Blog posts : "General"
What is Advent?
As I was preparing to explain the Season of Advent to our Youth Group I found the video above from Concordia Publications. It is a good brief description of advent. During this season I recommend that we all make a good confession so that we can better receive Jesus this Christmas. I plan to go in the Third week of Advent.
The video by De La Salle below is also good.
All Souls Day
Today is All Souls Day! Today, we remember our beloved dead. It is good to pray for our dead because it is a spiritual work of mercy. I like to say that it is like giving a hug or a kiss to our loved ones. Imagine, for a moment, those souls that are in purgatory. Today, as we remember all of the dead we remember and pray for them as well. They might even be our friends and family members. Imagine that because of our prayers God allows one of them to go to heaven. That will be awesome since we will have a friend in heaven who can pray for us! In addition, that person will be in the presence of almighty God forever. That would be a great joy in itself.
Many people do not understand what purgatory is. This video below from OutsideDaBox gives a great explanation. Today, I went to the cemetery to pray for the dead. It is a good pious tradition. I'll offer Mass for all the faithful departed at 7:30 pm tonight in my church. God Bless You.
Evening Prayer with Pope Francis at Saint Patrick's Cathedral
On the left the Gospel of Luke with the picture of Pope Francis. It was given out last night at Evening Prayer at Saint Patrick's Cathedral. On the right was my ticket.
In my last blog post I mentioned that even I couldn't get a ticket to see Pope Francis in Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Evening prayer took place on September 24, 2015 and I received a ticket on the 23rd. I jumped with excitement. I was in the Lady Chapel. I incorrectly thought that these seats were not good as we would not be able to see the Pope well. I was completely wrong these were the best seats in the house. I arrived at about 2 pm and waited with many others. I knew many of those who were waiting. Once we were allowed in the Cathedral I met some of my priest friends and then I sat in the chapel for a few hours waiting for the pope. My mind was on my parishioners who were outside. I hoped the pope would not come into the Cathedral too quickly so that they can see the pope! Some were waiting since about noon and it was already about 6:30pm! Fortunately my people saw the pope! The atmosphere in the Cathedral was one of excitement when Pope Francis entered. Someone gave him roses and he put them in front of the Pieta. What a beautiful reminder for us to go to our Mother! Then the most amazing thing happened he knelt in front of a tabernacle which had Jesus reserved inside. I had been near that tabernacle for hours but since it is usually not used and there were many people I didn't notice he was there. Had I noticed I would have spent my time in waiting there. What a great reminder for us to go to Jesus. He knelt for a short while. This was visible from the chapel where I was! Many stood up to see him from about 15 feet. He then went into another chapel and was vested for Evening Prayer. I enjoyed the excitement in the faces of the people behind me as I pointed out to them where the pope was seating. He was very far away from us but he was visible. Evening prayer was awesome as it was sung! I love singing evening prayer! The Choir of Saint Patrick's Cathedral was singing which made the prayerful experience even better! When the pope spoke he began by addressing the Muslims who suffered death and tragedy at Mecca yesterday during a stampede. I thought this was a beautiful gesture. The Pope spoke in Spanish so it was great to hear him speak in a language I understand. There was an english translation on tv screens for people to follow. It was infinitely better to hear him speak and understand. He challenged us priests! He spoke about our time off and how we can spend more time off helping the needy. He mentioned that it is not good to defend our time off although time for rest is needed. He also spoke about how the fruits of our labor are not always visible. He said "from a human point of view, Jesus ministry ended in failure on the cross." Boy did I need to hear that one! Thank you Pope Francis! After evening prayer the pope unvested and went into the Cardinal's residence. He then came back out and I was able to see him from about 25 feet. Seeing the Pope was exciting but I realized in my own life that I should be as excited to see Jesus. Unfortunately we priests are used to being near Jesus all the time so we lose that excitement. Pray for us priests!
If anyone has extra tickets to Central Park or MSG please text me. I have a long list of parishioners who would like to see Pope Francis! My public number is (845) 204 -8981 Please do not call or text to ask for tickets as I do not have any.
Papal Pastoral Dilemma
Many priest in the Archdiocese of New York have the same pastoral dilemma I have. Many people who want tickets to Papal Events and not enough tickets. Pope Francis is graciously going through a procession in central park on Friday 9/25/15. The City of New York gave out 80,000 tickets. I first heard about this on 1010 wins and told my parishioners. Some of them were able to get tickets. I myself received two tickets which did not last 24 hours in my possession! This was by far the easiest ticket to get since according to the New York Times only 93,143 people applied for them and 40,000 pairs were given out. The odds were almost 1:2 to get one of these tickets if you were fortunate to hear the news that they were available and were a New York City resident. By contrast the most difficult ticket to get is the one to Vespers at Saint Patrick's Cathedra on 9/24/15. Even I couldn't get one of those for myself. Priests here in New York were able to enter into a lottery in order to get a ticket. I was fortunate to secure four tickets for myself and three parishioners to a live streaming of the papal vespers at Saint Patrick's Cathedral. This event was put together by Corazon Puro and the Office of Young Adult Outreach of the Archdiocese of New York and will take place at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Manhattan. Tickets are required and are no longer available. The event will be streamed live here: https://www.youtube.com/user/olgcny Approximately 1,000 people most of which are young adults will be present at that event. On Thursday, some lucky people will have tickets to be on the steps of Saint Patrick's Cathedral as Pope Francis arrives. The best event of all the events in my opinion will be the Mass celebrated at Madison Square Garden. The picture is of my friends Papal Concelebration Ticket. Only 20,000 fortunate people were able to get tickets to this event through their parishes in the Archdiocese of New York. I was fortunate to be able to get an extra ticket for a priest friend of mine. I'm still asking people for tickets. If you have a ticket you will not use I have plenty of parishioners that would like to attend any of these events. Please contact me at 845.204.8981. Text messages work best for that number. Please do not call or text to request tickets as I do not have any to give out. The closing idea for this blog is that it is awesome that we all want to see the Vicar of Christ here in New York. Pope Francis would agree that their is one greater than him who will be at every Catholic Church in the world this Sunday. His name is Jesus and no tickets are required. God Bless You.
For more information on papal events visit http://www.popefrancisvisit.com/
ClericalShirtsUK.com enters the US Market
ClericalShirtsUK.com is entering the US Clerical Shirt market. For priests here in the United States their are a few major brands for clerical shirts. They can cost from $20 to $60. With online ordering and decent shipping times priests can now purchase clerical shirts, vestments and just about anything from companies around the world. I personally own vestments from India, Italy and Mexico. I own clerical shirts from the USA, Italy and the UK. ClericalShirtsUK.com gave me one of their 100% easy care cotton shirts in order for me to try it and review it for this blog. The shirt I have can be seen here: http://clericalshirtsuk.com/100-easy-care-cotton-short-sleeved-clergy-shirts-black As of today the shirt costs £29.95 pounds which is approximately $46.51 USD. This cost does not include the cost of shipping. I found the shirt to be similar in quality to the other clerical shirts I own. It is the only shirt that I own that is 100% cotton. I wish they would include two collar inserts with the shirt as it only comes with one and I tend to lose my collar inserts. The shirt sizes are slightly different than in the US. I'm a 15.5 in the US and I found this clerical shirt to be a bit big. Perhaps ordering a half a size smaller would work. In contrast I find my Italian 15.5 clerical shirts are a bit tight. This of course might be do to the manufacturers of the clerical shirts and not the countries in which they are made. If you like 100% cotton this might be the clerical shirt for you. If you know a priest from the UK here in the USA perhaps they would like one as a gift from their home.
Disclaimer: I am not sure where the Magpie clerical shirt I have is manufactured as it does not say so on the label. I wrote this article at the request of ClericalShirtsUK.com. I did receive a free clerical shirt in order to do so.
Thank You
Thank you to all my generous donors. My WYD 2016 trip is fully funded!!!!! All checks that I receive now for WYD will go directly to helping the youth of my parish attend! Trust in God! I knew I couldn't afford it but I trusted it would work out. I paid a few payments on my own. I wrote letters and asked people for help and people were extremely generous. This is the method I used. I sent letters explaining to people what World Youth Day is and why I wanted to go. I then asked them to donate any amount and informed them that regardless of their ability to donate I would be praying for them in Poland. I sent a self addressed stamped envelope with every letter that I sent out. I raised enough money to pay my whole trip and I already have a surplus which will help others in my parish. I only sent about 33 letters out. Write a letter to everyone you know. Pray and ask God. Then pray and get ready for a great encounter with the Youth of the World, Pope Francis and most importantly Jesus! I ask that you pray for me that I may help many youth to go to Jesus at World Youth Day 2016!
Want to help the kids in my parish?
Send checks to
Incarnation Church
c/o Father Rosado
1290 Saint Nicholas Ave
New York, NY 10033
Want to go to a concert which will benefit the kids of our parish attending World Youth Day? Go to https://ticketriver.com/event/14526
Catholic Music Concert
Incarnation Church proudly presents a Contemporary Catholic Music concert featuring Hip Hop by C2Six and CCM by Ela Love is All (she appears courtesy of Deus Canticum.) Money raised will help our Young people to go meet Jesus and Pope Francis in Poland at World Youth Day 2016.
You can watch a video of Ela Love Is All here:
All Sales are Final
Spiritus Sancti Volume 2 Available Now!
Spiritus Sancti Volume 2 is a compilation of Contemporary Catholic Music. It is available for FREE now at the Spiritus Sancti Music page.
Basic Things
I have launched a new youtube show called Basic Things. It will be available here on my home page, on the Basic Things Page and on my youtube channel: youtube.com/c/padrerosado The show will feature teachings about the Catholic Church and interviews with Catholic musicians. Some shows will be pre-recorded and others will be streamed live from this website and my youtube channel. Enjoy episode 0 below.
Episode 0 - Introduction
What is Advent?
Christ is Greater than Columbus
Today we celebrate Columbus Day. While people argue about whether or not this day should be celebrated as a holiday, it is safe to say that most people enjoy the day off from work. For most it is a day to be with their families. For most children it means “no school on Monday!” Today’s Gospel tells us that “…there is something greater than Jonah Here.” (See Luke 11: 29 -32.) This made me think about our society today. Our society knows how to take a day off. I enjoy time with family as much as anybody else and a day off as much as anyone else. Yet, we have an opportunity to take a day off for a reason greater than Columbus every week. Every Sunday we remember the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Jesus is God. He is greater than Jonah, Columbus and everyone else. Why don’t we close businesses on Sunday anymore? I know that the answer is the Almighty Dollar. We are required and invited to go to Mass by God every Sunday. The Third Commandment does not say “thou shall keep Holy the Sabbath Day unless you work.” We Catholics have the power to change things by prayer and by example. The last job I held before entering the seminary was working Security for Burns Security at the old Yankee Stadium. One Sunday we were told we had to be on post at a certain time because the Yankees were playing a 1 pm game on a Sunday. I told my boss I could not be on post at the time he wanted me because the earliest Mass at Saint Joan of Arc was at 8 am. To his credit he told me everyone had to be on post on time except me. He told me to go to Mass and that he would hold my post. My post was a desired one because it was on the third base side, in the front row were many celebrities attended the game. These were the best seats in the House that Ruth Built. When I arrived to work that Sunday and every Sunday after that he did not mind that I was late because I was putting God first. You should have seen his reaction when later in the season I gave him my letter stating that I was resigning because I was going to enter the seminary. He thought it was a joke. Thank God it was no joke and God gave me the gift of the priesthood. Here are some suggestions if you are stuck working a job on a Sunday. Remember, liturgically Sunday begins Saturday at 4 pm. We can go to any Mass from Saturday at 4 pm until the last Mass on Sunday. Look around while the last Mass in my parish is at 1:30 pm at Saint Joan of Arc in the Bronx they have a 7 pm Mass. Also remember that we do not have to go to Mass in a language that we understand we just have to go to Mass. A final thought is to exchange days off with a pious Muslim. I know of one Muslim who will exchange his day off with any Catholic. The Catholic will work his Friday and he will work their Sunday. The same can be done with the pious Jew. Their holy day is Saturday. If you put God first you might suffer greatly but at the end of time when it really matters you will not regret it.
Father Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR dies at age 81
Update 10/9/14
Fr. Benedict's Funeral Liturgies and Services are as follows:
10/9/14 Wake at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart located at 89 Ridge Street Newark, NJ, from 4 - 7 pm. Prayer Vigil from 7 - 9
10/10/14 Funeral Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at 11 am.
The burial will take place at Most Blessed Sacrament Friary in Newark, NJ and it is not open to the public. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Father Benedict J. Groeschel
On October 3rd at the age of 81 Father Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR passed away. I remember him as my professor in seminary. He was a very humble man, a great priest and a good writer. His wake and memorial Mass are not available at this time. I will update this blog post when they become available. Regarding Father Benedict's death the CFRS released the following statement:
The Catholic Church and the Franciscan family lost a giant today. This moment is one that finds the Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFR) with mixed emotions, as we are deeply saddened by the loss of Fr. Benedict but also relieved that God has set him free from the physical and mental suffering he has experienced over the past decade. The world knew Father Benedict as a priest, teacher, evangelist, retreat master, and a steadfast defender of and advocate for the Catholic Church that he loved so much. The members of his religious family saw all these things in him, too. But even more, we were also blessed to know him as a father who cared for each of us, a father who was always accessible when we needed him and always glad to see us when we came to visit. The words of a fellow Franciscan, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, describing St. Francis, characterize Fr. Benedict well, “His intuition of a universal brotherhood, extending to every creature, accompanied by his choice of minority, turn him and his followers into the brothers of every person, the enemies of none, and the companions of the least ones.” Fr. Benedict was a brother and a father to everyone he encountered. In a world often overwhelmed with darkness, He was a man filled with hope, a hope that he shared with both therich and poor alike. His love for others and deep desire to serve, sent him among poor families who were in need of assistance, young people trying to find their way, bishops faced with challenging decisions, priests and religious in need of an encouraging word, and the stranger who was far from God. Fr. Benedict was at home in every circumstance and every encounter. “The providence of God,” he would say, “was the mystery of God reaching out at every moment and revealing his love and presence to us all.” It is not an exaggeration to say that Fr. Benedict was selfless. Those who knew him well understood that it was simply his nature to be so. He poured himself out for others no matter what the cost and sometimes the cost to him was very great. To have known him was to have been helped by him and even loved by him. Our CFR Family and everyone who knew him received an enormous amount from Fr. Benedict. Probably more than we were ever able to give back. It was not simply his wealth of wisdom and knowledge from which many benefited. It was his profound faith and equally profound love, two gifts that he never failed to share generously. Join with us in praying for the repose of the soul of Fr. Benedict, for his family and Community, and also in thanksgiving for the legacy of renewal within the Church and Franciscan family that Fr. Benedict championed.
Obedience is like a Diamond?
Obedience is like a Diamond in the rough. When diamonds are first pulled out of the ground they can be dirty with mud. They are also in rough shape and not ready to be placed into a ring or a chalice. However, after they are cleaned and cut diamonds are amazingly beautiful and ready to be set. The same is true with obedience. In the beginning, what is asked in obedience might not make sense nor is it desirable. After a while however, the object of obedience becomes as beautiful as a diamond. An example of this in my own life is when I was first sent to Saint John's as a seminarian. I had never heard of Goshen, NY until I was assigned there. The first week was rough, I didn't know anyone, there seemed to be anyone on the street and it was very quiet. I originally grew up in the Bronx so this was all too different for me. After my three years as a seminarian I was about to be ordained as a priest and I asked God to give me the gift of being assigned to Saint John's in Goshen, NY. God was good to me and I was able to serve my first three years as a priest in Saint John's in Goshen, NY. They were three wonderful years. My diamond in the rough shined brightly. I was very sad to leave my beloved parish and its people. My new diamond in the rough is my new assignment here in Incarnation in Manhattan. I hope that in three years I will feel the same about my new parish as I did about my old parish. So far the people here at Incarnation are wonderful. Please pray for me and for all priests who have been transferred that we may get our diamonds in the rough to shine like the Star of David.
Eye Witness Account of Canonizations of Saints John Paul II and John XXIII
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