There’s a lot to celebrate in May. Hopefully, that will be evident in the next few issues of The Tablet.

Next week we will publish our annual salute to the priest jubilarians of the diocese. Special coverage will be devoted to the 10 men who are marking their 25th year in ministry and the 17 who have completed 50 years of priestly service. There also will be mention of the priests observing their 40th and 60th anniversaries of priesthood.

The Class of 1958 is an exceptional class. You will read about four priests who taught young men in the prep and college seminary system; one who became a national leader in religious television programming; one who served as an Episcopal Vicar; several former pastors; and good solid parish priests.

The silver jubilarians feature among their number eight pastors and two parish priests who were incardinated into the Brooklyn Diocese. Their various backgrounds include leadership in Catholic-Jewish affairs, work on the diocesan Tribunal, campus ministry, Chancery work, as well as extensive grassroots work at the parish level.

All are men who have managed to reach a significant anniversary, even though 25 and 50 years ago, they never could have predicted what God had in store for them. They have said ‘Yes’ in good times and in bad. They walked with us through happy moments and some sad. But the celebration is all about the fact that they have been there, both in season and out.

Earlier this week, the sisters of the diocese who are celebrating jubilees gathered with Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio at Immaculate Conception Pastoral Center in Douglaston. The bishop celebrated Mass with the sisters and they all then posed for photos before enjoying a festive dinner. The photos of the sister jubilarians with the bishop will be featured in a future issue.

A smaller group of brothers marking their anniversaries also recently celebrated with the bishop and they also will be featured in a future edition.

May is also a time for mothers, children receiving their First Communions, and many older children who receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. All are significant milestones in one’s life and they all should be celebrated with gusto with family and friends.

Parties Continue

The parties continue into June when we will welcome new priests who will be ordained for the diocese and graduates who will be setting out on their next phase of education. Our special high school commencement supplement that honors The Tablet’s 2008 All-Scholastic Team will be published May 31. Each school is invited to select one outstanding member of its graduating senior class as its representative. Our coverage includes photos of each selection along with a brief account of that student’s achievements, both academic and extracurricular, over the course of their high school experience. Laminated plaques are presented to the All-Scholastic team members at commencement exercises.

Earlier this week, people involved in church and secular communications got together for the diocesan celebration of World Communications Day (see Put Out Into the Deep, Page 4). Next week’s paper will contain full coverage.

During this coming week, Tablet staffers are scheduled to meet with high school journalists as we participate in The Tablet’s High School Journalism Awards competition. St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, once again graciously has offered us its facilities for the occasion.

Our thanks to St. Francis’ outgoing president Dr. Frank Macchiarola for his constant support for this event every year that he has led the school. All the results of this contest will be printed on our Youth Page of May 24.

Hopefully, things will slow down just a bit during the summer so that we can get back to just covering the week-to-week news of the diocese. But the busy schedule and the hectic pace of activities in Brooklyn and Queens demand that we stay with the flow of things as they unfold.

Those of you who are looking ahead realize that the youth of the world will travel to Sydney, Australia, in July to be with Pope Benedict XVI at World Youth Day. Tablet reporter Marie Elena Giossi is scheduled to travel with the diocesan delegation to that momentous gathering. We’ll have full coverage for the weeks that follow.

The Church is fully alive in Brooklyn and Queens. We have a lot to be grateful for. We celebrate so much of that happiness in the month of May and beyond.