Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
Dear Editor: This July, for the 136th time, thousands of Catholics throughout Brooklyn and Queens gathered in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to renew their faith and devotion to Our Lady under the title of Mt. Carmel.
On July 5th, the opening night of the feast, Bishop Robert Brennan celebrated the Coronation Mass which is the official opening of the celebration, and on July 16th (the Feast of Our Lady), Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio celebrated the feast day Mass followed by a procession through the streets.
Even with torrential rain storms forecasted the whole day on the 16th, Our Lady interceded and gave us a beautiful faith-filled day with very few raindrops.
I am already looking forward to next July for another beautiful celebration.
O Most Beautiful Flower of Mt. Carmel, pray for us!
Robert Joseph Mestrandrea Jr.
Ozone Park
Liturgy and the Common Good
Dear Editor: Yeats wrote in his “Second Coming”: “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”
Sound familiar? It should; it surely describes our times. It is time for a bold new push among Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and others to bring to bear upon our nation the consciousness of biblical values that the people of “religions of the book” have lived by for centuries.
So many deny God and Scripture and His providence over us. Not one of three Jeopardy contestants recently could name the book Psalm 23 came from.
Ignoring God has historically led to a people’s demise. Infantanicide, lawlessness, greed, crime, murder, grift, and immorality quickly move in and dissolve the fabric of communities and nations.The way that the “people of the book worship” is indicative of what is fomenting in our midst.
God does not move at our “pace,” but the recent Supreme Court opinions affirm at minimum His hand at work and that “reason” still reigns.
As for Catholics it certainly seems that “liturgical battles’’ are not yielding the fruits of the Eucharist. Folks differ over gluten, the Mass as a celebration or sacrifice, etc.
Some want the Tridentine Mass. Most are still trying to revive their faith with the “novus ordo.”
Some draw a dividing line at pre-and post-Vatican II. Some hold their Eucharistic assemblies apart from the parish at large on days other than Sundays and “celebrate” around a common table holding hands and singing (admittedly) quite new and beautiful liturgical hymns.
Yet for all this, the Church is fragmenting and the “world” sees the confusion. The Eucharist that produced saints and religious orders is “underperforming.”
While intellectual arguments for several years now over the “real presence” go on, I ask, where are the real fruits of the Eucharist today?
We all know the intentions of Jesus’ sacred heart, and we know well the “fruits of the Spirit.”
Are we seeing that, or is it true that the center cannot hold, and things are just falling apart? In the words of a Times Square minister, “It’s time to pray!”
Raymond F. Roberts Jr.
Bergenfield, NJ
Thoughts and Prayers
Dear Editor: I believe that one of the most repulsive phrases I have ever heard after a mass shooting is, “Our thoughts and prayers are with you.”
Do you know what we need instead of, or in addition to, “thoughts and prayers”? We need legislative action.
There has to be a way to resolve the conflict between staunch Second Amendment supporters and those who want to protect our children in their schools, our worshippers in their churches and synagogues.
For many years, there was a virtual ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. During those years, the frequency of mass shooting incidents decreased.
Recently, with the intentional overturning of those bans, the number of mass shooting incidents has increased dramatically.
Hunters don’t need assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. Or, if they do, they are not really good hunters. People protecting their property don’t need assault rifles and high-capacity magazines.
You know who does? White supremacists and those who have sinister designs on our government.
This is a right to life issue.
Anthony S. Ercolano
Flushing