Latest / Beyond The Beacon / 3: 'Run so as to win,' almsgiving, Catholic Charities, Catholic Schools

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3: 'Run so as to win,' almsgiving, Catholic Charities, Catholic Schools · Beyond The Beacon

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Beyond the Beacon with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Jay Agnish, editor of the Beacon Newspaper and Communications Director for the Diocese.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: With with me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Bishop, how you doing?
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm good, Jay.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: How are you?
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm doing good.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: So how how was the parade?
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: The parade was wonderful.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh a beautiful day that God gave us and um a great day for the Irish, as we say.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: And um, but there was a feeling in in in Manhattan that um it was kind of felt like it was back before the pandemic, the city was crowded.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: The uh I didn't get to march with my parents' county, County Mayo.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't start marching until 3 30, I found out.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: They were supposed to, they were lining up around a quarter to three, and uh so um you know the parade started at 11 30 and it was still going probably at least 5-50.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: So wow um but being at the Mass before the parade was was beautiful um with Cardinal Dolan and uh a former uh classmate from the seminary and friend from high school, uh Monsignor Kieran Harrington, head of the Pontifical Mission Society, preached and did a great job.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: So um so it was great, wonderful.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I you know I couldn't help but notice the uh so one of my new favorite podcasts that you that you got me into, uh Big City Catholics, um, actually gave you a shout out this week.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's of course Brennan and uh Father Chris Henyu.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, it was uh uh Father Chris and I were served together in the same parish, St.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Michael's in Brooklyn, and they were talking about the immigrant experience, um starting with the St.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day Parade, and his parents are both born in Ireland as well.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: But serving in the immigrant community in Brooklyn, whether those immigrants are from uh Mexico, Dominican Republic, or Ecuador or or China or um or or wherever the many immigrants come from, the similarities in the um immigrant experience um as I learned in my second parish in Corona, especially, but my first parish in in Jamaica, Queens as well.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so yes, uh Father Chris was remembering some of his time uh in St.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Michael's on the on the podcast with Bishop Brennan.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: But they do a great job on on that podcast, big city Catholics.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um they sure do, yeah.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: That was that was pretty neat.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: So um can you open us up uh with prayer?
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: Come, Holy Spirit, and be with us on this Lenten journey as we move closer now, together with the whole church, to the great days of our most holy week in this journey of Lent through our prayer, repentance, fasting, and alms giving.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: We pray that we might draw closer to you, Lord Jesus.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: We pray for our sisters and brothers preparing to enter the church and receive your life and the sacraments of initiation and baptism and confirmation of holy communion at the Easter Vigil.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: We give you thanks for the gifts and blessings of each day.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: We ask you to inspire us to follow you and we ask the help and intercession of Mary, our blessed mother, uh Saint Torius, who will celebrate who we celebrate today, and all the angels and saints.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: We ask all these prayers in your name, Jesus, who is Lord forever and ever.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, let's get to it.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: So this in this week's uh beacon, you wrote uh you wrote a sports column.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's a great column.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's entitled Opening Day, March Madness, and the Rites of Spring, where you you draw parallels between sports and the spiritual life.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: You quote St.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 9, where he discusses athletic discipline and competition.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, you mentioned opening day of baseball, college basketball, and some other sports.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'd like you to tell tell us more about this, but but first I just want to say, as a diehard hockey fan, Bishop, uh I'm gonna have to forgive you for leaving out the standard competition.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate the reminder because uh there is something special about playoff hockey as well.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: I was more of a hockey fan as a kid, but uh uh don't follow it as much.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh still would root for the Islanders.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I know there's a lot of uh strong Ranger fans in New York, and now here in Jersey, um uh the Devils have a great tradition and they seem to be back uh towards the top of the league, from what I understand.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh yes, you're right.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's part of this time of year is the hockey playoffs as well.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: So uh it's a great time of year in so many ways.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, um this past Tuesday was the first full day of spring and such a beautiful day, the weather we've we've received.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so um we're grateful for that.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, uh now I um this is the third year in a row I said I guess it might become an annual tradition.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I know not everyone is a sports fan, but um there are certain connections as I tried to share in this week's um beacon, as I've done in the past, it's been helpful for me.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh, you know, that uh obviously the spiritual life and our life of faith is primary, and um, there's different ways that we can learn um to be disciples, right?
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: The disciple is one who follows one who learns from the teacher, and uh, as disciples of Jesus, um, we we learn in different ways with the help of the Holy Spirit.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: And um as I mentioned, you know, the Lord says that we should be in the world but not of the world, and and we have to uh be aware of the signs of the times.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: And and so we uh while some uh have a vocation to you know go away and be a hermit and live a solitary life of complete dedicated to prayer, that's not the vocation that most of us have.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so we uh knowing what's happening in the world um can help us in our conversations, one another, uh and and if there's something that can Jesus used things that people were familiar with, farming and fishing, uh, to talk about the mysteries of the kingdom.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh I think uh uh we don't hear Jesus speak specifically about sports, but again, St.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Paul soon after him uh would uh make that comparison with the athlete running the race.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um so um I think we use what is part of our experience to talk about the deepest of our experience, which is um the gift of life that we receive from God and uh and how we live that life day by day as as disciples of Jesus.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: So um uh I going back to that quote uh from St.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Paul, as I mentioned, I've gone back to it over the years, and um wow, it's um it's so run so as to win, you know.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um if if if we're gonna do this as the another sports phrase, you've got to be all in, and uh and so hopefully we're all in as Christians, and if whether it's art or music that can help others or science or what technology, um uh whatever the particular um uh hobby or interest may be, uh if it can lead us closer to the Lord, um, then it's uh it can be a blessing and and for myself and I think some others uh sports can can help even in the spiritual life.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's great.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it really s that that passage really the uh competitive kind of language around around sport really.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I I I don't think I mentioned it specifically, but I think we need to be compare c careful about that too, because the competitive can get out of hand.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's um but you hear of St.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Paul talking about that challenging oneself um to to keep going to give our best.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um that um that competitive healthy competition maybe is the best thing.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like the that not that we're competing against our fellow Christians, but uh yeah, it's it's something else there too.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, the struggle, the um um again, giving in our all, keep keep going, discipline, um, and uh um right, we um uh certainly uh well there's that phrase, you know, uh one of the things one of the famous coaches said um whiz winning isn't everything, it's the only thing, you know, and if it's um you know some kind of materialistic or um uh vain uh I gotta be the best and win at all costs, you know, that can get us far away from what we want in the spiritual life.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to be careful, but um but that striving for doing our very best.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um that I think is is uh something that an athlete can understand and and is certainly part of the spiritual life.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Bishop.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um so moving on, so um Holy Week week is fast approaching.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: We're in we're in the midst of our 40-day desert journey with Jesus, striving to prepare our hearts for the resurrection.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: What advice do you have for Catholics at this point in Lent?
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um maybe run so as to win.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: So uh, you know, keep going.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um if if you've uh been faithful to whatever you've given up or abstinence or um fasting, um that's great.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um remember that um I think it was Bishop Brennan, and actually I want to mention there was uh another podcast that someone recommended to me.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: I've heard a few times called Jesuitical, and um young adults uh uh from the Jesuit perspective looking at the life of faith, and they had Bishop Brennan of Brooklyn on as a as a um guest, and he was talking about a recent uh reading in the office of readings uh that daily prayer that the church gives to us, the Liturgy of the Hours.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And um one of the saints was talking about how um uh prayer, fasting and almsgiving are works of mercy, they're connected.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: So um if it's great if we've you know kept our fast or whatever we've given up, perfect score, okay.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um but are we also taking the time to pray?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: And are we is that prayer and fasting manifesting itself in in works of charity or works of mercy?
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: So um always good to be checking ourselves day by day and and Lent can allow us to do that.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: So you know, now in the middle of the fourth week, uh if you're gotten distracted or maybe you know had a few slips in terms of what you fasting or okay, no problem.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um now we're moving closer to Holy Week.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Always a good time to um every day is an opportunity to say, Where am I, Lord, and how are you calling me to uh follow you a little more closely?
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: And how can our our Lenten practices help us to get ready for Holy Week?
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Always good to recheck, uh so never too late um to start again.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: Great, and of course, uh confession, always always a good part of the season.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um Mondays, uh welcome home to healing.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: I let's see, we only have this coming Monday, uh um, I think might be the last because Monday of Holy Week, uh we have our Chris Mass, and um so for the Mondays, but I'm sure in parishes there'll be many opportunities between now and and and Holy Thursday to um uh to experience that healing if you haven't had the chance um in the sacrament of reconciliation.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: But this Monday night coming, um uh every parish in the diocese from seven to eight thirty at least, um, that opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's yes, a great way to get ready for Holy Week.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's a great thing that w we do together as a diocese with our parishes.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um you mentioned almsgiving and um have to say point out that we now have an option for giving through Venmo, among the many other uh ways that that folks can give.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: And there there are a lot of opportunities to give, of course.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: There's um more globally, there's Catholic release services here in our own diocese.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_01: We have our Catholic charities.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I know Bishop you just recently visited our Catholic Charity Center in Franklin for their March of Meals celebration.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: Can you tell us more about that?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: That was a wonderful morning.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um this past Tuesday, the first full day of spring, and nice drive up to the country in Franklin uh in Sussex County at our Catholic Charity Center.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: And apparently um on the national level, there's a emphasis on March in March to promote not only March Madness, but uh March for Meals, uh part of the wonderful wheels on Wheels program that's been around a long time and an example, I think, of where um the church and the government can work together, you know, in providing services.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: And um there was a little ceremony be before um we went out.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: I had the chance to go to a local person and and bring a meal, drop it off at the door, um uh more of a photo op, but it was I was happy to do it because I did it once.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: There's people who are doing it every day.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: And um a woman who 50 years ago started volunteering at that um Catholic Charity Center or in Catholic Charities, through Catholic charities, uh with meals on wheels.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: And um now she has a son who's struggling with cancer and and they're receiving meals on wheels.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so um to hear her testimony was and to be in that group, probably maybe 30, 40 people, um, volunteers, retired people.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um so we talk about giving, and yes, we want to make financial contributions when we can, but but giving of your time and and and and talent um by volunteering um is is is we get back so much again, God is never outdone in generosity.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, it was a real blessing to be part of that group, um just doing day by day what God asks of us.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: And um, and they do that uh whether it be driving or making phone calls or whatever it takes, um collecting donations.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um but um we'll um we'll get more information as we go along to who people who might be interested in in volunteering or helping out because it's a great way um to practice our faith by by looking for ways that we can help our brothers and sisters in need.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: And um, it was a wonderful morning uh at the March for Meals uh at our Catholic Charity Center in in Franklin.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's great to hear, and and hopefully we'll have Catholic charities on the podcast sometime soon.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um all right, so moving on, um on the uh front cover of the Beacon, which is behind you, behind your right shoulder there on camera, um Mike Mike Wochik, uh our news editor and uh you know our full-time reporter here at the Beacon, wrote a wonderful tribute to Sister Maris Larkin, uh principal of Assumption School in Morristown, one of our elementary schools.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: Sister Maris is a sister of charity.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Mike, in her article, described her as having boundless energy.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: She stands out in the cold waiting for students to arrive, along with the pastor, Monsignor John Hart.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, for the first day of school, uh, Sister Maris hires a string band to help welcome everyone back to school.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: She puts on lunch dance parties, wears fun costumes on holidays.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, she attends the students' sports games.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: So these are all some of the many ways she makes her 434 students feel feel welcomed and love.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: I just thought that was a great story and a great example of some of the people hard at work in our diocese and in our schools.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Thank God for our Catholic schools.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um there are challenges, um, but our superintendent Mary Bayer and our pastors and principals and and teachers and and support staff and and parents who sacrifice to um make those tuition payments to send their children to Catholic schools.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, one of the great treasures of our of our church, um, that gift of education.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: And um one of my first introductions to Sister Maris and Assumption School was I remember I think in the summer of 2020 when I first arrived, um, they were doing a lot virtually after the lockdown.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: And um then I remember her uh video, I think it was Singing in the Rain, where she had the teachers participating in this um video that they put together.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: And we were reopening schools.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: The Catholic schools did a great job at reopening in September of 2020, whether it be hybrid or um with remote options.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: And um and yes, um spirit uh is is so important, uh, not only what we do, but how we do it.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I know um, and again, you talk about a dedicated athlete running the race, um uh someone like Sister Maris and um those who lead our our Catholic schools and teach in our Catholic schools, um, they are very so incredibly dedicated.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and when it's done with a joyful spirit, Monsignor Hart uh and and a pastor and a principal working together so, so, so important.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: And um Monsignor Hart and Sister Maris are a great example of that collaborative leadership that that uh helps to have a yes, a thriving uh school like like many others that we have uh here in our diocese.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yes, Mike did a great job on that article, and I was glad to see Sister Maris uh and her work uh highlighted.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's good.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: Nice to have some good news.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um and uh there's plenty of it in the diocese, and we want to tell that story uh as much as much as we can.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um so we want to start a new segment on the on the podcast where we uh discuss an upcoming feast day or a saint of the day.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: So so who what do you have for us or who do you have for us?
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I think uh if if we're gonna do this each week to um explore and um recognize the another treasure of our faith, uh the lives of the saints and our liturgical calendar, um, so we can spend more time as we go along.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: But um this coming Saturday is uh March 25th.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um March is the third month.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: If you add nine, that leads us to twelve.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's nine months before Christmas.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: So at as we celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th, we go back nine months and celebrate the moment um when the word became flesh and dwelt among us.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: Then when as described in St.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: Luke's Gospel, the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel coming to Mary, it's been depicted in in art and movies and in so many that pivotal moment.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I think of St.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: Augustine who talks about Adam and Eve all the way through humanity, they're just waiting for Mary's response, as we say, her fiat in Latin, her yes.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, she said, let it be done unto me according, even though you know she said, uh, how am I gonna have a child?
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, man.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: She was still a virgin and betrothed, engaged to Joseph.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: But um, so if you have a chance to be at Mass this morning, or if excuse me, this coming Saturday on the 25th, or if you can't get to Mass to read the readings um for the Assumption, um, a beautiful, beautiful feast day.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the first mystery of the uh first joyful mystery of the rosary.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so uh we'll celebrate that um this coming Saturday morning.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: Then Saturday evening will be already in the fifth Sunday of Lent, um, but um uh an important day in the calendar.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I thought in terms of the lives of the saints, we'll maybe highlight a, uh try to highlight a saint each week, some better known and some less known.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: Today actually is the feast of Saint Toribius of Mangrovejo, if I'm pronouncing it correctly.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um a great story.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Catholic, I've like to promote a favorite website, uh Franciscan Media.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: If you Google Catholic Saint Saints, CatholicSaint.com, maybe we'll put a link um uh to it um as I often do on Twitter, uh not Twitter, I'm not on Twitter yet, but uh on Instagram or Facebook, um uh Teribus um together with Rome Rose of Lima, Saint Rose of Lima, and we have a large Peruvian community here in our diocese, and um St.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: Rose, uh along with St.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Teribius, did this work in um in Peru and then in the quote unquote New World, um where he served for 26 years.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: He was born in Spain and educated for the law.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: He became so brilliant a scholar that he was made a professor of the law at the University of Salamanca, famous university in the 1500s and sixteens, eventually became chief judge of the Inquisition at Granada.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: That Inquisition does not have great fame, but um this says he succeeded too well because uh but he was not sharp enough as a lawyer to prevent a surprising sequence of events.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: When the Archdiocese of Lima in Peru required a new leader, Teribius was chosen to fulfill the post.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: He was the one person with strength and character of holiness uh and holiness of spirit to heal the scandals that had infected that area, and he fought against it.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: He says he cited all the cadens that forbade giving a layman ecclesiastical dignities as the archbishop, but he was overruled.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: Teribius was ordained a priest and bishop and sent to Peru, where he found colonialism at its worst.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: The Spanish conquerors were guilty of every sort of oppression of the native population, unfortunately, as we know, but there were some who said, no, this is wrong.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: And abuses among the clergy were flag fra flagrant.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: He devoted his energy energies and sufferings to the to this area first.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: He began the long and arduous visitation of an immense archdiocese, studying the language, staying two or three days in each place, often with neither food nor bed.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: Teribius confessed every morning to his chaplain and celebrated Mass with intense fervor.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: Among those to whom he gave the sacrament of confirmation was the future Saint Rose of Lima and possibly St.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: Martin of St.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: Martin de Poras.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: After 1590, he had the help of another great mis missionary, Francis Solanus, now also a saint.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: So sorry to read, but uh I wanted to just share that because uh it's Just one example of we might not many may be aware that today is the feast day of St.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: Terribius, March 22nd, but the lives of the saints can inspire us um in in in trying to seek to know and do the Lord's will day by day.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: Can I ask you, Bishop, do you do you have a favorite saint?
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I have a few of them.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh Saint John Viani would certainly be one.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: I've I've mentioned uh the two more recent saints of my you know teenage years that inspired me, Saint Pope John Paul II, um Saint Mother Teresa.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um I've always been a fan of uh Saint Peter the Apostle.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and uh uh I can give you a few more as we go along the way.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but um um uh Damien of Malachi, um uh Saint of the Lepers, um wonderful story and example.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um so Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, um Dorothy Day is not yet a saint, but um one we should someone we should talk about along the way.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: So um um yeah, and I have to say St.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick as well, right?
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: Because but it is.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: I don't have to say it, I'm happy to.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, yeah.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh that's a quite a lesson.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I I think you have a devotion to St.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: John the Baptist.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's right.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: That uh was one of the first things I um realized when I got the call that I was coming to Patterson, that the two co-patrons of our diocese, first is St.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: John the Baptist, but also St.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: And as a kid, I was always just inspired by um uh John the Baptist's uh lack of fear is uh his great passion in preaching.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: And um so yes, uh he's been a favorite of mine as well.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I started I started reading the Gospel of Mark again, and he he's plays a prominent role pretty early on.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: And uh well, great.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh look forward to learning more about the Saints and and how we can yeah, how we can learn about from the Saints.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um all right, so moving on, let's um let's go to uh we got a question from uh a listener or beacon reader.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: Got a question for you, Bishop, from Ed Kent Ken Casean from uh he's from Valley Cottage, New York, and I'll tell you the story about him after in Rockland County.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um Ed attends the parish of St.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: Paul and St.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_01: Anne up there, and he became a the beacon uh aware of the beacon through mass attendance at St.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: Anthony of Padawa Church in Butler, close to where he works.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_01: So Ed asks the question What can I do to make it easier for me to love my fellow human beings in the way that the Lord commanded, to love our neighbors as ourselves?
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: Bishop.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's like a softball.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's the lives of the saints, the lives of the saints.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there's one way um to hear stories of conversion and um whether it be Saint Francis of Assisi or Mother Teresa of others that saw Jesus in the distressing disguise of the poor, but overcame their fears to to meet the needs of those who were suffering.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um St.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: Francis certainly Lord make me an instrument of your peace, and there are many saints who have been peacemakers.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, so I think some of the chat is it Ed Um Is there um yes, it's not always easy.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's easy to talk about loving our neighbor, but when we get on one another's nerves, uh it's not as easy.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um but and so uh prayer, we uh we have to bring um uh the challenges in life and our own weakness to prayer and listening to God's word in the scriptures, um spending time with Jesus in the Eucharist, receiving him in holy communion, receiving his um mercy and forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation, all of that can uh build us up, like the athlete sometimes to um be able to meet that challenging moment when temptation is gonna be strong, somebody's getting on my nerves, it's not easy to love, I feel weak, I'm tired, I'm maybe distracted.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: But it with that spiritual training we can say, okay, Lord, I have to love my sister or brother and try to be patient with him or her.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: So um there's a great spiritual tradition of I think answering some of um Ed's questions and uh or at the what's at the heart of Ed's question.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but um I'm glad to hear he's a fan of the beacon and um uh so I appreciate and thank him for the for the question.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank thanks so much, Ed.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: He uh Ed wrote a beautiful letter to the editor actually in this week's Beacon um in response to one of your columns, Bishop's uh Bishop uh it was titled Come and See that ran on February 9th.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: He said that he became Catholic after accepting an invitation to to attend an outdoor mass.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, during the I saw that, yes.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, during the it was a great story during the height of the COVID COVID pandemic.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: He uh he then he went through the RCIA program and was received into the church in Easter of 2021.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: So a great story there.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I think um this coming Sunday is the fifth Sunday of Lent.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but the following Sunday is uh Palm Sunday, very similar to Ash Wednesday, a very popular day.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh find out your church schedule, your parish schedule for Mass for Palm Sunday, and you know, drop it in conversation.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you know, it's Palm Sunday.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, okay, maybe someone isn't going to Mass every Sunday, and for some reason they want to get the their palms, which is fine.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you never know how that invitation is gonna lead somebody back to the sacraments or lead somebody back to the practice of the faith.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so all of us should be um aware of those opportunities where we can invite someone.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um Ed is a perfect example.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody said, Why don't you want to come with me to a mess?
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: And um I I think he was not even hadn't received the sacraments, right?
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: He um he went to RCIA after that, yeah.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: Correct.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so um thanks Ed for your question.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: And if anyone would like to ask Bishop Kevin something, please email a question to we have a new email beyond at patterson diocese.org.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um all right.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: So uh as we conclude this episode, uh is there anything coming up in your schedule or a significant diocesan happening that you'd like to talk about, Bishop?
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um I actually today have a meeting of the Board of Regents of St.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: Hall University as the Bishop of the Diocese, five dioceses in the state of New Jersey.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: Each of the bishops of the five dioceses is on the board of regents for Seton Hall University, um, ex officio, I guess as they say.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: And uh it's been a wonderful experience for me.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: Again, looking at Catholic education, whether it be at grammar school, high school, or higher education, um, a great gift to our country.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: The Seton Hall, a great blessing um here in our um our in our state of New Jersey.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um so um I'm glad to be uh part of um the Seton Hall family as on their board of regents.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then um uh this coming weekend uh gonna be a two confirmations in in in Morris Plains and um and a confirmation in Randolph as well.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: So and a visit to St.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um St.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: Margaret's Parish in Morristown for a uh Lenten um morning of prayer uh on the Feast of the Annunciation on Saturday, March 25th.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: So so good things um happening um throughout the diocese and uh and um thank God for the the gift of each day and and we try to see what God has in store for us day by day.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Bishop.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll have coverage of many of these events in our Beacon newspaper and on your Instagram, I'm sure, and on our Facebook account.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you for spending time with us.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, for Bishop Kevin Sweeney, I'm Jay Agnis.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: Join us again for our next episode.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: Please subscribe to this podcast wherever you're listening.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_01: If you're watching this episode on the Bishop's YouTube channel, be sure to like the episode, follow the channel, and ring the bell for notifications.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: Email questions for the bishop to beyond at pattersondioces.org.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening to Beyond the Beacon.