Pastor Martin Rinkart and the plague

Pastor Martin Rinkart wrote "Now Thank We All Our God" despite his parish's tribulations of plague, famine, and war. I refer you to Pam Griffin's Story Behind the Song, linked HERE.

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He lived in Saxony 1586-1649, more than a hundred years after Luther.

Feast of St. Andrew, brother of Peter

Today, November 30, is the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle. There is a Catholic Church in Westbury, Nassau County, under his patronage.  Please see the updated website HERE.

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Below dates from 2011.

Clicking on any photo will enlarge it.

St. Andrew the Apostle Byzantine Catholic church is located at 275 Ellison Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590, on the northwest corner with Whitney Street. Its website is linked here.

This is an Eastern Rite Catholic parish, not under the jurisdiction of the Latin Rite bishop of Rockville Centre, but rather under the Eparchy of Passaic, New Jersey. It is Ruthenian in heritage. The Divine Liturgy is celebrated in English.

Registration has begun for the Test for Acceptance to Catholic High Schools

This notice addresses the eighth grade students who hope to begin attendance at a Catholic High School in September, 2021. The time for registration has begun. For more information, please see this handbook, which might be worth printing.

https://www.tachsinfo.com/PDF/HandBook.pdf

This entrance exam now includes Catholic High Schools on Long Island, twelve counties in total:

Brooklyn,  Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island, Queens, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, and Orange. There are no Catholic high schools in Sullivan or Ulster counties. I know of one Catholic High School that requires a separate exam, namely all-boys Regis High School in Manhattan. Because the school listings are on landscape pages, I suggest that you print the lists of the counties that interest you.

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Some important information is lacking from the Rockville Centre page: the Approximate Admissions number and tuition data. Also, all the charts refer to the wrong year, 2020, not 2021.

Hymn written in 1941

 This morning, 8.23.2020, the Sunday Mass from the Passionist monastery in Jamaica began with "To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King." Although I often heard this hymn during my high school days, I would never have guessed its origin in the first year of our Second World War.  Please see Deacon Greg Kandra's explanation HERE.  

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Much of the liturgical movement of the Twentieth Century was led by German and Austrian monks and their friends in the United States. In this instance, Father Martin Hellriegel wrote this hymn as a proclamation opposite the claims of Hitler and the doctrines of the Nazis.

Greg Kandra is a permanent deacon at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, Forest Hills.

St. Camillus de Lellis

Bishop John Barres continues his Lives of the Saints one-minute commentaries with St. Camillus de Lellis on today, July 18, 2020.
Link to YouTube https://youtu.be/2DL6HLYh0Bg
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The priestly congregation he founded uses the initials M.I., Ministers of the Infirm. Wikipedia HERE.
The U.S.A. Camillians have a website HERE.
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The nearest parish with St. Camillus as patron is at Beach 100th Street in Rockaway Park.
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My 8th grade teacher was Mother Camillus, R.J.M.

Bishop from Massapequa HS

The Pope has appointed Father Stephen D. Parkes the next bishop of Savannah, Georgia. He will be ordained September 23, 2020. Cruxnow reports the news HERE.
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Born in Mineola (Winthrop Hospital?) in 1965, he presumably was baptized in a Long Island parish (which one?)  He attended Massapequa High School (graduating about 1983? or did the family move to Florida?).  His older brother is Bishop Gregory Parkes of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida. 

St. William the Abbot, July 3, 2020

Congratulations to the 8th graders of 2020!

One hundred eighty-nine 8th graders graduated from Seaford Middle School.
Thirty-six graduated from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Bellmore.
Sixteen graduated from Maria Regina, Seaford.

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

For many more photos of the parish of St. William the Abbot, please click HERE.

Change of rector at St. Agnes Cathedral

Please see the link HERE, for a change of rector effective 8.26. 2020.
Msgr. William Koenig, rector for the past eleven years, will become the Vicar for Priest Personnel. He is such a caring listener that I would say this is a wise selection.
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Fr. Michael Duffy will become the new rector of the cathedral.

Appointments effective August 26, 2020

As published in the Long Island Catholic newsletter:
Remarkable are the number of pastors named to take care of adjacent two or three parishes. Demographics are the reason, namely the growth rate of non-Catholic neighbors. Congratulations and thanks to all the helpers listed below.
Official clergy appointments announced

The following official appointments and announcements have been made by his Excellency, the Most Reverend John O. Barres, Bishop of Rockville Centre, New York. All are effective August 26, 2020 unless otherwise noted.

Shared Pastorates:
Rev. Brian Barr is appointed Pastor of the Church of Saint Ignatius Martyr, Long Beach, while remaining Pastor of the Church of Saint Mary of the Isle, Long Beach, and the Church of Our Lady of Miraculous Medal, Point Lookout. Effective June 24, 2020.

Rev. Rony Fabien is appointed Pastor of the Church of Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, Roosevel,t while remaining Pastor of the Church of Saint Martha, Uniondale.

Rev. Stephen J. Pietrowski is appointed Pastor of the Church of Saint Philip Neri, Northport, while remaining Pastor of the Church of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, Centerport.

Msgr. Francis J. Schneider is appointed Pastor of the Church of Saint Mark, Shoreham, while remaining Pastor of the Church of Saint John the Baptist, Wading River.


Pastor Assignments:
Rev. Joseph Baidoo, from Pastor of the Church of Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, Roosevelt, to Pastor of the Church of Saint Boniface, Elmont.

Rev. Robert Joerger, C.P. is appointed Pastor of the Church of Saint Therese of Lisieux, Montauk.

Rev. Janusz Mocarski, from Administrator of the Church of Saint Therese of Lisieux, Montauk, to Pastor of the Church of Saint Joseph the Worker, East Patchogue. Effective September 2, 2020.

Msgr. Robert O. Morrissey is appointed Pastor of the Church of Saint Gertrude, Bayville, while remaining Judicial Vicar of the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

Rev. Lawrence N. Onyegu, from Administrator of the Church of Blessed Sacrament, Valley Stream, to Pastor of the Church of Blessed Sacrament, Valley Stream.

Rev. David Regan, from Pastor of the Church of Saint Gertrude, Bayville to Pastor of the Church of Holy Name of Mary, Valley Stream.  Effective July 1, 2020.

Rev. Lennard S. Sabio, from Administrator of the Church of Saint Mark, Shoreham, to Pastor of the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua, Rocky Point.

Rev. Edward M. Sheridan, from Vicar for Clergy Personnel, Diocese of Rockville Centre, to Pastor of the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua, East Northport.

Rev. James T. Stachacz, from Pastor of the Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola, Hicksville, to Pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Malverne.


Administrator:
Rev. Piotr Narkiewicz, from Associate Pastor of the Church of Saint Isidore, Riverhead, to Administrator of the Church of Saint Agnes, Greenport.


Newly Ordained: 
Rev. Rafal Borowiejski is appointed Associate Pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Victory, Floral Park.  Effective July 1, 2020.

Rev. John Crozier is appointed Associate Pastor of the shared Parishes of Saint Mary, East Islip and Saint Peter the Apostle, Islip Terrace. Effective July 1, 2020.

Non-parochial Ministry:
Rev. Michael J. Plona, from Associate Pastor of the Church of Saint John the Evangelist, Center Moriches, to Chaplain at Saint Anthony High School, Melville, with residence at Church of Christ the King, Commack.

Retired Priests:
Msgr. Donald McE. Beckmann. Effective June 24, 2020
Rev. William F. Brisotti  
Msgr. Peter C. Dooley
Msgr. William J. Gomes
Rev. Richard P. Hoerning
Msgr. Joseph A. Mirro

St. Peter of Alcantara school is closing

The diocese announced that the parish school at St. Peter of Alcantara, Port Washington, is closing. Please read the official announcement HERE.
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More than thirty notes of appreciation (over the years) and grief (at this 2020 decision) are posted on the school's Facebook page. One commentator gave four causes:  Hit by the perfect storm: Covid-19, high real estate taxes, changing demographics, and limited school and parish finances. .
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Although I am not a resident of Port Washington, I think that comment is accurate. If it is true that more than 700 students take religious education (as the parish reported to the Official Catholic Directory), at least we know that the demographic change is not overwhelming. The collection basket revenue of June 14, 2020, $16,427, could be larger, but again it is not devastating. The number might be above the median weekly collection for DRVC parishes. For comparison, check numbers from Naples, Florida, or any New York City parish in your ancestry.
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Corpus Christi, 2020

The feast of the Body and Blood of Christ today had a special meaning in the diocese of Rockville Centre, as public Masses were offered in most parishes, under guidelines from the bishop. We listened to and prayed with the live 11 a.m. broadcast from the cathedral, Bishop John O. Barres officiating, with Father Lachlan Cameron as homilist, first topic the Year of Grace, and second topic the Eucharist. A robed and masked choir sang in the loft, with appropriate distance between singers. They sang the sequence, but I could not determine whether it was Thomas Aquinas's Lauda Sion Salvatorem or a translation. At communion of the clergy, the choir sang Adoro Te devote, another hymn by Aquinas. Adoration and Benediction followed Mass, as also the case at the Corpus Christi celebration at St. Peter's. Catholic Faith Network carried that Mass + Benediction for more than two hours after 9 p.m.

Details disappear 6.9.2020

I can understand corrections, but this one is interesting. About June 9, 2020, the diocesan office of communications issued a press release giving twenty or so details about reopening the churches, details such as "The celebrant will not wear a mask," "Two of every three pews may be closed off," "There will be no offertory procession," "Families that travel in the same car may sit  together," "There will be no Holy Communion," and Homilists must use exemplary grammar.  Shortly thereafter, this press release disappeared and was replaced with a general puff piece including "Directives will be sent to the parishes." The individual parishes meet varied situations (architecture, age of congregation, etc.) and it appears that parishioners will be unable to check off how closely the individual pastors are following the specifics of the directives. Fair enough, to avoid arguments. The press release without directives, now with a June 6 date, is HERE.

CatholicPhilly and copyrights of music and texts

CatholicPhilly.com is the official news website of the archdiocese of Philadelphia, replacing the weekly Catholic Standard newspaper that folded in 2012. A few days ago, this important article appeared, Parishes Livestreaming Masses Need Licenses.
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Almost all choir directors, pastors, and assistants are probably alert to this issue lurking behind the worship in our churches. Not only do the hymn writers have to get their royalties, but also the basic texts of our worship, the Bible readings, liturgical texts (as the Canon of the Mass), the Sacramentary, and other prayers are owned by an entity, generally the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops or the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Open any pew Mass booklet, look for the fine print about copyrights, and you will discover the titles of the owners.
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I must let the above article speak for itself. 

Sunday of Divine Mercy

April 19, 2020, is the First Sunday of Easter or Sunday of Divine Mercy. The readings are HERE.
A link describing Sr. Faustina and Pope St. John Paul II with the establishment of the Sunday of Divine Mercy is linked HERE. 
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This Sunday has also been known as Low Sunday, Dominica in Albis Depositis (Sunday with the white baptismal garments put aside), Thomas Sunday (because of the Gospel reading), and Quasimodo Sunday. The Latin Introit begins with Quasimodo (As if newborn babes ...). In Victor Hugo's novel, Notre-Dame de Paris, the archdeacon there finds the abandoned infant on this Sunday, and names him Quasimodo.

A hymn for church unity

On Holy Thursday, 2020, I watched and prayed along with Cardinal Timothy Dolan at the 5:30 p.m. Eucharist from St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York. Early during the Mass, the hymn, "Lord, who at thy First Eucharist Did pray" was sung by a cantor in a very empty cathedral, empty because of the gathering limitations of the Coronavirus pandemic.
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This hymn for Eucharistic Unity was written by a member of the Church of England, namely William Harry Turton, 1856-1938. The lyrics can be seen and the hymn heard on YouTube HERE.

Antoinette Bosco, writer at The Long Island Catholic

Antoinette Bosco, who worked at The Long Island Catholic for at least ten years and was a prolific writer, passed away on March 20, 2020. Her obituary is linked HERE. Her personal homepage, listing the books she wrote, is linked HERE.
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I have not figured out the succession of editors or their titles at The Long Island Catholic when it was an informative weekly broadsheet from about 1962 to 2012.  I think Mrs. Bosco worked there while Msgr. Daniel Hamilton was editor-in-chief. The editors I recall were Fr. Paul McKeever (1967-1975, according to his 1988 obituary in the New York Times), Msgr. Hamilton (probably 1975 until he was appointed pastor in Lindenhurst in 1985), perhaps Peter Feuerherd, perhaps Rick Hinshaw.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Nelson Jesús Pérez

Much will be written about the appointment of Nelson Pérez as archbishop of Philadelphia, to be installed February 18th, 2020.  From 2002 to 2007 he was pastor of St. William's parish on Rising Sun Avenue in Lawncrest, northeast Philadelphia. Rising Sun is the design on the chair on which George Washington sat in Independence Hall in 1787. A recent description of St. William's parish is on the archdiocesan website HERE.
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Philadelphia does have a cardinal, Justin Rigali, age 84, who retired in 2011. His brother Henry was a member of our St. William parish in Seaford.

Our Lady of Mercy parish school to close

Our Lady of Mercy parish school in Hicksville, across Oyster Bay Road from Plainview, closed in June, 2020.  This school must not be confused with Our Lady of Mercy Academy on Convent Road in Syosset.