Bishop Ray’s Blog
Finding Meaning in Each Day
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Uncle Pete’s Park – A lasting tribute to a fallen soldier!
Read more: Uncle Pete’s Park – A lasting tribute to a fallen soldier!Peter Chappetto Park, Astoria, Queens Our family and friends recently gathered to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the death of my uncle, 2nd Lieutenant Peter Chappetto, and we anticipated the 75th Anniversary of the dedication of the park named in his memory in Astoria, Queens. Five years after his death, his loyal friends petitioned the City Council to name a small playground in his memory. It stands today, after 75 years of use, as a lasting tribute to Peter Chappetto and the many others whose lives were sacrificed in World War II. My grandparents, Dora and Charles Chappetto, received a…
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What I learned from my Parish Priests – How to help people!
Read more: What I learned from my Parish Priests – How to help people!Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Astoria, NY known as “The Mother Church of Queens County” Every young person has heroes growing up – not just the ones you buy from the deli. The kind of heroes I’m referring to are those kind of people – larger than life – to whom you look up to and want to imitate and emulate. Sports heroes are perennially fashionable. For me, it was the Brooklyn Dodgers Baseball team beginning in 1955. To have great players and extraordinary human beings like Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese, and other greats…
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Post-Ordination Studies – A need to learn more!
Read more: Post-Ordination Studies – A need to learn more!Ordination to the Priesthood in 1971 for the Diocese of Brooklyn was an extraordinarily grace-filled moment. After many years of prayer, study, and preparation – intellectual and pastoral skills would now come together in service to God’s people as one of His Priests. It was an exciting time in the Church. We were young, enthusiastic, and energetic. We wanted to do our part; to help people get closer to God and know and feel His love. My first assignment as a newly ordained priest was to a beach community in Rockaway Beach, New York. We were the only…
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Going to school on Saturdays – We made it work!
Read more: Going to school on Saturdays – We made it work!Cathedral Preparatory Seminary, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn It was an unusual system of education, but we had to deal with it if we wanted to attend. Cathedral Prep Seminary in Brooklyn was the “minor seminary” as it was called since it’s inception in 1914. It was known as a “day hop” seminary. We went there because we thought that God might possibly be calling us to be priests. Entering the school as a High School Freshman in 1959, there were about 150 of us, freshly graduated from the eighth grade in various parochial schools. The first thing we noticed…
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