The Link
The newsletter for The Brooklyn Oratory Parishes

"I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons."
-St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, C.O.
 The Brooklyn Oratory Parishes
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Boniface
October 20, 2020
Visit our website for more information: www.oratorychurch.org
Homecoming 

Check back on Friday for details on Parish committees and their planned activities for 2020-2021. Even during the Pandemic there are lots of ways to stay connected and do good.

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All Souls Remembrance

November 2 is All Souls Day. We invite you to send in the names of loved ones to be remembered in the Novena of Masses that begins that day at our Parishes. We will include the names of your loved ones to the Books of Prayer on our altars.

The All Souls Shrine on the St. Joseph Altar at Assumption will offer the opportunity to light votive candles with one use tapers during the month of November. If you have a picture of a loved one you want to include on that altar please email it to us and we will print it to include in the shrine. Email info@oratorychurch.org

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Student Residence Blessing at St. Francis College
On October 6, Fr. Mark Paul and Fr. Michael joined staff and students of St. Francis College to bless the new student residence in Brooklyn Heights.

The building, located on Columbia Heights is home to an array of students – from first year to rising seniors. Part of Fr. Mark Paul's ministry this year is to offer Newman Ministry support to St. Francis College. Please keep the students of the residence hall in your prayers as they navigate the semester.
From Our Pastors

It was a year ago that we celebrated the canonization of our fellow Oratorian St. John Henry Cardinal Newman. It seems much longer a time has passed since the beautiful vespers and wonderful reception so many shared in that day. St. JHN’s feast day is October 9 (the day of his Beatification and his reception into the Catholic faith). This year we marked it more quietly than last, and in a very different world. Newman scholars and devotees have often hoped that he would be elevated not only as a saint but also a doctor of the church. Many have advocated that he be called Doctor of Conscience.

Conscience was at the core of St. John Henry Newman’s life journey. He acted always solely out of what he determined was a right conscience as he grew in his faith, theology and understanding of church. It was conscience that brought him into the arms of the Roman Catholic Church despite the costs to his social standing, loss of friends and persistent antagonism by those who opposed him. Newman never asked anyone to follow his conscience but put forth his reasoning for following his own.

 No two people have exactly the same conscience. That’s why passages such as Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 exist. At times we may assume our own conscience, or even our opinion, is the standard that perfectly lines up with God’s will. But we all have blind spots where we need to examine and reflect as our consciences are more and more conformed to Jesus and his gospel. The witness of Newman’s life, along with his writings and preaching provide us the means by which our consciences are shaped: Scripture; Tradition/teaching of the Church; personal prayer; Counsel of competent people; and the Sacraments. Newman clearly understood that conscience was a faculty of reason rather than emotion and that under the guidance of the Holy Spirit a well-formed conscience offers us the voice of God in the midst of each day. “Conscience is a law of the mind; ....a messenger of him, who, both in nature and in grace, speaks to us behind a veil, and teaches and rules us by his representatives. Conscience is the aboriginal Vicar of Christ.” JHN Letter to the Duke of Norfolk

As we grapple with the many issues of life, let us seek St. John Henry Newman’s intercession that we might be well formed as disciples of Christ.

Fr. Michael Callaghan, C.O. and Fr. Mark Lane, C.O.
Adult Faith Formation Virtual Class:
Catholics and the American Political Tradition with Father Anthony Andreassi, C.O., Ph.D.

Final Class, Oct 22: The Elections of 1928, 1960 and Beyond

Despite the constitutional division of Church and State, the impact of Catholics on politics has been remarkable and at times quite controversial and even disruptive. This series of presentations by Father Anthony will explore the impact American Catholics have had on the development of the American political system beginning with the early days in the late 18th century when the American Catholic community was small and beleaguered through its rise to full stature with the elected of the first (and so far only) Catholic president in 1960. No need to pre-register.

Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 910 4232 3310 Passcode: 382906
Brooklyn Oratory Small Groups
    Spirituality of the Oratory: Knowing Our Charism
     Season 3 “Prayer: Constant Communion with God”
Complete the sign up form at: https://forms.gle/9xWEzG61AyW7CHX77

Contact: affc@oratorychurch.org with questions or requests. 

It’s not too late to join a group, request a booklet, or attend a Friday Night Open Group session as you’re able or as a make-up if you miss a regular group meeting.  

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7th -10th Graders & Older Parish Teens!
Help Others in Need & Build Friendships
Friday, Oct. 23rd 4-to-5PM
The Oratory Parishes invite teens and pre-teens to a special online event to help turn around young lives. Learn about incarceration in the U.S. before reading and responding to poetry written by incarcerated youth, working with Free Minds and Repair the World. Free Minds is a project that seeks to awaken incarcerated youth to their own potential. Repair the World engages young adults in social change in their own neighborhoods.  

Attending may also help satisfy school-based community service obligations. Please register any time prior to the event at:  
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Mass Intentions
If you would like to request a mass for someone living or deceased, mass intentions are available for the weeks or months ahead. Email info@oratorychurch.org  The offering is $20. Please pay by using Pushpay or by mailing a check to 64 Middagh St. Brooklyn, NY 11201

The Brooklyn Oratory Parishes 
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Boniface
Roman Catholic Communities in
Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights
Both parishes operate from one office:

64 Middagh Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718.875.2096
718.625.1161