My mission is to share the wisdom and experiences gained over a lifetime dedicated to faith, service, and personal growth. In my retirement, I will use this platform to offer reflections, insights, and stories from my 80 years of life, 54 years as a priest, and 13 years as a bishop. Through openness and humility, I aim to inspire, educate, and resonate with readers, seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance in all that I write. May this endeavor bring glory to God and foster a sense of shared journey and mutual understanding among all who read.
Bishop Ray’s Blog
Finding Meaning in Each Day
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Confirmation Experiences – Our Hope for the Future!
Read more: Confirmation Experiences – Our Hope for the Future!Confirmation at Saint Luke RC Church in Whitestone, May 16, 2023 These days, we Bishops (in Brooklyn) average around 10-12 celebrations of Confirmation in the Spring season, and 4-6 Confirmations in the Fall season. For the past 12 years, since my Ordination as a Bishop in 2012, one of the most joyful experiences I have encountered is the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation. I look forward to these liturgies because, as the Ordinary minister of Confirmation, I have the opportunity to teach and instruct the candidates during the homily about the meaning and purpose of this sacrament. …
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My Prayer List – it keeps growing!
Read more: My Prayer List – it keeps growing!It happens very frequently. Sometimes before Mass but most often after Mass. People approach me with prayer requests – mostly for their family members who are seriously ill, undergoing surgery, or awaiting a diagnosis after a test. I’m humbled that they ask me to do this for them. I always ask for the first name of the person who needs prayer and people readily offer the name. I immediately make a mental note to include that person on my list of people who have been on the list for a long time or those who are recently added. …
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Family Reunion – We do it every two years!
Read more: Family Reunion – We do it every two years!Sarra Family Reunion 2024 It all started with my niece, Kathryn, asking about relatives whose names she had heard but whom she never met. She had an idea: why don’t we bring the family together for a reunion of some sort? 2012 seemed like a good time to begin. I had just been named an Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, so we had something special to celebrate! New York was chosen as the site, and we picked a date. Over 25 family members registered to attend. We had the opening dinner in a restaurant in Manhattan…
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The experience of building a new Church – once in a lifetime!
Read more: The experience of building a new Church – once in a lifetime!Very few pastors get the experience of building a Church. The phrase is not entirely accurate – construction companies build the Churches. Pastors are the spiritual leaders of parishes – some of whom witness the construction. When I arrived at Our Lady of the Snows Church in Floral Park, Queens, on June 30, 1999, a question many people kept asking me was: do you think we can ever have a “real Church”? I didn’t quite know how to answer them. Certainly, I was not sent to the parish with a mission to “build” a new Church. After thought…
Bishop Ray's Blog 