“Hope … is a gift and a task for every Christian. It is a gift because it is God who offers it to us. … To hope, then, is to welcome this gift that God offers us every day. To hope is to savour the wonder of being loved, sought, desired by a God who has not shut Himself away in His impenetrable heavens but has made Himself flesh and blood, history and days, to share our lot.”
~ An excerpt from Pope Francis’ new book, “A Light in the Night: Meditations on Hope,” published in light of Jubilee 2025, dedicated to the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” —Peter Nguyen photo
Advent preparations lead us to a loving encounter with Christ
My brothers and sisters in Christ,
What a wonderful time of year as we celebrate the event which changes our world forever – the birth of our Saviour. Yes, Christmas is such an important Solemnity that the Church says we cannot just celebrate it on one day, so we celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord for a whole week. Our prayers for the Masses, especially, reflect this as we pray the prayers of Christmas day all week, until the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God on January 1. The Christmas Season will continue until we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, this year on Sunday, January 12, and we begin Ordinary Time the next day.
As a Church and as individuals, we prepare ourselves for Christmas all through the four weeks of Advent. We respond to St. John the Baptist’s instructions to prepare the way for the Lord: repent, believe and do good deeds! But we have to remember that there was much more done in preparation for the actual birth of our Lord.
For thousands and thousands of years, the people of Israel longed for and prepared for Christ to come. God sustained the faith and hope of the people of Israel through generation after generation. Through all the ups and downs of Abraham and his many descendants, in good times and in bad, in their own land and in exile, God slowly and meticulously prepared the way for the coming of Christ until in the fullness of time, His promise could be fulfilled. The people of Israel waited, and their faith was tested at
times, but hope kept them going.
Jesus’ coming changes everything. Christmas is the greatest reminder that the answer to the world’s problems and our own needs as people of faith, is found in one person, the person who is at the center, the very heart of all reality. Jesus. The meaning of all our life’s choices comes from knowing, loving and serving Him. There is no substitute.
Just as we prepare ourselves throughout Advent, responding to St. John the Baptist’s instructions to prepare the way of the Lord by repenting and doing good deeds, when He has come, we can embrace Him with love. We celebrate Christmas Day Mass for a whole week, so that we can let it soak in, deeply and then the Christmas Season continues for several more weeks.
Let us recognize the arrival of our Saviour and celebrate it with all our hearts. As we begin this great Jubilee Year as Pilgrims of Hope, let’s make an effort to share the hope we have from Jesus with others we encounter each day. Recommit to nourishing this hope through encountering Jesus, especially in the Eucharist.
There is no thing, possession nor person in this world that can take the place of knowing Christ, born to us, and loving Him. May this new year be a blessed time for us all, a time of deepening our commitment to Jesus and being His presence in our world. Know of my love, prayers and gratitude for you, and please pray for me, too! I am grateful that Jesus has put us together on this blessed mission! Blessed Christmas and a happy, healthy and holy 2025!
Most Reverend James F. Checchio, JCD, MBA 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).
the Catholic community in Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties The Catholic Spirit, P.O. Box 191, Metuchen, NJ 08840, Phone: (732) 529-7934, Fax: (732) 562-0969, e-Mail: news@catholicspirit.com
Christmas 2024
My brothers and sisters in Christ,
O holy night, the stars are brightly shining; It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Countless times we hear this lovely carol that so simply expounds the wondrous mystery of Christ’s birth – He appeared and the soul felt its worth; a thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices!
As Christmas approaches, my thoughts and our prayers turn gratefully to you, our faithful of the Diocese of Metuchen, who make our local Church the wonderful place that it is. Your dedication to our parishes and other institutions, your fidelity to Mass and the Eucharist, your acts of kindness and concern, of caring and sacrifice, are truly appreciated today and everyday all year long.
Throughout this joyous season, as we begin this Jubilee Year of Hope during 2025, I pray that God’s peace will be in your heart and in the hearts of your loved ones, filling you with His Hope which does not disappoint. May laughter, friendships and good cheer be yours in abundance in this joyous season and may your spirit be renewed by God’s love born among us! Know of my love, prayers and gratitude for you and please remember to pray for me!
Most Reverend James F. Checchio, JCD, MBA Bishop of Metuchen
Bishop’s Appointments
Bishop James F. Checchio has announced the following priestly appointments. Unless otherwise noted, all are effective immediately.
• Rev. Pawel Michalowski, from Parochial Vicar, Blessed Sacrament Parish, Martinsville, temporarily appointed Administrator, St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, Sayreville. Father Kenneth Murphy remains temporarily on health leave as Pastor.
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On Nov. 21, Bishop James F. Checchio, members of the Board of Trustees of Hope Through Education and diocesan school officials, visited Holy Savior Academy in South Plainfield. Hope Through Education is an independent 501 (c)(3) whose mission is to provide scholarships to economically disadvantaged families who wish to provide their children with the lifelong advantage of a quality private or values-based education. Students were happy to have the Bishop, board members and guests visit their classrooms. —Mike Ehrmann photos
Below, Bishop James F. Checchio spends some time with the Sisters of Divine Vocations and the Sisters of Christian Charity at the Nov. 23 Evangelization Workshop with St. Paul Street Evangelization, held in Immaculata High School, Somerville. See pg. 11 for full story and photos. —Hal Brown photo
To see more
Bishop James F. Checchio welcomed Franciscan Friar of Renewal Father Luke Mary Fletcher, as presenter for an Advent Day of Recollection for priests in the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway, Dec. 4. Father Luke serves as chaplain of the National Blue Army Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. The day included lunch, opening prayer/Exposition, Adoration and the Sacrament of Reconciliation and ended with Benediction. —Tiffany Workman photo
Bishop James F. Checchio visited St. Peter’s Hospital, New Brunswick, Nov. 12, for a blessing of the new Radiology/Oncology Center. In attendance was St. Peter’s President and Chief Operating Officer, Leslie D. Hirsch. —Mike Ehrmann photo
photos of the event visit the Diocese of Metuchen and Catholic Spirit-NJ Facebook pages.
What is a miracle?
By Michael O’Neill, OSV News
What is a miracle? By the very etymology of the word – “mirari,” to be amazed – it seems to be a rare, inexplicable blessing that is an occasion of God’s benevolent interference in our lives. These special moments go beyond the upending of our expectations or mere marvels, and they are common to all of us – at least the seeking of them.
We all pray for “miracles” of one sort or another. Perhaps a sports fan prays for an impossible Hail Mary pass at the end of a football game or a student begs God to pass a test that he expects to fail. Someone who despairs of finding a lost wallet might desperately beseech St. Anthony for some help. We hope for that dream job or pray to be lifted from a financial difficulty by some sort of divine intervention.
In times of the serious illness of loved ones, we approach God in great faith with our desperate plea that their lives might be spared. Sometimes the little coincidences of daily life seem to be miraculous reassurances that we are always under the care, protection and watchful eye of a loving Father.
As Catholics, our own miracle stories, big and small, are all woven into the vast tapestry of a faith tradition that embraces supernatural events and celebrates them in ways that we may not even realize. For any of us that wear a Miraculous Medal or scapular in any of its various colors, we are indirectly recalling the time-honored apparitions of the Virgin Mary in which these sacra-
mentals find their origins. Even the most famous of all sacramentals, the rosary, comes from a foundational miracle story that St. Dominic received it in a vision in the year 1208.
Our entire faith rests on the reality of two great supernatural events: the Incarnation and the Resurrection. All around the world Catholics are experiencing a miracle every hour of every day at Mass when bread and wine are truly transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Even skeptics who dismiss supernatural events outright, like famed atheist David Hume who argued that “miracles are impossible because miracles can’t happen,” still need to have an explanation for the inexplicable.
However, when it comes to validating healing miracles that are used in the canonizations of saints or those that pass the scrutiny of the Lourdes Medical Commission at the famed site of the 1858 apparitions to St. Bernadette Soubirous, the criteria used by the Catholic Church to determine them to be medically inexplicable are extremely strict.
For a cure, for example, to be considered miraculous, the disease must be
serious and impossible (or at least very difficult) to cure by human means and not be in a stage at which it is liable to disappear shortly by itself. No medical treatment must have been given, or it must be certain that the treatment given has no reference to the cure. The healing must be spontaneous, complete and permanent.
Because of these nearly impossible standards, the Lourdes Medical Commission, while documenting over 8,000 extraordinary cures, has only validated 70 of them. When the Vatican investigates a miracle worked through the intercession of a would-be saint as part of the evaluation of whether this person has lived a life of heroic virtue and is with God, interceding for us, the same set of rules is employed.
Medical miracles by themselves are difficult to validate with so many strict guidelines, but in canonization causes, an additional difficulty lies in that the prayers to a potential saint must be only directed exclusively to that singular person (not to other saints in addition). It almost seems to be a miracle that they find any miracles suitable for use in canonizations. The medical commission for the Congregation for the Causes of
Saints features over 60 doctors in various specialties and, locally the investigation is spearheaded by an uninvolved doctor appointed by the bishop.
The Church has always been enriched by the fruits of miracles. The prodigies produced by Christ established his divinity and attracted disciples to him. The apostles were emboldened with a mandate to work miracles in establishing the church. The Roman emperor Constantine first was inspired to legalize Christianity in the year 312 after witnessing a vision in the sky of the IHS Christogram.
Throughout the ages, religious orders like the Servites and Mercedarians have sprung out of the mystical experiences of their founders. In addition to marking thaumaturgical (wonderworking) saints on feasts throughout the year, we celebrate the supernatural throughout the Roman calendar with commemorations for Divine Mercy, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Some of the most breathtaking churches of the world have a supernatural foundation with four of the largest 12 places of worship (by square footage)
Men are seen in a file photo wearing scapulars during a Mass marking the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at the Pontifical Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in East Harlem, N.Y. Wearing a Miraculous Medal or scapular in any of its various colors indirectly recalls the time-honored apparitions of the Virgin Mary in which these sacramentals find their origins. —OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz
A pilgrim receives water to wash his face at the Lourdes Sanctuary baths Aug. 14, 2024, during the national pilgrimage to the French shrine. Countless numbers of people per year go on pilgrimage to sites of miracles all over the world including the millions of sick who seek healing at the waters of Lourdes. —OSV News photo/ courtesy Lourdes Sanctuary
Joy, gratitude over news of Acutis and Frassati canonization dates
Pilgrims take cellphone photos of the original tilma of St. Juan Diego bearing the miraculous image of Mary in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City Dec. 10, 2021, ahead of the Dec. 12 feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Catholics celebrate the supernatural throughout the liturgical year with commemorations including Our Lady of Guadalupe. —OSV News photo/Henry Romero, Reuters
in Christendom tracing their origins to an apparition of the Virgin Mary. Countless numbers of people per year go on pilgrimage to sites of miracles all over the world including the millions of sick who seek healing at the waters of Lourdes, and the believers who come at times on their knees to venerate the prodigious image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Additionally, millions of conversions are owed to this vision on Tepeyac hill, as well as to the Miraculous Medal and other devotions that have stemmed from miraculous beginnings.
For all the excitement that miracles can bring, Pope Francis has encouraged us to not think of God as “a magician, with a magic wand.” Miracles can be a source of inspiration for an enlivened relationship with Christ, but it is important to not engage in a distracted pursuit of the latest claim of supernatural phenomena or a modern day Gnosticism, seeking secret knowledge at the expense of an authentic practice of faith grounded in Christ. The Church seeks to safeguard the faithful by performing serious investigations into credible miraculous claims and providing judgments and recom-
mendations on how we should approach these specific instances of the seemingly miraculous.
For the skeptics that might suggest that the Church has something to gain by promoting every dubious alleged event in order to attract people back to the pews or inspire people to spend money buying religious paraphernalia at a new shrine, the reality is that the entire unspoken goal of these investigations is to shut down the distraction and prove that nothing miraculous is in fact occurring to return people to a more grounded practice of the faith. Likewise, the investigations are so rigorous that very few claims have even the potential of being considered to be supernatural events.
Most interestingly, even in cases of thoroughly investigated and approved miracles like the famed apparitions at Lourdes and Fatima, the Church does not require Catholics to believe in these events or incorporate the devotions into their lives of faith.
Michael O’Neill is a miracle researcher, author and host of the weekly radio program “The Miracle Hunter” on Relevant Radio.
News that canonization dates have been set for Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, who have become popular patrons for teens and young adults, is being met with joy and gratitude by a number of Catholics in the U.S. Pope Francis announced Nov. 20 that he will elevate both Acutis and Frassati, both currently titled “blessed,” to sainthood in 2025, when the universal Catholic Church will mark a jubilee year. Acutis will be canonized April 27, during the April 25-27 Jubilee for Adolescents in Rome. Frassati’s canonization will follow amid the July 28-Aug. 3 Jubilee of Young People in Rome. Born 90 years apart, Frassati and Acutis both lived brief but faith-filled lives that saw them devoted to Christ, particularly in the Eucharist, and to those around them.
“What a wonderful gift to the church militant both of these new saints will be,” said Christine Wohar, president of FrassatiUSA, a Nashville-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting Frassati’s canonization. Michael Norton, president of the Malvern Retreat Center in Malvern, Pennsylvania – home to the Blessed Carlo Acutis Shrine and Center for Eucharistic Encounter – has seen firsthand how Acutis offers a relatable vision for holiness to kids and young adults. “Students are absolutely fascinated and drawn to Carlo,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Wow, he looks like me. I’m just like him. … He lived in our lifetime.’ He talks their language – he’s a computer programmer, he played soccer. And so the kids are really drawn to him.”
Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati are pictured in a combination photo. Both are scheduled to be canonized in 2025. OSV News photo/courtesy Sainthood Cause of Carlo Acutis and CNS files
Blesseds
New pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes has devotion to St. Bernadette, Eucharist
By Deacon Patrick Cline Correspondent
The newly installed pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Whitehouse Station, frequently finds himself offering the prayer, “St. Bernadette, pray for us.”
Father Jason Pavich also said he feels that the discernment of his priestly vocation was very much based on his understanding and belief in the Eucharist.
Metuchen Bishop James F. Checchio installed Father Pavich as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Nov. 23 at the Vigil Mass for the Feast of Christ the King.
“I want to thank Father Jason for accepting his new role as pastor here to make Christ the King known,” said Bishop Checchio, principal celebrant and homilist. “I know that Father Jason loves Our Lord very much, and he desires to share that love with you.”
Bishop Checchio also thanked the parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes for their witness at the celebration and urged them to continue that witness and fidelity to Jesus and the Eucharist, even with the
challenges and distractions of the world.
“The Eucharist is so important to our lives,” the Bishop said. “May Christ the King truly reign each day in each one of our hearts.”
Father Pavich said it was wonderful having Fathers Dennis Weezorak and Maurice Carlton, “both of whom served at my home Parish of St Mary and were both instrumental in my discernment and formation for the priesthood, concelebrate the Mass at my installation.”
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish is named after the Blessed Virgin who, in 1858, appeared to Bernadette Soubirous 18 times over six months in Lourdes, France. When Father Pavich was asked about his devotion to St. Bernadette, he replied, “If a semiliterate 14-year-old girl in a small town in France can bring word of the Immaculate Conception to the world, what can’t we achieve through her intercession?”
Father Pavich was born in Perth Amboy to Nancy and Stephen Pavich and was raised in South Amboy, where the family worshipped at St. Mary Parish. He received BA and BS degrees from Stock-
ton University Galloway and taught high school biology and coached baseball for three years.
Feeling called to the priesthood, he entered Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology at Seton Hall University and was ordained in 2012 by Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski.
Prior to his current post, Father Pavich served as a parochial vicar at St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Bridgewater. He also served as diocesan director of vocations and as chaplain and administrator of St. Peter the Apostle University and Community Parish in New Brunswick.
Nancy Pavich attended her son’s Installation Mass and said how grateful she was to all the people and staff of the parish for their help and support.
“I was overwhelmed by the number of parishioners who thanked us for giving our son to the priesthood so that eventually he would become their pastor,” she said.
Barbara and Raymond Grodkiewicz, parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes, knew Father Pavich from his first assignment at St. Bernard and were happy when
The faith community of Our Lady of Lourdes, Whitehouse Station, celebrated the installation of Father Jason Pavich as their new pastor Nov. 23. At top left, Bishop James F. Checchio served as principal celebrant and told the congregation that Father Pavich was eager to share his love of the Eucharist with them. Top right, Father Pavich told the assembled he was “proud and humbled to be your pastor.” Bottom left, Father Pavich and the Bishop distribute Holy Communion, and at right, Bishop Checchio greets parishioners after Mass. —John Batkowski photos
they learned he was to be their pastor. “His warmth and open personality are always obvious, whether celebrating Mass or just in conversation,” they agreed.
At the reception following the Mass, Father Pavich spoke about his reaction to being part of the parish community at Our Lady of Lourdes.
“You are my family. I am proud and humbled to be your pastor,” he said. “You are always in my prayers and, by working together, we will help each other to get to heaven.”
St. Mary Parish, Alpha, celebrates installation of new pastor
By Deacon Patrick Cline Correspondent
Father Edgar Madarang arrived at St. Mary Parish, Alpha, in March, but the parish used the Feast of Christ the King Nov. 24 to formally install him as pastor.
Metuchen Bishop James F. Checchio celebrated the installation Mass, and Father Madarang concelebrated. The new pastor said he felt his time as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish, Annandale, and at the Cathedral of St. Francis in Metuchen helped prepare him for his new role.
In his homily, Bishop Checchio recalled that the Feast of Christ the King was established in the 1920s to counteract the idea that humans control their own destiny.
“The feast is a reminder that’s not
the case, it’s not true,” the Bishop said. He then quoted Pope Francis, “The attitude demanded of us as true believers is the recognition and acceptance in our lives of the centrality of Jesus Christ in our thoughts, our words and our works.”
Bishop Checchio asked those at the installation to continue to pray for Father Madarang, and he thanked St. Mary’s parishioners for their continued perseverance and witness in the faith.
After the homily, Bishop Checchio formally introduced Father Madarang to four groups that will assist him in his new responsibilities: parish clergy and staff; the finance committee; the pastoral council; and two civil trustees. Father Madarang replied to each group that he pledged to collaborate with them in the spiritual, pastoral, social and temporal
Top left, Bishop James F. Checchio looks on as Father Edgar Madarang reads the Oath of Fidelity at his Mass of Installation at St. Mary Parish, Alpha. Right, the new pastor consecrates the wine at the Nov. 24 Mass. Bottom left, the Bishop meets members of the parish’s youth group, and (right) Father Madarang’s cousins, Adonis and Gondee Tibay, present the gifts of bread and wine. —Ed Kosky photos
activities of St. Mary Parish. Bishop Checchio then invited the new pastor to lead the congregation in praying the Nicene Creed and to proclaim his Oath of Fidelity.
Father Madarang was born in Baguio City, Philippines, and is the youngest of eight children. He has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University. After relocating to the United States, he discerned his vocation to the priesthood. Upon completing his formation at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, then-Metuchen Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski ordained him in 2015.
Father Madarang said he feels that, since arriving at the Alpha parish in March, he has gotten to know and love the parishioners and has become fully part of the parish.
Father Madarang said this is his first pastoral assignment at a parish without a school attached, but he knows St. Mary’s has a vibrant religious education program and an active youth group, and he is excited to continue his involvement with both.
Speaking before the final blessing,
Father Madarang said, “I am grateful and honored that Bishop Checchio has entrusted me with the people and the Parish of St. Mary.” He thanked his family, the parishioners and everyone who worked to make the Mass a special celebration.
Many of the St. Mary Youth Group members assisted at the reception after the Mass. Anthony Campion, youth group co-director, said he is looking forward to working with Father Madarang and seeing his interactions with the young members of St. Mary’s.
Blair Talijan, a member of the parish for 40 years, said he has gotten to know Father Madarang through his involvement in various parish ministries.
“Whenever Father Madarang interacts with parishioners, he is always very open and receptive to their needs and concerns,” Talijan said.
At the end of the Mass, Bishop Checchio noted that one of the diocesan seminarians had served at the Mass. The Bishop asked for continued prayers for him and the other 19 seminarians currently in formation and for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, especially in the Diocese of Metuchen.
My brother priest and best friend, Monsignor Edward Puleo, struggled with pancreatic cancer for the past three years. Just a few months prior to his diagnosis he buried his elderly father as well as his only sibling. I was with him the day he was told by his doctor in 2021 that he had only three months to live. He immediately prayed that his dear mom, already advanced in years, would pass before him.
His prayer was answered on January 2, 2023. As for Monsignor Puleo, he fought hard to live every day to the fullest. I’ve never seen such willpower and inner strength than when I watched my friend each and every day for three years. That’s how long he lived before passing from this world to the next on October 25, 2024.
As a first-generation Italian-Sicilian American, Monsignor Puleo had a passion for many things (aside from the obvious), including electric trains and antique cars. His greatest passion, however, was his love for the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary and Joseph). Those who knew him best were not surprised to see one or more Nativity sets on display throughout the entire year in the rectory where he lived.
Parishioners seemed to know this, too, and many would give him Nativity scenes of various sizes as an addition to his collection. Almost daily he would say to me (half in jest, half in earnest) while pointing at a Manger scene: “Guarda. Che bello” which is translated: “Look. Isn’t it beautiful!” Each scene was different (one from the other) and yet the same. But each was absolutely “beautiful!”
Something similar actually occurs in Italy every Christmas season. The object is different in every church, but yet, the same. It’s the Nativity scene, the artistic re-creation of the first Christmas night, which Italians treasure.
One of Italy’s most famous saints, St. Francis of Assisi, is credited with starting the tradition nearly eight centuries ago. Italians have made it a high art form. In fact, Rome’s churches compete for the most elaborate Nativity scene, often with real waterfalls, sound and light shows, star studded skies, and moving figures. Church hopping to view the Nativity scenes is very much a part of the Christmas season.
Msgr. Puleo’s greatest passion, his Italian roots and Christmas
Rome has its own Fifth Avenue – the Via Giulial, where all the merchants get together every year to plan a common theme for their window displays. On the Via Giulial, however, there are never any Santas or elves or red-nosed reindeers.
The theme is always some national or regional tradition of the Nativity scene.
The most famous Nativity scene in Rome is in the ancient Basilica of Saints Cosmos and Damien – an intricate montage of hundreds of wood, porcelain and terra-cotta figures that are 50 feet long, 30 feet high and more than 20 feet deep.
Constructed in the 1600’s by a team of noted artists, sculptors, and architects for
the Bourbon King Charles III, the scene faithfully re-creates the customs and costumes of over 200 17th century Neapolitan figures.
Less than two blocks away is a full museum, displaying Nativity scenes from around the world. In it one can find figures of the Holy Family, shepherds, kings, angels, and animals in glass, porcelain, wood, seeds, stone, marzipan, terra-cotta, tin, paper, and ceramic. From Peru are tall, brightly colored terra-cotta figures in the hats and shawls of the Altiplano. From Mexico and Bolivia are figures of cut tin. From Africa is a scene of Jesus, Mary and Joseph with black features deli-
cately carved in ebony. There are bamboo figures from Japan, seashell figures from the South Pacific, and creations of glued seeds from Thailand.
It is in the churches of Italy, however, that the Italians’ love of Nativity scenes becomes most evident. Many churches have volunteers who spend all year planning and building the Nativity scene including the street cleaners who build an elaborate scene in a small church a few blocks from St. Peter’s Square each year.
The scene usually fills a niche of one of the side altars of the church, and a steady procession of visitors stream by daily throughout the Christmas season. Popes often visit the street cleaners’ Nativity scene on the Feast of the Epiphany.
One of the most intriguing Nativity scenes is in the Jesuit Church of Saint Ignatius in the center of Rome. Miniature ships are depicted on a sea with gentle waves turned into whitecap breakers as they near the shore – a three-dimensional optical illusion. A five-minute sequence of lighting and sacred Christmas music, with a large rotating backdrop, changes the scene from day to night, makes an angel appear, announces the child’s birth, and brings the star of Bethlehem across the sky.
Through a trick of lighting against the backdrop, a volcano periodically erupts and its smoke appears across the scene and disappears. In the center, where shepherds make their way, a boy sits fishing from the edge of a bridge with his feet dangling over a stream of real water. In the foreground, a shepherd’s fire glows under a metal pot which emits a small, steady wisp of steam.
The hillsides are populated with shepherds and other rural folk, sheep, goats, dogs, miniature trees, and bushes, and the three kings and their entourage can be seen coming over the hills from afar. But, the focus of the whole montage, as with Nativity scenes everywhere, is the manger where the newborn Prince of Peace lays.
As we celebrate Christmas in this Year of Our Lord, 2024, I ask that you join me in praying for my friend, Monsignor Edward Puleo – that he may enjoy eternal life with the Prince of Peace he loved so dearly and whom we celebrate this Christmas and every moment of everyday throughout our lives.
Father Hillier serves as diocesan director, Office of Pontifical Mission Societies, the Office for Persons with Disabilities and Censor Luborum.
A Nativity display is pictured outside Deale, Md., Jan. 7, 2022, following a winter storm. —CNS photo/Bob Roller
‘Walking with Purpose’ Annandale Bible Study serves women in all walks of life
By Susan Odenthal, Correspondent
As Mass concluded on a Thursday morning in November, women ranging from new moms to grandmoms trickled into the community room downstairs from the sanctuary at Immaculate Conception Church in Annandale. Soon, the room was buzzing from table to table as the women gathered in groups as part of the parish “Walking with Purpose” Bible study program tailored for women at all stages of life.
Outside, in the sofa room, children played happily with “Miss Terry,” the volunteer babysitter who gives young moms the opportunity to dive into their faith without interruption as part of the small table groups.To most, she is Terry Weaver, a mom herself of six grown children, who wanted a part in the program but said, “God calls you to one thing, and not the
keeps a watchful eye on babies and toddlers while their moms share their faith.
“Walking with Purpose” was organized at Immaculate Conception by Jess Jaynes and her sister-in-law Linda Hunt, who had participated in a “Walking with Purpose” program in Chatham two years ago. “It had been on my heart ever since,” Linda said. “As a mother of five small children, the youngest of whom was still nursing, there weren’t many places I could go.” She had been experiencing the feeling of being ‘alone in a crowd,’ she said, and realized she was not the only one. In “Walking with Purpose,” both she and Jess, who is the mother of three children, now see their church as family.
Although the women worried about the struggle of beginning a new program from scratch, “the Holy Spirit came in and it took on a life of its own,” Linda said. Jess appreciated being in a place where she could “delve into faith and this love
Student
God is offering you, where you can safely let down whatever guard you have up.”
Women in the program expressed similar inspiration. Maryjane Staats, a facilitator from Annandale whose own children are grown, likes that the women “are at different stages of life but all hearing God’s voice.” She appreciates that each session ends with women writing specific intentions that other group members will pray for until they meet again.
Jo Ann Jarvis, a group leader from Clinton Township, has been a facilitator of various Bible study programs in other parishes but welcomed “Walking with Purpose.” “I was so excited when the program began here. Women get a lot out of sharing their faith and journeying with each other,” she said.
Their program has doubled in size in its second year, with 40 women regularly participating and seven group leaders.
new participants, called “Opening Your Heart,” and another for returning participants, called “Keeping in Balance.”
Father Keith Cervine, Immaculate Conception pastor, said the program has “surpassed expectations.” He continued, “You can never be quite sure. The only thing I did was say ‘yes,’ but that’s all the Lord asks us to do, and he provides.” He has had nothing but positive feedback –so much so that he has asked the women to help think about how a similar group for men might take shape.
Left, Jennifer Warson of Oldwick (r.) and Lauren Loftus of Annandale socialize before the morning program begins.
Right, Isabelle Hart of Bridgewater, who learned of the program by “word of mouth,” visits with Megan Callahan of Milford, whose baby daughter (not pictured) plays under volunteer babysitter Miss Ter-
Service and Generosity
On Dec. 7, former St. Francis Cathedral School students from the Class of 2021 collected and donated $700 to the Giuliana Velona Memorial Fund in honor of their beloved classmate who passed away from Chordoma cancer 10 years ago. The check was presented to her parents, Danielle and Rob, at the 10th annual “Giuliana’s Christmas Toy Drive.” The toys collected from that drive were donated to the Valerie Fund and delivered
‘Make Us Whole’: Parish hosts healing service, part of Eucharistic Revival
By Robert Christie, Correspondent
Jesus is “the divine physician who came to heal us, the sick, and to make us whole,” a prominent theologian told parishioners at St. Magdalen de Pazzi Parish in Flemington.
Dr. David Hajduk, director of theology at Array of Hope and an adjunct professor of theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology at Seton Hall University, was featured speaker as part of a three-night Advent mission series that was part of the National Eucharistic Revival. Each night included music by the band AOH Music, teaching from a noted speaker, prayers for healing, and fellowship.
Hajduk, who has more than 30 years of experience in religious education and pastoral ministry, emphasized that “Peace is the tranquility of order,” but added that original sin, or the disobedience of God in the Garden of Eden, was the breaking of that order. He said God promised to restore order through Jesus, and he quoted a number of healing passages from Scripture.
“Tonight, Jesus is on the road and
in the house. What do you want from Jesus? Emotional, spiritual, and physical need for curing,” he said at the Dec.3-5 mission events.
Array of Hope, based in Old Tappan, works to use media as a conduit to deliver faith; this includes original music, films and events.
In the crowded parish chapel of St. Magdalen, Mario Costabile, founder and director of Array of Hope, thanked Father James De Fillipps, pastor, for welcoming his organization.
After Hajduk’s talk, Father Luke Mary Fletcher, a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, processed from the rear of the chapel to the main altar with the monstrance carrying the Blessed Sacrament, as AOH accompanied with “O Salutaris Hostia.”
Father Fletcher, who also serves as chaplain for the National Blue Army Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Asbury, spoke about when the centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant. He said Catholics make a similar request during the Mass, before Communion: “But only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.”
“I’ve been to many healing Masses
and seen many people healed. I tell you what you don’t hear at Mass: Just prior to Communion, the priest bends over the host and prays silently for healing.” He joked that he recently hurt his knee playing basketball and so he can’t yet genuflect, but he promised to do so as soon as his knee is healed.
Father Fletcher spoke of his road to his vocation. He described his early life of curiosity about God, but said as a teenager he fell away, became at odds with his parents, and caused both him and them suffering. He said in October 1990 he had an epiphany at a rock concert that led to his religious conversion. He joined the Franciscans in the Bronx and once, during Eucharistic Adoration, he beheld the smoke from the incense in the thurible form a heart around the host. This led to his gratitude for returning to his child-like love of God, a long and winding road that brought him to St. Mary Magdalen.
All of this was precursor to the actual healing service, during which parishioners approached and kneeled at the altar while Father Fletcher presented the host-encased monstrance to each one, in-
A crowded St. Magdalen de Pazzi Parish, Flemington, (top) hosted a three-night Advent mission series Dec. 3 – 5 as a part of the National Eucharistic Revival. Each night featured a speaker, music and Adoration as well as a healing service. Bottom left is speaker Dr. David Hajduk, director of theology at Array of Hope, addressing the crowd. Center, AOH Music regaled the congregation and led them in worship songs. Bottom right, Father Luke Mary Fletcher, a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, incenses the monstrance during Adoration. —Hal Brown photos
viting them to encounter Jesus. AOH Music accompanied with songs such as “How Great Is Our God” and “I Exalt Thee,” closing the liturgy with the hymn “Tantum Ergo Sacramentum.”
St. Mary Magdalen Parish is planning a series of similar liturgies, once each month, January through May.
By Robert Christie, Correspondent
Anxious to be part of a new initiative in the Diocese, some sixty to seventy participants gathered at Immaculata High School in Somerville Nov. 23 for a workshop on street evangelization. The training was preceded by Mass celebrated by Msgr. Joseph Celano, pastor, in Immaculate Conception Church, a few blocks from the school. The initiative was organized by Adam Carlisle, diocesan Secretary for Evangelization and Communication.
The workshop was conducted by Adam Janke, chief operating officer of St. Paul Street Evangelization, a grassroots non-profit organization, dedicated to responding to Jesus’s mandate to preach the Gospel to all nations, in this case by taking the Catholic faith to the streets.
Janke who has been involved with St. Paul Street Evangelization for 12 years, was working as a parish director of religious education when he came across SPSE online while it was still in its infancy. Raised a Baptist and familiar with street and online evangelization, he was immediately intrigued and attracted by the non-confrontational and fruitful approach that SPSE’s founder, Steve Dawson, was taking to street ministry. After converting to Roman Catholicism, he started his own team and joined as one of the members of the founding board of directors.
Participants received a 50-page Basic Evangelization Training Participant Workbook which detailed the content of each session and a two-page Testimony Guide that addressed the why and how of street evangelization: “Why give a testimony?” “How to structure a testimony,” and “How to prepare and give a testimony.” All documents contained very practical “nuts and bolts” information based on the experience of the many years of evangelization by the SPSE.
The day consisted of five 45-minute sessions, each of which included an exercise: Urgency of Evangelization, The Etiquette of the Evangelist, How to Effectively Share the Gospel & Your Testimony, The Role of Apologetics, and The Role of Prayer & the Holy Spirit.
Evangelization workshop encourages taking Catholicism to the streets
Janke opened each session with concrete, practical stories about the successes (and the inevitable failures) of street evangelization. The workshop culminated in “practicing what was preached” as attendees were bussed from the school to Main Street in Somerville to actually engage in street evangelization.
One participant, Tom, offered a very poignant report on his experience with a small band of evangelizers: “A young man named Liam from St. John the Evangelist (Dunellen), Jim from Califon and I did go out onto the streets. We first huddled together in the cold wind on Main Street and prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide us in this endeavor. We each took turns in offering medals or rosaries to passersby. All people we offered medals or rosaries to, refused our advances, except one. I gave a Miraculous Medal (the one that I received
afterwards and he thanked us. We then walked on and encountered and prayed over a man with a bicycle named James. He was grateful for our offer. James appeared to be homeless. He accepted a rosary from Liam.
“We headed over to Shoprite, a local grocery chain store, where we were rebuffed by many. We did meet a homeless man named Thomas sitting on a bench near an alley way. We prayed over Thomas, and while James was praying, another homeless man named Doc (with a cane for the blind) joined us. They were both very grateful on this cold night. James had two McDonald gift cards which he gave to Thomas. We headed back to the bus to transport us back to Immaculata High School where we had received our training. I asked our group to continue to pray for Anais, James, Thomas and Doc.”
in my welcome package from SPSE) to a woman putting change into a parking meter. I explained the history of the medal. (In her acceptance of my offer, I completed the practical exercise assignment for Lesson 4 of the SPSE Introduction to Evangelization course. Yay.)
“Then we encountered a man named Anais. When Jim asked him if we could pray over him, he said yes. So, the four of us held hands or wrapped our arms around each other and prayed together for Anais’s family. His eyes were filled with tears
Some 70 participants assembled in Immaculate Conception High School, Somerville, Nov. 23 for a workshop on street evangelization organized by Adam Carlisle, diocesan Secretary for Evangelization and Communication (top right, at podium.) Bottom left, Bishop James. F. Checchio converses with some of the participants; Adam Janke, chief operating officer of St. Paul Street Evangelization, holds a training workbook, and members of evangelization teams discuss their encounters in the community. —Hal Brown photos
Parish choirs join to turn music into prayer at St. Cecilia Concert
By Jason Cordova, Special Contributor
Six parishes in the Diocese gathered their choirs to join for the return of a preCOVID tradition: a concert of hymns honoring St. Cecilia, patron saint of music.
Some participating parishes mixed their children’s and adult choirs to sing together at St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, Kendall Park, for the Nov.10 concert of selected hymns. Before every performance, choir directors had the opportunity to address the crowd and deliver brief remarks about the piece they had selected to perform. Additionally, passages from Scripture and other ecclesiastical documents that highlight the importance of music in liturgies were
Cecilia was forced by her parents to marry, despite her vow of virginity to God. During her wedding, St. Cecilia famously “sang in her heart to the Lord,” and for this reason, she has been venerated as the patroness of musicians for centuries. St. Cecilia was martyred around the year 230 A.D.
“She made music her prayer,” said William Berg, director of music at St. Augustine. He encouraged all in attendance to do the same.
Referencing the Gospel of Mark, Berg noted the important role that singing played in the life of Jesus and the Apostles’ even as Jesus contemplated his imminent Passion: “Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives” (Mk 14:26). Berg related this into
value” that music is to the Church.
Berg encouraged people to try to get as involved as possible in their parish’s music ministry.
“Even inexperienced musicians can be a blessing to their parish, with the instruction and support of their music directors,” he said. He also spoke to the importance of pastors being supportive of the music ministry and recognizing it as an essential element of liturgies.
The choirs in attendance came from the parishes of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Bernardsville; St. Matthias, Somerset; Blessed Sacrament, Martinsville; Our Lady of Lourdes, Whitehouse Station; St. Matthew the Apostle, Edison, and St. Augustine.
Following the concert, hundreds of
Scores of diocesan musicians lifted their voices in celebration of the patron saint of music Nov. 10 at the annual NPM St. Cecilia concert held in St. Augustine of Canterbury Church, Kendall Park. At left is a combined choir of St. Augustine’s adult choir and children’s choir, and Our Lady of Lourdes choir, Whitehouse Station. At right, David Jules, director of music in St. Matthew the Apostle Parish, Edison, offers remarks on the piece his choir would perform. Center, songs highlighting the hope theme of the upcoming Holy Year were shared. —Marilyn Parente photos.
reception next door in the cafeteria of St. Augustine of Canterbury School.
The event was organized by the Diocese of Metuchen Chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, whose mission is to “foster the art of musical liturgy.” Led by Megan Fitch, chapter director, the Diocese of Metuchen Chapter hosts events and assists local musicians in growing in their faith and musical skills. For more information on the NAPM Diocese of Metuchen Chapter, including dates of future events, visit www.npmmetuchen.org.
Jason Cordova serves as diocesan
Lourdes confirms 71st miracle – the first for an English speaker; miracle occurred in 1926
By OSV News
PARIS (OSV) – The list of miracles that have taken place at the French Marian shrine in Lourdes now includes, for the first time, an English-speaking soldier-patient. Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of Liverpool, a seaside British city, officially announced on Dec. 8 that the 71st miracle had been granted to a British soldier, wounded during World War I. John Traynor, a soldier in the Royal Navy, was hit by machine-gun fire in 1915 in present-day Turkey. He was cured at Lourdes during a pilgrimage for his diocese in 1923. “This is a very special case, since we simply searched the archives for the result of investigative work that had been carried out almost 100 years ago,” Fra’ Alessandro de Franciscis, doctor in charge of the Lourdes Sanctuary’s Office of Medical Findings since 2009, told OSV News. “In reality, this healing had already been officially recognized at Lourdes in 1926,” a medical professional, who is also grand hospitaller of the Sovereign Order of Malta, said. According to details provided by the sanctuary, John Traynor had undergone numerous surgical operations after his injuries, but to no avail. “He was living on a war pension,” de Franciscis said, “but in July 1923, he went to Lourdes on the occasion of the first pilgrimage of the Archdiocese of Liverpool, and he was cured on the third day, immediately, instantly, after being immersed in the sanctuary’s pools.”
for LIFE
with Bishop James F. Checchio
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2025 AT 1:00 PM MAIN STREET, WOODBRIDGE, NJ
IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE NATIONAL MARCH FOR LIFE
You are asked to park and meet in the St. James Parish parking lot at 12:45 pm, 369 Amboy Ave, Woodbridge, NJ There is a 12:10 pm daily Mass at St. James for those who wish to attend. For more information, please contact amarshall@diometuchen.org
By Catholic News Service
ROME (CNS) – With the city of Rome presenting a gauntlet of major roadworks and construction projects ahead of the opening of the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis used the disruptions as an oppor tunity to encourage people to do some spiritual renovation before the jubilee. On a cloudy afternoon with the threat of rain Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis went to the center of Rome to continue the tradition of praying before a statue of Mary high atop a column near the Spanish Steps. At dawn that morning, Rome firefighters climbed nearly 90 feet using a truck and ladder to place a ring of white flowers on Mary’s outstretched arm and bouquets at her feet, continuing a Roman tradition that began in 1949.
Amid Christmas and Jubilee preparations, prepare your hearts, Pope says For more information: gstarcher@diometuchen c
A firefighter places a wreath on a Marian statue near the Spanish Steps in Rome Dec. 8, 2024, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Pope Francis was to pray at the statue later in the day, continuing the papal tradition of visiting the Spanish Steps on the feast day. —CNS photo/ Pablo Esparza
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Pilgrims pray in front of the Grotto of the Apparitions in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France, on Aug. 14, 2024. —OSV News photo/courtesy Lourdes Sanctuary
Sacred Heart encyclical hailed as a ‘simple and powerful cure’ to rekindle love
By Gina Christian, OSV News
Pope Francis’ new encyclical the Sacred Heart of Jesus is being hailed as “a simple and powerful cure” for a fractured world, said the president of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference – and that sentiment was echoed by other ex perts on devotion to the Sacred Heart.
“Dilexit Nos” was released Oct. 24, following Pope Francis’ announcement in June, a month traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart, that he planned to issue a document about the devotion to “illuminate the path of ecclesial renewal, but also to say something significant to a world that seems to have lost its heart.”
“The ills of modern society can read like a litany of uncurable diseases: con sumerism, secularism, partisanism,” said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic ops, and head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, in an Oct. 24 state ment. “In his latest encyclical ... the Holy Father teaches us that devotion to the heart of Jesus can open our own hearts to renewed ways we can love and be loved.”
Subtitled “On the human and divine love of the heart of Jesus Christ,” the 28,000-word text – available on the Vatican’s website in Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish – draws on Scripture, Church teaching and the writings of various saints regarding the devotion, which has a centuries-long history.
The encyclical adds to the numerous papal documents on the Sacred Heart since 1899 and is intended to complement Pope Francis’ previous two encyclicals on social teaching, “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home” and “Fratelli Tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship.”
“The present document can help us see that the teaching of the social encyclicals ... is not unrelated to our encounter with the love of Jesus Christ,” Pope Francis wrote. “For it is by drinking of that same love that we become capable of forging bonds of fraternity, of recognizing the dignity of each human being, and of working together to care for our common home.”
“We need this timely counsel,” Archbishop Broglio said in his statement.
“In an age where we are at each other’s throats – whether it’s simply disagreeing with positions or even going to war – appealing to the heart of not only of people, but more importantly of Christ, refocuses us on what really matters to being human,” Father Thomas Dailey, a member of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and author of “Behold This Heart: St. Francis de Sales and Devotion to the Sacred Heart,” told OSV News.
Timothy O’Donnell, president emeritus of Christendom College and
author of “Heart of the Redeemer,” said the Pope’s new encyclical “could really go a long way to help people get back to what’s really essential in Christianity.
“Devotion to the Sacred Heart really is a summary of the whole mystery of our redemption, as Pope Pius XII and numerous other popes have said,” O’Donnell told OSV News. “And if anything, that call ... is even more urgent now in our current times, with the loneliness, the isolation, the sort of secular miasma that we all have to breathe, where oftentimes we are affected far more by this atmosphere of secularity, (rather) than drawing from the riches of a relationship with Christ.
And it is Christ, O’Donnell said, “who brings love to a world that really is starving for it.”
The timing of the document is “intentional,” added Father Dailey, who is the chair of homiletics and social communications, as well as project director of the Catholic Preaching Institute, at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Ambler, Pennsylvania.
He stressed the need to approach others not in terms of “policy to policy, war to war, or nationality to nationality,” but “heart to heart,” since “the heart is what makes us the same.”
The encyclical stands to call attention to “the personhood and the importance of the uniqueness of each individual,” said Father Donald Calloway, a member of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception and author of numerous
Pope to open Holy Year with full schedule of Christmas liturgies
books, including “Sacred Heart Gems: Daily Wisdom on the Heart of Jesus.”
Father Calloway said that in his initial perusal of the encyclical he was struck by the document’s emphasis on “an aspect of being” that is often neglected in current society.
“Being devoted to the heart is being devoted to the person,” he told OSV News. “I think it’s time to get back to some of these fundamentals. We live in this robotic, technological age where, I think, we’re forgetting that things have consequences. You can be on social media and you crank out a post, not realizing that you’re actually hurting people. You’re hurting hearts, not just some robot or some machine. ... It affects people.”
He also stressed the need to attend to “the heart of our God.”
“There’s so much going on in the world right now that I think is offending our Lord’s heart,” Father Calloway said.
“It’s a good time to be reminded of the heart of our God, and that he loves us and wants us even to console him, to make reparation to him for our own sins and the sins of others,” he said.
“Jesus has a heart just like you and I do,” Father Dailey emphasized. “That heart loves just as yours and mine does. That heart breaks; that heart, poured out in love for humanity, is the ultimate sign of God’s love for human beings.”
Gina Christian is a national reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @GinaJesseReina.
By Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – With the opening of the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis’ schedule of liturgies in December and January has expanded.
The Pope, who will celebrate his 88th birthday Dec. 17, is not planning to skip any of his normal Christmastime Masses and prayer services but will add an early morning Mass Dec. 29 at Rome’s Rebibbia prison to open a Holy Door there.
Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of papal liturgical ceremonies, published a list of the Pope’s Christmas season liturgies Nov. 25. With papal services already listed on the Vatican website, the papal liturgies for December and January include (times listed are local time in Rome): Dec. 7, consistory for the creation of new cardinals at 4 p.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Dec. 8, Mass with the new cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica at 9:30 a.m. and act of veneration for the feast of the Immaculate Conception near the Spanish steps in Rome at 4 p.m.
Dec. 12, Mass for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Peter’s Basilica at 6 p.m.
Dec. 15, papal trip to Ajaccio, Corsica, including an open-air Mass in the afternoon.
Dec. 24, opening of Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica at 7 p.m., following by the celebration of the Christmas “Mass during the night.”
Dec. 25, Christmas message and blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) at noon from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Dec. 26, opening of the Holy Door and Mass for the feast of St. Stephen at Rome’s Rebibbia prison at 9 a.m.
Dec. 31, evening prayer and “Te Deum” in thanksgiving for the past year in St. Peter’s Basilica at 5 p.m.
Jan. 1, Mass at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica for the feast of Mary, Mother of God, and the World Day of Peace.
Jan. 6, Mass on the feast of the Epiphany at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Jan. 12, Mass for the feast of the Baptism of the Lord and the Baptism of infants at 9:30 a.m. in the Sistine Chapel.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is depicted in a stained-glass window at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in the Forest Hills section of the Queens borough of New York. —OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz
Christmas cards forge bonds between prisoners, parishes
By Christina Leslie Contributing Editor
When you care enough to send the very best, God-centered charitable works can reach through prison bars to touch the souls of those who live therein. This year, two Hunterdon County parishes teamed up with their Knights of Columbus council to show imprisoned men that they were not forgotten with the donation of more than 2,700 religious and secular Christmas cards intended for use by the inmates of East Jersey State Prison, Rahway.
In addition to his role as permanent deacon in Frenchtown’s Our Lady of Victories Parish, Patrick O’Boyle works as a chaplain in the New Jersey prison system. During a conversation with longtime friend and OLV Knights of Columbus member Michael Miciak, the deacon shared that the inmates in the men’s prison regretted the limited postal contact they had with their loved ones, especially at Christmastime.
“The holiday season is a challenging time, [and] the inmates feel the most broken,” said Deacon O’Boyle. “They look forward to hearing from their relatives.” The men were able to purchase pens and postage, but Christmas cards to exchange with friends and family were difficult to obtain. Deacon O’Boyle’s quest to collect and distribute nearly 2,500 cards (roughly five cards per inmate) would be a formidable task.
Enter Miciak and the Delaware Valley Council 7581 Knights of Columbus which draws its members from both OLV and St. Edward the Confessor Parish in Milford.
“Mail has been part of my family all my life,” explained Miciak, who regularly exchanges postcards with his sister to keep in touch. Recognizing the compassion behind such an undertaking, K of C Financial Secretary Miciak proposed it to his council and received an enthusiastic “yes” from his brother Knights.
Father Bede Kim, who serves as pastor to both Our Lady of Victories and St.
The Delaware Valley Council 7581 Knights of Columbus, with parishioners of Our Lady of Victories, Frenchtown, and St. Edward the Confessor, Milford, and pastor, Father Bede Kim, joined forces to collect Christmas cards for use by inmates in East Jersey State Prison, Rahway.
From left is Knight John Mizin of St. Edward’s; OLV Deacon Patrick O’Boyle, and OLV Knight Michael Miciak and Grand Knight Ken Zagari. —Sam Conti photo.
Edward the Confessor parishes, was an enthusiastic proponent of the Christmas card collection and encouraged Deacon O’Boyle to appeal to the congregations at all Masses. The priest, himself a third degree member of the Knights and chaplain of the council, shared how sending the cards to the prison benefitted both the inmates and his congregation.
“By engaging with those in prison, the parish fosters a sense of unity and solidarity with individuals who are often marginalized,” Father Kim stated. “We understand how important it is for inmates to stay connected with their families and loved ones during the Christmas season. We see this as one of many meaningful ways to reach out to inmates, demonstrating that no one is beyond the reach of God’s love or the community of faith.”
That Hunterdon County community of faith – members of Our Lady of Victories, St. Edward the Confessor, Knights of Columbus, and others – unearthed and donated their own stashes of both religious and secular Christmas cards for the project and purchased boxes in the weeks before Nov. 18 distribution at the prison, Miciak reported. Some 2,700 cards and envelopes overflowed multiple plastic storage bins, prompting one East Jersey State Prison postal official to laughingly complain to Deacon O’Boyle about the “avalanche” in the prison’s mailroom.
The success of the project assured, Deacon O’Boyle and the Knights plan to donate the cards again next Christmas season.
“Going forward, we’re all going to do this every year,” Miciak said, “This is a small but inspirational tale of Christian charity.” Deacon O’Boyle added, “The whole parish and the council warmed up to it. At the very least, we should be praying for [the inmates] and supporting these Corporal Works of Mercy.”
Father Kim concluded, “Ministering to prisoners enables a parish to live out the Gospel in a powerful and tangible way, transforming not only the lives of inmates but also deepening the faith and compassion of those who serve.”
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FEBRUARY 28 –MARCH 2, 2025
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St. Anselm and satisfaction theory of redemption: Another take on Christmas
In 1099 A.D., St. Anselm of Canterbury completed a manuscript entitled Cur Homo Deus, (“Why Did God Become Man?”). This work became the classic treatment of the satisfaction theory of redemption. According to this theory, which is based on the feudal system of society, finite humanity has committed a crime or, more accurately, a sin against the infinite God. In feudal society, an offender was required to make recompense or, better, satisfaction, to the one offended, according to that person’s status. For example, a crime against the king would require more satisfaction than a crime against a duke or a serf, for that matter. Along this way of thinking, finite humanity, which could never make satisfaction to the infinite God, could expect only eternal death.
The instrument needed to bring humans back into good standing with God, could only be rendered by someone who was both God (since God could overcome sin with sinlessness) and human (because humans were those who were guilty of sin). God became man in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the power of
the Holy Spirit, in a moment known in theological circles as the “incarnation,” the “embodiment” or taking on our full humanity in all ways but sin. Despite those who held that God became man because he loved us (cf. Scotus an St. Bonaventure), Anselm maintained that he death of the God-man (Christ) on the Cross was the only rationally intelligible way in which sinful humanity could have been reconciled with God.
Atonement is made possible through Jesus Christ, by whose infinite merits humankind is purified in an act of cooperative re-creation.
It is noteworthy that St. Anselm did not accept the theory that humanity, through its sin, owed a debt to the devil. Instead, he placed the essence of redemption in individual union with Christ in the Eucharist, to which the Sacrament of Baptism, (by which a person is incorporated into the Church), opens the way.
While many of us are in awe of the Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel, where rarely do we hear about the Incarnation or the Nativity, it is easy
for us to get caught up in the meaning of Christmas as “love,” “family,” “exchanging gifts,” “decorations,” “baking,” or “singing carols.” St. Anselm’s masterpiece, Cur Homo Deus gives us the true meaning of the Incarnation and nine months later, by association, Christmas. It would bode well for us and our children during these final days of Advent to focus on the true reason for the season, which is neither love, family, gifts, decorations, cookies or carols but the Incarnation.
This is that glorious moment in time, when the eternal Son of God is sent to us by the Father out of loving mercy, not just love but, as they say in Hebrew, “Hessed,” “loving mercy.” God did not have to save us. He could have just let us fade away and created a new race of humanity. Instead, realizing that we were unable to save ourselves from the sin of Adam, he took pity on us. It is this mercy coated in love, that propels the Father to send his only Son to us, to be one of us, so as to save us from our sins, and consequent estrangement from God.
As we gaze on our Nativity set
Silence can be more powerful than we think
One of my favorite Scripture verses for Christmas is from the Wisdom of Solomon: “For while gentle silence enveloped all things, and night in its swift course was now half gone, your all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne.” (Wis. 18, 14-15) To me, those words perfectly describe the intense anticipation that we feel as we wait for Christmas Midnight Mass to begin. Of course, I know that for the past nine months, Jesus has been curled comfortably in Mary’s womb peacefully sucking his thumb, but there is still that breathless waiting for the instant when heaven leaps down to earth and we realize that he is here now! Emmanuel, forever inseparably one with us!
This irresistible irruption into our world of God who is love is breath-taking but that it happens in silence is awesome! Would we ever have known it had happened if the angels hadn’t announced it? Bethlehem only learned of it from the shepherds announcement of it. It happened in silence and that is suitable, for what sounds would be adequate to accompany such an arrival? Music and singing are for welcoming him, but how could anything but the wonder of silence
be his escort? That silence whose richness surpasses all the music, all the poetry that can possibly exist. The silence that breathes best in darkness until it is broken by the explosion of welcoming song.
People are often afraid of silence. That’s understandable. There are different kinds of silence: there is the silence that binds friends together, but there is also the silence that shuts the other out. There is the full, rich silence where meaning is too vast to fit into words, and there is the empty silence of that void that is more horrible than death.
Maybe I appreciate silence because I am a contemplative nun and silence is part of our life, interspersed with liturgical prayer and community recreation. Maybe it’s because I seek to understand why St. John of the Cross wrote, “The Father spoke one Word, which was his Son, and this Word he speaks always in eternal silence, and in silence must it be heard by the soul.” That silence can be frightening, but in a good way. It is a world without a horizon and until we have ventured into it, we cannot imagine what it contains, yet we know by faith that it contains God, that it IS God. Blaise Pascal wrote, “The eternal silence of these infinite spaces terrifies me.” Yet he was drawn into these infinite spaces on his “Night of Fire” and then he could write, “GOD of Abraham, GOD of Isaac, GOD of Jacob, not of the philosophers and of the learned. Certitude. Certitude. Feeling. Joy. Peace. GOD of Jesus Christ.
at home or in Church, think about the courage that Mary had in saying “yes” to the will of God, articulated through the Angel, Gabriel. Contemplate the courage of St. Joseph, who chose to remain with Mary as his wife, even though he was not the biological “dad” of Jesus. Ponder most of all, the courage of the Son-mademan, who sanctified our bodies, our matter, by his holy Incarnation. Through his Suffering, Death and Resurrection, Christ forever saved the plight of humankind. It is this Jesus, the Christ, who gives us reason to have hope in dark moments for better days ahead. It is this Jesus, the Christ, who empowers us, by his grace, to experience joy at Christmastime and throughout the year. It is St. Anselm of Canterbury who helps us understand why it is that we should greet each other with the words: “Merry Christmas!”
Father Comandini serves as diocesan coordinator of the Office for Ongoing Faith Formation.
My God and your God. … Joy, joy, joy, tears of joy.”
Silent prayer is a sharing in the infinite word of God spoken in silence. That is why prayer is so powerful: it is speaking with God’s word. Silent prayer is not bound by space or time. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Edith Stein, wrote, “Through the power of the cross you can be present wherever there is pain carried there by your compassionate charity, by that very charity which you draw from the divine heart.” This shows how powerful prayer can be. Apparently, some people feel threatened by it. Recently, several people have been arrested in England for praying silently near abor-
A detail from Orazio Zecca da Montefortino’s early 17th-century painting, the Adoration of the Shepherds, is featured on the cover of a booklet containing four Vatican Christmas stamps, which was set to go on sale Nov. 4, 2024.
—CNS photo/courtesy of Vatican philatelic office
tion clinics. You don’t need to be near someone for your prayer to be effective. Contemplative nuns never leave their monasteries, yet people write and phone and visit us to thank us for the results of our prayers. Prayer is an act of love and love always has a life-giving effect.
Silent prayer always brings peace and healing, and it can go everywhere. ”No speech, no word, no voice is heard yet their voice extends through all the earth.” By our prayer, we lift up all creation into the radiance of God’s love.
Sister Gabriela of the Incarnation is a member of the Discalced Carmelites order in Flemington. Learn more at www. flemingtoncarmel.org.
Eight ways to celebrate Jubilee 2025 without leaving your diocese
By Maria Wiering, OSV News
As many as 35 million visitors are expected in Rome in 2025. Many of them will be pilgrims for the upcoming jubilee, a holy year the Church celebrates every quarter-century. While numerous events are planned in Rome and at the Vatican to mark the Jubilee 2025, this Holy Year is for the whole Church. Here are some ways to celebrate without traveling farther than your local cathedral.
1. Go to reconciliation.
The idea of a jubilee or holy year is rooted in the jubilees marked by the Israelites, who saw every 50th year as a special time for forgiveness and reconciliation with God and others. They would
leave their fields fallow, replenishing the soil, allow those under slavery to regain their freedom, return land to its former owners, and forgive debts that could not be repaid. Reconciliation and righting relationships are also at the heart of the Church’s holy years, making the sacrament of reconciliation a key component of this year. In the papal bull announcing the year, Pope Francis called the Sacrament of Reconciliation “the essential starting-point of any true journey of conversion.” During the Jubilee, in local Churches “special care should be taken to prepare priests and the faithful to celebrate the Sacrament of Confession and to make it readily available in its individual form,” he said. Expect many dioceses to hold a period of round-the-clock confessions for the Lenten initiative 24 Hours for the Lord March 28-29, 2025.
2. Read the jubilee document.
Issued in May, “Spes Non Confundit” is the papal bull of indiction Pope Francis promulgated for the 2025 Jubilee Year. With the Holy Year’s theme being “Pilgrims of Hope,” it includes a scriptural reflection on hope, as well as an explanation of the meaning of a jubilee year; ideas and encouragement for Christians living out the Holy Year; appeals for accompaniment, mercy and charity
for various people in need; and some of the key events and anniversaries the Holy Year will observe.
Among Pope Francis’ words of wisdom is a reflection on patience, which he calls “both the daughter of hope and at the same time its firm foundation,” but which, he said, “has been put to flight by frenetic haste” in an age of “now.” “Were we still able to contemplate creation with a sense of awe, we might better understand the importance of patience” which “could only prove beneficial for ourselves and for others,” he wrote. “Patience, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, sustains our hope and strengthens it as a virtue and a way of life.”
3. Make a pilgrimage.
In “Spes Non Confundit,” Pope Francis counts among the Jubilee Year’s “pilgrims of hope” those “who, though unable to visit the City of the Apostles Peter and Paul, will celebrate it in their local churches.” “Pilgrimage is of course a fundamental element of every Jubilee event,” he wrote. “Setting out on a journey is traditionally associated with our human quest for meaning in life. A pilgrimage on foot is a great aid for rediscovering the value of silence, effort and simplicity of life.” While traditional pilgrimage routes to Rome and in Rome
itself are expected to be well trod during the Holy Year, Catholics can also make pilgrimages to local holy sites, or even their own parishes, for prayer, confession or Mass.
Many U.S. dioceses have designated particular parishes or holy sites to serve as pilgrimage sites during the Holy Year. These sites provide the opportunity for pilgrims to receive the Jubilee Indulgence, a grace that remits the temporal punishments of sin. The plenary indulgence can also be received through pious visits to sacred places and through performing works of mercy. Details about the indulgence are outlined in a special decree Pope Francis issued May 13.
4. Visit your cathedral.
Unlike the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy 2015-2016, diocesan cathedrals will not designate Holy Doors to correspond with the traditional Holy Doors in Rome and at the Vatican. However, cathedrals are where diocesan bishops will officially open the Holy Year locally with Mass Dec. 29, the feast of the Holy Family. They will also be where bishops close local Holy Year celebrations Dec. 28, 2025. In the meantime, cathedrals are likely sites for diocesan Jubilee events.
Continued on page 20
Diocese to join in worldwide observance of Jubilee Year
Father Timothy A. Christy, rector of the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, (left), and Father Jonathan S. Toborowsky, diocesan Vicar General, were featured speakers during the Dec. 8 presentation “The Spirituality of the Jubilee Year,” which took attendees along the history and purpose of jubilee years and shared a roundup of impactful times and events slated in the upcoming Holy Year. —Mark Lee photos
listening to their elders,” said Father Christy. “The way they learned is by celebrating together.” A visit with St. Brigid of Sweden convinced the pope to change the cycle of Holy Years from a century apart since most people didn’t live that long; a change to just 25 years between Holy Years could ensure more faithful might learn from their elders’
point)” announcing the 2025 Holy Year.
of the Jubilee Year,” an instructional session designed to educate faithful of the Diocese on the upcoming 2025 Holy Year. Intended to be celebrated worldwide beginning Dec. 28, the Jubilee invites all faithful Catholics worldwide to become “Pilgrims of Hope.”
Doors to heaven will open
Father Christy explained that the word “jubilee” was Hebrew for a ram’s horn, which was used to alert the community that a joyful proclamation would be announced. Jubilees were based on time, with seven – the number of days in which God created the earth – as the perfect number. Seven times seven is 49, so Hebrews celebrated jubilees on the 50th year.
“Jesus came to proclaim a jubilee,” he continued, “to give sight to the blind, make the lame walk, release prisoners. We can’t have jubilees every day so they become routine, but they hold together the essence of human life.”
The notion of a jubilee is connected with the city of Rome, with gaining sanctuary at the basilica. Beginning with Pope Boniface VIII, people learned about jubilees “by going to church,
The rector continued that Holy Years affect in sacramental form our relationship with God. “That is the great gift of confession: that it restores our communion with God,” he asserted.
“There is a treasury of spiritual merit Jesus won for us when he suffered and died on the cross. He made it possible to forgive our sins, to restore what was lost back to communion with God; the door to heaven is now open.”
Father Christy stated that graces exist to assist us on our journey to God, and Holy Years provide us with opportunities to receive a plenary indulgence. “Because God is so good, we can do an indulgence for other people,” he added.
Father Christy concluded, “Holy Years are more than going to Confession. They are meant to help us become more aware of each other. Christian charity includes helping other people get to heaven, become more aware and becoming part of the body of Christ. All the graces Jesus won for us are meant to be shared. This Holy Year 2025, be pilgrims of hope.”
Events tailored to all
“Our GPS has been plotted for us by Pope Francis,” declared Father Toborowsky as he referred to the papal bull “Spes Non Confundit (Hope does not disap-
“It is meant for each one of us on our personal journey to the Lord,” he continued, recommending faithful read the 17-page document in small doses rather than “a textbook you have to read to pass a test.” The vicar general noted that pilgrims might journey as individuals or members of the same family seeking the Lord together, but “a parish is where the rubber hits the road.”
Unlike the Holy Year 2000 where dioceses were required to create holy doors to be opened on Christmas Eve, the Pope decreed St. Peter’s Basilica need be the only church to formally unseal and unlock a door. Yet, the imagery is the same – there is movement from one room to another to a new place.
Father Toborowsky revealed a few of the dozens of activities, Masses, events and celebrations to take place in the Diocese of Metuchen during Holy Year 2025; the final schedule will be posted on the diocesan website and social media, as well as in parish bulletins and The Catholic Spirit newspaper when it is available. “We will bring a message of hope to our parishes, the homebound, the poor, youth and the elderly,” he said. “Some will be for the whole Diocese, and some will be opportunities to honor certain people and groups.”
The opening of the Holy Year will be celebrated Dec. 28, the Feast of the Holy Family in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, at the 5 p.m. vigil Mass. Bishop James F. Checchio will be principal celebrant.
Progressing through the Church year, the customary events so crucial to the faithful will have the mission of hope weaved into their proclamations.
Adult catechists, youth awards, Catholic school students, jubilarians and others will be feted throughout the calendar year.
Two pilgrimages have been slated for September. First, faithful will be invited to visit the Blue Army Shrine with Bishop Checchio, and one week later pilgrims from the Metuchen Diocese will journey to Washington’s National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for the jubilee Mass.
Rutgers University Campus Ministry will hold a Holy Hour and host speakers, music and worship for the vigil of Pentecost. Apropos for a year dedicated to hope, members of the Brothers of Hope and Sisters of Jesus Our Hope will host four nights of recollection (one for each county) to preach about their charism.
Father Toborowsky recommended Metuchen pilgrims explore sites close to home during the Holy Year – the Blessed Sacrament Shrine, Raritan; the Blue Army Shrine, Washington, and the National Shrine of St. Lucy Filippini inside New Brunswick’s St. Mary of Mt. Virgin Church. The Holy Year will conclude with a rededication of the Diocese to Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 28.
“There is wonderful work to be done,” Father Toborowsky said. “Think ‘which of these celebrations are for me, and how do I truly open the doors of my heart?’”
The presentation may be found at stfranciscathedral.org by clicking on the “Live Streaming” button on the home page. Information on upcoming events during the Jubilee Year will be posted at diometuchen.org as they are finalized.
QR codes for additional resources, pg 35.
Immaculate Conception
Parish lights up the night with readings,
carols
The parish community of Immaculate Conception, Somerville, united in faith Dec. 8 during the annual Readings and Carols evening. Top left, faithful erected hundreds of Christmas trees sparkling with lights to remember their loved ones. Right, pastor Msgr. Joseph G. Celano recalled the journey of faith by St. Juan Diego, saying, “Even the smallest of lights has the power to turn back the dark night.” Bottom, parish instrumentalists and vocalists, as well as a handbell choir, instruct and worship through music. Bottom left, a family poses near a memorial tree. —John Batkowski photos
By Susan Odenthal, Correspondent
As darkness fell on Sunday, Dec. 8, thousands of white lights on hundreds of Christmas trees on the campus of the Church of the Immaculate Conception illuminated the Somerville sky, giving witness to the coming birth of Jesus Christ. The tree lighting, blessed by parish pastor and director of schools Msgr. Joseph G. Celano, followed an afternoon program of contemplative music and readings for Advent at the church.
In his reflection during the program inside the church, Msgr. Celano recalled the appearance of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to St. Juan Diego in December, 1531. He described a man who, like most of us, thought himself too little to accomplish what he was being called to do. “None of us is unimportant,” Msgr. Celano said. “Even the smallest of lights has power to turn back the dark night. So tonight, through word, song and prayer, we light the night, knowing we look to heaven to accomplish what we cannot do on our own.”
The Advent Festival of Readings and Carols featured more than 70 performers in children and adult vocal choirs, handbell ensemble, and on accompanying instruments. The parish program began 20 years ago; this year’s program of readings and songs was built around the theme of Mary’s role in salvation history. “The readings took us from Creation, through the fall of Adam, to the prophesy of the Messiah, and the Ark as described in Revelation, culminating in the Annunciation and Mary’s ‘yes’ and her visitation to Elizabeth,” explained the parish’s Director of Sacred Music Gary Gavula.
Maureen and Jim Wilson of Raritan
attend the program every year. “Attending Readings and Carols at Immaculate Conception Church is our yearly tradition,” Maureen said, “and one that we eagerly look forward to each year. The spiritual music and beautiful singing help us to focus on the significance of Advent in our lives.” As the program concluded, she added, “We felt that the readings selected were rich in meaning for the season.”
The dedication of the members of the music ministry was evident in the intricate harmonies and the vocal precision. For some, the program is an annual highlight. Caitlin Van Eck has been a member of the handbell ensemble since she was a student at Immaculate Conception School. She is now the mother of four children, two of whom flanked her on the choir stand as she rang “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” with the ensemble. Her husband, Grant Van Eck, was among the readers for the program.
“Ringing as part of this special program helps me to start the Advent season on the right note,” she said. “I love that we can share the art of handbells with the larger parish community, especially those who are not as familiar with our program.”
As the program inside the church concluded, Msgr. Celano led the assembly out to the courtyard outside the church and Immaculate Conception School, overflowing with Christmas trees dedicated by the parish family to loved ones and special intentions. The Immaculata High School band serenaded the large group gathered in the cold night with Christmas carols.
“Lord God, let your blessing come upon us as we illumine these trees,” Msgr. Celano prayed, continuing, “May
the light and cheer they give be a sign of the joy that fills our hearts. May all who delight in these trees come to the knowledge and joy of salvation.”
This is the seventh year during which the parish has offered families the opportunity to dedicate Christmas trees. Last year, for the first time, the Christmas cheer spread up Mountain Avenue to Immaculata High School, where high
school families and business partners also dedicated a group of trees.
As the program concluded, Msgr. Celano borrowed from the Old Testament as he said, “Let there be light!” And with that – after a short, slightly tense delay – lights on the 300 trees lit simultaneously, giving bold witness in the night sky to the great anticipation for the coming birth of Jesus Christ.
Pilgrims of contemplation, pilgrims of hope
By Rev. Msgr. Joseph J. Kerrigan Special Contributor
With a new year approaching, we have an opportune moment to explore the ever plenteous and fertile terrain of fresh possibilities, intentions and changes. For Catholics, 2025 is also a Jubilee Year, which adds even more impetus for such renewal and reconciliation.
Where to begin?
In his new book, “The Afternoon of Christianity: The Courage to Change,” the noted Czech theologian and priest Tomáš Halík uses a panoramic lens well beyond that of simply one’s personal new year’s resolutions. He attempts to envision the future of Christianity as a whole!
He writes: “I believe that the Christianity of tomorrow will be above all a community of a new hermeneutic, a new reading, a new and deeper interpretation of the two sources of divine revelation,
Living our faith during Jubilee 2025
Continued from page 17
5. Pray the Jubilee prayer.
Pope Francis has issued a special Jubilee prayer. At 139 words in English, the prayer is easily incorporated into the daily prayers of an individual or a family. Among its stanzas is the phrase, “May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven.” It can be found by searching “Jubilee Prayer” at usccb.org.
To begin to attain that hope-filled vision, Msgr. Halík says “the art of contemplation is needed,” adding that “through contemplation we learn to read and listen anew, more deeply, more carefully, to listen to what is happening in and around us. God can speak to us through both processes.”
The motto for the coming Jubilee Year is “Pilgrims of Hope.” So, one could say that setting forth on a pilgrimage of contemplation in 2025 can also be part of becoming a pilgrim of hope.
“Find your contemplative practice and practice it,” advises spirituality author James Finley. The expression “contemplative practice” is not accidental; the only way to acquire a disciplined contemplative dimension in your life is through frequent – and ideally daily – practice.
Can you dedicate 10-20 minutes in prayer each day, where you would be able to sit quietly somewhere? Do you desire to go deeper in your awareness, thoughts and feelings? Do you aspire to surrender more fully to God’s will? If you can answer “yes” to these questions, you’re already on
6. Perform works of mercy.
In “Spes Non Confundit,” Pope Francis asks Catholics “to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind.” He specifically mentions prisoners, a group he has highlighted by designating a Jubilee Holy Door at Rome’s Rebibbia Prison. He also mentions signs of hope are needed by the sick, the young, migrants, the elderly and grandparents, and the poor. The Holy Year should inspire Catholics to increase their exercise of the corporal works of mercy -- feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned and burying the dead.
Christian contemplative options, some centuries-old, but all tied together by a grounding in awareness, simplicity, whole-heartedness and a desire for harmony and communion with God. These prayer methods range from lectio divina to silent meditation practices to walking meditations to journaling, and much more.
As with New Year’s resolutions, once you choose your contemplative prayer type, the key is to stick with it. The rewards of this prayer are harvested more in the long haul than in any one session. Progress is measured at the speed of self-emptying and trust in God.
Patience is also called for in contemplation. In Pope Francis’ statement Spes Non Confundit announcing the Jubilee Year, he writes, “Patience has been put to flight by frenetic haste, and this has proved detrimental. … A renewed appreciation of the value of patience could only prove beneficial for ourselves and others.”
When contemplative prayer is fruitful, many people find a new sense of inner peace, a greater connection with the present moment, and the joy of living
7. Review the resources.
The Vatican, the USCCB and many dioceses have online resources with information about the Church’s global and local celebrations of the Jubilee. They include information about the Jewish roots of jubilee years, their history in the Catholic Church, and how to spiritually prepare to receive the Jubilee Indulgence. The Vatican website (iubilaeum2025.va) includes a video of a choir performing “Pilgrims of Hope,” the Jubilee’s official hymn. With text written by Msgr. Pierangelo Sequeri, an Italian theologian and musicologist, the refrain focuses on the theme of hope: “Like a flame my hope is burning, may my song arise to you: Source of life that has no ending, on life’s path I trust in you.”
life at a deeper level. These fruits would assist in realizing Msgr. Halík’s vision of a Church that more deeply interprets the Scriptures and God’s presence in the signs of the times.
Some practitioners even credit contemplative prayer with dramatic conversion in their lives, or reconciliation of fragmented parts of their inner selves.
“Christ came not to offer a ‘doctrine’ but a journey on which we continually learn to transform our humanity, our way of being human, including all our relationships – to ourselves and to others, to society, to nature, and to God,” writes Msgr. Halík. “This is his ‘teaching’ … a process of learning, of learning something.”
Choosing a contemplative discipline in 2025 can be a great way to experience that transformative journey in Christ. In such prayer, may we also have first-hand experience of what Pope Francis anticipates: “The coming Jubilee will thus be a Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, our hope in God.”
Msgr. Joseph Kerrigan is pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Bound Brook, and a member of the Advisory Council for the Mt. St. Mary House of Prayer in Watchung.
8. Practice hope.
In “Spes Non Confundit,” Pope Francis underscores that the hope the Jubilee offers is for the universal Church. “In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring,” he wrote. Hope, he said, comes from Christ, and Christians deepen their hope through prayer, the sacraments and growing in virtue. “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the ‘door’ (cf. Jn 10:7.9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as ‘our hope’ (1 Tim 1:1),” he wrote.
—Patrick
WORLD & NATION
In age of individualism, young people need holistic education, Pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – As young people become increasingly immersed in a society that encourages individualism and disconnection, educators must strive to develop a holistic form of education that integrates the heart, mind and body, Pope Francis said. Speaking to members of the Calasanzian Family – a group of religious orders inspired by St. Joseph Calasanz and dedicated primarily to education – the Pope emphasized the “very urgent” need to foster a unity of the “three intelligences” of the heart, mind and hands. The three must work together “so we can do with our
hands what we feel and think, feel what we think and do, think what we feel and do,” he said during the Nov. 28 meeting. Educators must help young people create a “synthesis” of these intelligences to promote holistic development “in a world that instead pushes them increasingly in the direction of fragmentation between feelings and cognition and between individualism and relationships,” the Pope said. He insisted on the need to develop “normal” relationships that consist of direct human connections rather than “virtual relationships via the mobile phone.”
Pope Francis poses for a photo with members of religious orders belonging to the Calasanzian Family during a meeting at the Vatican Nov. 28, 2024. —CNS photo/ Vatican Media
‘Let us dedicate Nativity Fast’ to ‘victory over darkness of war’
KYIV, Ukraine (OSV News) – As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nears the three-year mark, an annual Advent fast observed by Eastern Catholics has taken on renewed urgency. “’Let us dedicate the Nativity Fast to prayer and fasting for our people’s victory over the darkness of war,”’ said Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in a Nov. 17 message marking the 1,000th day of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The Nativity Fast, also known as the Fast of St. Philip or the Philippian Fast, is observed by Eastern Catholics and Christians worldwide. Instituted at the
Council of Constantinople in 1166, the fast begins prior to Advent on Nov. 15, the day after the feast day of St. Philip, and ends on Christmas Eve. During the fast, the faithful typically abstain from meat on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, while observing a lesser form of abstinence on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reflecting on the last 1,000 days of Russia’s war, Major Archbishop Shevchuk said that “’every single day, the enemy sought to kill, destroy, and annihilate,”’ yet there has “’often been a great hope for the Ukrainian people”’ as they “’witness Christ, God who became man, epitomizing the suffering of the Ukrainian people. He added, “’Let us pray for our army, for all who weep, grieve, suffer, and are in desperate need of the long-awaited Savior, who will bring heavenly peace.”’
A file photo shows a priest distributing Communion by intinction at a Byzantine Catholic Church. While fasting is a pillar of Lent, many Eastern Catholics also observe the “Nativity Fast” from Nov. 15 to Dec. 24. —OSV News photo/James Baca, Denver Catholic Register
Illinois man, champion of rivers, trees, to receive Pacem in Terris interfaith award
DAVENPORT, Iowa (OSV News) –Chad Pregracke of East Moline, Illinois, who is recognized worldwide for energizing people to join him in cleaning up rivers and planting trees, will receive the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award, an interfaith award overseen by the Catholic Diocese of Davenport . He is the first recipient in the interfaith award’s 60-year history to receive recognition for work on environmental justice and care for creation. Bishop Dennis G. Walsh, the new bishop of Davenport, will present the award Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at St. Ambrose University in Davenport. Pregracke, 49, established Living Lands & Waters, an environmental organization, in 1998 in his hometown along the Mississippi
Catholic bishops decry British end of life vote: ‘May God help us’
LONDON (OSV News) – Catholic bish ops in England have decried a vote for assisted suicide, with one saying it repre sented a “dark day” in the history of the country. Members of Parliament voted by 330 to 275 for the “Terminally Ill (End of Life) Bill,” which will permit doctor-assisted deaths for adult patients deemed to have less than six months to live. Although the bill must pass through several stages in both Houses of Parliament in London, the Nov. 29 vote in the House of Commons means that it is extremely likely that the bill will pass into law. After the vote, Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth told OSV News that he expected the outcome. “It leaves me sad as it will put an intolerable pressure on the elderly and the terminally ill and undermine the trust normally placed in doctors and carers,” he said. “I fear too the ever-growing expansion of eligibility to other categories of people. Britain has now crossed a line:
Chad Pregracke who established Living Lands & Waters, an environmental organization, in 1998, is pictured in an undated photo collecting garbage along the Ohio River. He has been named the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award winner for 2024. —OSV News photo/courtesy Chad Pregracke
River. He and his staff host river cleanups, watershed conservation initiatives, workshops and tree plantings, among other conservation efforts. “Care for our common home, so much a part of Chad’s life work, is related closely to peace and justice,” said Deacon Kent Ferris, social action director for the Diocese of Davenport. In much the same way ‘Laudato Si’’ reminds us of the importance of being in right relationship with God, our neighbor and the created world, Chad’s work helps us see what is possible in undoing the damage humankind has done.” Past recipients of the award include the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day, St. Teresa of Kolkata, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Cesar Chavez and the Dalai Lama. Compiled
Protestors holds a placard outside Parliament as British lawmakers debate the assisted dying law in London Nov. 29, 2024. —OSV News photo/Mina Kim, Reuters
things will not be the same again. May God help us,” Bishop Egan lamented. Auxiliary Bishop John Sherrington of Westminster, lead bishop for life issues of the bishops’ conference of England and Wales, issued a press statement on behalf of all of the bishops in which he described the bill as “flawed in principle.” The bishops said: “We ask the Catholic community to pray that members of parliament will have the wisdom to reject this bill at a later stage in its progress.” Responding to the vote, Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, British advocacy group, said the vote represented “a very Black Friday for the vulnerable in this country.”
St. Thomas Aquinas alum honored at prayer service, room dedication
By Christina Leslie, Contributing Editor
With a reverent blend of tears, laughter, prayer and patriotism, St. Thomas Aquinas High School celebrated the memory of one of its graduates who had accomplished much in his short, faith-filled life. The Edison Catholic school hosted a Nov. 13 prayer service and dedicated the Anthony Raspa Alumni Lounge, named for the Class of 2008 alumnus and New Jersey State Trooper who died in the line of duty in 2015.
The school’s gymnasium was filled to capacity for the event, populated by people from all three of Raspa’s “families”: St. Thomas Aquinas High School and Metuchen Diocese personnel; N.J. State Police and members of the Raspa clan, including his parents, Salvatore and Elizabeth; three sisters Maria, Stephanie and Christina; and grandmother. Student-led songs and intercessions were interwoven with displays of patriotism by law enforcement in the ceremony which highlighted the young man’s twin loves
of God and country. Father Jonathan S. Toborowsky, diocesan Vicar General, presided over the prayer service and reflected upon Raspa’s legacy.
“Only our bodies die; his soul still lives,” Father Toborowsky reminded the congregation. “We can remember his life in the halls he walked, on the fields he played. It reminds us of a life well-lived [with] the virtues of honor, duty and fidelity. Take something from his life and learn from him.”
Raspa was born in New Brunswick and was a lifelong resident of Highland Park. He was a communicant of St. Matthias Parish, Somerset, where he attended elementary school before enrolling in Bishop George Ahr/St. Thomas Aquinas High School. There, he was a member of the Peer Leadership program, contributed to the school newspaper, played football, was captain of the wrestling team and received the Greater Middlesex County Sportsmanship Award.
Upon his 2008 high school graduation, Raspa enrolled in the University of
Delaware where he participated in the “Around the World Study Abroad Program,” was a member of the crew team and the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society. He earned his bachelor’s degree in three years and graduated from the university in 2012.
Raspa enlisted in the New Jersey State Police on October 4, 2013, as a member of the 152nd Class and was assigned to Troop “C” Red Lion and Hamilton Stations. He died May 30, 2015, at the age of 24 while on duty when his patrol car struck a deer. Anthony Raspa served with the N.J. State Police for one year and seven months.
N.J. State Police Lt. Colonel Patrick J. Callahan recalled it was he who was tasked with the heartbreaking duty to inform the family of their son’s death. Though his tenure had been brief, he said, the young trooper’s impact on his fellow officers remained.
“His legacy lives on. We are not only here for the dedication of a room,
He showed you how to carry it and what to do with it,” Callahan said. “One of his favorite scriptural passages was from the Book of Isaiah: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’ ‘Here I am,’ I said; ‘Send me!’ [Is. 6:8] My hope and my prayer,” he concluded, “is that no matter where you go, you answer that. Let us take a page from his book.”
Raspa’s youngest sister, Christina, recalled how close the siblings were despite a 12-year age difference.
She admitted, “On paper, he may seem to be an average guy, but he was full of love and willpower, strength of mind and strength of character. I was in seventh grade when I lost my brother, but he never made me feel small.”
The young woman continued, “I strive to be like him, to make everything positive… He was a true man of faith, of faith like a mustard seed.” Quoting a poem the family had found in Anthony’s possessions, Christina Raspa said, “Our lives are
“I strive to be like him, to make everything positive… He was a true man of faith, of faith like a mustard seed.”
( ) Father Jonathan Toborowsky was presider of the Nov. 13 prayer service and dedication of the Anthony Raspa Alumni Lounge in St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Raspa, a 2008 graduate of the Edison Catholic school, died in the line of duty as a N.J. State Trooper in 2015. (3) His superior officer, Col. Patrick Callahan, and youngest sister, Christina Raspa (4), were among the speakers, praising the graduate for his faith-based service as his grandmother and parents looked on (5). —Michael Ehrmann photos
May our lives say to others, ‘Hope in the Lord!’
4th Sunday of Advent (C)
In just a few days, Pope Francis will solemnly open the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome, formally inaugurating Holy Year 2025. During this time of special grace and opportunity, the Holy Father encourages people throughout the world to become Pilgrims of Hope striving for “a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” (cf. Jn 10:7.9) of our salvation … ” (Francis, Spes Non Confundit, 1).
St. Luke’s account of the Visitation of the Blessed Mother to her cousin Elizabeth serves as the Gospel reading this Fourth Sunday of Advent and beautifully illustrates the power of hope. Immediately following the Annunciation narrative, Mary travels in haste to greet her cousin Elizabeth; in this Mary becomes the first Pilgrim of Hope, journeying along with her Divine Son to bring the hope of further blessedness to her beloved kinswoman and to all who would come to repent and believe through the ministry of her son, John the Baptist. In the quiet of the Judean hill country, both women praise God as they testify to the power
of the Holy Spirit working within them, looking forward in the hope born of love which was the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite … not knowing what the future may bring” (Francis, Spes Non Confundit, 1).
Mary had learned of Elizabeth’s pregnancy from the Angel Gabriel. Her journey to visit her relative would not have been easy. From Nazareth, Mary would have had to travel through the Galilean hills, across the Plain of Esdraelon, through the mountains of Samaria, and finally up into the Judean hill country. Both women use the opportunity of Mary’s arrival to rejoice in God’s salvation at work within them.
St. Luke recounts that Elizabeth was “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:41). At the moment she heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb (John the Baptist) leapt for joy at the nearness of the Savior. This reaction makes John truly the first to testify to the presence of Jesus and fulfills the prophecy the angel had spoken to Zechariah: “[John the Baptist] will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15c).
Elizabeth greeted Mary with the words, “Blessed are you among women” because “blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Luke 1:42). Elizabeth recognized that Mary had truly been the recipient of divine favor. She humbly asked, “who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43). This marks the first time that St. Luke’s Gospel uses the word “Lord” to refer to Jesus, and is reminiscent of the question David asked when the Ark of
Basking Ridge school honors local police officers with Blue Mass
St. James School, Basking Ridge, honored and prayed for local police officers in Bernards Township and surrounding areas with their annual Blue Mass, held in St. James Church Nov. 27.
In attendance were the students, teachers, staff, and administration of the school, parents, representatives of the police department, and relatives of students who work in law enforcement.
Msgr. Sylvester J. Cronin, pastor, celebrated the Blue Mass and spoke of how “serving in the police force is a vocation, and that when these men and women put on their uniform to serve our communities, they are a target.” He also mentioned how “we should be giving thanks every day, not just on Thanksgiving, for what these men and women do for our local communities.”
After the Mass, the guests stood before the assembled students, teachers, staff, and parents to be honored. Msgr, Cronin reminded them that when their day “is going tough, and nothing seems to be going right, to always know that our
the Covenant was brought to him, that is “how can the Ark of the Lord come to me?” (2 Samuel 6:9). This parallel is especially meaningful because the Ark of the Covenant was considered as the Old Testament site of God’s dwelling among his people. In a Christian context, Mary herself is considered the new Ark of the Covenant because she became the dwelling place of the Son of God.
Elizabeth concluded her greeting with the words, “Blessed is she who trusted that the Lord’s words to her would be fulfilled” (Luke 1:45). She acknowledged that Mary’s unique sanctity was due in part to God’s special favor, but was also the result of Mary’s free choice to place herself entirely at God’s disposal. Mary, the Mother of God, thus becomes a model not only of God’s love for humanity, but also a perfect example of humanity’s love for God.
Blessed Mary’s response to all this was summed up in her great prayer, the Magnificat. In that song of praise Mary glorified God for all his favors, recogniz-
ing that her special place in history was due to God’s overwhelming goodness. Shortly we will celebrate the greatest fruit of this overwhelming goodness, the coming of the Son of God in human flesh. Because of her great love and faithfulness, Mary would give birth to the One who serves as the greatest revelation of and motive for our hope in eternal blessedness. In light of this, may we make our own Pope Francis’ prayer for the upcoming Jubilee, asking “let us even now be drawn to this hope! Through our witness, may hope spread to all those who anxiously seek it. May the way we live our lives say to them in so many words: ‘Hope in the Lord! Hold firm, take heart and hope in the Lord!’ (Ps 27:14). May the power of hope fill our days, as we await with confidence the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ ,,, ” during our upcoming Christmas celebrations and always (Francis, Spes Non Confundit, 25)
Msgr. Fell is a Scripture scholar and director, diocesan Office for Priest Personnel.
SCRIPTURE SEARCH®
Gospel for December 22, 2024 Micah 5:1-4a / Luke 1:39-45
Following is a word search based on the First and Gospel readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle C: preparations for the coming of Jesus. The words can be found in all directions in the puzzle.
Following the annual Blue Mass held by St. James School, Basking Ridge, Nov. 27, youngsters were excited to meet the honored officers face-to-face. —Courtesy photo
school and students are behind them, and praying for their safety.”
Following this, the police officers received a standing ovation, and the choir led the assembly in “God Bless America.” The St. James School community is thankful for all who serve and protect our local community, towns, and state.
Contributed by John Falcone, St. James School director of admissions.
BETHLEHEM EPHRATHAH ISRAEL STRENGTH THE LORD EARTH PEACE TOWN SHE ENTERED HOUSE GREETING LEAPED WOMB HOLY SPIRIT BLESSED WOMEN THE FRUIT SOUND BELIEVED SPOKEN
BETHLEHEM TOWN
Franklin Gregory, 89
Father of Catholic Spirit business manager
Franklin D. Gregory passed away at the age of 89 on Dec. 2 in Lebanon, N.J. He did so in the comfort of his Catholic faith and surrounded by the love of his family and friends.
Frank was born in Jersey City on Sept. 13, 1935, the seventh of James and Mary Gregory’s 12 children. He attended St. Peter’s Prep and St. Peter’s College, and received a graduate degree from Fordham University in N.Y. His Jesuit education established the foundation for a life-long commitment to service as an educator in the Jesuit tradition.
Frank began his career as registrar at Brooklyn Prep in 1962 and moved on to Xavier High School in Manhattan in 1972. He was at Xavier for 27 years where, as the dean of students, he influenced generations of young men to find their individual greatness and to live their lives as “Men for Others.”
Frank and Roberta, his wife of 63 years, raised their family in Brooklyn. Together, they instilled in their children the importance of faith, family, and education. He and Roberta moved to Lebanon, shortly before Frank retired. There, they spent the past 30 years enjoying frequent visits from their growing family. Frank loved to be surrounded by his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
His curiosity for how things work, his love of music and singing, and his deep and abiding faith will live on through them all.
Frank is survived by his wife, Roberta (Kling), his children, Margaret and her husband Kenneth; Francis and his wife Debra; Teresa; Mary Catherine; Virginia and her husband Anthony; Robert and his wife Joan; John and his wife Colleen; and Eileen and her husband Brian. He is also survived by his 27 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren, as well as his siblings Frances Pavick and Daniel “Butch” Gregory. Frank was predeceased by his daughter, Catherine Marie, and nine of his siblings.
A Mass of Christian Burial took place Dec. 10 in Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Whitehouse Station. Internment was private.
To place your ad in the directory please call Mary at 732-529-7934
Prayer for Generosity
Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve You as You deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for reward save that of knowing that I do Your will. St. Ignatius Loyola
Pope Francis teaches the goodness of praying for the dead
“Church tradition has always urged prayer for the dead, in particular by offering the celebration of the Eucharist for them: it is the best spiritual help that we can give to their souls, particularly to the most abandoned ones. The foundation of prayers of remembrance is found in the communion of the Mystical Body. Remembering the dead, caring for their tombs and prayers of suffrage are testimony to confident hope, rooted in the certainty that death does not have the last word on human destiny, as humanity is destined for a life without end that has its root and its fulfillment in God.”
— Angelus, St. Peter’s Square, Nov. 2, 2014
“Praying for the dead is, first and foremost, a sign of appreciation for the witness they have left us and the good that they have done. It is giving thanks to the Lord for having given them to us and for their love and their friendship. The Church prays for the deceased in a particular way during Holy Mass. The priest states: “Be mindful, O Lord, of thy servants who are gone before us with the sign of faith, and rest in sleep of peace. To these, O Lord, and to all that sleep in Christ, grant we beseech thee a place of refreshment, light and peace” (Roman Canon). It is a simple, effective, meaningful remembrance, because it entrusts our loved ones to God’s mercy.”
– General audience, Paul VI Audience Hall, Nov. 30, 2016
“Today … the Lord repeats to us: ‘I am the resurrection and the life’ (v. 25). He summons us to take once more the great leap of faith and to enter, even now, into the light of the resurrection. ‘Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ (v. 26). Once we have made this leap, our way of thinking and seeing things is changed. The eyes of faith, transcending things visible, see in a certain way invisible realities (cf. Heb 11:27). Everything that happens is then assessed in the light of another dimension, the dimension of eternity.”
– Homily, Vatican Basilica, Nov. 5, 2020.
—Courtesy photo
At special meal, PACT clients express thanks for Catholic Charities program Stepping forward in charity
By Tiffany Workman Special Contributor
The holiday season can be a wonderful time of year when people get together with friends and family. Especially on Thanksgiving, most show gratitude for those gathered around the table and for the food that is on it. Thanksgiving can definitely be a great day for many, but for some it can be a very lonely time.
Before Thanksgiving, clients of the East Brunswick Program of Assertive Community Treatment gathered together for a feast to celebrate the holiday. The program is an evidence-based practice that offers person-centered, recovery-based care in community-based settings to individuals diagnosed with serious mental illness.
Before they ate, clients introduced themselves to one another, since they don’t get to interact on a regular basis. PACT staff members expressed their gratitude for the clients, explained that they were grateful to have a purpose to improve their lives, and thanked them for their trust.
The East Brunswick PACT team, led by Rose Bohar, prepared all the food, served it and interacted with clients, like they usually do. PACT clients from East Brunswick were served lots of traditional Thanksgiving dishes – turkey, ham, corn, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, yams, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese – and were able to take food to go with them.
this lunch is because a lot of clients in the PACT program don’t have any fam
ilies to celebrate with,” Bohar said. “It’s a feel-good event that we’ve been doing for about 10 years now.”
During the meal, laughter and music could be heard all the way down the hallway. For dessert, clients were served traditional Thanksgiving-flavored pies. After a special raffle, PACT clients took turns expressing their gratitude and talking about what they’re most thankful for. Almost all of the clients said they were grateful for the PACT team and its staff.
Diane Barone has been a staff mem ber with the PACT team for two years as a counselor. “This event is so special to me,” she said. “I love dealing with peo ple and interacting with clients.
“A lot of them don’t have anywhere to go on Thanksgiving, so we like to hold this lunch for them, and they really do appreciate it,” she added.
AnnMarie Costantini, program di rector of Middlesex County PACT, said, “Rose [Bohar] started this tradition, and even inspired the Perth Amboy PACT team to start this tradition as well.”
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen operates three PACT Teams that cover all of Middlesex County. The Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen’s East Brunswick Family Ser vice Center is located at 288 Rues Lane in East Brunswick.
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Above, PACT clients enjoy traditional Thanksgiving dishes and fellowship to celebrate the holiday. Below, East Brunswick PACT team: from left to right, Cynthia Hansen, Synique Orange, Karolina Beltz, Rose Bohar, Diane Barone, Shari Marcus, Briana Major and Noelle Infante —Tiffany Workman photos
The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital receives the 2024 Women’s Choice Award®
The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital has been named as a Best Children’s Hospital by the Women’s Choice Award®, America’s trusted referral source for the best in health care.
When it comes to health care, children are different and need health care designed specifically to meet their needs. Children’s hospitals are specifically designed to take care of the child through a family-centered approach to medicine and serve kids at each stage of growth and development, requiring differently sized equipment and a range of expertise. As a teaching hospital, The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital trains the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists to care for children.
“We found in our studies that 75 percent of women associate children’s hospitals with care for seriously ill children and nearly 50 percent of women are unfamiliar with the full offerings of a children’s hospital,” said Delia Passi, founder and CEO of the Women’s Choice Award. “Our goal at the Women’s Choice Award is to help moms–and dads–make educated, confident decisions about where to take their children for a wide range of healthcare services.”
“The Women’s Choice Award is a trusted third-party validation that empowers individuals to make better informed decisions when selecting healthcare options for their children,” said Dr. Siva Jonna, interim chair, Department of Pediatrics, and chief, Division of Pediatric Critical Care, The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital.
“Our staff at The Children’s Hospital includes over 250 pediatricians. Our physicians practice across two dozen pediatric specialty services to treat children from birth through young adulthood, including critically ill newborns and children with complex congenital conditions,” said David Jaipersaud, executive director, The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital.
According to Women’s Choice, The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s
University Hospital has met the highest standards for pediatric care.
The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s is an acute care children’s hospital offering a wide range of pediatric primary and specialty care services for newborns, children, and young adults up to the age of 21, including critically ill newborns and children born with complex congenital conditions. Some of the specialized services available at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s include a separate and distinct award-winning pediatric emergency department, along with an award-winning pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), among others, including:
• The Craniofacial and Neurosurgical Center – one of only a few centers in the country that comprehensively treats craniofacial abnormalities, such as cleft lip and cleft palate, and is recognized as a regional center by the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA).
• Pediatric Hematology and Oncology – provides diagnosis and treatment for infants, children and adolescents with cancer in a safe and family-centered environment while also helping parents navigate the treatment journey from a medical and emotional perspective.
• Pioneering Genetics Research and Gene Therapy – As a state-designated regional center, Saint Peter’s Department of Medical Genetics and Genomic Medicine provides inpatient and outpatient services to patients of all ages with a variety of genetically-influenced conditions including abnormal newborn screens, confirmed inborn errors of metabolism, birth defects, chromosome abnormalities, hearing impairment, craniofacial and genetic bone disorders, autism spectrum, cancer, and diseases of the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, muscles, eyes, gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts.
• Pediatric Neurology – diagnoses and treats disorders of the nervous system (brain, spinal cord, muscles, and
nerves) with an understanding of the special needs of the child and family. Often working in tandem with other pediatric specialists, pediatric neurologists care for children with more complex or serious medical issues such as autism or epilepsy and can provide continuous care from childhood through adolescence.
• Pediatric Surgery – provides comprehensive general and specialized surgical care to treat congenital and acquired conditions affecting children from birth through young adulthood. Its specially trained staff is experienced in treating common pediatric ailments, such as appendicitis and hernias, as well as rare or complex conditions.
• Pediatric Orthopedics – Pediatric orthopedic surgeons address issues such as limb and spine deformities, gait abnormalities, broken bones, bone or joint infections and tumors, and scoliosis. Saint Peter’s is the only hospital in New Jersey offering the low-dose, full-body EOS® Imaging System that simultaneously captures front and back images to evaluate spine and lower extremities disorders. Saint Peter’s is known as a global destination for Anterior Scoliosis Correction (ASC) Surgery.
The Women’s Choice Best Children’s Hospitals designation is based on a weighted point system using publicly available data on children’s hospitals in the nation. The award criteria look at four different areas to determine which children’s hospital is eligible for the Women’s Choice Award. These areas are online reviews, clinical success scores, clinical safety scores and the extent of pediatric services offered.
Extra points were also assigned to hospitals like Saint Peter’s that have taken additional steps to offer the highest level of care for services.
For more information on The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital, please visit saintpetershcs. com/childrenshospital.
For more information on the 2024 Best Children’s Hospitals visit https:// womenschoiceaward.com/best-childrens.
New Grade for Fall 2024 is a national recognition for commitment to patient safety
Saint Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick, earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit watchdog focused on patient safety. Leapfrog assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent them.
“We realize that patients and their families have options when choosing where they are treated. The Leapfrog Group provides an important service to consumers by supplying them with data and metrics that reflect the safety standards and protocols in place at specific facilities,” said Leslie D. Hirsch, FACHE, president and CEO of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System. “Safety is one of the most important factors impacting patient outcomes and I’m proud to credit the team at Saint Peter’s for once again receiving the highest safety grade. We always strive to not only meet, but to exceed safety standards. This validation from a respected third party like The Leapfrog Group provides added assurance and comfort to our patients in choosing Saint Peter’s for their care.”
“Achieving an ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade is a significant accomplishment for Saint Peter’s,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “It reflects enormous dedication to your patients and their families, and your whole community should be proud. I extend my congratulations Saint Peter’s University Hospital, its leadership, clinicians, staff and volunteers for their tireless efforts to put patients first.”
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade stands as the only hospital ratings program focused solely on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries that kill more than 500 patients a day in the United States. The program is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.
To see Saint Peter’s full grade details and to find valuable tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.
Conference series highlights why the matters
By Michael Mastromatteo, OSV News
Anyone hopeful for a stronger Catholic presence in contemporary arts and letters can only be heartened in the aftermath of the recent Catholic Imagination Conference at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
The Oct. 31-Nov. 2 conference featured some 175 presenters and more than 1,200 registered participants who discoursed on Catholic imagination as guided by the theme “Ever Ancient, Ever New.”
The biennial Catholic Imagination Conference debuted in 2015, and has since been repeated at Fordham University in New York in 2017, at the University of Loyola in Chicago in 2019, and at the University of Dallas in 2022.
The CIC mission is to promote a Catholic voice in fiction, poetry and the fine arts, which its founders believe has faded from wider public consciousness since the mid-20th century. This loss of presence, coupled with a latent anti-Catholic sentiment in academia and contemporary secular culture, inspired a small group of poets, writers and educators to build a network of committed Catholic artists throughout North America, and eventually in South America, Europe and Asia.
This year’s conference was held in conjunction with the University of Notre Dame’s de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, which has long pursued the promotion of Catholic moral and ethical traditions across various disciplines. Although the Catholic Imagination Conference is devoted primarily to the literary arts, the de Nicola Center’s involvement
helped to broaden the scope of the 2024 event to new subject areas, such as extending a Catholic mindset to the realms of healthcare, civil discourse, polarized communities and artificial intelligence.
Angela Alaimo-O’Donnell, an English literature professor at Fordham University in New York and a poet and author in her own right, said the first two conferences had a deliberate literary focus, but they have since grown to include workshop topics from a broad range of interests and disciplines.
“Our offerings, speakers, and panel discussions have become more diverse,” she said in an interview following the conference, “and we are open to new genres, including crime novels, graphic novels, works of visual art, music and experimental film. And we are certainly interested in bringing in Catholic writers and artists from around the world, not just North America.”
Women authors featured more prominently at this year’s event, with readings from Latina poets Sarah Cortez of the Catholic Literary Arts program in Houston, Natalia Treviño of Northwest Vista College in San Antonio, Gina Franco of Knox College in Illinois, and Adela Najarro of the Círculo de Poetas and Writers.
In addition to a workshop on 20th-century women writers – Muriel Spark, Sigrid Undset and Willa Cather – the conference featured a discussion of lesser known but influential Catholic women writers of the late 19th century.
Although most of the conference discussion was more meaningful to writers, creative artists in various media
and academics, there was abundant food for thought for ordinary Catholics. One workshop, for example, focused on the Catholic imagination and disabilities, and it included ways to accommodate people with autism or Down syndrome more fully into sacramental life.
The conference keynote address was given by Judith Wolfe, professor of philosophical theology at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and author of a new work “The Theological Imagination,” released just this year by Cambridge University Press.
Wolfe said while the human imagination will never fully comprehend transcendence and divine mysteries, certain forms of art can provide a glimpse of what awaits the human soul. “Poetry and art cannot guarantee the fulfillment of our glimpses of wholeness but they can awaken the courage to hope for it,” she said in her address.
In many ways, the Catholic Imagination Conference is the brainchild of poet and educator Dana Gioia of Los Angeles. A one-time poet laureate for the state of California, Gioia is the author of seven poetry collections as well as anthologies and literary criticism.
A Redemptorist Spiritual Center overlooking the Atlantic Ocean offering preached retreats, days of prayer and use of the facility for outside groups.
LOYOLA JESUIT CENTER
161 James Street • Morristown, NJ 07960 973-539-0740 • Fax: 973-898-9839 www.loyola.org • retreathouse@loyola.org Retreats for lay men, women, priests, religious; days/evenings of prayer. Groups planning their own programs are welcome.
THE SHRINE OF ST. JOSEPH
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A Retreat House Sponsored by the Religious Teachers Filippini overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay. Offering days of prayer, retreat weekends, spiritual programs, meetings and staff days.
Writer Today” (Wiseblood Books), Gioia outlined the importance of Catholic artists and writers in fostering a Catholic sensibility in the wider public square.
“Despite its proclamations of diversity and multiculturalism, contemporary American letters has little use for Catholicism, and Catholics have retreated from mainstream cultural life,” Gioia wrote. “What absorbs the Catholic intellectual media is politics, conducted mostly in secular terms – a dreary battle of Right versus Left for the soul of the American Church. If the soul of Roman Catholicism is to be found in partisan politics, then it’s time to shutter up the chapel.”
Gioia elaborated on the need to utilize Catholic artists’ literary and creative skills to keep a Catholic consciousness alive in contemporary public affairs. In his closing address at the conference, Gioia suggested Catholic creatives step back from the prevailing secular zeitgeist to ponder more essential truths.
“If you want to be a writer, don’t meet the world on the world’s terms,” he said. “Being a real writer and a real Catholic is an odd and anomalous thing. Sooner or later, you have to break from the world, so quit, hide, work and wander as your destiny dictates.”
“The church is reformed and revitalized not by its institutions, but by its saints,” he added. “Without the saints, we would be lost. And that’s why the secular press will mock anyone who is saintly. They will even attack Mother Teresa. We look to the saints for heroic virtue.”
In his 2014 booklet “The Catholic
Michael Mastromatteo is a writer, editor and book reviewer from Toronto.
The mission of Mount Saint Mary House of Prayer, rooted in the Gospel and the charism of the Sisters of Mercy, is to provide a sacred space, prayer experiences, and spirituality programs that help adults of any faith to encounter the God of Mercy and share that mercy with others. The mission moves beyond the House of Prayer to any place where we share our ministry.
We offer day and overnight retreats, individual spiritual direction, weekly Eucharistic Hour of Prayer, and a variety of spiritual programs.
We invite you to experience the Peace, Contemplation, and Hospitality of this Oasis off Route 22.
This month’s featured retreat house: 1651 U.S. Highway 22, Watchung, NJ 07069-6587 908-753-2091 msmhope.org
VILLA PAULINE RETREAT AND SPIRITUAL CENTER
The Catholic Spirit Retreat Guide, 2024-04-30, 4.93 x 3.16”
352 Bernardsville Road, Mendham, NJ 07945 Sr. Joseph Spring • 973-919-9874 • srjspring@gmail.com sccus.org • Preached/Directed/Guided & Private Retreats, Spiritual Direction, day & weekend programs
To join this retreat guide, email mgregory@diometuchen.org
“FAITH, FAMILY, EDUCATION, TRADITION”
Immaculate Conception, Spotswood: 60 years of educating for success
By David Karas, Correspondent
Whether it has to do with caring and committed teachers, a faith-based education or a wide range of clubs and athletic offerings, students enjoy the time they spend at Immaculate Conception School, Spotswood.
“I can honestly say the kids all love coming to school,” said principal John Maresca. “They say it all the time, and the parents are quick to share that.”
Salvatore Ciaravino, who will graduate in the spring and serves as student council president, said he has appreciated the extra help he has received from his teachers. He also noted the different clubs and activities that the school offers for students – which include basketball, chess, rocketry, pickleball, boxing, cooking and more.
The size of the Pre-K through 8th grade school also contributes to the experience for students, he added.
“Immaculate Conception School is a very special place because together as a small school we are all one big family,” said Ciaravino. “This school is a very special place where teachers and students are willing to go the extra mile to help others.”
Fellow eighth grader Valentin Torres also reflected on the bonds that students have with one another, and their teachers – and mentioned highlights like the school’s Halloween movie night, Christmas festival and class trips.
“I look forward to seeing the teachers and friends every morning when I walk into school,” said Torres. “The teachers are very kind and always help you when you need it. They are always open to helping you before school, after school, and during recess.”
Torres also mentioned morning prayer and monthly Masses that help students develop their faith.
“What makes Immaculate Conception a special place is how we learn about
Jesus,” said Torres, “and have a church in our school building where we do our first Friday Masses every month.”
Students also have the opportunity to participate in the Bulldog Sports program, which offers co-ed athletic programs.
“The purpose of the organization is to promote Roman Catholic ideals, good sportsmanship, honesty, integrity, and respect,” according to the school. “The most important goal is to ensure that the athletes have a safe and fun time while learning the fundamentals of sports.”
Our Vision
Immaculate Conception School leads students on a journey from wonder to discovery and from investigation to affirmation. Here, in an atmosphere of mutual respect, they work, play and learn together. They are unafraid of taking risks and eager for challenges. The children become aware of God’s unconditional love and realize that they each possess a special place in His beautiful world.
The program is supervised by Maresca, and also includes parents of students who help coordinate and raise funds for the program. Current offerings include cross country and track, and the program has also had basketball and soccer in past years.
“I constantly hear stories from the parents about great memories they had as students at ICS,” said Maresca. “My main goal as an educator is to prepare students to be outstanding community members and make memories that last a lifetime. The parents constantly remind me that ICS did that for them and there is no place they would rather have their children go to school.”
When asked about her experience at Immaculate Conception School, recent graduate Jessica Martinez reflected on her amazing teachers and the friendships she made.
“ICS is a special place because it’s like a second family,” said Martinez. “I made so many memories that I will cherish for a lifetime.”
Another alumna, Erica Guketlov, still has fond memories of the school community – from which she graduated in 2009.
“The teachers and curriculum prepared me well for high school,” she said. “What I treasure the most looking back 16 years is the warm and supporting en-
Maya Helou, who graduated this past spring, reflected on how understanding and patient her teachers were, and said she left the school with friendships that will last a lifetime.
“The teachers are truly amazing, and I believe without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today and be able to continue to succeed in academics and life,” said Helou. “Parents should definitely consider sending their children to ICS because it’s a school where you create lifelong friendships, and a good proper education all while living out the Catholic faith every day.”
Maresca said that the faculty and staff work each day to educate and support students spiritually and socially, while integrating faith into each of their students. He also noted how many graduates send their own children to Immaculate Conception to follow in their footsteps.
“There is no greater gift that we can receive than parents having the faith in us to educate their children,” he said. “Immaculate Conception School has such a large number of legacy students because the parents know firsthand that the education you receive from our school is as good as it gets.”
To learn more about Immaculate Conception School, visit https://www.
Joseph High School, Metuchen, have been sleeping out in solidarity with the homeless youth of New Jersey.
Known as Tent City on campus, the event not only raises awareness, but also money for Covenant House New Jersey, an organization providing a warm bed, food, and health and wellness services to homeless youth and survivors of human trafficking.
One attendee, Aiden DaSilva, said, “The Tent City Sleep Out was an awesome and formative experience that
‘Tent City’ benefits homeless youth
helped me learn so much. I was able to further my understanding and practice of Saint Joe’s values of helping others and following Christ’s example.”
Organized by Stephen Horan ‘25, Tent City is “so much more than just a night spent with friends.
“Tent City is a chance to step into the shoes of those facing real struggles, even if it’s only for a few hours,” Horan said. “It’s a really powerful reminder of the struggles so many people have to endure.”
Kirsten Corley, Student Initiatives
Officer of Covenant House Newark, attended as she does every year to talk to the students about why their Sleep Out is important. Covenant House provides love, shelter and hope to homeless youth. Corley also brought one of their residents to explain to the students about the programs CH offers and to tell his story.
This year, 91 members of the Saint Joseph community slept out, raising a total of $34,696. Throughout the night, students set up tents, participated in group discussions, and spent time keep-
ing warm around the fire.
“This event helps open the eyes of our students to the plight of homeless youths in our own area as well as raise funds for Covenant House’s life changing programs for their residents,” Tracey Coudriet, director of Campus Ministry, said.
Saint Joseph High School has a direct connection with Covenant House, as Kevin Ryan ‘85 was the CEO and president of the organization for 22 years until his retirement in March 2024.
Contributed by Stephen Horan ‘25
Immaculata Spartans marching band wins national title
By Susan Odenthal, Correspondent
The renowned Spartan marching band from Immaculata High School in Somerville has won the national champi onship in its division, the third national ti tle in the school’s history and its first since 2012. The high school’s band topped 18 competing ensembles from seven states along the east coast at the November 9 contest in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Immaculata competes in the US Bands competition circuit, where it was previously named New Jersey state champion on October 26.
Performing a program called “From the Ashes,” which featured selections of music from composers as diverse as Igor Stravinsky and John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the ensemble featured brass, woodwinds, percussion, color guard and a drum major. The program told the story of the mythical phoenix, from birth to flight, flight to death, and death to rebirth. Stu-
dents from fellow parish school Immaculate Conception School participated in the drama on the field, flying “bird” kites.
More than a dozen of the marching band staff members who designed and
taught the program are themselves Immaculata graduates and alumni of the school’s storied music program. Immaculata alumnus Michael Gasko, now the high school’s director of performing arts, spoke of the
band’s dedication and commitment.
“Our students made the decision this year to win,” Gasko said, “and once they had made that decision as a group,
—Courtesy photos
—Courtesy photo
“The girls here are like a family to me, and we have a great culture between everybody. I think going into my freshman year, I was able to find some seniors that I really looked up to, and I think they’ve made a lasting impact on how I decided to take lead and take action with the girls now.”
Mount St. Mary basketball phenom signs with NJIT
By Greg Johnson Correspondent
Basketball runs deeply in Filipino culture, so much so that Mia Gestosani has played the sport since she was about five years old.
“My brother got me into it, like, as soon as I could hold the ball in my hands,” she jokes.
Last month, Gestosani, a senior at Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung, signed a National Letter of Intent to con tinue her academic and athletic career at New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark. She is the fourth basketball player in school history to earn an NCAA Division I scholarship.
During her time in high school, Ges tosani has grown into a leader as well as a top scorer and playmaker. She has been a four-year starter for Mount Saint Mary with team highs in
Gestosani has a chance to move into the top three this winter. Along the way, she has received numerous All-Skyland Conference accolades and led Mount Saint Mary to three straight division titles for the first
“I was a little bit taller (than others) when I was growing up, but going into high school, I developed as a point guard because of my current height,” Gestosani said. “I knew at the collegiate level that I would probably play that position.”
Gestosani was about two feet shorter than her brother when they grew up playing together with a mini hoop. The older sibling would always win, but those backyard battles made her more and more determined to
“It put that competitive spirit into me, because he was my older brother,” Gestosani said. “I always wanted to be better than him.”
Gestosani joined organized basketball when she was about seven years old playing in a Filipino league – a smooth life decision because her parents were immigrants and knew a community of people with the same heritage. She entered club basketball in the sixth grade playing for the Jersey Cardinals, who are based out of Rutgers Prep. One year later, COVID-19 shook the world and gave her a fresh perspective
—Courtesy photos
“That’s when I realized I really loved basketball, because having it taken away from me made me realize how much I really love to play and how much I miss it,” Gestosani said. “I began to work out a lot more during that time.”
Gestosani entered high school with a quiet confidence after seeing her training pay off against high-level club competition. She dreamed of playing college basketball, and as a freshman she began attracting interest from schools such as Buffalo and Dartmouth.
The hoopster verbally committed to NJIT this past August because of her desire to major in data science, plus the school’s proximity and her comfortability with the basketball team.
“I think the coaching staff, everybody there was really welcoming, and that’s what I really loved about it,” said Gestosani, who has also played AAU basketball with the Adidas-sponsored New York Gauchos. “Just the fact that it’s a little closer to home and being able to have my family come to some of the games is important to me because of how I grew up. My brother was my main trainer, and I feel like it’s important for him to be able to come to some of my games and have my family close by.”
Gestosani knows she also wouldn’t be in this position without Mount Saint Mary coach Ryan Shellhammer and the seniors who guided her as a freshman. Shellhammer coached Gestosani’s older brother, so Gestosani knew she could rely on him.
“He’s always working really hard to make sure all of the girls are prepared in competition and just making it fun,” Gestosani said. “The girls here are like a family to me, and we have a great culture between everybody. I think going into my freshman year, I was able to find some seniors that I really looked up to, and I think they’ve made a lasting impact on how I decided to take lead and take action with the girls now.”
With her own senior season underway, Gestosani is proud to be a vocal leader – almost like a secondary coach –on and off the court. She firmly believes that it’s important to be there for your teammates and create a welcoming environment, and that’s the legacy she wants to forge before heading off to NJIT.
“I had a person to do that for me, and I know the impact of that now,” Gestosani said. “Scoring obviously is a big part of the game, but being able to have everybody band together is what’s important in the end because it is a team sport, and that aspect is bigger than anything I think. So I think my ability to lead a little bit different than other people, I think that’s what makes me stand out.” Her coach can vouch for that level of commitment.
“Mia checks off all the boxes of a successful student-athlete,” Shellhammer said. “She prioritizes her family, works hard in the classroom, is self-driven to improve her individual and team skills in basketball, and most importantly truly cares about her teammates.”
Above, Mount Saint Mary senior Mia Gestosani is surrounded by her parents and older brother after signing a National Letter of Intent to continue her academic and basketball career at NJIT. Left, Mia Gestosani, a 5-foot-8 point guard, eclipsed 1,000 points as a junior and currently ranks sixth in Mount Saint Mary basketball history in scoring.
Crossword Puzzle
The Diocese of Metuchen’s 2025 Diocesan Directory
you did for one of these ___ brothers of mine, you did for me.’“ (Mt 25:40)
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will ___ it up.”
Gnostic being
“Give us this day our ___…”
Jai ___ 28 One of the seven deadly sins
Sunday in Lent
Brother of Jacob
“I’ve got ___ on it”
Members of this tribe of Israel carried the Ark
Thor’s
To
08840-0191
For additional information or to pay by credit card, call Mary G. at 732-529-7934 BOOK
ORDER FORM
I have a question about the vocation of marriage. I’m very moved by the examples of widowed family and friends who continue to be very devoted to their deceased spouse, praying for them daily and visiting their graves often. Often they speak of looking forward to seeing their spouse again in heaven. Does the church teach that marriage can transcend death in this way? How can you give your whole heart to someone and then have that just end?
Jenna Marie Cooper, who holds a licentiate in canon law, is a consecrated virgin and a canonist whose column appears weekly at OSV News. Send your questions to CatholicQA@osv.com.
Does marriage transcend death?
APractically speaking, praying daily for the repose of a deceased spouse’s soul is an act of Christian charity and a very Catholic thing to do. And it is beautiful to keep our departed loved ones’ memories alive.
But the real core of your question is a little bit more complicated. Although the Church teaches that we will be united with our loved ones in heaven (including spouses who have died before us) the Church does not teach that marriage lasts into eternity.
That is, we as Catholics believe that marriage ends with death, full stop, which is why remarriage after the death of one’s spouse is a non-issue in the eyes of the Church.
One major scriptural point of reference for the Church’s teaching on the nature of marriage can be found in Chapter 22 of the Gospel of Matthew. In this passage, the Sadducees asked Jesus whom a woman, married and widowed seven times, would be married to in the afterlife. Jesus responds:
“You are misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven” (Mt 22:29-30).
Here, Jesus is making clear that marriage is something specifically tied to earthly life, and not something that was intended to endure into eternity. In heav-
en, we will all be unmarried “like the angels,” that is, totally and completely fulfilled by the love of God alone.
Incidentally, this is one reason why priests and men and women in consecrated life embrace a call to celibacy. By renouncing earthly marriage, they strive to live now, here on earth, the kind of life that all the faithful will eventually have in heaven.
Theologically, the purpose of married love – even sacramental married love where the spouses reflect God’s love toward each other – is to be temporary and ordered to an even higher end. The ultimate goal for every human being is to love God with a singular purpose, and to let this undividedly focused love of
God overflow into a radical, disinterested love of neighbor.
Most people are not at a point in their spiritual life where they are able to live this reality during their time on earth, so the majority are called to love a mortal spouse as a sort of “training ground” for the angelic, heavenly love we will experience in heaven.
Even with this in mind, it may still be emotionally difficult to think of a happy marriage ending with death. But as our Catholic funeral liturgy reminds us, for God’s faithful “life is changed, not ended” with bodily death; and by analogy we can also conclude that although the love of spouses may be changed into something different from specifically married love, this does not mean that this love no longer exists. Indeed, once subsumed into the love of God, it may become something even stronger in the life of the world to come.
Immaculata marching band inspires with performance
Pictured is senior band member Alicia Krauser of Bound Brook. For the third time in its history, the Immaculata High School Spartans Marching band won the championship in its division, besting 18 others from seven states along the East Coast. —Courtesy photo
Continued from page 29
nothing was going to stop them. I am so proud of our students for their amazing season, and for consistently performing a beautiful, mature, and inspiring work of art on the field every time.”
The work to make that decision a reality started long before the school year itself. In January of the prior school year, conversations began about program design, and work continued through the summer as rehearsals commenced. Throughout the season, Gasko explained, the program was refined, adding and editing choreography, props and effects to enhance the show.
That decision is made real again each time the band steps off onto the field. Senior Charlotte Redmond of Branchburg marvels at what she’s learned through
the performances and practices. “This season has been full of growth and unforgettable memories,” she said. “Being a field commander has pushed me to become a stronger, more confident leader, especially through the challenges of uniting the team on the field. The lessons I’ve learned and connections I’ve made will stay with me for years to come.”
Although not part of the performing ensemble, the unsung heroes of the marching band program are the band parents, Gasko notes. They sew flags for color guard members, prepare pre-performance means, and act as the road crew, loading and unloading the truckload of equipment that travels with the band for each game or competition.
A stained-glass window at Sts. Cyril & Methodius Church in Deer Park, N.Y. —OSV News photo/CNS file, Gregory A. Shemitz
Book of the Month
book is available at: bookstore.wordonfire.org/products/the-shepherds-coat
Benji the shepherd boy’s dearest wish is to find the Baby Jesus and give him his most prized possession: a sheepskin coat. What will he do when he discovers a lost little boy trembling in the cold? Should he give the coat away to someone who desperately needs it or keep it in case he finds the Christ child? This story, beautifully told by beloved spiritual writer Caryll Houselander, reveals deep spiritual truths through an encounter with Jesus and a reminder that what we do for the least of these, we do for him. With breathtaking illustrations by Jess Mason, this stunning book will be a favorite Christmas story for families to enjoy again and again.
By John Mulderig
NEW YORK (OSV News) – Gentle and family-oriented, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” (Lionsgate) offers topflight holiday entertainment for a wide range of age groups. In adapting author Barbara Robinson’s 1972 children’s novel, helmer Dallas Jenkins blends wry humor and touching drama while also successfully conveying some valuable insights.
As a small-town church prepares for the annual production of its tradition-bound yuletide pageant, the show’s long-standing director, Mrs. Armstrong (Mariam Bernstein), is suddenly put out of commission by an accident. So youthful stay-at-home mom Grace (Judy Greer) volunteers to step into the breach.
As Grace tries to get her bearings, she’s daunted to find that the Herdman children, a brood of six notoriously misbehaving siblings – led by the eldest, Imogene (Beatrice Schneider) – have bullied their way into the principal roles. Imogene, in particular, is determined to play the Virgin Mary.
Grace is inclined to give the neglected kids a chance to prove themselves. Yet she also justifiably fears that they’ll wreak disaster.
As she wavers, Grace is cheered on by her young daughter, Beth (Molly Belle Wright), and gets guarded support from her husband, Bob (Pete Holmes). She’s opposed every step of the way, however, by a band of close-minded fellow parishioners.
As narrated by the adult Beth (Lauren Graham), this is a mutual conversion story in which characters on both sides of the little controversy end up getting a better grip on the reason for the season. Thus the Herdman kids, as newcomers
Above, Essek Moore as Ollie Herdman, Ewan Wood as Leroy Herdman, Lorelei Olivia Mote as Alice, Matthew Lamb as Claude Herdman, Molly Wright as Beth, Beatrice Schneider as Imogene Herdman, Mason Nelligan as Ralph Herdman, Kynlee Heiman as Gladys Herdman, Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez as Charlie star in a scene from the movie “Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” —OSV News photo/Allen Fraser, Lionsgate
Pictured at right is Barbara Robinson’s 1972 children’s novel from which the movie was adapted. Used with permission from HarperCollins.
to worship and scripture, bring a fresh perspective to the tale of Christmas that helps renew the faith of those jaded by its familiarity.
Penned by Ryan Swanson, Platte F. Clark and Darin McDaniel, the script also treats with a delicate touch such themes as pigeonholing prejudice and the positive influence of religious role models. All this far outweighs the few quasi-irreverent exclamations used to illustrate the Herdmans’ naughtiness – wayward language that’s immediately rebuked by others on screen.
Overall, although small fry are unlikely to find it of interest, “Pageant” makes welcome entertainment for all others.
The film contains a few mild oaths and a single rude expression. The OSV News classification is A-II – adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG – parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
John Mulderig is media reviewer for OSV News. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @JohnMulderig1.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
This charming fact-based historical drama tells the origin story of Victorian author Charles Dickens’ (Dan Stevens) beloved novella, “A Christmas Carol.” With his last three titles having failed to sell, Dickens fears falling into debt if his next production is equally unpopular. As he struggles with writer’s block and the endless distractions of his burgeoning family’s domestic life – a visit from his feckless father (Jonathan Pryce), whom Dickens blames for the sufferings of his childhood, is a particular source of worry and conflict – the writer fancifully summons up and interacts with his own characters, most prominently dour miser Ebenezer Scrooge (Christopher Plummer). His patient wife (Morfydd Clark) and unpaid literary agent (Justin Edwards) offer him encouragement, and the conversion story he eventually pens finds a real-life counterpart in the amendment of Dickens’ own behavior. Director Bharat Nalluri’s adaptation of Les Standiford’s 2008 book is family-friendly in most respects and will likely prove a winner with a broad range of age groups. A very vague sexual joke, a single mild oath. (A-II) (PG)
Below, Dan Stevens and Christopher Plummer star in a scene from the movie “The Man Who Invented Christmas.” —OSV News photo/Kerry Brown, Bleecker Street
Diocesan Events
New Homeschool Ministry – 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., St. Theodore Church, 855 Route 57, Port Murray. All parents of homeschool families are invited to attend this inaugural meeting which will include a presentation on “Franciscan at Home” which is a free catechetical resource. For more information contact Father Gilbert Starcher at gstarcher@diometuchen.org.
Workshop for Hispanic Musicians – 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., in Spanish at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center. Sponsored by the Diocesan Office of Hispanic Evangelization ad Pastoral Ministry in coordination with OCP (Oregon Catholic Press). For more information and registration contact: Lescobar@ diometuchen.org or call 732-243-4573.
Rosary for Life with Bishop James F. Checchio. You are asked to park and meet in the St. James Parish parking lot at 12:45 p.m., 369 Amboy Ave., Woodbridge. There is a 12:10 p.m. daily Mass at St. James for those who wish to attend. For more information contact amarshall@diometuchen.org.
DIOCESAN PROGRAMS
Bible Study in a Year – This virtual women’s group will be following Father Mike Schmitz’s “Bible in a Year” podcast and meeting each Sunday at 2:30 p.m. on Zoom to discuss insights from the week. For details or to participate contact Cristina at: cdaverso@ diometuchen.org
Lectio Divina for Couples & Families This virtual program for couples and families is held two Thursdays per month at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. The program includes praying a meditative reading of a short scripture passage. For questions and more details, contact cdaverso@diometuchen.org
Immigration Talks – The Office of Hispanic Evangelization and Pastoral Ministry will be resuming immigration talks in coordination with Catholic Charities. If your parish is interested in hosting an immigration talk, email: lescobar@diometuchen.org and indicate the best day for an immigration talk to your parish and community.
AROUND THE DIOCESE
Italian Night, Jan. 18, 6:30 p.m. Show, 7:30 p.m.
Our Lady of Lourdes Knights of Columbus, Council 6930, Whitehouse Station, will present the evening which features Zach Alexander, a jazz vocalist who specializes in the style of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. As the winner of the 2016 ‘Sinatra Idol’ competition in Hoboken, he is dedicated to bringing the Great American Songbook to life for current and future generations. This event will enable the Knights to support many of the local organizations like Starfish Food Pantry, Hunterdon ARC, Clinton ARC, and Lyons VA Hospital to name a few. Venue: Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Community Hall, 390 County Road 523, Whitehouse Station. $40.00 per person. Doors open at 6:30. Dinner service runs from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. For reservations and information contact: Jim Siessel at 917-903-2174 email: jimsiessel@yahoo. com or Bill Murphy at 908-500-2999, email: wkmurphy@att.net.
SELLING YOUR HOME?
Willing to buy your home or townhouse in as-is condition. Quick 30 day cash closing. I’m a Licensed realtor in the State of NJ. Eugene “George” Pantozzi 908-392-2677 (call or text) georgepantozzi@hotmail.com
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY - FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
The Diocese of Metuchen is seeking a freelance photographer to cover important events throughout the diocese, particularly the Bishop’s pastoral visits. The ideal candidate will have knowledge of how to appropriately photograph liturgical events in the Diocese and assist the Office of Communications and Public Relations, as well as The Catholic Spirit. Interested candidates should contact Adam Carlisle at acarlisle@diometuchen.org.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY - GRAPHIC DESIGNER
The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, seeks a Graphic Designer to assist with the layout and design of its publication. The ideal candidate will have Adobe InDesign and Photoshop experience in a PC environment, be familiar with all aspects of electronic publishing, be well-organized and reliable, and have a proven track record of meeting deadlines. Interested candidates should forward their resume to hr@diometuchen.org.
Share the news of the Diocese and the Church in the world with a one-year subscription to The Catholic Spirit newspaper. To pay by credit card, call Mary at 732-529-7934, or simply mail a check for $30 payable to The Catholic Spirit: Circulation, The Catholic Spirit, PO Box 191, Metuchen, NJ 08840 We’ll take care of the rest.
Sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen
