From Your Pastors

The days are shorter, the nights seem darker and the weather is definitely colder these days. Advent has arrived, as we face what one old carol calls “the bleak mid-winter”. That bleakness is not only true of seasonal changes but also a metaphor at times for the condition of the world, and indeed, our own lives. Who has not felt bleak at some point in these nearly two years of pandemic? Yet Advent is a season in which we look for a new dawn. Just last week on the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, Bishop Robert Brennan was installed as the 8th Bishop of Brooklyn. The co-cathedral was packed with people, others gathered outside. Dozens of immigrant and ethnic groups were present. Various prayers were offered in no less than twenty-five languages. Representatives of various religious traditions participated. It was a sea of expectant people looking for a new dawn.

Bishop Brennan’s message was down to earth, honest and an invitation to connect in a new way. In his homily, the Bishop committed himself to listen and engage with us and called for us to do the same with one another. The homily drew on John’s gospel, John 6:1-14 when Jesus challenged his disciples to feed the crowd of 5,000. It was Andrew, mixing with the people, who knew there was someone with five loaves and two fish, though he was doubtful it would do much good. Using Andrew as a model for accompaniment and immersion, Bishop Brennan reminded us that this is our task today. He related this into the vision of the Synodal process: to walk with one another, identify our needs, strengths and possibilities, and to bring those possibilities to life by surrendering what we do not understand to God’s grace. Moving between English and Spanish as he preached, the Bishop reminded us: “Jesus camino con los otros”, and so too must we. Advent, and the Synodal Way are an invitation to develop familiarity with the suffering and limitations, strengths and hopes of others, and a willingness to linger — not rushing off to the next thing. In Advent, even when bleakness may surround us, we are invited to linger with the singular and unrepeatable ways in which each of us reflects the image of God, and to hear the significance of one another’s experience. This places us on the frontlines of hope, bringing the best of what we have to the Lord as we share the joys and sorrows, hopes and burdens of one another and our broader community.

As we enter the Synodal Way, let us engage and listen together this Advent and in the months ahead. May the Holy Spirit open our minds and hearts to the possibilities we cannot imagine as the gospel continues to unfold in our homes, our communities, and our Church. We welcome Bishop Brennan to walk with us on the way to a truly Synodal Church.

Fr. Michael Callaghan, c.o. and Fr. Mark Lane, c.o.

Stewardship/Financial Presentation from Lisa Lambert. https://youtu.be/TlKQ5oSxdXI 

Below is the annual report from the parish of St Boniface Finance Committee. Committee chair Bill Weigel will deliver the report in person at the 11:15 am mass this Sunday, December 5. A pre-recorded version is also available HERE.

The report also offers an opportunity to make a new pledge or review an existing commitment. There is also a section on Estate Planning if you wish to remember St Boniface in your will. As always, THANK YOU for the many ways in which you support our community.

Click Here to see Finance Committee Report for St Boniface.

The spectacular will also be live streamed and available on YouTube and through our Facebook page. 

Please email Fr. Michael, mcallaghan@oratorychurch.org, so he can get a count for food.

We need your help! We need toys for 40 children of all ages. We need many kinds of toys, for example: cars, trucks, Legos, art supplies, building blocks, teddy bears, and culturally responsive dolls for Black and Latinx children. Toys should be new and unwrapped. Bring toys to Sunday Mass at St. Boniface on 12/12.

The Oratory Women's Community (OWC) will again be organizing the Annual “Sweeten the Holidays”—bring joy to members of the Oratory communities near and afar who find themselves among the many needing a “life-lifting” moment.

Calling all members of our parish communities of St. Boniface and Assumption willing to reach out to only ONE other person between the first Sunday of Advent (11/30/21) and Three Kings Day (1/06/22).

Think how easy our sweetness can be shared. Send a card, make a phone call, bake something, deliver a plant, make a visit, you choose what works best for you and create your own “signature” of love, kindness and joy.

OWC will provide you with a name shared only with you. Confidentiality and the privacy of individuals is always maintained and respected and is not shared.

Contact oratorywomen@gmail.com to volunteer or for more details.

Handel’s Messiah can be experienced in person this Advent in the grandest of halls. Is there any time we could need this holy music more than now? Prepare for some choral magic: A rousing vest-pocket Handel’s Messiah in the Mozart orchestration is paired with the Carnegie Hall premiere of The Ballad of the Brown King by Margaret Bonds, inspired by the Langston Hughes Nativity poem. A few members of our Oratory communities (including two from the Oratory choir) are singing in the 100+ strong Cecilia Chorus with full orchestra and wonderful soloists (from the Met) in Carnegie Hall, this Friday, December 10 at 8 pm. We would love to see you there. Bring friends and family. All ticket holders must be vaccinated (all performers are as well). Use promo code  CNY37176  for 15% off at https://ceciliachorusny.org/the-ballad-of-the-brown-king.

Brooklyn Ballet brings The Brooklyn Nutcracker back to the majestic Kings Theater in Flatbush. Our production fuses traditional ballet with hip hop, Native American hoop dancing, and more, to create a one-of-a-kind culturally inclusion version

of this holiday classic.

Brooklyn Ballet is thrilled to help lead Brooklyn's post-pandemic cultural resurgence.

If you would like to dedicate Christmas flowers in memory of a loved one or in honor of someone, please send in the name(s) to info@oratorychurch.org or write the names on your parish giving envelopes. We will print the names and remember them at the 10am Mass on December 26 at Assumption and the 9am at St. Boniface.