Eight Days In Seton Parish
I don’t know whether my local Catholic parish, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (Shrub Oak, NY) has ever had such a roller coast ride as it did from Friday, January 29th through Friday, February 5th – and, through it all, the person involved in everything was my pastor and friend, Monsignor Tom Sandi.
To recap:
• Friday night 1/29 – Parish Dinner for Volunteers, a recognition of those whose unpaid efforts help to make Seton the vibrant parish that it is; a night of cheer, good conversation, and camaraderie.
• Saturday morning 1/30 @7:45 AM – Round Table Discussion on Ethics and Morality; a monthly attempt to make sense of happenings in the world from an ethical perspective.
• Saturday afternoon / evening – Mass celebrated by New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan and reception; a gala event with a true “rock star” of the church whose kindness, generosity, and joy came through in his every word.
• Sunday afternoon 1/31 – Panel discussion with Pastors on what it means to be a pastor – the professional joys and hardships of such a life; honest discussions with those who serve us.
• Tuesday 2/2 – Sudden death of Deacon Frank Bruno, a mainstay of Seton Parish (two days after he attended the panel discussion and a day after he was performing his duties at Seton). Frank, a retired NYPD First Grade Detective, was involved with Seton for 30 years and was a Deacon for 19 of those. The death was a shock to all.
• Thursday 2/4 – Wake of Deacon Bruno in the church.
• Friday 2/5 – Funeral of Deacon Bruno, concelebrated by Bishop Dominick Lagonegro, Msgr. Sandi, Father George Lodi and visiting priests and deacons.. The funeral in a packed church (with former pastor Bishop James McCarthy in attendance) was a celebration of Frank’s life and service to his family, the citizens of New York, and the parishioners of SEAS. It was a combination of joy and sadness as we “sent a good man off” and Msgr. Sandi, in his homily, was “at the top of his game”, as eloquent as I have ever heard him, capturing Frank’s life perfectly.
All in all, it was a joyous, sad, exhilarating, exhausting week – and, for most of it, I was merely a spectator, while Monsignor Sandi was involved in every detail and deserves our thanks and gratitude.
To recap:
• Friday night 1/29 – Parish Dinner for Volunteers, a recognition of those whose unpaid efforts help to make Seton the vibrant parish that it is; a night of cheer, good conversation, and camaraderie.
• Saturday morning 1/30 @7:45 AM – Round Table Discussion on Ethics and Morality; a monthly attempt to make sense of happenings in the world from an ethical perspective.
• Saturday afternoon / evening – Mass celebrated by New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan and reception; a gala event with a true “rock star” of the church whose kindness, generosity, and joy came through in his every word.
• Sunday afternoon 1/31 – Panel discussion with Pastors on what it means to be a pastor – the professional joys and hardships of such a life; honest discussions with those who serve us.
• Tuesday 2/2 – Sudden death of Deacon Frank Bruno, a mainstay of Seton Parish (two days after he attended the panel discussion and a day after he was performing his duties at Seton). Frank, a retired NYPD First Grade Detective, was involved with Seton for 30 years and was a Deacon for 19 of those. The death was a shock to all.
• Thursday 2/4 – Wake of Deacon Bruno in the church.
• Friday 2/5 – Funeral of Deacon Bruno, concelebrated by Bishop Dominick Lagonegro, Msgr. Sandi, Father George Lodi and visiting priests and deacons.. The funeral in a packed church (with former pastor Bishop James McCarthy in attendance) was a celebration of Frank’s life and service to his family, the citizens of New York, and the parishioners of SEAS. It was a combination of joy and sadness as we “sent a good man off” and Msgr. Sandi, in his homily, was “at the top of his game”, as eloquent as I have ever heard him, capturing Frank’s life perfectly.
All in all, it was a joyous, sad, exhilarating, exhausting week – and, for most of it, I was merely a spectator, while Monsignor Sandi was involved in every detail and deserves our thanks and gratitude.
posted by johnmac at
8:13 AM
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