Blessed Mother Mary by Arianna Chin, a sixth-grader at St. Augustine School in Westchester. | On the cover: Mother Cabrini. Illustration by Vinny Bove. FROM THE CARDINAL OUR BETTER ANGELS o question about it: 2020 has to Sunday Mass. St. Patrick’s Cathe- print like a telephone book. (Remem- been a tough year so far. So dral, glorious though it may be, is in- ber telephone books?) I’m pretty sure N many deaths, so much suffer- complete without the presence of the we would have needed extra pages, too. ing. It took a lot of tears, hard work faithful. As difficult as it was to sus- I can’t overstate how proud – and and prayer to get through the “first pend public Masses, it was the right thankful! – I am for the priests, dea- wave” of the coronavirus pandemic thing to do to protect the congrega- cons, religious women and men, and in New York – and health experts say, tion and the community. And now it’s laypeople who have made such sacrific- there may be more to come. the right thing to reopen – carefully, es, not just caring for the sick but also As a people of faith, we will keep with a slew of precautions to keep our- feeding the hungry, helping the poor working to help those in our own re- selves and our neighbors healthy. and homeless, teaching our students, gion still suffering the direct and indi- How do we move forward in these and finding exciting new ways to deliv- rect effects of the pandemic: the sick, the challenging days? er the love of Christ at a time when our unemployed, the hungry, the displaced. We can take our lead from some of tried-and-true practices became too Then there are the people in the regions our saints. New York has been blessed risky to continue. Our News and Notes where Covid-19 is still raging; they, too, to be home to more than our share. section is full of their work. I thank you need our help and our prayers. “Saints of New York” begins with St. all warmly. I also thank the archdioce- Even as we endure this health cri- Isaac Jogues, one of the North Ameri- san students who shared their thought- sis, the country struggles to come to can Martyrs, who lost his life carrying ful and beautiful work with us through terms with centuries of racial injus- the message of Christ to the Indians of the CYO Art and Essay Contest. tice in the aftermath of the senseless, upstate New York and Canada, and St. Elsewhere in the issue, we speak sickening death of George Floyd and Kateri Tekakwitha, a young woman with Fr. Thomas Berg of St. Joseph’s other incidents of discrimination and of the Mohawk whose intense devo- Seminary about the ethics of end-of- bigotry directed toward Black Amer- tion to Christ and the Blessed Mother life medical choices. We learn why icans because of the color of their still inspires us. Mother Seton. Bishop sacraments can’t be received remotely skin. We pray that, at last, significant Neumann. Mother Cabrini. They’re and consult with some contemplative changes will be made to address this all here, along with lists of venerables sisters whose cloistered life of prayer issue – and we know we need to do and blesseds and servants of God. offers the ultimate lesson in how to our part in creating those changes. There’s been a lot of sanctity in this find joy in social distancing. As Catholics, of course, we try not neck of the woods. As we return to our new everyday to be focused on doom and gloom. We In “Heroes of New York”, we recog- routines, then, let us try to embody the know that our travails on this Earth are nize a few of the many selfless Cath- lessons we have learned. Let us emulate a prelude to eternal happiness in heaven olics who have stepped up to help us our saints and heroes, be kind to our with our God. We have a responsibili- through the Covid-19 crisis. Those neighbors, tolerant of those who dis- ty to do what we can to help our fellow profiled here would be quick to point agree with us, and loving toward all, es- humans, but that’s not a burden. At the out that they are not alone; had we list- pecially those who are different from us. end of the day, it’s an occasion for joy. ed every deserving person, ordained The days to come will bring new For me and my brother priests, it has and lay, Catholic and non-Catholic, we challenges. Let us rise to them with also been a joy to welcome you back could have filled the entire issue in tiny joyful goodwill and humility. Yours in Christ, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan Archbishop of New York † FALL 2020 1 Archways † FALL 2020 19 HEROES OF NEW YORK A few of the many frontline heroes of the pandemic in New York 12 SAINTS OF NEW YORK Profiles of the saints and venerables associated with the archdiocese 24 A QUARANTINE ART AND ESSAY CONTEST Archways and CYO of the Archdiocese of NY challenged young people to send us art and photography created during social distancing; here’s a sampling Christina Hanson, executive director of Part of the Solution, a Catholic Charities-affiliated social services agency in the Bronx. Photo by Gerri Hernandez. 1 FROM THE CARDINAL Finding inspiration in times of trouble 4 FORUM Why sacraments can only be delivered in person; Catholic doctrine on cremation; choosing a Sunday mask 6 NEWS AND NOTES New York’s Catholic parishes and organizations keep the faith — and deliver services — in a time of crisis; the Dominican Nuns of Perpetual Adoration on the spiritual benefits of isolation; the Church’s doctrine on end-of-life medical decisions; recommended reading from the Christophers CONTACT US EMAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: archny.org OFFICE: 1011 First Avenue, New York, NY 10022 archnewyork archnewyork ny_arch archny FORUM ASK A PRIEST Why can’t we receive sacraments remotely or virtually? This question has bubbled to the surface gradually. With the techno- logical revolution occurring in our midst – first slowly and then with greater and greater velocity – it was only a matter of time before we would have to contend with questions about sacramental participation and tech- nology. Fortunately, we are not lost at sea here. Our answers lie in long- standing Church teachings. To begin, let us be clear about what takes place when the sacraments are celebrated. We say of the sacraments that they are encounters with Christ and His Body, the Church. These en- counters are personal in nature, and when we speak of personal encoun- ters, we mean that presence is a re- quirement. I do not have an encoun- ter with you unless we are in each other’s company. We may have con- A hand sanitizer station at tact by phone or by correspondence, St. Ignatius Loyola parish on the but that kind of contact does not con- Upper East Side of Manhattan. stitute an encounter. Next, we must take into account the nature of our sacramental encounters. Eucharist, who absolves sinners and of that sign and reality to participate In every sacramental encounter, there who anoints the sick and dying. That in the sacrament.” is what theologists call a mediation. someone, of course, is a priest. Thus, when it comes to personal, sac- Someone is there in the sacraments to But how is it that we have the Eu- ramental encounters, physical pres- facilitate our encounter with God: a charist, the sacrament of penance, ence is required – which means that guarantor, if you will, to ensure that we the anointing of the sick in the first you cannot have sacraments remotely have a genuine meeting with the Lord. place? We have them only because the or virtually. For all the very real spiri- We know from the New Testament Son of God became incarnate. The tual comfort that can be had through that Jesus is the Mediator between God Incarnation made possible personal, indirect communication – from the and the human race, “For there is one sacramental encounters. In the words old technology of a letter written on God and one mediator between God of the distinguished American Catho- paper to the wonders of video calling and mankind, the man Christ Jesus” lic theologian Fr. Thomas Weinandy, – the sacraments can only be received (1 Timothy 2:5). In turn, this encoun- “The Incarnation sets the framework in person. ter with Jesus through the sacraments for the sacramental order. Sacraments is also a mediated encounter. That is, . are incarnational signs that affect Msgr. Robert J. Batule there is someone there who brings what they symbolize and symbolize Diocese of Rockville Centre about Jesus’ Real Presence in the Holy what they affect. One must be a part Faculty, St. Joseph’s Seminary 4 † FALL 2020 What is Catholic Doctrine regarding cremation? From the earliest days of the Church, portation, space limitations and costs to believe that “the dead will be raised Christians buried the bodies of the sometimes make bodily burial difficult imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:52). dead in imitation of Jesus’ burial and or even impossible. It is important to To forestall such disbelief, cremated as a sign of hope that we will share in keep in mind, however, that inhumation remains (cremains) must be treated his resurrection. To be human is to remains the strongly preferred norm.