‘A Day To Put A Face On Labor’ by Bishop DiMarzio

August 31, 2016 – Excerpted from Put Out Into the Deep, Bishop DiMarzio’s column in The Tablet:

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

As Labor Day approaches, our thoughts turn not only to a long holiday weekend, but also to the true meaning of Labor Day. It is a day to celebrate the gift of human labor and genius.

St. John Paul II, in his encyclical, “On Human Work” (Laborem Exercens), made it clear that work is the key to the social question. Human labor is an essential key to understanding our social responsibilities. Work is vital to the functioning of our families and helps us build community according to our God-given dignity. Specifically, he wrote, “….man’s life is built up every day from work, from work it derives its specific dignity.”

We cannot forget the historical origin of Labor Day when a coalition of church and union leaders found a way to celebrate the triumph of dignified labor practices in our country. Work, indeed, is key to understanding the social fabric of our society today.

Read the full text of the Bishop’s column on The Tablet website.

MARCH ACROSS BROOKLYN BRIDGE, MASS, AND MOZART REQUIM TO HONOR FIREFIGHTERS KILLED ON 9-11

On Sunday, September 11, 2016, a solemn march, Mass, and rare performance of Mozart’s Requiem will pay tribute to FDNY firefighters and all those who lost their lives in the September 11th terror attacks 15 years ago.

Beginning at 10:00 a.m., firefighters from across the country will join New York City’s bravest and families of the fallen at ground zero in lower Manhattan. From there, the group will march 24 flags in single file across the Brooklyn Bridge. Each flag will represent one of 24 firefighters from Battalion 57 in Brooklyn killed in the line of duty at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Their bodies were never recovered. The journey from ground zero to Brooklyn serves to symbolically bring the brothers back home. The procession will also include an FDNY ceremonial flag for every New York City Firefighter killed on 9/11 and an American flag, in remembrance of all who died that day. Read more »

‘Two Saints of Perseverance and Zeal’ by Bishop DiMarzio

August 24, 2016 – Excerpted from Put Out Into the Deep, Bishop DiMarzio’s column in The Tablet:

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

On Aug. 27, the Feast of St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine, will be celebrated. Monica is a great example of a mother who never lost confidence in the possibility of conversion for her son.

Born a Christian, Monica was married to Augustine’s father, a non-Christian who later converted and who died early in life. She was left with the care of Augustine who had not been baptized. In the fourth century, it was the custom that young men became catechumens, and infant baptism was not the rule.

Augustine was a slave to his passions. He fathered a child and flirted with the Manichean heresy. Yet, Monica never lost faith in her son. Her only recourse were tears and prayers, as she never stopped praying for his conversion. Truly, at a time unexpected to her, Augustine was baptized at Easter of 387.

Read the full text of the Bishop’s column on The Tablet website.

‘Mary, Our Model For Living’ By Bishop DiMarzio

August 17, 2016 – Excerpted from Put Out Into the Deep, Bishop DiMarzio’s column in The Tablet:

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

I read an interesting article on icons some years ago. It is important to understand these images that come from the Eastern tradition and contain in themselves its whole theology. For example, the clothing of Jesus and Mary shows the colors red and blue, but they are reversed in that Jesus usually has a red tunic and a blue mantle while Our Lady usually has a blue dress and a red mantle. Why, you might ask? Red symbolizes divinity, while blue is a symbol of humanity. In this way, it can be said that Jesus is God made man, while Our Lady instead is a human creature who has been in a certain sense divinized.

As another example, while Jesus is represented with His feet uncovered, placed directly on the earth, Our Lady wears shoes placed lightly on her feet. This expresses the concept that Jesus is the Word of God incarnate, true man like us in all things except sin, while Our Lady is a human creature through and through because by supernatural grace and her faithful response to grace she is raised above the earth.

Truly, icons are wonderful works of art. Some have called them “windows into heaven” because they so clearly express spiritual and theological truths and become schools of Christian learning.

Read the full text of the Bishop’s column on The Tablet website.

Passing of Msgr. John F. Hartmann

Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, regrets to inform you of the death of Reverend Monsignor John F. Hartmann, a retired senior priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Pastor Emeritus of Sacred Heart (Glendale), who was in private residence. Monsignor Hartmann was born on February 9, 1927, in Richmond Hill, was ordained to the Priesthood on June 6, 1953, and died Thursday, August 11, 2016, in Connecticut.

Monsignor Hartmann served the Diocese of Brooklyn as Pastor of Sacred Heart (Glendale), as well as Parochial Vicar of Holy Child Jesus (Richmond Hill) and Saint Mel (Flushing). Monsignor Hartmann also served as Priest Counselor at Mater Christi High School. On February 25, 1988, he was named Prelate of Honor to His Holiness.  Read more »

“The Youth of the Church Universal” by Bishop DiMarzio

August 10, 2016 – Excerpted from Put Out Into the Deep, Bishop DiMarzio’s column in The Tablet:

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

I just returned from having attended my sixth World Youth Day. Usually, these special events take place in three-year intervals. The first World Youth Day I attended was Rome 2000 and I have attended each one held since; Toronto, Canada 2002; Cologne, Germany 2005; Sydney, Australia 2008; Madrid, Spain 2011; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2013. Each was a wonderful experience, not only for the young people, but also for the bishops to see the young people expressing their love for Christ and His Church by making difficult sacrifices to attend all of the events.

This year, World Youth Day was in Krakow, Poland, the place where St. John Paul II was archbishop and through whose initiative World Youth Days began. It was a fitting tribute to his memory now as St. John Paul II, and also in this Year of Mercy, inspired in many ways by the revelations of St. Faustina Kowalska whose shrine is just outside the city of Krakow.

Read the full text of the Bishop’s column on The Tablet website.