Bishop Raymond A. Kearney was an Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn. Let me give you some facts about him and then explain my connection with him. He was born on September 25, 1902, in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Brooklyn on March 12, 1927, in Rome. For a brief time after his priestly ordination, he served in his first assignment at Queen of All Saints Church in Brooklyn. Almost immediately, however, his intellectual abilities were recognized, and he was assigned to pursue further studies in canon law, the law…
What a beautiful Lenten journey I have experienced! Since Ash Wednesday (Feb. 18th), I’ve been so blessed in so many ways by entering into this most sacred season of the Catholic church’s calendar year. Lent has been extraordinarily graceful this year, and I am profoundly grateful to God for this experience. I’ve enjoyed the scripture readings at Mass – most especially the gospels for the Sundays of Lent. Each of the Sunday gospels have been a beautiful image not only for personal reflection but also for preaching material. The temptations of Christ, the transfiguration, the woman at the well, the man born blind, the raising of Lazarus, and, of course, the Passion Gospel read every year on Palm Sunday. These Cycle A Gospel readings (taken from St. Matthew and St. John), as well…
A bishop is called to be a father, a brother, and a friend to the priests he serves! These three roles are unique, but at times they overlap. Looking back on my almost 55 years of priesthood and nearly 14 years as a Bishop, the role of priest friend has been such an important part of my life. I’ve often said that only another priest – especially a priest who is a dear friend -can truly understand what his priest friend is experiencing. Family is vitally important if a priest is blessed to still have members of his family to…
Parents of a newborn child have an awesome task of selecting a name for their child! It was formerly a custom for Catholic parents to select a saint’s name so that the child would have a saintly role model for the young person to imitate and to have as a heavenly intercessor! Let me add that in families of Italian origin, it was customary to name the children after grandfathers and grandmothers. Definitely, my family followed that cultural trend as well as ensuring that Catholic saints would be chosen for their names. My oldest brother, Charles (called Charlie later in…