Funeral Mass for NYPD officer held at St Patrick’s Cathedral

Christine Rousselle   By Christine Rousselle for CNA

January 28, 2022 Catholic News Agency News Briefs 0 Print

 

A priest sprinkles holy water on the casket of fallen NYPD Officer Jason Rivera during his funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Jan. 28, 2022 in New York City. The 22-year-old NYPD officer was shot and killed on January 21 in Harlem while responding to a domestic disturbance call. Rivera’s partner, Officer Wilbert Mora, also died from injuries suffered in the shooting. / Spencer Platt/Getty Images

New York City, N.Y., Jan 28, 2022 / 16:24 pm (CNA).

NYPD Officer Jason Rivera, 22, was remembered on Friday as a dedicated police officer whose life was cut short in the line of duty.

“He lived his dream, although too short a time,” said Fr. Robert J. Abbatiello, O.F.M. Cap. during Rivera’s funeral Mass Jan. 28 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York was the principal celebrant, and the Mass was concelebrated by NYPD chaplains.

Abbatiello, the homilist, knew the Rivera family when he was the pastor at Good Shepherd Parish in Inwood, New York.

Rivera, said Abbatiello, “made a difference” during his career with the NYPD, and was a “loving son who wanted to make his parents proud.” He was in his second year of service with the NYPD when he and his partner, Officer Wilbert Mora, 27, were fatally shot on Jan. 21. They were responding to a domestic disturbance.

Mora died on Jan. 25, after spending four days in the hospital in critical condition. Dolan made a visit to his bedside and prayed for him.

Mora’s funeral Mass will be celebrated next week, also at St. Patrick’s.

The child of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Rivera sought to improve the relationship between his community and the police. Abbatiello told Rivera’s parents that they could be “very proud of your son.”

“The sting of death is here,” he said. “Truth be told, we still haven’t made sense of their deaths.”

Thousands, including police officers from around the country, attended Rivera’s funeral.

Rivera married his childhood sweetheart, Dominique Luzuriaga, four months ago. She also spoke at the Mass, criticizing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for his policies keeping criminals out of the jail system.

“The system continued to fail us. We are not safe anymore, not even the members of the service,” said Luzuriaga.

Speaking to her husband, she added, “I know you were tired of these laws, especially the ones from the new DA. I hope he’s watching you speak through me right now.”

Luzuriaga received applause.

Bragg issued a statement condemning violence against police officers, and pledging to “vigorously prosecute cases of violence against police and work to prevent senseless acts like this from ever happening again.”

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Pope Francis: Cultivate ‘the inner life’ rather than appearance and image

November 12, 2023 Catholic News Agency 2
Pope Francis prayed the Angelus before over 20,000 faithful at St. Peter’s Square on Sun., Nov. 12, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 12, 2023 / 10:10 am (CNA).

Pope Francis reflected on today’s gospel message, urging the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to cultivate the interior life and worry less about making a good impression.

Speaking in his Angelus address on Nov. 12, the pope asked the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to consider, “How is the oil of my soul: do I nourish it and keep it well?”

The pope turned to the parable of the 10 virgins who are awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Five of them were wise and had extra lamp oil to provide light until he arrived, but five were foolish, having brought no extra oil.

The difference between those who prepared their lamps with oil and those who did not is the difference between “goodwill” and “preparation” the Holy Father said. In this way, it reminds us of our own interior life.

“And what is the characteristic of the oil? That it cannot be seen: it is inside the lamps, it is not conspicuous, but without it, the lamps give no light,” said the pope.

The pope also warned that today there are many obstacles to having a genuine moment of inward reflection.

“Let us look at ourselves, and we will see that our life runs the same risk: Today we are very careful about our appearance, the important thing is to take good care of one’s image and make a good impression in front of others.”

“It is the stewardship of the inner life. This means knowing how to stop and listen to one’s heart, to keep watch over one’s own thoughts and feelings,” said the pope.

To engage in the inner reflection and contemplation necessary for a healthy spiritual life requires more than the willingness to listen, he said. “It means knowing how to make room for silence, so as to be capable of listening,” which, he said, often entails making sacrifices.

The faithful gathered at St. Peter's Square on Sun., Nov. 12, 2023, to pray the Angelus with Pope Francis, who spoke from the window of his study at the Vatican Apostolic Palace. Credit: Vatican Media
The faithful gathered at St. Peter’s Square on Sun., Nov. 12, 2023, to pray the Angelus with Pope Francis, who spoke from the window of his study at the Vatican Apostolic Palace. Credit: Vatican Media

During the appeal, the pope called attention to the grave situation in Sudan. Conflict broke out in the county between two rival factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023. The fighting, which has left over 10,000 dead, has been concentrated in the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region.

“I am close to the suffering of those dear people of Sudan, and I make a heartfelt appeal to local leaders to encourage access to humanitarian aid and, with the contribution of the international community, to work towards finding peaceful solutions. Let us not forget these brothers of ours who are being tested,” said the pope.

Following his appeal for those in Sudan, the Holy Father spoke again about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

“Every day our thoughts turn to the very serious situation in Israel and Palestine. I am close to all those who suffer, Palestinians and Israelis. I hug them in this dark moment. And I pray a lot for them.”

“Enough, brothers, enough! In Gaza, the wounded must be helped immediately, civilians must be protected, and much more humanitarian aid must be delivered to that exhausted population. The hostages, among whom there are many elderly people and children, must be freed.”

“Every human being, whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, of any people and religion, every human being is sacred, precious in the eyes of God and has the right to live in peace. Let us not lose hope: we pray and work tirelessly so that the sense of humanity prevails over the hardness of hearts,” said the pope.

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