February 23, 2023

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“We are honoring 41 teens from the diocese that are outstanding in their works of service, but even more importantly for their faith in God and in the ways they are seeking to live it.”

Meghan Callahan, director, diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (Story, photos, list on pages 6, 7)

Ed Koskey Jr. photo

This Lent, return to God with your whole heart, remove prejudices

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Again, we keep this solemn fast / A gift of faith from ages past, / This Lent which bids us lovingly / To faith and hope and charity.

I always love praying on these wonderful words, said to come from Pope St. Gregory the Great, which remind us to give ourselves to this wonderful Lenten Season, which begins each year on Ash Wednesday. This is the opportunity the Church offers us each year to take up the directive of the prophet Joel that we hear every year on Ash Wednesday at Mass, “Yet even now, return to me with your whole heart” (2:12).

So how do we return to Him with our whole heart? The first step is simple: the acknowledgment of the presence of God in our life. God knows each of us and has known us for a very long time: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I dedicated you” (Jer 1:5). Incredible to think about God’s individual love for each of us? No. So, give some time to prayer each day during Lent. Any time we do, our loving Father is there, waiting to listen to our prayers and petitions, waiting to convert our hearts to be more unto like His, beating in love for others.

The next step is the wonderful gift of our Church’s Sacramental life, particularly the treasures of the Eucharist and Penance. Make the intention to attend Sunday Mass, especially in the season of Lent. Attend as a family if you are able. Or, if you are already doing so, try to at-

Correction:

On page 30 of the Jan. 26 edition of “The Catholic Spirit,” Frank Wojciechowski should have been given the photo credit.

tend a daily Mass or two some other days of the week.

In this time of Eucharistic Revival, consider going to Eucharistic Adoration where you can meet Jesus and receive his peace and love or spend a few minutes in a church simply sitting in the presence of our Lord in the tabernacle, either before or after Sunday Mass or stop in a church some other time during the week. Jesus is always there waiting for you.

The other profound way to return to our Lord with our whole heart is in the wonderful Sacrament of Penance, where we truly encounter God’s grace, forgiveness and mercy. Go to Confession during Lent! Thanks to a translation modification, you might even notice that the prayer of absolution has slightly changed.

This year, I also ask us to take up a particular Lenten “task” to consider. It is so disturbing that more and more in the news we hear of bias attacks against our brothers and sisters of other faiths and to their houses of worship (synagogues, Mosques, Islamic centers, Temples). Each of these acts of vandalism begin in the heart before they are acted upon with physical vandalism or destruction. Jesus warned us and all His followers that we would be judged by the evil intent in our heart as much as the physical offense that may result (Mt 5:21-24). So, this Lent I ask all of us, my brothers and sisters of the Church of Metuchen, to examine our heart, and ask God during this penitential season to remove any prejudices we may have. I have heard more than once from our priests and others in the diocese of the words of my late predecessor, Bishop

Edward Hughes, prejudice and racism

“…are wrong. They are terribly wrong.” He was certainly prophetic in striving to eradicate racism from our midst. We all have our own prayer lives and relationship with God, but our faith is lived communally, in imitation of the Communion of our Triune God. All of us enter Lent together and all of us finish at the same time. All of us begin on Ash Wednesday and finish at the Upper Room and Gethsemane and Calvary and the empty tomb. Recalling the words of St. Paul, I ask you to compete well and finish the race (2.Timothy 4:7). During this grace-filled time, know

that you have a special place in my prayers. I also ask you to pray for our good priests, who so often in trying to make things special for our good parishioners Lenten observances use up valuable time they could use on their own personal Lenten journey. Our priests need your prayers, as do I, so please pray for me too. Know of my love and prayers for you and know how grateful I am that we are on this journey together! God bless you with a blessed Lent.

We pray, O blessed Three in One, / Our God while endless ages run, / That this, our Lent of forty days, / May bring us growth and give you praise.”-- Pope St. Gregory the Great

Most Reverend James F. Checchio JCD, MBA Bishop of Metuchen

2023 Lenten Obligations

1. The days of fast and abstinence are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

2. All other Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence (see note below with regards to March 17).

3. The obligation of fast applies only to Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59. Fasting in the Catholic tradition means to limit oneself to one full meal and two smaller meals which together are not equal to a full meal, so as to experience hunger.

4. The obligation of abstinence applies to all Catholics who have reached the age of 14. Abstinence in the Catholic tradition means to abstain from meat.

Note: This year, the Memorial of St. Patrick falls on a Friday. For members of the faithful celebrating this Memorial and who desire it, Bishop Checchio has commuted the penitential obligation on March 17 to the obligation to abstain from meat on another day that same week.

Bishop’s Appointments

Bishop James F. Checchio has announced the following appointments.

Rev. Karolus Bale, SDV, has been appointed parochial vicar of St. James Parish, Woodbridge, effective January 17

Rev. Ignatius Cogollado, SDV, has returned to his community effective January 17

529-7934 Peter Nguyen

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Rev. Krystian Burdzy has been appointed pastor of Good Shepherd Parish, Hopelawn, effective February 4

Rev. Dawid Wejnerowski has been appointed pastor of St. Mary Parish, Alpha, effective February 4

Rev. Mauricio Tabera Vasquez has been appointed pastor of St. Luke Parish, North Plainfield, while remaining as administrator of St. Joseph Parish, North Plainfield, effective March 1

Rev. Gustavo Rodriguez Perez has been appointed parochial vicar of St. Luke Parish, North Plainfield, while remaining as parochial vicar of St. Joseph Parish, North Plainfield, effective March 1

Rev. John Pringle has been relieved of his responsibilities as administrator of St. Luke Parish, North Plainfield, effective March 1

The other profound way to return to our Lord with our whole heart is in the wonderful Sacrament of Penance, where we truly encounter God’s grace, forgiveness and mercy. Go to Confession during Lent!

journey when he was ordained a deacon in the Raritan Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri.

“What a great mystery taking place before our eyes,” said Bishop Mario Alberto Aviles, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, who presided at the liturgy. “The Church is asking you to fall in love with the Lord so you may guard the Word and share it with others. This is the work of the worthy, to ponder this is a great joy of Christian life.”

Standing in the sanctuary, still Oratorian Brother Steven answered with a quiet yet confident “yes” the questions whether he had come willingly and faithfully to the priesthood and would promise obedience to the authority of the priesthood. Bishop Aviles answered this assent, “May God, who has begun great work in you, bring it to fulfillment,” as the congregation responded with resounding applause.

Then, acknowledging this was a goal he would not achieve alone, Brother Steven lay prostrate as the choir and congregation sang the “Litany of the Saints,” beseeching the heavenly hosts for assistance. As the last notes faded, Brother Steven approached Bishop Aviles, who laid hands on his head in silent prayer. After the rite, Oratorian clergy in the sanctuary blessed the new deacon and embraced him.

Deacon Bolton is scheduled to serve

Religious community, faithful witness ‘great mystery’ of formation

with the Oratory and continue his studies as a seminarian before being ordained to the priesthood at a date and time to be

Deacon Bolton, a 29-year-old native of Hillsborough, is a 2015 graduate of the Rutgers Business School-New Brunswick where he studied supply chain management and marketing. As an undergraduate, he found a spiritual home at Rutgers’ Catholic Student Association; after graduation, he worked at a Princeton firm while becoming an aspirant of the Oratory, then located in New Brunswick.

“The Lord gave me the grace to go back,” Bolton said of his departure from the world of business and start of studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University, South Orange.

“The support structure of the oratory is helpful and life-giving. God confirmed this is it,” he said in a pre-ordination interview. “The love of Christ is embodied in the priesthood. I am an instrument of his grace in others.”

The new deacon donned the stole and dalmatic of his new role in the Church, then knelt before the bishop as his hands were anointed with Holy Chrism; Bishop Aviles then presented him with the Book of the Gospels with the words, “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”

The Oratory of St. Philip Neri was canonically erected in the Diocese of Metuchen by then-Pope, now St. John Paul II on Sept. 8, 1998. Oratorian priests live in an Oratorian community of their choosing and are permanently stable,

that is, not subject to transfer to other communities as are diocesan priests. The Congregation lives in St. Ann Rectory, Raritan, and serves Catholic apostolates in Bridgewater (Holy Trinity Parish) and Raritan (St. Ann Parish and St. Ann Classical Academy, the Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, St. Joseph Parish.)

Left, Bishop Mario Alberto Aviles of the

of Brownsville, Texas, lays hands on the head of Oratorian Brother Steven J. Bolton in the Rite of Ordination to the diaconate at St. Joseph Church, Raritan. Next, Deacon Bolton receives his stole and dalmatic from Franciscan Father Mariusz Koch, his spiritual adviser, then assists Bishop Aviles in receiving the communion gifts from his parents, Margie and John Bolton. Top, members of the Sisters of Jesus Our Hope applaud the new deacon. Left, Bishop Aviles, also an Oratorian, poses with Deacon Bolton and his grandmother, Margaret Adams; and (below) with the deacon and (from left), Father Edmund A. Luciano III, Oratorian Father Jeffrey M. Calia, Oratorian Father Thomas A. Odorizzi and Oratorian Father Kevin P. Kelly. Gerald Wutkowski Jr. photos

Diocese

Change is inevitable, even in the life of a diocesan newspaper

By Rev. Glenn J. Comandini, S.T.D.

As a former pastor of three parishes, I know first hand that change is inevitable. Each time I was transferred, I stepped into the shoes of the pastor before me, yet I did not always walk in those shoes. I had my own and I made my own path. As a result, this change from one pastor to another results in the parish having to adapt. Some parishioners liked the changes I made and told me so. Others did not and told the bishop. Still others were willing to give me time and see what the end result of these changes would be. It was my experience that, with time and patience, both the parish and I adjusted to each other, and I would like to think that I left each parish better than how I found it.

“The Catholic Spirit,” this past year

has been full of staff changes. In March, we lost our advertising representative Nan Kubian, who had been with the paper for 23 years. It was Nan who brought in much revenue by reaching out to pastors, school principals and privately owned businesses asking them to take ads and thereby support “The Catholic Spirit.” Since Nan’s retirement, we only have a part-time advertising representative, Tiffany Workman. Tiffany is doing a great job but it’s not her only job. She also works for the diocesan Office of Communications and is the person who keeps us abreast about the great work of Catholic Charities.

In April, after 28 years, Judy Leviton retired. Judy was the business manager since the inception of “The Catholic Spirit” under then Bishop Edward T. Hughes, the second bishop of Metuchen.

How to report abuse

If you were sexually abused by a member of the clergy or anyone representing the Catholic Church, or you know of someone who was, you are encouraged to report that abuse to local law enforcement, the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency at 1-877-NJ ABUSE (652-2873) or 1-800-835-5510 (TTY/TDD for the deaf), and also the Diocesan Response Officer at (908) 930-4558 (24 hours/7 days a week).

Judy’s acuity was seen not only in her ability to develop the yearly budget and keep track of both expenditures and requisitions, she also was gifted at assisting other staff members with layouts and ads. It was Judy who led the effort to compose and publish the diocesan directory, and one year it even received an award from the Catholic Media Association. Her vacancy has been filled by Ann Pilato, who comes to us with a wealth of experience, including three years with “The Monitor,” the Catholic newspaper of the Diocese of Trenton.

In October, our graphic designer, Jill Gray, left to take another position which allowed her to work remotely from home and thereby permitted her to be with her young sons fulltime. Jill was with the paper for 10 years and had a knack for all things “computer.” In her stead, Peter Nguyen has been doing a terrific job with “The Catholic Spirit” and has a style of his own.

At the end of the calendar year, Chris Donahue, the paper’s associate editor since 2013, decided to retire. For all intents and purposes, Chris could have been called editor-in-chief during my tenure as managing editor. His professional experience as well as his degree in journalism from the University of Delaware has transformed “The Catholic Spirit” into an award-winning paper. Over the years, Chris has received several awards from the Catholic Media Association for articles that he has written for us and this recognition has certainly endowed “The Catholic Spirit” with a reputation for being an effective vehicle of evangelization and communication not only in New Jersey but, through the lens of The Catholic News Service, nationwide. While Chris retired in the beginning of January, he has agreed to stay on staff for three months until an editor-in-chief can take the helm. This act of self-donation by Donahue has allowed us who work for the paper to have a sense of continuity and congruity.

So far, I have spoken about people who have left the paper and have been replaced by others. Well, we also are blessed to have a new associate publisher, Adam Carlisle, who joined the Diocese of Metuchen in September as the Secretary of the Secretariat of Evangelization and Communication. Since his arrival, Adam has been very involved in the life of “The Catholic Spirit.” Carlisle has endeavored to make a good paper even better. His background in education and theology have certainly been responsible for his perspicacity in improving the quality of articles as well as graphics and outreach in interfacing with other departments of the bishop’s curia.

I would be remiss if I did not mention my predecessor, Joanne Ward, who, technically, retired in 2017, but truthfully has been not only a mentor to me but an advisor to the paper and an active editor as she edits the articles and assists

with both layout and production of “The Catholic Spirit.” While she is only paid for seven hours per week, Joanne has donated much of her time as a service to the Church and to the paper she loves. I am deeply indebted to Joanne’s steadfast presence and all that she has taught me about journalism. I succeeded Joanne in 2017 as advisor and later as managing editor. I have been responsible for the day to day operations of the paper and overseeing the work of the staff. It is a position that has taught me much about collegiality, collaboration, and the importance of faith in the workplace.

All of the aforementioned changes have resulted in a newspaper that looks similar to the past yet different. Some of the changes have been well received and others have required growing pains on the part of the staff, myself included. Still, “The Catholic Spirit” continues to appear in your homes and the back of the churches month after month. I believe it is and has been an excellent source of knowledge, evangelization and a means of educating the Catholics who comprise the four counties of our diocese about what is happening both here at the diocesan center and in parishes, schools and facilities under the watchful eye of Bishop James F. Checchio, Bishop of Metuchen, without whose support “The Catholic Spirit” would not exist.

February is Catholic Press Month. On behalf of those staff members who left and those who replaced them, I wish to thank each and every one of you for supporting “The Catholic Spirit.” Your subscriptions and feedback have continued to fuel the enthusiasm of the staff who endeavor to bring you the news, both international, national and here in the Diocese of Metuchen. It is my hope that despite the changes you have noticed, both in staff names in the masthead, and in the content of the paper, you will continue to support our efforts to publish and distribute a medium of evangelization, communication and education that will make you proud and a little wiser. May God reward your past support and may his grace propel you to affirm the work of countless individuals who seek to deliver quality journalism and a publication that yields a response of faith and maybe even a smile.

Your subscriptions and feedback have continued to fuel the enthusiasm of the staff who endeavor to bring you the news, both international, national and here in the Diocese of Metuchen.

LA’s ‘peacemaker’ Bishop David O’Connell found shot and killed in his own home

in Turkey, Syria

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell, a native of Ireland who spent most of his four decades as a priest ministering in LA’s inner city, was shot and killed in his Hacienda Heights home, a neighborhood east of Los Angeles. According to local news reports, Los Angeles County sheriffs arrived Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. to the bishop’s Janlu Avenue home and found him dead of a gunshot wound to his upper torso. As of that evening, authorities did not offer any details about a potential motive or suspect in the bishop’s killing. “I am very sad this afternoon to report that our beloved Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell has passed away unexpectedly,” said Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles in a statement Feb. 18. “It is a shock and I have no words to express my sadness.” “Bishop Dave,” as he was known, had been episcopal vicar for the archdiocese’s San Gabriel Pastoral Region since 2015, when Pope Francis named him an auxiliary bishop.

Los Angeles

Bishop

G. O’Connell is pictured speaking with parishioners outside St. Frances X. Cabrini Church in Los Angeles July 19, 2015. According to local news reports, Los Angeles County sheriffs found him dead of a gunshot wound at his home Feb. 18, 2023, and his death has been ruled a homicide. An investigation was under way for a suspect and motive. A native of Ireland, he spent most of his four decades as a priest ministering in the inner city of Los Angeles. He was 69.

OSV News photo/CNS file, John Rueda, The Tidings

In his statement, Archbishop Gomez said Bishop O’Connell will be remembered as “a man of deep prayer who had a great love for our Blessed Mother,” adding, “he was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected. He was also a good friend, and I will miss him greatly.”

Priest who offered up cancer for clerical abuse victims says he was healed at Lourdes

INDIANAPOLIS — Father John Hollowell, a priest of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, announced Jan. 30 that his brain cancer, which he had offered up for the healing of clerical sex abuse victims, has disappeared following a June 2022 pilgrimage to the Marian shrine at Lourdes, France. Yet the busy parish priest is simply ready to return to ministry, tell ing OSV News he does not need medical

Father John Hollowell, pictured in a file photo celebrating Mass at Annunciation Church in Brazil, Ind., was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2020. He decided to offer his sufferings on behalf of clerical abuse victims, and received hundreds of letters of support. Now, following a June 2022 visit to Lourdes, Father Hollowell has learned from his doctors that the brain tumor has disappeared.

OSV News photo/CNS file, Sean Gallagher, The Criterion

confirmation of what he believes to be a miracle. If his cancer returns, he said he is “totally at peace,” since “Jesus says to just worry about one day at a time.”

WASHINGTON — Reacting to “heartbreaking scenes” of death and destruction in Turkey and Syria, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ international policy committee urged U.S. Catholics and all people of goodwill to pray for the victims of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked the two countries Feb. 6 and to give generously to those in need. At the time of this printing, the death toll had risen to more than 41,000 and tens of thousands were injured. “I join with our Holy Father Pope Francis in praying for the souls of the departed as we mourn the loss of so many lives,” Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford, Ill., chairman of the U.S. Conference

of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, said in a Feb. 8 statement. “We pray for those injured and the many others suffering, and we also pray for the safety and protection of emergency personnel working to save lives and tending to those in need in the wake of this disaster,” he said. Bishop Malloy urged U.S. Catholics to give to Catholic Relief Services, crs.org, and the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, cnewa.org, to support their efforts to provide emergency humanitarian relief.

Earthquake survivors, whose relatives are trapped under the rubble, react in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, Feb. 8, 2023. The powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked areas of Turkey and Syria early Feb. 6, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing thousands.

OSV News photo/Suhaib Salem, Reuters

shot down; Catholic lawmaker calls for ‘frank & sober’ national security conversation

WASHINGTON — A Chinese surveil lance balloon flying at high altitudes over the continental United States was shot down over the water off the South

the balloon safely over our territorial waters, while closely monitoring its path and intelligence collection activities.” The balloon, Austin said, was “being used by the [People’s Republic of China] in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States.”

Auxiliary

David

U.S. Catholics urged to aid, pray for quake victims

Youth from diocese recognized for service to Church at liturgy

Correspondent

METUCHEN — The diocese honored 41 high school students who live as disciples of Christ setting a positive example for other youth. Nominated for the St. Timothy Award, the honorees hailed from 27 parishes and high schools.

Bishop James F. Checchio presented the students with the award at a prayer service Jan. 21 at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi.

Sponsored by the diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, the awards ceremony began with prayers and the readings on the feast day of St. Timothy. Bishop Checchio presided at the service and gave the homily.

In his homily, he told the honorees, “Jesus is communicating a sense of urgency and a need for everyone to be involved in the work of the Gospel and the mission of the Church.

“Jesus is sending you like he sent the 72 [deacons] out. You are to go ahead of Jesus and prepare the way and prepare the hearts of those you help for Jesus.”

In nominations for the award, the recipients were commended for their wit-

ness to their faith by exhibiting Catholic morals and integrity. It was also noted that they demonstrate Gospel values through service to others and exhibit Christian leadership in their parish, their schools and their communities.

Meghan Callahan, director of the diocesan Youth and Young Adult Ministry who coordinated the morning’s award ceremony said, “All the students receiving awards today are awesome. We are honoring 41 teens from the dioceses that are outstanding in their works of service, but even more importantly for their faith in God and in the ways they are seeking to live it.”

The students are striving to be models for their peers in youth ministries and campus ministries. “They really are a well-rounded group of teens who excel and stand out amongst the peers that they are surrounded by,” she said.

The St. Teresa of Calcutta Award was also given out to four of the students. “It is an award within the award.” Callahan said. “This is really getting to the core of those who are radically serving and living discipleship. They have moved to the next level.”

Those receiving the St. Teresa of

Calcutta award had to follow her exam ple by their good works and by bringing the love of Christ to the poor, lonely, sick and homeless. St. Teresa once said, said, “Faith in action is love and love in action is service.”

“She was so much more than words. It was her actions and humility which spoke volumes,” Callahan noted.

Bishop Checchio closed the liturgy by saying, “Prayer is how we know God’s will. The charge is to proclaim Jesus with our voices but more importantly with our lives. Everything begins with an effective witness, a testimony, and an example. You have done that so well. We entrust you to the care of St. Timothy and St. Theresa of Calcutta. You give us good example by living for others through service.”

Colleen McLaughlin, a member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Three Bridges, received the St. Timothy Award for helping with religious education classes and teaching younger students what it’s like to share your faith in school.

She is also a lead altar server and helps with summer religious formation. Reflecting on the award, she said, “This is a really great honor and I am happy that I was nominated by the parish for

Above left, Bishop James F. Checchio processes in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi Jan. 21 to preside at a prayer service and present the St. Timothy and St. Teresa of Calcutta Awards. Above, the St. Timothy Awards are displayed on a table in the Cathedral. Below left and middle, Bishop Checchio, who also gave the homily, presents St. Timothy Awards to Austin Chu, a member of Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Bound Brook, and Gabrielle Cruz, of St. Mary Parish, South Amboy. Below right, Megan Callahan, director, diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, who coordinated the event, reads the names of the St. Timothy and St. Teresa of Calcutta Awards recipients. Callahan said the 41 recipients “are a well-rounded group of teens who excel and stand out amongst the peers that they are surrounded by.”

Ed Koskey Jr. photos

my work.”

Garrett Palfy, a member of St. Luke Parish, North Plainfield, was honored for service as an altar server and teaching religious education to eighth-graders.

“I like to give the students a more youthful approach because it’s harder when an adult is teaching you. It is less relatable,” Palfy said.

His mother, Suzanne, said, “I’m very proud he is being recognized for the time and effort he puts into sharing his faith with other students because it’s difficult these days to get kids to go to church and participate and help lead a group.”

Father John Barbella, pastor, St. John Vianney Parish, Colonia, was there to support two members of his parish that he nominated for recognition -- Jeffery Trinca and Patrick Kelly.

“They are both very public about their Catholic faith,” Father Barbella said. “One of the reasons I nominated these boys is that they are public school students and it is a little more of a challenge for them to show and live their faith. They are both very intelligent young men, and they get the relationship between faith and reason.”

Marina Cialdella Blessed Sacrament, Martinsville

Sarah Nichols Immaculata High School, Somerville

Shannon Fitzgerald Immaculata High School, Somerville

Daniel Fischer Immaculate Conception, Annandale

Matt Jones Mary, Mother of God, Hillsborough

Emma Gonzalez Mary, Mother of God, Hillsborough

Kayley Moran Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung

Rebecca Ryan Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung

Yadiel Rivera Colon Our Lady of Fatima, Perth Amboy

Austin Chu Our Lady of Mercy, South Bound Brook

John Schilp Our Lady of Mount Virgin, Middlesex

Annie Kaczynski Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Bernardsville

Hope Kaczynski Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Bernardsville

Gabriella Pento Our Lady of the Mount, Warren

Evelyn Salinas Sacred Heart Chapel, Bernardsville

Elizabeth Donofry St. Edward the Confessor, Milford

Bryan Kotlar St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Three Bridges

Colleen McLoughlin St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Three Bridges

Neddy Rossi St. Francis Cathedral, Metuchen

Mary Kate Cummings St. Francis Cathedral, Metuchen

Alyssa Ingram St. Helena, Edison

Meghan McMahon St. James, Basking Ridge

A.J. Caesar St. James, Basking Ridge

Jordan Erz St. John Neumann, Califon

Jeffrey Trinca St. John Vianney, Colonia

Patrick Kelly St. John Vianney, Colonia

Robert Ilcyn Saint Joseph High School, Metuchen

Owen Blake Saint Joseph High School, Metuchen

Natalie Shaughnessy St. Joseph, Carteret

Michael Lanahan St. Joseph, Hillsborough

Rebecca Russo St. Joseph, Hillsborough

Garrett Palfy St. Luke, North Plainfield NJ

Gabrielle Cruz St. Mary, South Amboy

Nikolai Przybylski St. Mary, Stony Hill

Gianna Savatta St. Mary, Stony Hill

Melody Adamski St. Matthias, Somerset

Emily Chavez St. Matthias, Somerset

Donato Farid St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison

Isabella Danner St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison

Christopher Padovano Visitation, New Brunswick

Jennifer Morales Visitation, New Brunswick

Meghan McMahon St. James, Basking Ridge

Robert Ilcyn Saint Joseph High School, Metuchen

Gabrielle Cruz St. Mary, South Amboy

Shannon Fitzgerald Immaculata High School, Somerville

Give Up Polarization for Lent – Contemplate

Shown in photo is a chapel at Our Lady of the Holy Cross Abbey, Berryville, Va., a Catholic monastery of the Cistercian Order, following the Rule of St. Benedict. The abbey’s Retreat House is specifically for those who need time to reflect on their lives, pray or refresh themselves spiritually.

— photo courtesy of Holy Cross Abbey

we can’t get to sleep, is a pattern that usually reinforces our ego, ambition and striving. But with contemplation, it can start to dissolve. We could say we are becoming more conformed to Christ.

Just as a Magnetic Resonance Imaging procedure usually takes about 20 minutes to arrive at diagnostic depth, and psychiatric medicines need about 6-8 weeks for efficacy, so, too, someone who aspires to develop a contemplative practice needs to commit to two 20-minute sessions daily, and then persevere through six to eight weeks (roughly the duration of Lent) before experiencing initial fruits. The late Trappist Father Thomas Keating in fact called his prayer routine “the divine therapy.”

By Msgr. Joseph Kerrigan

As contagious as COVID-19 has been over the past three years, the spread of social polarization seems more pervasive. Political discourse, the media, relations with family members, friends, and colleagues, and even the Church have not been spared from the toxic qualities of hardened, opposing positions.

Recently Pope Francis has spoken on the subject. “Polarization is not Catholic,” he said in a November interview with “America magazine.” “A Catholic cannot think either-or and reduce everything to polarization. The essence of what is Catholic is both-and.”

In his Message for the World Day of Social Communications, Jan. 24, 2023, the Pope noted, “In a historical period marked by polarizations and contrasts — to which unfortunately not even the ecclesial community is immune — the commitment to communicating ‘with open heart and arms’ does not pertain exclusively to those in the field of communications — it is everyone’s responsibility.”

In the earliest centuries of Christianity, thousands of women and men became disheartened by what they perceived to be the futility and superficiality of society in the Roman Empire. They fled to the deserts of Syria, Palestine, Egypt and elsewhere, in pursuit of deeper, wholehearted transformation in Christ.

What these men and women, known today as the “desert elders,” discovered in their monastic cells, caves and in some cases, tombs, lives on in prayer methods and practical Christian wisdom that has survived and been refined to the present day, not only in monasteries but increasingly among people of all walks of life.

The desert elders were Christian pioneers of contemplative practice. The practice takes many forms, and we might be familiar with some of them: Lectio Divina, Christian Meditation, centering prayer, the Jesus Prayer and many more ways of surrendering, often in silence, to God.

Their legacy might also give us hope and a practical direction in overcoming polarization.

In the Pope’s two statements cited earlier, he touched on two positive aspects of contemplative practice: this prayer by nature is a release from that “either-or” or binary culture of polarization. And in noting an open heart, the Pope evokes St. Benedict’s famous dictum from his monastic Rule: “Listen and attend with the ear of your heart.”

When today we enter into contemplation as a daily prayer discipline — and there really is no other frequency if we want to be transformed — we begin to note that its rigor takes us deeper within. We go into that “inner room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret,” as Jesus advises, not coincidentally, in the Gospel chosen for Ash Wednesday (Matthew 6:6), the first day of the great Lenten Church season of conversion and penance.

Over time, as our inner world widens in this prayer, good things start to happen outside the prayer. For example, we are no longer reacting to things at a surface level, we are responding. Although we still perceive things very much as right or wrong, black or white, we also see a lot more gray. And we express our judgments with a gentle authority, like a grandparent saying to a child, “Have you thought about doing that another way?” versus an abrupt “Don’t do that, that’s wrong!”

Changes occur within, too. Our

inner monologue can change, perhaps starkly. That constant pattern of repetitive inner chatter that we revert to at a traffic light, in a checkout line, or while

So, want to give up polarization for Lent? Head to that “inner room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret” — and may the healing from polarization begin!

Msgr. Kerrigan is pastor, St. Joseph Parish, Bound Brook

Warm Reception

Andrew Casella, a member of Knights of Columbus’ Mother Seton Council 15540, Three Bridges, recently presented a check for $500 donated by the Council to Pamela Fox, director of Operations, Quilts for Kids. Quilts for Kids (www.quiltsforkids.org) uses a volunteer network of sewers to make patchwork quilts as gifts to comfort children facing serious illnesses, trauma, abuse and natural disasters. Many of the quilts are given to children in local hospitals, including the diocesan-sponsored Saint Peters University Hospital, New Brunswick. Mother Seton Council routinely meets at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Cathedral rector outlines process for national Eucharistic revival

By Deacon Patrick J. Cline

METUCHEN — In 2022, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops initiated a three-year National Eucharis tic Renewal for the U.S. with its stated mission, “To renew the Church by enkin dling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.”

As part of the Diocese of Metuchen’s active participation in this renewal, Fa ther Timothy A. Christy, rector of the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, gave a lecture describing the renewal and its various stages Jan. 17.

The renewal, which began June11, 2022, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is scheduled to conclude in July 2024 at a National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, a city that will allow thousands of Catho lics to participate because of its location.

The first year of the renewal calls for a Diocesan Revival, which began in the diocese June 19, Corpus Christi Sunday, with a Eucharistic Procession led by Bishop James F. Checchio in the streets around the Cathedral and ended with Benediction.

Pope Francis has described the goal of this first year as “a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ.” This will be fostered in the diocese through both live and online events that will encourage the faithful to grow in their understanding

of the Eucharist, Bible study, Eucharistic adoration and parish missions. The goal of this phase is, as Bishop Checchio proclaimed, to start a fire in the heart of the world and develop missionaries for Christ.

the Eucharist, the source and summit of the faith.

Father Christy began his lecture by asking: “Why? Why is there a perceived need for this national revival at this time?”

He answered that question in two ways: an overview of events that have contributed to the current state of devotion and a comparison of the American Church in the second half of the 20th Century and today. In answering his own question, Father Christy reminded attendees of other periods in the 2,000year history of the Church when renewal and revival was necessary and how it was accomplished.

He also pointed to a general cynicism that has been growing over the past three quarters of a century towards, not just religious faith, but to belief in the secular realm regarding ideas, traditions and long held concepts.

who wrote in 1958 that he perceived a “hollowing in the practice of the Catholic Faith.” He added that the future pope believed that “fewer and fewer Catholics were surrendering to the Gospel and conforming their lives to Jesus Christ.”

The Renewal is intended to revitalize and renew the American Church’s devotion to the Holy Eucharist. Some of those in attendance at the presentation were from the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults formation process at the Cathedral. Anna Chen, a candidate said, “Juxtaposing what it was like 50 years ago versus today made me reflect on the current challenges Catholics face today.” Jerlin Gara, a catechumen who will be baptized at the Easter Vigil, said that “learning the meaning of the Eucharist has been essential to the relationship that I seek with God, it is our encounter with Jesus and the work we are called to do for him.”

D i s c o v e r y o u r m i s s i o n .

D i s c o v e r y o u

Through the movement of the Spirit during the renewal’s three-year process leading up to and ending with the National Eucharistic Congress, it is expected the result will be a nationwide revival of understanding and devotion to

B e c o m e a K n i g h t .

To put the evening into context, Father Christy ended his presentation by reading a prayer by St. Thomas of Aquinas, a Thanksgiving after Mass, which begins, “I give you thanks Lord, Holy Father, who has been pleased to nourish me your unworthy servant with the precious Body and Blood of your son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Empowering men to live their faith at home, in their parish, at work and in their communities.

In the 1950s, the Church was strong and growing, new churches were being erected across America; seminaries, monasteries and convents were crowded and the U.S. was sending missionaries across the globe. A survey in 1957 estimated that 79 percent of Roman Catholics in the United States attended Mass every week. Father Christy pointed out that even then some noted a change was beginning. He quoted Joseph Ratzinger (the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI),

Empowering men to live their faith at home, in their parish, at work and in their communities.

Deacon Cline exercises his ministry at St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish, Bridgewater

D i s c o v e r y o u r m i s s i o n .

D i s c o v e r y o u r m i s s i o n .

D i s c o v e r y o u r m i s s i o n .

B e c o m e a K n i g h

B e c o m e a K n i g h

B e c o m e a K

Empowering men to live their faith at home, in their parish, at work and in their communities.

Empowering men to live their faith at home, in their parish, at work and in their communities.

Empowering men to live their faith at home, in parish, at work and in their communities.

Jesus spent 40 days in the desert preparing to show us His love for us by dying for our sins.

The Knights of Columbus show our love for Him, our church and each other through acts of charity and compassion. We invite you to join us to help amplify these acts.

For more information visit: kofc.org/join

For FREE membership when joining online use code: BlessedMcGivney

For more information visit: kofc.org/join

For more information visit: kofc.org/join

For more information visit: kofc.org/join

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,

What the Church teaches about evangelization

By Lorene Hanley Duquin

(OSV News) — A friend, who has been away from the Church for years, starts to reminisce about growing up Catholic. A co-worker tells you that she was baptized Catholic but never received any other sacraments. A neighbor begins to ask questions about God after the death of his wife. A family member joins a non-denominational Bible study and begins to criticize the Catholic Church. A stranger sitting next to you on an airplane admits that he was raised Catholic, but no longer goes to Mass.

These common, everyday events are all opportunities for evangelization. Unfortunately, too many Catholics don’t understand their role in the evangelization process. As a result, people who are struggling in their relationship with God or the Catholic Church are often ignored.

It is as St. John Paul II said, “There exists today the clear need for a New Evangelization.”

What is evangelization?

According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, evangelization means “bringing the Good News of Jesus into every human situation.” Evangelization leads to conversion.

As Catholics, we believe that conversion is an ongoing process throughout our lives that brings us into closer union with God through Jesus Christ and his Gospel message. Sometimes, conversion is a dramatic event that shakes us to the core of ourselves. Other times, it happens quietly as we are drawn toward new understandings and insights. Conversion is always the work of the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit uses ordinary people and events to bring about conversion. When you allow the Holy Spirit to work through you to bring someone to conversion, you have discovered the essence of what it means to evangelize.

Why do we need to evangelize?

Before ascending into Heaven, Jesus commanded us to evangelize when He said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations . . .” (Mt 28:19-20).

Throughout His ministry, Jesus used a variety of images about the need to evangelize. He talked about catching fish (Lk 5:10), sowing seeds (Mk 4:1-9), lighting a lamp (Mk 4: 21-25), and how few workers there were for the harvest (Lk 10:2). He told stories about great rejoicing over a lost coin, a lost sheep, and a prodigal son (Lk 15:1-32)

Jesus was the first and greatest evangelizer. He came to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God. We see in His teaching, His miracles, His interaction with people, and His sending out of the disciples, the example of His own evangelizing activity. If we want to fol-

“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding a hundredfold.”

–Mk 4:3-8

“What we say does not matter, only what God says to souls through us.”

–St. Teresa of Calcutta

low in the footsteps of Christ, then we must become evangelizers, too.

Who needs to be evangelized?

Children need to be evangelized in order to grow in faith and understanding. Inactive Catholics, who no longer attend Mass regularly, need to be evangelized so that they can return to a life of active faith. Alienated Catholics who have left the church need to be evangelized so they know how much we miss them and want them to return. People who have no faith need to be evangelized so they can be welcomed into a new life with Christ and the Church. Most of all, we need to be evangelized ourselves in order to strengthen our relationship with Jesus Christ and the church.

How do we evangelize?

There are four essential elements in the process of evangelization.

1. Listening. The most sacred thing a person can share is his or her own story.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

–Mt 28:19-20

“It is unthinkable that a person should accept the Word and give himself to the Kingdom without becoming a person who bears witness to it and proclaims it in his turn.”

–St. Paul VI, “Evangelii Nuntiandi”

“The fruit of evangelization is changed lives and a changed world.”

–U.S. Catholic bishops, “Go and Make Disciples”

When we listen, we enter into a person’s heart, mind, and soul. We see their search for meaning. We catch a glimpse of their struggle or their pain.

2. Sharing our faith. We can share what our faith means to us in words by telling others how the Holy Spirit has worked in our lives. We can also share our faith through actions that demonstrate the ways in which we try to live authentically the Gospel message.

3. Extending an invitation. It might be an invitation to come to Mass or to some Catholic devotion, to talk with a priest or spiritual adviser, to read a book or pamphlet, to listen to a lecture, to assist in some ministry, to pray together, or to attend a parish social event.

4. Praying. St. John Paul II tells us, “There must be unceasing prayer to nourish the desire to carry Christ to all men and women.”

While all of these elements are essential, the important thing to remember is that there is no step-by-step recipe for evangelization. The Holy Spirit will use your natural gifts and talents for the work

of evangelization if you are open and willing. Before long, you’ll begin to see that you’ve developed your own style of evangelization!

What kind of evangelizer are you?

People have different preferences for how they share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. Here are some examples:

— Some people are active. They might help clean the church or help with the parish clothing drive. They evangelize by inviting others to join them. One woman decided to become Catholic after a friend invited her to help at the parish soup kitchen.

— Some people have had difficult lives and they can relate to others in similar situations. They evangelize by sharing how their Catholic faith helped them through a death in the family, an illness, or some other difficulty.

— Some people are willing to share their own personal story of being away from the church for a while and finding a new life in Christ when they returned.

— Some people like to study the Catholic faith and share what they’ve learned with others. They evangelize by becoming catechists, RCIA team members, or by becoming involved in adult education and apologetics.

— Some people love to meet new people. They evangelize by helping to make the parish more welcoming. One lapsed Catholic came back to the Church after someone in the pews asked if he would like to join the choir.

— Some people join the evangelization ministry in their parish and develop creative ways to invite inactive Catholics and people who are unchurched to parish events.

— Some people casually bring God into the conversation at work or in the community without being overbearing.

— Some people are willing to pray with people who are going through a difficult time. You should be constantly on the lookout for people who may be open to a conversion experience.

Seven Signs that Someone Is Open to Evangelization

1. The most common sign is when people begin to ask questions about God, good and evil, or the meaning of life.

2. Reminiscing about Catholic school, nuns, priests, or parish activities is another sign that someone may feel drawn toward God or the church.

3. Asking about where they can find Catholic reading materials is yet another sign. It’s a good idea to keep a supply of Catholic books, newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets on hand.

4. Comments about the pope, the church, or parish activities can be someone’s way of starting a conversation with you about faith. Continued on next page

“Evangelization is the mission of the Church, not just a few, but my, your, our mission.”

– POPE FRANCIS

Signs someone is open to hear ‘good news’

Jump from page 10

5. Major life events or crises such as illness, death, the birth of a baby, graduations, a job loss or transfer, moving to a new home, separation and divorce, financial difficulties, tension, and other stress-related situations can trigger a desire to find a closer connection to God or the Church.

6. Experiencing the presence of God during a Mass, a funeral, or the celebration of a sacrament can stir feelings.

7. Noticing your faith, love, and deep sense of inner peace can capture the attention of people who are searching for God. Don’t be surprised if people begin to ask about your spiritual life. At that point, you’ll know that you are truly an evangelizer and the Holy Spirit is working through you.

A challenge for today

The word “evangelization” comes from the Greek word euaggelizomai, which means “to announce good news” or “proclaim glad tidings.” The early Christians used the word when they spread the news about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Throughout the history of the Church, evangelization has played a key role in converting people to Christ. Some of the greatest saints sacrificed their lives to spread the Good News of Jesus.

Today, evangelization is becoming an increasingly important part of Catholic life following the direction of Pope St. John Paul II, whose call for a “New Evangelization” captured the minds, hearts and imaginations of Catholics all over the world.

For further reading:

St. Paul VI. “On Evangelization in the Modern World” (Evangelii Nuntiandi)

St. John Paul II. “Go into All the World” (Euntes in Mundum)

St. John Paul II. “On the Permanent Validity of the Church’s Missionary Mandate (Redemptoris Missio)

Hahn, Scott. Evangelizing Catholics: A Mission Manual for the New Evangelization (Our Sunday Visitor, 2014).

Madrid, Patrick. Answer Me This! (Our Sunday Visitor, 2003)

Martin, Ralph. The Urgency of the New Evangelization: Answering the Call (Our Sunday Visitor, 2013).

Welborn, Amy. Prove It! God, Revised Edition (Our Sunday Visitor, 2010)

Duquin, Lorene Hanley. When a Loved One Leaves the Church (Our Sunday Visitor, 2001)

Lorene Hanley Duquin is the author of Catholic books, pamphlets, and articles on a variety of evangelization and ministry topics. She has conducted workshops in parishes and at diocesan conferences in the United States and Canada.

Hearty congratulations to you dear Sister Marie Therese Sherwood OSF on the 60th anniversary of your religious life.

your presence and ministry with us.

February 14, 2023

Quarter page ad

4.71 x 5.85”

Congratulations to the following Sisters of Mercy who are celebrating their jubilees this year in the Diocese of Metuchen:

Sister Mary Pauline Kuntne, RSM 75 years

Sister Rose Mary Malague, RSM 75 years

Sister Petrina Peters, RSM 75 years

Sister Mary McAuley Ronan, RSM 75 years

Sister Mary Philomena Gini, RSM 70 years

Sister Mary Amadeo Morganti, RSM 70 years

Sister Helen Neder, RSM 70 years

Sister Michael Mary Roberts, RSM 70 years

Sister Mildred Rossiter, RSM 70 years

Sister Rosemary Hudak, RSM 60 years

Sister Mary Jo Kearns, RSM 60 years

Sister Margaret Ann Noone, RSM 60 years

Sister Hortensia Diaz, RSM 25 years

Share the mission of Mercy - www.sistersofmercy.org

St. Matthias Community is blessed to have

Bishop encourages faithful to bring ‘Gospel of Life to others’

By Christina Leslie Correspondent

METUCHEN — Though most of the faithful seated before him may never have cast a fishing net into the sea for food, Bishop James F. Checchio assured them they were still responsible for a valuable catch.

“Just like the first disciples, we too are called to be fishers of men,” the bishop said in his homily at the annual Respect Life Mass in Thanksgiving for Life, held Jan. 22 in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. “People should be able to see in us — in our families, friends, workplaces or schools, wherever we are — they should be able to see something in us that they can recognize that person is a disciple of Jesus, can tell we are disciples.”

Bishop Checchio, who also presided at the liturgy, reflected on the Gospel (Matthew 4:12-23), in which Jesus invited brothers Peter and Andrew, then brothers James and John, to leave their lives as fishermen to become his first disciples.

Jesus asked the men “to redirect their natural talents and professional skills to accomplish important work,” the bishop began. “We, too, are asked to place these at Jesus’ use… We must not just concentrate on ourselves, but also love others and share him with others.”

Early Christians were asked to leave their property, possessions and family behind to follow the lord, Bishop Checchio continued, not knowing what Jesus would ask from them before uttering their “yes.”

“You are here with other fellow disciples in a world where many have turned away from God. We are grateful for you,” the bishop said. “In New Jersey, things are still full steam ahead, they are working on legislation which is even worse [than Roe v. Wade]… Our peace and happiness are in his will.”

For the past 25 years, the diocese

has held the Mass in celebration of life and presented Pro-Vita Awards to those who have performed tirelessly in defense of the respect for, and protection of, life at all stages. A number of past recipients of the award were recognized by the congregation with resounding applause; this year’s winners were numerous teens from throughout the diocese who assist at pregnancy centers as ambassadors and perform other pro-life endeavors.

Jennifer Ruggiero, Secretary for the Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life, declared, “Because of their hard work, we are able to celebrate that historic moment when Roe v. Wade was overturned. We still have much work to do in New Jersey.

“Youth: I pray that you continue to be missionary disciples and bring the gospel of life to others, especially those in need. Thank you for your witness.”

At top, altar servers lead the procession into the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, at the beginning of the diocese’s annual Respect Life Mass, Jan. 22. Below, lectors Gabrielle Cruz (left), a student at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison, and Timothy Haklar, a student at Saint Joseph High School, Metuchen, read from the ambo. Both volunteer at the Life Choices Resource Center, Metuchen. Below them, Bishop James F. Checchio distributes holy Communion. Bottom left, past Pro Vita Award recipients were recognized during the liturgy for their ongoing support of pro-life efforts across the diocese. Bottom right, Bishop Checchio poses with the Student Ambassadors who were recognized and affirmed for their volunteer service at Life Choices Resource Center. At right in the second row is Jennifer Ruggiero, Secretary for the diocesan Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life. The Respect Life Mass was first celebrated in 1998.

— Mike Ehrmann photos

ReligiousMilestones

Igreet you affectionately on the occasion of World Day for Consecrated Life, as you are gathered for the Eucharistic celebration in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. And at this moment I would like to embrace all consecrated brothers and sisters in every part of the world.

The theme of this year’s Day is “Brothers and sisters for the mission.” When you listen to this message of mine, I will be on a mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and I know that I will be accompanied by your prayer. In turn, I assure you of mine for the mission of each one of you and your communities. Together we are all members of the Church, and the Church has been on a mission since the first day, sent by the Risen Lord, and will be until the last, with the strength of His Spirit. And in the People of God, sent to bring the Gospel to all humanity, you consecrated persons have a specific role, that derives from the particular gift you have received: a gift that gives your witness a special character and value, for the very fact that you are fully dedicated to God and to His Kingdom, in poverty, virginity and obedience. If in the Church each person is a mission, each and every one of you is one with a grace of your own as a consecrated person.

Beyond this fundamental gift, your mission is enriched by the charisms of your institutes and societies, the charisms of your founders. In their remarkable variety, they all gave themselves for the

edification of the Church and for her mission. All charisms are for the mission, and they are precisely so with the incalculable richness of their variety; so that the Church may bear witness to and proclaim the Gospel to everyone and in every situation.

Today we celebrate the feast of the encounter: may the Virgin Mary obtain for us the grace that our life as consecrated persons always be a feast of the encounter with Christ; and in this way, like her, we may bring the light of his love to everyone: his light, not ours! Bring him, not ourselves!

Dear friends, I am close to you and I thank you for what you are and for what you do. I pray for you, and I encourage you to continue in your prophetic mission. I bless you from my heart, and I entrust you to Mary Salus Populi Romani. Please, do not forget to pray for me.

Rome, Saint John Lateran, 2 February 2023, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

FRANCIS

(Editor’s note: The above message from Pope Francis on the 27th annual World Day for Consecrated Life was read at the Mass at the Basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, Rome, Feb.2. The pope was on a mission to Africa at the time.)

Above: Covering 3,570 feet, the “Woman Clothed with the Sun” mosaic decorates the West Apse of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C. Chris Donahue photo

The reputation of Camden Catholic grew during her tenure in large part because of the music curriculum and performance excellence. In 2009, she was inducted into Camden Catholic High School’s Hall of Fame.

Mercy Sister Mary Pauline Kuntne 75 YEARS

Avocation that began for Mercy Sister Mary Pauline Kuntne with humble service to the Church would eventually include having a major impact on students in Catholic education and people seeking treatment for substance abuse.

Sister Pauline born in South Amboy, and raised in Parlin. After attending schools staffed by the Sisters of Mercy, she entered the community following graduation from high school.

Gifted with musical ability, she pursed degrees from Georgian Court College, now University, Lakewood; and Catholic University, Washington, D.C. in music, instrumental music, music education and philosophy. She began teaching at St. Paul School, Princeton and moved to Camden Catholic High School two years later to further develop its music department. Under her guidance, the music department grew steadily in instrumental, vocal and theatrical excellence over a period of 20 years. Concerts and the annual school musical were events not to be missed, each one surpassing the other. The spirited Irish marching band performed at most sports events and competed many times with other bands for a trophy. The reputation of Camden Catholic grew during her tenure in large part because of the music curriculum and performance excellence. In 2009, she was inducted into Camden Catholic High School’s Hall of Fame.

Sister Pauline’s talents were not limited to music, however. In 1972, she embarked on a career in nursing. With the completion of the requirements of the Nursing Practice Act, she qualified as a

registered nurse with the degree of Associate in Science. She served in Atlantic City Medical center; AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Pomona; Westfield Convalescent Center; and Straight and Narrow, Paterson.

Sister Pauline experienced a great need to serve individuals, especially the youth and families who were suffering from alcohol and other drug addictions. In 1985, she was named Director of Prevention Services with the Passaic County Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Prevention, Inc. In that role, she directed multiple programs dedicated to education, accessed many persons to treatment and developed a curriculum for training counselors in prevention and treatment work.

Sister Pauline continued her education and completed requirements over time and was certified as a National Addiction Counselor II, and certified as a Prevention Specialist. She is also a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor.

In her very gradual retirement, she helped another professional to develop Creative Solutions: Strategies for Change, where she served on a volunteer basis.

Sister Pauline lives in McAuley Hall Health Care Center, still giving of her talent, expertise and good counsel when needed

Sisters of Mercy

“I was always very serious about living out my religious vocation, and that has kept me focused on following Jesus as a Sister of Mercy for 75 years.”

Mercy Sister Rose Mary Malague 75 YEARS

Mercy Sister Rose Mary Malague said she encountered no challenges in becoming a religious. More than 30 years after entering the Sisters of Mercy religious order, however, she faced a health trial. “In 1981, I had a ruptured brain aneurysm while I was in the midst of my teaching career,” recalled Sister Rose, who became a Mercy Sister in 1948.

She said she “miraculously recovered” from the ruptured aneurysm, which the Mayo Clinic website describes as a bulge or ballooning in a blood vessel in the brain that can become life-threatening. But Sister Rose also said the health scare affected her memory. She said she had difficulty remembering names and being an educator unable to recite her students’ names, she said it made her feel insecure. “I made the decision to give up teaching,” she said.

Sister Rose took a year sabbatical to be trained in a different religious ministry, and that led to her becoming spiritual director at a diocesan prayer house in Mount Holly. She later entered parish ministry.

Now, as she marks her 75th anniversary of serving with the Sisters of Mercy, Sister Rose is retired and lives with other religious at Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung.

Sister Rose, who grew up in Belleville, attended Catholic schools from -- St. Peter’s, Belleville) through Villanova University (Pa.), where she earned a master’s degree in mathematics.

She credits her family for inspiring her to enter the religious life. “I come from a very faith-filled family,” she stated.

She was surrounded by Sisters of Mercy, including her aunt, Sister Mary Victorine, another of her mother’s siblings and a cousin. Sister Rose said the religious who were also her relatives used to come to vacation at their home in Belleville, exposing her from a young age to the calling to serve.

They introduced her specifically to the Sisters of Mercy, a worldwide order

associated with education, founded in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831 by Venerable Catherine McAuley.

“I was always very serious about living out my religious vocation,” Sister Rose said, “and that has kept me focused on following Jesus as a Sister of Mercy for 75 years.”

Sister Rose taught primary grades in St. James School, Woodbridge. She also spent many years teaching mathematics in various high schools in the dioceses of Camden, Trenton and Metuchen, and was vice principal at the now-closed St. Mary’s High School, South Amboy.

After her school ministry, Sister Rose ministered in several places throughout New Jersey. She was spiritual director of St. Francis House of Prayer, Mount Holly; pastoral associate at St. Bartholomew Parish, Scotch Plains; and served in ministry at Holy Family Parish, Union Beach.

She earned a bachelor’s degree at Georgian Court College, now University, Lakewood.

While only saying for this story that she encourages any young woman considering a vocation to join the Sisters of Mercy “because I know the Mercy community best of all,” Sister Rose, in a 2018 interview, also recommended talking it out with a spiritual adviser, and consider taking a weekend retreat to pray and learn more about religious life.

Sister Rose’s life is proof that anyone’s vocational role can positively evolve when a medical issue forces change.

Anthony Salamone

In addition to her role as an educator, Sister Petrina has been an advocate for needy families in the local and international communities organizing food drives as well as getting donations of school supplies for students. “We do everything we can to help. We are so grateful for all the blessings we have.” she said.

Mercy Sister Mary Petrina Peters 75 YEARS

Blessed and grateful is the story of my life,” Mercy Sister Mary Petrina

Peters said when reflecting upon her 75 years as a Sister of Mercy.

Sister Petrina has lived out her life in dedication to her vocation by educating youth, helping the poor, and trying to see Christ in others.

She was born and raised in Atlantic City, where she lived half a block from St. Nicholas Church, School, and Convent, which was staffed by the Sisters of Mercy.

The fifth child of her loving mother, Lillian, and father, E. James, she was baptized Sarah, but called Sally. Her family, including seven brothers and sisters, encouraged Sister Petrina’s growth in her spiritual life. She has three generations of nieces and nephews.

Sister Petrina said she had the privilege of being taught by the Sisters of Mercy all of her life: eight year at St. Nicholas Grammar School, four years of Holy Spirit High School, Absecon, and later, Georgian Court College, now University. She completed her formal education at Seton Hall University, South Orange.

Sister Petrina was greatly influenced by the Mercy Sisters’ joy, dedication and love of the Lord. So, in 1948, she decided to enter their community after graduating high school. She chose the name Petrina, which she has kept to this day.

Sister Petrina entered with a “band of seven” women who became Sisters of Mercy upon graduating from high school. After her novitiate at Mount Saint Mary, Watchung, she spent 10 years teaching grades two, three, five and seven in the dioceses of Camden and Trenton. The schools at which Sister Petrina served included St. John’s School, Collingswood, St. Joseph School, East Trenton, St. Matthew the Apostle School, Edison, and Our Lady of Victories School, Sayreville.

She also taught at Notre Dame High School, Lawrenceville, then returned to Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung where she taught the tenth grade followed by several years spent in various occupations at the school. At some schools she taught English.

Sister Patrina truly enjoyed working

with teenagers by supporting and encouraging them. They consulted her about concerns and questions, and she was glad to help them make decisions and form opinions.

In addition to her role as an educator, Sister Petrina has been an advocate for needy families in the local and international communities organizing food drives as well as getting donations of school supplies for students. “We do everything we can to help. We are so grateful for all the blessings we have,” she said.

With other religious, Sister Petrina has also participated in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. It is another way that shows how she cares about the defenseless and marginalized: the babies in the womb. Quiet as she was, she was never at a loss for words when an issue on which she had a strong opinion was raised.

Over the years, she has met the children of her former students. “I’ve had the joy of meeting students whose mothers I taught. Teaching has been such a wonderful experience.”

She draws strength and inspiration for her vocation from “the Blessed Mother, St. Theresa the Little Flower, who shows us the way, and patron, St. Peter, who helps with mishaps!” His words became her spiritual motto upon taking her vows 75 years ago, “Lord, thou knows that I love thee!”

“Now I reside at McAuley Health Care Center where my ministry includes being a prayerful and supportive presence, along with loving and caring residents and staff,” she said. There, she added, everyone enjoys her playfulness, humor and gift of friendship.

For those considering a vocation to religious life, she advises, “Pray, spend time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and speak to a religious with your concerns and questions.”

Marianne Zamko Komek

One day, a priest visited her class and invited anyone thinking about a vocation in consecrated life to stay and talk with him. Sister McAuley was one of the students who stayed. Afterwards, she began to think about becoming a religious, but it wasn’t until high school that she seriously discerned her vocation.

75 YEARS

In reflecting on her decades as a religious, Mercy Sister Mary McAuley

Ronan said, “God’s blessings, kindness and goodness over the years comes to mind.” She added that when she looks back, she “can’t believe where the years have gone.”

Born and raised in Trenton, Sister McAuley was the middle child of James and Katherine Ronan. She had two older brothers, John and James, and younger twins, Katherine and Hugh. She said she began thinking about a vocation to the religious life when she was in the fifth grade at St. Anthony Elementary School, where she was taught by the Franciscan Sisters. One day, a priest visited her class and invited anyone thinking about a vocation in consecrated life to stay and talk with him. Sister McAuley was one of the students who stayed. Afterwards, she began to think about becoming a religious, but it wasn’t until high school that she seriously discerned her vocation.

In high school, Sister McAuley was taught by the Mercy Sisters. Wanting to be a teacher, she said she kept fighting the call to become a religious and even applied to Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey, Ewing) and was accepted. Through all of her interactions with the Sisters of Mercy, however, her call became strong.

“I just knew the call was there for me to enter the Sisters of Mercy,” she said. So, after high school, Sister McAuley entered the community and professed her final vows in 1954. She chose to take the name of Venerable Catherine McAuley, who founded the Mercy Sisters in the 19th century.

Once professed, Sister McAuley studied at Georgian Court College (now University), Lakewood, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and minored in philosophy.

She continued her education at Villanova University, Pa., where she earned a master’s degree in mathematics, the subject she noted that was always her favorite.

`Her teaching assignments began in the Diocese of Trenton with first-graders at Our Lady of Victories School, Sayreville, then first- and fifth-graders at St.

Paul School, Princeton.

Beginning in 1958, Sister McAuley began her ministry as a math teacher, which continued for almost four decades. For 11 years, she served as a math teacher at Camden Catholic High School, then she taught math for two years at the now-closed St. Pius X High School, Piscataway.

She was assigned next as math teacher and faculty chairperson at now-closed St. Mary’s High School, Perth Amboy.

In 1975, Sister McAuley became the math teacher and math department chairperson at Red Bank Catholic. Five years later, she was named the school’s principal and served there until 1995.

When asked to reflect on a highlight of her teaching career, Sister McAuley said there was a student who challenged her marking a math problem he had solved as incorrect. When he explained to her the next day how he arrived at the answer, she told him his answer was correct. “I never looked at the problem from your perspective,” she told him. Afterwards Sister McAuley said she always told her students if they thought their answer to a math problem was correct, but marked wrong to check it out.

After leaving Red Bank Catholic, Sister McAuley returned to the Mercy Sisters Motherhouse, where she served as assistant directress in charge of special projects.

She noted that she helped oversee construction and renovation projects, including the rebuilding of a 90-year-old foundation to support the technology and equipment of a new science center.

“In almost every place I was sent to there was construction going on,” she added.

Today, Sister McAuley lives in Gabriel Hall for the retired Mercy Sisters, on the campus of Mount St. Mary Academy, Watchung.

She spends her time praying for everyone.

Joanne Ward

Mercy Sister Mary McAuley Ronan

Sister Philomena thinks that working as an office manager for her uncle helped her as a guidance counselor. “I had to work with all different types of people just as I did at Camden High.”

70 YEARS

From being a career woman to teaching and serving as a guidance counselor, Sister Mary Philomena Gini has been happy in her vocation as a member of the Sisters of Mercy.

She first felt the stirrings of such a vocation in her when she was an eighth-grader at St. Mary’s School, Camden, which was run by the Sisters of Mercy. She was drawn to their joyful way of life, so she asked her teacher, Sister Isabel, for advice about entering. She told the young girl to “keep it in the back of your mind and we’ll talk about it when you’re older.”

Sister Isabel encouraged her to attend Camden Catholic High, also staffed by Mercy Sisters, and to enjoy her formative adolescent years. That is what she did, and she enjoyed a rich social life, as well, by attending the proms and dances.

After high school, Sister Philomena worked for her uncle’s business for five years by managing the office and practicing her secretarial skills. However, Jesus beckoned her to leave secular life and devote herself totally to him for the work of his kingdom. That is when she became a Sister of Mercy, with Sister Wilfred as her sponsor. Her immediate family was very supportive of her vocation; however, one aunt was unhappy about it. She loved Sister Philomena and was afraid that she would not see her anymore. This relative later changed her mind and the two of them were close while Sister Mary Philomena was in the convent.

Born at home to Anthony and Philomena Gini in East Camden, Sister Philomena is the oldest child in her family. Her younger siblings, Robert Gini and Joyce Rosaire Monsees, are still living. Joyce, the baby of the family, calls her every day. Her parents were Italian immigrants who spoke English at home, so Sister Philomena never learned Italian. They lived in Pennsauken, where the family worshiped at Mass at St. Stephen’s Church.

At Georgian Court College, now University, Sister Philomena earned a bachelor’s degree, then a master’s degree in counseling at Rider College, Lawrenceville.

She served as a teacher of the first,

sixth, seventh, and eighth grades at several Catholic grade schools in New Jersey before becoming a guidance counselor at Camden Catholic, where she spent most of her ministry.

Her most challenging experience was teaching 60 first-graders. She was thrust into this role unexpectedly because their teacher was in a car accident. It was a difficult year, but one of her fellow sisters advised her what to do. She felt much more in her element with the teenagers at Camden Catholic. She said that the experience “was very dear to her heart.”

As well as helping her students with choosing their curriculum and applying to colleges, Sister Philomena would talk to them when they had personal problems. Some of her students are still in contact with her.

She also met with their parents at Parent Teacher Association meetings.

Camden Catholic’s love and admiration for her were on full display when they inducted Sister Philomena into their Hall of Fame in 2012 for her many years of service at her alma mater. She said that it made her “very happy” to be chosen for this honor.

Sister Philomena thinks that working as an office manager for her uncle helped her as a guidance counselor. “I had to work with all different types of people just as I did at Camden High,” she said.

As for what advice she would give to someone discerning a vocation to religious life, she said, “Pray and stay close to God while attending Mass. If they are young, enjoy high school first.”

During her retirement, she keeps active by crocheting, doing puzzles, reading, and playing Sudoku.

“I am most content here and thank God every day for the sisters that I live with because they are wonderful people,” she said.

Marianne Zamko Komek

“I am very happy [as a religious]. It’s a beautiful life. You live with wonderful people…They [sisters] are all committed. Their life is committed to God. They treat each other the way Christians should treat each other, seeing God in each person.”

Mercy Sister Mary Amadeo Morganti 70 YEARS

The original plan for Sister Mary Amadeo Morganti was to attend Temple University, Philadelphia, with the goal of becoming a pharmacist. That all changed, however, as a student at Cathedral High School, Trenton, where she was inspired by the Sisters of Mercy. She joined the order Sept. 24, 1953, one year after graduating from high school.

While Sister Amadeo thought about religious life from the time she was in elementary school, she said it became “more real” for her as a student at Cathedral High School.

“The Sisters that taught us at Cathedral were wonderful,” she said. “They were marvelous. They were such good teachers and so friendly… The Sisters were very inspirational.”

“It [becoming a sister] was really a shock to my family because I was planning on going to college,” added Sister Amadeo, who is now retired and lives with 35 other sisters, most of whom are also retired, on the campus of Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung, where she has lived since 1969.

Born and raised in Trenton, Sister Amadeo attended St. Joachim School, Trenton, which was run by the Religious Teachers Filippini. St. Joachim Parish is now Our Lady of the Angels Parish, created when the Joachim and Immaculate Conception Churches were merged.

“I am very happy [as a religious]. It’s a beautiful life. You live with wonderful people…They [sisters] are all committed. Their life is committed to God. They treat each other the way Christians should treat each other, seeing God in each person,” she said.

She said she loves teaching, but had to give it up when she was named director of buildings and grounds at Mount Saint Mary, a position she held for 13 years. She also served as the Mount’s assistant treasurer for 12 years. Her first assignments as a sister were teaching fourth grade at St. Mary School, Perth Amboy, and instructing sixth, seventh and eighth grades at Our Lady of Victories School, Sayreville.

Sister Amadeo earned a bachelor’s degree in math with a minor in French

at Georgian Court College, now University, Lakewood, and a master’s degree in education specializing in physics at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. She taught math and physics at the now-closed St. Mary’s High School, South Amboy, nd at the Mount.

Sister Amadeo still hears from some of her students, saying one of her classes from the Mount recently held its 50th reunion.

“I can’t even believe it. I taught these students 50 years ago,” she said. “And to see all they’ve accomplished. It’s amazing.”

She has also heard from students she taught at Our Lady of Victories, a school that has also closed. “It’s very rewarding” to see how she influenced the lives of former students, she said.

Now retired, Sister Amadeo keeps busy answering requests as part of the McAuley Hall Prayer Guild, located on the grounds of the Mount.

“It’s [McAuley Hall Prayer Guild] a prayer mission for our sick and infirmed sisters,” she said. The sisters are cared for at the McAuley Hall Health Center, a nursing facility sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy.

“So many [prayer] requests come in, it’s amazing,” Sister Amadeo said, noting the majority of requests are for sympathy cards. “It’s a bigger project than you could imagine.”

She also drives sisters to doctor appointments.

As for what advice she would give to someone considering consecrated life, Sister Amadeo said she would tell them: “Certainly give it a try. You’d be surprised how wonderful it is. [There are] many opportunities, not only for your professional growth, but for your spiritual growth. Your whole life will be blessed.”

Paul J. Peyton

Sister Mary Philomena Gini RSM

“After high school, while working and planning to be a nurse, I went on a retreat with other young women. On this retreat, I felt God’s call to be a religious. It dropped on me like a load of bricks, and I could not ignore it.”

Mercy Sister Helen Neder 70 YEARS

“Although I had much contact with the Sisters of Mercy in school and in our parish … I did not expect to enter the community.” Sister Helen said. “After high school, while working and planning to be a nurse, I went on a retreat with other young women. On this retreat, I felt God’s call to be a religious. It dropped on me like a load of bricks, and I could not ignore it.”

Sister Helen, who is celebrating 70 years as a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, built brick by brick, figuratively speaking, a strong career in education at various schools in the dioceses of Camden, Trenton and Metuchen.

Beginning her teaching career at the former St. Mary Cathedral Grammar School, Trenton, Sister Helen spent about three decades in classrooms at several other schools, including Red Bank Catholic and Notre Dame high schools in the Diocese of Trenton.

She was also an assistant principal at Holy Spirit High School, Absecon, Atlantic County, and principal at Kenmare High School in Jersey City. For six years, Sister Helen served as vocations director for her order, which was founded in the 19th century in Dublin by Venerable Catherine McAuley.

One of four daughters of Henry and Anna Grace Neder, Sister Helen grew up in Woodbridge. She was taught by religious beginning in elementary school.

“Perhaps more influential than my school experience,” Sister Helen said, “was my experience of the Sisters when my three sisters and I would help with counting the collection in the convent.”

There, she said, she witnessed the Sisters “laughing and enjoying community life.”

She said a major change she has

witnessed in religious life is a greater emphasis on learning to discern where God is leading those in consecrated life. She said in her view, there is less regimentation and structure today than when she became a Mercy Sister in 1953.

Sister Helen graduated from the now-closed St. Mary’s High School, Perth Amboy. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Georgian Court College, now University, Lakewood; and a master’s degree from Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind. Both degrees were in chemistry.

Besides being an educator, her various roles included years in vocation ministry and community leadership. She worked as an assistant teacher at The Nurturing Place, a pre-school day care affiliated with St. Joseph’s Shelter for Homeless Women, Jersey City.

In short, Sister Helen turned the “load of bricks” into an enviable career of service to others.

What’s her recommendation for someone considering a religious vocation?

“I would advise young women to give themselves time to consider where God is leading them,” Sister Helen said. “They should talk with a sister they know or a vocation minister and take part in experiencing what our life is like.

“If this is where God is calling you, you will find joy in answering that call,” said Sister Helen, now retired and living at Mount Saint Mary, Watchung. Somerset. “I decided to try it for six weeks, and here I am 70 years later,”

To the average person trying to build a spiritually satisfying retirement, Sister Helen’s seven-decade return on a six-week life investment proved to be enriching.

Anthony Salamone

“I came to the realization that physically I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing. I didn’t want to retire because I loved what I was doing and loved the people I was working with and caring for but “God lets you know when you are finished.”

70 YEARS

Reflecting on her 70 years in religious life, Mercy Sister Michael Mary Roberts expressed gratitude. “I am so grateful to God for the gift He gave to me, this vocation. I feel very Blessed.”

Born in Philadelphia, when Sister Michael Mary was six her family moved to Collingswood in New Jersey. There she attended St. John Elementary School and then graduated from Camden Catholic High School. The Sisters of Mercy taught at both schools.

Sister Michael Mary said she was attracted to the Mercy Sisters who seemed to be so happy and were so engaging with the students at school. She added, however, that her initial calling came through her parents, Mary and Joseph. “My parents raised me in the Catholic faith and out of living my faith came my vocation,” Sister Michael Mary said.

In discerning her calling, she said, “I prayed about my decision. I remember kneeling in St. John’s Church, Collingswood and talking to the Blessed Mother asking her what I should do with my future. “I was only 17-years-old and thought maybe I would think about being a Mercy Sister because I was attracted to their life,”she said.

After high school, Sister Michael Mary enrolled in Georgian Court College (now University), Lakewood, which was founded and sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy. She earned a bachelor’s degree in humanities. She entered the Mercy Sisters community on Sept. 24, 1953. And professed her final vows Aug. 17, 1959.

As a postulate, Sister Michael Mary was very engaged with the retired Mercy Sisters and enjoyed taking care of the elderly sisters in the infirmary at her community’s motherhouse, Mount St. Mary, Watchung.

The experience was very appealing to Sister Michael Mary, but at the time, after her postulant and novitiate year, since the Mercy Sisters were committed to teaching, she was sent out to teach. She taught second, third and fourth grades at the School of St. Elizabeth, Bernardsville, and St. Mary School, Alpha.

“I liked the children, but teaching wasn’t fulfilling for me,” stated Sister Michael Mary. She wanted to go into nursing. With a great devotion to the Blessed Mother, Sister Michael Mary said, “ I remember saying the 54 day rosary novena to our Lady, 24 days in petition and

24 days in thanksgiving. I said that rosary novena asking the Blessed Mother that if it was God’s will I would be able to go into nursing. And on the feast of the Holy Rosary, I was told by my superiors that I was chosen to go into nurse’s training. I tell people that story a lot because of the power of that rosary novena.

It was in 1966, that Sister Michael Mary was able to finally pursue what would become her lifelong ministry. She and one other Mercy sister were permitted to study at St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing. After completing her studies, Sister Michael Mary began working at the Mercy Sisters, McAuley Hall Health Care Center where she served for 10 years.

She then went to Syracuse, N.Y. where she earned certification as a geriatric nurse practitioner from the State University of New York and subsequently worked as a nurse on the cardiac floor in St. Joseph Hospital, Syracuse.

In the mid-1980s, Sister Michael Mary returned to Watchung and was appointed administrator of McAuley Hall Health Care Center. She served there until it became a state-licensed nursing home. At this time, Sister Michael Mary became a full-time visiting nurse with Holy Redeemer Home Care. “It was a very enriching experience for me. I just loved it. Nursing in home care enables one to give holistic care to the patients,” she said.

Five years ago, Sister Michael Mary retired from serving as a Visiting Nurse. At that time she was 81 years old. “I came to the realization that physically I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing. I didn’t want to retire because I loved what I was doing and loved the people I was working with and caring for but “God lets you know when you are finished.”

Still active in retirement, Sister Michael Mary volunteered at Overlook Hospital, Summit, in the Pastoral Care Department. She visited patients and brought them communion. She did this for several years. “Then I became physically ill and was not able to continue, she admitted.

Joanne Ward

Mercy Sister Michael Mary Roberts

As a teenager, Mercy Sister Helen Neder thought her lifelong calling would involve caring for the sick, even though she had been exposed to religious life at her parish, St. James, Woodbridge.

“I loved accompanying other women discerning their vocation [as novice director]. This was very life-giving for me, and I hope for the women I connected with,”

Mercy Sister Mildred Rossiter

Sister Mildred, born in Somers Point, was the oldest of six children. She described her family as “very devout” and active in parish life. As a child, she attended St. Peter’s Elementary School, Pleasantville.

She credits he religious vocation to the Sisters of Mercy who taught her at Holy Spirit High School, Atlantic City. “I always wanted to teach and I saw that they had a lifestyle that I could emulate and be a part of.” Liking the way the sisters responded to the needs of the students and the way they interacted with each other she said, “It was inspiring to me.”

In 1953, after high school, at the age of 18, she entered the Sisters of Mercy and professed her final vows in 1959 at Mount Saint Mary, Watchung.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Georgian Court College, now University, Lakewood, and a master’s degree in elementary education as a reading specialist at Seton Hall University, South Orange.

Her teaching assignments included Sts. Philip and James, Phillipsburg; St. Mary, South Amboy; St. Joseph, Keyport; St. Joseph, North Plainfield; and St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral, Metuchen.

She served as principal of St. Matthias School, Somerset; St. John School, Collingswood; St. Peter the Apostle School, New Brunswick; and as a teacher and principal at St. Mary School, Perth Amboy.

For the past six years, Sister Mildred has volunteered as a bookkeeper for the “All Africa Conference Sister to Sister,” which supports educating religious in sub-Saharan Africa who are caregivers to the HIV/AIDS community and those challenged by extreme poverty.

She also enjoys spending time on her hobbies — crocheting prayer shawls to be

70 YEARS

donated, researching her family history and reading mystery novels and historical fiction books.

One of the many highlights of her ministry was working as novice director.

“I loved accompanying other women discerning their vocation. This was very life-giving for me, and I hope for the women I connected with,” she said.

As a former vocations director, she offers some advice to women who are considering a vocation: “Seek out a women religious and spend some time speaking and discerning with that person. Pray for guidance to be led in the right direction and discuss that with another woman religious.

“I am hoping that someone reading about the sisters in this edition of ‘The Catholic Spirit’ would be encouraged to think about following the path that we have lived.”

Sister Mildred is a member of Our Lady of Mount Virgin Parish, Middlesex. She is a resident at The Mother House for the Sisters of Mercy, Watchung Looking forward, she hopes to continue serving others.

“I am so grateful for all that I have been a part of and for all those I met and was able to help along the way,” she said.

Karen Corpora

“There was a statue of the Blessed Mother there, bathed in sunshine. At that moment, I heard in my heart her say, ‘You will remain here.’

70 YEARS

It went through me like an electric wire, like a spark” is how Sister Mary Ann Nowicka described the moment she decided to follow a call from the Lord to enter consecrated life. Now, seven decades past that fateful decision, Sister Mary Ann, a member of the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, still smiles as she recounts her faith journey.

Born in central Poland as Anna Nowicka, the young Catholic had little exposure to religious nuns or priests because of Communism’s grip on her country. “There was no Polish Catholic school, no sacraments, no nothing,” she said. “We went to regular public school run by the Communist government.”

By the seventh grade, she learned of an acquaintance enrolled in religious school and begged her parents for permission to study there as well. “I said I just wanted to go to the nun school, not be a nun,” Sister Mary Ann said with a laugh.

Showing a visitor to her room at the St. Joseph Senior Home, Woodbridge, she continued, “There was a statue of the Blessed Mother there, bathed in sunshine. At that moment, I heard in my heart her say, ‘You will remain here.’

“At that moment, I prayed for the vocation and perseverance.”

Sister Mary Ann entered the community in 1953, became a novice the following year, and took her final vows in 1956. She began her ministry as a teacher of pre-kindergarten students, but in 1961, she said, “The government made nuns in the whole country stop teaching and gave the schools to the Communists.

Her community assigned her as a missionary to Zambia, where she taught sewing and embroidery to students in grades five, six and seven despite not knowing the language.

Following a stop at the order’s New Jersey motherhouse, she then embarked on her next assignment in Holyoke, Mass. There, she spent 10 years working in parishes and teaching instructions to students receiving their first sacraments.

After completing an associate’s degree at a university, Sister Mary Ann opened a kindergarten in Holyoke and directed in-school plays twice a year with her young charges.

She then was assigned to Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Milltown, where for seven years she taught second graders at its now-closed parochial school.

Her own studies resulted in the completion of her bachelor’s degree in education. Sister Mary Ann also taught at schools in the Diocese of Camden, then returned to Our Lady of Lourdes for six years until she retired from active ministry… or so she thought.

“I still wanted to do something,” she said. “I didn’t want to sit still and wait for death.”

Sister Mary Ann began a ministry of service to those patients in her order’s St. Mary hospital and nursing home in Cherry Hill.

“I was not a nurse,” she cautioned, “but I distributed Communion, led discussion groups and visited with patients and families whose loved ones were near death.”

Sister Mary Ann cherished the contacts she made in this ministry and joined them in praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, made known by fellow Polish religious, St. Faustina Kowalska. “Even when I was a patient in the hospital, I was passing out the chaplet because it is so important,” she concluded from her room at St. Joseph Senior Home.

Christina Leslie

Little Servant Sister Mary Ann Nowicka

For

Mercy Sister Mildred Rossiter, consecrated life has been filled with grace and abundant blessings.

“I loved teaching math, because when that ‘aha’ moment comes into a child’s mind, it’s a very satisfying moment for a teacher.”

Felician Sister Cynthia Marie

Babyak

60 YEARS

Sister Cynthia Marie Babyak is celebrating her continued commitment to her vows as a Felician Sister.

Born to parents Helen and George, she had one sister and grew up in Garfield in Bergen County, where she attended Most Holy Name School at her parish. She attended Immaculate Conception High School in Lodi, which was where she first encountered the Felician Sisters, officially known as the Congregation of Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Assisi.

She did not initially like the idea of attending an all-girls high school, but her mother insisted that if she was accepted, she would attend.

“That was all in God’s plans, because I never would have known about the Felician Sisters had that not happened,” Sister Cynthia said.

When she graduated from high school, she joined the Felician Sisters. After one year as a postulant and one year as a novice, she made her first vows. At the time, the custom was for Felician Sisters to choose a new name when they professed vows, so she chose George, which was her dad’s name.

“Dad was not a happy camper about my going into the religious life, and I wanted to endear him the whole idea,” she recalled.

After the Second Vatican Council, Felician Sisters were encouraged to return to their baptismal names, so she switched back to using Cynthia. By that time, her father had “warmed up” to the idea of her being in religious life.

During postulancy and novitiate, she earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Felician University, Rutherford. Later, she earned master’s degrees in secondary education, campus ministry, and religious education at LaSalle University, Philadelphia, and a certification in educational administration at St. Peter’s University, Jersey City. She holds many certifications in math and science, as well.

Her first ministry as a religious sister was teaching second grade at St. Stanislaus Kostka, Sayreville. Next, she worked in the Archdiocese of Newark, where she taught middle school science at St. Michael’s School in Lyndhurst. In Dover, Del., she

taught high school science, math, and religion. She also started a liturgy club with the high school students.

In 1997, she began working at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Edison, initially teaching math, religion, and chemistry. In time, she was asked to become the campus minister.

In 1987, she became the principal of her alma mater, Immaculate Conception High School, Lodi.

In 1992, she returned to St. Thomas Aquinas as a math teacher and later resumed the role of campus minister.

“I loved teaching math, because when that ‘aha’ moment comes into a child’s mind, it’s a very satisfying moment for a teacher,” Sister Cynthia said.

Being a campus minister was also a rewarding experience for her.

“All the service projects that we did in campus ministry, all the retreats… It’s the people that become the favorite parts of your life,” she said. Sister Cynthia said that she learned through the years that it is important to maintain your own spiritual life in order to minister to others.

Two of her favorite personal devotions are praying the rosary, and praying the chaplet of Blessed Mary Angela, founder of the Felician Sisters, for whom Sister Cynthia developed a devotion to after joining the community.

Sister Cynthia emphasized the importance of choosing to recommit to following her vows each day.

“I need to get up every day and renew the commitment that I made,” she said.

“Life continues and so you need to recommit yourself every day, first with God, with yourself, with your community and the people that I serve.”

Sister Cynthia retired from her role as campus minister at St. Thomas Aquinas High, Edison, in 2022. She has been volunteering with an organization that helps chronically ill children, and has also taken up crocheting, a hobby she had not had time for while working. She has made ten baby blankets so far, and given each to someone who needed the blanket for their baby. Teresa Murphy

“I was honored to be a witness to the love of Jesus and the charism of the Sisters of Christian Charity in those times and places. It was a privilege to be able to live the beatitudes by serving so many of God’s people.’

Christian Charity Sister Mary Leonard Cooke 60 YEARS

Who would have guessed that the mature religious who is the parish secretary at Nativity of Our Lord Parish, Monroe Township, plays the trumpet? Yes, Christian Charity Sister Mary Leonard Cooke is a musician that accompanies groups at Masses and special occasions with a truly unique contribution to each event. Perhaps you saw her perform in a quartet this past Christmas for the women of the Nativity at their party in the church hall?

“That was unique in all the world,” she exclaimed.

Years ago, while serving the Jersey City community, she even taught trumpet lessons to three pupils and also had a sewing club with the eighth-grade girls. Her skill as a seamstress was taught by her mother, while a child growing up in Philadelphia. Naturally then, upon entering at the convent more than 60 years ago, her responsibility was sewing the habits and veils for the young women who were joining the community as novices and making their first profession as Sisters of Christian Charity. She still volunteers her time to sew for the religious. That is, in-between her time at the parish, which keeps her busy four days a week.

Over the past six decades, she has also been a homemaker and cook at convents in New Jersey and Pennsylvania; an administrative assistant to the President at Pius X High School, Bangor, Pa., where she helped set up a new convent, participated in marketing and development, and planned spiritual activities such as retreats and Kairos adventures of discipleship for students; and as treasurer of the Motherhouse in Mendham supervising employees for the maintenance of the building and grounds. The site was home to Provincial administration, initial formation, business and development offices, and a religious-formation college for the 85 individuals living there.

“Everything I did, I loved,” she said about her years of service.

It was as a youngster in grade school that she was introduced to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters. Her parents encouraged her to spend time with them, which led to an active interest in finding out more before choosing a consecrated

life. Later, meeting the Sisters of Christian Charity and admiring the enthusiasm and joy they exuded for all of her fellow high school students, she began discerning toward becoming a religious. In 1962, after graduating from West Philadelphia Catholic High School, she entered the convent – much to the delight of her supportive parents.

“I was extremely homesick, but that’s what I wanted,” she remembered about moving two hours away from her family at the age of 18 to begin her life in the Novitiate.

“The first year was a challenge for me but after that it became much easier.”

Her final profession ceremony was in 1971. For girls considering this path, her advice is clear.

“They should pray and discern. Listen to their heart, to the Holy Spirit,” she said. “Give it a try. You never know!”

She described her calling succinctly in an e-mail message:

“During my life as a Sister of Christian Charity, I have been called to use the gifts God has given me in many different ways and in many different places. I was honored to be a witness to the love of Jesus and the charism of the Sisters of Christian Charity in those times and places. It was a privilege to be able to live the beatitudes by serving so many of God’s people.”

With no plans to retire, Sister Mary Leonard will continue in her parish role in support of the Church ministries, handling Mass cards for loved ones, chatting with parishioners who stop by the office, and carrying out other assigned diocesan duties.

“As long as I can keep going, I’m going to keep going,” she said.

Debra Stevko Miller

“The most important thing is that it has been 60 blessed years meeting wonderful people, living with wonderful sisters, mentors. That’s why I’m celebrating on my 60th – the people that I met in my ministries. They taught me things and supported me. That’s what I want to celebrate, too.”

60 YEARS

Sister Rosemary Hudak says she did not get the calling for religious life until she was inspired by the Sisters of Mercy as a student at St. Mary’s High School, Perth Amboy, where she was born and raised. “I had a nudging from God that wouldn’t quit [for a call to religious life],” Sister Rosemary said.

After high school, she worked three years as a bank teller at Perth Amboy Savings and Loan, Perth Amboy. However, while she was happy at her job she sought direction in her life from God through prayer while attending daily Mass at Holy Triinity Church, Perth Amboy.

“I was raised in a family where faith was nourished, but I was going to get married and have all these kids,” she said. “It just was this… strong feeling, pull I guess [to become a religious.]

“In those days, when you had a calling from God you didn’t ignore it,” noting that she entered the convent in 1963 at the age of 20.

Sister Rosemary earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Georgian Court College, now University, Lakewood, and was later certified as a bereavement counselor and chaplain. Her first assignments were teaching at various elementary schools for 10 years in the Diocese of Trenton.

Sister Rosemary’s first administrative post was at Bayshore Senior Center, Keansburg, where she was assigned for several years as the center’s assistant administrator. She then worked for four years as a chaplain at Saint Cabrini Nursing Home, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., while living with the Sisters of Mercy community in Yonkers, NY. “That was a wonderful experience for me. I loved it,” Sister Rosemary said.

When she returned to New Jersey, she spent 10 years ministering at St. Joseph Parish, Toms River, and then took a sabbatical before she started working at Meridian Hospice, Wall, as their bereavement coordinator for three years.

Sister Hudak then returned to the Bayshore Senior Center for several years

as its program director.

Next, she was asked to take an assignment at the McAuley Hall Healthcare Center, Watchung, as its life coordinator. McAuley is a 74-bed state licensed nursing facility sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy.

“I was drawn to it [McAuley Hall Healthcare Center] because it was pastoral ministry with my sisters. It was a hard move because I went from living in this lovely house [and small community of sisters] that they [the sisters] still have in Bradley Beach,” to a large community with 40 sisters at Mount St. Mary Academy, Sister Hudak said.

Now retired, Sister Rosemary lives in residence with the Sisters of Mercy, which is part of the Mount Saint Mary Academy building. She said her days are kept busy visiting sisters at the health center and doing other chores as needed to help her Sisters of Mercy community.

“Whatever little things I can do for others I do,” she said.

Sister Rosemary said she would encourage those considering religious life to “just keep an open heart and listen to where God is leading you because even when you become a sister you’ll still want to go where God is really leading you.”

Sister Rosemary said she looks back fondly on her vocation to consecrated life.

“The most important thing is that it has been 60 blessed years meeting wonderful people, living with wonderful sisters, mentors. That’s why I’m celebrating on my 60th – the people that I met in my ministries,” Sister Rosemary said. “They taught me things and supported me. That’s what I want to celebrate, too.”

Paul J. Peyton

“I loved working with children, but felt a call to start a house of prayer, which became Mount Saint Mary House of Prayer, on the grounds of Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung.”

60 YEARS

Mercy Sister Mary Jo Kearns said that being a religious sister for 60 years has been a blessing. “I feel so blessed and am so grateful for my vocation and all the people I have met in religious life and in my ministries,” she said.

Born in Cedar Grove to parents Josephine and Joseph and raised in Sea Girt, she was one of a family of five children. The family worshipped at St. Mark’s Parish, Sea Girt, and she attended St. Catharine’s School, Spring Lake, and St. Rose High School, Belmar. At both schools, she was taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph.

The Sisters of St. Joseph “were a great influence in my call to religious life,” Sister Mary Jo recalled. “But my family, especially my mother, was so supportive as well.”

“Although I loved the Sisters of St. Joseph, my mother encouraged me to enter the Sisters of Mercy.”

Her mother said the Sisters of Mercy were a less-strict community and ministered only in New Jersey, whereas the Sisters of St. Joseph had missions in other states to which she might be sent, and Josephine Kearns wanted her daughter to continue to live nearby. Also, Sister Mary Jo’s aunt was in the Sisters of Mercy at the time.

“It was all in God’s providence,” Sister Mary Jo said.

After high school, Sister Mary Jo joined the Sisters of Mercy and began earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Georgian Court University, Lakewood. She also earned a master’s degree in religious studies from Providence College in Rhode Island. She holds certifications in spiritual direction, retreat direction, and grief counseling.

“My family was very supportive of my decision to become a religious sister,” she said. “However, my mother knew me well, and was concerned I’d be too afraid to speak up if I wanted to return home. So, knowing that my letters were read before they were sent out, she told me to leave off the periods at the end of the sentences if I wanted to come home, and she’d come up and get me! Needless to say, I always included those periods.”

For eight years, she taught fourth through eighth grades at schools in the dioceses of Trenton and Metuchen: St. Matthew the Apostle, Edison; St. Mary,

Alpha; St. Catherine, East Keansburg; and St. James, Red Bank.

“I loved working with children, but felt a call to start a house of prayer, which became Mount Saint Mary House of Prayer, on the grounds of Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung,” she said.

In 1976, along with three other Sisters of Mercy, she helped to establish the Mount Saint Mary House of Prayer, which provides retreats, spirituality programs, and a sacred space to connect with God. She has ministered there ever since, and enjoyed offering retreats on a variety of themes, including grief recovery.

In recent years, she has begun working at the house of prayer part-time and now works full-time as Sister Life Minister at McAuley Hall Health Care Center, a licensed nursing center also in Watchung.

“I am very blessed with the education and experiences I’ve been afforded,” she said. “I loved teaching grade school, and I have also loved my ministry at the House of Prayer giving spiritual direction, retreats, and spiritual programs. In the past few years, ministering as Sister Life Minister at McAuley Hall Health Care Center has also been so rewarding for me.”

The most rewarding aspect of being a religious sister has been “interacting with people,” she said.

“I’ve lived with many holy women religious and have met so many wonderful people in the various places I’ve ministered,” she added.

Her only wish would be to have more time in each day.

“Probably the greatest challenge I still face is being satisfied with the time I’m given each day,” she said. “I keep wishing I had more of it so I could accomplish more.”

She encouraged anyone interested in religious life to follow their calling.

“If you feel a call to religious life, pray about it and follow your dream,” she said. “It can be a most rewarding and fulfilling life.”

Teresa Murphy

Mercy Sister Mary Jo Kearns

Mercy Sister Rosemary Hudak

Mercy Sister Magaret Ann Noone 60 YEARS

Mercy Sister Margaret Ann Noone has had two opportunities to serve the Lord – as a Sister of Charity and then as a Sister of Mercy. “I was so blessed by God that I had two chances,” she said.

Born in Jersey City, Sister Margaret Ann was the youngest of four children, all born one year apart. She described her parents as very spiritual people and very active in her home parish, St. Patrick, Jersey City. The Family worshiped at Mass every Sunday, attended novenas and watched Bishop Fulton J. Sheen’s TV show – “Life is Worth Living.”

Sister Margaret Ann is most thankful for her mother and father. “I never had to read a book on love. I lived with love my whole life. That is how my parents were. They were love personified,” she said.

She attended St. Patrick School and after graduating from the Academy of St. Aloysius, Jersey City, she earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Georgian Court College, now University, Lakewood, and a master’s degree in education with advanced specialization in supervision at Kean University, Union. She also graduated from the Family Learning Institute for Counseling, Hudson County.

Inspiration for seeking a vocation in consecrate life came during a retreat in her junior year in high school. “It just came to me that God wanted me to be a nun. I was a basketball player and this decision was surprising to my family and friends but they were very supportive,” she said.

She chose the Sisters of Charity because she was educated by the community in elementary school and high school.

She entered the Sisters of Charity at 17, professed her vows at Convent Station in 1954 and remained with the community for six and a half years.

After leaving the Sisters of Charity, she taught in Catholic schools for eight years before entering the Sisters of Mercy. In 1969, she professed her final vows at Mount St. Mary, Watchung and has been with that community for 54 years.

Her assignments included: teaching at St. James School, Red Bank; serving as principal at now-closed St. Mary School, Perth Amboy; and then served as director of Vocations for the order. Following that, assignment she became a parish minister at Holy Family, Union Beach. From there, she became the co-director of The Gathering Place Retreat House, Middletown.

After retiring in 2011, she lived in Mays Landing where she did some private counseling. She is now living at Mount Saint Mary, Watchung, where she takes pride in her responsibility of decorating the main foyer and the elevator for the different seasons. “I enjoy this very much. I want it to be pretty for people when they come in.” She also spends time visiting the sick Sisters who live at McAuley Hall.

As for what advice she would give to someone considering a vocation in consecrated life, she said, “Be yourself, reach out to others, be kind and loving and you will be good at whatever you are called to be. If you are a kind, helpful and loving person you will be a good Sister.”

Looking ahead she said, “I am young at heart and I am looking forward to each day and making it the best day that I can. I feel so blessed that God chose me for this vocation, twice.”

Karen Corpora

“I believe that as a Catholic school principal for 38 years, my greatest accomplishment was being able to surround myself with faculty and staff who were people of true faith and who shared the values that allowed us to provide a recognizably strong Catholic identity in the school.”

60 YEARS

Reflecting on her six decades as a religious, Felician Sister Rebecca Piatek said, “My heart is filled with gratitude for the many blessings and graces I have received as a Felician Sister and for all who have walked and who continue to walk this journey with me, especially my dearest family and friends,” she said. “I am so grateful for what I have received, what I am receiving, and those who work with me.”

As the only girl and youngest of four children, the early years attending religious education classes at St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, Sayreville, gave Sister Rebecca a foundation for her love of the consecrated life through interactions with the Felician Sisters.

The Sisters also facilitated the parish’s Children of Mary Sodality lay ministry, of which Sister Rebecca was a member, and were a distinct and reverent presence at parish devotions to the Blessed Sacrament where she often spent time. These connections piqued her interest to learn more about the order’s heritage, charism, and foundress, Blessed Mary Angela Truzkowska, a Polish religious who followed the values and ideas of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Felix of Cantalice.

The joy and dedication to God and the Blessed Mother exuded from the Felician Sisters was so awe-inspiring to the 18-year-old she fully immersed herself into the formation process to become more like them. Her parents and three brothers wholly supported her decision to enter the convent after high school. They continued their love and support until God called each of them home.

With a degree from Felician College, now University, and post-graduate studies at Villanova University (Pa.). Sister Rebecca taught religion and language arts to sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students at Catholic schools in Camden, Clifton, Passaic, Spotswood, and McLean, Va., before transitioning into the role of principal; first at St. Stephen Parish School, Perth Amboy then, upon consolidation, Perth Amboy Catholic School for nearly four decades.

“I believe that as a Catholic school principal for 38 years, my greatest accomplishment was being able to surround myself with faculty and staff who were people of true faith and who shared the values that allowed us to provide a

recognizably strong Catholic identity in the school,” she stated.

Sister Rebecca has received accolades for her work including: Polish World American Citizen of the Year; diocesan Regina Nostra Award and Outstanding Educator of the Year; a resolution from the Perth Amboy City Council; the Knights of Columbus’ Principal’s Award; Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, and a New Jersey Joint Legislative Resolution.

Upon “graduating,” as she calls it, from serving as principal in 2018, she accepted a position as pastoral associate at St. Helena Parish, Edison, and staff assistant at its elementary school.

“I knew that I still wanted to be involved in education and be open to parish work,” she said of the “double blessing” she enjoys each day: that of teaching religion once a week to students of different grade levels in the school as well as being privileged to minister to the parish and its parishioners.

“I’ve always loved children,” she said. “I’m happy to still have a hand in forming the hearts of the children and hopefully helping them, by example and in instruction, also to come to know Jesus better and to love him more.”

To relax away from work, she is a true enigmatologist.

“I’m really a word person,” she said. “So, when I have free time I like to do puzzles, jumbles, cryptograms – those kinds of things that entertain my brain.”

For those discerning a path of consecrated life, prayers to the Holy Spirit as well as becoming acquainted with religious communities is beneficial to exploring life as a religious according to Sister Rebecca, who hopes that she has imparted that same joy as a Felician Sister to the youth she has encountered during her six decades within the Church.

Debra Stevko Miller

Felician Sister Rebecca Piatek

“Be yourself, reach out to others, be kind and loving and you will be good at whatever you are called to be. If you are a kind, helpful and loving person you will be a good Sister.”

charist, was chosen as a reminder of the importance of the Eucharist in our lives and as an invitation to be open to its transformative powers of grace and virtue that prompt us to respond as missionary disciples.

The many pastoral needs that benefit from your generosity are listed in this brochure and can be found on our website www.diometuchen.org. Be assured that

2023 Bishop’s Annual Appeal

With renewed best wishes, I remain Yours in Christ,

Catholic Charities

Last year alone, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen served over 63,000 individuals throughout Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties. So many are still feeling the ripple effects of the pandemic and hurricane Ida. Some are experiencing long-term health issues and others need assistance to recover or replace stormdamaged property.

Inflation is another factor bringing more people to our doors, especially struggling, working parents and seniors on a fixed income. With your help, Catholic Charities distributed over 193,000 pound of food last year and gave $600,000 in rental assistance. Others are being helped with transitional housing, affordable childcare or counseling services.

Dedicated to upholding the fundamental Catholic Social Teaching principle that all human beings, created in the image and likeness of God, have by their very existence inherent worth, Catholic Charities makes it a priority to treat every person who comes to its doors with dignity and respect. Thanks to your gift to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, Catholic Charities continues to be an effective witness of Christ’s love in the world.

Seminarian Formation

A priest enters and serves in his ministry, not for himself but for others. The role of the priest is central in bringing the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist to the faithful and to the world. In the Diocese of Metuchen there are approximately 200 active priests, 90 parishes and over 600,000 Catholics. That is a large number of faithful to be served by a small number of priests. There is always a concern that the number of anticipated ordinations will not be enough to offset the rate of priestly retirements in the future.

We are blessed to have 21 men who are discerning the Lord’s call in their lives here in the Diocese of Metuchen. Along with the blessing of an increased number of seminarians comes the challenge of meeting the expenses involved. Providing quality formation for our seminarians—one that prepares them to attend to the spiritual and pastoral needs of the faithful—requires a sizeable investment. Your gift to the Bishop’s Annual appeal will help defray the costs of tuition, room and board, health care and other expenses for our seminarians. Your gift will also assist us in inviting more men to consider the priesthood.

Most Reverend James F. Checchio, JCD, MBA Bishop of Metuchen

Renewed and Sent on Mission by the Eucharist

Ways to Share Gifts

Pledging: Choosing to pledge with your desired payment schedule over time may allow you to be more generous. Monthly reminders will be sent.

Gift By Check: Whether your gift is a onetime, paid-in-full gift or an installment of a pledged gift, please make your check payable to: Diocese of Metuchen-Bishop’s Annual Appeal Foundation.

Gift By Credit Card: Complete your gift and credit card information on your pledge card or visit our secure online giving site at https://diometuchen.org/BAA.

Gift Of Appreciated Stock Or Securities: Federal tax laws allow a charitable deduction for the full market value of stock or securities on the date they are gifted. For information on making such a gift, please contact the Office of Stewardship & Development at 732-562-2432.

Prison Chaplains

Ministering to those experiencing pain, confusion and fear, and those preparing for death is the role of the clergy assigned to Hospital Ministry. There as 12 hospital chaplains who respond to calls at every hour of the day and night providing sacramental and pastoral presence when it is needed most. Whether it is the critical care unit, same-day surgery or the emergency room, the hospital environment can be emotionally erratic, ranging from quiet and somber to absolutely chaotic. At all times, the presence of the clergy and the grace of the sacraments bring the compassionate love of Christ to those who are facing difficult and often frightening times.

The Diocese of Metuchen also has 2 priests assigned as Prison Chaplains who go to where Pope Francis calls “the uncomfortable zone” and minister to some of the most outcast members of society, the prisoners. Even though their own families may forget them, the Catholic Church does not forget. Through prayer, the sacraments and by the presence of the clergy, we offer them the grace, peace, loving concern and the forgiveness of Christ.

Sent on Mission

Matching Your Gift: Corporate matching gifts are a great way to maximize your personal contribution. Go to www.matchinggifts.com/diometuchen or call 732-5622432 for more information.

Leadership Giving

You are invited to join the community of benefactors who provide the leadership that inspires others to support the pastoral, educational and charitable ministries of the Diocese of Metuchen.

Members contribute to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal at the following levels:

• CIRCLE of STEWARDS: $50,000 and above

• CATHEDRAL CIRCLE: $25,000 - $49,999

• MITRE CIRCLE: $10,000 - $24,999

• SHEPHERD’S SOCIETY: $5,000 - $9,999

• BISHOP’S GUILD: $2,500 - $4,999

• DISCIPLES’ SOCIETY: $1,000 - $2,499

• FIDELIS SOCIETY: $500 - $999

For 5 consecutive years

Legacy Society

The Legacy Society is our way of celebrating the generosity of Catholic friends who are providing for the future of the Church through a planned gift. Have you remembered your parish, parish school or a ministry of the Diocese of Metuchen in your Will or estate plan? If so, please let us know so we can express our thanks for your commitment to advancing the mission of the Church by honoring you as a member at

All funds received from the 2023 Bishop’s Annual Appeal will be used, without exception, to provide the services described below.

Jesus gave us the gift of the Eucharist and through it we are “Renewed and Sent on Mission.” As disciples of Christ nourished by the Eucharist, we are called to spread His love and care to our world today. One important way to give glory to God and accomplish His works here on earth is to participate in the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. Please prayerfully consider making a gift today. Thank you and God bless you.

“Our Czech Provincial accompanied me by train to Gratz, Austria, where I was able to pray by the graveside of our foundress. I asked her to intercede that I would have a ‘double portion of her spirit,’ and I continue to pray for this each day.”

Franciscan Sister Marie Therese Sherwood 60 YEARS

When Franciscan Sister Marie Therese Sherwood started school as a child at Assumption Parish, Jersey City, she could hardly have imagined it would be her first steps toward religious life.

Sister Marie Therese’s vocation began at home. Her parents, Anne and Thomas Sherwood, were active in their parish. “My brother, John, younger sister, Annie, and I joined them in church services and parish events,” said Sister Marie Therese. “John became an altar server and I, a member of the children’s choir.”

At school, the children were taught by the School Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, which was a blessing for Sister Marie Therese. “During my elementary school years, I began to feel a call to religious life. At the time, I wasn’t focused on a particular ministry. I just wanted to belong to Christ, to truly be his spouse.”

After high school, she entered the novitiate of the School Sisters of St. Francis, Bethlehem, Pa., where she earned a degree in elementary education and taught in several schools.

With a growing desire to learn more about her Franciscan roots, Sister Marie Therese participated in an internship in spiritual direction and directed retreats in Cincinnati. She spent several months at Our Lady House of Prayer, Phoenix, offering spiritual direction and days of retreat.

“During this time, I realized my ministry to God’s people was moving in another direction. I began to delve deeper into our congregational history and the life and writings of our foundress, Mother Frances Antonia Lampel,” said Sister Marie Therese. “What shone through in her writings was our congregation’s charism [the Spirit’s gift to the Church]: in religious life, we should ‘strive for intimate union with God in the midst of apostolic service.’”

Sister Marie Therese continued her studies at the Institute of Pastoral Ministry at St. Joseph’s College, West Hartford, Conn., where she earned a certificate in spirituality. This led her to minister in retreat centers in Bethlehem, Pa.; Mahwah, and the Center for Spiritual Direction, Springfield, Mass.

Sister Marie Therese served as novice director on the Province Forma-

tion Team and served on regional and national Formation Conferences, traveling nationwide. “I spent several months at our Formation House in Trichur, India, teaching aspirants and postulants.” She also participated in classes with novices in the Franciscan Studies program, sponsored by the Franciscan Institute, St. Bonaventure University (N.Y.).

In 2005, Sister Marie Therese was asked to join a team charged with writing the first international formation program for the School Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. This meant spending three weeks at their motherhouse in Prague. There, she received a great gift: “Our Czech Provincial accompanied me by train to Gratz, Austria, where I was able to pray by the graveside of our foundress. I asked her to intercede that I would have a ‘double portion of her spirit,’ and I continue to pray for this each day.”

For the past 17 years, Sister Marie Therese has served at St. Matthias Parish, Somerset, as pastoral minister of social concerns, collaborating with other pastoral associates and parish staff.

“I am inspired by our volunteer parishioners who work alongside me in the ministries of bereavement and caregivers support groups, Lazarus and funeral teams, assisting families that are preparing a funeral Mass for deceased loved ones,” she said.

She is also spiritual director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul chapter, a cantor and choir member, and “feels privileged to journey with the sick, homebound, and nursing home parishioners and the ministers who bring them Eucharist each Sunday.”

In the future, she noted, “When I am no longer in active ministry, and with health of body, mind and spirit, I will continue volunteering in outreach to the poor and those in need. With my last breath, I hope to pray in the words of St. Francis of Assisi, ‘I have done what was mine to do. May Christ teach you what is yours.’”

Kaylynn Ebner

With courage poured out from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Maria del Rosario left for the United States without knowing any English. She put her trust in God alone who was leading her every step of the way.

Discalced Carmelite Sister Rose Marie Hernandez

50 YEARS

Discalced Carmelite Sister Rose Marie of the Sacred Heart, (N. Maria del Rosario Hernandez), was born in Mexico City in 1953 as one of 14 children. Because of the persecution in Mexico in the late 1920s, there were many martyrs for the faith, which impressed a strong Catholic faith in the Mexican people for the next generations.

Because this inherent faith encompassed the lives of her devout Catholic parents, Sister Rose Marie’s family was blessed to have two of their daughters become Discalced Carmelite Nuns: Maria del Rosario and Anna Maria Hernandez.

Through the encouragement of Salesian Sisters and while spending much time praying before the Blessed Sacrament, Maria del Rosario at age 18 experienced a deep call from the Lord to become a consecrated religious. The biggest difficulty though for her would be to leave her loving family behind to pursue her call. Yet, God’s grace is sufficient!

With courage poured out from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Maria del Rosario left for the United States without knowing any English. She put her trust in God alone who was leading her every step of the way.

Maria del Rosario met a cloistered Carmelite nun from the United States and, after some time, she further discerned her vocation to enter the Discalced Carmelite Order in answer to Our Lord’s call to union in holiness with him in community life. Both she and her sister entered the Carmelite monastery in Bryant, Texas. Six months later, Maria del Rosario was

clothed in the Holy Habit of the Order and took the name Sister Rose Marie of the Sacred Heart.

To pray for priests, for the conversion of sinners and to forget self while developing a divine union with God which is the so called “SCIENCE of the SAINTS” have been Sister Rose Marie’s most important intentions and aspirations in life.

Because of the decreasing number of vocations and some deaths of the religious, their monastery had to close. However, Sister Rose found a warm welcome with the Carmelite nuns in the monastery in Flemington, where God continued to lead her to his abundant blessings. Sister Rose Marie’s many talents are serving her sisters well with her sewing skills, crafts, and baking, but above all with her spirit of faithful prayer and continual joy and humility. Her radiant smile and laughter truly light up the Flemington community!

`Sister Rose Marie encourages anyone who is considering a possible religious vocation to spend much time before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament asking him to give them the light to know where he is leading them and the courage from their confirmation grace to carry it out.

Courtesy of Discalced Carmelites

Sister Hortensia sees God as the center of her life, with Jesus as her special friend and companion.

Mercy Sister Hortensia Leticia Diaz 25 YEARS

Sister Hortensia Leticia Diaz is celebrating her 25th year as a Sister of Mercy. She entered the Sisters of Mercy Sept. 2, 1998 and became a novice at the House of Mercy in Missouri on Aug. 15, 2000. She took her first vows June 22, 2002. The following year she served at Marylawn of the Oranges in South Orange, as School Secretary.

From May 2002 to 2010 Sister Hortensia worked for Catholic Charities in Bridgewater, in three different roles: Family Advocate, Coordinator of Volunteers, and Office Operations. During that time, she made her final vows on Sept. 17, 2005.

Before Sister Hortensia chose to devote her life to God as a Sister of Mercy she worked at First Savings Bank, Woodbridge, for 17 years. At the same time, she facilitated the Divorced and Separated Ministry in her parish, Our Lady of Peace, Fords.

Sister Hortensia was born in Havana, Cuba, to a working-class family. Her mother was a homemaker who taught her homemaking skills, and Sister Hortensia developed a love for sewing, crocheting, knitting, and embroidering. Her mother also taught her how to pray and talked to her about God. Her father was a self-employed carpenter who loved his craft and loved music. Her parents always stressed that her priority was her school and studies.

Dr. Wilfredo Alvarez was the principal of the private school Sister Hortensia attended from sixth to ninth grades. He was very much an influential person in her life growing up. Sister Hortensia’s grandparents were instrumental in her life growing up, too. She had many aunts and uncles who guided her and nurtured her spiritually. Her Aunt Sheila and Uncle Enrique were very instrumental in the development of her relationship with God because they took her to Mass with them.

Sister Hortensia’s neighborhood was very diverse and she was exposed to people from a variety of cultures, enjoying the gifts of their friendship. Some-

time later after finishing high school she felt a turning point in her life. A new friend offered her a new job in a nearby parish office. She accepted the position and from the very first day she knew that she was on the right path. It was the first time she had come in close contact with vowed religious sisters and she felt the grace of God guiding her in this direction. Apparently God’s plans included a detour into marriage and motherhood.

The Lord blessed her with two wonderful sons, one of whom has since gone home to the Lord. Her marriage gradually disintegrated when her sons were very young, and she divorced her husband. These events helped her to become the woman she is today and helped her to grow spiritually and closer to the Lord. She realized that the only way to approach the big task ahead of her of reconstructing her life, was by holding on to her faith by way of prayer and reception of the sacraments. And, along the way, her life has been enriched as she never expected. Sister Hor tensia sees God as the center of her life, with Jesus as her special friend and companion.

In 2013, Sister Hortensia suf fered a stroke and lost her abil ity to bake, do needlework and all things she used to enjoy doing. She is pres ently living at McAuley Hall Health Care Center, Watchung, where her ministry of prayer is a blessing to many.

– Sue Getz

As for what advice Sister Annelyth would give to women considering consecrated life, she responded: pray and seek God’s will and be open to notice his responses through people and the circumstances of the day.

Christian Charity Sister Annelyth Pandi 25 YEARS

Christian Charity Sister Annelyth Pandi said that she had no expectations as to what life in a religious community would be like when she was first considering a consecrated life, so she focused on her desire of why she was entering this new life – to return the love of Jesus.

The youngest of seven children, Sister Annelyth’s parents and two of her brothers have passed away. “I got my happy disposition from my papa and being faithful from my mama,” she said. “The love that I received from my sacrificing mama and the affirmation I received from my papa helped me to be who I am today.”

Sister Annelyth attended grammar and high school in Lianga, Philipppines. Her favorite subject was English and her favorite teacher was Lina Ibra, who was there for her during the challenging times of adolescence.

In March 1994, Sister Annelyth received her Bachelor of Secondary Education degree at the Philippine Normal University.

Subsequently, Sister Annelyth moved to the United States, which, she said, was the greatest spiritual experience for her. Before the day of her departure, Sister Annelyth clung to the Lord in prayer at her church, entrusting the journey that she had to undertake. When she arrived in America, she said the Lord blessed her with friends and the people and circumstances of St. Aloysius Parish, Jersey City.

Discerning her vocation, she prayed Psalm 25 for guidance to join either the Sisters of St. Joseph or the Sisters of Christian Charity. She said that she was guided to choose the Sisters of Christian Charity and on June 4, 1994, Pentecost, decided to answer her “call.” In November 1995, Sister Annelyth made her first visit to the Sisters’ motherhouse and said she felt at home.

After attending a discernment weekend in January 1996, she sent her application letter to the Sisters of Christian Charity and entered the commu-

nity Sept. 12, 1996. She became a novice Aug. 21, 1998. Her first profession of vows was Aug. 16, 2000, and took her final vows Aug. 15, 2006.

Sister Annelyth said that her religious name is a coined name of papa (Amando), mama (Nesie) and herself (Lyth). She said that she received her name when she became a novice. She chose Pentecost as her feast day.

While in the United States, Sister Annelyth attended St. John Paul II’s papal Mass at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands in 1995. She said that it strengthened her desire to enter religious life.

In 2010, the Sisters of Christian Charity assigned Sister Annelyth to its Philippine Mission for the Blind for a year.

“Our congregation was started because of the blind children in Paderborn, Germany, in 1849,” noted Sister Annelyth.

In 2018, she got a gift to travel to Kenya and Tanzania. On one of the days, The Apostles of Jesus Aids Ministry took her group to the Masai Village in Kenya. Today, Sister Annelyth serves as parish catechetical leader, lector, cantor and choir member at St. James Parish, Basking Ridge.

As for what advice Sister Annelyth would give to women considering consecrated life, she responded: pray and seek God’s will and be open to notice his responses through people and the circumstances of the day.

As she reflects on her 25 years with the Sisters of Christian Charity, Sister Annelyth said, the reason that she entered the community is life can be found in verse three of “Lord You have Come:” “returning love, the love you gave me.”

Sue Getz

All Quiet on the Western Front

under whom Paul serves, remains determined to keep his men fighting to the bitter end.

The script, which Berger penned with Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell, emphasizes the stark lesson Paul learns about the shared humanity of warriors on both sides of the conflict. But it also showcases as a token of the civilized life he and his pals have left behind — and to which they naturally long to return — a perfumed scarf obtained during a casual liaison with a local Frenchwoman.

Perhaps Remarque’s work, overall, has become a victim of its own success. At this remove, Paul comes across more as an archetype than an individual while his creator’s anti-war message has been echoed so often that it feels hackneyed.

Still, those grown viewers willing to immerse themselves in the madness against which Remarque so powerfully protested will find affecting moments to cherish amid the squalid slaughter.

In German. Subtitles or dubbed into English.

By John Mulderig, OSV News

NEW YORK (Catholic Review Media) — German author and World War I veteran Erich Maria Remarque’s classic novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” first appeared in serialized form in 1928. Published as a book the following year, his tale became a runaway bestseller, not only in Germany but around the globe as well.

As for Hollywood’s 1930 screen version, helmed by Lewis Milestone, it was the first such adaptation to win the Academy Award for Best Picture (then termed “for Outstanding Production”). Delbert Mann’s 1979 made-for-TV film — a joint British and American project that featured a high-

pacific theme of his movie, as inherited from Remarque, they should be aware, going in, that it details the horrors of trench-based combat unsparingly.

As the action kicks off in the spring of 1917, high school student Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer) and his circle of friends are swept up in patriotic fervor and rashly enlist in the German Army. Their naïve enthusiasm is quickly transformed into terror and misery, however, by the condi-

dies receive guidance from a seasoned and

zinsky (Albrecht Schuch). And, in fact, by the time the storyline fast-forwards 18 months to the last days of the struggle, the lads themselves have become hardened.

Even as peace approaches, though, the soldiers remain pawns in the hands of their nation’s divided leaders. Thus, although some politicians — personified here by Centre Party leader Matthias Erzberger (Daniel Brühl) — gradually accept the need for an armistice, pampered and fanatical Gen. Friedrich (Devid Striesow),

Look for: Values in harmony with Christian teaching. Look out for: Harshly explicit war violence with much gore, grisly images, offscreen but benignly presented nonmarital sexual activity, mature references, a couple of profanities, about a half-dozen milder oaths, fleeting rough language and several crude and crass terms.

The Catholic Moviegoer’s guidance is L — suitable for a limited mature audience. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Formerly a staff member for Catholic News Service, John Mulderig has been reviewing visual media from a Catholic perspective for 15 years. His column is syndicated by Catholic Review Media.

photo by Reiner Bajo -© Netflix 2022

Pro-Life Advocates

On January 20, tens of thousands of pro-life advocates arrived in the nation’s capital for the 50th March for Life. It was the first national march since the overturn of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that initially prompted the annual demonstration. Joining the marchers were students and teachers from Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung. Pictured at right they included, from left, Theology teacher Michelle Kovach, sophomores Katherine Byrne and Grace Prayias, freshman Sophia Chmura, and Theology teacher Katherine Schmidt. Bottom of page, students and staff from the Catholic Center at Rutgers, New Brunswick. Besides the photo from Mount Saint Mary, all other photos show scenes with individuals from the Catholic Center. Their day started with Mass at St. Peter the Apostle Church celebrated by Father Jason Pavich, administrator. The group then traveled from New Brunswick to Washington, D.C. Afterwards, the group marched two miles from the National Mall up Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court. Pictured at left are: left: Sister of Jesus Our Hope Anna Palka, campus minister, and Sister of Jesus Our Hope Ellen Kraft.

photos courtesy of Michelle Kovach, Mount Saint Mary Academy, and Brother Patrick Reilly, director, Catholic Center at Rutgers

Dear brothers and sisters, in two days [Jan. 31, 2023] I will depart on an Apostolic Journey to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to the Republic of South Sudan. I thank the civil authorities and the local bishops for their invitations and for the preparations they have made for these visits, and I greet with affection those beloved peoples who await me.

These lands, situated in the center of the great African continent, have suffered greatly from lengthy conflicts. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially in the east of the country, suffers from armed clashes and exploitation. South Sudan wracked by years of war, longs for an end to the constant violence that forces many people to be displaced and to live in conditions of great hardship. In South Sudan, I will arrive together with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Together, as brothers, we will make an ecumenical pilgrimage of peace, to entreat God and men to bring an end to the hostilities and for reconciliation.

I ask everyone, please, to accompany this Journey with prayers.

What pro-choice Black leadership has wrought

The corner of Connecticut Avenue and M Street in downtown Washington is occasionally patrolled by young men and women seeking signatures on petitions for one cause or another. I usually pay them no mind except to say, “Good morning.” A few years ago, however, I did stop and talk with a young African American woman collecting signatures on a Planned Parenthood petition.

“Do you know,” I asked after an initial exchange of pleasantries, “why African Americans are no longer the largest minority group in the United States?” “Is that right?” she responded. “Yes,” I said, “that’s right. And it has a lot to do with Planned Parenthood.” I then explained that Planned Parenthood’s foundress, Margaret Sanger, was a eugenicist with no fondness for racial minorities, and that, thanks to Planned Parenthood clinics and other abortuaries in our inner-city areas, millions of black babies had been killed since 1973, when Roe v. Wade imposed a libertine regime of abortion law on the United States. My young interlocutor looked confused, even a little dismayed, so I assured her that the numbers were available online if she wanted to look them up — as she ought to look up “Margaret Sanger” and check out her views on race and genetics.

As to the numbers: a study by the Center for Urban Renewal and Education determined that some 19 million black children had been aborted between 1973 and 2015. Add to that carnage the children not conceived and later borne by aborted African American girls and the black population deficit in the United States looks even grimmer. And what has that slaughter of the innocents done in macro-demographic terms? Well, the 2020 census counted 62.5 million Latinos in the United States — our largest minority group — and 41.6 million Afri-

can Americans. Add to that 41.6 million the 19 million aborted black children previously noted, add the children that aborted black baby girls didn’t have, adjust for normal death rates, and African Americans would still be the nation’s largest minority in this third decade of the 21st century.

My street corner conversation and those chilling figures came to mind when I read a January 23 screed by the “Washington Post’s” Kevin B. Blackistone, who also teaches journalism at the University of Maryland. If there is a more race-obsessed sports columnist in America than Mr. Blackistone, I don’t know who that might be. So did Blackistone write about the slaughter of the black innocents? Did he take aim at the fact that over threequarters of Planned Parenthood abortuaries are in minority neighborhoods, which sure seems like racial targeting? Did he lament the acquiescence of black political leaders in the literal decimation (and worse) of their population, as when every African American Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives recently voted against a bill that would provide legal protection for babies who survived a botched abortion?

No.

What had Kevin Blackistone seething on January 23 was former NFL star and Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy’s participation in this year’s March for Life in Washington: an appearance that had provided “deodorant for… intolerance” on a “podium frequented by white supremacists and zealots.” To make matters even worse, from Blackistone’s warped point of view, Dungy, the first black coach inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is “an evangelical Christian who has been an outspoken opponent not just of abortion but same-sex marriage, which he campaigned against

in Indiana when he was coach of the Colts…”

Who’s the bigot here? Who’s promoting intolerance? Dungy is a very intelligent man who surely knows what the abortion license and the institutional heirs of Margaret Sanger have done, not only to the demographics of black America but to the fabric of the African American family and to the moral culture of black American men. Doesn’t Kevin Blackistone know these things? Don’t the African American legislators who take Planned Parenthood money for their campaigns and then vote the Planned Parenthood line know? At what point does willful ignorance elide into complicity with the decimation of one’s own community?

A few years ago, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America issued a statement denouncing Margaret Sanger’s “belief in eugenics…a racist and ableist ideology.” Fine. But what of Planned Parenthood’s ongoing activities in our inner-urban areas? When will Kevin Blackistone and (to take one prominent political example) new House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries break with, and perhaps even denounce in the incendiary terms Blackistone used on Tony Dungy, the lethal enterprise that has done more than any other to reduce African Americans to the second-largest minority group in the country?

George Weigel’s column ‘The Catholic Difference’ is syndicated by the Denver Catholic, the official publication of the Archdiocese of Denver.

More than 80,000 expected to attend Eucharistic Revival event

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Registration for the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, July 17-21, 2024, opened Feb. 15.

The Year of the National Eucharistic Congress and Missionary Sending 202425 is the third and final year of the U.S. bishops’ National Eucharistic Revival.

The congress is expected to draw more than 80,000 people, and organizers have compared the event to World Youth Day, with prayer and liturgies, catechesis for individuals and families, and a festival-like atmosphere. Registration is expected to fill quickly, Tim Glemkowski, executive director of the National Eucharistic Congress, told OSV News in a recent interview.

Individuals who want to attend the National Eucharistic Congress’s can register at www.eucharisticcongress.org.

Launched last year, the National

Eucharistic Revival is a three-year campaign by the U.S. bishops to increase the Catholic understanding of and devotion to Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist.

Part of the impetus for the campaign was a Pew Research Center study in the fall of 2019 that showed just 30 percent to 40 percent of Catholics understand and believe in the Real Presence.

A more recent study conducted by the Center For Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., found that 50 percent of Catholics know the teaching on the Real Presence in the Eucharist, but only 40 percent believe this teaching.

The revival opened June 19, 2022, on the solemnity of Corpus Christ. Many dioceses marked the day last year with Eucharistic processions.

Speaking to the media in November

about the revival, Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minn., said the beauty and diversity expressed in those processions “capture what is at the heart of this movement, which is a movement that we seek to invite people to a transformative encounter with Christ in the Eucharist that they might be healed, unified and sent on mission.”

The diocesan year has included the launch of Heart of the Revival weekly e-newsletter, expanded content on the National Eucharistic Revival’s website (eucharisticrevival.org) and the training of more than 50 priests from around the U.S. to be Eucharistic preachers.

In an April 2022 interview with Catholic News Service, Glemkowski noted that “the original vision” for the revival began to be discussed when thenAuxiliary Bishop Robert E. Barron of Los Angeles was chairman of the U.S. Con-

ference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis shortly after the Pew study results on Catholics’ understanding of the Real Presence.

Bishop Barron, now head of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester (Minn.), was succeeded as evangelization chairman in November 2020 by Bishop Cozzens, who continued to move ahead with plans for the revival, and in 2021, the U.S. Catholic bishops voted to approve the initiative. In November 2022, the bishops elected Archbishop Charles C. Thompson of Indianapolis, in whose archdiocese the National Eucharistic Congress will take place, to succeed Bishop Cozzens as chairman of the evangelization and catechesis committee in November 2023.

Bishop James F. Checchio serves on the Bishops’ Advisory Board for the National Eucharistic Revival.

In Lent, turn toward Jesus, away from sin

1st Sunday of Lent (A)

By Msgr. John N. Fell

Our annual journey toward Easter has begun. The great season of Lent is upon us, for Lent is, above all else, an opportunity to prepare for Easter. For those who seek Baptism, Lent is a final period of intense preparation for full, sacramental participation in the life of Christ. For those already baptized, Lent is an especially graced opportunity to renew our seeking after the Lord, to once again unite ourselves with Christ’s suffering and selfgiving so that we might also share in his glorious victory over sin and death.

Our Gospel reading this first Sunday of Lent is St. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Temptations in the Desert. This text has been attached to the First Sunday of Lent in a tradition dating back more than over 1,500 years. The Gospel highlights the

the disaster and ruination that befalls humanity through sin, but the story of Jesus Christ gives us the supreme hope that our fallen condition can be overcome. That is the choice this Lenten season places before us — the path of sin or the path of Christ, death or life, the curse or the blessing.

Illustrating that we all must face this choice, St. Matthew presents Jesus himself as being tempted by the Evil One. Having fasted for 40 days and nights in the desert, Jesus faces allures of Satan’s power.

Jesus’ hunger became the opportunity for Satan’s first temptation. The devil appeared and prompted Jesus to satisfy his hunger by changing the stones on the desert floor into bread. He was tempted to use his power for his own purposes, rather than for his Father’s plan. Jesus answered Satan, quoting a verse from the Book of Deuteronomy highlighting God’s protective care, “Not on bread alone shall man live, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Dt 8:3).

In a second temptation, the devil led Jesus to the parapet of the Temple in Jerusalem. Satan challenged Jesus to jump off the tower and make God send angels to rescue him. He was being tempted to test God rather than to trust him. Jesus replied to the devil, again using the words of Deuteronomy to resist the temptations, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (Dt 6:16). Jesus’ answer here calls to mind the People of Israel who failed God by testing him at Meribah (see Exodus 17:1-7). Jesus would remain faithful where the Old Testament people had succumbed to their temptations.

profound reality of both Jesus’ divinity and his humanity, and, in so doing, calls us back to the realities of sin and temptation as well as to our ability to overcome them by our reliance on the power of Jesus working through us.

Our first and second readings this Sunday provide an interesting Good News-Bad News context in which to consider the message of St. Matthew’s Gospel. Our first reading, taken from the Book of Genesis, is the story both of human creation as well as the first sin. Adam and Eve lived in perfect paradise, and yet yielded to the human temptation to go against God. Rather than trusting the path God had laid out for them, Adam and Eve, tempted by the Evil One, chose to put their own plans and desires ahead of God’s. The bad news is that sin entered the world when humanity sought to substitute its own ways for God’s ways.

Our second reading, taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, presents the good news. The good news is that “just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so, through one righteous act, acquittal and life came to all” (Rom 5:18). The story of Adam and Eve shows

Gabriel Possenti

1838-1862

February 27

The 11th of 13 children of a distinguished Italian lawyer who served the Papal States, Francesco Possenti was a bright, joyful youth, despite losing his mother when he was 4. Educated at the Jesuit college in Spoleto, he was seriously ill twice and vowed to become a religious if he recovered. He entered the Passionist novitiate in 1856, taking the name Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. He served dutifully, with great piety and cheerfulness, dying from tuberculosis at the age of 24.

Saints

SCRIPTURE SEARCH®

Gospel for February 26, 2023

Matthew 4:1-11

Following is a word search based on the Gospel reading for the First Sunday of Lent, Cycle A: Jesus with the tempter. The words can be found in all directions in the puzzle.

In a final temptation, Satan called upon Jesus to worship him in return for earthly power and prestige. In doing so, Satan was tempting Jesus to offer him the adoration due to God alone. Jesus replied, again citing a verse from the Book of Deuteronomy, “You shall do homage to the Lord your God; him alone shall you endure” (Dt 6:13). Jesus’ mission was precisely to build up the Kingdom of God, to extend God’s dynamic Lordship over all. This was a temptation to entirely abandon the main point of his entire ministry.

This Sunday’s Gospel should convince us, at the beginning of this Lenten season, of both the power of temptation in our lives, as well as the power we have in Christ to resist that temptation. This Gospel is a call for all people to turn toward God, to turn away from our sins, to abandon any undue reliance on things of the earth, and to strive after the fruits of God’s goodness. May this Gospel inspire us to improve our likeness to Jesus, a likeness that can be marred by sin, but a likeness which can become quite radiant the more closely we mimic the Risen Christ.

Msgr. Fell is a Scripture scholar and director, diocesan Office for Priest Personnel

DEVIL HE FASTED FORTY LOAVES BREAD IT IS WRITTEN ALONE EVERY WORD MOUTH HOLY CITY TEMPLE COMMAND ANGELS DASH A STONE THE TEST MOUNTAIN KINGDOMS WORSHIP ME SATAN SERVE

THE TESTS

THAT IS THE CHOICE THIS LENTEN SEASON PLACES BEFORE US -THE PATH OF SIN OR THE PATH OF CHRIST, DEATH OR LIFE, THE CURSE OR THE BLESSING.

Catholic Charities participates in Project Homeless Connect in Warren County

By Tiffany Workman

Warren County, New Jersey, is home to many beautiful mountains, lakes, historical buildings, and bridges. Over 100,000 people live in Warren County and according to the 2020 census, Phillipsburg had 15,249 residents. Philipsburg is the most populated municipality in Warren County and unfortunately continues to combat the issue of homelessness. Warren County’s Department of Human Services offers resources to help those in need who are unsheltered or at risk of losing stable housing.

On January 25th, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen took part in Project Homeless Connect to help those who are homeless or in danger of being homeless in Phillipsburg and the surrounding area. Project Homeless Connect was held at St. Philip & St. James Church on Main Street in Phillipsburg. This is usually an annual event, but it has not been held since 2020 due to the pandemic. The event is organized by the Warren County Department of Human Services in hopes of assisting those in the community.

One of the main reasons for this event, besides providing resources, is the National Point-In-Time Survey that is administered by Monarch Housing as part of a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) initiative. This survey helps to determine the number of people in Warren County who are homeless, chronically homeless, unsheltered or living in transitional housing. The survey, which is anonymous, asks twelve questions pertaining to an individual’s source of income, household characteristics, and the issues that caused them to become homeless. The survey also asks what services they would like to receive, if any. The participant is also asked where they spent the night of Tuesday, January 24th into Wednesday, January 25th to help determine the number of homeless and/or unsheltered people.

“A big concern is with people that are unsheltered. It’s difficult to hear, but some homeless people don’t want to be found, but we try our best to help,” said Pat Testa, Youth Services Coordinator at the Warren County Department of Human Services. Testa emphasizes that she could not run this event without as-

sistance from all the agencies that show up with resources to help people.

Centenary University students were the first people to greet those who walked into St. Philip & St. James Church. They conducted the survey with the participants. Once finished with the survey, individuals and families were escorted by a student to visit all the agencies present. The Centenary College students have been trained in their social service classes to help in the most comfortable and compassionate way.

Twenty-three community agencies were present for this year’s Project Homeless Connect. Zufall Health conducted HIV testing, Warren County Public Nursing administered flu shots, and the Warren County Key Club provided clothing to those in need. Also offering resources at the event were the Warren County’s Division of Child Protection and Permanency, Family Promise, Aging and Disability Services, Easter Seals, and the Veterans Association.

Testa says, “About 125 people are usually helped during this event, and everyone looks forward to this day.” Her hope for the future is that more people participate so they can grow the event.

“Today, Project Homeless Connect is also in Hackettstown, but it would be nice to be in Washington and Blairstown, that way we cover all of Warren County.”

Sister M. Michaelita, Catholic Charities’ Program Director for Warren Basic Material Needs, was on site and very happy to see the annual event unfold.

“People of all agencies come together for this event,” Sister M. Michaelita said.

“It’s a great spirit here and a nice feeling all around. People realize they don’t need to be embarrassed to come to us for help.”

Being a part of this event is second nature to Sister M. Michaelita as she has

clients that come into the Social Service Center who are at risk of becoming homeless. Sister M. Michaelita operates the center at 387 South Main Street in Phillipsburg where individuals and families receive resources that include access to the food pantry and thrift store. She welcomes anyone who is struggling and promises there will be a friendly and compassionate person present once they walk through the door. She and an amazing team from Catholic Charities were on site at Project Homeless Connect assisting those who needed help with a number of different services that Catholic Charities provides including basic needs, outpatient services, Independent Living Programs, and Children’s Mobile Response and Stabilization Services.

Overall, thirty-four people and their families attended the event and were greeted by twenty-three community agencies providing resources to services and free give-a-ways. Catholic Charities played a huge role in this event securing the Mercy

Upcoming Catholic Charities Event

Monday February 27th 7p-8:30p- Intensive Family Support Services Zoom Presentation with Guest Speaker Randi Goldberg. The healthcare system can be a maze. Learn how to navigate it, specifically designed for seniors who require additional care following a hospitalization or during a crisis. Please email ifss@ ccdom.org for Zoom Link.

Catholic Charities staff members were present to assist those in need at Project Homeless Connect.

Hall location for Project Homeless Connect in Phillipsburg.

If you or someone you know is homeless or at risk of homelessness, please call 211 for assistance.

For more information about Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, please visit ccdom.org. LIKE and visit us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @ccdom1 to stay updated on upcoming events and ways we help clients get the services and assistance they need.

Tiffany Workman is the Communications Specialist in the Office of Communications and Public Relations at the Diocese of Metuchen.

Tiffany Workman photo

Meaning of prayer in Christ’s ministry evident in profound ways

Article 171 - Catechism of the Catholic Church Series

Paragraphs 2598-2619

Jesus often prays in solitude. He “includes all people in his prayer…offer[ing] them to the Father when he offers himself… sympathiz[ing] with their weaknesses in order to free them” (cc 2602).

“He prays for us as our priest, prays in us as our Head, and is prayed to by us as our God.” (ccc 2616).

Growing up in Canada, the first and closest affiliation I had with the United States was the old Air Force Base, Fort Pepperrell, that the Americans left behind following World War II. The base was a stone’s throw from our family home. Another reminder of the United States was the weekly rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” played before the NHL hockey game. My dad often lamented that the American national anthem did not make any reference to God. He felt strongly that “God Bless America” would have been a more appropriate acknowledgment of the God-given rights cherished by American patriots. I agreed with my dad back then. However, I later came to discover that the fourth verse of the “Star Spangled Banner does make reference to God with the words: “And this be our motto – ‘In God is our trust’.”

As Catholics, we especially trust in God and in “the drama of prayer fully revealed to us in the Word who became flesh and dwells among us” (ccc 2598). We first contemplate Jesus as Son of the Virgin Mary, learning “to pray according to his human heart” (ccc 2599). He learned “the formulas of prayer from his mother…in the words and rhythms of the prayer of his people, in the synagogue at Nazareth and the Temple at Jerusalem” (ccc 2599). Jesus’ prayer also “springs from an otherwise secret source, as he intimates at the age of 12: ‘I must be in my Father’s house’… [Jesus’] filial prayer, …which the Father awaits from his children is finally going to be lived out by the only Son in his humanity, with and for humanity” (ccc 2599).

The meaning of prayer in Christ’s ministry is emphasized especially in the Gospel of Saint Luke. The Catechism states that Jesus “prays before the decisive moments of his mission…during his baptism and Transfiguration, and before his own fulfillment of the Father’s plan of love by his Passion” (ccc 2600). Jesus also prays before “decisive moments” involving the apostles, such as the call of the Twelve, before Peter’s confession of him as “the Christ of God,” and again that “the faith of the chief of the Apostles may not fail when tempted” (ccc 2600). The Catechism also explains how the “Lord’s Prayer” came to us: “By contemplating and hearing the Son, the master of prayer, the children learn to pray to the Father” (ccc 2601).

We learn from Sacred Scripture that

The Catechism also tells us that “the evangelists have preserved two more explicit prayers offered by Christ during his public ministry” (cc. 2603), each of which begins with “gratitude.” In the first, Jesus tells us that the Father has “hidden the mysteries of the Kingdom from those who think themselves learned and has revealed them to infants, the poor of the Beatitudes” (ccc 2603). In the second, thanksgiving precedes the event of Lazarus being raised from the dead. Jesus begins: “Father, I thank you for having heard me” (ccc 2604).

Later, “Jesus allows a glimpse of the boundless depth of his filial prayer” (ccc 2605), providing this through the words: “Abba…not my will, but yours” (Lk 22:42) and then in the ‘time-honored’ last words from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34)

The Catechism makes it crystal clear that the Letter to the Hebrews (5:79) summarizes and expresses how the prayers of Jesus accomplished the victory of salvation: “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear…” (ccc 2606).

In the next paragraph, we learn that “when Jesus prays he is already teaching us how to pray” (ccc 2607). He will also “speak openly of the Father and the Holy Spirit to his disciples who will be the teachers of prayer in his Church” (ccc 2607).

Additionally, Jesus’ insistence on interior conversion of heart suggests “prayerful forgiveness from the depths of the heart” (ccc 2608). Why? Because “the heart learns to pray in faith” (ccc 2609). As such, praying in faith “consists not only in saying ‘Lord, Lord’, but in disposing the heart to do the will of the Father…” (ccc 2611).

We learn, too, in Jesus’ farewell discourse, that when our prayer is united with that of Jesus, the Father gives us “another Counselor, to be with [us] forever” (ccc 2615). Thus, “in the Holy Spirit, Christian prayer is a communion of love with the Father, not only through Christ but also in him” (ccc 2615).

Many examples illustrate that “prayer to Jesus is answered by him already during his ministry” (ccc 2616). For example, “Jesus hears the prayer of faith, expressed in words [the leper, Jairus, the Canaanite woman, the good thief] or in silence [the bearers of the paralytic, the woman with a hemorrhage who touches his clothes, the tears and ointment of the sinful woman]” (ccc 2616). Fourth century bishop St. Augustine summarizes the three dimensions of Jesus’ prayer:

Our Blessed Mother, too, responds prayerfully by offering her whole being: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word. ‘Fiat’…this is Christian prayer” (ccc 2617).

As Catholics, we trust in God as Mary did. The “Canticle of Mary (the Magnificat)” is her prayer of trust and “the song both of the Mother of God and of the Church; the song of the Daughter of Zion and of the new People of God” (ccc 1619).

Father Hillier is director, diocesan Office of Pontifical Mission Societies, the Office for Persons with Disabilities and Censor Luborum

A Morning Offering

Lord, may everything we do begin with your inspiration And continue with your help so that all our prayers and Works may begin in you and by you be happily ended We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

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Academy seniors to study, compete at Catholic colleges after graduation

WATCHUNG — Payton Kochanski and Shea Murphy, seniors at Mount Saint Mary Academy, confirmed Jan. 30 at Mother Mary Patrick Gymnasium, their Offer of Admission and commitment to continue their academic and athletic careers in college at

Kochanski said she plans to study and compete in track and field at Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia.

Murphy said she plans to study and play softball at Salve Regina University, Newport, RI.

“I feel very fortunate to be able to continue both my academic and athletic career at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia,” Kochanski said. “While visiting St. Joe’s, I felt the same warmth and community as I do at the Mount.

“I am so grateful for my coaches, Mount’s administration and faculty, my friends, and especially my family who encouraged me to be my best throughout this process. ‘The Hawk Will Never Die.’”

“Payton’s commitment, passion, persistence, and patience has enabled her to soar too new heights,” said Andre Bridgett, Mount Saint Mary’s cross country/winter track/spring track coach. “Those few ingredients will assist her greatly as she begins the next chapter of her academic and athletic journey.”

For Murphy, “Softball has been a big part of my life for a long time. I’m very excited about being given the op portunity to play at the next level and extend my playing career a little longer. I have many great softball memories here at the Mount and appreciate all that my teammates and coaches have done for me.”

Brittany Maldonado, varsity soft ball coach, noted, “Shea has been an integral part of Mount softball’s suc cess. We are excited to see her continue to fulfill her academic and athletic po tential at Salve Regina University, and we are looking forward to a great season ahead.”

“Congratulations to both Payton and Shea, their families, teammates, coaches, teachers and friends,” said Elizabeth Roper, director of College Counseling. “They have each continued to pursue their dreams of being female student-athletes at the collegiate level and have worked hard to achieve their goals. The academic, athletic, and faithfilled experiences they have had at the Mount will provide a great foundation to their collegiate careers at St. Joe’s and Salve Regina. We look forward to continuing to celebrate them through their senior year and seasons.”

Competition marks success for students, volunteers

WATCHUNG — About 70 seventh- and eighth-grade girls students competed in the 16th annual Math Competition at Mount Saint Mary Academy Jan. 21.

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At the same time, seventh- and eighth-grade boys were testing their math skills at Saint Joseph High School, Metuchen.

At Mount Saint Mary, after a welcome and introduction from Jacqueline Muratore, assistant directress for Faculty, Curriculum, and Planning, the participants were escorted to classrooms by student volunteers from the Mount student volunteers. Campus tours were also held for parents while their daughters were competing.

The following awards were presented at the conclusion of the event:

Individual Student Awards: Smrithi Sudharsun and Suvarnitha Gajarao (Woodrow Wilson), and (tied for third place) Adalyn Shen (Warren Middle School) and Aahana Shah (Woodrow Wilson).

Student Achievement Awards

(top scoring after 1-3 place): Mishika Malhotra (Woodrow Wilson), Riya Ramani (Warren Middle School), Kate Zarkewicz (Holy Trinity), Ashita Mall (Woodrow Wilson), Claire Wu (Warren Middle School), Avika Sharma (Woodrow Wilson), Fiona Catherine Antony Sudharsan (Woodrow Wilson), Juliana

DeNault (St. John Vianney), and Aiden Steinwald (Holy Trinity) School Team Awards: Woodrow Wilson (first), Warren Middle School (second) and Holy Trinity (third). Achievement Awards were presented to: St. John Vianney, Colonia; St. Matthias, Somerset, and St. Helena, Edison.

Posing from left are student volunteers from Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung at the annual Math Competition: (front row) Madeline Ahlbeck, Renee Vozza, Madelyn Samson, and Isabelle Fret; and (back row) Charlotte Gray, Shelby Carmant; Madeline Carnesi-Silberstein; Giuliana Pelcher, and Meghan Herrighty. photo courtesy of

From left, Mercy Sister Lisa D. Gambacorto, directress, Mount Saint Mary Academy, poses with seniors Payton Kochanski and Shea Murphy, and Denise Materi, assistant directress/director of athletics, at a recent ceremony. During the event, the students announced which colleges they plan to attend and continue their athletic careers after graduating. —photo courtesy of Mount Saint Mary Academy

Girls wrestling team takes down opponents, stereotypes

By Alex Lowe Correspondent

EDISON — The varsity girls wrestling team at Saint Thomas Aquinas High School has established itself as a force to be reckoned with in its brief history.

In January, at the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Tournament, the host Trojans scored 164 total team points to outpace second-place Perth Amboy’s 124 and claim their second consecutive title.

Saint Thomas Aquinas had two repeat champions in seniors Julianna Van Ness at 114 pounds and Apryl Coffman at 185. They also boasted two first-time winners in 152-pounder Makayla Decker, who finished second a year ago, and Saniyah Queen.

The program’s success is even more impressive considering until five years ago, when girls wrestling was sanctioned in New Jersey — the first state in the Northeast to do so — girls had to wrestle on boys teams, said Saint Thomas Aquinas coach Nicholas Tonzola, who also guides its boys squad.

And, while girls could wrestle on boys’ teams, very few participated because of factors such as physical strength and the stigma associated with competing in a sport that was largely considered male territory.

At a recent practice, senior co-captain Julianna Van Ness said, “I was told, ‘Girls can’t wrestle. They are not strong enough.’

“I started off wrestling boys in eighth grade. I got a lot of negative comments from outside people…but there was some positive stuff coming from family and coaches, too, which was very important. That was the glue.”

Senior co-captain Apryl Coffman faced her own challenges. “I did receive negative feedback when I wanted to wrestle, but not so much because it was considered a male dominated sport but more because I was heavy set at the time,” said Coffman, who wrestles at 185 pounds. “There was some commentary that I couldn’t do it and that I wouldn’t last the entire season. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done that freshman year.”

At Saint Thomas Aquinas, the boys’ and girls’ teams train together, but they do individual drills with members of their own gender.

The boys team had already established a solid program. This season, it finished third in the GMC Tournament and advanced to the semifinal round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) team tournament, Non-Public Group B, before losing to Camden Catholic Feb. 9.

On Feb. 19, the girls team competed at the NJSIAA North Region, Section 2 tournament in Union. Sophomore Saniyah Queen (145 pounds) and Coffman (185) placed first. Sophomore Makayla Decker (152) placed third. The NJSIAA Girls Wresting State Championships will take place on Feb. 26 at Phillipsburg High School.

Coffman noted that being a female in a male-dominated sport might threaten some people.

“Imagine if you are a guy wrestling a girl and she ends up beating you. That is like a slap across the face to a guy,” she said.

For Coffman, wrestling has paid dividends for her both in mind and body.

“I lost over 60 pounds since I started wrestling,” Coffman said.

“It really helps you get through anything in life,” she continued, “because if you can’t handle the highs and lows of wrestling then what makes you think you can handle real life?”

Van Ness agreed. “I love the adrenaline you get from wrestling. It helps you focus and learn how to handle problems and hiccups you face in life. As long as you are there mentally you can do anything. It is not necessarily about beating the other wrestler it is about what you get

out of it, what you take from it.”

The number of girls participating in wrestling nationwide has increased from 112 in 1990-91 to 16,562 in 2017-18, according to the National Federation of High School Associations. Tonzola, who has coached wrestling for 33 seasons, and who has piloted the girls’ program rapid growth with assistant coaches Tina Raspa and Jason Kearns, sees the sport as a great opportunity for females to make their way into a college or university.

“When we started, I wasn’t sure there would be interest,” he said. “Since that first year, we’ve built a really good program here. We were county champs this season.

“Women’s’ wrestling is growing across the nation… I think it opens a lot of opportunities for girls to pursue wrestling and a college education.”

As for what advice Van Ness would give to a girl considering wrestling, she said, “Have the most fun you possibly can. Don’t make it a job. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Be positive.”

Coffman offered similar advice.

“Don’t give up,” she said. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do this sport. My freshman year I lost every match. Every match. This year I am 26-2.”

Above, from left, St. Thomas Aquinas High School girls wrestling team members Andie Heuer, Taylor Tavalone, Mariana De La Hoz, Alessandra Socio, Julianna Van Ness, Saniyah Queen, Makayla Decker, Madisyn Brunson, Keira Guevara and Apryl Coffman pose after finishing first out of 24 teams in their group at the Greater Middlesex County Championships in January. The team, under the guidance of coach Nicholas Tonzola, is shown at practice in the other two photos.

John Batkowski and Nicholas Tonzola photos

Honest marriage must have room for dialogue, compromise

within three years after the wedding, is because couples do not know how to argue, without attacking each other’s physical appearance or character flaws.

In February, the Church observes World Marriage Day. On this occasion, I thought that I would juxtapose Matthew’s Gospel about “if you are angry with your brother” onto a canvas where spouses are seen being angry with each other.

In any healthy marriage, there are going to be disagreements. There are going to be arguments. There are going to be moments when you wish you were single. There are going to be times when every little thing that your spouse does or, fails to do, will get on your nerves. Enter the words of Matthew:` “before your bring your gifts to the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother.” We could easily paraphrase the kergyma of these words as follows: “Husbands and wives, before you go shut the lights, resolve your anger with each other, be reconciled with each other, then bring your gift to each other in bed.”

One reason why 50 percent of Catholic marriages today end in divorce,

Secondly, they are not cognizant of just how important it is to communicate anger or disappointment in one’s marriage immediately. The worst thing is to let this anger fester because, eventually, like a volcano, it erupts and it can be ugly! It’s been my experience that newlyweds can’t deal with frustration, which comes with any vocation. In some cases, stubbornness fails to yield to humility and, the words, “I’m sorry” are never said. Then, one morning, when you think FTD is ringing the door bell to deliver flowers, a kind gesture to make up for the snit, snap or snub, you find instead a sheriff’s officer standing before you holding papers which he hands you as he says: “you’ve been served.”

“How does one go from being in love to falling out of love?” It happens. Divorces occur — and, in certain cases, such as continued domestic violence or a refusal by a spouse to get help with an addiction, or adultery — divorce should happen. But that’s a homily for another day.

Today, let’s focus our attention on why Jesus’ envisioned marriage as something more than a natural bond between a man and woman. On this World Mar-

riage Day — let us remember that it was Jesus who elevated marriage to the level of sacrament — now known as “holy matrimony.” Unique to matrimony, Jesus envisioned the union of man and woman in an indissoluble relationship, serving a purpose greater than just crowning the love of a husband and wife. How? The grace of this sacramq`ent affects not just the couple but the Christian world. It strengthens the faithful on earth, assists the souls in purgatory and honors the blessed in heaven. Just as Jesus could not divorce himself from his bride, the Church, so he cannot fathom the dissolution of a marriage because this would communicate a lie, namely, that Christ has abandoned us. So, we, who are the Church, do not want to see any of our married couples part company over a snits, snaps or snubs. Whether these are caused by finances, dealing with in-laws, arguments on how to discipline children, or when to shut the smart phone and make love, not money. Yes, in an honest marriage, there must be room for dialogue and compromise.

Spats, snits and snubs are all part of the marital matrix — but all to often, vows made at the altar are watered down to empty promises — and “my needs” take precedence over the good of the couple or the family. We, who are

Church, implore all our married couples to fight for the survival of their vocation. Why? We need you because you are, for us, a grace-bearing, incarnate sign of Jesus’ love for us.

“But what happens when a couple can’t seem to resolve their differences before they go to bed angry with each other? That’s when they need to remember that marriage is not just a legal contract, it’s a sacramental covenant and, there is a third person in this circle of love: Jesus. So, for those who have forgotten this, take note: when your husband leaves the toilet seat up and has been wearing the same sweat shirt for three days, or your wife no longer takes an interest in her figure as she once did, or your husband wolfs down his meal in five minutes, after you spent hours preparing it in the hopes of engaging in occasional eye contact and maybe have a conversation, or an argument flares up over one spouse’s insistence on turning off the Blackberry for a while, in the hopes of making love, not money — don’t go to bed angry. Instead, call on Jesus, as a couple, and ask him to help you survive this impasse. That’s when his grace kicks in, and snits, snaps and snubs turn to smiles.

Father Comandini is managing editor of “The Catholic Spirit.”

Gift of self, humility, vulnerability connect matrimony, Eucharist

When we speak of Catholic marriage, discussions frequently center on terms such as “love,” “faithfulness,” and “forever,” to name a few. While these characteristics are undoubtedly true, often overlooked is the nature of marriage within the context of the other sacraments. As Catholics, we frequently commit to memory a list of 7 along with definitions of each without necessarily contemplating their interconnectedness. Here, during this time of Eucharistic Revival, it seems fitting to briefly expound upon the relationship between marriage and the Eucharist, which Lumen Gentium tells us is the “fount and apex of the whole Christian life” (11). In its very nature, marriage is analogous to the Eucharistic Sacrifice in various ways. While certainly not exhaustive, below are specific ways in which marriage and the Eucharist are inextricably connected:

1. Total gift of self — During the Consecration, the words of Christ at the Last Supper are prayed by the priest, “This is my body given up for you.” In giving Himself to us, Christ holds nothing

back. Thus, His sacrifice encompasses both the spiritual and the corporeal. His very body is bruised and broken for us at Calvary and His very body, blood, soul and divinity are poured out for us at each Mass. Likewise, in marriage, we give our whole selves to our spouses and this is particularly evident in the gift of our bodies. In his “Theology of the Body,” St. John Paul II speaks of the “spousal meaning of the body” in which the body is made for self-gift (186). In order for this gift to be authentic, it must encompass the totality of our bodily reality, including our fertility. If a couple is blessed with children, this is a further realization of self-gift insofar as birthing and nurturing children require a daily outpouring of bodily sacrifice. Just as Christ’s sacrifice bears fruit for the Church, so, too, do our sacrifices for the Domestic Church bear fruit for the whole of society.

2. Humility — Humility is defined by St. Bernard of Clairvaux as “a virtue by which a man knowing himself as he

truly is, abases himself.” In the Eucharist, Christ, although sinless, humbles Himself to become present in the ordinary elements of bread and wine and to be truly present in all of the tabernacles of the world. He makes Himself radically available to us in a way that respects our free will, never forcing us, but inviting us to enter into a deeper relationship with Him. While self-abasement is surely not a popular concept in our culture of today, it remains nonetheless related to healthy self-knowledge which is a necessity for marriage. It precludes self-aggrandizement or self-gratification and instead leads to an attitude of self-service within marriage. When one recognizes his or her own lowliness before the Lord, he or she is able to exhibit greater patience with the faults of a spouse or children and to cultivate an atmosphere of love and warmth within the family.

3. Vulnerability — Writer, C.S. Lewis, in his “The Four Loves,” once observed that “to love at all is to be vulnerable” (169).

Indeed, vulnerability is perhaps as countercultural as humility and, yet, equally as vital for marriage. There is no greater image of vulnerability than that of Christ on the Cross and, yet, in humbling Himself to become present in bread and wine, Christ also makes Himself exceedingly vulnerable. There is always a possibility that the consecrated gifts of bread and wine may be received unworthily without the reverence which they are due.

Likewise, love within marriage always carries such a risk and, when entering into marriage, couples can never truly foresee every hardship to which they are saying, “yes.” Their pledge before God is one of genuine faith and an acknowledgement that without Him, they cannot endure the inevitable sacrifices of marriage. Their vows are a true act of love and vulnerability as they carry within them the hope that the couple will be able to partake of the necessary sacramental graces when hardships come.

During this National Marriage Week, may we be invited into a deeper relationship with Christ in the Eucharist and inspired to meditate on the significance of the Eucharist for our own marriages. As we do, it is my prayer that we may all allow the Eucharist to “strengthen our charity” and “revive our love” so that our marriages radiate the light of Christ to the world (CCC, 1394).

D’Averso-Collins is director of the diocesan Office of Family Life

IT IS MY PRAYER THAT WE MAY ALL ALLOW THE EUCHARIST TO “STRENGTHEN OUR CHARITY” AND “REVIVE OUR LOVE” SO THAT OUR MARRIAGES RADIATE THE LIGHT OF CHRIST TO THE WORLD

Staff and students at schools in the diocese participated in a variety of activities in conjunction with the annual Catholic Schools Week. Above left and middle, Christian Charity Sister Maria Angeline talks about religious life and vocations to second- and third-graders and Father Jay Alquiros answers questions from kindergarteners at St. Francis of Assisi School, Metuchen. Above right and second from above left, students and staff at Immaculata High school, Somerville, compete in a volleyball match. Right, second from above, and left, third from above, students at Saint Joseph High School, Metuchen, compete in dodge ball. Middle two photos, Bishop James F. Checchio meets with students at St. Helena School, Edison. Below right, the bishop visits a classroom, which features a display in his honor, at St. Matthias School, Somerset. Below center and left, he bishop speaks with students at St. Thomas the Apostle School, Old Bridge. Below left, the bishop poses with students at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison.

— Marlo Williamson and Gerald Wutkowski Jr. photos

Spiritual Support

On Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, Bishop James F. Checchio made a pastoral visit to the Carmel of Mary Immaculate and St. Mary Magdalen, Flemington, where he presided at a Mass in the chapel. After Mass, the bishop spoke to members of the order, including, from left: Sister Talitha of the Trinity and Sister Teresa of Divine Mercy, who are Junior Professed or have made a temporary profession of vows. The bishop regularly encourages young Catholics especially to consider a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life such as the Carmelites, who, according to their website, “follow the ideal of life established by St. Teresa of Avila to support the Church by their contemplative lives of prayer. Their loving fidelity to the Magisterium is lived out in the cloister where prayer, solitude and the common life in a Marian spirit nourish an apostolic zeal.”

My Daily Visitor Lent 2023

Reflect, pray, and live this Lenten season with My Daily Visitor. This handy resource helps you to begin each day with quick and easy Scripture-focused reflections, prayers, and achievable actions to make the most of Lent.

For each day, Our Sunday Visitor editor Fr. Patrick Briscoe, OP, offers a brief reflection based on the daily Mass readings, a prayer, and a suggestion for how to live Lent well. This booklet will help you set aside time for daily prayer and grow closer to Christ amid life’s busyness.

As we pray, fast, and give alms during Lent, My Daily Visitor is the perfect companion to have on your Lenten journey.

To sign up for daily Lenten reflections in your email inbox, please go to: https://mydailyvisitor.com/lent/

SURVIVING DIVORCE

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Father Roy Quesea photo

New statue complements church’s ancient Irish link to past

By Karen Corpora Correspondent

HIGH BRIDGE — At first glance, when looking at the foundation of St. Joseph Church, all looks normal, but when you take a closer look a cornerstone is visible beneath the cornerstone. What is the story behind this?

According to St. Joseph’s retired historian, Greg Boyle, “In 1874, the stone was shipped from Ireland to Junction by Dr. T.M A’Heron. His ancestors were from Britway, County Cork. Before the stone left County Cork, it was engraved with a Celtic cross and the legend, ‘St. B. Abbey 724’ to commemorate its origin from one of the many abbeys established in Ireland during the 8th century. Many of those abbeys were plundered by Viking raiders during the 9th and 10th centuries.”

The cornerstone that was brought to High Bridge and placed beneath the church was from the ruins of St. Brigid’s Abby near River Bride in County Cork, Ireland.

Currently, St. Joseph Church is in the middle of a capital campaign. Father James A. Kyrpczak, administrator, has made it a priority to relocate the tabernacle to the center of the church’s sanctuary during the three years of Eucharistic revival. The moving of the tabernacle left an opening for a statue to be placed where the tabernacle once resided.

While researching the history of the

He knew St. Brigid belonged there. The saint was best known for her virtue of charity. Her desire was to work with the poor, to tend to the sick and to relieve every misery.

The cornerstone was laid in the church more than a century ago.

“How many churches in the world have that? This is something very unique — that we have a piece of St. Brigid right here,” Father Kyrpczak said.

“The founding members of the parish brought their faith with them and brought the cornerstone with them from ruins of the abbey in Ireland,” he added.

The new statue was donated by the Wright and Ford Funeral Home, Raritan Township. The stand that holds the statue was built by an anonymous carpenter to match the wood in the church, but the materials were paid for by the Martin Funeral Home, Clinton. The NaughrightScarponi Funeral Home, High Bridge, donated the vigil candle holder that stands next to the statue.

“I am grateful that the funeral homes were able to make this happen. It was exciting when she came it was like she belonged here,” said Mary Jean Fiore, parish secretary.

On Jan. 28, parishioners gathered for Mass and the dedication of the newly placed

statue of St. Brigid. The statue depicts St. Brigid, the Abbes, holding a crosier in one hand and her Abby in the other hand.

The prayer of St. Brigid was recited by all at the Mass. Fiore noted that even the prayer on the back of the prayer card is perfect for today. It says, “You brought bright light to the darkness, you brought hope to the downcast. May the mantel of your peace cover those who are troubled and anxious.”

“My goodness, in the world we live in today everyone has troubles or a little anxiety. I have to keep this prayer card in my back pocket,” Fiore said.

When the railroad was built through High Bridge, St. Joseph Church was founded for the Irish immigrants. Mary Murdock, the cantor for the evening Mass said, “I’m Irish. This statue is very important to me because my grandparents came from Ireland and my faith has been very strong due to that. As a young girl I read about St. Brigid teaching the poor children to read and it inspired me to become a teacher.”

“St. Brigid is still here with us,” noted Father Kyrpczak. “Whose decision was it to put her statue here? When the whole thing is said and done, I can’t help but think it was St. Brigid up in heaven who decided that she wanted her statue in this place where her cornerstone is, where she has been procuring graces for this parish. St. Brigid, welcome to our parish.”

Father James A. Kyrpczak, administrator, St. Joseph Parish, High Bridge, incenses a statue of St. Brigid at Mass at St. Jospeh Church. Assisting are altar servers, from left, Alex Kinsky, Kate Palma, Nora Speckin and Andrew Baucom. — Ed Koskey Jr. photo

Crossword Puzzle

ACROSS

4 “The spirit is willing, but the ___ is weak.” (Mk 26:41)

9 Rite in the Catholic Church

10 Cardinal Dulles

11 OT prophetic book

12 Abraham, in the beginning

13 Catholic entertainer called “The Schnozoola”

14 Word of praise

17 “O Salutaris ___”

19 The feast of St. Joseph the Worker is on the first of this month

21 ___ of the Mass

22 Rite in the Church in the West

23 “How Great Thou ___”

25 Old Testament prophet

26 “Kyrie ___”

29 Georgia diocese

31 Chrysologus, a Doctor of the Church

33 Book before Hab

34 Home of St. Teresa

35 Medieval concept that was never an official teaching of the Church

36 “…the Spirit of glory and of God ___ upon you.” (I Pet 4:14)

DOWN

1 “…the ___ of life” (Gen 2:7)

2 Biblical measure

3 Order founded by Marie-Rose Durocher (abbr.)

4 Jesuit university in New York

5 Diocese, in an Eastern rite

6 Author of Catholic for a Reason and convert to Catholicism

7 Canticle of Zachariah

8 “___ you destroyed our death…”

15 Flagship of Columbus

16 A non-coveting commandment

18 “___ Regina”

20 According to I Thessalonians, we will meet the Lord in this (with “the”)

23 Biblical liar

24 Parable of the wicked ___

27 “Enter through the ___ gate” (Mt 7:13)

28 Focal place of the Mass

30 “…rather be poor than a ___” (Prov 19:22)

31 NT book

32 “…and a ___ for every affair under the heavens” (Eccl 3:1)

Answers can be found on page 43

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National gathering for Black Catholics to be held in July

By Mark Zimmermann

WASHINGTON, D.C. (OSV News) —

During Black History Month in February, Catholics are being invited to register to attend this summer’s National Black Catholic Congress, which over the years has made history of its own.

The National Black Catholic Congress XIII will be held July 20-23 at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside the District of Columbia. It marks the third time the Washington area has hosted the gathering, and each of those times, key participants included noted figures in U.S. Catholic history.

St. Augustine Church in Washington — the mother church for Black Catholics in the nation’s capital, founded by free men and women of color in 1858 -hosted the inaugural congress gathering, which opened on New Year’s Day 1889 and included a Mass celebrated by Father Augustus Tolton, the first U.S. Catholic priest publicly known to be Black and whose cause for sainthood is now being considered. He was declared “Venerable” by Pope Francis in 2019.

Five of those congresses were held before the turn of that century, and then that movement was revived with National

Pilgrims participate in a Sept. 17, 2022, Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception National Shrine marking the 25th anniversary of the Our Mother of Africa Chapel. The pilgrimage and Mass were sponsored by the National Black Catholic Congress.

Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr., center, the president of the National Black Catholic Congress, processes to the altar while serving as the main celebrant at a Sept. 17, 2022, Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception marking the 25th anniversary of the Our Mother of Africa Chapel. The National Black Catholic Congress XIII gathering will be held July 20-23, 2023, at National Harbor, Md., a Washington suburb.

(OSV News photo/Patrick Ryan, courtesy National Black Catholic Congress)

Black Catholic Congress VI held in 1987 on the campus of The Catholic University of America in Washington, where the speakers included Sister Thea Bowman, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration and dynamic evangelist who died of cancer in 1990. Her sainthood cause also is underway. She has the title “Servant of God.”

Continued on page 41

Parish to host day of reflection

A Diocesan Coordinating Team of Black Catholics from a variety of parishes/schools and backgrounds met Jan. 28 to plan a Diocesan Day of Reflection in preparation for the 13th National Black Catholic Congress XIII.

The planning meeting was productive and Spirit filled. The enthusiasm and willingness to serve was evident as participants reviewed the schedule of activities for the event, which is scheduled to be held April 22 at St. Matthias Parish, Somerset, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Black Catholics from across the diocese are invited to attend. There is no fee, however, registration is required. To register, visit: https://diometuchen.org/2023nbc

The day will include prayer and praise, personal reflection, group listening and reflection. Guided by the Holy Spirit, it will culminate in the collective wisdom of the people of God. The diocesan delegates will take the pastoral concerns as well as the vision and prophetic call to action expressed at this gathering to the National Congress. From there, a pastoral plan will be developed for each of the dioceses and parishes to implement in the following years.

The theme of this year’s congress, which is scheduled to be held in National Harbor, Md., July 20-23, is “Write the Vision: A Prophetic Call to Thrive” (Hb

2:2-4). Members of the Black community and those who minister within the African American Apostolate are invited to listen to God’s voice through Scripture and become a prophetic people who move towards a vision to thrive.

The first Black Lay Catholic Congress was held at St. Augustine Parish, Washington, D.C., in 1889, attended by 200 delegates. The purpose of the Congress was described at that time as an opportunity “to talk about our needs as a people and by conference and consultation to try to devise ways and means of bettering our condition both religiously and socially.”

The national gathering now convenes every five years to continue the mission towards justice and evangelization for and with Black Catholics.

According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, there are more than three million Catholics of AfricanAmerican descent in the United States today.

The National Black Catholic Congress is a wonderful opportunity for likeminded brothers and sisters from all over the country to come together to express hopes and wishes as well as challenges and concerns.

For more information about the Congress, visit http://nbccongress.org

Submitted by: Sister Miriam Perez, coordinator, diocesan Multi-Cultural Ministries; and Jennifer Ruggiero, Secretary, diocesan Secretariat for Family & Pastoral Life

“God is always speaking somewhere, we must go to that place and listen.”

(African Proverb)

National gathering for Black Catholics to be held in July continued from page

gathering in support of Black Catholic ministry that brings together lay people, clergy and religious for prayer, dialogue and discernment.

Wendi Williams, the executive director of that office, noted that the National Black Catholic Congress “coming to the Archdiocese of Washington is a coming home at an important time for Black Catholics, coming out of COVID, really sensing the needs and interests as they exist today, and how we plan to move the priorities forward.”

She explained that “the congress movement is a mechanism to involve the lay faithful with the Black Catholic ministry. By attending, the lay faithful are involved with decisions and priorities that will become the pastoral plan [of the National Black Catholic Congress] for the next five years.”

That national pastoral plan is integral to diocesan plans and parish outreach for Black Catholics, Williams said, noting that it exemplifies the synodality that Pope Francis has encouraged in preparation for the world Synod of Bishops at the Vatican in October.

In preparation for the National Black Catholic Congress XIII, parish representatives from throughout the Archdiocese of Washington in November 2022 participated in a day of reflection at St. Joseph Parish in Largo, Md., to shape local recommendations for the national gathering.

Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr., who also is St. Joseph’s pastor and president of the National Black Catholic Congress, welcomed those participants, saying, “We look at what we can do as a prophetic people for our communities, families and church.”

The National Black Catholic Congress, which meets every five years, was held in Orlando, Fla., in 2017; in Indianapolis in 2012; in Buffalo, N.Y., in 2007; in Chicago in 2002; in Baltimore in 1997; in New Orleans in 1992; and in Washington, in 1987. At each gathering, the congress renews its mission with a new pastoral plan.

members of the community; creating more sustainable Catholic schools; promoting and supporting Black Catholic vocation; and having parishes and dioceses “address the urgent issue of disengaged Black Catholic youth.”

Bishop Campbell said the pastoral plan devised in the upcoming congress will help Black Catholic parishes and parishes with Black Catholic members “address the vision of what we’re called to do.”

The early congresses and now the modern gatherings have had a goal of showing that “Black Catholics have an equal place in the Church with any other Catholics,” he said. The gathering, he said, can help Black Catholics persevere in their faith and show the gifts from God that they have to share.

and celebrate the opening Mass.

On Feb. 16 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. (EST), the Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach of the Archdiocese of Washington is hosting an online information session on the 2023 congress, which has as its theme, “Write the Vision: A Prophetic Call to Thrive.”

The virtual meeting will provide background, details and registration information about the congress, the largest national

“The congress is an important lay movement that helps ensure that the voices of the lay faithful are heard and acted upon,” Williams told the “Catholic Standard.”

“It’s about listening, dialogue, discernment and journeying together.”

Williams said that at the information session Feb. 16, the history of the congress movement will be shared, and people will learn “how each of us has an opportunity to be a part of it.”

Several key recommendations in the Pastoral Plan of Action from the most recent National Black Congress gathering in Orlando included: enabling Black Catholics to enhance their Africentric spirituality; increasing awareness of Black saints; creating opportunities for lay leadership in the Church; identifying and eradicating racism; increasing prison ministry and outreach; providing support for those experiencing domestic violence; and increasing awareness of and working to eliminate human trafficking.

Other recommendations were: developing Africentric religious education programs; providing outreach to unchurched

Discussing the impact that the National Black Catholic Congress can have on individuals, parishes and dioceses, Bishop Campbell said, “We start with a change of our hearts and move to change the hearts of others, so we’re all walking together. That’s what we do in our parishes. Just like a family is the building block of society, the parishes are the building blocks of the Church.”

A promotional flier for the upcoming National Black Catholic Congress XIII invited people to “join with other Black Catholics and those who minister to Black Catholics in the United States for a celebration of our faith and culture.”

Mark Zimmermann is editor of the “Catholic Standard,” newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington.

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Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington, D.C., pictured in an undated photo, is scheduled to preside at the opening Mass and give the opening keynote address at the National Black Catholic Congress XIII in National Harbor, Md., July 20-23, 2023. (OSV News photo Paul Fetters/ Archdiocese of Washington)

Pope Francis designates shrine in Philadelphia to basilica status

The Miraculous Medal Shrine, a Marian devotional destination and ministry of the Vincentians of the Eastern Province in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, has been elevated by the Vatican to Minor Basilica status, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Jan. 25.

The designation is shared by only one other church in the city — the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul — and 91 others across the United States. The shrine, along with the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception that houses it, are now known as The Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.

The new designation followed an application process of multiple years and culminated in a decree issued by Pope Francis. The Shrine is now promoted as an exemplary site of liturgical and pastoral activity within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Minor Basilicas are given prominence among other churches and shrines, receive certain honorifics, and are tasked with special responsibilities.

Among the faithful who have visited the shrine are the Altar Rosary Society at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Milltown. The group, which included Father Edward Czarcinski, pastor, and parishioners and members of other local parishes, visited the shrine May 17, 2016.

The group took a tour of the shrine, then had time for reflection, prayed the rosary and worshiped at Mass.

After Mass, the group visited the shrine’s museum.

Among the pilgrims was Bernadette Olson, a member of the Altar Rosay Society and a past president.

“Our visit had a very positive impact on me,” Olson said in an interview with the ‘The Catholic Spirit.’ “Prior to the visit, I prayed the rosary and occasionally wore the Miraculous Medal. This visit made me wish to learn more about both the rosary and the Miraculous Medal and to more seriously reflect on both.”

Olson said she also read the biography of Catherine Laboure to better understand the story of the Miraculous Medal. As a result, she has become more devoted to the Blessed Mother and the Miraculous Medal.

“I am thrilled that the Miraculous Medal Shrine has been elevated to the Minor Basilica status,” she said. “I was impressed at how the Shrine is a place for reflection and prayer for visitors but is still a neighborhood church supported by the local residents. The Shrine reflects the message of Jesus and his mother that we can find salvation through our faith in God.”

Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia, said, “I am deeply grateful to the Holy Father for bestowing this tremendous honor on The Miraculous Medal Shrine. This moment is one of great joy for the entire Church in Philadelphia. The Miraculous Medal Shrine is a great gift drawing souls closer to Christ

through the intercession of the Blessed Mother.

“I congratulate the Vincentians and all those working to sustain the Shrine and its ministry. May their work continue to bear great fruit.”

The central functions of a basilica are rooted in the sacramental life of the Church as a site of pilgrimage, an historical landmark, and a house of significant sacred art. The basilica title gives the Shrine certain privileges and responsibilities, principally the celebration of the feast of the Chair of St. Peter; the solemnity of the Holy Apostles, Peter, and Paul; and the anniversary of the pope’s election into pastoral ministry.

Additionally, since the designation denotes a special bond of communion with the residing pope, the Basilica Shrine can remove all temporal consequences of sin to individuals, which remain even after the person’s sin has been forgiven (plenary indulgence).

As a basilica, the Basilica Shrine will be outfitted with an umbrellino, a canopy of yellow and red silk; and together with a tintinnabulum, a bell mounted on a pole used for papal visits. The Basilica Shrine is also granted the privilege of displaying Vatican City’s coat of arms on its facade and the crossed keys of St. Peter on all its furnishings and liturgical appointments.

As a ministry of the Congregation of the Mission priests and brothers — commonly known as the Vincentians — the Basilica Shrine has held historical significance in the Philadelphia area, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and the Eastern United States for more than 140 years. The Vincentians, founded by St. Vincent de Paul in 1625, arrived in Philadelphia in 1841, where they established a seminary in the city’s Germantown section, including construction of a chapel for use by the priests and seminarians. At the request of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Vincentians modified their plans for the chapel and in 1878 opened its doors for liturgical celebrations and pastoral assistance for the poor, working-class, and largely immigrant residents of the surrounding neighborhood, who at the time did not have a parish church.

In 1927, under the leadership of Father Joseph A. Skelly, CM, the Vincentians commissioned an expansion of the chapel for the creation of a shrine to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, a title of the Blessed Mother originating with her apparitions to St. Catherine Labouré at the Rue du Bac Chapel, Paris, in 1830.

In 1930, Father Skelly established the Perpetual Novena of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, a devotion that has been prayed at the Shrine every Monday since then and continues every Monday at the Basilica Shrine.

Chris Donahue, Editor-In-Chief, “The Catholic Spirit,” also cotributed to this article

Top of page and above left, interior and exterior photos of the Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Philadelphia. The new designation followed an application process and culminated in a decree issued by Pope Francis, the Archdi ocese of Philadelphia announced Jan. 25. Middle photo, among the pilgrims who have visited the shrine are the Altar Rosary Society at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Milltown. The group, which included Father Edward A. Czarcinski (left), pastor, and parishioners and members of other local parishes, is shown about to board a bus to visit the Basilica Shrine May 17, 2016. Above right, a statue at the Basilica Shrine depicts St. Catherine Laboure kneeling before an apparition of Mary. photos courtesy of Bernadette Olson and

Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

DIOCESAN EVENTS

Diocesan Lenten Mission, 6:30 p.m. Cathedral of St. Francis, Metuchen. A three-night encounter with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. It will be based on “Behold” by Array of Hope in collaboration with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. On March 8, Bishop James F. Checchio will celebrate Mass at 7:30 p.m.

Diocesan Youth Day – 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison. All high school aged teens are welcome. The featured speaker will be Father Malachy Joseph Napier, CFR, a selected Eucharistic Preacher from the USCCB’s National Eucharistic Revival. Bishop Checchio will celebrate a Sunday Mass at 5 p.m. Please register at https://diometuchen.org/yyam by March 6. For more information contact Megan (Vantslot) Callahan, director, diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Evangelization, at mcallahan@diometuchen.org.

Foundations program based on the National Certification Standards for Lay Ecclesial Ministers and fulfills basic diocesan certification. Four sessions are beginning in March. Although this program is geared toward new PCLs, any PCL or Catechist is welcome and encouraged to attend. Sessions will be held at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center. March 9 – Professional Practice, March 16, Personal and Spiritual Maturity, March 23 – Liturgy and Sacraments, March 30 – Legal Issues. Anyone interested is invited to contact Carol Mascola at cmascola@diometuchen.org for more information.

2023 Choices Matter: Critical Life Issues Conference – “Building a Culture of Life Post Roe,” 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. St. John Neumann Pastoral Center. Opening Mass, 9 a.m. celebrated by Bishop James F. Checchio. Cost $35, includes lunch and handouts. National speakers will be featured.

FOCCUS Facilitator Training – Marriage Prep, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., sponsored by the diocesan Office of Family Life, the in-person program will be held at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, 146 Metlars Lane, Piscataway. Deacon Greg Caruso, a certified FOCCUS presenter in the diocese will conduct this session. Participants attending this training will learn how to administer and interpret the new 4th Edition of the FOCCUS pre-marital inventory tool. The registration fee for this training session is $100 (includes the new 4th Edition FOCCUS manual and lunch). If you already have this manual you may bring it to the session and your registration fee will be $50.00 (includes lunch). If you have any questions or concerns, please contact amarshall@diometuchen.org or call 732-562-1543.

Diocesan Reflection Day for Black Catholics, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m St. Matthias Church, Somerset, sponsored by the diocesan Office of Multicultural Ministries. The day will include lifting in prayer six Catholic African American candidates to sainthood: Servant of God Sr. Thea Bowman, FSPA; Venerable Henriette Delille, SSF; Servant of God Julia Greely; Servant of God Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, OSP; Venerable Pierre Toussaint; and Venerable Father Augustus Tolton. The day will also be a preparation for the National Black Catholic Congress in July 2023 and will include prayer and praise, personal reflection, group listening and reflection. Guided by the Holy Spirit, it will culminate in the collective wisdom of the people of God. Our diocesan delegates will take the pastoral concerns as well as the vision and prophetic call to action expressed at this gathering to the National Congress. For more information contact Sister Miriam Perez, coordinator for Multicultural Ministries at mperez@diometuchen.org or call 732-529-7933. To register, visit: https://diometuchen.org/2023nbc

DIOCESAN PROGRAMS

Adoration and Mass at Pastoral Center

On Tuesdays and Thursdays in the St. John Neumann

Pastoral Center chapel there is adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 9 to 11:45 a.m. followed by Mass. On Wednesday there is Mass at 11:45 a.m. Adorers are needed so Eucharistic Adoration can be offered before Mass begins. For more information, contact Angela Marshall at: amarshall@ diometuchen.org.

Catechism in a Year for Women

This virtual Women’s Group will meet each week on Sundays at 2:30 p.m. on Zoom for discussion of Fr. Mike Schmitz’s “Catechism in a Year” podcast which began on January 8. For details, contact Cristina at cdaverso@diometuchen.org

“The Chosen” Study Series

All young adult engaged and married couples are invited to join in a virtual study series based on the hit series, “The Chosen.” A different episode will be discussed each meeting and virtual watch parties

will be planned sporadically. Meetings take place every other Monday evening at 7p.m. on Zoom. For details or to join, please contact Cristina D’AversoCollins at cdaverso@diometuchen.org.

RCIA Webinars

The diocesan Office of RCIA is offering online webinars on the various stages of RCIA. The schedule of talks include: The Triduum, March 7 facilitated by Sara Sharlow; The Mystagogy Period, March 28, facilitated by Russ and Janet Baker, RCIA Team, Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. Each of these talks are begin at 7 pm. To receive the zoom link, register at https://diometuchen.org/rcia.

Blue Rosary Guild

The Office of Family Life is pleased to announce the creation of the Blue Rosary Guild. The purpose of the Guild is for community members of all ages to make pocket Rosaries for law enforcement officers, providing them with support and spiritual strength and promoting devotion to the Rosary among all the faithful. All materials and instructions will be provided and a Zoom virtual tutorial will also be

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FREELANCE WRITERS

The Catholic Spirit, official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, is seeking freelance reporters to cover events and programs in the counties of the diocese: Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren. E-mail resume and writing samples to: news@catholicspirit.com.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY - EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, seeks an Editor-in-Chief to assist with the production of the monthly periodical. The ideal candidate will be responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating the conception, design, production, and distribution of The Catholic Spirit. A background in communications and public relations is preferred. Interested candidates should forward their resume to hr@diometuchen.org.

ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVE

The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, seeks an Advertising Sales Representative to assist with the sale of advertising space. The ideal candidate will be responsible for initiating, developing, and closing sales of print media advertising in The Catholic Spirit by creating and building effective client relationships with area businesses and organizations. Interested candidates should forward their resume to hr@diometuchen.org.

SEARCHING FOR NEW CHOIR DIRECTOR

St. Lawrence Parish, 345 Elmwood Lane, Riegelsville, PA is searching for a new Choir Director. Please see a more complete job description on our website.

610-749-2684 / saintlawrence@verizon.net / saint-lawrence-church.org

We are a small parish located in Upper Bucks County, 8 miles south of Easton, PA

SEARCHING FOR NEW DIRECTOR OF SACRED MUSIC

The Director of Sacred Music position will be open at St. Joseph Church, High Bridge, NJ beginning Feb 1, 2023. Detailed Job Description is available upon request. Please e-mail (dasavare72@gmail.com) or mail a cover letter and resume to St. Joseph Church, 59 Main Street, High Bridge, NJ 08829.

For classified rates, or to book your ad, call Tiffany at (732) 243-4581

scheduled. Anyone interested should contact Cristina D’Averso-Collins, Director of the Office of Family Life at cdaverso@diometuchen.org.

Surviving Divorce

Surviving Divorce is a 12-week program beginning March 2, for men and women seeking healing from separation or divorce. For information contact Ro Bersch at 908-313-5947.

AROUND THE DIOCESE

Fundraisers

March 25 and April 29, 6:30 p.m. – St. Jude Church, Blairstown. Springtime Bingo Nights, sponsored by the St. Jude Ladies Guild. Hot dogs, hot and cold beverages and other snacks available for purchase. Admission is $15. No one under 18 admitted. For more information, call Gladys at (862) 220-2693

April 14, 10:30 a.m. – Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club, Bedminster. Lunch to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Center for Great Expectations (CGE). Guest speaker is Anne Thorton, author, and owner of MSI

Plumbing and Remodeling. Every guest will receive a free copy of her book. Vendors will have giftware, jewelry, accessories and novelties, homemade chocolates and more. CGE’s mission is to provide a safe place, presence and path for those seeking treatment for substance use and mental health disorders. Tickets are $75. To buy tickets or become a sponsor call (732) 247-7003, extension 336

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