Pastoral Institute Offers Foundations for Ministry

The Pastoral Institute will be offering its 10-week, 20-hour Foundations for Ministry Program in four languages beginning in January in various host sites throughout the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Murdered Mexican Mayor Was Warning, Says Bishop

The assassination of a Mexican mayor the day after she assumed office was a message from organized crime and evidence of its influence in the area around the city of Cuernavaca, said the bishop who celebrated her funeral Mass.

January 1 Has Extra Meaning for Haitians

Liturgically, on Jan. 1, we celebrated the Feast of Mary, Mother of God. Of course, the day also marked the first of a New Year. For the Haitian community, it also was the 212th observance of the Independence Day of their homeland.

The Heart of a Safe Haven

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, For almost 20 years, the first week of January, which includes the Feast of the Epiphany, has been designated by the Bishops of the United States as National Migration Week. The Feast of the Epiphany reminds us of the visit of the Magi to the newborn child, Jesus. Almost immediately following, the flight into Egypt made the Holy Family the first Christian refugee family. Unfortunately, in the world today there are many more refugees than we have seen in many years.

B’klyn Parishioners Visit Cathedral’s Holy Doors

“Remember, Sunday at three,” my friend, George, had texted me, mid-week. “Pilgrimage. Holy Door.” I wasn’t entirely sure what this “Holy Door” was all about, even though I had read that Pope Francis was “opening the Holy Door” …

Father Jean-Pierre M. Ruiz

Inspired by the Magi

Father Jean-Pierre Ruiz reflects on the Scripture readings for the Feast of the Epiphany, when the magi undertook a journey of discovery that brought them to Jerusalem, where they found a little Child with a high calling.