future.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's a great story.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: And uh and when I spoke to the coach about about the article, um, you know, he he really and he you know he's he's like a he's like a proud father.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: He's he's texting me photos and newspaper covers and articles, and uh yeah, he's really good.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: So uh Jersey said he knows what it's like to play at a national level at Joey High School.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: So uh um definitely congratulations to them.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and one of the cool things he brought over from St.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: Anthony's, he told me, was that uh they they pray the Our Father on the on the sidelines during warm-ups.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: I they often think back to um my high school days playing baseball.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Our coach would always, I think we'd always play pray the Hail Mary, and he would conclude with Our Lady of Victory, pray for us.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so uh um so it was great to hear that the girls uh at Morris Catholic do that as well.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: So um don't want to digress too far, but you obviously you you've played in high school sports, and I I I guess you were inducted into the to the hall of fame for the very small school, so okay I'm very happy and honored to have been uh received that uh uh uh recognition by my high school.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: But uh so yes, uh uh but um uh we keep it all in perspective.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but uh as I've shared often uh it was uh a great experience for me to be able to play baseball during high school.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I played baseball four years.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: I played basketball only one year because uh my grades weren't as good as they should have been, and my mother said I had to choose one or the other.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: But I played plenty of pick up pickup basketball along the way, and uh and so you know I um been thinking in the coming weeks, um the last couple of years, I have written uh uh a column on uh some something, some connection to sports around this time of year.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Pitchers and catches, baseball opening day getting closer, March Madness is coming up, even the Masters.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: So um uh I was thinking that uh some of the uh uh quotes of the girls uh um uh and and and in your article um uh you know speak to the connections that um sports can have.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh St.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Paul, you know, said compare the spiritual life to running the race and running to win.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: And um and there's just a a lot of connections.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it it certainly was helpful to me in my life and and even in my faith life to learn about discipline and teamwork and hard work and dedication and um and even the the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat and humility.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so there's uh there's it it can it's gotta keep you know be kept in its place uh in terms of the balance because um you know even in our society the focus um and some of the money and some of the other things that um uh you know sports kind of gets out of perspective at times, but um if we keep it in perspective, I think it can be a great help, especially to to our young people.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I look forward to uh I'm sure we'll be talking about sports more as the year goes on.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: I was happy to talk about to discuss that topic, but there are more important topics.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: So um so yeah, what don't we move on?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: So uh the our cateco cate our catechetical conference was held um over the weekend, this this past weekend, um and three hundred of our of our religious education folks came out uh from parishes around the diocese.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: And um the I guess the overarching topic was the church's new vision of catechesis.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: You of course you mentioned the conference in your in your column this week in the be in the beacon.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: What are what are your thoughts there?
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh a few thoughts.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh first gratitude to all those who make it happen.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I used in the article uh a couple of times the word teamwork, and I do like that uh word going back to the sports connection, but uh uh whether we use the word collaborative or um sh sharing one's gifts and talents, uh but also the responsibility that that that that we're called to um when we're called to be leaders in the church, we're called to be humble servants.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um but uh but that service uh can manifest itself in different ways.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: And and uh so Father Johanator Garcia is now the director of our office of cateches catechesis and faith formation, and uh he's worked very hard recently, especially as I mentioned, he uh helped organize with Father Manning, our vicar for evangelization, and and many others at the Office of Evangelization uh who and and and in the office of catechesis and faith formation who worked together to not only have the catechetical um uh conference this past Saturday, but the Sunday before the rite of election.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: So uh a lot goes into that.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and if I just kind of showed up at both events and was able to uh you know, happy to pray uh with all those gathered at both events.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but I, you know, uh if if you're there, you see uh that this doesn't happen, you know, by accident or just throwing through a few things together.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: It takes a lot of planning and a lot of hard work.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, but though that work bears fruit, and we we saw that in in in both events, which um I mentioned in a column this week.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: And um thanks to St.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Elizabeth's University uh in Convent Station for hosting the catechetic which catechetical conference, which allowed us to have 300 in person, and then there were another, I think, more than a hundred that attended virtually.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but then to be able to celebrate Mass in the beautiful um chapel of the Holy Family Um of the Sisters of Charity of Convent Station.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and as I mentioned, I'd been there before to celebrate Mass, but um as we celebrated the Mass, uh Fali Garcia had mentioned that we'd have the opportunity at the end of Mass to go and visit um the shrine of Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: I hope I have that last name correct, but uh Blessed Miriam Teresa, as we like to call her, uh, on the road to sanctity, please God, uh, here in our diocese, was a sister of charity um of Constation.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh and um you can find more about her online.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: I encourage you to do that.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: And uh having that experience and at the end of Mass praying at her uh at her tomb and uh and seeing the beautiful shrine that that is there to her.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it reminded me also to mention that we have two potential saints uh in the process.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Brother Marinus Larue, um uh Benedictine of St.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Paul's Abbey in uh in Newton, a great story about being a merchant marine captain and being involved in what they call the miracle of the sea, uh helping to um rescue hundreds from North Korea um in uh during the Korean conflict and take them around in his um tanker, I think, to the peninsula of Korea to the other side where there was safety.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and then after that distinguished career uh as a merchant marine captain, uh just deciding to enter the the Benedictine uh Abbey as a Benedictine monk, and again you can learn more about him, but uh uh pay attention to those uh potential saints who can inspire us um by the holiness of their lives, and we have some local uh um candidates on that road uh that we can that can help us and we can uh ask their their help as well to pray for us from heaven, God willing.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Good stuff.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um on a little more of a of a somber note, um some of the biggest news of the past few weeks.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um Los Angeles auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell uh was was murdered, um, and his funeral mass was was held last week.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: Nearly 5,000 people attended standing room only.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: There were people on the front lawn watching on live stream, uh a few cardinals were there.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it was a really moving um tribute.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um I know Bishop Barron uh recently uh who apparently was pretty pretty close to to Bishop Dave as he referred to him.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um gave a great homily uh kind of centered around him.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: They used to retreat together.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I know just just uh yesterday, in fact, you uh paid your own tribute to uh bishop Bishop David.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I um you know we were all shocked to hear and you know it seems like it was a disturbed person who again had a uh a gun and it led to um the death of um uh Bishop O'Connell and um as the tributes came out and um to see his life, 45 years um as a as a priest and and bishop uh having grown up and been ordained in Ireland and coming to Los Angeles as many um priests here in our own diocese, uh whether it be from Ireland or Columbia or Poland or other places, um uh the beauty of um the uh our Catholic universal faith and uh responding to the Lord's call in different ways um in different vocations and and priests who are homegrown as we have many here in our own diocese, um, but others who feel that call.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: And and Bishop Barron certainly talked about um Bishop Dave as a young man in Ireland feeling that uh discerning that call to a missionary um vocation.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um we didn't wouldn't necessarily think that the United States would be mission territory, but w every place can be a mission territory.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: And Ireland had a lot of priests at that time or vocations to the priesthood, and there was a need for priests here in the United States, and um so the Lord's call led Bishop uh led Father Dave then to um to to Los Angeles.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: And um I I didn't follow so much to have the chance to see um I heard how beautiful the funeral was and the tributes, um, but hearing uh again as I'm a fan of Bishop Barron and try to listen to his homily on Word on Fire, uh usually on Friday or Saturday, and then his podcast on Mondays, um, I was really moved by um the tribute um that Bishop Barron offered uh and their reflection on friendship and his connection with the readings from this past Sunday, uh Abraham being called by God to leave his home and go to a unknown place uh where God would lead him and that trust to to leave everything behind uh and how Father Dave did that in his own life, and then um ending up in Los Angeles and the call to serve the poor and being involved as a peacemaker during the the Rodney King riots back in the in the in the early 90s or mid-90s, and um and and the also the reflection on friendship uh and we can I think take that for granted sometime.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: The gift of friendship is so important.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so um, and then as he talked about also that kind of mountain experience on the weekend where we um read reflected on the transfiguration, uh, as you mentioned, uh on retreat, they would uh climb a mountain together and uh uh taking a walk.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: And um so um I was very grateful to to hear that that tribute from Bishop Barron to his his friend uh Bishop Dave.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's quite a sad story.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: And uh one one of the one of the things that Bishop O'Connell was was known for was um ministering to the to the poor in Los Angeles and uh to the to those on the margins, and which brings us to our next our next topic.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: I I I feel like this kind of f flew under the radar last month, but um there's there's still work being done on the synod on synodality, which which will be coming up um I guess October 2023 will be the first gathering, the universal phase of the synod will be held uh part one.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: So last month um so the bishops concluded the North American Continental Writing Retreat, which is uh a team uh led by bishops from Canada and the United States concluded a week-long retreat to pray, discern, and synthesize the insights and contributions heard during the North American continental stage of the Synod on Synodality.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, we um here in the diocese participated, and our report is available online if you go to our website.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: We have plenty of information right there.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: And and uh what what are your thoughts on the um the synod on on synodality?
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, uh um again, somewhat new still to the bishops conference.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: Uh um I've heard Bishop Flores preach a few times and also excuse me, address the um the Synod especially the the um conference of bishops uh this past November um uh outlining the upcoming plan as you've just described that now has been um uh uh lived out uh in terms of that synthesis.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and so um we're actually having some meetings with our priests uh during this week, one yesterday and one tomorrow and and one next Tuesday.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: And uh in in those meetings we're talking a little bit about continually along that synodal path.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I know many parishes have um uh continued on now that we've listened uh as as part of that local synodal process, uh, what does that mean?
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: And how that discernment that Pope Francis is asking us uh to be uh open to and attentive to uh as as we encounter one another and listen to one another, well, what is the what what is the Holy Spirit telling us to do, or how is this the Holy Spirit telling us to to be the church?
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so um so we're we we're doing that and doing it in different ways, parish levels and um certainly at the diocesan level, we're gonna be uh continuing to see how we can uh respond to what we've heard uh in in different ways.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh that's something I brought up to the priest yesterday and we'll in the next two meetings and uh uh we'll see where the spirit leads us.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but very exciting.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um I believe it's it's gonna be that yes, this coming October and the following October of 24 that there's gonna be two sessions on the universal um um stages of the of the synodal process.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: So um so we ask everyone to keep it in prayer as well, because um, you know, we we have love and respect for our Holy Father Pope Francis, and it's certainly uh something that he's asking of us as the church.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: So um hopefully we um we uh we we can all uh continue on that synodal path together.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: So to be continued, we could say.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: The uh so w one of the uh features we wanna we want to bring into this podcast is uh taking some some questions from from listeners, from beacon readers, and um so I so I have have a couple for you, Bishop.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um actually I'll probably just ask you one.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh this is from Joseph Coraluso, who's a parishioner at Our Lady of Magnificat in Kinalan.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: Do you want the hardball or or the soft ball?
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: The soft question?
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh uh whichever you like.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: So um so Joseph asks, um there is a there's a lot of controversy over the Latin Mass and the Novus Ordu, the ordinary form of the Mass, the post-Vatican II Mass, as people kind of commonly refer to.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: Can you explain the Novus Ordu and what it is, how it should be celebrated?
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Joseph says that many priests don't follow the norms expressed by Vatican II.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: Any thoughts there on the on the Latin Mass?
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um many, many thoughts.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and uh thank you, Joseph, for the question.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: And certainly there's been a lot of conversation and and questioning.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's um uh I think about a year and a half ago that um uh Pope Francis issued what's called a moto proprio proprio uh um in his own voice.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh uh um and it was that moto proprio was called uh traditiones custodes, and um he um uh uh uh uh offered some restrictions on um what was um maybe in the past called the extraordinary form or the traditional Latin Mass, the from the Missal before the Second Vatican Council.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um so um that's been uh tough, I think, for some of our uh faithful to hear who um find that mass uh to be very prayerful.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: And um, but uh we continue on that again that path of discernment and um following the instruction and lead of our of our Holy Father Pope Francis.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think uh Joe in his question um makes a good point that um the Novus Ordo, the the the the Mass basically given to us by the Second Vatican Council, um can be a beautiful, prayerful, reverent um experience of faith uh expressed in many different languages, um Latin being one of them and English being one of them and uh uh basically any language uh in the world.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so um yes, uh he makes Joseph makes a good point.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we have to, it's so important to be patient with one another on these issues, um, because uh if you if you look at you know the church over the last 60 years and and uh what it meant, you know, I I it was a little before my time, the beginning of the reception of the Second Vatican Council, but um there was a lot of experimentation, there was a lot of different interpretations of the council, and and that was certainly the case in the liturgy.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, uh growing up as a kid, we had folk masses.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh uh, it was my introduction to to folk music, and some of it was very inspiring and and helped me as a young person.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh um, and I think some of that uh can have a place in in the mass, um, but uh it can also, you know, kind of go to an extreme and and kind of get away from what is offered in the uh the the rites approved by the church, and uh and a priest does have the responsibility um to um celebrate the mass as it's as as it's um as it's written.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: And um uh there's some room for um you know expression or um interpretation, but um um so um it's not an easy uh area um and uh uh I hope uh I'm answering Joseph's question.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: But uh but yes, uh uh the bishop is also the uh chief liturgist of the diocese and responsible to um you know make sure that uh the sacraments, all the sacraments and especially the mass are celebrated as they should be, as the church intends um uh by our priests.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so with the help of the participation of all the Faithful, uh whether that be you know electors or Eucharistic ministers or altar servers or others who participate in the liturgy, um, and so um it's the whole body of Christ that prays the best together.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, the priest acting in the person of Christ.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: But um so um so we we uh continue to ask again the Holy Spirit to guide us along um that path of discernment and and and and prayer.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: And um so uh it there are often it very often, you know, uh letters or emails or other um communication I receive when there's concern about is the mass being celebrated properly.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and and I do my best to to respond to those um to those uh uh questions and uh uh here in this podcast, hopefully we'll have the opportunity to do that going forward.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: I just want to mention also uh uh thanks to Father Steve Shadwell.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh uh I noticed uh uh Joe is from the parish of Our Lady of Magnificat.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: I was there a few weeks, weeks ago for a meet and greet with parishioners, and uh it was a wonderful experience, great turnout, and just a chance to kind of interact um with the parishioners of the parish.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so uh I'm grateful for that opportunity, and maybe you'll have that opportunity in other parishes as well.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I thought that was that was so cool that you did that, and we you know we have photos of that on our on our um social media and of course coverage in the in the beacon.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: So uh if anyone else is interested in s in asking a question of Bishop Kevin Sweeney, you can send an email to uh Catholic Beacon at Patterson Diocese.org and we'll try to get it on the show.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, that's that's pretty much all I have.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: What what uh what are you looking forward to this week, next upcoming few days?
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um this coming Saturday, uh the um Mass and St.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day parade in Morristown.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so uh many of Irish background are uh sometimes call it uh rather than just St.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day, St.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's season, uh it seems to in some places start early in March and go through the month of March.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: But uh um so uh uh I'm happy to be able to celebrate that that Mass this coming Saturday morning at um uh St.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: Assumption Parish in Morristown as I've done the last two years.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um I remember the first year very much uh uh with restrictions uh as we were still uh in the midst of the pandemic and um at the beginning of the pandemic and excuse me, um uh I guess no, that's it would have been 2021.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: So in the midst of the pandemic, um in March of 21.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: Then last year I remember we had snow in the morning, but it cleared up, and uh that was the first time the parade was back in in person last year.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: So um I'm looking forward maybe even to marching in the parade uh in in Morristown this coming Saturday.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then um uh a week from or six days after that, uh a week from uh tomorrow, um uh St.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day will be on March 17th.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm looking forward to being uh at St.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Cathedral for the Mass with Cardinal Dolan and um uh um um possibly marching uh with County Mayo, where my parents are from, uh and the St.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day in in New York City.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's great.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, you uh recently issued a dispensation for the Friday, St.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: Patrick's.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: It seems to get a lot of attention, yes.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: So if anyone wants to know more about that, you can you can check it out on the beacon and on on our website.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um and maybe just to say a word that uh actually somebody was sent me a uh a um uh a message uh yesterday or day before that uh commenting on the on the uh dispensation asking um wouldn't it make more sense to give up to continue to have the fast and abstinence on St.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day because if we're sacrificing more, it's even more meaningful.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: And the person I think probably has a good point.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh nobody's required to eat meat on you can still keep the fast if you like.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but uh because it's such um an important um feast in the church.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's um uh a feast of uh a saint that you know has um been a big part of a culture and and it part of the immigrant experience, um and this can be in so many different cultures or from many different nations.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um when when someone leaves their home and comes to a new land here in the United States, they try to hold on to some of their the things that they remember from home that remind them of home.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: And um and and and so in many ways the celebration of St.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day is bigger in a place like New York City or in many places here in Jersey or in other um parts of the country um than it is in Ireland because uh that custom of um being here and feeling far from home, uh the celebration of an important day like St.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day or the feast day of a lady of Guadalupe for the Mexican community.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: There's other examples.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh um uh our Italian brothers and sisters um at Columbus Day will um you know have a mass and parade.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so um uh those um those moments are are important for for um and and it shows that an immigrant community shares, they don't just keep it to themselves, you know.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: They they they share it with us, and it's a beautiful part of being a country of immigrants because as we say on St.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day, everyone is Irish on St.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day, and it's not only the Irish who who celebrate the day.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: So uh it's a great way of sharing uh the that that beauty of culture and and and history and um and uh corned beef has become the uh uh dish here for St.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: They don't eat it so much in Ireland, but it's become the the the almost requirement here for uh um uh uh St.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: But uh but uh looking forward to the day and um and in the context of Lent, uh you know, we we can make our own choices, and this just gives people an opportunity to say, I can have corned beef on St.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day and then maybe do another act, you know, abstain on another day or do an act of charity.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh it can be part of the the our spiritual practice during during Lent.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Bishop.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for joining us uh on behalf of Bishop Kevin Sweeney.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Jay Agnish.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: Join us again for our next episode.
• 28:41
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• 28:44
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• 28:53
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• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening to Beyond the Beacon.