SPEAKER_00 0:08

Welcome to Beyond the Beacon with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson, New Jersey. Join us for conversations about our Catholic faith, and together let's strive to live a life of faith, hope, and love. We're so glad you can join us. I'm Jay Agnish, Communications Director for the Diocese and editor of the Beacon, our news website. With me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney. Bishop, how are you today?

SPEAKER_01 0:31

I'm doing well, Jay. How are you? Pretty good, thanks. Are you going to introduce our guest? We're guestless. We are guestless.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

It's been a little while since we didn't have a guest, right? But we have lots to catch up on because there's lots coming up and we want to get into all sorts of different opportunities. Yes, I love I love that opportunities. So uh but before we get into the various upcoming ordinations that we have and consecrations and and we want to get into the Pope's new encyclical a little bit, uh what what's going on? I know I know the Knicks are doing awfully well. Are you are you watching?

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Like it's 1999, yes, as much as I can. Um that first game against um Cleveland, they were down 22, it was amazing. And uh think we mentioned before um having Jay Wright, the coach of three of the Knicks and who went to Villanova. Um yeah, it's just um it's great for New York City. And um uh we'll see what um the Salesian sisters are strongly rooting for the San Antonio Spurs. Um there as we record this on um today is m May 28th. Um uh tonight I believe will be game six in the Western final against uh San Antonio in OKC if Oklahoma City wins there, they'll face the Knicks. The Spurs would have to win two game six and seven, so we'll see. But um the Knicks can just sit back and relax. And um it's good to see the Yankees back on winning ways, so that's good. And uh the weather picking up um so um so nice time of year, busy time of year, but uh um a wonderful time of year as well.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

Yeah, do you want to open up in prayer?

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Sure. Place ourselves in God's presence, name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As we come towards the end of this month of Mary, dedicated month of May dedicated to Mary, our blessed mother. We ask her help and intercession as we pray. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Our Lady, seat of wisdom, Mother of the Church.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

Pray for us.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Saint Joseph, pray for us, St. John the Baptist, pray for us. All holy men and women, pray for us. In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

All right, so um, where do you where do you want to begin? So we want to discuss uh a number of things. So you have a USCCB uh plenary meeting coming up uh uh June 10th to 11th. The bishops are gonna consecrate the country to the sacred heart, and there is something local that we're we're doing that you've you've mentioned previously, and we'll give out the dates and and uh ways that the faithful can take part in these opportunities. Uh there's also the national Eucharistic pilgrimage in Patterson, which is a few days later, and we have our priesthood ordinations coming up on the 13th. So where to begin?

SPEAKER_01 3:37

Um we probably should begin uh with the uh Pope Leo's uh encyclical. We'll get to that in a moment, but uh yeah, I wanted to have a little episode just with us to be able to invite um all of our listeners and um viewers uh as I've trying to invite all in the diocese to uh share in these moments of grace that we're gonna have together. Um I think this episode is gonna come out on um Thursday or Friday, the fourth or fifth, um, on this coming Saturday, May 30th. Um uh grateful that I'm gonna be able to ordain eight men to the diaconate. Um, and uh so we give thanks for that. And then um uh the first week of June will be high school graduations, which will be exciting. Um and um and then um the first weekend in June, the sixth and seventh is Corpus Christi. Um the deacons who will be ordained on May 30th get the blessing of preaching on the Feast of the Holy Trinity for their first uh homilies, which uh that's always a bit of a challenging topic. But uh yeah. Um so um on the Feast of Corpus Christi, if you're listening to this on the fourth, fifth, or sixth, uh I hope you've heard about the Corpus Christi food drive, right? Catholic charities um for years. The uh, you know, food drives go on throughout the year, but often from September through through May or June, and then the stocks can go down in some of our food pantries. So um having a food drive at the uh beginning of June uh allows us to have full shelves, please God, for summer. But that's uh dependent on the generosity of people throughout our diocese. But so many do a great job with that.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

So um and each parish has uh specific lists, right?

SPEAKER_01 5:25

That they're items, yes, yes, yes. Um uh I was at a parish this weekend where they were assigned tuna fish. So uh um so um yeah, please be attentive to that. Um and um yeah, we'll get into the other things, but maybe um just spend a few moments. Uh I I was um at confirmation on Tuesday night and asked the Conformande if they would might remember 20, 30, 40 years from now if that they received their confirmation on the day after Pope Leo uh published his first major encyclical um Magnifica humanitatis, I believe, right? Magnificent humanity. Um and uh I I don't think they planned it to be released on Memorial Day in the United States, but it seemed to me that it got a fair amount of attention in the secular press as well, no?

SPEAKER_00 6:19

Yeah, I mean it was all over the headlines. I I Googled Pope Leo, and it was like the second thing that came up was the encyclical itself. So you could just click right on it and read all uh 42,000 words of it if you want.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

The uh our friends at uh our friends at Inside the Vatican last week did a good um I think Colleen Duly, the co-host, had a little um uh five-minute thing on on Monday, anticipating the presentation, which um again Pope I think it was historic that the Pope actually went to the press conference or uh public presentation of the document. Um they had five uh experts there, and um that was on Monday, uh but the few days before that, uh the Inside the Vatican podcast did a very good kind of preview, looking forward to um I think it was actually signed on the anniversary of Rerum Navarum, which I think was May 15th, um so um, but presented publicly um on on this past Monday. And uh so for those who might want to get a little preview before reading it, uh uh we can link to maybe uh the inside of the Vatican uh podcast. And um And I have a feeling you might be writing about it in one of your calls. Eventually, eventually. Uh I got a few other topics I think uh coming up, but uh um uh I just this week sending out about Ed Hennessy, the long time the founder of um Tri-County Scholarship Fund, along with Bishop uh Rodimer. I had a little tribute to him this week. Uh a really wonderful life um and great man of generosity and faith. Uh so um I'm sure uh inside the Vatican and um uh probably Jesuitical and others will be doing some coverage in the Catholic media. Um uh I think Notre Dame did something called a flash um panel or something like that to get some early reactions. But you know, I'll take time to digest it all.

SPEAKER_00 8:15

Yeah, yeah. I was scrolling through uh last night and and the other day, and it's it's a lot. I mean it's um it's super interesting, though. The Pope's an amazing writer, and um, I don't know how much of it maybe you already had no um the uh but um it struck me as as um a little alarming when it comes to AI and technology. I think it's uh maybe a warning but to to uh to be careful and and to put human humanity first before technology.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

And um I was with a priest friend, I think, on Monday, and he said uh he highlighted a bunch of the text, put it into chat chat GPT, and as for summary, I think Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville wrote an article for America Magazine saying the Holy Father is gonna publish a letter, uh an encyclical on artificial intelligence. Don't let Chat GPT read it for you. So uh uh it I'm sure it'll take some time and effort to it's not light reading. Um so um, but uh for those who can uh encourage you to um go through the actual text, which I hope to do in the coming weeks.

SPEAKER_00 9:21

I got a quote for you. I and I was tempted to do that too. Summarize it in one sentence. I was like, yeah, maybe maybe that's disrespectful or something. I don't know. Not a good idea. But so here's here's one quote: food for thought, and and maybe to encourage you to go and read it for yourself. Um so technology has the power to heal, connect, educate, and protect our common home, but it can also divide, exclude, and generate new forms of injustice. In the abstract, technology in and of itself is not a solution to humanity's problems, just as it is not inherently evil. In practice, however, technology is never neutral because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate, and use it. So uh and and it go it goes on, but I don't want to take up too much time. But uh the I l and the word neutral stuck out to me. I actually did a search for neutral and it comes up ten times. And very much technology is not a neutral thing. It's you know controlled on either side, good or evil.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

So anyway, okay, so uh more to come on uh Magnifica Humanitatis. But uh we continue to pray for Pope Leo, and you know, I think uh the Holy Spirit giving us Pope Leo at this time um in in in wor in the world's history, and uh um he's seems to be up to the job and uh um uh uh a w a wonderful leader and you know, at least um uh presenting the conversation to for further thought.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

So um I think that's what that's you mentioned uh what what is the name of the Rarerum Navarro? Yes, thank you. But his predecessor technically. Well Leo III. So it ties in uh social kind of continues the conversation of social justice, right, right. Catholic social teaching. Right. Okay, so we're gonna lose you for a stretch there. It you're gonna heading down to Florida in uh on June 10th and 12th. The nation's uh Catholic bishops uh they have a full agenda for their annual spring meeting with topics including safe environment protocols, sainthood causes, the synod of bishops on synodality, and the consecration of the U.S. to the sacred heart of Jesus. So do you get like um you must get some kind of emails or updates, the agenda beforehand.

SPEAKER_01 11:38

But yes, yes. Um and um so the the June meeting is a little shorter than the November meeting, but um um the schedule will be packed and uh we have our priest jubilee on um Tuesday, June 9th. Um priests we have two priests celebrating 65 years, and uh we're also gonna take the opportunity to celebrate Bishop Servatelli Um, who in um December no, excuse me, in September celebrated uh 25 years as a biser as a bishop. Um uh he was ordained bishop, I believe, in September of 2001. So um uh he's gonna preach at our Mass for the celebrating the priest jubilees, and then we have a lunch together. Um and then uh that evening I'll be heading to the airport to head to Orlando, um, get there Tuesday evening and the meeting starts, I think Wednesday afternoon. Um and then uh Thursday the 11th uh in the uh afternoon, there'll be a mass at the Basilica in or um cathedral in um Orlando. Um and you know, I think we'd probably have 90% of the bishops of the country in attendance somewhere around there. And uh um as has, you know, been decided, I think, in November um uh by vote that um we felt uh looking forward to our country's 250th anniversary on July 4th, that um with the sacred feast of the sacred heart coming in the middle of June, just a few weeks before the um anniversary of our independence, that um we ask um we'll pray that and consecrate the country to the sacred heart of Jesus, the most sacred heart of Jesus, and maybe uh it can encourage um a better awareness of that devotion um um which was been with the church for centuries. Uh St. Margaret Mary Alako received some revelations uh and uh and and and built up the devotion to the Sacred Heart, St. John Hughes, uh others. There's plenty of um uh information available online on our own website. We have a lot. Um and uh actually heart's a it's a Catholic thing, right?

SPEAKER_00 13:55

Probably. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:58

And um uh somewhat against Jansenism, um uh uh a negative view of the the the fleshy part or the human part of um uh uh the the human person created in God's image, and uh um but um that that Jesus became incarnate, he took on our flesh, right? And so he had a heart like we have a heart. Um and yet um uh St. uh Pope Francis um uh in his last encyclical um uh Delixet nos um uh and I think then um Pope Leo picked up on with Delixite, I believe. Uh uh but Pope Francis' last um um encyclical was on devotion to the sacred heart. So we can put the link to there as well. If you really want to get a good history of devotion to the sacred heart, um Pope Francis has some beautiful reflections. Um in his that I think was um I want to say like December of twenty of twenty twenty-four, um just before maybe he got seriously ill. Um so um Delixit Nos, I believe. Um the two encyclicals, Pope Leo, Pope Francis Last and Pope Leo's first, have they use both use delixit, um uh and so I think having to do with love in Latin. Um so um so yes, very much a Catholic part of our Catholic spirituality. Um and uh there'll be a novena um beginning nine days, I think, before the 11th. Uh so uh the USCCB website has a lot there. Um and so um um we'll encourage uh everyone to even start by being part of the novena. Um does it say that to start on June 2nd?

SPEAKER_00 15:48

The novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus draws its daily devotions from the Litany of the Sacred Heart. Each day reflects on the wisdom of saints and pontiffs on the sacred heart and offers opportunities for prayer and action framed by Pope Francis's encyclical, Deluxe Nos, He Loved Us, and Pope Leo's uh exhortation, Deluxe, I have loved you. Um yeah, so join the U.S. Church from June 3rd to 11th in praying this novena. Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 16:15

So um please do, if you can. Family is a great way to pray together. Parishes, um, we're encouraging our parishes to um uh promote the devotion and the consecration. And so then Friday, June 12th, which is the Friday after Corpus Christi, that's how it falls each each year on the calendar. Whenever Corpus Christi is, the Friday afterwards is the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the most sacred heart of Jesus. And um and uh we're encouraging each of our parishes at Daily Mass on that day to um offer individuals, families the opportunity to consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Um and uh we have three parishes in the diocese named in honor of the Sacred Heart here in Clifton, um, and two very close to each other in Dover, where I was for confirmation this past weekend, and uh and in Rockaway, um Sacred Heart and Rockaway. So those parishes will have some something maybe a little bit more special because it's their parish feast day and an opportunity if you want to go to a parish um uh dedicated to the Sacred Heart, uh you can find that information on the website. And then um that is Friday, June 12th. Um I'm gonna be, I believe, God willing, I'm flying home from Orlando, God willing, in the morning of the 12th, and then uh hope to celebrate Mass in the evening at uh Sacred Heart in Dover. Yeah. Um and then um Friday, June 13th, you know, by chance or providence, uh uh we have two men being ordained uh to the priesthood, Deacon Gender Medina and Deacon Lucas Fullen. Um so please pray for them. And uh if you've never been to an ordination, you might want to consider attending or wa watching online. 10 a.m. on uh Saturday, June 13th. Also the Feast of St. Anthony, um uh and uh so um beautiful day for ordination, um and and falling um the day after the Feast of the Sacred Heart, um, which I think is all it's also actually um the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I believe, um uh is then on the Saturday, the 13th. Um so then um the next day on Sunday the 14th, busy time, yeah, uh, we'll we'll welcome uh the national Eucharistic pilgrimage. Um another way that we're praying for our country as we look forward to our 250th anniversary. I believe it started this past weekend in Florida, St. Augustine or uh Augustine, depending on your pronunciation. Florida, the place where the first mass was celebrated in the continental United States. Um and um I think in the 1600s, I want to say. Um, and plenty of information on the website of National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. Um and uh uh at a recent mass with our school children uh uh for the May Crowning, uh I um wanted to ask them about uh naming the 13 colonies, uh, the original 13 colonies. Florida's not included, nor Maine, but uh um uh you can look them up. But it's Georgia, the two Carolinas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, uh uh Delaware, uh Rhode Island, um, and New Hampshire, I think, and Massachusetts. Uh check it, I think uh but uh so the procession is going through the original 13 colonies, coming up the coast north, and it'll pass through our diocese. Um the days before us, it'll be in the diocese of Camden, um, and then coming to us Sunday evening, June 14th. Um via the Mother Cabrini route. Right, and um uh we'll be in a football stadium to welcome uh Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and the procession and the pilgrims. Uh and everyone is welcome. If you haven't been to Mass in a football stadium before, it's a small football stadium in along Route 20 there in Passaic. Um one of the uh public high schools there. Bovarini. Mayor Hector Laura um of Passaic has been wonderful in um as mutt Mayor Andreseya and Patterson uh in in welcoming us and with the police departments working with us to keep everybody safe. And um there'll be two gathering spots in um in Passaic Um uh Holy Rosary, um where the Saint Pope John Paul II shrine is, and I believe Holy Trinity. And there'll be a talk at each one in I think Holy Rose, um Holy Rosary in English and Holy Trinity in Spanish. The procession will begin from there. The two groups will meet and we'll process to the stadium uh where we'll have the opening mass. Um and then um the next morning, Monday the 15th, I believe at St. Peter's in Parsipony, we'll have a gathering, any small Eucharistic procession with school children. Um and then um Monday evening the that's the fifteenth, right? Yes. Yeah. Uh uh in um in our cathedral, uh we'll have the closing mass and uh um waving goodbye to the pilgrims as they head on their way um up the east coast. Uh and um and that'll be uh at the cathedral um I believe seven o'clock mass. Yeah, seven o'clock on on on Monday, June 15th. And maybe everybody can take the day off on Tuesday the 16th.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

We uh and there's a lot well, I'll have all the links uh in the show notes. Uh we have lots of information. Yeah, it's gonna be a great, great month. And uh I'm taking off next week, so I'll be back at full force the following week. Cover it all. Yeah, to help help in whatever way I can. can you know we'll have a plenty on social media there is uh the uh closing mass will be picked up it'll be live streamed for us and then it'll be picked up by uh by a television um station so and I'm expecting gonna invite some media out to the opening mass we'll see how that goes and uh pray for good weather but come come come check it out yeah yes definitely pray for good weather um what are you most looking forward to uh I don't know uh or w w what what's something are you looking forward to the event at St.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

Peter's with the school children or what are you oh you know uh we want to um be grateful for each moment and uh yes we have to plan and look forward um and uh certain things we look forward to uh more than others uh but uh uh um these are certainly happy moments to to look forward to and uh it's all going to be great. Right and uh to try to um embrace and make the most out of each one. But you know uh one I wanted to share with our viewers and listeners uh some of this information to encourage maybe those who haven't been to something like this uh to consider well um if you're not familiar with the consecration to the sacred heart of Jesus do a little research do a little reading um um come to Mass on on if nothing else on on Friday the 12th you know for the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Watch I believe it'll be on EWTN on Thursday evening right the Bishop's consecration uh we'll we'll get more information certainly the USCCB will be I would imagine there'll be a live stream someplace um yeah oh yeah I'm sure but um so if the if that's helpful for you to be at home or your computer and uh and and check out the Bishop's consecration on the 11th um uh of the whole country uh so it's somewhat historic and then um uh again if you've never been to an ordination uh come think or watch the priesthood ordination but uh the opportunities for the procession on um Sunday evening Monday morning uh Monday evening uh if you've never been at a large event like that um uh consider um making the time finding a way to get there and uh you know having been on World Youth Days or other pilgrimages or um the National Eucharistic Congress seeing the church um when she gathers you know um in great numbers is a reminder of the Catholicity the the universality of the church we just had Pentecost right and um from Pentecost the good news is being preached uh to the ends of the earth and that continues today and um and uh um you know mystical body right right idea of one body right right yeah uh there's a line in the Acts of the Apostles where they talked about you know the room shook where they prayed because there was uh I had a the Saturday before Pentecost weekend I had a prayer vigil with the um Spanish charismatic uh movement in the diocese at our Evangelization Center at St. Paul's and when if you've if you've never experienced charismatic prayer uh that can be an experience of kind of even feeling the room shake as uh but um but it's an expression of the devotion and love of each heart for whether it be the sacred heart of Jesus or um uh God in the Trinity and um uh you know that that that responds to our Creator uh giving thanks for the gifts and blessing of each day asking for help um praying for others uh uh praying for our country praying for peace this um it'll be passed by the time this comes out but Saturday May 30th the Pope Pope Leo invited everyone to come together to pray the Rosary for peace um uh so um so um wanted to offer this opportunity to um to listeners and viewers to give it some thought and uh give a little advanced notice um if you're hearing this or watching this and you haven't already begun participating in the um in the uh novena you can you can catch up you can start today you know and uh uh but they are really you know we use that phrase it's a nice phrase but they are moments of grace moments where we can encounter the life of God in in a particular special way and uh and and you know pray for the bishops we pray for them at each mass yes along with Pope Leo but um um uh when we gather in June and November um we're discerning, we're praying, we're trying to figure out uh in a cynical way, you know, uh listening in the spirit um what is God asking of us? How is God calling us to be the church today? And so um that uh prayer for one another is is very very important. Now when you go down to Florida uh do you do you usually seek out those bishops who you often mention uh who were in your in your c ordination yeah yeah thanks to Bishop Maglory of Gary Indiana he usually organized although Bishop Parks of um Savannah George I believe um because he's actually a priest of um I think the Diocese of Tampa um I think he's organizing the gathering um there was I got some note about um a group of bishops that are apparently going to Disney World the day before I wasn't able to get there for that um so big Disney thing but uh well is a big oh is that yeah yeah right right right um so um but uh we have a uh a class gathering on okay um Wednesday the 20th uh excuse uh excuse me Wednesday the 10th um yeah right Thursday the 11th is the consecration yeah um so um uh opportunity fraternity is is a good thing too uh um bishop Bill Koenig um the Bishop of Wilmington Delaware longtime friend and priest of the diocese of Rockville Center we played a lot of golf together tried to get to see him for a bit and I want to see uh Father Bishop now Manuel Rodriguez of uh Palm Beach I missed his uh ordination because I got snowed in and couldn't get a flight but uh but um I'd be great to see him this will be his first uh uh plenary assembly yeah so good stuff um and um um but we can use all the prayers we can get so nice yeah we're uh always excited to see who you sit with I uh I know you sat with Bishop Barron one time and I just it came up in my YouTube feed he was he was doing a Bob Dylan song the other day it was he was ordained a priest the day that Bob Dylan on his Bob Dylan's birthday he was doing song from one of my favorite Bob Dylan uh albums actually um and I'm work I'm reading one of Bob Dylan's books when I'm done with it I'll I'll give it to you if you want the uh chronicles really really good yeah but uh I'm listening to um uh the biography of Poplio by Elise Allen um wife of the longtime Vatican correspondent John Allen uh who passed away just a few months ago um but she had two uh the um long interviews with Pop Leo's uh last summer I guess um and uh the book first came out in Spanish. I'm listening to it in English but uh but it's uh it's a wonderful wonderful wonderful biography. Um so um I'm about a third of the way through it and um really good ruh how maybe we'll do a little bit more about that.

SPEAKER_00 30:09

Well you mentioned Spanish so you prefer to listen in English Yeah even though you're Spanish is also but so and Pope you know it's interesting Pope Leo's you know writing did he write the encyclical in English do we know? It's pretty neat that we have an English speaking uh first you know Pope even though he speaks multiple other multiple languages.

SPEAKER_01 30:32

But you know um Pope St. John Paul II who probably spoke more languages than anyone and and and so many of them at a very you know um uh strong level um uh from what I understand. Uh but he said um when he prayed he prayed in Polish. You know your first language is your first language. So uh um and yeah that we have a Pope whose first language his English is um pretty amazing. American American English as we say.

SPEAKER_00 31:01

Yeah Chicago Chicago. All right good uh all right so what else are you looking for to inside the Vatican? Anything else you're listening to or watching?

SPEAKER_01 31:12

Um it's great um baseball season the Yankees are back on the winning track so that's a good thing. Um not a lot of time for watching or reading too much these days in the car listening to books or podcasts um is always good but um uh and uh and um Mike Francesa my longtime uh favorite uh still has a podcast and he does a uh you know it's uh a summary after each of the next playoffs games so that's it's always a good listener. Okay. So that's how you get you get caught up and um and um revisionist history um Malcolm Gladwell they're having a very good season about a book about reflecting on mistakes that help people to learn lessons. It's very very good.

SPEAKER_00 31:59

Yeah nice all right well I guess uh we'll leave it leave it there. Okay. Well thanks Bishop for your time.

SPEAKER_01 32:07

Um thanks to all of our listeners and viewers and uh we'll uh I think be back with some guests uh next time and uh but um uh keep us in prayer and try to take the opportunities for these moments of grace. Hope to see you maybe um at the uh at the Eucharistic pilgrimage.

SPEAKER_00 32:25

Okay and thank you for joining us please subscribe comment and leave a positive rating. Get to know us better by following Bishop Kevin's Instagram and beyond the beacon on social media. Read the bishop's weekly column on beaconnj.org and get in touch if you have a question for the bishop or a podcast topic idea and discover our other podcasts. See you next time.

SPEAKER_01 32:45

Thank you everybody God bless you