We enter this week once again into the most sacred time of the Church’s year. This is, for us as Catholics, our “High Holy Days.” Beginning on Sunday, we commemorate Palm Sunday as we prepare to enter more deeply into the Lord’s Passion. We come to that week in which we reflect as a Church on those days that changed the world, those days by which our Lord opens his arms wide on the Cross with an embrace of love, and, by his wounds, heals all humanity.
priesthood
Preparing Priests
The Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy has released new norms on the formation of seminarians for the priesthood. They are binding and affect the entire Church in the Latin Rite, with dioceses around the world adapting them to their own situations. They are meant to reflect an updated vision of priestly formation, in light of societal shifts and in light of our Holy Father Pope Francis’ vision of priesthood.
Everyone Plays Role in Encouraging Vocations
Promoting religious vocations is the responsibility of every baptized Catholic, said Rockville Centre Deacon Kevin McCormack when he addressed nearly 50 Brooklyn Diocesan parish vocation representatives in Bath Beach Nov. 13.
Reigniting the Fire of Faith
When we gather for Mass, we are involved in the greatest adventure this side of Heaven. Understanding this, how could all of us, priests and people alike, not want to set the world ablaze?
Ten New Priests (with slideshow)
Bishop DiMarzio ordained the 10 men on Saturday, June 4, in a two-and-a-half-hour ceremony at St. Joseph’s Co-Cathedral, Prospect Heights. The new priests are Fathers Gesson Agenis, Yvon-Hector Aurelien, Victor Manuel Bolaños, Mark Charlton Mendelsohn Bristol, Ralph Edel, Lukasz Kubiak, Uririoghene Melchizedek John-Baptist Okrokoto, Ambiorix D’Jesus Osorio Torres, Jaroslaw Szeraszewicz, and Marcial Thomas.
Gift of Priesthood
We are blessed in the Diocese of Brooklyn with the gift of 10 newly ordained priests. They come from different backgrounds and different cultures, but all share in common their Catholic faith, their zeal and earnestness to preach the Gospel, and a desire to preach that Gospel here in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Stats on Priests Are Reasons for Hope
It’s ordination season and Catholics have reason to be pleased with the numbers of priests who will serve the Church well into the future. In recent years, the numbers of priestly ordinations have given Catholic Church observers reason to believe there is not a global vocations crisis, but they acknowledge there is still a need for more.
Priest Builds Ministry One LEGO at a Time
Bob Simon fell in love with two things at the age of five – the Catholic Church and building with LEGO bricks. Now, as a 51-year-old priest, Father Simon has discovered a way to merge both of these passions.
Seminary Molds Men Into Best Possible Priests
At St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, third-year student Tom Griffin said he finds “a sense of camaraderie here, of belonging, that you’re not in this alone.”
Knights Support Vocations By ‘Adopting’ Seminarians
For seminarians, God’s providence came by way of the Knights of Columbus. The Refund Support Vocations Program (RSVP) is an initiative in which councils provide seminarians with financial assistance and moral support.