Grateful to St. Nick’s

Dear Editor: Thank you for the informative and timely article concerning the preservation of St. Nicholas School in Williamsburg.

The corporation and members of Morgan Stanley are to be commended for their generous financial and personal involvement in this endeavor. They are truly heroes enabling the staff of St. Nick’s to continue in the good work of educating the children while encouraging the practices of their Catholic faith.

I attended St. Nicholas School (as the 12th child in my family to do so) graduating in 1943. The first heroes were the Dominican Sisters, starting with Sister Conseius in the first grade. She was a gentle, elderly nun who welcomed us with her kindness. I still treasure one of her signed holy cards. I don’t think enough praise can ever be said for the dedication of these Sisters.

In my time the classes were large and divided into two sections. Section A was taught while Section B did assigned work on its own and then this was reversed.

Many varied careers evolved within my family, the credit given to this great academic beginning. The school and church were an integral part of our lives; our family life revolved around the practices of both.

I returned to St. Nicholas to attend Mass with my family and friends to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary in 2002. It was a joyous repeat of our wedding Mass in 1952. We thanked God for this privilege. I mention this occasion because while making arrangements for the Mass, we encountered the school children and at that time, I commented on their politeness and decorum. I was most impressed and felt a sense of pride and oneness with them.

The hard work of the Sisters still exists with today’s staff and with the kind assist from Morgan Stanley. The fruits of their labors will reverberate through the years.

Thank God for both and long live St. Nicholas School and church!

Regina Wackerman Genova, RN
Forest Hills

Deacon’s Spirit of Giving

Dear Editor: “It’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years!” (Abraham Lincoln)

Deacon James Hynes passed away after a short illness on February 26. His untimely death has saddened the parish and school community.

I have known James R. Hynes since 1994. Through these years I had the privilege of getting to know and work with an individual who possessed and lived the Gospel values. Mr. Hynes was tall in stature but his height simply provided a small indication of his generosity and vision that applied to his life and volunteer involvement.

He became a certified Internet installer with Mr. Lenz so that the school was wired for Internet access at no cost.

Our computer lab is state-of-the-art and constantly enhanced with new technology due to his vision of what could be and his endless spirit of giving.

On 9/11 he was at school providing reassurance to us as a retired NYC Police sergeant.

Our Crisis Management Plan and school security are but a small indication of how important the safety of the children was to him.

His years with us were much too short, but the legacy of his person and who he was in life exceeds his lifetime.

James R. Hynes — a man for all seasons — will be deeply missed.

Margaret A. Baxter
Ridgewood

Editor’s Note: Margaret A. Baxter is the principal of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal School, Ridgewood.

Grateful for Catholic Education

Dear Editor: Vincent J. Maione’s letter (March 8) on “The Value of a Catholic Education” was such a fantastic expression of my own thoughts and heartfelt feelings. No wonder Marie Elena Giossi is such a prolific and perfect writer! I never miss one of her weekly wonders!

As a grandmother of four (one girl, three boys) I shall do all I can to gift them to continue their Catholic school educations!

Thanks for a great paper!

Lucille Gensinger
Flushing

Education Includes Formation

Dear Editor: In The Tablet of March 8, I read with great interest the comments from reader Vincent Maione on the “Value of a Catholic Education.” Mr. Maione made the basic point that Catholic schools are a tremendous asset to the Church and a Catholic education is a great blessing in the lives of those who benefit from it. Both from my own personal experience of Catholic education, as well as my frequent collaboration with the highly talented and dedicated people who currently work for and in Catholic schools, I could not agree more.

I believe it is of great importance, however, that we also remember the many dedicated, often unsung heroes of Catholic formation.Throughout our great diocese,vast numbers of children and adults are formed in the faith by extremely talented, highly competent directors or coordinators of religious education who give their lives in the service of young and old alike. Many of these remarkable individuals run excellent programs that educate the faithful and bring them to Christ in various ways. They often do this, as do many school principals, with limited resources and challenging situations for which they compensate with a great deal of love, creativity and personal sacrifice.  

Along with all those who work in different areas of catechetical ministry, these DREs and their staffs touch lives and change hearts. In short, let us always remember the legions of Catholics who, while not attending Catholic schools, have met the Lord and become active in His Church through the ministry and dedication of all the men and women who proudly hold the title of catechist, echoing the faith to all generations.

 Dr. Philip Franco
Douglaston

Editor’s Note: Dr. Philip Franco is the diocesan director of the Office of Faith Formation.

Newman College Apostolate

Dear Editor: I’m glad the Queens College Newman Club continues to thrive as it did when I was a member more than 30 years ago. We found lasting friendships and even new families. Socializing, studying and planning our weekend activities during club hour kept us in touch with each other.

We went to Mass in the small conference room if we desired. Weekend retreats brought us closer to God, to each other, and gave us enjoyable time in the fresh air. Community service was as much fun for the nursing home residents as it was for us. We took orphans to the zoo and the Queens Planetarium. Our life-size Easter bunny brought loving to little ones. My grandmother crocheted hats for the youngsters.

Steven Allured
Flushing

Obituary Listings

Dear Editor: Although I have moved out of Brooklyn, I still look forward to reading The Tablet. I enjoy the paper and it’s a way of keeping in touch with the area where I ministered for 49 years.

This week as I read the obituaries I was saddened by something other than the deaths. I saw that three sisters died. One was in religious life for 82 years, another for 76 years, and a third for 62 years. The thing that struck me was that the sisters are now listed after the deacons. All three were in religious life even before the deacon was born.

I don’t mean to be disrespectful to the deceased deacons and I sympathize with their families. This may not seem to be significant to you but as a woman religious for very many years, I see it as just one more way that the men in the Church are placed before the women. Perhaps listing people alphabetically might be a better way.

Sister Mary Harvey, RSM
Water Mill, L.I.

Editor’s Note: Let me assure Sister that there is no conscious effort to put women in second place, especially our dedicated women religious who have served us so many years. Generally, the listing of obituaries appears in the order that they come in to us. There is no formula to put some in front of others.

Power of Tablet Advertising

Dear Editor: Recently, I saw a notice in The Tablet about Father James Martin, S.J., speaking at Bishop Molloy Retreat House. I went to hear him speak. He was delightful and very humorous. There was a large audience and I enjoyed many laughs. I also bought two of his books. The whole experience was another good reason for reading The Tablet.

Jack Goldstein
Flushing

Editor’s Note: Thanks for the plug, Jack. If you missed Father Martin in Jamaica Estates, you can hear him when he speaks at Our Lady of Angels, Bay Ridge, on Monday evening, April 7. See ad on Page 20.