THE TABLET
May 24, 2008

Celebrate Priests-, Religious-Jubilarians

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

The Diocese observed the jubilees of our priests and our women and men religious at three separate occasions in recent weeks.  First was the Brothers’ Jubilee, then the Sisters’ and finally our priests.  Events recognizing 25, 50 and sometimes 60 years or more of commitment are always to be remembered. They provide a special opportunity to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.  We are in need of replacements for those who have grown old in the service of the Lord and are in their retirement years.  By honoring those who still minister faithfully, I am sure we will fulfill the purpose of inviting others to join the ranks of those who serve the Church and its mission. 

Because it was necessary to change the date of the diocesan pilgrimage to the shrines of Lourdes and Paris, this created a conflict and therefore, unfortunately, I was not able to make the Brothers’ Jubilee. I did, however, participate in the Sisters’ Jubilee, which is always a special occasion of celebration.  The Sisters seem to have a special knack for enjoying the Mass and dinner afterwards, which is accompanied by a one-man band whose music does not go to waste.  This inter-community event recognizes the long and dedicated service of our women religious whose labors in Brooklyn and Queens have enhanced the mission of the Diocese for many years. 

Finally, the Priests’ Jubilee is always a happy event, although we do recognize the jubilarians also at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday.  The event this year enabled the priest jubilarians to invite members from their former parishes, family and friends to join them for an increased attendance at the Jubilee Mass that was preceded by a dinner.  In a special way with the priest jubilarians, we seek the Lord’s intercession in providing new laborers for the vineyard to replace those who are in their retirement years.

While speaking of retirement, allow me to mention the annual Religious Retirement Fund collection, set for the weekend of May 31-June 1, a collaboration of  the Dioceses of Brooklyn and Rockville Centre. Begun in l985, it predates by several years the national collection for religious that is taken up each December.  Our joint collection was a trendsetter in trying to fulfill our responsibilities to our aging religious, whose retirement needs in the heyday of religious life were not anticipated.  Those of us who attended Catholic school, and even others who were taught by religious in religious education programs, recognize the debt of gratitude we owe to them and the responsibility we have to see that their retirement years are lived in dignity and reasonable comfort. I take this opportunity to request a generous response to this collection that will assist women and men religious who served us so well.   

I also take this opportunity to mention services for our own retired priests.  As you may know, over forty of our retired priests live at the Bishop Mugavero Residence in Douglaston. We recently increased its capacity by ten and introduced expanded medical services.  These services are meant to keep our priests out of nursing homes and in a more active mode. Recognizing that we are running out of space, we are opening the currently unused convent at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs parish in Forest Hills for some of our retired priests.  This renovated convent was originally designed for retired men and used for several years by Catholic Charities.  Now it has become available and we are opening it up to priests who wish to live a more independent lifestyle yet still have the company of brother-priests.

Every priest and religious at the beginning of their life followed a vocation in which they “put out into the deep” and did not know where their commitment would take them.  Now that most have lived out the better part of their commitment, we are responsible for making sure that they are well taken care of as they enjoy their retirement and continue to fulfill their vocations here in the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Join me in praying for the health and well-being of all our priests and religious, that we might recognize their contribution and give them adequate praise.