Everyone in the parish knows our three deacons: Deacon Anthony Viola, Deacon Carl Degenhardt, and Deacon Frank Orlando. You have seen them assisting at Mass, Exposition, and Benediction; baptizing many babies; presiding at weddings, wakes, and Stations of the Cross, to mention a few. They are invaluable to the work and ministry in our Parish. I presume you know that all of them have been married and have children and grandchildren.

This weekend, Cardinal Dolan ordained men to the Permanent Diaconate, and Paul Reisman, our parishioner, was among them. We are all very proud and excited to add Deacon Paul to our prayers as he, his wife Maria, and their children begin this new chapter of their marriage adventure. We pray that the Lord will give him the grace and health to serve and minister.

The Permanent Diaconate was restored during Vatican Council II after many centuries. There are three orders in the Sacrament of Holy Orders: Bishop, Priest, and Deacon. Every bishop and priest is ordained a deacon, and each of these three orders contains a call from God and the Church. For example, I was ordained a deacon in December 1981 and ordained a priest on November 6, 1982. Although I completed my diaconate in one year, I am always a deacon as well as a priest. I also want you to remember that the deacons are ordained clergy for the Archdiocese of New York. They are assigned to a Parish by the Bishop. Although we are used to celibate clergy, our deacons have a married and family life outside the Parish family. They have the graces of the Sacrament of Marriage and Holy Orders.

I want to thank these generous men, their wives, and families for the ministry they provide among us: not only the Sacraments, but Youth Ministry, PREP, Bereavement, Baptismal Catechesis, RCIA, and many other hours of service for God and the building up of God's Holy people.

Prayer for Deacons
Saint Vincent of Saragossa (Deacon and Martyr)

Holy God,
St. Vincent served You as a permanent deacon
and gave his whole life and soul to You,
even to the point of becoming a martyr.
I lift up to You the deacons of the Church
and all those who are being called by God
to become deacons.
Guide them as they discern
how to serve the Body of Christ.
Prevent the attractions of the world
and the busyness of secular jobs
from interfering with their vocations.
Teach them to grow in humility.
Help their families learn from their examples
and support their diaconates with trust and joy.
St. Vincent, pray for us.
Amen.

Jesus left the details concerning “Divine Mercy” in a diary that He asked St. Faustina Kowalska to write in the 1930s. It was Pope St. John Paul II who canonized St. Faustina and fulfilled the wish of the Lord: that the Sunday after Easter be celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday. 

To get this great promise of Divine Mercy in your life, one has to go to Confession before or after Easter, pray for the Holy Father Francis, and venerate an image of the Divine Mercy. Finally, one has to receive Holy Communion on the Feast of Divine Mercy, which this year is Sunday, April 24.

Remember these words of Jesus, “I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially poor sinners. On that day, the very depths of my tender mercy are open. Wake up, people of the world, and repent of your sins, and bask in the glory of the Risen Lord Jesus!”

Schedule for Sunday, April 24

"Transubstantiation” is central to the Catholic faith. It is the idea that, during Mass, the bread and wine used for Communion become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Indeed, the Catholic Church teaches that “the Eucharist is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life.’”

A recent Pew Research Center survey finds that most baptized Catholics don’t believe this core teaching. In fact, nearly 69% of Catholics say they personally believe that during the Catholic Mass, the bread and wine used in Communion “are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.” Just 31% of U.S. Catholics say they believe that, “during the Catholic Mass, the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus.”

This sad statistic is what led young Blessed Carlo Acutis (1991–2006) to build a website chronicling Eucharistic Miracles throughout the world. View the website HERE. He catalogued moments that helped individuals once again believe that the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ is truly and really present in the host and chalice after the consecration at every Mass.

One of these miracles occurred in the towns of Bolsena and Orvieto, north of Rome. We spent an entire day in the city of Orvieto in southern Umbria, set atop a hill. The Cathedral (Duomo) is the centerpiece of the visit. It is a masterpiece of the Gothic Era, with its breathtaking façade, home to the relic of the Miracle of Bolsena.

Here is the miracle in brief: In 1263, a visiting priest stopped in Bolsena to celebrate Mass at St. Christina’s Church. He had begun to doubt that the Eucharist was really the Body and Blood of Christ; however, he was shocked when the host began to bleed following the Prayer of Consecration. Unable to hide it, he interrupted the Mass and went to nearby Orvieto, where Pope Urban IV was in residence. After a thorough, fact-finding investigation, the Pope ordered that the miraculous host and the blood-stained linen altar cloth (Corporal) be brought to Orvieto and placed on display. It is still on display today for pilgrims to see.

I pray for each of you in Adoration before the Eucharist every day while on sabbatical. May our Lord Jesus, present in the Blessed Sacrament, strengthen your faith in His abiding presence until we are with Him in the joys of heaven.

May the Lord’s choicest blessing come upon every person and family in our parish for the New Year 2022!

Lovers of carols and holiday parties know that this season of Christmas has 12 days, packed with golden rings, calling birds, and various kinds of gentry, musicians, and domestic workers. Do the math, and you will see why shopping malls, newspapers, television networks, and other cultural fortresses annually deliver some kind of "Twelve Days of Christmas" blitz, beginning on December 13. (December 25 minus 12 Days = December 13.) The problem is that, for centuries, church calendars in the East and the West have agreed that there are 12 days of Christmas, beginning on Christmas Day and ending on January 6.

The 12 days of Christmas end with the Feast of Epiphany, also called "The Adoration of the Magi" or "The Manifestation of God." Celebrated on January 6, it is known as the day of the Three Kings, the Wise Men, or Magi. Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar were the kings who saw the star over Bethlehem when Christ was born and followed it to find the Christ Child. They brought Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

This is the Feast when Christ revealed Himself to the whole world as the God from God and Light from Light. We have our faith in Him, and we must, in turn, evangelize the world by proclaiming with our mouths, our lives, and our good works that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.