As we continue, together with the whole Church, to live this Year of St. Joseph, we have an opportunity to reflect on one of the few saints that has two feast days. The Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary and Patron of the Universal Church is celebrated on March 19 and, here in our Diocese, as in so many other places, we marked the Solemnity in many special ways, particularly by inviting people throughout the Diocese to be “consecrated” to St. Joseph at Mass on the Solemnity.

In the week before Holy Week, I received a book in the mail, Blessed Carlo Acutis: Five Steps to being a Saint by Msgr. Anthony Figueiredo. The book caught my attention because I had heard a few things about Blessed Carlo over the past few months. I recalled hearing about a young boy in Italy who died at the age of 15, and was recently beatified (declared Blessed by the Church) and who could become the “first millennial saint.”

On the day after Easter Sunday I received an email from one of our priests, telling me that he had “preached a parish mission during the whole of holy week. … The place was packed every evening with confessions afterwards until 10:30 p.m. The sheep are hungry and some may be even starving. Maybe we are on the cusp of a revival ... I surely hope so.”

Since Christ accomplished his work of human redemption and of the perfect glorification of God principally through his Paschal Mystery, in which by dying he has destroyed our death, and by rising restored our life, the sacred Paschal Triduum of the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord shines forth as the high point of the entire liturgical year. Therefore, the pre-eminence that Sunday has in the week, the Solemnity of Easter has in the liturgical year.

On March 25 of most years, nine months before Christmas, we celebrate the liturgical Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, the moment when Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel and it was announced to her that she was chosen to be the “Mother of God.” We learn of this encounter in Luke’s Gospel (1:26–38). It is also recounted in a beautiful prayer, known as the Angelus, which unfortunately does not seem to be as popular as it was in years (and centuries) gone by.

I have received numerous requests in the past few weeks for guidance and/or a statement on the Equality Act of 2021, also known as H.R. 5, a Bill that was passed by the House of Representatives and apparently will soon be considered by the Senate.

I grew up in a parish that, I would come to learn, was similar to many other parishes in New York City, as well as many others in Long Island, Westchester, other parts of the tristate area, and many other parts of the North­eastern United States. One thing that many of those parishes had in common, in addition to all that made us Catholic, was that in February and early March there would be announcements and invitations to join in the parish’s “St. Patrick’s — St. Joseph’s Day” Party — or Dance or Celebration. I believe that, in some parishes with a larger number of Italian families, it may have been advertised as the “St. Joseph’s — St. Patrick’s Day” celebration. These celebrations were also held in the seminary, which led to some “healthy competition” and more or less friendly rivalries between the Irish-American and Italian-American seminarians. It was only in hindsight that I realized that the rest of the seminarians, who were neither of Italian or Irish ancestry, were left a little bewildered or asking themselves, “What are these guys getting themselves all worked up about?”

As I finish my eighth month as Bishop, I am still experiencing many “firsts.” I suppose that this will continue, at least for the next four months. This past Sunday, I experienced my first Rite of Election as Bishop. The Rite of Election is a ceremony that takes place in most Catholic Dioceses each year usually on the First Sunday of Lent, when the adults who are preparing to receive the Easter Sacraments (Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation) are presented to the Bishop to be formally enrolled in the Book of the Elect. The “Elect” are officially accepted as candidates who will be fully initiated as members of the Church at the Easter Vigil. They are usually accompanied by their Godparents (sponsors) and representatives of their parish communities. This year we have 75 “Elect” from 22 parishes, as well as schools and ecclesial communities. The numbers of “Elect” and those accompanying them were significantly less than the previous year, due to the pandemic and restrictions. At the same time, the gathering of these candidates is a very clear sign that the Church in the Diocese is alive and growing.

For almost all baseball fans, the phrase “pitchers and catchers” has a special meaning, especially in January and early February, when fans will ask one another, “How many days until pitchers and catchers?” For those who may not be baseball fans, the phrase and question refer to something called spring training and the custom that the players who are “pitchers and catchers” report to spring training a few days earlier than the rest of the team. So “pitchers and catchers” reporting for spring training, especially after winters that have been difficult, cold, and snowy, is a sign for baseball fans that winter is almost over and spring is near.

In last week’s column, I shared my opinion that the Sacrament of Reconciliation (a.k.a. Confession) is the most misunderstood and underappreciated of all the (seven) Sacraments. I also believe that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is making a comeback, from seeming to have fallen out of practice in some places to a growing number of Catholics who are returning and gaining an appreciation for this beautiful “Sacrament of Healing.” As we enter the season of Lent, I am so happy to hear of and learn about the Welcome Home to Healing Penance Initiative here in our Diocese.

We hear these words in the Second Reading at Mass every year on Ash Wednesday. Along with the First Reading from Joel (2:12–18), Psalm 51, and Matthew’s Gospel (6:1–16, 16–18), each and every year as we enter the season of Lent, we hear the same readings. Do we hear the same message every year? That may depend on our individual circumstances and also on the homilist or preacher.

“Instituted by St. Pope John Paul II in 1997, World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life is celebrated in conjunction with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas Day, which commemorates through the blessing and lighting of candles that Christ is the light of the world. So too, those in consecrated life are called to reflect the light of Jesus Christ to all peoples.”

I recently finished reading a book published earlier this year, called American Catholics: A History by Leslie Woodcock Tentler. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys learning about American History, especially those who are interested in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States. Towards the end of the book, Ms. Tentler recounts and analyzes the five-day visit of Pope Francis to the United States in 2015.

In recent days, my thoughts have turned to the words of the Pledge of Allegiance: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I would encourage you to Google “Pledge of Allegiance.” I was surprised to learn that its history is traced back to 1892 and that, “The last change in language came on Flag Day 1954, when Congress passed a law which added the words “under God” after “one Nation.”

Pope Francis announced a Year of St. Joseph for the whole Church just over a month ago. Shortly afterward, in my Beacon column, I wrote that friends had given me two copies of Father Calloway’s book Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father, which offers a 33-day preparation and a form for the consecration.

This Jan. 22 will be the 48th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion on demand in our country. As we speak about and experience political and other divisions, I am not sure if there has been any issue that has been more divisive on the national and many other levels of society over these past 50 (plus) years.