Year of Faith Retreat

Ladies of the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception from Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral, Brooklyn Heights, recently participated in a “Year of Faith” retreat at Graymoor Spiritual Life Center, Garrison, N.Y. They were accompanied by Msgr. James A. Root, cathedral rector, center.

Photo © Marleine Aflak

Our Lady of Grace parish, Gravesend, would like to thank and recognize parishioner Rosalie Bruno for her donation of an American flag and stand to be displayed in the school cafeteria — a reminder to the boys and girls that they live in one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day. More than 107,000 New Yorkers are living with HIV. New York City’s AIDS case rate is almost three times the U.S. average, and HIV is the third leading cause of death for N.Y.C. residents age 35 to 54.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish, Williamsburg, will host a section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt as it commemorates the vigil of World AIDS Day on Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. All are welcome to join in the prayers, listen to speakers and participate in a candle-lighting memorial. Call 718-384-0223.
St. Augustine, Park Slope, will mark the day with a memorial prayer service and candle-lighting ceremony on Dec. 1, 7 p.m. in the church. Call 718-783-3132.

PICK OF THE WEEK (a little early so you can get your ticket for next weekend!):  Windsor Terrace Supports Breezy Point Fundraiser, sponsored by Farrell’s Bar and Grill, Dec. 1, 7-11 p.m. at Bishop Ford H.S., Park Slope. Donation: $50, includes wine, beer, soda, light fare. Guest bartenders from The Sugar Bowl, Kennedy’s, The Blarney and The Bayhouse. DJ Kevin Conlon. Live bands: Anthem and John Rafferty and Comany. For reservations, call Holy Name Church, 768-3071.

Lumina/Hope and Healing after Abortion will be holding a fundraising banquet at the Mansion On Broadway in North White Plains, N.Y., Dec. 6, 6-9:30 p.m. The evening’s guest speaker is Allan Parker, Esq., of The Justice Foundation, and the honoree is Msgr. Philip Reilly, founder and executive director of the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants. Tickets are $75. For tickets, call 718-881-8008 or e-mail lumina@postabortionhelp.org.

If you or someone you know has a problem with alcoholism, drug abuse or gambling, help is a phone call away. Call 1-877-846-7369.

Tablet TALK Quote of the Week: “We are called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges.” — Unknown

Troupe Eclat, the choir of St. Jerome Church, East Flatbush, will release its debut CD — “Nos chants de prieres et de louange” (Our prayers and songs of praise) — in St. Jerome School cafeteria, Dec. 2 at 5 p.m.
Founded by Father St. Charles Borno, Troupe Eclat embraces a diversity of musical styles, ranging from classical to contemporary, under the direction of Carlo Balthazar. The group’s motto is Briller Pour Servir (Shining Brightly to Serve).
All are welcome to attend the CD release party. The donation is $20, and all guests will receive a free CD. For details or more information, contact Sherley Lamothe, 347-932-1165 or sherleylamothe@hotmail.com.

This week’s Tip of the Tablet TALK Top Hat goes to everyone who contributed to the Hurricane Sandy Relief Drive at St. Francis of Assisi parish, Astoria, right.
Volunteers met to sort, pack and deliver two truckloads of donations from parishioners to the hurricane victims in the Rockaways.

Broadway Visits Woodside

Broadway actors with big hearts recently performed for a crowd of 300 people at Corpus Christi parish, Woodside. Local resident Nathan Scherich gathered other Broadway actors to put on the show as a benefit for the church. The participating actors, seen above, include Scherich, Matthew LaBanca, Allie Scherich, Eddie Schnecker, Katie Bruestle, Michael Jablonski, Kim Sava, Shane Saldivar, Courter Simmons and Matthew Simpkins. They have been on Broadway in shows such as Jersey Boys, Book of Mormon, White Christmas, Cry-Baby, Young Frankenstein and West Side Story. A portion of the proceeds from the benefit show went to the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Photo courtesy Father Pat West

Send items for Tablet TALK to Marie Elena Giossi at megiossi@desalesmedia.org or megiossi@diobrook.org.

by Antonina Zielinska

Continuing the centuries old tradition of Corpus Christi processions, the parish community of Holy Family brought the Body and Blood of Christ into the streets of Canarsie, singing praise and adoration to God.

After celebrating Mass, Archbishop Valerien Okeke, visiting from the Onitsha Diocese in Nigerira, led the parish community to four outdoor altars, at each of which parishioners prayed litanies in English and Haitian Creole.

Madeline George was among the volunteers who prepared an altar covered in white linen adorned with flowers in front of her home. Although she said the task was not easy, it was worth the effort to see her fellow parishioners unite in a public display of faith.

“It’s a blessing,” she said. “As they come to our altar, they bring the Holy Spirit with them.”

Merline Rameau said building an altar in front of her family home was a dream come true for her mother, Marie Registre. Registre said this is her way of bringing God into her community.

“I want a peaceful New York,” she said. “We ask God for peace because we believe He can do anything.”
Father John J. Amann, pastor, was glowing with pride as he concluded the procession.

“You brought Jesus into the neighborhood,” he told his parishioners. “You brought Him into the streets of Canarsie.”

Gladys Charles said the procession is an important part of her prayer life, not only because it brings Jesus out into the community but also because it brings Him closer to her family. She said it provides her daughter, Garnelle, with a different perspective of the Catholic faith, which can strengthen her relationship with Christ. Garnelle said she thoroughly enjoyed the four-hour Corpus Christi celebration.

“My favorite part is the procession because we get to walk around and celebrate and pray,” she said.

Dukens Jean Baptist, who came to the procession with his two-month-old daughter, said the procession brings back memories of his own childhood when he served as an altar boy in Haiti.

“It’s like being back home,” he said.  “It’s like living it all over again.”

In the diverse Diocese of Brooklyn, Corpus Christi processions serve as a unifying force of all the different cultures. The processions are celebrated in a similar fashion all over the world.

Archbishop Okeke said this unifying tradition speaks of the universality of the church because the faithful in his diocese express the same beliefs in the same way as people in the Diocese of Brooklyn.

“The church is one family,” he said. “The message is the same: the message of Christ transmitted in the Holy Sacrament.”

Pope Benedict XVI kneels in prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament during the Corpus Christi procession in Rome.  At Corpus Christi Mass, the Pope said a misunderstanding of the Second Vatican Council has led some Catholics to think that Eucharistic adoration and Corpus Christi processions are pietistic practices that pale in importance to the celebration of Mass outside Rome’s Basilica of St. John Lateran.  “A unilateral interpretation of the Second Vatican Council has penalized this dimension” of Catholic faith, which is to recognize Jesus truly present in the Eucharist and worthy of adoration, the pope said June 7 during a Mass marking the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.  The Pope said that if Christ is seen as present in the Eucharist only during Mass, “this imbalance has repercussions on the spiritual life of the faithful,” who need to be aware of “the constant presence of Jesus among us and with us.”

Msgr. Kevin Noone, pastor of Our Lady of Angels parish, Bay Ridge, leads priests and parishioners along Third Avenue during the Corpus Christi procession.

Msgr. Michael Hardiman, pastor of St. Sebastian’s parish, Woodside, carries the monstrance during the traditional Corpus Christi street procession.