My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, As we begin Lent in this Year of Faith, the people of the Diocese of Brooklyn are asked in a special way to place their faith in charity in order to assist the ministries of the diocesan church by contributing to the Annual Catholic Appeal. Allow me […]
Put Out into the Deep
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, the seventh Bishop of Brooklyn, has led the Diocese since 2003. He is a forceful voice on behalf of migrants and immigrants, whose causes he has worked for through most of his priestly ministry. Complete Bio
Pope Teaches a Lesson for Lent
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, Joseph Ratzinger was elected Bishop of Rome when he was 78 years old; most of us by that point in our lives are already many years into retirement. Reflecting on his election, the newly elected Pontiff remarked, “As the trend in the ballots slowly made me realize […]
Laity Also Called to Ministry
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, This year, as we celebrate the Year of Faith, we are reminded of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. One of the chief accomplishments of the Council was to clarify for the Church the position of the laity, the vast majority of […]
Catholic Schools Raise the Bar
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, This year, Catholic Schools Week was observed from Sunday, Jan. 27, to Saturday, Feb. 2, with the theme “Catholic Schools Raise the Standards,” a theme which focuses on the new initiative of raising the bar on the national standards and benchmarks for effective Catholic elementary and secondary […]
Deeper Into the Culture of Death
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This Executive Order freed the slaves in the 10 states that were in rebellion. It was not until 1865, with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, that slavery was abolished in […]
Encouraging Religious Vocations
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, This week, the Church in the U.S. celebrates National Vocations Awareness Week. During this time, we are asked to pray to our Lord for more dedicated priests, deacons and consecrated men and women, that they may be inspired by Jesus Christ, supported by our faith community and […]
‘We Are Strangers No Longer’
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, During this National Migration Week (Jan. 6-12), the situation regarding the world population movements of migrants, refugees and displaced persons numbers about one billion people, or almost one-seventh of the world population. Truly, today the world is in motion in this globalized village in which we live. […]
Looking Back and Ahead
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, As we embark on 2013, a new year is always a time to take stock and decide what goals one may have and what one may seek to achieve in the future. This year, I cannot help but remember and contemplate on my upcoming 10th year as […]
‘This Is My Son…’
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, In the next few days, Christians around the whole world will celebrate the Nativity of the Lord’s birth. But for many of us, in the United States at least, our minds and hearts will also reflect on the massacre of the Holy Innocents. It is difficult for […]
The Gift of Advent
A very beautiful Advent hymn that is known to many is “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” Of course, “Emmanuel,” when translated to English, means, “God is with us.” That seems appropriate, because many of us today feel very much alone. Why is it that we feel alienated? Increasingly in today’s society, human beings’ worth is […]