In the spirit of St. Francis, Notre Dame Catholic Academy students help rescue animals

Bobbi, from Bobbi and the Strays Pet Rescue located in Atlas Park in Glendale, Queens is pictured with some of the students from Notre Dame Catholic Academy.  The students put their faith in to action to donate pet food and other items that are necessary for the non-profit shelter to operate and ultimately save more stray animals.  The school-wide service project was done in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, whose Feast Day was October 4th.

First Young Adult Mass of the Pastoral Year

On October 14, 2014, we invite all the young adults of the diocese to come and celebrate the 1st Young Adult Mass of this new pastoral year. The Mass will take place at Holy Name of Jesus Church on Prospect Park West in Brooklyn. The Mass will be celebrated by Father James Kuroly. After the liturgy, we will make our way to a nearby bar or restaurant for fellowship and fun.

We hope that you will be able to join us in this celebration of youth. Open to all young adults aged 21-39. For more information, you can contact Paul Morisi at pmorisi@diobrook.com.

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NET TV to Provide LIVE Coverage of Father Benedict Groeschel’s Funeral

On Friday, October 10th, New Evangelization Television (NET TV) will provide live coverage of the Funeral Mass of Father Benedict Groeschel. The service will be broadcast from the Cathedral Basilica of Sacred Heart of the Archdiocese of Newark at 11 a.m. EST.

Born Robert Peter Groeschel in 1933 in Jersey City, N.J, Father Groeschel took the name Benedict when he entered the Capuchin Franciscan order in 1951. In 1987, he and seven other Capuchin friars founded the Community of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, a traditional group focused on serving the poor in New York City and Yonkers. He passed away Friday, October 3rd, at St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in Totowa, N.J., at the age of 81.

“The Catholic Church has lost a great leader. We will always remember Father Groeschel’s humbleness and great humor, as well as his devotion to help those in need,” said the Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn.

The Funeral Mass will be broadcast live on NET TV and streamed on www.netny.tv. NET TV is a cable network featuring news and information with a Catholic point of view, and is available in the New York area on Time Warner Cable, channel 97, Cablevision, channel 30, and nationally on Verizon FiOS on Demand.

“Family Is Where Society Begins” By Bishop DiMarzio

October 8, 2014 – Excerpted from Put Out Into the Deep, Bishop DiMario’s column in The Tablet:

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

The Synod on the Family that has begun in Rome gives me an opportunity to write to you regarding the long tradition of the Church for upholding the family as the basic unit of society and also as the domestic Church. Most importantly, the Church sees the family as the foundation for a civilization of love. These are the words used by Pope Paul VI, soon to be beatified at the end of the Synod on the Family.

St. John Paul II, in his encyclical “Familiaris Consortio” (Tasks of the Family), described the family as a community of persons similar to the Trinity itself. These persons serve each other and support one another and participate in the development of society and the mission of the Church. Families are important in themselves. However, families are most important to society and to the Church.

There is no better example than the Holy Family of Nazareth as a model for Christian families. This has always been the message of the Church regarding family life; look to Nazareth and to the family that nurtured the Son of God, and we will know how to live in our own families.

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

 

Catholic Priest Who Trained as a Chef Hosts 5th Season of “Breaking Bread’ Show

The local paper, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, has published a report on NET TV’s own Msgr. Jamie and his show, Breaking Bread:

brooklyn-eagle-logoMonsignor Jamie Gigantiello discovered a creative way of blending his vocations of chef and Catholic priest. He does so, joyfully, through teaching and hosting “Breaking Bread,” a weekly program on Catholic NET-TV that celebrates Brooklyn’s richly ethnic neighborhoods. Msgr. Jamie, as he is popularly known, also utilizes his talents, skills and experience in culinary and hotel management. He serves as Administrator of St. Bernard Parish, Mill Basin and as the Vicar for Development for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.

Always actively involved in the church, Msgr. Jamie served as a lector, Eucharistic minister of Communion and retreat team leader starting during his school. But it would be a while before the priesthood became his primary vocation in life. But he did trust the wisdom of God’s timing.

Read the complete article here.

“A Saint from New Jersey” by Bishop DiMarzio

October 1, 2014 – Excerpted from Put Out Into The Deep, Bishop DiMarzio’s column in The Tablet:

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

“A Saint in New Jersey?” is the title of one article written on Sister Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, S.C., who will be beatified on Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J. Sister Miriam was a member of the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station, N.J. Born as a Byzantine Ruthenian in Bayonne, N.J., she joined the Sisters of Charity in 1925 after a brief career in business. The brilliant young sister became the Mistress of Novices for her community, which was practically unheard of in those days. Sister Miriam died at only 26 years of age from untreated appendicitis.

I feel particularly close to Sister Miriam Teresa because as a young student through my eight years of grammar school taught by the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, we prayed almost daily for her canonization. The step of beatification is the last step before canonization. Little did I know that in my own lifetime, I would see this come to fruition.

The progress of Sister Miriam from venerable to blessed is taking place because of a miracle attributed through her intercession. A young boy who was declared legally blind due to juvenile bi-lateral macular degeneration regained his sight through prayer to and the intercession of Sister Miriam Teresa.

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

Fall 2014 School of Evangelization Guidebook

2014-10-01_12-11-11The staff of the School of Evangelization has published the first edition of its Guidebook for September 2014 to January 2015. This Guide was created to provide information relating to the various programs, courses, events, and initiatives of the diocesan Office of Faith Formation, Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), and the Pastoral Institute. The Guidebook is available online at www.bqonlineformation.org; click on the Resource tab to access the Guidebook link.

A new Guidebook will be published in January and July of each year. Printed copies of the Guidebook will be available free of charge to order and will be available for pickup at the School of Evangelization Inaugural Gathering on September 18, 2014 at Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians Church in Woodside. Please email Christine Georgi at cgeorgi@diobrook.org to place your order (limit of 20 copies per parish/school/academy).

Please contact Ted Musco, Executive Director of the School of Evangelization with any questions at 718.965.7300 or tmusco@diobrook.org.