The 2021 Mass Book is now open, for your Mass Intention requests (living or deceased). The Parish Office is open Monday to Friday from 9am till 4pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 9am till 3pm.

Please note, we have limited the amount of names that can be listed as the intention and if there is a middle name, only the middle initial will be used.
 

What else is funded by the Cardinal’s Appeal? One million dollars helps with the

“Formation of New Priests” The Cardinal’s Appeal prepares the way for the pastors of tomorrow. In a rapidly changing world, our future priests require exceptional preparation to diverse communities in a digital world. Our seminarians are receiving the theological, liturgical, technological, and administrative skills required to lead the next generation of Catholics. Your gift to the Appeal makes that possible.

One million dollars helps “Care for retied Parish Priests”. The Saint John Vianney Clergy Residence is more than a retirement home, it is the home our priests deserve after a lifetime of service to the Church. The Residence is situated on the Hudson River in the Riverdale section of the Bronx and provides our beloved pastors with the community, the personized attention and care you would want for your spiritual family. There is a 13 bed enhanced care unit which is, perhaps, more important today than ever before with the threat posed by the pandemic on our elder population. On our website: blessedsacramentnr.com, there is a video of how the Cardinal’s Appeal, with your generous support, helps those in need.

Make an immediate impact. Donate online today by going to: cardinalsappeal.org/donate. When you get to that website you will select your gift or write it in, and then choose your number of payments. You must chose Blessed Sacrament from the online drop-down menu so they will know you belong to Blessed Sacrament Parish. Once you have done that you will enter your billing and credit card information, then click “Process”. Once your gift is processed, you will receive an email notification acknowledging your contribution.

Your gift to the Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship Appeal is essential in promoting the growth and vitality of the Church in New York.

I am sure that you are aware that we are in a sever vocation crisis. If you noticed in the recent assignments of priests (printed in Catholic New York) there are now a few parishes that have one pastor covering two parishes. Those pastors which are close by include Father Bonnici (Saints John and Paul and Saint Augustine, both in Larchmont) and Father Tierney (Saint Vito\Holy Trinity in Mamaroneck and Saint Gregory the Great in Harrison). This will become more and more prevalent as the years go by. This week, August 4th, is the Feast of Saint John Vianney (the Patron Saint of Diocesan Priests). We should make it our goal, every day, to pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Concerning vocations, before things get better our numbers are going to get a lot worse..

Recently, I was reminded of an article written by Dr. Taylor Marshall, which gave some sobering statistics. It is entitled: “Our Sad Decline in Priestly Vocations: Most Priests will Retire in 2015-2025”. Here are a few excerpts from that article which was published in 2018.

“The number of priests exploded in 1950 (partly through migration) and peaked out in 1970. After 1975, you see a slow but steady decrease in the number of priests until the decline becomes steep around 1990. More troubling is the fact that the tsunami of priests ordained from 1970-1980, will be reaching retirement age between the years 2015-2025 (age 25 + 45 years of service = retirement age 70). (In the Archdiocese of New York the retirement age is 75.)

Discovering the 1 Priest to every Catholic Ratio: We have already begun to feel the scarcity of priests and you’ll understand why when you examine the numbers in light of the ratio of priest per Catholics. Check out these numbers:
In 1950, there was 1 priest to every 652 Catholics in the United States.
In 2010, there was 1 priest to every 1,653 Catholics in the United States.
In 2016, there was 1 priest to every 1,843 Catholics in the United States.

A numeric study shows that the tipping point in the USA happened around the year 1983. This is when our priest/Catholics ratio began to tank: When it comes to priest/Catholics ratio, our priestly manpower is 33% of what it was 1950. Meanwhile there are millions more lay Catholics in the pews. And depending on the city, the ratio can be much worse. Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles have pretty discouraging ratios, but none are hurting as badly as my neighboring diocese of Dallas:

Diocese of Dallas:
             1 priest to every 6,229 Catholics.
Diocese of Los Angeles:
             1 priest to every 3,931 Catholics.
Diocese of New York:
              1 priest to every 2,055 Catholics.
Diocese of Chicago:
              1 priest to every 1,624 Catholics.

Meanwhile there are model dioceses that have wonderful ratios that beat even the 1950 national ratio:
Diocese of Lincoln:
              1 priest to every 598 Catholics.

It is true that we have many great young men in formation to be holy Catholic priests. I’ve spent hours talking with them after class and I know that we will have an excellent crop. The sad news is that it is small crop. A priest is only one man and if you spread him over 3 parishes, he will be less effective. My prediction is that we will see a great Catholic Migration over the next three decades. As that surge of vocations from 1970-1980 begins to retire and depart to their reward, we will see massive parish closings and consolidations. Priests will be rare. It is already obvious that bishops and dioceses like Lincoln Nebraska attract vocations to the holy priesthood. These bishops and their dioceses will thrive. Meanwhile, dioceses like Providence, Rhode Island, will shrink while they try to import priests from other parts of the

world. The solution is to pray for vocations, but also beg the question: Why does Lincoln, Nebraska have a plethora of vocations (1 priest to every 598 Catholics!) while others are not only short on vocations but losing priests year after year?
Is it liturgical? Is it ethnic or based somehow on immigration? Is it doctrinal? What leads young men to inquire about a priestly vocation? How do they organize their altar server programs? Does youth ministry play a role or not? How do pastors play a role? To which seminaries does each diocese send seminarians? How does seminarian retention rate differ from diocese to diocese?
How is the bishop involved in the vocation process? If “coffee is for closers,” Bishop Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska is drinking Roman double espressos. 1 priest to every 598 Catholics. Someone should study the vocations process in place under Bishop Conley of Lincoln. My personal acquaintance with Bishop Conley (he helped guide me into the Catholic Church in 2006) is that he is orthodox, Thomistic, dignified, fatherly, and favors the template of Ratzinger’s “Spirit of the Liturgy.” And if I’m honest, every single impressive seminarian that I meet...is shaped from the same mold. Like begets like. Like father, like son. And even if you aren’t on board with the template of “orthodox, Thomistic, dignified, fatherly, Spirit of the Liturgy,” the numbers don’t lie.”