This Wednesday, January 21, 2015, Governor Andrew Cuomo will deliver his State of the State address in Albany. Here, he is expected to call for the inclusion of some form of the Education Investment Tax Credit in this year’s budget. This flyer calls upon Catholic parents and parishioners to call Governor Cuomo’s office to encourage him to fully advocate for the Education Investment Tax Credit.
Author: geonyayyad
Nine Days For Life
“9 Days for Life,” a period of prayer, penance and pilgrimage marking the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, will take place from Saturday, January 17 – Sunday, January 25.
Each day’s content (available in both English and Spanish) includes a different prayer intention, short reflection, supplementary article, and suggested actions. Download an app or printable version of the novena, or sign up for email or text messages at www.9daysforlife.com. Content will also be shared via a Facebook event and other social media with the hashtags #9daysforlife and#9díasporlavida.
Catholics are also encouraged to host or participate in local events such as Masses, blessings for pro-life pilgrims, or a parish holy hour for reparation and healing for all affected by abortion.
Bilingual “9 Days for Life” leader resources and additional resources for observing January 22, the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children are also available.
Please consider participating in, implementing and spreading the word about this wonderful plan of action.
“A Comprehensive Pro-Life Agenda” by Bishop DiMarzio
January 14, 2015 – Excerpted from “Put Out Into the Deep,” Bishop DiMarzio’s column in The Tablet:
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
Each year, the Pro-Life movement has united at the March for Life in Washington, D.C. This year, it will be held on Thursday, Jan. 22. This event provides an opportunity for us to gather in our Nation’s capital and march down Constitution Avenue, ending at the Supreme Court, where the decision to make abortion legal in the United States has set a destructive path and human life has been reduced to a choice. It is unfortunate that there is a fundamental misunderstanding of the beginning of human life, its innate dignity and the possibility of terminating life.
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, in his message for Day for Life, said, “Even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God’s creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect.”
Yes, we are masterpieces of God’s creation. To destroy a masterpiece is truly a sin against nature.
Read the full text of the Bishop’s column on the new The Tablet website.
NET TV’s Mission of Love
Today, New Evangelization Television (NET TV) announced it’s new upcoming original program Mission of Love, based on the catechesis for the 2015 World Meeting of Families.
Premiering Sunday, January 18 at 7:30 p.m., Mission of Love takes an authentic look into the lives of couples and families: their ups and downs, struggles and joys, laughter and tears. The series explores the mystery of marriage and family life with humor, insight and profundity.
2015 Diocesan Woman’s Conference
Registration is now open for the 2015 Diocesan Bilingual Woman’s Conference! On Saturday, March 7, 2015, the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston, Queens will host the conference which includes Mass celebrated by Rev. Octavio Cisneros, Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn and a Holy Hour with Rev. Msgr. Joseph Malagreca.
You can also check out the conference’s speakers in English or in Spanish.
For individual registration, go to bqonlineformation.org or contact Christine Georgi at (718) 695-7300. For group registration, you must contact Christine Georgi (718) 695-7300 to reserve your group’s place. Tickets are $25.00 per person in advance or $30.00 at the door. Please register by March 1, 2015.
Click here to view all registration info.
Most Precious Blood in Astoria to Close School
Faced with declining enrollment and costly structural repairs, Most Precious Blood School will close at the end of the 2014-15 academic year.
“Most Precious Blood School has been the heart of the parish since 1957,” said Father William Krlis, pastor. “The simple fact is, the building is in need of costly structural repair. Enrollment has dropped precipitously over the past five years. From Kindergarten through Eighth Grade, enrollment is 191 students, which has dropped 20 students since last year alone.”
Currently, structural repairs are needed in Most Precious Blood School, and also in Most Precious Blood Church. Repairs are estimated at $5.5 million, inclusive of both the school and the church buildings. “We do not have the funds to complete this work,” said Father Krlis.
March For Life 2015
The 42nd Annual March For Life campaign, the largest Pro-Life event in the world, will take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, January 22 at 1 PM. The DeSales Media Group is sponsoring buses for anybody who is interested in attending the event. There were two buses originally planned, but that number has grown to ten.
Below is a full list of locations sending people to this year’s march:
- Diocese of Brooklyn-Brooklyn, Ss. Peter & Paul, Williamsburg & St. Anselm, Bay Ridge
- Diocese of Brooklyn-Queens, ICC, Douglaston & Resurrection Ascension, Rego Park
- Archbishop Molloy High School, Briarwood
- The Mary Louis Academy Campus, Jamaica and St. Joan of Arc, Jackson Heights
- St. Michael-St. Malachy, Brooklyn and St. Gabriel, Brooklyn (Sr. Madre de las Americas Flores)
- St. Martin of Tours, Bushwick and Fontbonne Hall Academy, Bay Ridge
- Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, Clinton Hill
- Shrine Church of St. Gerald Majella, Hollis
- Holy Family (Bridge to Life), Flushing
- We are also sponsoring a separate bus for Sister Peace, who is based out of Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Williamsburg
NOTE: To reserve a spot on either Bus 1 or Bus 2, call 718.499.9705 by January 20, 2015 and ask for Ivana. You must reserve your seat and confirm your attendance to participate.
You can also click here to view the flyer for the event.
The Joy of Encountering Christ – The Family’s Hope Springboard Plan 2015-2018
To All Pastors, Administrators, Pastoral Associates, Catechetical Leaders, and Catechists:
Last week I sent Bishop DiMarzio’s letter announcing the Evangelization and Renewal Springboard 2015-2018 entitled The Joy of Encountering Christ–The Family’s Hope.
I hope that you will use this information to assist your planning efforts for 2015-2018 and share this information with those that might find it helpful. Please join us in making every attempt to increase evangelization and renewal efforts. While you are not expected to complete everything discussed in this plan, please attempt to either use what we suggest or find something helpful to the evangelization and renewal efforts in your parish, family, or individual situation. I am certain that you are already accomplishing much of what is being suggested.
I also attached a copy of Bishop DiMarzio’s announcement letter that was previously posted. More information will continue to be sent to you in the new year.
If I or any member of the staff can be of assistance, please do not hesitate to call or email us.
May the Christ Child lead us in this important work.
Merry Christmas and a blessed and healthy new year!
Theodore J. Musco
Executive Director, School of Evangelization
Director, Office of Faith Formation
Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn
310 Prospect Park West
Brooklyn, New York 11215
718.965.7300, Ext. 5417
tmusco@diobrook.org
www.bqfaithformation.org
Statement on Fire At Our Lady Of Sorrows
Tragedy struck the heart of the Diocese of Brooklyn this past weekend as Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Corona suffered a devastating fire. The Diocese of Brooklyn is fully committed to helping this church rebuild so that it may continue serving its faithful community as it has been doing since 1872. All of our shrines, churches, and cathedrals are sacred and special in their own individual ways. What makes Our Lady of Sorrows stand out is that it is a parish of immigrants in the Diocese of Immigrants, with 12,000-13,000 overall parishioners in attendance each weekend.
This vibrant parish has played host to several immigration-related events these past two years, including: a September 2013 Mass with Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn; a March 2014 press conference for Catholic Migration Services with U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, Congresswoman Grace Meng, Assemblyman Francisco P. Moya, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras, and Councilman Carlos Menchaca; and a November 2014 bills signing with Mayor Bill de Blasio of Intro. 486-A and Intro. 487-A, to protect undocumented immigrants.
As we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, let us pray for our fellow parishioners in Corona during this time of rebuilding.
Statement of Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio On the Murder of Two NYPD Officers
The Catholic Community in Brooklyn and Queens joins me in praying for the repose of souls of Police Officer Wenjian Liu and Police Officer Rafael Ramos. We offer our sincere condolences to the families of our fallen Police Officers and pray earnestly for their consolation. Each day, 35,000 of our fellow citizens put on blue uniforms and patrol the streets of our city to keep us safe. Each deserves our prayers and gratitude. These finest of men and women will undoubtedly continue to patrol and keep us safe by the strength of their service.
As we face monstrous evil, it sometimes seems as though the light has been extinguished for our world. As people of faith, we believe that it is precisely into this unexplainable situation that God comes to make His home. Emmanuel, “God is with us,” and so we are convinced that a “light shines in the darkness and the darkness shall not overcome it.” Saint Michael the Archangel, patron of our Police Officers, pray for us.