Latest / Beyond The Beacon / 2: Pope Francis, St. Patrick, Noche Blanca and Hispanic Ministry

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2: Pope Francis, St. Patrick, Noche Blanca and Hispanic Ministry · Beyond The Beacon

• 0:03
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Beyond the Beacon with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Jay Agnish, editor of the Beacon Newspaper and Communications Director for the Diocese.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: With me is Bishop Kevin.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: How are you, Bishop?
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'm good.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: Jay, how are you doing?
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm good.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm good.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so you ready for March Madness?
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: Ready.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: Tonight we begin.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so um on Monday, of course, you posted your your picks for for the NSA N NCAA.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: And uh so far he got one of them right.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: FTU made it.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yes, great to see FTU.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I learned that they're the smallest team in the field uh in terms of uh physical height, uh, but apparently not the uh smallest when it comes to spirit, as they had a great win last night.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now they go up against number one Purdue.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: I I almost picked them to uh win the upset, but um if they win tonight, I'll be regretting that I didn't.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: But um let's go after you.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, yeah.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: Hopefully they can be the the St.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: Peter's of of last year, perhaps.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll see.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: So uh can can you open us up uh with a prayer, please?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, sure.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Place ourselves in God's presence in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Come, Holy Spirit, and be with us.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Guide us to know the Father's will and to unite ourselves more closely to Jesus day by day as we respond to his call.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: In these Lenten days, as we walk the journey together, we pray that through our prayer for penance, fasting, and almsgiving we might be more united with Jesus and more united with one another.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: We pray especially for our brothers and sisters preparing to enter the church at the Easter sacraments.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: And we ask these prayers through the intercession of Mary, our mother, the Queen of Peace, the Queen of Ireland, our Lady of Noch.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: And we pray ask the intercession of Saint Joseph, pray for us, Saint Patrick, pray for us, and all the angels and saints pray for us in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so a few things to go over.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think the one of the one of the bigger uh news items this week, of course, is the the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis' uh election as our 265th uh successor to St.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: Peter.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um we had coverage in our Beacon newspaper, and of course you had a you had an Instagram post the other day.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: So um, I mean there's a there's a million places we can go with this, but I guess why don't we try to keep it simple?
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: So we're um you asked the question on Instagram, where where were you 10 years ago?
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: So where were you, Bishop 10 years ago?
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I was uh in the parish of St.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Michael, the Archangel in Sunset Park in Brooklyn, where I served as pastor, and I was meeting with a couple who were preparing to get married, and uh the door was closed, but we heard a scream, which was unusual.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and uh it turned out it was the receptionist who uh had just heard the news.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: She was following us online that uh the we had a new holy father, and I think she was even more emotional because he was from uh South America, from Argentina.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um she was uh from the Dominican Republic herself, but I think there's that feeling um amongst our Latino and Hispanic brothers and sisters that uh certainly Pope Francis comes from from their experience, and um so uh it was a great moment of joy in that parish community as in many, many communities.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I um I had a confirmation on Monday night, the 10th anniversary, and uh I mentioned to the young people who were receiving confirmation that they were receiving their confirmation.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: It was at St.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: Anne's Parish in Parsippony uh that they were receiving their confirmation on Historic Night, the 10th anniversary.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Now they were probably four, five, or six years old when uh Pope Francis was uh elected, but certainly their parents would have remembered.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: And uh interesting, so many mysteries in our human human nature, excuse me.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but um that experience of whether it be something of our faith or something certain like the um assassination of President Kennedy or the events of September 11, 2001, how we can remember exactly where we were and what we were doing um at at those moments in time.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so um uh I like to refer to the words of Jesus in the in the Mass when he says, do this in remembrance of me.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we need to remember him and his love for us um as we do at Mass.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And uh that experience of member remembering is uh part of our human experience and uh some things we don't want to remember, um, but there are uh and and the whole time is another mystery that how God gives us time and we live according to time.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: But um to think of 10 years and again that human experience of saying, wow, where did that 10 years go?
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um so uh but um I think also to give thanks for what Pope Francis has been for us and and is for us now and and and please God for many years to come.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh God give him good health and and and energy, and um so uh so he's been a blessing to to our church and and we give thanks for the 10 years that we celebrate.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: And um and I have to ask you, um, so you you met the Pope obviously uh at the as part of the uh bishop's ad lumina visits and not too long ago, and and we had a photo in September, yes.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: I yeah, what what was that like?
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, um actually meeting him was nice to say hello and shake a hand.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was quick, but um it was still certainly a privileged moment.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: But um um being there with about a hundred, I think forty or so other quote unquote new bishops, even though it was uh about two years delayed, the new bishops class that we had this past September, but um bishops from from all over the world.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And uh the end of that program was gonna be the opportunity to meet with the Holy Father, and we had that opportunity.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: And before we went up and got to say hello to him individually, um he had kind of an open discussion, 90 minutes of questions and answers, comments, um, and and that was really um uh a great privileged moment to uh have that time to hear from his pastoral experience, um, to hear others showing their love for him and and and the the people's love for him and um discussing issues.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: I know we talked about young people in the church, we talked about uh migration of peoples, um, we talked about a number of um uh important issues, and to hear his perspective was was was was really again a privilege.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's great.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um Yeah, I love you know, as a as a news editor, as a reporter, uh, you know, I'm always looking at the headlines, and Pope Francis can certainly light up the headlines.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: And um I mean he he's uh it's just his use of language is it's so so imaginative, and he's he's um he's always he's kind of giving us teaching moments and yet at the same time he's challenging us to improve and and um so as part as part of the beacon coverage that that we put in this week, uh the USCCB provided us with some great resources, and I was just you know, I was just scrolling through.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um they they have um on their on their website, they provide every they include his apostolic exhortations, his encyclicals, he's got they have a timeline, um definitely worth checking out.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: They also include um some quotes uh from him, some of his famous quotes.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: How can people find that if they want to check it out themselves?
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um so it's usccb.org slash popes slash pope dash francis.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: And uh yeah, it's a great resource.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um let me see if I can find this one.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: So the one that jumped out at me here was uh I can't actually find it.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, here it is.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: So whatever you do, don't be the sorry sight of an abandoned vehicle.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: Don't be part cars, but dream freely and make good decisions.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: Take risks even if it means making mistakes.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: Don't go through life and anesthesized or approach the world like tourists.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: Make a ruckus, cast out the fears that paralyze you so that you don't become young mummies.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: Live, give yourselves over to the best life.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what is that was that spoken to young people?
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: It sounded like that was when he says don't be young mummies.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: The Christus V Vivet 143?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that one of his documents, sure, right.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um so um yes, um you know, uh as we have there's a whole experience of getting to know one another, you know, uh, and uh we've certainly gotten to know a good deal about um Pope Francis over these 10 years now.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but to realize that uh, you know, he comes from uh, as we each do, a personal history and um the beauty of vocation, and um, you know, that he felt the call to not only priesthood but um to the uh the Jesuit community, um the Society of Um uh of Jesus uh founded by St.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Ignatius of Loyola.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And um as some of maybe um his challenging remarks or um the creative language as you talked about, uh, you know, there's a whole spirituality uh that the Jesuits have given to uh the church.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: And um so uh I think in listening to him sometimes you can hear um that Jesuit training and uh they one of their charisms and missions is is education, as we know, and um and so they they they do a lot of study themselves as part of their formation, um, even before they uh you know take final vows and uh and and learning his history within his own Jesuit community in in Argentina.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um the uh like family, you know, uh Pope John, St.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Pope John Paul II called uh, well, uh he he wrote a book on his own vocation called Gift and Mystery.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: I like to say that family can also be a gift and mystery, and uh, and and whether that's our biological family or religious families, the church, and um the the his Jesuit community was a challenge for him at times.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: He was challenged by them, and then he would also challenge them.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so there are some good uh biographies out there, uh, and and I would certainly encourage you to um to learn a little bit more about where Francis comes from, which I think can give a little understanding of some of the ways that, you know, that word discernment that should be important for all of us, but it's it's a very important part of Jesuit spirituality and and he's calling that church, the church us, you know, certainly in the synod of synodality, what those three words encounter, right?
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: How do we encounter one another uh listening?
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: That we want to take that time to listen.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: And um, and then discernment, where's the Holy Spirit?
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and maybe I'll just take this moment to uh say that part of having a podcast is that listening experience, right?
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: I don't only want you to listen to me, but uh I I'm happy to listen to you.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh as Jay will say, that um there's opportunities for you to submit questions, uh topics that you might like to hear discussed on the podcast uh as we're beginning this podcast.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: So um uh yes, in that synodal experience that we're listening is very important, and and listening's got to be a two-way uh uh um experience, hopefully.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: So uh um uh I'm glad to share some thoughts, but also want to listen to our people as well.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely love it, Bishop.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: Well, so why don't we pivot from from one one of our great Catholic leaders to to another, um St.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: Patrick.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um obviously this is this big week, tomorrow uh being St.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: Patrick's Day.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um I you know I'm I was going back looking at some older videos of yours and and some of your writing.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: You you refer to yourself as a son of St.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: Patrick.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: I love that image.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: And um and I so I have to point out, so just just uh was it Tuesday, you were uh you were named was it Irish person of Irish Man of the Year by the Paseic County?
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think so, yes.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh um uh grratitude to uh the Passaic County Commissioners, especially uh Terry Duffy, uh who I think was instrumental in my being nominated.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: But uh I was happy to be there uh as I feel more at home each day in the diocese, and uh um so to have uh a recognition by the county of Passaic uh um it I would and that's not so much anything I've done, I would give that credit to my parents, especially as an Irishman, uh uh um, you know, being born and raised in Queens, but the son of parents from Ireland, uh I came to know the the the uh experience of the Irish people um through through my parents and then getting to know some history and family history and the history of the people and going all the way back to St.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick and uh and his um uh in the county my parents are from in County Mayo, there's a mountain called Crow Patrick or Patrick's Mountain, also referred to as the Reek.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you can climb it.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's about a two and a half hour climb up, and that's was 20 years ago for me when I did it.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: But uh and then the coming down is just as difficult, if not more so.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: But um, there's an annual pilgrimage that still many uh on, I think it's the last Sunday in July, we call it Reek Sunday.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so um Patrick took that time in prayer and then came down and began uh spreading the good news of the gospel.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: And his again, another wonderful story to learn about.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there's plenty of information online, and uh, but then to learn how that um the faith was received by the Irish people and passed on from one generation to the next, and that's where you know I think we can say the Irish and even Irish Americans are, you know, those who have some Irish roots.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: And on tomorrow, uh St.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day, everyone we say is Irish on St.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: So um that yes, we are spiritual sons and daughters of um of St.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick, the great apostle uh to the Irish people.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: So uh we will so look forward to celebrating him tomorrow.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: And we're gonna have uh coming up a question uh regarding regarding tomorrow, but before we get there, um so are you now you're marching in the in the St.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: Patrick's Day parade?
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure yet whether I'm marching.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh okay.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm looking forward to being at the Mass at St.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Cathedral.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, uh friend of mine from high school, Monsignor Kieran Harrington, who's now the um national head of the Pontifical Mission Society, or part of that is the propagation of faith, our church, the our support for the missions of the church around the world.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I Cardinal Dolan um was kind enough to invite Monsignor Harrington to preach the homily at the Mass tomorrow.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: So um I'm looking forward to being here for being with there for his preaching, but also just to it, you know, I think of my dad and my my mom, uh especially for my dad, how important it was that we be there on St.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day and march in the parade and uh to have the opportunity to celebrate uh the mass is um before the parade at the cathedral is is is something I'm very grateful for and uh look forward to.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so um I I don't know if I'm gonna be marching because County Mayo, my parents' county, is gonna be unfortunately one of the last counties up and uh I gotta get back for a few things.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I'm gonna stay for a little while after the Mass uh and see some friends and uh uh we'll see how the thank God the weather sounds like it's gonna be good.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: So uh we'll see whether or not um I'll I'll be marching, but I'll I'll be there at least uh in the morning and towards the start of the parade.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well, good.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: You have to let us know about it next week.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um All right, so moving on, um of course we have a rich community of Hispanic Catholics here in the Diocese of Patterson um participating in interesting faith-building events.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: Can you tell me about the the Noche Blanca, which was held at St.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: Bonaventure Church in Patterson this this past hour?
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'd be happy to, and maybe just uh in between that is uh um you know uh certainly uh the there's the Irish experience and the Irish American experience, that immigrant experience of you know having to leave home and come to this land, not only the Irish, but many others.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: And uh certainly in this part of the country, uh uh in many decades, probably century or so, uh uh on St.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day, March 17th, but St.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Joseph's Day, uh usually March 19th this year, because March 19th is a Sunday.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: St.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: Joseph's feast day will be on Monday the 20th.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: But um uh, you know, St.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Joseph has been embraced by uh the Italian community, Italian-American community, and in many parishes uh where I grew up and and here in New Jersey as well.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um there would be Irish communities and Italian communities, and so St.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's St.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: Joseph's Day parties, maybe corned beef and cabbage to eat, and then uh Italian pastries for dessert.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: So uh but it's not only though you know those kind of symbolic things, but uh, you know, we think of Bishop Saratelli and and the Italian American community here in our diocese and our state and throughout the country.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so um that reminder of the blessing of immigrant communities that have been and continue to be uh here in our country from so many different uh parts of the world, literally the whole world.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh you mentioned um our Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters, uh certainly um maybe more recent immigrants, um, but um very much a part of the church here in our diocese.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: And um this past Saturday there was a youth event called Noche Blanca, um uh white night, basically, the translation, and uh it calls young people to look back towards their baptism, the the purity of you know being forgiven for original sin and beginning our life in Christ, and uh then trying to continue living that life in our challenging culture.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: And um so um actually a young guy that I knew uh when he was, I think he said 18 or so in in Brooklyn over 15 years ago, uh Gelmis Tavares, he's worked in youth ministry in different places in the Archdiocese of New York and um also in the Dominican Republic.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: And he with a small group uh started, I think 15 years ago or 10 years ago, the the Noche Blanca experience, and um they hadn't done one in a while um uh because of COVID.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so um Father Yacid um um Father Yacid, the pastor of St.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: Teresa and um Patterson, who is the in charge of our the Hispanic charismatic movement here in our diocese, worked with Galmis and his team to um uh to uh and the Franciscan friars at St.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: Bonaventure were kind enough to open their um their doors and and they have a hall, and the hall was really full, and I was glad to be there at the beginning and uh and and welcome all the young people to the diocese.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: And uh from all reports it was uh a night, you know, where the Holy Spirit was very much um uh felt and experienced and um hopefully many young people who were drawn closer to the Lord and and and and strengthened as they as they strive to live their faith.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean the photos were were were great, uh charismatic, you say, uh no no doubt.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um and uh a few of those photos are up on your your Instagram account.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then we'll have some more coverage uh next in next week's edition of the of the beacon.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um so you speak fluent Spanish and you regularly celebrate Spanish language mass in our parishes.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: You're you're a member of the USCCB subcommittee on the church in Latin America, and here in the Diocese of Patterson, you established the Office of Hispanic Ministry.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, your ministry to Hispanics goes back uh to your first parish in Jamaica, Queens, and I I you're leading the Diocese of Patterson in many ways, I feel like is a perfect fit because you know, as we know, Hispanics are a big part of the church in in Patterson.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: I know we could literally spend an entire episode on this topic, and and I hope probably to do that sometime.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: But uh any reflections on the well uh just to share also um uh just recently um I decided to um with some consultation and discernment after some time, we uh just actually named a uh an Episcopal vicar.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um the uh there's a vicar general who's kind of the bishop's um uh close collaborator um and has certain responsibilities in terms of canon law.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Here in our diocese, we have two vicars general, uh Monsignor Marcond and Father Michael Parisi.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: Then there are other vicars.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um we have a vicar for education, a vicar for evangelization, a vicar for special projects.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I've just recently named a vicar um for Hispanic Affairs, uh Father Dubernay Villemizar, um who's um the pastor of St.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Margaret's parish in um in Morristown, St.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: Marcus of Scotland, and um um one of our younger um uh uh but uh pastors, uh, but it brings a good deal of experience.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: And um so uh with Maria Moncagliano, who's runs our Hispanic ministry office, um Father Dubernay will help in terms of um uh continuing that work that started Bishop Saratelli and and Bishop Rodimer before him uh in terms of receiving uh and and and um reaching out to our Hispanics, our Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters, but also um allowing them to have their voice and share in terms of um we're one holy Catholic Apostolic Church.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's um uh you know, language can be a struggle sometimes.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I can get through a conversation, yes, and love to celebrate Mass.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um when it comes to reading and writing, I'm not that great, you know, as as or as much as I would like to be, but uh but uh so but we we can't let those um uh limitations or challenges you know stop us from um being brothers and sisters to one another.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so um so um hopefully um we try to model that as a church and as a diocese.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: And um so that means working together and and um I'm very excited about how our uh Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters, along with our Polish-speaking brothers and sisters and um uh Italian-speaking and uh um uh uh many different languages, I think 14 different languages um mass is celebrated in here in our diocese every Sunday.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: So um so that diversity is is a gift uh that that that that we experience as the church.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: And we should treasure and uh and be grateful for and um and celebrate as well.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: Thank thank you, Bishop.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um so why don't we move on to um we have a uh section on our our podcast here where listeners or beacon readers can submit their questions directly to Bishop Kevin Sweeney.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, this is this is a great opportunity to ask your bishop uh all sorts of questions.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: I mean anything, you know.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: I I want to I have all kinds of questions for you.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: But we we know you do too out there.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: So um so the uh the email to use would be uh catholicbeacon at patterson diocese.org.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: And uh yeah, please do uh submit a question and we'll be sure to get it on here.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: So we we got a question from Kathy Zayat uh Zayatz.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um hope I hope I didn't mangle that, Kathy.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh resident of Vernon, New Jersey.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh her she's a parishioner at uh uh St.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: Francis de Sales.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um so she asked, in regards to the um St.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_01: Patrick's Day dispensation that you uh recently issued, um Are we such simple people that we must have a dispensation to eat meat on St.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: Patrick's Day when it arrives on a Friday in Lent?
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: Wouldn't it be more of a sacrifice to give it up for just that day?
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: Bishop?
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I replied to Kathy because uh and uh um emails or letters that we received, as I've said, I try to read them all, I can't respond to all of them, but um I do the best that I can and uh and Kathy and and questions can be helpful because I when I read Kathy's email, I said, hmm, you know, wouldn't it be even more spiritually beneficial to make the sacrifice to not eat corned beef on or meat on uh, you know, so do we have to give the dispensation?
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought about it, and uh, you know, I we had thought about it before giving the dispensation as well.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: And um it's uh I I think I I shared with Kathy uh two reasons, maybe that um uh I would say um, you know, even though uh nobody's forced to take the dispensation, right?
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: You can you can still make that spiritual sacrifice, and and yes, sometimes the more difficult the sacrifice, the more meaningful it can be.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but as I shared with Kathy, um coming from my own experience growing up um with parents who were born in Ireland, sometimes um when somebody leaves their home and their country and they come here to this country uh uh and they're happy for the blessings and and gifts that are received here, but there's still a little bit of um fondness or or or or missing um you know what what they left at home.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: And a day like St.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day for the Irish, just like a day like our um the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe for our Mexican community, sometimes it becomes bigger here than it was in the country that they left because it's that opportunity for um uh people who have something in common to celebrate their heritage.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: And certainly they we see that walking up St.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day and you know that how corned beef and cabbage got exactly tied up.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's like you know, candy on Valentine's Day.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: We're not sure exactly.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but uh but it it became such a part of the the day that um um you know to allow somebody to have that, and and that doesn't mean you know you you don't make spiritual sacrifices.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: You can make another, we're you're encouraged to either do an act of charity or fast, you know, abstain from meat on another day.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um so um and then I think the second question I I shared with Kathy was or the second um uh reasoning maybe.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh Jesus talks about following the heart of the letter of the law, which we have to do, which is yesterday's daily gospel was Jesus talking about you know fulfilling uh every little letter of the law, that he came not to change it, but to fulfill the law.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um but he also talked about not getting caught up in the letter of the law and then missing the heart of the law.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, if uh you don't eat any meat on a Friday, but you have a lobster dinner that costs, you know, uh some elegant, you know, that that instead of if you gave up that lobster, you know, or uh and you shared that, um made that sacrifice and shared it with those in need, you know, that might be your yes, okay, you're you're not eating meat, so you're keeping the I'm gonna say many do that, but um just to think about what we do and and and why we do it, not only what we do, but how we do it and why we do it.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: And uh again, I think I mentioned even last week that um, you know, the Ash Wednesday gospel, Jesus says, when you fast, when you pray, when you give alms.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um so not only what we do, but how we do it, um, the spirit with which we do it.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I think um to receive the dispensation and have a corned beef on or some meat on on Friday for St.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day, we can still keep the heart of the law of um you know abstinence and um and sacrifice.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: And um, but um I'm grateful because it challenged me to think about it again and say try to articulate uh you know why exactly.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um and uh and so uh so I thank Kathy for the question.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: So uh and correct me if I'm wrong, but the sense I'm getting here is like, you know, the the heart, the maybe the spirit of the dispensation is like, okay, if you're celebrating in community with your family for St.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: Patrick's Day, I mean if you're just going out and buying a triple cheeseburger, maybe that's not exactly what we're talking about here.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where you know we have to examine our own consciences.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes, you know, they say, well, what you don't eat meat, but you can be doing other things that may not be, you know, the most healthy.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: But um there's there is something about not eating meat that um it unites us, you know, that throughout the whole Catholic Church on Fridays and Lent, we make that um we abstain from meat together.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: So it's something we're doing as a as a spiritual family, as as the church.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: Now, um when a day, you know, St.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's falls on a Friday, okay, in a particular area in a particular church, the bishop has that uh opportunity to say, uh, well, there's there may be a greater good in being able to celebrate the Saints Feast Day together as a local church.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and then, you know, we're still with the whole church in Lent, and next Friday we'll be back not eating meat.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so hopefully one day won't, you know, ruin uh all that we're doing during Lent.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: So uh um so um these it's these things are good to think about and um and and pray about and and and you know ultimately we uh we do it with the church, uh, but then the individual decisions are uh be hopefully from a well-formed conscience.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: Good.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much, Bishop.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: So um good.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: I we we've come to the end of our show pretty much.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um did you want to talk about I know I know you you did mention St.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: Joseph's Day.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_01: Did you want to say anything else about that?
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_01: Or is there anything you want to talk about in your upcoming schedule or significant diocesan happening we have?
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um just wishing everybody a happy St.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day and um happy St.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: Joseph's Day.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so tomorrow, Friday the 17th, St.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day, Sunday the 19th, the fourth Sunday of Lent, and then Monday the 20th will be uh the celebration of St.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: Joseph, the patron of the Universal Church, the husband of Mary, and the patron of the universal church.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: But certainly again, a special happy St.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: Joseph's or San Giuseppe to our Italian brothers and sisters.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: They'll be uh celebrating on Sunday or Monday.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um so um so uh you mentioned um the NCAA Final Four and uh uh my bracket is available online.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: I forgot to check um who the I know I have Duke and Gonzaga in the final with uh picking Duke to win, which some may not be happy about, but uh um I forget the other, I think I had Alabama and someone else in the final four.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but they're they're there online.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: You can find them, and uh uh if I get a perfect bracket, uh we'll we'll let you know.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't that's not gonna happen.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think so.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but it's a good time of year again, and uh hopefully if for the basketball fans, I I hope they enjoy uh the tournament.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: All right, great.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you all for joining us.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh for Bishop Kevin Sweeney, I'm Jay Agnish.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: Join us again for our next episode.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: In the meantime, please subscribe to this podcast wherever you're listening.
• 31:05
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• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, email questions for the bishop to catholicbeacon at patterson diocese.org.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening to Beyond the Beacon.