A Salute To Our Catechists, Educators, And Faith Formation Directors

As we approach Catechetical Sunday and the open- ing of the academic year, we recognize that our Catholic Schools and Academies, Religious Education programs, and Faith Formation programs all have the ultimate goal of catechizing, of preaching God’s Word and making it understandable to its hearers.

Join Me in Prayer on This Special Day of Remembrance

As we arrive at the 20th anniversary of September 11th, the terrible terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York, the Pentagon right outside Washington, D.C., in Shanksville, Pa., and, in fact, all of our Nation, we recall the lingering pains of those horrific events. The fact is, we never will forget, nor never can we forget what happened on that day.

A New School Year Begins With New Challenges and a New Curriculum

Back to school is always an exciting time of year for children and parents. There are all the new “things” many students enjoy, like new sharpened pencils, that fresh box of crayons, new notebooks waiting to be filled with what they will learn.

‘Not Wasting A Moment In Doing Anything That God Would Not Want’

Several weeks ago, the Diocese of Brooklyn received a first-class relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a young millennial who was Beatified on October 10, 2020. The life story of Blessed Carlo is truly amazing. He was born in London, where his parents had migrated from Italy to run a business.

We All Seek a Peace That God Alone Can Give

This month, as we commemorate a quest for peace, we put out into the deep recesses of our own souls where sometimes personal peace becomes elusive to us. We seek a peace that God alone can give. As the old saying goes, however, peace must begin with us. And so, as we look towards the last weeks of August, when we have some time to relax and think more deeply, join me in prayer to see how we each can further the cause of peace in the world.

We Seek Mary’s Intercession to Teach Us Understanding and Acceptance of All

Recently I read an article regarding icons. It is very interesting to understand these images that come from the Eastern tradition and which contain in themselves a unique whole theology. For example, the clothing of Jesus and Mary are represented with the same colors, red and blue, but they are reversed in that Jesus usually has a red tunic and a blue mantle while Our Lady usually has a blue dress and a red mantle. Why, you might ask?

What We’ve Accomplished in 18 Years

The anniversary of my appointment to the Diocese of Brooklyn is on the horizon. On August 1, 2003, the then Nuncio, Gabriel Montalvo, called me when I was serving as Bishop of Camden in New Jersey and told me that the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, appointed me to be the Seventh Bishop of Brooklyn.

Celebrating the First-Ever World Day For Grandparents and the Elderly

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, the Church Universal has just celebrated World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on July 25. It was the first time a global day was set aside to honor and celebrate the contribution of grandparents and the elderly to our families and society.

There Never is a Time When We Can Do Without Mary, Our Heavenly Mother

Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, offered us a reflection on the Coronavirus pandemic in his book, “Let Us Dream; A Path to The Future.” As he began the book, Pope Francis said, “The question is whether you are gong to come through this crisis and if so, how? The basic rule of a crisis is that you do not come out of it the same.

Explaining the USCCB’s ‘Eucharistic Revival Project’

The Bishops of the United States have truly put out into the deep waters of public morality, and also, at the same time, the mystery of the Eucharist. It is not easy to explain mysteries. Mysteries are matters that we believe and do not have a full explanation.