News - January 2025 RSS Feed

Yesterday, Sunday 1/19, our Fr. Bernardo Bonowitz passed away after a long illness. Originally a monk of St Joseph Abbey in Spencer MA, he served for 24 years as superior of Genesee's daughterhouse, Novo Mundo, in Brazil, before coming to Genesee in 2019 for health reasons. A ceremony for the reception of his body will take place Friday 1/24 at 5:00 p.m. and the funeral Saturday 1/25 at 9:30 a.m.

In my opinion, one of the biggest blessings of being a Catholic is the liturgy. Catholic liturgy is not only a collection of symbolic gestures, the reenactment of a divine drama or a mere aesthetic experience. In the liturgy, two things happen: 1) the mystery of our salvation that is being celebrated is made present again, today; and 2) we are being included, with our present lives and circumstances, in this same mystery. Both things are fundamental. We are celebrating today the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. We heard in the Gospel the narrative of Jesus’ circumcision and the adoration of the shepherds. As Catholics, we believe that these facts helped to form the pathway for our salvation. The way Jesus was born, lived and died has something very important for every Christian, for every human being to learn.