Back in February 2015, Timothy Cardinal Dolan gave me a tremendous gift: he asked me to consider traveling and participating in a three-month program at the Vatican for priests. It is a sabbatical program called the the Institute for Continuing Theological Education (ICTE), using the campus of the Pontifical North American College.

It has taken me six years to get the Parish in a certain order and my staff supported to take advantage of this gift. Therefore, I will be on sabbatical in Rome from Monday, January 17 – Wednesday, April 20, 2022. I will live with 25-30 priests from all over the United States. My weeks will be filled with classes and lectures by professors at the Pontifical Universities in Rome in all fields of theology. There will be travel related to sacred art and music, and we will have opportunities for retreats in some of the most important Monasteries of our Church.

The Institute was created and supported by the Bishops of the United Sates following this wise teaching: “Ongoing formation is an indispensable requirement in the life of every priest and in his exercise of the priestly ministry” (The Gift of the Priestly Vocation, IV.56).

I consider it an honor as your Pastor to be spiritually and intellectually prepared to shepherd our Parish through my second term. This sabbatical will recharge both of those batteries in the very heart of Christendom.

Over the years, we all have heard people talking about other people. Some of what they say is true, but many times much of it is not. That which is true and positive is good for a person’s name and reputation. On the other hand, I have never understood why some people tell untrue and negative stories about other people. These people say things to hurt others or to retaliate against something that a person may have done to them. Sometimes, a person may say these untrue tales trying to show how much they know about many different matters or people, some of whom are well known.

Then, there are those who form an opinion about someone whom they feel is important and share it with others. They should discuss this opinion with that person to resolve the issue or better understand him/ her, but they don’t. Instead, they discuss this opinion with other people and create a misunderstanding that could be hurtful to the innocent person.

Scripture gives us a lot of advice. The sacred writings still apply today, and I ask you to take them into consideration.

• Ephesians 4:29-32: “Never let evil talk pass your lips, say only the good things men need to hear, things that will really help them. Do nothing that will sadden the Holy Spirit with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, all passion and anger, shouting and reviling along with all malice. Be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving just as God has forgiven you in Christ.”

• I Peter 3:8-9: “All of you should be like-minded, sympathetic, loving toward one another, kindly disposed and humble. Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult. Return a blessing instead. This you have been called to do, that you may receive a blessing as your inheritance.”

• Romans 12:9-12: “Your love must be sincere. Detest what is evil, cling to what is good. Love one another with the affection of brothers. Anticipate each other in showing respect. Do not grow slack but be fervent in spirit, he whom you serve is the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient under trial, persevere in prayer.”

These scripture writings are as important and applicable today as they were at the time they were written. Take them into consideration when you think about other people or discuss any matters about them. In today’s talk, “say only nice things about someone or don’t say anything at all.” May our Good Lord continue to bless you and your families.

Once in a while someone will ask me, “Father, what do we, as a Parish, do for the needy, poor and suffering?” We do so many things, that I find the question off-putting but I will try to answer briefly.

Let us remember the parable in the Gospel of St. Matthew 25:40, “And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers (and sisters) of mine, you did for me.” It would be enough to help others because they are our brothers and sisters, but to lift it to seeing the face of Jesus in each person makes it a Corporal Work of Mercy and a blessing for us as well. Our Holy Father Francis never misses an opportunity to tell us to encounter Christ in the needy, poor and suffering.

Here are some of the ways our Parish lives this:

• About 10 times a year we take up Second Collections for an extensive list of people who are needy and poor: Latin America, Black and Indigenous People, Catholic Near East, African Mission, Home Missions, Peter’s Pence…

• Sometimes, we ask you to support the accumulation of funds for very Specific Catastrophic Events: Hurricane Victims in Haiti, a Catholic High School being rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina, the massacre of Catholics in churches and shrines in Sri Lanka…

• Everyone in our parish now knows Fr. Aurelian O’Dowd in Old Managua, Nicaragua. We send him our coin collections during Lent and part of our Thanksgiving Collection. Plus, if you ever wondered where many of our unannounced Masses, extra vestments and vessels go , they are sent to Fr. O’Dowd and his brother priests in Nicaragua. We have helped the students in his school and parish with clothing, meals, finances, and prayers.

• H.O.P.E. (Help Our People Eat), located in New Rochelle, feeds hot meals to hundreds of people and these families rely on them as a source for food each day. Our parish is assigned to the soup kitchen on the second Wednesday and the third Tuesday of each month. Our volunteers prepare food for one or both dates, making enough to feed about 10-15 people. (See HERE for upcoming dates and menus.)

• The Knights of Columbus manage the generosity of lots of our parishioners and some businesses. Baked and nonperishable goods are brought down every week to the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal in Harlem and Missionary Sisters of Charity in South Bronx.

• Individuals who need assistance are a growing group, and we, as a Parish, are blessed with many members who say to me, “Father if you see a family or person in any real need, just call me and, no questions asked, we will help!”

• Lastly, this year, for the first time, we will give half of our Thanksgiving Collection to the Missionary Sisters of the Poor of Christ and their orphanage and ministry on the Island of Laoang Northern Samar Province in the Philippines. These are the Sisters that raised our Fr. Adolfo Novio.

The following are meant as reminders and encouragement to make the Eucharist and reverence of the Lord the center of our worship.

When we enter Church, we make the sign of the cross as a way of affirming our baptism into the very life of the Blessed Trinity. Before we enter our pew, we genuflect on our right knee because Jesus is present in the Blessed Sacrament, reserved in the Tabernacle. He is the King that deserves our reverence and our homage.

2. Receiving Holy Communion

There are two ways to receive Holy Communion. The first is on the tongue. As you approach the altar, make a bow of the head out of reverence for Jesus in the Eucharist and then proceed to the communion station.

The second way is Communion in the Hand. Again, as you approach the altar, make a bow of the head, approach the Minister of the Eucharist and put your open left hand above your right with the palms of your hands facing heaven making a throne for the King of Kings. Lift your hands high enough so that the host can be easily placed in the flat palm of your hand.

Please make an effort to approach the altar with reverence; receive Our Lord correctly and return to your place and kneel, making a prayer of thanksgiving to Our Lord for the great gift of His Body and Blood. This is not the time to walk out of Church.

A big problem at Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Our Lady Churches is that some people just walk out of Church after receiving Holy Communion. The Mass has not ended. The final prayer, announcements, blessing and dismissal indicates the end of Mass. You do not fully participate in Mass if you leave before the final blessing and dismissal. It is also terribly irreverent, with our Lord present on the altar, to walk out of Church without an act of thanksgiving and final blessing.

It would be extraordinary but very courteous to wait until the procession leaves the Church before heading for the doors.

Eight Masses in our Churches with very good attendance; the Graduation of our 8th Graders; the gym humming all weekend – it is the scent of the end of the Pandemic and the return of ICA to its busy life. But the following wonderful events, on top of all I mentioned above, are why I am thrilled by the feeling that we are going to return stronger than before we shut down completely in March 2020.

The Blessing and Dedication of the Stations of the Cross in the Divine Mercy Chapel of the New Parish Center.

Last Saturday, June 12, our own Fr. André Cirino, OFM, with the permission of his Provincial, Fr. Robert Campagna, erected our new Via Crucis (14 Stations of the Cross) in the Divine Mercy Chapel. The document you see being signed in the photo will be framed and hung in the Chapel as testimony to this moment. The Parishioners who memorialized each Station were present. Señor Justo Canales, a 5th generation ceramic artist from Talavera de la Reina, Spain, made each by hand.

Mass of Welcome for New Parishioners and Dinner in the Restored Lower Church

Also last Saturday at Immaculate Conception Church, we welcomed 131 new families who registered in our parish throughout the pandemic (from March 2020 to May 2021). Our Welcome Committee sent invitations and made phone calls; many families responded. After the Mass, a dinner was served and an informational presentation was made. The group consisted of young families and children; people who moved into the area; converts to our faith; and those who have chosen to join us because they have been inspired by our many activities — especially Masses and spiritual services. You couldn’t help but be moved and extremely hopeful that we will rise from this last year strong and in the hands of the Lord.

The Feast of St. Anthony at the Church of the Assumption

Even though it was Sunday, one Mass was celebrated in Honor of St. Anthony of Padua on June 13. At the Church of the Assumption, the statue of St. Anthony was placed in the Sanctuary and surrounded by freshly-baked rolls to be blessed and distributed, as is the custom in Italy on this Feast Day. The Mass was bilingual (Italian and English) and, afterward, all came to Fr. Fata Hall for sweets, coffee and tea. Hundreds flocked to honor the beloved Saint of preachers, things lost and worker of miracles.

The moral of the story: All our buildings were vibrant with the sounds and presence of people praying, singing, working and enjoying their faith and one another’s company. Praise God!

Today is the “Sunday of Divine Mercy.” The Catholic Church has been celebrating this feast for the last 21 years ever since the Vatican made it official on April 30 in the Jubilee year 2000. Divine Mercy Sunday was instituted to bring fallen away Catholics and hardened sinners back to His love and, therefore, toward salvation.

Jesus left all the details in a diary that He commanded Saint Faustina to write in the 1930s. To get this great promise, one has to go to Confession and then receive Holy Communion within 10 days around the Feast of Divine Mercy, which has now been called Divine Mercy Sunday throughout the whole Church. Jesus said, “Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment” (Diary, 300). To receive Communion worthily, one should be in the state of grace and without serious sin.

Today, how many receive Holy Communion with souls stained with mortal sins? When a person receives the true Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus in Holy Communion without first going to Confession to cleanse their souls, that soul is going even deeper into sin.

Many feel that their sins are unforgivable, but Jesus said, “Were a soul like a decaying corpse, so that from a human standpoint, there would be no hope of restoration and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full. In the Tribunal of Mercy (the sacrament of Confession), the greatest miracles take place and are incessantly repeated" (Diary, 1448). "Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy” (Diary 1602). Every sin imaginable could be forgiven by Him!

On the evening of His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His Apostles and the first thing that He did was to give them the power to forgive sins (John 20:19- 31). This is done through the power of the Holy Spirit. For sure, it was not the Lord’s intention just for the Apostles to forgive sins but rather for that power to be passed down through the Holy Spirit to the priests of today. That is why Confession is so much an uplifting experience; we are actually receiving heavenly graces and the forgiveness of sins from the Lord Himself!

Most people have not spent much time thinking about the future. Some might think that they are brilliant and successful in this life, but what is that as compared to eternity? If you really want to be wise, think about where you are going to spend eternity. 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.” So let us wake up, repent of our sins, and bask in the glory of our Risen Lord Jesus!

In his apostolic letter “Patris Corde” (“With a Father’s Heart”), Pope Francis announced the “Year of St. Joseph” on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of St. Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church. The Year of St. Joseph began on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 2020, and will continue to the same feast this year on December 8.

In the wake of the pandemic, perhaps we have not given due attention to this great grace in honor of St. Joseph. Pope Francis highlighted some attributes of Saint Joseph in his apostolic letter. “The greatness of Saint Joseph is that he was the spouse of Mary and the foster father of Jesus.” St. Joseph “employed his legal authority over the Holy Family to devote himself completely to them in his life and work.” He lovingly placed himself at the “service of the Messiah who was growing to maturity in his home,” noted the Pope. Arising from his role in salvation history, St. Joseph has been revered as a father by all Christians around the world.

“In Joseph, Jesus saw the tender love of God,” affirmed Pope Francis. In light of these challenging times, the Pontiff urges the faithful to follow the example of Joseph to “set aside all anger and disappointment, and to embrace the way things are, even when they do not turn out as we wish. Not with mere resignation, but with hope and courage.” The Holy Father pointed out that the faith Saint Joseph displayed was not one that looked for “shortcuts” but rather one that “confronted reality with open eyes and accepted personal responsibility for it.”

The Holy Father also shared in his letter a prayer to Saint Joseph,
which he personally has been praying for 40 years:

Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph,
whose power makes the impossible possible,
come to my aid in these times of anguish and difficulty.
Take under your protection the serious and troubling situations
that I commend to you, that they may have a happy outcome.
My beloved father, all my trust is in you.
Let it not be said that I invoked you in vain,
and since you can do everything with Jesus and Mary,
show me that your goodness is as great as your power. Amen.

He concluded his letter by adding another prayer to St. Joseph,
asking for his intercession to obtain grace, mercy and courage:

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you, God entrusted his only Son;
in you, Mary placed her trust;
with you, Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,
and defend us from every evil. Amen.

At Mass today, the Lector began by saying, “Today is the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time.” I am not a big fan of the expression “ordinary time” because we think, in America, that the word means plain or unimportant. But there is nothing ordinary about Ordinary Time.

The term “ordinary” does not mean common or plain but is derived from the term ordinal, or "numbered." The weeks in Ordinary Time are numbered, although several Sundays are named for the feast they commemorate: Trinity Sunday (the first Sunday after Pentecost); the Feast of Christ the King (the last Sunday in Ordinary Time); and, for American Catholics, the Feast of Corpus Christi (the second Sunday after Pentecost). From now until the end of November, we will hear and read the numbered (ordinal) week until the 34th Week in Ordinary Time. With the exceptions marked above, green is the liturgical color of Ordinary Time.

Ordinary Time comprises two periods: one following Epiphany, the other following Pentecost. They do not fall under the "strong seasons" of Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter.

Spiritually, the weeks of Ordinary Time give us the scriptures that have us learn at the feet of Jesus. We become like His first disciples and listen to the teachings, miracles, and healing as we walk with Him through His earthly ministry. We go back to school – the school of the Master. During the Festal weeks of the year, we focus on a Mystery of Our Lord, like His birth, death, resurrection and ascension. During Ordinary Time, we walk with Him through Galilee down to Jerusalem and learn.

May the weeks of Ordinary Time be extraordinary weeks in our spiritual growth.

A Prayer for Ordinary Time

Creator Redeemer Sustainer God,
How extraordinary is Your “ordinary time.”
How uncommon is the commonplace in Your Kingdom.
The mundane is made miraculous, full of holy opportunities.
The smallest joy a jubilee!

Created anew, may we grow tall and “grace-full” in Your likeness.
Redeemed by Your sacrifice, may we come to know the depths of Your love.
Sustained by Your Spirit, may we be steadfast and shining in Your service.

We humbly ask that You continue to bless us with all we need
for the living of these days — these wondrous ordinary days — that our everyday lives
may be gifted to experience the vitality of Christian community,
to share Your message of hope, reaching out to the poor and hurting,
and bringing glory and honor to You, our God. Amen.

-- by Deborah Harris, Sacred Seasons, Pentecost/Ordinary Time 1999