This week, Tablet TALK highlights some of the memorable quotes that appeared in the pages of The Tablet this year:
“The light of Christ reflected in the Church must not become the privilege of only a few elect who float enclosed within a safe harbor or ghetto network of communications for the elite, the clean, the perfect and the saved.” — Father Thomas Rosica, C.S.B., in his keynote address at the 25th annual diocesan observance of World Communications Day
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“SS. Peter and Paul Church not only has a great past but a great future. And we will take that concrete step toward the future, so the great-grandchildren of your great-grandchildren can come here to celebrate their faith, partake in the sacraments and share the most important moments in their spiritual life.” — Msgr. Anthony Hernandez, administrator, as SS. Peter and Paul parish, Williamsburg, began its transition to a new worship site
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“If we do what we can and we give what we have, if we give ourselves wholly then we will find that it is enough and more than enough for the future that awaits us.” — Sister Mary Hughes, O.P., at the closing of the Year of Consecrated Life
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“I want to ask Him: What do You want me to do in this world? Do You want me to be a nun? Do You want me to be a teacher?” — Flatbush teenager Pearl Larnage on discerning her vocation in life during World Youth Day
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“You are challenged to bring the Light of Christ. Are you willing to accept the cost of being a disciple?” — Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio addressing the newest adult members of the Church at the Mass of the Neophytes
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“All Pakistanis living there (in Pakistan) have become victims of these terrorists attacks. I do not want to blame them (the terrorists) for everything. I want to pray for them who have hatred in their hearts.” — Father Emmanuel Yousaf after the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks that killed 74 and injured 400 in Pakistan
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“Today is a day for us to celebrate not death, but to celebrate life; to celebrate those who ran into the buildings, and not away from the buildings; those who are heroes.” — Msgr. Robert Romano observing the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
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“We are afraid. But we have faith in God, that He will touch the heart of the next president so that he or she will at least not kick us out.” — Gerardo Perez, on being undocumented in New York
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“To be finite is to be fragile.” — Father Robert Lauder on the gift of God’s grace to humanity
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“Young women look to movies and magazines for role models. They should look to the church instead and St. Clare is a perfect example of that.” — Tiffany Cayke-Okpuzor of St. Clare Church on the parish feast day
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“The capabilities of technology are so often underestimated. Technology is something you have to respect in order to get the maximum out of it.” — Art Dignam, CEO of DeSales Media Group, at the dedication of a new media center at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Academy in Flushing
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“Brooklyn owes a lot to Al O’Hagan, from the rebirth of Coney Island to his work on the Community School Board No. 22. He was cheerful, a faithful Catholic and a generous human being.” — Tablet Editor Ed Wilkinson on the passing of Al O’Hagan
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“The Love of God is so powerful – much more so than the power of sin – that even death on a cross couldn’t stop it, nor the imperfections of the Apostles, nor the mistakes or unreadiness that might have been present in the first Christians.” — Father Anthony Raso reflecting on the Scriptures from the Seventh Sunday of Easter
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“You just try to play the game the way that you feel that you should to glorify God.” — New York Mets second baseman Neil Walker on adjusting to life in The Big Apple
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“We all knew that she is a saint, but now it is official.” —Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio on Mother Teresa’s canonization
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“It’s something that you don’t see every day: youth coming together and searching for the One person that we are all here for: Christ.” — Melissa Vaez, on her experience of World Youth Day
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“The truth we profess is that Christ is the door to God’s Mercy.” — Msgr. Joseph Grimaldi, episcopal vicar for Brooklyn, at Year of Mercy Closing Mass
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“The Eucharist is what unites us as a people of God. Languages separate us. It’s the Eucharist that unites us.” — Father Patrick West on the feast of Corpus Christi
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Put Out Into the Deep: Bishop DiMarzio Speaks
“Honest workers deserve to be defended because first of all they contribute to our society and economy, and secondly, because they are human beings with dignity, rights and responsibilities.” – on undocumented workers
“The eradication of racism and all of its manifestations in our society is truly an exercise in putting out into the deep waters of history and present practice. Alone we cannot accomplish this great task. However, with God’s help all things are possible.” — on fatal police shootings and race
“All of us have a responsibility that comes to us in our baptism to be disciples of Christ, to be missionaries, and to reach out to others. We need not travel to foreign lands, but in our own parishes and neighborhoods we can become missionary disciples.” — announcing the ARISE program in the diocese
“If you wish to contribute to my episcopal ministry – if you wish to make me happy, if I have endeavored to make you happy – please give more effort, the best effort that you can, to the identification and recruitment of young men to the priesthood and religious life for Brooklyn and Queens.” – on celebrating his 20th anniversary as a bishop