Lord

The heart of the Christian community is our Triune Lord: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Geography, history, and numbers are not the heart, but probably I will type mostly on these topics. As the internet already provides many encouraging spiritual guides and discouraging contentious forums, I intend to offer neither.
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To find a parish, enter a keyword in the search box at the top left, or look through the labels and links down the right-hand column. The posts themselves follow the Blogger format of newest items on top.
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Saturday, March 28, 2020

Sad news from Bushwick

According to the unofficial Catholic News Agency (EWTN), on Friday, March 27, 2020, St. Brigid's parish, on the Bushwick-Ridgewood border, lost their pastor, Fr.Jorge Ortiz-Garay, to Coronavirus.  Link HERE.
According to the official Catholic News Service, he was incardinated into the diocese of Brooklyn and was a naturalized U. S. citizen. Link HERE.

Friday, March 27, 2020

Coronavirus resources

The diocesan website has assembled a variety of statements, regulations, and resources on a single list. Please find the list HERE. Note especially the announcement of March 24, 2020.

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Catholic Directory, 1855

At random frequency, a Google search comes up with a scanned copy of a book of fascinating interest. Please go to page 189 of this Metropolitan Catholic Almanac and Laity's Directory 1855 for a description of  Catholic Long Island in that year.
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The diocese of Brooklyn was only two years old under Bishop John Loughlin. From Brooklyn through Suffolk County there were twenty-four churches, eleven stations, and thirty clergymen. The Brothers of the Christian Schools were already teaching on Jay Street, together with the Sisters of Charity and the Order of St. Dominic at other schools.
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The directory makes a few geographic errors, listing some Suffolk towns as Queens. Nassau County was cut from Queens in 1898. Parishes listed in 1855 within present Nassau County include St. Boniface, Forster's Meadow (Elmont), Hicksville (St. Ignatius Loyola, with many missions), Manhasset (St. Mary's, attended monthly from St. Michael's, Flushing), and St. Brigid, Westbury, attended occasionally from Jamaica. Glen Cove seems to be missing as an attended mission, but in 1866 Bishop Loughlin erected St. Patrick's parish there.
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This 1855 directory is free to download.

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

O God, our Help in Ages past

Isaac Watts (1674-1748), a Congregationalist minister, based "O God, our Help in Ages past" on Psalm 90. William Croft (1678-1727) wrote the familiar melody. Is this appropriate for a stressful year?

YouTube with lyrics.

Psalm 90 from USCCB.