February 25, 2021

Religious celebrate signi icant anniversaries in their vocations, 15-23

Spirit atholic C THE

FEBRUARY 25, 2021 • VOL. 26 NO. 1 • $2.00

THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF METUCHEN

Bishop James F. Checchio prays the rosary with participants of the Rosary Rally for Life at the American Wellness Center, Woodbridge. The rally was held on the 48th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in the United States.

— Frank Wojciechowski photo

Bishop joins faithful at Rosary Rally for Life in front of abortion provider

By Deacon Patrick Cline Correspondent WOODBRIDGE — The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many planned events to be cancelled or modified, including the Jan. 29 March for Life. Held each year in Washington, D.C., on the anniversary of the United States Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion,

this year’s March for Life was a virtual event. Throughout the country, however, people gathered to mark the 48th anniversary of the court’s decision.

In order to maintain a needed focus on the pro-life movement, and in solidarity with Catholics across the country, the Diocese of Metuchen held a Rosary for Life Rally Jan. 29. With temperatures in the mid-20s and wind gusts of nearly 30

miles per hour, the rally began in front of American Wellness Center, an abortion provider near St. James Parish. The diocesan Office of Human Life & Dignity, under the leadership of Father Timothy A. Christy, vicar general, and Jennifer Ruggiero, who heads the diocesan Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life, organized the event.

To encourage participation at this

rally and other diocesan pro-life efforts, Bishop James F. Checchio, was among the 200 or more people who gathered at St. James to make the relatively short, but chilly walk on Main Street to the center. Because of the windy conditions, it was decided that leading the march with the banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe as planned was too dangerous. Instead, one Continued on page 8

INSIDE Perspectives Our Faith

Voices for Unborn

4 28-29

Diocesan Events

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Classifieds

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Members of laity honored at annual Pro-Life Mass. . .3 This issue was mailed on February 23 Your next issue will be March 25

2 UP FRONT THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Lent is time to renew encounter with Lord, be like Christ Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

ing, who in some cases were unable to of the Holy See’s “McCarrick Report.” have their loved ones present with them This report, although much anticipated, in their last moments of life, as they jour- was nonetheless gut-wrenching, disapneyed to the foot of the cross. pointing and disgusting when released, a A recent study conducted by the reminder to us of how much damage has Pew Research Center suggests that more been done to the Body of Christ, espethan a quarter of Americans, and a third cially to those abused and taken advanof U.S. Catholics, say their faith has tage of through a series of failures that grown stronger during the COVID-19 we must be ever vigilant to never allow Just a few days ago, we entered into pandemic, even as we have had to adjust to happen again. As I did last year and the season of Lent — a time which calls our lives to keep ourselves and our fami- will continue to do, as part of my own us to sanctify our lives and unite our- lies safe. We have grown in faith and we commitment to this necessary healing of selves more deeply with Christ through have also grown in our longing, too — a past abuse in the Body of Christ, I will prayer, fasting and almsgiving. But it is deep longing to be united with Christ in continue to make known to you the needalso a season which leaves us ripe for the Eucharist. ed steps that we take to be transparent renewal; a time in which we renew our In a time when we are physically and forthright in the protocols and poliencounter with Christ and give witness distant from one another, when we have cies that help ensure integrity on every to His word, as well as mindfully par- faced individual sufferings and sufferings level of our diocesan life. ticipate in the sacraments, especially the as a universal Church, when we have lost Blessed to be your chief shepherd, I Eucharist, so that we may conform our more than 400,000 of am greatly concerned lives to be more like His. our American brothfor the welfare of In an effort to be ever Over the past year, much like every ers and sisters to the every aspect of our other part of our lives, the sacramental life coronavirus — it parishes, schools and more efficient, effective of the Church has looked different. For seems only right that institutions.

Obvimany eagerly awaiting the Sacraments we would long to be and far reaching regarding ously, the healthy of Initiation and for those men awaiting united in the Euchafinancial stewardship the mission of charity that of the entire diocese the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the wait rist, by which we are stretched on until the sacraments could united to Christ, the is important. GrateOur Lord entrusts to His be safely conferred. Couples preparing whole Church, and all fully, and thanks to to enter into a covenant in the Sacrament the faithful departed. Church, I have established your generosity along of Marriage struggled with the decision The Eucharist is “a with belt-tightening a new secretariat in our of whether to postpone their weddings or sacrament of love, a in diocesan adminisbegin their new lives without their loved sign of unity, a bond diocese — the Secretariat tration, we have balones present. of charity, a Paschal our diocesan for Charity. This pandemic anced Through it all, our priests jour- banquet ‘in which budget for each of neyed with the faithful: hearing confes- Christ is consumed, has shown us more than the past four years. sions as those receiving the Sacrament of the mind is filled with Recently, renewed efever the increasing need forts have been made Penance sat six-feet away; exposing the grace, and a pledge of Blessed Sacrament near a window so that future glory is given in regard to financial for the charitable those longing to receive Him in the Eu- to us.’” (Catechism of protocols, incorporatcharist could adore Him from a distance; the Catholic Church presence of the Church. ing best practices for celebrating additional Masses, some even 1323) the integrity of paroutside throughout these colder months, My brothers and ish finance councils, so that more of the faithful could come sisters, our path to the cross is certainly along with the creation of a new Parish and worship; calling their parishioners to winding. It seems especially so when Financial Services Office in the diocese check on them; distributing Holy Com- we are faced with challenges, as we all that is entrusted with overseeing the audit munion in the streets or parking lots after have been throughout this pandemic, and process of each parish and the necessary Mass; continuing to serve those in need when we, as a Church, were called to ac- follow up for compliance. In addition, in our communities; and sadly, anointing knowledge and reconcile the past failings the diocese has begun the process of onand walking alongside the sick and dy- of the Church’s leaders with the release boarding an anonymous reporting mechanism Ethicspoint, which will allow for employees and people of the diocese, our parishes, schools and institutions to confidentially report suspicion of financial THE malfeasance that would then allow for an THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF METUCHEN independent investigation. These measures are all meant to be proactive steps Serving the Catholic community in Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties to ensure that our entire diocesan family e-Mail: news@catholicspirit.com The Catholic Spirit functions in a healthy and wholesome Subscription and advertising deadlines: Tuesday, 1 p.m.

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way in order to be responsible with the generous financial stewardship entrusted to the mission of our local Church.

In an effort to be ever more efficient, effective and far reaching regarding the mission of charity that Our Lord entrusts to His Church, I have established a new secretariat in our diocese — the Secretariat for Charity. This pandemic has shown us more than ever the increasing need for the charitable presence of the Church. The vision is to more integrally incorporate into all aspects of diocesan and parish life, the essential mission of charity that shows forth the face of Christ like no other to hurting people in need.

I have appointed Anthony P. Kearns III, Esq., who also serves as our diocesan chancellor, to lead our new Secretariat for Charity as the Chief Executive Officer. I have also named Julio Coto, who has so capably served our Catholic Charities, as the Executive Director of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen.

With that in mind, on pages 10 and 11, you will find more information about how the Diocese of Metuchen is responsibly cultivating the life, mission and work of our local Church, proclaiming our faith by our own credible witness to love, healing, unity and charity.

No matter your personal circumstance — whether you have not been able to receive Holy Communion since the start of the pandemic or if you have recently rediscovered the gift of your faith only by facing this past year’s challenges, or if you have been attending Mass in person — I pray that you will always long for the Eucharist, by which we are sanctified, strengthened and sent to fulfill God’s greater mission for us.

This Lenten season, may we seek to stand at the foot of the cross together with Mary, our mother, and unite ourselves more closely to her Son. Please know of my love and prayers for you, and I ask that you please pray for me too.

With renewed best wishes, I remain

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

Bishop’s Appointments Bishop James F. Checchio recently announced the following priestly appointments, Rev. Msgr. Robert W. Medley, from parochial vicar, Blessed Sacrament Parish, Martinsville, to pastor, Nativity of Our Lord Parish, Monroe Township, effective February 25 Rev. Msgr. Seamus F. Brennan, from administrator, Nativity of Our Lord Parish, Monroe Township, to senior priest, Blessed Sacrament Parish, Martinsville, effective February 25 Rev. George A. Farrell, from pastor, St. Joseph Parish, North Plainfield, to leave of absence, effective February 1 Rev. John R. Pringle, to temporary administrator, St. Joseph Parish, North Plainfield, effective February 1

of the

OUR DIOCESE

Where in the diocese can it be found?

3

Image Week

Parishioners lauded for pro-life activities

By Christina Leslie Correspondent METUCHEN — Two modern-day disciples of Jesus hailing from St. Matthias Parish, Somerset, were celebrated for their decades of pro-life efforts during the Jan. 22 Respect Life Mass and Pro-Vita Award ceremony at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi.

Bishop James F. Checchio, who presided at the Mass, bestowed on Fran Johnson and Frank McCann the

The image, which was featured on page 3 of the January issue of The Catholic Spirit, can be found at St. Bartholomew Parish, East Brunswick.

The winner is...

Douglas Baumann, a member of St. Bartholomew Parish To be a winner, you must call (732) 562-2424 after 9 a.m. Monday.

The first caller to correctly identify the image and its location will receive a one year subscription, renewal or gift subscription to The Catholic Spirit. Those who correctly identify an image are not eligible to take another guess for 90 days.

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

— Mike Ehrmann photos

Last issue's image...

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Jennifer A. Ruggiero, secretary, Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life, addresses the faithful from the ambo.

diocesan recognition. He reminded Frank McCann, co-winner of the Pro-Vita the virtual and livestream worshipers Award with Fran Johnson, accepts the that they, too, must take up the life- diocesan honor from Bishop James F. affirming mission to protect life from Checchio at the Respect Life Mass at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. The conception to natural death.

“Today is, sadly, the 48th anni- liturgy and award were established in versary of the Supreme Court decision 1998 for those who made oustanding — Roe vs. Wade,” the bishop noted. contributions to the pro-lfe cause.

“Since that time, we are told that more than 60 million abortions have taken ties for us to show respect for life… place in our land. Certainly, 400,000 Each time we do so we imitate God, deaths from this pandemic is astonish- and the image of God becomes clearer ing, but 60 million is really unimagi- and clearer.” nable.”

Referring to this year’s Pro-Vita The sanctity of life at all stages award recipients, Bishop Checchio was under threat in multiple direc- said, “They have responded in extraortions, he continued, dinary ways to make the because legislation is image of God stronger under consideration in our diocese. It is up "Certainly, to expand abortion up to each of us. The op400,000 until the moment of portunities for us to birth while recent laws choose life are bounddeaths permitted assisted suiless. Today, with God’s from this cide. We are all made in grace, we can recommit God’s likeness, knit toourselves through our pandemic gether in our mother’s actions and words to womb, and share in share the love of God is astonishing, God’s plan for creation with others.” but 60 million with others, the bishop Jennifer A. Ruggiero, added. secretary, Secretariat for [abortions] “Recently the Family and Pastoral Life, is really scourge of racism beexplained the diocesan came apparent to us,” Respect Life Mass and Prounimaginable.” the bishop said, “and Vita awards were instituted —Bishop James F. we are against racism in 1998 for those who made Checchio for the same reason we an outstanding contribution are against abortion to the pro-life cause. and assisted suicide — we are called Concelebrants including Father to respect all life. We cannot pick or Timothy A. Christy, diocesan vicar choose. There are always opportuniContinued on page 9

4 PERSPECTIVES

Bishop Checchio addresses allegations of abuse at women’s prison

By Bishop James F. Checchio As the bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen, I have been blessed to travel throughout the four counties of our diocese, often meeting and praying with so many faithful disciples of Christ, each facing their own circumstances in life.

Though my travels have been lessened by the pandemic, among those in the diocese whom I have been fortunate to meet on regular past visits are the women housed at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Union Townshiop, Hunterdon County.

In these past few years, you have likely seen in the news, as I have too, the dire situation facing the women incarcerated there. Sadly, just last month, several women brought forward more horrible allegations of abuse, both physical and sexual in nature. No person, no matter their past offenses nor circumstance in life, should have to endure such abuse.

These disgusting and shameful offenses against the women there, alleged to have been perpetrated by the prison officers, the very people charged with protecting the women in their custody, are terrible. This sad,

ongoing situation calls to mind other failures and lack of responsibility by those in authority, even not unlike past failings by some of our own Church’s leaders and members of clergy.

The Diocese of Metuchen is blessed to have Anthony P. Kearns III, Esq., our diocesan chancellor, to oversee our handling of cases of abuse amongst many other matters in the life of our local Church. Before he began his service to the Diocese of Metuchen, Mr. Kearns served for approximately nine years as the Hunterdon County Prosecutor, during which time he prosecuted claims of abuse at Edna Mahan, New Jersey’s only women’s prison. In his own experience prosecuting those cases, Mr. Kearns acknowledged that while institutional change can take time, the abuse happening cannot be tolerated.

I pray that those in authority over the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, who bear the weight of caring for and protecting the lives of those imprisoned, will honestly assess any failings and implement the proper measures so that each person there is treated as a child of God, worthy of inherent dignity.

As Catholics, we are reminded in the Gospel, “Whatever you do to the least of my people, you do to me” (Mt 25:40). In the Diocese of Metuchen, we are fortunate to have several prison ministries, one of which minsters to the women at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility. I am grateful to all who serve in prison ministry and to those who volunteer through parish prison ministries. Through their ministry, they continue to live the Gospel message. However, I am also mindful that each of us is commissioned to practice the Corporal Works of Mercy, to care for the imprisoned, and to protect all human life.

We have a shared responsibility — as Catholics, as Christians, and as brothers and sisters united in one human family — to defend the rights and dignity of all people. It is on this very same foundation of our faith, by which we are emphatically reminded that we are all equally made in the image and likeness of God, that we advocate for the unborn, for those facing the injustice of racism, for those confronting a terminal illness who feel compelled to choose assisted suicide, and for so many others who all too often are

excluded, marginalized, or are in any other way disenfranchised. Sadly, this respect for life seems to be lessening in our society.

We cannot be indifferent to their pain and suffering. We must strive to see more clearly the face of God in each of our brothers and sisters, regardless of their origin, race, religion, vulnerability, or past choices.

Please know of my love and concern for all of God’s people, especially those suffering from abuse. I ask that you please join me in praying for the women incarcerated in the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, that they may feel the loving presence of God the Father, amidst their many challenges. Please also pray for those with authority over this correctional facility and others across the country, that they may see the face of God in those people whom they have been entrusted in caring for, and act accordingly by serving with a love that respects the dignity of each person.

May we each be reminded of our Father’s unconditional and unfailing love for us and, in turn, offer that same love, without condition and without exception, to all whom we encounter.

In merciful God’s court, everyone gets ‘probation’ Body & Soul

By Father Glenn J. Comandini, STD Well, the sentence is in: “We’ve all been found guilty of sin.” But the Judge is clement — in fact, he is merciful. While we deserve a much more harsh punishment for our transgressions against his Laws — God

has given us another chance to make things right. We are on probation for six weeks — 40 some days in which we, through prayer, fasting and charity, are called to turn our lives around for the better. We are to refrain from sinning and seek holiness wherever we can. We are to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel, which is to say, we are to be faithful to the Good News of God’s love made incarnate in Jesus.

To be faithful to Jesus is no easy task — after all, we are fueled by the way society has conditioned us. We have

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Lenten Obligations So that the Church of Metuchen may be spiritually one in a common observance of Lent, the following days of fast and abstinence are to be observed by all Catholics of the Diocese who enjoy the blessings of good health: 1. The days of fast and abstinence are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

2. All other Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence.

3. From the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday until the celebration of the Easter Vigil on the evening of Holy Saturday, the Easter fast should be observed so that, with uplifted and welcoming hearts, we may be ready to celebrate the joys of the Resurrection. This ancient tradition, intimately connected with the Rites of Holy Week and the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, is encouraged, especially in those places baptizing catechumens at the Easter Vigil.

The obligation to fast applies only to Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59. To fast in the Catholic tradition means to limit oneself to one full meal during the day so as to experience hunger.

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

The obligation of fast and abstinence, as a whole, is a serious obligation. While failure to observe any penitential day in itself may not be considered serious, the failure to observe any penitential days at all, or a substantial number of them without good cause, would be considered a grave matter. Those unable to abstain for a valid reason on any given Friday of Lent are asked to perform some other penitential act, or to abstain on another day.

been shaped by people who tell us that we should only look out for ourselves. Or, we should do whatever it takes to get ahead.

Society tells us that we should place our needs before those who surround us. Well, to be faithful to Jesus requires a complete “about-face” and a stance which is, to say the least, counter-cultural. Now, we have to focus on others. Now, we have to be othercentered. We have to put the needs of others before our own, which is the meaning of “service.” We have to incorporate into our daily lives all those things which come with Gospel: The Beatitudes, the Law of the Gospel which is Love of God and Love of Neighbor. We have to put into practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

This season of Lent invites us to meditate on the price paid for our redemption, our ransom from the separation of God that we effected from turning our backs on him.

The key to Lent is repentance. To repent is to change whatever needs to be changed in order to become more like Jesus. How do we do this? Here are a few ideas.

We might wish to prayerfully read the Scriptures, the writings of the early Church Fathers, the lives of the Saints. Other means of repentance include meditating on the Stations of the Cross. One of my favorite Lenten practices is to pray daily the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. We should make an effort to seek out the sacrament of confession to atone for our sins. And, while we are in church, perhaps we could take some time to adore the Blessed Sacrament.

If we cannot attend daily Mass, we

should make an effort to return to Sunday Mass, which is better than watching it on television or a computer because we must be physically present in church to receive the Eucharist, the Bread from Heaven, the Bread of Life. Like Catholics before us, we should approach the altar for spiritual nutrition and communion with God, two beautiful graces that accompany our reception of the Eucharist.

Repentance is the heart of Lent. During these six weeks, let us make an effort to refrain from things that we like in order to show that we are not slaves to things but to Christ alone. Yes, the influx of grace and the cooperation of free-will, can change us, as individuals and as Church, for the better, which fulfills our quest of repentance.

God’s sentencing us to six weeks of probation is a gift. He bestows this sentence on all the living as a “second chance,” right what is wrong and attain holiness so that we can be once more in good standing with God. This is truly righteousness! We tasted the fruit of this grace in our baptism. Let us return to the font of our youth and convince our Judge, God the Father, that His mercy, this sentence, is not a waste of time, or an exercise in futility, but an opportunity to appreciate the redemption wrought by the suffering, death and resurrection of His only Son, Jesus Christ.

Now is the time for repentance. Now is the time to turn back to the God who judged us guilty of sin but redeemable in Christ Jesus, Our Lord.

Father Comandini is managing editor of “The Catholic Spirit”

5

Compiled from the Catholic News Service

Verify before sharing ‘news,’ Pope Francis says

Archbishop: No Catholic can favor abortion

VATICAN CITY — In the age of instant communications and fake news, journalists — like everyone else — need to recover the practice of going out and verifying information before they share it, Pope Francis said. “‘Come and see’ is the simplest method to get to know a situation. It is the most honest test of every message, because, in order to know, we need to encounter, to let the person in front of me speak, to let his or her testimony reach me,” the pope wrote in his message for the Catholic Church’s celebration of World Communications Day. The message was released Jan. 23, the eve of the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists. At the Vatican and in most countries, World Communications Day will be celebrated May 16.

The pope paid homage to journalists who have risked their lives going into the field to cover, verify and share stories the world needed to know, especially “about the hardships endured by persecuted minorities in various parts of the world, numerous cases of oppression and injustice inflicted on the poor and on the environment, and many wars that otherwise would be overlooked.” But he also railed against those who report or share information that has not been verified and that has

WASHINGTON — When they vote, Catholics must weigh many issues of very grave moral consequence “in good conscience,” but “no Catholic in good conscience can favor abortion,” San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone said Jan. 21. “’Right to choose’ is a smokescreen for perpetuating an entire industry that profits from one of the most heinous evils imaginable,” he said in a statement.

“Our land is soaked with the blood of the innocent, and it must stop.” Archbishop Cordileone’s remarks came in response to comments by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, during a Jan. 18 episode of a podcast hosted by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democrats’ 2016 presidential nominee. Pelosi, a Catholic, accused pro-life voters who supported President Donald Trump in the 2020 election and oppose his recent impeachment by the House of “being willing to sell the whole democracy down the river for that one issue” — abortion. The 80-year-old lawmaker from San Francisco, who has a 100 percent rating on the issue from NARAL Pro-Choice America, said the pro-lifers’ votes caused her “great grief as a Catholic.”

Pope Francis speaks during his weekly general audience at the Vatican in this Nov. 11, 2020, file photo. In a message for the Catholic Church’s celebration of World Communications Day, Pope Francis said that in the age of instant communications and fake news, journalists — like everyone else — need to recover the practice of going out and verifying information before they share it.

— CNS photo/Vatican Media

no basis in fact. “We have known for some time that news and even images can be easily manipulated for any number of reasons, at times simply for sheer narcissism,” he said.

Religious works to raise teenaged girls’ self-esteem

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone speaks from the floor during the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore Nov. 11, 2019.

— CNS photo/Bob Roller

Prayer vigils call for end to death penalty

Participants take part in a Jan. 22, 2021, prayer vigil to end death penalty in Norfolk, Va. (CNS photo/courtesy Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy) know the names of people who have been executed because not knowing them makes them seem less human.

“As someone who was raised Catholic, the idea that all people are created in the image and likeness of God is a phrase that is indelible in my brain,” she said, adding that executing people makes that notion of God-given human dignity a lie. Looking at capital punishment from the lens of faith, she said, there isn’t any way “we can say this is OK.”

FEBRUARY 25. 2021

Brazilian Franciscan Sister Telma Barbosa strives to improve self-esteem of teen girls who live in the Amazon state of Pará.

--CNS photo

WASHINGTON — For Stephanie Niedringhaus, it was all about the names. At some of the prayer vigils for an end of the death penalty in Virginia Jan. 22 — held in locations across the state, including sites where lynchings took place — the names of those killed were read aloud. Niedringhaus, a Catholic retiree from McLean, Va., said this litany of names goes along with what Sister Helen Prejean, a Sister of St. Joseph of Medaille and longtime activist against the death penalty, has stressed about the need to

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

SAO PAULO — In vast regions of the Amazonian state of Pará, the presence of Black people has been historically invisible, even though it’s an area that received Black migrants from the northeast. Such a social denial of the Afro Brazilian heritage can be especially harsh on the self-esteem of Black teenagers. For decades, Franciscan Sister Telma Barbosa has been fighting against it. Pará has many quilombos, communities founded by African slaves who fled captivity. Sister Barbosa began to work with groups of teenagers in Pará in 1990. “I realized that depression, self-mutilation, and suicide became endemic among the poor youth in the city of Altamira, particularly among girls,” she told Catholic News Service.

Sister Barbosa has been a Black activist since her formative years, at the beginning of the 1980s. A dancer and a therapist, over the decades she developed her own methodology to deal with the psychological and social problems experienced by the young participants of her pastoral activities. “It’s all about the body. I use the Afro Brazilian dance tradition” to help young people relax “and to accept themselves as they are,” she explained.

WORLD & NATION

WORLD & NATION

6 OUR DIOCESE

Youth from diocese honored for faith-based service in online ceremony

By Debra Stevko Miller Correspondent While the pandemic may have disrupted many events, some organizations continued their outreach in maintaining treasured annual celebrations and traditions. Such was the case for the Diocese of Metuchen’s conferring of the St. Timothy and St. Teresa of Calcutta awards last month to teens from 24 parishes.

Turning to a virtual platform, the diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry honored 34 outstanding high schoolers for their faith-based service projects in a livestreamed ceremony Jan. 26 — appropriately the feast day of St. Timothy.

“I never really imagined or thought about getting anything back for my service,” wrote honoree Evanjaline Sahaya in an e-mail. “But that I was nominated told me that my service was felt by those around me. This made me really, really happy. I was so glad that I could use my talents to make a difference in my parish community, especially now during the pandemic.”

The recipients of the awards were lauded online by Bishop James F. Checchio and video host Megan Vantslot, the office’s director, during the half-hour broadcast on Facebook and YouTube.

Vantslot’s upbeat introductions of the winners, with “Flight of the Inner Bird” playing throughout the presentation, struck the right tone for this spirited, and spirit-filled, recognition event.

“Certainly, this year is different, but what remained the same is the cre-

In screenshots from left, Bishop James F. Checchio gives opening remarks of the St. Timothy and St. Teresa of Calcutta awards, which was hosted

by Megan Vantsloot, right, director, diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. The annual ceremony was livestreamed because of the coronavirus pandemic. ative way that you expressed the faith you have in your hearts,” Bishop Checchio said in his remarks to the awardees watching online. “So many went to extraordinary extremes to reach to those in need during this pandemic.”

Creative Courage, this year’s theme, was evident in all of the caring displays of Christ-like voluntarism by the recipients. Pope Francis’ recent “Patris Corde” Apostolic Letter on the 150th Anniversary of the proclamation of St. Joseph underscores the awards’ theme: In the face of difficulty, we can

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Hospital to offer free, virtual diabetes program NEW BRUNSWICK — Saint Peter’s Healthcare System is committed to assisting members of the community prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes through a free, yearlong program that teaches improved nutrition, increased exercise, stress management and weight loss.

The Prevent T2 program is open to anyone 18 years or older diagnosed with prediabetes or with a history of gestational diabetes.

Pre-registration is required.

The next session begins March 3 with all classes meeting virtually on Wednesdays from 7 to 8 p.m.

The yearlong program meets every other week for the first six months, followed by monthly meetings in the second half of the year.

For more information or to register, call (732) 339-7772. Space is limited. Classes will be offered in English (and Spanish as needed).

The program recently received the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Prelimi-

nary Recognition, a designation reserved for programs that are effectively delivering a quality, evidence-based program and one that is proven to be advancing toward CDC Full Recognition status.

Full Recognition is achieved once individuals have participated in the program for a specific duration of time and exhibit data that reflects the achievement of specific CDC benchmarks.

Taught by registered dietitian nutritionists, Prevent T2 has already shown promising outcomes.

This is Saint Peter’s fifth session and the current 14 participants have had a collective weight loss of 264 pounds and an increase of 255 minutes per week in physical activity.

Sessions are designed to be both fun and educational. Lifestyle coaches track progress while the group format allows for collegial support that inspires healthier living and a commitment to individual goals.

either give up and walk away, or some- Kirby in the video. “Nothing brings me how engage with it. At times, difficul- as much happiness as serving others and ties bring out resources we did not even making them happy. It is my ultimate think we had. goal to show and to help others how to “I hope my actions and service, no let God into your lives and come to the matter where I am or what I am doing, same realizations that I have.” reflect God’s love in some way,” wrote Several of the conferees were rechonoree Elaina Phillips. “Because of my ognized with the additional St. Teresa faith in Jesus Christ, I of Calcutta Award as am continuously trying witnesses to their faith “Certainly, this year to reevaluate my choicfor their work with the es: what I spend time is different, but what poor, lowly, sick, and on, the ideas/concepts I homeless while exhibremained the same is iting Catholic morals, might be influenced by, and the people I connect service, and the creative way that integrity, with. I believe the Holy leadership. Some examSpirit is my source of you expressed the faith ples of the projects they strength; of course the engaged in involved: people around me have you have in your hearts. delivering Thanksgivinfluence, too.” ing meals to the homeSo many went to Awardee Phyllip bound, conducting a Gwozdz wrote: “With- extraordinary extremes hygiene kit drive for out my faith and my the homeless, cleaning to reach to those in involvement with Cathchurch pews, cooking olic-inspired service meals for hospital emneed during this and leadership, I would ployees, creating virtual pandemic.” not have been able to remorning prayer videos ceive these awards. My for classmates, and —Bishop James F. Checchio faith plays a huge role in dropping off small faith my volunteer work as I believe that I am gifts to religious education students. doing these works through Christ and his “Every day is a new task or new chalinspirational teachings.” lenge, and God is needed every step of the Honoree Claire Kirby noted in a way,” wrote beneficiary Evan Wooby. pre-recorded video during the virtual “My family is always there to keep me presentation how she realized her calling focused and on the right path on my faith to evangelization through the mission journey as I become the best person I can trips and retreats she attended beginning be with the Holy Spirit as my guide.” in her freshman year with the youth minStreaming the ceremony virtually istry at St James Parish, Basking Ridge. allowed relatives and friends of the honorOn subsequent outings to shelters in New ees to “attend” the event from near and far.

York City and in New Jersey, she felt a The ceremony can currently be viewed on connection through short conversations the diocesan YouTube channel. Last year, with the homeless. the in-person event was held at Saint Jo“The people I served while on these seph High School, Metuchen. runs opened my eyes to how beautiList of Timothy Award winners ful God was when serving others,” said on next page

7

Aracely Alvarado St. Helena, Edison

Luke Dziedzic

Katie Kwiatkowski

Lucas Anmolsingh

Lorelei Booth

St. Philip & St. James, Phillipsburg

St. Helena, Edison

John Fischang

Matthew Grossman

Blessed Sacrament, Martinsville

Katherine Kwiatkowski

Thomas Lederman St. Francis Cathedral, Metuchen

Immaculate Conception, Annandale

Meghan McMahon

Michael O’Keefe

William O’Keefe

Daniel Rankin

Luke Roberts

Evanjaline Sahaya

St. Francis Cathedral, Metuchen

St. Mary, Alpha

St. John Vianney, Colonia

St. Ambrose, Old Bridge

St. James, Basking Ridge

Blessed Sacrament, Martinsville

Miranda Lee

St. Ambrose, Old Bridge

Queenship of Mary, Plainsboro

Evan Wooby

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Three Bridges

Jaclyn Dencker

Donal Devine

St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison

Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Three Bridges

Phyllip Gwozdz

Christopher Jones

Claire Kerby

Saint Joseph High School, Metuchen

Zach Lowary

St. John Neumann, Califon

Elaina Philips

Queenship of Mary, Plainsboro

Tara Schilke

Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung

Rebecca Woods

Our Lady of Lourdes, Whitehouse Station

St. Luke, North Plainfield

Brendan Mahaney

St. James, Basking Ridge

Melanie Mallari

Immaculate Conception, Annandale

St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison

Mia Pinto

Abby Plaza

St. Joseph, Hillsborough

St. James, Basking Ridge

Delaney Smith

Madison Soetebeer

St. Joseph, Hillsborough

Sarah Woods

Our Lady of Lourdes, Whitehouse Station

St. Mary, Alpha

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Elizabeth Mary Traver

Saint Joseph High School, Metuchen

Abigail Chadwick

Phyllip Gwozdz

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Bridgewater

Sarah Woods

OUR DIOCESE

Evan Wooby

8 OUR DIOCESE

Faithful pray during peaceful protest of decision that legalized abortion Continued from front page

of the participants carried a statue of the Blessed Mother at the front of the marchers.

During the procession, the participants sang Marian hymns led by Cristina D’Averso Collins, director, diocesan Office of Family Life Ministry. At the clinic, the group quietly and reverently prayed the rosary in Spanish and English for all those impacted by abortion.

Participants included religious, college students, youth and senior citizens.

Representatives of the rich, diverse ethnic and cultural communities of the diocese were part of the group, too. Some had participated in similar events while for others, it was the first time and they were very moved by the solemnity and prayerful nature of the day.

“Being physically present at this event brought home the reality of the problem of abortion and the need for committed Catholics to continue praying for its elimination,” said Jesus Our Hope Sister Anna Palka.

Sister Anna attended with a contingent from the Catholic Center at Rutgers, New Brunswick, which included students, members of both her religious community and the Brothers of Hope, all who minister at Rutgers.

Ruggierio said she was pleased by the number of participants who came to

be part of what she described as “this visible and necessary public witness to the need to stand up for life, especially in a time when society places so little value on life in all of its stages, but especially at the beginning and end of life.”

She also expressed her gratitude to the Woodbridge Police Department for its assistance and coordination.

For Dona Cramer, a member of Immaculate Conception Parish, Somerville, the Rosary Rally for Life was the first pro-life event of this type that she attended. She marveled at “how all the people, from every walk of life and age, came out on one of the most bitterly cold days and stood together in prayer for those who can’t defend themselves and as a witness to any women contemplating abortion.”

Although the pro-life movement has experienced a number of setbacks recently, Carol Mascola, director, diocesan Office of Discipleship Formation for Children, sees some positive signs.

“Events like this are necessary to foster the promotion of a culture of life and to demonstrate our commitment to that goal and that we are not going away,” she said.

In support of all pro-life activities and this event in particular, some Catholic schools in the diocese prayed a Rosary for Life in their classrooms beginning at 1 p.m. when the rally began in Woodbridge.

After the rosary and before he gave

Participants in the Rosary Rally for Life walk from St. James Parish, Woodbridge, to pray in front of the American Wellness Center, an abortion provider, on the 48th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court’s Roe. v Wade decision.

— Frank Wojciechowski photo

a blessing, Bishop Checchio thanked the participants for their witness and presence. He reminded them of the need for “continuing our efforts to stand up for life and for praying for all the unborn children as well as everyone impacted by the evil of abortion.”

As the service ended and the participants were returning to St. James, they sang the very appropriate hymn, “Be Not Afraid.”

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

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FEBRUARY 25, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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general; Msgr. Robert J. Zamorski, rector of the Cathedral, and Father Abraham Orapankal, pastor of St. Matthias Parish, looked on as Ruggiero introduced the two newest Pro-Vita Award recipients.

“She is a faithful witness, and knows Jesus well,” Ruggiero said of award recipient Fran Johnson. A retired schoolteacher and religious education instructor, Johnson has served as an officer for the Somerset County Right to Life and has spoken on pro-life issues in area schools. In 1979, the married mother of five helped found the Pregnancy Aid and Information Center, Raritan Borough, and has served as the center’s director since last August.

Turning to the second award winner, Ruggiero said with a smile, “Frank is our numbers guy.” McCann is Chairman of the Somerset County Right to Life and treasurer of for New Jersey Right to Life, positions he has held over a decade, and is instrumental in

OUR DIOCESE

Continued from page 3

9

Members of laity in diocese honored for years of service to pro-life cause organizing the annual Rally for Life in Trenton. McCann, a widowed father of two, also serves on the Critical Life Issues/Choices Matter Conference committee, aiding in discerning timely prolife topics and speakers for the annual diocesan event.

Left, Bishop James F. Checchio poses with Fran Johnson, a co-winner of the diocese’s Pro-Vita Award with Frank McCann at the annual Respect Life Mass at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen. Johnson serves as director, Pregnancy Aid and Information Center, Raritan Borough. Above, after the Mass, Bishop Checchio poses with, from left, Kara Kwiatkowski, the Cathedral’s office manager; her son, Will; daughter, Katie; and husband, Bill.

— Mike Ehrmann photos

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FEBRUARY 25, 2021

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

March 2, 7-9 p.m. ($20-$30 as you are able) Presenter: Rabbi Abraham Skorka, Ph.D.

10 OUR DIOCESE

Sanctified, Strengthened & Sent An overview of how the Diocese of Metuchen is continuing to responsibly move forward in faith

Continued Steps Toward Responsible Financial Management “The Church is responsible for the financial resources which have been entrusted to it. This responsibility includes safeguarding Church assets, exercising prudence in financial matters, accountability to those who provide monetary support to the Church and to regulatory authorities, and compliance with all civil regulations.”

(Diocesan Financial Management: A Guide to Best Practices from the USCCB Committee on Budget and Finance) In order to ensure this responsible financial management throughout the diocese, Bishop Checchio has directed that we take further steps for financial integrity, accountability and transparency. The Diocese of Metuchen: • Works with EthicsPoint, a comprehensive and confidential reporting tool that allows employees and others the ability to anonymously report suspected financial malfeasance in our diocesan administration, parishes, schools and other institutions • Relies on a diocesan finance council, which includes six lay professionals, two priests and one deacon, to monitor diocesan finances, review the diocesan annual audit and parish financial audits, and to fulfill the requirements of canon law • Employs the use of an audit committee to oversee and provide guidance on internal control and accounting matters • Addresses parish and school financial operations through the newly-established Office of Parish Financial Services • Requires all parishes to have an active finance council that meets regularly and requires that they submit meeting minutes to the diocese • Obligates parishes to comply with a two- or three-year audit cycle

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

• Mandates that parishes submit to the diocese their annual parish financial report, signed by the pastor, parish finance council and lay trustees • Calls for parishes to adhere to the diocese’s policy of handling and control of collections • Uses donations given to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, Catholic Charities, Catholic schools in the diocese, and donations given for a specific ministry or apostolate, exclusively for their intended purposes

Anima Christi

Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within your wounds conceal me.

Do not permit me to be parted from you. From the evil foe protect me.

At the hour of my death call me. And bid me come to you, to praise you with all your saints for ever and ever.

Amen.

11

Remembering our Church’s History and Moving Forward with Integrity

OUR DIOCESE

Looking with Sadness on our Past

The release of the Holy See’s “McCarrick Report” in November 2020, found that the Diocese of Metuchen with each allegation of abuse

by McCarrick, regardless of when or how long ago the abuse was alleged to have occurred, the diocese, as soon as the allegation became known, reported the matter to the appropriate Prosecutor’s office and the Attorney General. Subsequently, with the completion of the investigation by law enforcement, the Papal Nuncio was immediately informed of the accusation against McCarrick.

The diocese hired an independent, third-party law firm to conduct an investigation and full review of its complete archives, the findings of which were published on the diocesan website and included in the McCarrick Report.

This sad history reminds us that we must be ever-vigilant and take every precaution so that history cannot repeat itself. The Diocese of Metuchen has not received a single credible complaint of abuse involving a minor in any of our schools or parishes by diocesan clergy since the adoption and implementation of the abuse prevention policies in 2002.

Moving Forward with Integrity

Recognizing that no amount of money will ever be able to fully compensate for or reconcile the suffering and wounds inflicted by abusive clergy, the Diocese of Metuchen announced the Independent Victim Compensation Program (IVCP) as one of the many means to offer survivors of abuse a tangible sign of the Church’s effort to facilitate healing. In June 2019, the IVCP was opened for submissions from those who, as children or young adults, were sexually abused by a priest or deacon of the diocese.

Endorsed by the five Roman Catholic dioceses in New Jersey, the IVCP was independently facilitated and managed by two program administrators employed by the Feinberg Law Firm in Washington, D.C. On part of the Diocese of Metuchen:

7 survivors

of abuse received settlements by program administrators

$1.27 million paid in settlements through the IVCP

$2.9 million

paid in settlements since the founding of the diocese

No donations made to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, Catholic Charities, to Catholic schools, nor money given by a donor for a specific ministry or apostolate, are used to fund the program.

As a necessary step toward healing, equity and justice, the diocese continues to respond to any lawsuits with integrity and responsibility.

A secretariat is a grouping of related ministries within the diocesan curia, which supports the bishop in his shepherding responsibilities.

The Secretariat for Charity will be under the direction and leadership of Anthony P. Kearns III, Esq., diocesan chancellor, who will serve as its Chief Executive Officer. In his role, he will have direct oversight over Catholic Charities, whose work will be administered by the Executive Director and the Board; the Campaign for Works of Mercy; Catholic Relief Services; and other charitable endeavors across the diocese.

The secretariat will:

• Increase and emphasize the good work of Catholic Charities in all parishes, schools and institutions across the Diocese of Metuchen • Encourage all people to practice the Corporal Works of Mercy as taught by Jesus and promoted in Catholic Social Teaching • Continue to serve all God’s people regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or economic status, living and working in Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties

How to Report Abuse by a Bishop

In response to Pope Francis’ Motu proprio, Vos estis lux mundi, or “You are the light of the world,” the U.S. Bishops last year launched the Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting service, which ensures all levels of Church hierarchy are held to the same level of accountability, so that McCarrick’s shameful actions cannot be repeated. A similar independent reporting structure had already been established by Bishop Checchio in the Diocese of Metuchen.

Complaints of sexual abuse and related misconduct by bishops can be submitted to the independent service by visiting ReportBishopAbuse.org or by calling (800) 276-1562.

How to Report Abuse

If you suspect abuse by a member of clergy, an employee, or a volunteer for the Catholic Church, please: Immediately notify local law enforcement; Notify the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency by calling 1-877-NJ ABUSE (652-2873) or 1-800-835-5510 (TTY/TDD for the deaf), available 24/7; Contact the Diocese of Metuchen’s Director of Child and Youth Protection by calling (908) 930-4558 or visit diometuchen.org/ healing to file a complaint.

More information about the measures in place to combat abuse in the diocese, can be found by visiting: diometuchen.org/healing.

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

While the IVCP closed for submissions in February 2020, the Diocese of Metuchen’s outreach to survivors of clergy sexual abuse continues. The reconciliation process and the healing that accompanies it are always present.

In response to the pandemic and in an ever-greater effort to meet the expanding needs of our time, on February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Bishop James F. Checchio announced the establishment of a new secretariat in the Diocese of Metuchen – the Secretariat for Charity. The new secretariat will further integrate the mission shared by Catholic Charities, our parishes, schools and other institutions.

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

100% of abuse reported to have occurred in the 1990’s or earlier, with 81% of abuse reported to have occurred in the 1980’s or earlier

Secretariat For Charity

12 OUR DIOCESE

Marriage preparation sessions offer ways to deepen faith

In his apostolic letter, “The Rapid Development,” then Pope, now St. John Paul II addresses those responsible for communications and media saying, “the media provide a providential opportunity to reach people everywhere, overcoming barriers of time, of space and of language; presenting the content of faith in the most varied ways imaginable; and offering to all who search the possibility of entering into dialogue with the mystery of God, revealed fully in Christ Jesus” (5).

Undoubtedly, the prophetic quality of the pope’s words have been increasingly emphasized in light of the current pandemic. Over the course of the past several months, the Church has sought creative avenues for evangelizing the faithful in every state of life. Most particularly, the present situation has provided unique challenges to adequate sacramental preparation; specifically, in the realm of the sacrament of marriage. In our own diocese, we anticipated the launch of a new form of our “God’s Plan for Joy-Filled Marriage” in March and our in-person preparations were quickly abandoned in favor of a virtual model. However, despite the

challenges, the process has yielded much sion on communication from a Catholic therapist and ends with a presentation positive fruit.

Currently, we provide live virtual on Fertility Awareness from a medical sessions on Zoom featuring a variety of professional. These sessions have proven speakers. The duration of each session is most engaging for couples as they spurred no more than four hours and, in light of questions on topics ranging from overcoming anger to the licitthis, couples are asked to engage in pre-preparation ness of in vitro fertilizaOne of the most utilizing the “Beloved” setion and the delicate issue ries found on Formed.org. fruitful gifts we have of infertility. One benefit Each couple watches two of the virtual format is been given is the that couples are able to videos on the sacramentality of marriage and the formation of our vir- type questions anonyimportance of the centralmously, leading to greater ity of Christ. After watch- tual “Young Couples’ honesty without the feeling them, they complete a of insecurity that Spirituality Group,” ings often accompany public Google form and send it to me prior to the session. created in response questions in a large group The goal of this is not only setting. Vibrant witness to provide couples with to a request from one couples (often from the information for marriage, of our past marriage young adult commubut also to connect them nity) provide teachings on to the countless sources preparation couples. “Theology of the Body” and the meaning of sacfound on Formed.org for a variety of faith topics. rificial love and are able It is imperative for couples to be given the to speak about their current experiences tools to deepen their faith beyond the mar- with Fertility Awareness Methods, in parriage preparation experience. Our goal is ticular. After the session, I provide them for them to truly enter in the richness of the with contact information for all of the Church’s sacramental life, such that they speakers and, often times, there is a free become true missionary disciples of Christ. virtual follow-up session hosted by one of To that end, during each session, our Fertility Awareness nurses for couples couples receive formation from witness interested in learning more.

Despite the challenges of the forcouples and professionals in the areas of mat (including, first and foremost, the mental and physical health.

Each session begins with a discus- inability to celebrate the sacraments of

reconciliation and Eucharist together), the experience has proven beneficial for many during a time of increasing uncertainty.

Gratitude for not adding to their ever-increasing lists of cancellations is the mostcommonly expressed sentiment. One of the most fruitful gifts we have been given is the formation of our virtual “Young Couples’ Spirituality Group,” created in response to a request from one of our past marriage preparation couples. Though the importance of engaging the person in his or her bodily reality should never be underestimated, there are aspects to virtual engagement which will undoubtedly remain. For example, the virtual format has afforded us the opportunity to connect couples with speakers irrespective of geographic location. Furthermore, couples with small children who might ordinarily decline an invitation to speak to a group that involves making arrangements for childcare, etc., are able to engage with other couples virtually, thus enabling them to provide an essential witness and insight into their lived experiences of faith.

As we celebrate National Marriage Week, I am humbled to say that the past several months have been a time of blessing and that we will continue to strive to heed John Paul II’s call to present “the content of faith in the most varied ways imaginable,” such that the light of Christ is able to supersede any earthly darkness.

D’Averso-Collin is director, diocesan Office of Family Life

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Debaters from academy get high marks in prestigious competition Ankita Mallik of Scotch Plains and Taryn Murphy of Westfield, sophomores at Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung, competed virtually in the 47th Annual Harvard National Forensics Tournament Feb. 12-15.

“This is the biggest speech and debate tournament, as schools compete nationally and internationally,” Mallik said. “Taryn and I placed as Triple Octofinalists, coming as the top 60 out of 237 teams in the Public Forum Debate Novice Division.

“We were super excited to compete at this tournament in the national circuit and are happy we did!

“Normally, we would travel to Cambridge, Mass.,” she continued.

“However, we competed online. We prepared for eight hours for this tournament, and the week before seven hours on this topic. Our portion of the competition was public forum debate. We have a different case or resolution every month. We focused on ‘Resolved: On balance, the benefits of urbanization in West Africa outweigh the harms.’”

The teams take turns speaking, with four-minute constructive and three-minute crossfire, Mallik explained. Then, the second speaker of both teams do

their rebuttal speech, and another threeminute crossfire. Following that, the first speaker does a summary speech, along with a grand crossfire of both teams. Lastly, the second speakers do a final focus speech where the round ends.

“I had so much fun at my first national tournament this past weekend,” Murphy said. “While it was stressful, I gained valuable experience and was able to debate against people from all around the country. I am so happy to have had the chance to participate, and thankful that we were able to start the debate team this year.”

Colleen Ranney, the Mount’s Forensics Club advisor and science teacher, said, “Taryn and Ankita did amazingly well in this tournament, which had about 4,000 high school students competing.”

She added that a total of 479 schools (4,257 students) from 46 states and a few International schools competed at the tournament.

“With 237 teams in their division of Public Forum, they made it into the round of 64,” Ranney said. “This is due to all of their hard work, hours of practice and all of the competitions where they gave up their Saturdays!

Ankita Mallik, above, and, Taryn Murphy, are shown at the 47th Annual Harvard National Forensics Tournament.

— photos courtesy of Mount Saint Mary Academy

“I am very proud of Taryn and Ankita. With this experience under their belts, they will be even more prepared for the competitions they still have left this year. Well done.”

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OUR DIOCESE

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14 OUR DIOCESE THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Felician Sister offers perspective on World Day for Consecrated Life Together we, hopefully, encouraged those who celebrated with us to Since the institution of the World Day ponder the possibility of God’s Call for Consecrated Life by then Pope, within their own hearts or, perhaps, now St. John Paul II in 1997, each year to pray for the vocations of their chilI have looked forward with joyful an- dren, grandchildren, and loved ones.

This year, as we commemorated ticipation to celebrating the occasion the day of prayer with my Felician for men and women Sisters in Christ as we communally Though each religious in consecrated life on Feb. 2 (Feb. 6-7 gave thanks to community witnessed in parishes), we God for the gift of our vocations, for to its specific charism did so amid a continuing pandemic our mission in the and mission, its and a worldwide Church, and for the struggle to have it countless oppordistinct way of life come to an end. Yet, tunities to be the I believe that these and of ministry, each “Light of Christ” circumstances in no to each other and to one also recognized way minimize or all those to whom changed the glory and with whom we that, together, we of that day, which minister. shared a common acknowledged Likewise, I Christ as the Light have always been bond — a life given of the World and proud to stand those in consecrated to the Lord Jesus with all my sisters life as reflecting and brothers in in holy love and a the Light of Jesus consecrated life in the Diocese of ministry to further the Christ to all people.

Nor does it diminMetuchen as we Kingdom of God. ish the excitement gathered to give of the Church as public witness to it celebrates vocaa Divine Call and tions embraced for a commitment to a Divine Love that endures, a Love that the sake of the kingdom and prays for is unconditional, a Love that rejoices new, healthy, and vibrant vocations as with us in our times of greatest joy, a an outgrowth of the pandemic.

So, as women and men in conseLove that lifts us up in times of deepest struggle, a Love that constantly crated life, what is to be our response bids us, “Come, Follow Me.” Though to this year’s World Day for Conseeach religious community witnessed crated Life? I believe it is to continue to its specific charism and mission, to pray and to remain faithful. It is its distinct way of life and of min- therein that new vocations will be istry, each one also recognized that, found — in our prayer and in our betogether, we shared a common bond ing faithful — because there are men — a life given to the Lord Jesus in and woman who are looking at us holy love and a ministry to further the (just as we looked at those who came Kingdom of God. Together we gave before us) and, hopefully, they will thanks for being able to bring the see in us people who find special joy “Light of Christ” to others and for the and strength in the Lord, in spite of gift of consecrated life to the Church trials and tribulations, personally, in — yesterday, today, and tomorrow. the world, in the Church, and in the

By Sister M. Rebecca Piatek, CSSF

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nation. And these men and women, according to God’s plan, will respond to the invitation, “Come, Follow Me” and henceforth bring the “Light of Christ” to an ever-new world.

Sister Rebecca who celebrated 50 years in consecrated life in 2013, is a pastoral associate and staff assistant at St. Helena Parish and School, Edison.

She served as principal of St. Stephen Parish Elementary School, Perth Amboy (1980-1987) then, upon the consolidation of the Catholic schools, principal at Perth Amboy Catholic School (1987-2018).

Felician Sister M. Rebecca Piatek, right, will celebrate 60 years in consecrated life in 2023.

Humble Servants Father Kenneth D. Brighenti, back row, pastor, St. Magdalen de Pazzi Parish, Flemington, poses with religious from orders that consider it their home parish after Mass at St. Magdalen de Pazzi Church on World Day for Consecrated Life Feb. 2, feast of the Presentation of the Lord. The Discalced Carmelites were not present because they are a cloistered, contemplative order. In photo, front row from left: Little Sister of the Poor Sister Maureen Weiss; Religious Teachers Filippini Sister Phyllis Vella; Christian Charity Sister Faustina Nguyen; Christian Charity Sister Frances Marie Phan; and Little Sister of the Poor Sister Bernice Marie Wall and Little Sister of the Poor Sister Anne Claire Lurusamy. Back row, from left: Christian Charity Sister Josita Marks; Father Brighenti; Christian Charity Sister Susan Keatley and Dominican Divine Providence Sister Mary Catherine Baidy. Sister Phyllis is the parish catechetical leader and Sister Faustina leads the Hope House and elder care ministries of the parish and often arranges the altar flowers for special feast days. Father Brighenti said that “we are surrounded by religious in our community and we congratulate them.”

— Monika Szmul photo

15

A SPECIAL SECTION OF THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT FEBRUARY 25, 2021

RELIGIOUS MILESTONES

MILESTONES Pandemic helped new religious learn to walk with Christ “No storm can shake my inmost calm While to that refuge clinging Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth How can I keep from singing? — from “How Can I Keep From Singing?”

By Sister Anna Palka

my own expectations.

March 2020 came, and our convent became more like a cloister to the outside world. We embraced what God allowed, even when we were stretched in the process. With an openness to His will, supported by our charism of hope, this time was still filled with much joy and peace because we were meeting God in the “here-and-now,” not the “could-have” or “should-havebeen.”

Almost one year later, I am now serving full-time in our apostolate, and those of us in the mission convent have had to grow in flexibility. Multiple stretches of quarantine were not in this year’s plans, especially not spending 14 days in our individual rooms after direct exposure to the virus. In those two weeks, in fact, throughout this entire year, I found I could either become frustrated by these constraints,

or accept them as God’s will for me.

The hymn continues: “What though my joys and comforts die? I know my Savior liveth. What though the darkness gather round? Songs in the night he giveth.” I took advantage of the silence and solitude and heeded Jesus’ words, “When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret” (Mt 6:6). Grace abounded in these quiet moments with God. This was how He wanted me to encounter Him. This was where He wanted to come to me, in the reality of what He allowed.

In all of the struggle and difficulty that the pandemic brings, I am learning to walk through it all with Christ, my Hope. Hope is not an optimistic way of viewing life and finding the silver lining in COVID. Nor is it a consoling thought that says, “Things will return to normal eventually.”

Jesus Our Hope Sister Anna Palka, left, and Jesus Our Hope Sister Christine Quense, Community Sister Servant, are shown after Sister Anna professed first vows at Mass at St. Peter the Apostle University and Community Church, New Brunswick, Sept. 8, 2020.

Hope is a Person who says, “I will step into your suffering and embrace it with you.” I can affirm that suffering does not disappear with Jesus, but He gives it meaning, and even strength to endure it because He is risen, living, and victorious. “The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart. A fountain ever springing. All things are mine since I am his. How can I keep from singing?”

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT FEBRUARY 25, 2021

These familiar lyrics have sung in my heart since I first heard this hymn a few years ago. “How Can I Keep From Singing” is a song about hope — a theological virtue and gift of the Holy Spirit that keeps us looking up, with “our eyes fixed on Jesus” (Heb 12:2).

On Sept. 8, 2020, I offered my life to Jesus, who is our Hope, by the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.

Within St. Peter the Apostle Church in New Brunswick that day, COVID-19 was still a reality. Most pews were empty and masks were worn. Disappointment could have weighed me down, as it can easily take hold of us in this pandemic, but something greater lifted my spirit — hope in Christ and His unchanging love.

Throughout my three years of initial formation with the Sisters of Jesus Our Hope, the biggest lessons that best prepared me for a worldwide pandemic were obedience to God’s will and living in hope. When I entered as a postulant, I stepped into a new way of life in this religious community.

My schedule was set for me yet could change at a moment’s notice depending on the needs of the day. I had to learn (and continue to learn) to enter each day anew, to receive what God had planned for me, and not cling to

On Sept. 8, 2020, I offered my life to Jesus, who is our Hope, by the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. Within St. Peter the Apostle Church in New Brunswick that day, COVID-19 was still a reality. Most pews were empty and masks were worn. Disappointment could have weighed me down, as it can easily take hold of us in this pandemic, but something greater lifted my spirit — hope in Christ and His unchanging love.

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

RELIGIOUS MILESTONES

16

80 Years “It’s been a wonderful life,” asserted Mercy Sister Valerie Balbach, who is celebrating her 80th jubilee this year.

“The Lord has been looking after me all the time,” she explained.

She noted that she has had a lot of ups and downs in her life. “With downs, I always came through fine. Up times were great,” she said, adding that most of the times were up.

Born in Newark, Doris Balbach was the daughter of the late William and Celestine Balbach. Raised in Keansburg, Sister Valerie came to know the Sisters of Mercy at St. Ann School, Keansburg. After graduation, she went to Red Bank Catholic High School, which was also served by Sisters from the Mercy community. When she was a sophomore, she told her French teacher, Mercy Sister Helen Murphy, that she thought she wanted to become a religious.

Sister Helen became her mentor. “She inspired me to enter the Mercy community and we became good friends,” recalled Sister Valerie.

In 1941, the year she graduated from Red Bank Catholic, Sister Valerie entered the Sisters of Mercy religious order. At the time, each new postulant would be asked to take a new name. They were given books about the saints to help them choose one.

Sister Valerie wanted to take her mother’s

name, Celestine, but the year before an- earned a master’s degree in elementary other Sister took the name so she had to education at Seton Hall University, South choose another one. She said when she read Orange. The young teacher then began about St. Valerie, “That was her career in education at St. it. She is a little like Mother Paul School, Burlington, and McAuley, our foundress. She Holy Spirit School, Atlantic “Times were worked with the poor and City. helped everyone.”

At Phillipsburg Cathohard, but those The year Sister Valerie lic High School, her next of us at Mount assignment, Sister Valerie joined the Mercy community, the world was in the early taught primarily French. In Saint Mary’s turmoil of World War II. 1953, she was named princidid not know “Times were hard,” she said, pal of St. Elizabeth Elemen“but those of us at Mount tary School, Bernardsville. much about Saint Mary’s did not know She then served a total of much about the war. We the war. We had five three-year terms as prinhad no television or newscipal at St. Matthew School, no television or Edison, and St. Paul School, papers.” The only difference the young Mercy Sisters felt Princeton, before becoming newspapers.” was the lack of help. “We assistant administrator at St. were doing a lot of work that Mary Academy, Lakewood. normally people would be Almost 50 years after here to do,” she said. becoming a religious, Sister Valerie was Sister Valerie received her habit in appointed first as an instructor and then 1942 and pronounced her first vows in director of student teachers at Georgian 1944. She chose as her motto, “Jesus I am Court. She served there from 1988 until all thine.”

2013. Commenting on her service at Geor“I chose it because I was working for gian Court, Sister Valerie said the student the Lord,” she said. teachers were “very young, very energetic, Sister Valerie continued her education and well worth my time.” at Georgian Court College (now UniverReflecting on her 80 years as a Mercy sity), Lakewood, majoring in French. She religious, Sister Valerie said some of her

Spiritual Care Above, Bishop James F. Checchio (right) raises the paten at Mass on World Day of the Sick Feb. 11 at the Saint Peter’s University Hospital chapel, New Brunswick. Above right, Bishop Checchio poses with the staff of the diocesan-sponsored hospital’s 3G surgical unit. Right, Bishop Checchio blesses patient Veronica Emerson, a member of St. James the Less Parish, Jamesburg, who directs the fundraising for its religious education program and has taught it for 40 years, and is an extraordinary minister of holy Communion. Then-Pope, now St. John Paul II established the annual World Day of the Sick in 1992. In a message for this year’s World Day of the Sick, Pope Francis said, “the liturgical memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes is an opportunity to devote special attention to the sick and to those who provide them with assistance and care both in healthcare institutions and within families and communities.”

— Michael Castronova and Tara Smith photos

best times were spent with her good friend Trinitarian Sister Bartholomew. Friends for over 50 years, Sister Valerie said she and Sister Bartholomew did a lot of traveling. “We saw the world,” she said.

Sister Valerie, who lives at Mount Saint Mary, Watchung, is a member of the Gabriel Hall community and is still a vital and engaged member of the Sisters of Mercy.

“I can’t do too much, but when I am not tired help out whenever I can,” she said softly, adding, “I’m 98 you know.”

— Joanne Ward

was supportive of me my whole life. They Academy, where she served for three years. visited me wherever I was assigned,” she From 1976 to 1980, Sister Rita was assigned recalled. to Holy Spirit High School, After graduating from Absecon. For the next six Holy Spirt High School, Atyears, she served at Camden “My family lantic City, in 1946, Sister Rita Catholic High School, Cherry was support- Hill. entered the Mercy novitiate in Watchung. Within two years, While Sister Rita was ive of me my teaching she received the religious primarily religion at habit and the name Sister Mary this time, she was gradually whole life.

Christian. Her teaching assignbeing drawn to the religious They visited education ministry in a parish ments included Holy Cross School, Rumson; Our Lady of me wherever setting. In 1986, she accepted Victories School, Sayreville; her first position in the field as I was St. Paul School, Princeton, director of religious education and St. Mary Academy, Lakeat St. Pius X Parish, Cherry assigned.” wood. For 10 years after comHill. She then assumed a simipleting her novitiate, she also lar position at Saints Simon taught piano. and Jude Parish, West Chester, During the summers, Sister Rita con- Pa., where she served for eight years. As tinued her education. She earned degrees pastoral assistant at St. Ann Parish, Raritan in elementary education at Georgian Court Borough, Sister Rita completed 48 years of College (now University), Lakewood, and full-time ministry.

Seton Hall University, South Orange. She During her time ministering in parthen enrolled at LaSalle College (now Uni- ishes, Sister Rita served on parish liturgical versity), Philadelphia, where she earned a committees and coordinated the religious master’s degree in theology. education programs for children who atIn 1971, Sister Rita was assigned to tended public schools. She was responsible St. Mary School, South Amboy, where she for adult faith development programs and at taught and also chaired the sub-committee St. Pius X Parish introduced the Little Rock of worship. Two years later, she returned to Scripture Study program that flourished. At Atlantic City as principal of Star of the Sea St. Simon and Jude Parish she conducted the

RELIGIOUS MILESTONES

Reflecting on her 75th jubilee as a religious, Mercy Sister Rita McGurk said, “Gratitude is the first thing that comes to my mind.”

Elaborating, she talked first about her relationship with God saying she has had numerous opportunities to grow in that relationship through education, workshops, retreats and different assignments. She added that her later years in life have allowed her to feel God’s presence more strongly and often. She said she is also grateful for the Sisters of Mercy. “The sisters I live with are my companions on life’s journey. They are gifts with whom I share my life.”

Sister Rita’s vocation to religious life began when she was in the second grade. As a student at Holy Spirit Elementary School, Atlantic City, Sister Rita would go across the street to the Sisters of Mercy convent where she would take piano lessons with Mercy Sister Mary Robert.

“When I would take lessons, I saw tranquility in her life,” Sister Rita recalled, “and I wanted to be like her.” She noted that moments such as hearing the Mercy Sisters praying as they passed her door on the way to the chapel, also helped draw her to the religious community.

Raised in Atlantic City, Sister Rita was the fourth of nine children born to the late Joseph and Kathleen McGurk. “My family

17

75 Years

Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults ministry. At various times in her ministry, Sister Rita also served as an advocate on the Marriage Tribunal in the Diocese of Camden and volunteered at St. Joseph School, North Plainfield.

Since 2003, Sister Rita has continued to volunteer at Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung, where she lives. She helps sort the mail in the Communications Center as well as for the Mount’s Finance Office.

Sister Rita said she has been blessed in each of her ministries, and added, she was “gifted to choose religious life.”

— Joanne Ward

75 Years

old,” she said.

Praising the medical staff and others at the Mount who cared for its aged residents, she added, “They are so wonderful here. I am inspired by the people up here.”

Noting the general decline in novitiates and those aspiring to join religious life in general, Sister Faith issued her advice to those who may consider dedicating their lives to service in Christ.

“You’d better do it now before you forget,” she said emphatically. “We need you.”

— Christina Leslie

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

terms in Bernardsville, then St. Mary year-olds. We had singing and nursery rhymes, and it was wonderful,” she said.

Academy, Lakewood, followed.

Sister Faith’s work in Keansburg Sister Faith also served as elementary school education consultant for the was not limited to the pre-school center.

Sisters of Mercy-staffed schools from She volunteered at St. Ann Parish; served 1978 to 1984, a position on the board of Project Paul, the town’s nonprofit which led to a quarterthrift store, food pantry century love affair with For her work in and furniture shop, and the pre-school children the Raritan Bay helped deliver meals to of St. Ann Parish, Keanshomebound seniors. For burg, a relationship she community, she her work in the Raritan recalled with delight. was chosen as Bay community, she was “I saw the old teleas Grand Marphone building on parish Grand Marshall of chosen shall of the town’s 2017 grounds, and went over St. Patrick’s Day Parade, there to investigate,” she the town’s 2017 “riding in an open car and said of the town-owned St. Patrick’s Day waving to everyone,” she facility. “I went over there said with a laugh. to investigate and saw Parade, “riding in Not surprisingly, how dirty it was. I saw an open car and Sister Faith chose to the children eating lunch, conclude her active relihow dirty their little hands waving to gious service in the place were, and thought, ‘I have she had grown to love to clean this up.’” everyone.” so many decades ago.

Sister Faith, with Following a 2009 leg inthe parish’s blessing, jury, she chose to retire to garnered monetary grants and with good old-fashioned elbow McAuley Hall Healthcare Center on the grease not only cleaned up the building, grounds of Mount Saint Mary Academy.

“After my surgery, I came to recubut served as director of the new St. Ann Child Care Center for the next 25 years. perate in McAuley. I am resting now. I “I hired teachers for the three- and four- guess I should, because I’m 92 years

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Mercy Sister Faith Moore credits her God-focused service to the good sisters of Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung, who nurtured and formed her during her high school years.

One of nine children born to Arch and Lillian Moore, she attended St. Mary School, Plainfield, then was sent to live and study at the hilltop academic community affectionately known to all as “the Mount.”

“I’ve loved the Mount since I was a boarding student there. I had become friendly with the postulants and novitiate,” Sister Faith said. Following her graduation, she entered the community that had formed her Sept. 15, 1946, and gave her perpetual profession of vows May 15, 1952.

The new religious then earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Georgian Court College (now University), Lakewood, and a master’s degree in reading at Seton Hall University, South Orange. She also earned a state certification in elementary education.

Sister Faith practiced her educational ministry first at St. Elizabeth School, Bernardsville, and Cathedral Grammar School, Trenton, before being assigned as founding principal of St. Frances Cabrini School, Piscataway. Subsequent

RELIGIOUS MILESTONES 18

70 Years Faith-filled parents and a solid Catholic education may have lit the spark of religious life for Mary Gomolka, but it was sage advice from a priest which set in motion her lifelong love of music and decades of service as a Sister of Mercy.

Influenced by the good example of her teachers at Sacred Heart School and St. Mary High School, both in South Amboy, Sister Mary decided to become a sister when she was in the sixth grade but then “forgot about it,” until five years later.

“When I was on a retreat as a senior in high school,” Sister Mary recalled, “the priest said, ‘Pretend you are on your deathbed and your candle was burning out. What would you wish you had done?

Do it now.’”

The young woman has indeed been fulfilling that wish since she entered the Sisters of Mercy Sept. 8, 1951, and was accepted by the community as a novice six months later. Reflecting on becoming a Mercy Sister, she said, “I remember thinking, ‘I came for God and I’ll stay for God.’” Sister Mary’s first two assignments were as a teacher at Sacred Heart School, South Plainfield, then at St. Mary Academy, Lakewood.

Sister Mary continued her own edu-

cation by earning a bachelor’s degree in which designated that hallway the “Sister English at Georgian Court College (now Mary Gomolka Music Corridor.”

University), Lakewood, in 1967, then The word “retirement” means differa master’s degree in music at Trenton ent things to different people. In a 2014 State College, Trenton, in interview with the “Na1973. tional Catholic Reporter,” Sister Mary served Sister Mary recalled, “I “Any follower as principal of St. James requested … to spend three of the Lord has School, Woodbridge, months at Tantur Ecumenifrom 1970 to 1972, becal Institute in Jerusalem, to follow him fore once again serving participating in a renewal/ at Georgian Court from study/Scripture program all the way: in 1972 to 1975 as a music and to remain there as a service to othteacher. volunteer in whatever minHer arrival at Mount istry I could be helpful. ers, in love and Saint Mary Academy, Bishop William Shomali in faithfulness Watchung, in 1975 began in Jerusalem directed me a 36-year career as the to work with the mentally to the Father. school’s head of the muand physically disabled sic department before her children cared for by the Follow him to retirement in June 2011.

Missionary Sisters.” the cross and Over the years, SisDiscovering Sister ter Mary was recognized Mary’s music background, resurrection.” for her music and her the rector of the nearby ministry. She was inseminary requested she cluded in “Who’s Who Among America’s teach the seminarians piano and voice.

Teachers” and selected as “Outstanding The religious completed her dual responEducator” in the Diocese of Metuchen. sibilities until the following May when The year she retired, Sister Lisa Gam- she returned to New Jersey; her skill bacorto, directress, Mount Saint Mary and willingness to aid the future priests Academy, had a plaque hung outside resulted in two more terms in Jerusalem. the music offices in the Mount Building Sister Mary officially retired to

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Congratula�ons to the following Sisters of Mercy who are celebra�ng their jubilees this year in the Diocese of Metuchen: Sister Mary Valerie Balbach, RSM - 80 years Sister Rita McGurk, RSM- 75 years Sister Mary Faith Moore, RSM - 75 years Sister Mary Anton Frick, RSM - 70 years Sister Mary Gomolka, RSM - 70 years Sister Lee Ann Amico, RSM - 60 years Sister Kathleen Curnyn, RSM - 60 years Sister Kathleen McDonnell, RSM - 60 years Sister Mary Michaelita Popovice, RSM - 60 years Sister Judith Schubert, RSM - 60 years Sister Alice Swartz, RSM - 60 years Sister Lorraine Wolliard, RSM - 60 years Sister Mary Bilderback, RSM - 25 years

Share the mission of Mercy - www.sistersofmercy.org

Mount Saint Mary Academy, once again, in 2013. The one-time student of Madame Luisa Stojowski of the Julliard School, New York, still receives calls from surrounding parishes to play and sing at funerals.

She recently reminisced about her seven decades of service and revealed advice she might share with a young woman considering life as a religious.

“Any follower of the Lord has to follow him all the way: in service to others, in love and in faithfulness to the Father,” she said. “Follow him to the cross and resurrection.”

— Christina Leslie

as a Mercy Sister in 1970. The same year she dren when it was relocated from the Mount received a bachelor’s degree from Georgian campus in Watchung to North Plainfield. AlCourt University, Lakewood, where she was though she had never worked with the cogawarded a master’s degree in 1976. From nitively impaired, she said in one interview the state of New Jersey, “to my delight and surprise, I fell in she earned certifications love with it. The children taught me in elementary education to be true, simple and direct — to “They [Sisters and principal, supervibe myself.” sor.

When the McAuley school of Mercy] From 1985 to 1986, closed in 2013, Sister Lee Ann laughed. They Sister Lee Ann served as returned to serve once again at assistant superintendent the Mount, this time as director of were serious, of schools in the ArchStudent Government and Student but they could Center manager, positions she still diocese of Newark. She then taught history and holds. joke with you. sociology at the Mount One of Sister Lee Ann’s tasks and was in charge of the They had a hu- as Student Center Manager is Student Council. to maintain one of two bulletin man touch, a Well respected and boards in the center. When she loved by the students, first saw the bulletin board, she humanness.” in 1989 Sister Lee Ann said she felt it needed a good elwas named “Teacher of ementary school teacher to make the Year.” She recalled it better. “I taught at a time when what an honor it was to bulletin boards were important,” receive the recognition she explained. On the Mount’s since the students selected the teacher to be bulletin board, she posts quotes and sayings honored. designed to generate thinking. She changes Sister Lee Ann’s longest and one of her it each month. On Dec. 4, 2020, Sister Lee most challenging ministries began in 1996 Ann’s bulletin board read: “2020 Thank you when she was asked to become director of for all the lessons. 2021 we are ready.” The the McAuley School for Exceptional Chil- students loved the saying and on Facebook

RELIGIOUS MILESTONES

When Mercy Sister Lee Ann Amico’s parents learned that their daughter was going to enter the convent, she said her mother told her father, “Let her go and try this. She will probably only last 15 minutes.” This year Sister Lee Ann is celebrating her 60th jubilee as a Mercy Sister, and during the past six decades has accomplished much more than even she could have imagined.

The only child of Gaetano and Madeline Welch Amico, Sister Lee Ann was born and raised in Trenton. She first became interested in religious life at St. James Elementary School, Trenton, which was staffed by the Religious Teachers Filippini. As a student at Cathedral High School, Trenton, she came to know the Sisters of Mercy and was inspired by their willingness to help others.

The Sisters of Mercy’s down-to-earth natures also attracted Sister Lee Ann to the order. “I saw them as real people. They laughed. They were serious, but they could joke with you. They had a human touch, a humanness,” she said.

In 1961, the year she graduated from Cathedral High, Sister Lee Ann joined the Mercy community, and began teaching in elementary schools including St. James, Red Bank; St. Ann, Keansburg; St. Mary, Camden; and Cathedral, Trenton.

Sister Lee Ann professed her final vows

19

60 Years

above a photo of the bulletin board it read in part, “Thank you for always inspiring us Sister Lee Ann.” Reflecting on her 60th jubilee, Sister Lee Ann said, “I think the most rewarding part as a religious has been the relationships that I have made with the people to whom I have ministered. It’s the interfacing with the people of God.” As for the future, Sister Lee Ann asserted, “At this point I have enough energy to do what I am doing and God has blessed me with the health to do what I am doing, so I’ll keep doing it ’til I can’t.”

— Joanne Ward

60 Years

ence, Sister to Sister. Located in the United States, this agency is comprised of a group of religious who help support Sisters in middle Africa. “We help the Sisters in Africa by providing finances for them to get their education. I have been Involved with them for three years,” said Sister Kathleen.

When asked about advice for those seeking a vocation in the religious life Sister Kathleen said, “Follow your dreams and ask for advice. You will find the right spot for you. I have kept myself very active and this has been a wonderful experience for me.” — Karen Corpora

FEBRUARY 25, 2020

bertville; Our Lady of Victories School years later was named Assistant SuperinSayreville; Sacred Heart of Jesus School, tendent of Schools in the Newark Diocese South Plainfield, and Holy Spirit School, and then Regional Supervisor of schools in Perth Amboy. She also served at St. James the Brooklyn Diocese’s School’s Office.

For the next 18 years, from School, Red Bank, and 1990 to 2008, Sister Kathleen St. Ann School, Keans“Follow your served as principal of St. Matburg.

Continuing her dreams and ask thew School, Edison. She stayed at the school two additional years education, Sister for advice. You serving at its librarian. Then she Kathleen earned a became involved with a new and bachelor’s degree in will find the unexpected ministry, Project Paul. elementary education Reflecting on the experience from Georgian Court right spot for she said, “I loved all of the work College (now Univeryou. I have kept I was involved with but thinking sity), Lakewood, and back when I went to Project Paul in 1972 received a masmyself very acin 2010 it was the right place to ter’s degree from Seton tive and this has be. I liked the interactions with the Hall University, South poor. We worked in a Orange, to become a been a wonder- marginally very impoverished community, media specialist. She but they are wonderful people. also has certification in ful experience Working with the poor in Keansschool administration for me.” burg was the most significant part from Seton Hall Uniof my life.” versity and Georgian While working at Project Court College, and a master’s degree in pastoral studies from Paul three days a week, Sister Kathleen spent two days a week as the librarian at Loyola University, Chicago.

It was in 1972, too, that Sister Kathleen Sacred Heart School, South Amboy.

Currently, she is serving as a lector at was appointed principal of St. Ann School, Keansburg, a position she held until 1980 Our Lady of Mount Virgin, Middlesex and when she returned to teaching, and four volunteers with the All-African Confer-

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

For the past six decades, Mercy Sister Kathleen Curnyn has served in many different ministries and as she celebrates her 60th jubilee, emphatically states, “I would do it again. I wouldn’t question. I would enter the Sisters of Mercy and be of service to the people of God.” Sister Kathleen’s deep faith, which led to her service, began early in life.

The daughter of the late James and Sarah Curnyn, she was born and raised in Mineola, Long Island. Her parents taught her and her brother the importance of the Catholic faith. Her father attended Mass daily and as a high school senior, daily Mass became part of Sister Kathleen’s life.

After graduating from Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead, N.Y., Sister Kathleen, who said she knew from an early age that she wanted to be a religious sister, became a Sister of Mercy. “My mother didn’t live to see me enter the convent but my dad was very happy that I choose this path.

Sadly, he died six weeks after I entered,” she recalled.

Sister Kathleen’s commitment to doing the Lord’s work began in the classroom.

She spent 12 years teaching in elementary schools throughout the Dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton: St. Mary School, South Amboy; St. John School, Lam-

RELIGIOUS MILESTONES

20

60 Years To Christian Charity Sister Mary Martha Garzon, religion is not taught, it is caught from our families and others in our lives.

Sister Mary Martha’s family impressed upon her from an early age the importance of prayer and keeping a devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and for that, she could not be more grateful.

Sister Mary Martha, who lives at St. Cecilia Parish, Iselin, was born in Colombia and immigrated to New York City as a small child with her family. She attended St. John Chrysostom School and Immaculate Conception School, where she had her first experiences with the Sisters of Christian Charity that taught there.

The Sisters were a wonderful early example for Sister Mary Martha of a consecrated life, but perhaps the most influential person in her decision to seek a vocation was her grandmother, whom she lived with.

“She was very religious, always took me to church, and taught me prayers. My grandmother always prayed that one of us would enter religious life, and I was the blessed one,” stated Sister Mary Martha.

Sister Mary Martha said her first

vows in August 1963, and describes the formation process as joyful, but challenging. “Like everything in life, you have your joys and sorrows, your ups and downs. Training was hard, but it was done with kindness and to firm us up for the future,” she explained, remembering how the “happy group” prayed the rosary and went to church together.

“Devotions had been important to my family, and this was a natural continuation when I entered the convent. It was a good foundation that grandmom gave me,” she added.

Her grandmother also gave her another gift: an affinity for working with older people. “I was raised by my grandmother, so I grew up with older people and enjoyed working with them,” she said. Sister Mary Martha touched the lives of many individuals while working at a nursing home in New York and the Home for the Blind of the City of New York. Reflecting on that experience she stated, “It was wonderful to work with the blind and disabled, and to see how happy they were despite their challenges.

I really enjoyed those years working there before entering the convent.”

Sister Mary Martha took her final

vows in August 1969, and has loved serving the Church and the faithful ever since. She served in the Diocese of Paterson for more than 30 years, including 12 at St. Mary Parish, Dover, and 19 at St. Cecilia Parish, Rockaway, where she was blessed to be a pastoral associate, visiting patients in the hospital, attending funerals, and comforting the mourning.

She also relished assisting the director of the religious education program and teaching: “I just love those little kids.

They were so eager to learn.”

Today, Sister Mary Martha serves St. Cecilia’s by doing various tasks for the parish. “I’m a jack of all trades, and the master of none,” she laughs. “I love to be challenged and learn new things.”

In addition to her religious work, Sister Mary Martha enjoys gardening.

She said, “It brings me close to God. When I start digging in the earth, I forget about everything else and just focus on preparing the earth for the plants to grow.

I sometimes run into rocks, and I say, ‘Yes, Lord, this is like my life — rocks and pebbles that are resisting you need to be removed.’

“My garden becomes like a prayer for me.”

She also sings, knits, crochets, and puts her sewing skills to work by making masks for donation.

Throughout her 60 years of religious life, Sister Mary Martha has learned that the most important thing to do in tough times is to persevere through prayer.

She states, “Pray, pray, and pray — even when you don’t feel like it. It’s very important. We do more by example than by preaching.”

— Kaylynn Ebner

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

60 Years “Amen, Alleluia” was the motto Sister Kathleen McDonnell chose to guide her life when she entered the Sisters of Mercy six decades ago. “Amen means saying ‘yes,’ to whatever God wants and Alleluia means be happy about it,” she explained.

For Sister Kathleen, her “Amen” led her to traditional ministries including teaching and serving as a school principal. More recently, it meant she headed the school store at Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung, and now serves as director of the Mount’s Snack Shack.

As for her “Alleluia,” “I’ve been happy,” said Sister Kathleen reflecting on her 60th jubilee. “I feel that my life has been enriched by the experiences I had, even though some were a little tough. I’ve always been enriched by the students, regardless of their age level, and the faculty with whom I came in contact.”

Born in Perth Amboy, Sister Kathleen was one of six children of John and Kathryn Conran McDonnell. She, her three brothers and two sisters were raised in Port Reading. While attending St. Joseph Elementary School, Carteret, she was taught by the Servite Sisters.

At St. Mary High School, Perth Amboy, she came to know the Sisters of Mercy.

Inspired by the spiritual example of the Mercy Sisters, who staffed St. Mary’s, Sister Kathleen joined their religious community in 1960 when she graduated

from the high school. thusiasm and positive attitude.

As a young religious, Sister KathIn the early 1990s, Sister Kathleen leen furthered her education at Geor- was asked to become head of technolgian Court College (now University), ogy at the Mount. It was a time, she said, Lakewood, where she earned a when most people did bachelor’s degree in education. not know much about During this time, she also began technology.

“I’ve always teaching. She served at St. Jo“I worked with seph School, North Plainfield; been enriched the Mount’s faculty St. John School, Collingswood, until they learned baand Sacred Heart School, South by the students, sic technological Plainfield. skills” she said. regardless of She then became principal She then taught their age level, religion to sophoof St. Mary Elementary School, South Amboy, where she minat the Mount and the faculty mores istered for nine years. While and headed the Stuteaching, she also earned a masdent Council. For with whom I ter’s degree in math education around the next six came in at Central Connecticut College years, she was director (now Central Connecticut State of the School Store. contact.”

University), New Britain.

About seven Sister Kathleen’s next asyears ago, Mercy signment began with her teachSister Lisa D. Gambaing at St. Joseph Elementary School. corto, directress of the Mount, had a new After two years, the principal became request for Sister Kathleen. She asked ill and had to leave and Sister Kathleen her to head a Snack Shack she was gowas named to replace her. She then was ing to establish. Sister Lisa knew Sister tasked with merging St. Joseph and St. Kathleen, a certified food handler, sold Mary Schools, both in Bound Brook. The snacks from the Student Council office new school was appropriately named in the St. Joseph building. Sister Lisa Holy Family Academy. It was while wanted a place where students could Sister Kathleen was serving in Bound socialize, work together and of course Brook that she received the Diocese of grab a snack. She discussed her idea with Metuchen’s Educator of the Year award Sister Kathleen, who said, “Amen” to her for her longstanding achievements, en- new position.

When she took charge of the Snack Shack, Sister Kathleen began working part time and still does. Under her leadership, the Snack Shack has become very popular with the students. As one individual wrote on Facebook, “I was amazed at how many girls were there!...

One thing for sure. Sister Kathleen loves our girls and the girls love her and the Snack Shack!!”

In October 2019, another post on Facebook read, “Overwhelmingly, when prompted through an Instagram question about what makes the space [Snack Shack] so special, students responded: ‘Sister Kathleen!’”

— Joanne Ward

more highly than gold, though they School, Phillipsburg. The Sisters of cost the donor nothing; among these Mercy taught in every grade and had are the kind word, the gentle, compas- a profound influence on her. After sionate look, and the patient hearing graduation, she worked two years in a of their sorrows.” bank, but then decided to Sister Michaelita’s enter the convent. Dur“It’s a life that efforts have been recoging her religious formanized locally and through tion she attended Georhas made me the diocese with the gian Court College (now happy, and the Champions for Catholic University), Lakewood, Charities Award (2016), and Seton Hall Univeridea of service the Humanitarian Award sity, South Orange, and in the Church is from the Phillipsburg earned two history deChamber of Commerce She became a sosomething that is grees.

(2013), the Partners in cial studies teacher and Charity Award from the definitely needed later served as principal Catholic Charities Soliat her childhood alma darity Team (2011), and in the world today. mater for 13 years. the Phillipsburg Rotary Her spare time In all my 60 years, Excellence in Service revolves around talkI’ve been happy as ing politics and current Award (2010).

She humbly menevents with friends, a religious.” tions that the awards are reading, and spending inclusive of others on time with her nieces her team. and grand-nieces and nephews. With “The idea that the work that health on her side, she still has “the myself and my colleagues have been enthusiasm, the motivation” to condoing at our place is recognized, that tinue in her ministry until her eventual it’s a valuable part of the community, retirement enjoying the mountainous that’s what I feel that people should surroundings of Mount Saint Mary know,” she said, “That Catholic Chari- House of Prayer, Watchung. ties is out there and we are making “If they could give me a chair on lives better for people.” the porch, I could sit outside and relax, While growing up in Alpha, she maybe read. That would be my thing,” attended nearby Saints Philip & James she says about the future she envisions,

RELIGIOUS MILESTONES

Thankful. Grateful. Blessed.

These three eloquent words encapsulate what Sister Michaelita Popovice’s 60 years as a religious in the Sisters of Mercy order mean to her.

“I use that [phrase] a lot,” she said. “It’s true.”

Eschewing retirement, for the last 30 years Sister Michaelita devotes five days a week to her job as program director for Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, in Phillipsburg, where she oversees operations and helps disadvantaged households meet basic necessities with food and clothing. A certified social worker, she is enthusiastic about her role, which typically involves volunteer recruitment, writing grants, setting budgets, attending virtual meetings, seeing clients, and discussing with Warren County officials how to help the homeless.

“To be able to work with the poor,” she said, “I’m very privileged to do that. I don’t call it work, I call it a ministry. I just feel people need help today, and if I can just listen to them it makes a difference — not just the food I give, but just listening to them and having an interest in their lives, then I’m doing God’s work.”

She referenced this quote from Catherine McAuley, foundress of the order, which sums up her ministry: “There are three things the poor prize

21

60 Years

but not without bringing her favorite door sign along: I like to take naps.

For those curious about taking the same apostolic path, she notes that today the vocation is one in which candidates can make their own decisions regarding field of work. In contrast, during her discernment in the 1960s, teaching was the required ministry of all candidates when becoming a woman religious.

“It’s a life that has made me happy, and the idea of service in the Church is something that is definitely needed in the world today,” she said.

“In all my 60 years, I’ve been happy as a religious. I would encourage people to consider it. We’re needed in today’s world.”

— Debra Stevko Miller

60 Years

children eat better by preparing daily healthy and delicious meals. Parents are grateful for my homemade food,” stated Sister Lucia.

As a Vocationist, Sister Lucia hopes to continue guiding other women to follow in her path, just as she was guided to follow others before her.

“Do not be afraid because to follow Jesus into religious life is the best choice,” she said.

— Stacey Daly

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

whole family followed him. But later, States having less than fluent Englishhe allowed me to join the Sisters and speaking skills, she realized what she everything was well,” she said. would be facing. But, while she needs She went on to profess her per- help to communicate with anyone who does not speak Italian, petual vows in 1969, in she does not view this as Pianura, Naples, Italy, a negative because she is thankfully, with the full “I had no difsupport of her family. happy to be in the United ficulties transiStates.

Although she did not During her 60 years attend school and gain tioning to this in consecrated life, Sister formal training in order life because my to become a Vocationist Lucia says she has greatly enjoyed offering her Sister, she points to her parents raised daily prayers. Each day, upbringing as providing she prays for vocations in a rock-solid foundation me with discifor this formation. the Church and for those pline and work.

“I had no difficulwho have asked for her intervention in praying ties transitioning to this I was already for them. life because my parents used to a raised me with discipline “My prayers have helped many people in and work. I was already similar lifestyle.” many different situaused to a similar lifestyle,” she said. tions,” she said.

For most people, a In addition, her move to another country where they do ability to serve God’s people extends not speak the native language fluently beyond prayer and into the kitchen — would cause anxiety. So, when Sister after all, she is Italian.

“I am happy to be able to help Lucia moved from Italy to the United

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Although she does not speak English fluently, language has never been a barrier for Vocationist Sister Lucia Spinelli, who speaks fluently with her heart. Sister Lucia, of Blessed Sacrament Parish, Martinsville, is marking her 60th anniversary in consecrated life and has much to reflect on during her journey thus far.

Born and raised in Faeto-Forgia, Italy, Sister Lucia was raised in a strict Italian lifestyle ruled by her father.

When she realized she was interested in pursuing a life serving God, she sought out the help of the spiritual director at her parish home parish in Italy. He guided her to meet the Vocationist Sisters because he knew them well. Since the Vocationist Sisters lived in her town, it was not long before she, too, knew them well.

While joining the Vocationist Sisters was an easy decision for Sister Lucia to make, it was not met with the support of her father, who had other plans for his daughter.

“At first my father opposed my decision. For fear of consequences, my

RELIGIOUS MILESTONES

22

60 Years As she celebrates her 60th jubilee this year, Sister Alice Swartz praises God for her life as a Sister of Mercy. “It has always been and continues to be full of blessings, challenges, and grace,” she said.

Her love for her Catholic faith came through her devout parents, her beloved brother and his family, as well as aunts, uncles and cousins, especially those who chose priesthood or religious life. “I recall very early in life, my great aunt, a devoted lay woman, taking me to Vespers in our parish church. The prayers were in Latin. I faked it, but I was awed by her example and holiness,” Sister Alice reflected.

In the late 1950s, her family moved from Carbondale, Pa., to Plainfield, where she completed her elementary school education at St. Mary School. She described the parish’s pastor, Msgr. Harold V. Colgan, founder of the Blue Army, as one of the great influences in her life.

At Mount Saint Mary Academy in Plainfield (now Watchung), Sister Alice was drawn to religious life by the deep spirituality, prayer life and professionalism exhibited by her teachers, the Sisters of Mercy. After graduating from the Mount in 1961, she entered the religious community the same year. Once she completed her novitiate and profession of first vows in 1964, Sister Alice was assigned in her ministerial life to vari-

ous educational roles. She taught in three building and administration. middle schools — St. Matthew’s, Edison; Sister Alice earned a Bachelor of Arts St. Paul’s, Princeton, and Holy Cross, Rum- degree in English at Georgian Court College son. Later, her ministry led her to Holy Spirit (now Univeristy), Lakewood, and master’s High School, Absecon; degrees in Biblical Studies Notre Dame High School, at Providence College (R.I.); “I recall, very early Jewish/Christian Studies at Lawrenceville; Mount Saint Mary Academy and Union Seton Hall University, South in life, my great Catholic High School, Orange; and in philosophy at aunt, a devoted Drew University, Madison.

Scotch Plains.

She credits the staffs lay woman, taking After completing a docatorat those schools for being ate in liturgy at Drew Uniexceptional mentors. me to Vespers in versity, she began her college “I loved those 26 years teaching career at the Colof teaching and administra- our parish church. lege of Saint Elizabeth (now tion because of the students The prayers were University), Morristown, and colleagues who helped where she is in her 22nd year in Latin. I faked it, of service. Her ministry at me to grow personally and professionally,” she said. includes serving as debut I was awed by Drew For eight years, Sister partment chair and assistant her example and professor of Religious StudAlice served as pastoral associate at St. Anthony of ies and Theology. holiness.”

Padua Parish, Port Reading; Sister Alice has also and St. Augustine of Cantertraveled extensively. Her bury, Kendall Park. Reflectmost favorite ventures were ing on that time, she said, “I loved participat- the summers she spent in Israel, which ining in the celebration of parish liturgies and cluded studying at Hebrew University and many other parish and school events.” attending the Sixth International Conference She commended Father Robert G. on Holocaust and Education at Yad Vashem, Lynam, pastor of St. Augustine of Canter- Jerusalem; and an exceptional sabbatical bury Parish, for his balanced approach to year in Rome where she lectured and studied spirituality, parish life, ministry, community at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas

Aquinas – Angelicum.

Sister Alice said that her vocation as a Sister of Mercy has been blessed, especially in living and working with the Mercy Sisters. She has loved and cherished more than the years in her own community, in sisters from many other religious communities, with priests and religious brothers, and with all the people of God. As for what advice she would give to a young woman considering a vocation as a religious, Sister Alice said, “I would advise her to get to know the religious community, their lives and their works.

“Then I would add, ‘Follow your heart!’”

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

60 Years In 1961, when Sister Lorraine Wolliard entered the Sisters of Mercy, John F. Kennedy was in his inaugural year as the United States’ first Catholic president, noted author Ernest Hemmingway died, and actor Dolores Hart starred as St. Clare in the film “Francis of Assisi.”

Shortly after, Hart left the glamor of Hollywood at age 24 to become a Benedictine nun. A little bit of her story might have rubbed off on Sister Lorraine.

That’s because Sister Lorraine, who is celebrating 60 years of religious life, was 27 when she entered the Sisters of Mercy after about a decade working and enjoying some of the pleasant experiences of a young, single woman.

Raised in Trenton, Sister Lorraine had considered becoming a nun when she was young, but her family had other ideas.

“I always wanted to enter,” said Sister Lorraine. “When I graduated high school, my father took me to the interview with the mother superior.”

After the meeting, her father told his daughter, the oldest of four children, “Nobody knows what they want at 18 years old. You go home and think about it.”

“In those days, you listened. I listened to my father,” said Sister Lorraine

during a telephone interview from her home at Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung.

Sister Lorraine spent her next 10 years in office roles, first with the New Jersey Department of the Treasury and later at the Mercer County Courthouse in Trenton, where she assisted the executive director of the New Jersey Association of Freeholders. In her spare time, she kept active.

“I use to belong to the USO,” Sister Lorraine recalled, rattling off military bases where she attended dances. “I didn’t sit home. I had a good life, but I knew this wasn’t what I wanted.”

The recurring thought of entering religious life convinced her to act upon it. She joined the Sisters of Mercy when she was about 10 years older than others who entered.

“I found it very interesting and difficult … in many ways because you know how 18-year-olds are,” Sister Lorraine said.

“I was 27. It’s funny: They used to call me mom because I was so old,” she added with a laugh.

Sister Lorraine had hoped to continue working in an office for the Sisters of Mercy, but her superiors, in need of teachers to meet an expanding Catholic school enrollment, had other plans.

Sister Lorraine had earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Georgian Court College (now University), Lakewood, and a master’s degree in reading at Glassboro State College, now Rowan University.

She spent virtually her entire professional career teaching elementary students, predominantly first-graders, at three schools in the Trenton and later the Metuchen dioceses, including the former St. Joseph School in North Plainfield.

She shifted from a career in business to education.

“I loved teaching and I loved the primary grades,” she said. “I still keep in touch with many children I taught in first grade.”

Sister Lorraine took a sabbatical in 1995. In 1997, she was diagnosed with two benign brain tumors.

Since 1998, Sister Lorraine has been at Mount Saint Mary, where she returned to office work, eventually becoming director of the McAuley Prayer Guild. She has called upon her secretarial skills and a networking ability for people who seek prayers.

In many ways, Sister Lorraine might say, her prayers were answered, particularly about pursuing a religious vocation.

“Just think about it, and keep it in

mind throughout the period,” Sister Lorraine said of her advice to young women who consider the call.

“I don’t know how to say this — things just happen in your life that you really have no control over. The one who is in control will lead you, eventually.

That’s how I feel. God has control over your life, and you just have to accept things as they go along. You know?”

When Sister Lorraine entered religious life, her motto was: “Jesus I come to do your will.” It has guided her throughout her life as she placed God and his Son first.

— Anthony Salamone

Motherhouse in Mendham. with her father and family in attendance.

“It was there that I got to know “He just was so proud of me. You could them better — hear their stories, watch just see the glow in his eyes,” she recalled. them pray and interact — and I realized I He would also be proud of his wanted to become a sister or at least learn daughter’s many years of dedication to more about it,” she stated.

Christ, the Church, and several parish Though she voluncommunities. She completteered on inner-city projects ed her bachelor’s degree at with a variety of communi“I’m constantly Felician University, Lodities, she always felt an inRutherford, and went on reaching out credibly strong connection for a master’s of education to the Sisters of Christian in administration. Sister to people — Charity. “I was deeply Marie Colette taught for 15 touched by their spiritual years and served as a school listening to life, their interaction with administrator for 17 years them, talking each other, and the kindness in various grade schools in and joy I saw on the retreat with them, giv- New York, Pennsylvania, to the Motherhouse. They and North Carolina. ing them a hug seemed so happy — and One memorable asstill are today,” she said. signment before she started — and it goes After graduating from teaching was spending four high school and after her years in Rome assisting a long way.” first year at Jersey City German tourist and Italian State College, she entered retreat groups. While Sister the Sisters of Christian Charity in 1969 Marie Colette knew Italian, it was hard to and completed her postulancy and novi- assist the German tourists so she learned tiate years. Though surprised, her father the language from another sister. was very supportive. “He gave me his With both this challenge and those blessing and said he’d always be there faced as a school administrator, Sister for me,” said Sister Marie Colette.

Marie Colette felt the Lord’s helping Sister Marie Colette professed her hand at work: “When people speak about first vows in 1973 and final vows in 1979 challenges, they often say it weakens or

RELIGIOUS MILESTONES

For Sister Marie Colette Martelli of Blessed Pauline Convent, Monroe Township, it is hard to remember a time when the Sisters of Christian Charity were not a part of her life. Once teachers and mentors, and now family sharing a life in Christ, the Sisters of Christian Charity have played a critical role in shaping who she is today.

When she was six years old, Sister Marie Colette immigrated with her family from Italy to Jersey City. She attended public grade school and took religious education classes at her local church, where she had her first interactions with the Sisters of Christian Charity as teachers. “I loved to stay after class and help straighten up the classrooms and just sort of be in their presence,” Sister Marie Colette said.

When it came time to enroll in high school, she asked her father for permission to attend the Academy of St. Aloysius in Jersey City. “He allowed it, which was great of him to put out the money because I knew that times were hard,” she recalls.

As a high school junior and senior, her connections to the Sisters of Christian Charity continued when she volunteered to teach religion with them and she was invited to attend what turned out to be a life-changing retreat to their

23

50 Years

threatens vocations. But for me, it made me much stronger and wiser.”

Today, Sister Marie Colette is pastoral associate at the Nativity of Our Lord Parish, Monroe Township, and loves her work there, whether it’s helping the homebound, serving the poor, or assisting the bereaved.

“I’m constantly reaching out to people — listening to them, talking with them, giving them a hug — and it goes a long way,” she said. “At this point in time, it’s exactly where the Lord wants me to be.”

— Kaylynn Ebner

25 Years

portant, too. You need a special connection and relationship with Our Father.

“Also, seek out guidance from a priest, your family and people you trust. It is important to have their support. It makes everything easier.”

Reflecting on the future she added, “The challenges and the hardship I encounter through ministry are necessary. I think through them my faith grows deeper. I love my vocation and I am looking forward to many years with God’s grace. I want to remain faithful and be closer to him. His grace, mercy and love are working in me.”

— Karen Corpora

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

was afraid of the unknown. I kept praying, vows in front of my family and friends,” ‘Jesus, if this is what you want for me let me said Sister Ermelita, who made them in the know.’

Philippines July 13, 2003.

“I felt like he was saying, ‘When are Sister Ermelita serves as the director of you going to say yes to me?’”

Little Friends of Jesus School, Martinsville.

Sister Ermelita was 19 when she The school serves preschool and kindergarentered the Vocationist comten students. She and the sismunity Aug. 15, 1993, the ters live at Blessed Sacrament “I was so feast of the Assumption, She Convent, Martinsville. asked the Blessed Mother to Well-prepared for a blessed that guide her on her journey. She career in education, Sister our Mother became a postulant Oct. 2, Ermelita completed two years 1993, and in 1994 she moved of a secretarial program at the General to Italy for formation.

College of Saint Joseph, Philallowed me “I struggled to learn ippines. She earned an associItalian. There was no social ate’s degree at Assumption to take my media so how would I stay College for Sisters, Mendperpetual vows ham; and a bachelor’s degree in touch with my mom? I wanted to go but I was torn,” in theology at Saint Elizabeth in front of my she recalled. She believes her University, Convent Station, mom’s prayers and support where she also earned her family and were what helped her perseteaching certification. friends.” vere.

Her biggest challenge in On March 13, 1997, religious life, Sister Ermelita Sister Ermelita arrived in the United States, noted, is being in an international communiwhere more sisters were needed. “Coming ty. “There is a need to embrace the diversity here was culture shock for me. It was very and the culture that each of the sisters bring far away. I was very attached to my mom and accepting different personalities within and worried about how to keep in touch with the convent,” she explained. her,” she said.

“My advice to anyone seeking a voca“I was so blessed that our Mother tion to the religious life is to visit a convent General allowed me to take my perpetual to see what life is like. Prayer is really im-

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Despite many obstacles, when Vocationist Sister Ermelita Gella, felt like she heard Jesus say, “When are you going to say yes to me?” she was ready to consecrate herself to Him and this year is celebrating her 25th jubilee as a religious.

On Dec. 8, 1996 she took her first vows in Italy to become a Vocationist Sister.

The daughter of the late Cristupo Gella and Amelita Legaspi Gella, Sister Ermelita was born and raised in the Philippines. From a very young age she remembers longing to become a religious sister. She was inspired by a religious at her parish who was always happy. “I wondered what it would be like to be in the convent. I wanted to experience the peace and joy that she had in life,” she said.

While deciding which religious order to join, Sister Ermelita learned that the Vocationist Sisters were in her diocese and close to her home. Her mom encouraged her to talk to them and see what they were all about. Sister Ermelita was hesitant because the sisters spoke mainly Italian and she did not know the language. Despite the challenge, when the sisters invited her to spend a week to see what living in the convent was like she decided to go.

“That week experience with the sisters made my longing grow deeper.” Sister Ermelita said. She came home after that week to discern her vocation. “I was excited but I

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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Life as a religious was not something Brother Ray Morris imagined for himself while growing up. In fact, when he chose to attend Rutgers University, the Catholic Center on campus and the Brothers of Hope who minister there were nowhere on his radar.

“I was not thinking at all that I would get involved in my faith,” he said.

Brother Ray grew up in Long Branch and while his family was culturally Catholic, they did not attend Mass, not even on Christmas or Easter, although his mother made sure he was baptized and confirmed, he said.

He attended the public schools in Long Branch, and chose to attend Rutgers University to earn a bachelor’s degree in political science.

As a sophomore at Rutgers, Brother Ray saw an advertisement for a job at the Catholic Center. He applied and began working at the front desk. Through this job, he started to get to know the Brothers of Hope, who he described as “normal, downto-earth guys.”

“The brothers would do anything to help spread the Gospel to somebody,” Brother Ray said. “They needed someone to work the desk, and they were hoping it would be somebody who could really encounter the Lord there, which is exactly what happened.”

After working there for about a year, Brother Ray said he felt dissatisfied with

his lifestyle, and decided to try attending Mass at the Catholic Center. He felt a “sense of profound peace” afterwards.

By the spring semester, he was a regular attendee at Mass and decided to go on a men’s retreat the Brothers were running.

He described that retreat as the moment in his life when he first developed a personal relationship with Jesus.

“My faith really started to come alive for the first time in my life,” Brother Ray said. “I started to experience the fruits of the Holy Spirit, you know — peace, joy, love — and I realized that life with Christ was better than life without.”

As graduation approached in 2012, Brother Ray thought about taking a “gap year” to work with the Peace Corp or another organization. The Brothers of Hope invited him to work for them as a missionary and serve the “spiritual poor.”

He accepted and began working as a campus minister at Florida State University, Tallahassee, where he lived with the Brothers.

For the first time, he experienced “their life of prayer, family life together, and their mission in a really personal, intimate way, and I started to wonder, ‘Is this the life for me?’

Fellow graduates of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, Brother Ray Morris, left, and Brother Logan Murray, pose after making their profession of perpetual vows to the Brotherhood of Hope community Jan. 2 at Annunciation Church, Altamonte Springs, Fla. — Cambria Davis/Lexa Davis photo

“What really drew and captured my heart is the charism of the Brotherhood … the all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ, which means that Jesus is able to satisfy the deepest wants, needs, and desires of the human heart. As I began to grow with the Brothers, I saw that there was a secret fire that they all had, that motivated them, and I began to experience what that fire was. It was a personal relationship with Jesus, and it satisfied the deepest desires of my heart.”

After six months as a candidate and one year as a novice, he made his first temporary vows as a Brother of Hope in 2015. He renewed his one-year vows for five consecutive years, and made his permanent vows Jan. 2 at the Church of the Annunciation in Orlando, Fla., woth Brother Logan Murray.

Brother Ray is currently the outreach director at Florida State, where he oversees and coordinates the Brothers’ efforts to reach out to students and invite them to grow in their faith.

Brother Ray described his efforts to reach out to people “who are just like I was, who are lost,” and help them grow closer to God. He frequently meets students for lunch, coffee, or to go for a run, and hopes that in getting to know him, they will be pointed toward Christ.

Although living in Florida, far from his family in New Jersey, is a challenge, he loves life as a Brother of Hope.

“Discipleship with Christ is the greatest adventure,” he said. “I have no idea what the Lord has in store for the next 50, 60 years, but I know who I’m doing it with.”

OUR DIOCESE

By Teresa Murphy Correspondent

25

Personal relationship with Christ fuels Rutgers graduate’s vocation

Faith journey of newly professed brother fostered at Catholic Center

By Teresa Murphy Correspondent

at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

On Jan. 2, Brother Logan professed his perpetual vows along with Brother Ray Morris at the Church of the Annunciation, Orlando, Fla. “I’m just very grateful for the Brothers, for their ministry at Rutgers, because my life was just totally changed,” Brother Logan said. “I don’t know where my life would be if I hadn’t encountered the Lord during my time in college.”

Living at a distance from his family, who now live in South Carolina, has been the biggest challenge in his life as a religious brother. But he loves his outreach to students as a campus minister.

Having personally experienced selfdoubt and lack of confidence, Brother Logan said that helps him relate to students and enjoy encouraging them.

“I love being able to help people thrive,” he said. “I love when I see conversions happen … I love when people share what’s really going on in their heart and what the Lord is doing in their life.

“The Lord is working in our midst, whether it’s directly or indirectly through me.”

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

He felt attracted to the Brothers’ life of service, but another service trip shortly after graduation truly opened him to the vocation.

He served with the Brothers in a Mexican border town south of Douglas, Ariz., the summer after graduation.

While helping to build an addition to a home for a family of seven, he and the other men on the mission trip lived as a family, praying and eating together.

“It just kind of dawned on me that this was what the Brothers do,” he recalled.

Not long after, he attended a retreat where he was prompted to meditate on Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. During a 2 a.m. vigil, he made up his mind to give his life to God as a religious brother, in gratitude for Christ giving him everything.

“What can I give other than my whole life?” he remembers asking himself.

He applied to join the Brotherhood of Hope in 2014 and began working as a missionary at Northeastern University, Boston, while he made one-year vows for five consecutive years. In June 2020, he started a new job as campus minister

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Brother Logan Murray, a native of Chicago, was drawn to the Brotherhood of Hope through his time at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.

Growing up in Chicago, Brother Logan attended Catholic school until the eighth grade and received the sacraments, but rarely worshiped at Mass. He always believed in God, and witnessed his grandparents’ faithful Mass attendance, but did not have a relationship with God until he encountered the Brothers of Hope at the Catholic Center at Rutgers.

“Only when I went to Rutgers did I get more into my faith,” Brother Logan said. Rutgers was the last college he decided to apply to, attracted by its engineering school.

“I look back, and it was totally the Holy Spirit working in my life,” he said.

While he was a freshman, he decided to accompany a friend to a fall semester retreat being run by the Brotherhood of Hope, who minister at the Catholic Center. The event, he noted, was “my first Catholic experience where people

are worshipping God, raising their hands, singing and praying.”

During prayer at the retreat, he looked over and saw another young man with an expression of joy and peace on his face as he worshipped in adoration.

Brother Logan remembers deciding in that moment: “You know what, Lord, I want that relationship with you.”

From that point on, he became more involved with the Catholic Center, and as a junior, received the sacrament of reconciliation for the first time in years.

“From that moment, I really experienced that freedom, the weight of my sins being taken off, and I was all in from that point,” he said.

As a senior, Brother Logan was president of the student group at the Catholic Center, and went on a mission trip to Tanzania, Africa. The trip “really just stirred this desire to serve,” he recalled.

In 2012, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering.

He prayed for clarity about what to do with his life — should he become a missionary? Earn a doctorate at Rutgers?

Look for a job?

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

OUR DIOCESE

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OUR DIOCESE

Above, Archbishop Garbrielle Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, blesses a stainedglass window of St. Josephine Bakhita in the Chapel of Saints at St. Augustine of Canterbury Church assisted by Father Edmund A. Luciano III (right) and Joan Fell, who holds a reliquary containing a first-class relic of the saint. Fell, a member of St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, is also one of the secretaries to the secretary general of the United Nations. Right, the reliquary holds a piece of a bone from the saint that was given to the parish by the mother general of her community in Rome.

— Barbara Corio photos

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Above, Archbishop Caccia, center, prays the consecration with concelebrants, including Father Robert G. Lynam, left, pastor, St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish; deacons from the parish assist. Left, Archbishop Caccia poses with Akuei Bona Malwal, Permanent Representative of the Republic of South Sudan to the United Nations, and Omer Mohamed Ahmed Siddig, Secretary to the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations.

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

many times that she forgot her original name. In 1883, she was sold to the Italian Vice Consul and brought KENDALL PARK — A modern-day to Italy where she served as nanny to saint who encountered God in the another family.

Sister Josephine Bakhita was put midst of her captivity was honored Feb. 7 at a Mass at St. Augustine of in the care of the Canossian Sisters in Venice where they taught her about Canterbury Church.

During the liturgy, a stained-glass God. Refusing to leave to rejoin her window of St. Josephine Bakhita, mistress captor, the dispute went known as the daughter of the Sudan, to court, where it was determined was unveiled and blessed in the par- slavery had been outlawed in Sudan before she was born and so she was ish’s Chapel of the Saints.

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, a free woman. Choosing to remain apostolic nuncio and permanent ob- with the Canossian Sisters, she was baptized in 1890 server of the Holy See to the United “I was in Rome for the and took the name Josephine Margaret Nations, presided and gave the hom- canonization of St. Katha- Bakhita, Latin for lucky one.” ily. Father Robert rine Drexel [Oct. 1, 2000] “the Sister Josephine G. Lynam, pastor, St. Augustine of and St. Josephine Bakhita Bakhita professed her vows for the Canterbury Parish, was another of the four Canossian order and Father Roger Landry, attaché to saints Pope John Paul II in 1896, and for the next 42 years the nuncio, concelcanonized that day. As worked in their Italebrated. ian convent as a cook Akuei Bona I came to discern her and doorkeeper. The Malwal and Tarig Ahmed Mohamed life, I was struck by the religious also travelled and spoke to M. Salih, Sudanese tensions she endured, other sisters to prerepresentatives to pare them for work the United Nations, tensions similar to in Africa. were among the atthose in today’s Sister Josephine tendees. died in 1947. Her In his homsociety.” feast day is Feb. 8. ily, the archbishop —Father Robert G. Lynam She is the patron reminded the consaint of the Sudan gregation that those and of human trafwho seek God will find him, not only in churches, ficking survivors.

Archbishop Caccia incensed and but in their daily life, even in their struggles. One of the ways we must blessed the stained-glass window of use our freedom from adversity is to St. Josephine Bakhita installed in the reach out with compassion to those wall of the chapel. It depicted her who are suffering, he continued. in the habit of her Canossian order; The cleric disclosed that the plague alongside were chains symbolizing of modern slavery ensnares about 41 her captivity, a map showing the Sumillion people today, even in places dan in the northeast portion of Africa, and one of the saint’s noted quotaclose to home.

Father Lynam called his intro- tions: “The Lord has loved me so duction to the Sudanese saint “divine much: we must love everyone… we providence,” and detailed his deci- must be compassionate!”

“She was always filled with joy,” sion to include a window and firstclass relic (a piece of a bone) at St. said Father Lynam. “She said that, if she had the hands of her captors, she Augustine of Canterbury Parish.

“I was in Rome for the canoniza- would kiss them, because they led her tion of St. Katharine Drexel [Oct. 1, to the life with Christ she was living.”

2000],” he recalled, “and St. Josephine Bakhita was one of the four saints Pope John Paul II canonized that day. As I came to discern her life, I was struck by the tensions she endured, tensions similar to those in today’s society.”

The Canossian nun known as Sister Josephine Bakhita was born about 1868 in the Darfur region of Sudan to a prosperous family. She was kidnapped at age seven or eight

by Arab slave traders. Over the next 12 years, she was bought and sold so

By Christina Leslie Correspondent

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Vatican prelate, Sudanese U.N. representatives help honor saint

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

OUR FAITH

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Non-Catholics forgiven?/Splitting revenue Pope Francis

AUDIENCE

February 3, 2021 In the history of the Church, there has often been a temptation to practice an intimist Christianity, which does not recognize the spiritual importance of public liturgical rites.

Often, this tendency claimed the supposed greater purity of a religiousness that did not depend on external ceremonies, which were considered a useless or harmful burden. At the center of the criticism was not a particular ritual form, or a particular way of celebrating, but rather the liturgy itself, the liturgical form of praying. Indeed, in the Church one can find certain forms of spirituality that have failed to adequately integrate the liturgical moment. Many of the faithful, although they participate assiduously in the liturgy, especially Sunday Mass, have instead drawn nourishment for their faith and spiritual life from other sources, of a devotional type. Much has been achieved in recent decades. The Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium of the Second Vatican Council represents a pivotal point in this long journey. It comprehensively and organically reaffirms the importance of the divine liturgy for the life of Christians, who find therein that objective mediation required by the fact that Jesus Christ is not an idea or a sentiment, but a living Person, and His Mystery a historical event. The prayer of Christians passes through tangible mediations: Sacred Scripture, the Sacraments, liturgical rites, the community. In Christian life, the corporeal and material sphere may not be dispensed with, because in Jesus Christ it became the way of salvation. We might say that we must pray with the body too: the body enters into prayer. Therefore, there is no Christian spirituality that is not rooted in the celebration of the holy mysteries….

Christ makes himself present in the Holy Spirit through the sacramental signs: hence the need for us Christians to participate in the divine mysteries. A Christianity without a liturgy, I dare say, is perhaps a Christianity without Christ. Without Christ in full. Even in the sparest rite, such as that which some Christians have celebrated and continue to celebrate in places of incarceration, or in the seclusion of a house during times of persecution, Christ is truly present and gives Himself to His faithful.

Prayer during the Coronavirus Pandemic O clement, O loving, O sweet Mother Mary, We, your children of every nation, Turn to you in this pandemic. Our troubles are numerous; our fears are great. Grant that we might deposit them at your feet, Take refuge in your Immaculate Heart, And obtain peace, healing, rescue, And timely help in all our needs. You are our Mother. Pray for us to your Son. Amen.

Catholics are blessed to have the sacrament of reconciliation. But what about other faiths? How do non-Catholics have their sins forgiven? (Honolulu)

Q

Question Corner

By Father Kenneth Doyle The Catholic Church has a long history of the confession of sins.

In the earliest centuries, confession was actually done in public, the thinking being that when we sin, we damage not only our own friendship with God but our relationships within the community of faith; but around the sixth century Irish monks began hearing confessions one on one, and that practice spread to the Church universal.

Though most Catholics may not know this, there are types of individual confession in other religious groups as well. Eastern Orthodox priests, for example, hear confessions not in a confessional but in the main part of the church, before a Gospel book and an icon of Jesus Christ.

(This serves as a reminder to the penitent that the confession is really made not to another human being but

A

to God himself.)

Lutherans have a form of confession known as “Holy Absolution” that is done privately to a cleric upon request. After the penitent has confessed his or her sins, the minister declares: “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

In the Anglican tradition, confession and absolution is usually done by an entire congregation as part of a eucharistic service, but certain Anglicans, particularly Anglo-Catholics, do practice private auricular confession.

The Catholic Church teaches that lesser sins can be forgiven by prayer and acts of charity, but it requires individual confession at least annually for grave (mortal) sins and encourages penitents to confess lesser (venial) sins also, as a way to grow in holiness.

It is noteworthy to mention that during the pandemic, in March 2020 the Apostolic Penitentiary (the Vatican tribunal that deals with maters of conscience) urged Catholic priests to remind the faithful that, when they find themselves with “the painful impossibility of receiving sacramental absolution,” they can make an act of contrition directly to God in prayer. If they are sincere and promise to go to confession as soon as possible, said the Vatican tribunal, they “obtain the forgiveness of

sins, even mortal sins.”

love of God. Our love is often limited, conditional, doled out to those we feel deserve it. We are hampered when we continue to immerse ourselves so deeply in the manufactured that we fail to immerse ourselves in the mystery of God. The result is an emptiness filled too often with doubt, fear and despair, instead of the courage and love that flows from communion with God. Renowned educator Maria Montessori wrote, “There are two ‘faiths’ which can uphold humans: faith in God and faith in oneself. And these two faiths should exist side by side: the first belongs to one’s inner life, the second to one’s life in society.”

It is a beautiful insight, I believe, about a state of heart and mind that helps us claim the value in ourselves and in our relationship with others, and encourages us to acknowledge that there is more to heaven and earth than we can see with our limited faculties.

Sometimes, we need a particular experience, a moment of awakening that brings us back to the source of it all — love. Only from this vantage point can we truly live our faith — in God, in life, in others and in ourselves, not just from the head, but deeply, from the heart. St. Teresa of Calcutta had such a vantage point, with a profound understanding that God entered into the world in poverty, bereft of common comforts save the love of family. God continues to enter our world in

this same way today. The beloved saint once shared an experience of what she described as, “the most extraordinary experience of love of neighbor with a Hindu family.”

She recalled, “A gentleman came to our house and said: ‘Mother Teresa, there is a family who have not eaten for so long. Do something.’

“So, I took some rice and went there immediately. And I saw the children — their eyes shining with hunger … And the mother of the family took the rice I gave her and went out. When she came back, I asked her: ‘Where did you go? What did you do?’”

St. Teresa explained that the mother had shared the rice with a Muslim family, saying, “They are hungry, also.”

“And there were those children, radiating joy, sharing the joy and peace with their mother because she had the love to give until it hurts,” said Mother Teresa, adding, “And you see this is where love begins — at home in the family.”

What shines through this story is a family, struggling with relentless poverty, which finds reason for joy and compassion because they are immersed in the mystery of God. Faith, as Martin Luther King Jr. describes it, “is the first step when you don’t see the whole staircase.” It is this step that allows us to be fearless in loving one another.

I heard on a Catholic channel that on holy days of obligation, all proceeds from the collection plate stay with the parish — as distinguished from Sunday offerings, where there is a split with the diocese. Is this true? (City and state withheld)

Q

Although there is some variation among dioceses, I am not familiar with any place that has the arrangement you describe — where holy day revenue would go to the parish, while Sunday collections would be divided with the diocese.

Instead, all collections typically go first to the parish, where they are used to keep the lights and heat on in the parish church, pay the salaries of parish staff, provide Catholic education through a parish school and/or religious education program, etc. The parish then forwards to the diocese a yearly tax — called an assessment — that is used to run the chancery office and the marriage tribunal, to train seminarians, etc.

That assessment, according to Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, averages about 13 percent of the money collected at parish Masses throughout the year.

Questions may be sent to Father Kenneth Doyle at askfatherdoyle@ gmail.com and 30 Columbia Circle Dr., Albany, NY 12203

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Love is source from which our faith flows

When my sons were growing up, two of their closest friends were young brothers who lived around the corner. One day, one of my youngest and his friend sat down on the curb next to each other laughing about something that was incredibly funny to five-year-olds. The image was so striking I ran for my camera to take their picture. My son — fair-skinned with long white hair and sparkling blue eyes — had his arm around his friend — dark brown skin, tousled black hair and deep brown eyes — both enjoying every moment of their time together and grinning from ear to ear.

Both boys were being raised in faithfilled homes, though their religions were different. But, being young, they had reached beyond race, religion and culture to find meaning in their sameness as children of God. How I hoped this image would someday be the image of the world they lived in, but so many years later, not much has improved. We have trouble understanding the

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Jesus revealed in divine glory “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31b). St. Paul’s dramatic question in his Letter to the Romans reveals a faith completely certain of God’s providential love for his people. In Paul’s mind there was no question that God would always intervene to bring about the ultimate salvation of his beloved people, a people he redeemed even at the cost of his only Son’s blood. This sense of assurance is the theme of our readings this Second Sunday of Lent.

SCRIPTURE STUDY

By Msgr. John N. Fell

WEEK IN SCRIPTURE

Gb 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 / Ps 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19 / Rom 8:31b-34 / Mk 9:2-10 Dn 9:4b-10 / Ps 79:8, 9, 11 and 13 / Lk 6:36-38 Is 1:10, 16-20 / Ps 50:8-9, 16bc-17 21 and 23 / Mt 23:1-12 Jer 18:18-20 / Ps 31:5-6, 14, 15-16 / Mt 20:17-28 Jer 17:5-10 / Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6 / Lk 16:19-31 Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a / Ps 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21 / Mt 21:33-43, 45-46 Mt 7:14-15, 18-20 / Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12 / Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 Ex 20:1-17 or 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17 / Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11 / 1 Cor 1:22-25 / Jn 2:13-25 or, for Year A, Ex 17:3-7 / Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 / Rom 5:1-2, 5-8 / Jn 4:5-42 or 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 4042 Mon 8 2 Kgs 5:1-15ab / Ps 42:2, 3, 43:3, 4 /Lk 24-30 Tues 9 Dn 3:25, 34-43 / Ps 25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9 / Mt 18:21-35 Wed 10 Dt 4: 1, 5-9 / Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20 / Mt 5:17-19 Thurs 11 Jer 7:23-28 / Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 / Lk 11:14-23 Hos 14:2-10 / Ps 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17 / Mk 12:28-34 Fri 12

20th century February 20

CNS

Two of the three Fatima visionaries, this sister and brother were beatified in 2000. With their cousin, Lucia dos Santos, they had monthly visions of Mary at Fatima, Portugal, from May to October 1917. Mary asked the shepherd children to promote devotion to her Immaculate Heart and pray the rosary daily. Both Martos died of influenza, Francisco at age 10 in 1919, and Jacinta at age 9 in 1920.

Their cousin, who became a Carmelite nun, died in 2005 at age 97.

Fatima is among the world’s great Marian shrines and pilgrimage sites.

Saints

 

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  

           

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        

       

 

                                                                                                                                                 

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Sun 28 Mon 1 Tues 2 Wed 3 Thurs 4 Fri 5 Sat 6 Sun 7

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28 - FRIDAY, MARCH 12

Blessed Francisco and Blessed Jacinta Marto

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Certainty in God’s offer of salvation does not imply, however, that Christians expect to live stressfree lives void of all suffering. In fact, this Sunday’s readings indicate that salvation and suffering often go hand in hand. Christians, like everyone else, are destined to endure their share of trials; we are assured, however, that such trials are not signs of divine disfavor or abandonment. Suffering unites us with the Person of Jesus Christ whose own passion was the privileged means of redemption and exaltation for all people.

Our first reading from the Book of Genesis lays before us the quintessential exemplar of faith, the patriarch Abraham. At this stage of his life, Abraham had already learned that faithfulness to God’s will could sometimes involve quite extraordinary effort.

He had already moved from his ancestral homeland to the land of Canaan. Having left behind all that was familiar, God now demanded from Abraham the seemingly unthinkable — the life of his only son. Scripture does not recount the agony which this request brought to Abraham. The Book of Genesis speaks only of Abraham’s absolute trust that if he followed God’s will, everything would work out for the best. In the end, Abraham’s intention to sacrifice even his son for God was enough — God ultimately did not demand of Abraham that which he himself was to endure — the sacrificial death of a beloved Son. While the people of the Old Testament saw this event as implying God’s desire to end human sacrifice, for Christians Abraham also serves as a model of perfect faith lived out among adversity.

With this background in mind, we come to this Sunday’s Gospel reading, St. Mark’s telling of the Transfiguration story. Set here near the beginning of our Lenten observance, this Gospel is intended to reassure us that, for those who follow God’s will, everything will work out for God’s glory and our good.

This Gospel shores us up for the terrible, necessary events that are to follow.

This pericope begins six days after Jesus’ difficult moments in Caesarea Philippi. He had begun to reveal that his mission had more to it than simply working miraculous cures for the crowd. Obsessed as they were with his wonderful powers, the crowds and even his disciples themselves proved much less interested in the themes of sacrifice, suffering, and the cross which were also to characterize his ministry.

The Gospel tells us that Jesus took Peter, James, and John (the three privileged disciples who were with him at very intimate moments of his ministry) and went up a high mountain (the traditional place of divine revelation). Once there, these favored disciples saw Jesus revealed in his divine glory. Along with Jesus were Moses and Elijah, representing the Old Testament Law and prophets which Jesus had come to fulfill. St. Mark recounts that Peter and the others were awestruck. Peter, sensing the divine Presence before him, asked to build three booths, three permanent dwellings, so that these celestial figures would remain there forever.  Suddenly, they were all surrounded by a cloud (a symbol of divine glory) and God the Father spoke, claiming Jesus as his beloved Son and commanding the disciples to listen to him. As soon as they had received this commission, Peter, James, and John found themselves standing alone again with Jesus.

This extraordinary moment of grace served to reassure the disciples that their faith in Jesus would never be in vain. It would hopefully carry them over the difficult moments which lay ahead. The message of the Transfiguration is a message that all shall be well, that despite all the trials and suffering which we encounter, the love of Christ is inexorably drawing us all closer and closer to his heart. This Gospel also serves to remind us of the dual nature of all encounters with Jesus. First, of course, each encounter with the Lord is an opportunity for us to bask in his presence, but each encounter with the Lord is also always an experience of being commissioned. Just as those early disciples were commissioned by the Father’s voice booming forth, “this is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” (Mk 9:7b), so also we are commissioned to spread the glory of the Lord hat we ourselves have been are privileged to witness. These commissions serve to raise us up as people of faith, like Abraham, who trust in the Lord’s ultimate salvation enough to embrace our role as fervent disciples even despite the crosses which seem to threaten our way.

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

OUR FAITH

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Correspondent

When Catholic Charities’ Child Care

EAST BRUNSWICK — Thanks “A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter;tohethe who Siteof fithe Supervisor Jenelle support for (Sir the Bishop’sClauson read finds one ndsfaithful a treasure.”

6:14) a The Facebook post about a 104-year-old Annual Appeal, which funds Catholic Connections Program at Catholic Charities, individuals and families can Charities, Diocesespecial of Metuchen, Marine’s pleawhich foris Valentine’s Closed Sunday, Monday & Holidays turn to its Office ParishAnnual Social Appeal, Minsupported by the of Bishop's wishes, shebasicgathered her colleagues forthis help with suchmenas takes verse to heart byneeds connecting Rt. 22 & Terrill Road, Watchung, NJ 07069 istry Elementary School, food, rent or utilities. torsat withHatchery youth who canHill use a friend.

What As director of the office, Maria participants have found is and that what starts out Hackettstown, organized a project Hunter’s responsibility to keep as a waymain to give youth a helpingishand, often for Charities’ the children inconnected the Catholic ChariCatholic services creates friendships that are treasured by the ties’theafter care mentors and their child families to youths, parishes in theschool diocese, which alike. can program to Since Connections Program contact her 1994, to assist someone a respond tothethe oldestwith living Marine’s has need. paired adult volunteers with youth in basic request.

Middlesex County from ages 5ministry to 17. It “It is such a wonderful Maj. Bill White, World War II started Ifrom pairing 14 to asamany because work with so matches many dedicated as 65 paired with youth each year. recipient, men andmentors women in Parish Social Minveteran and Purple Heart Youth theSociety program more likely to istry andinthe ofare St. Vincent shared his wish during ande interview with 2400 B Cooper Street develop positive behaviors andour continue Paul and we can help more by colKTXL-TV in Sacramento, schooling, which their lives.

The Calif., and laboration,” Hunterchanges said, adding, “I tell Piscataway, NJ 08854 friendship between the youth and the menthe request went viral.

He the bishop [James F. Checchio], ‘The told the telewww.ourladyoftenderness.com Church torsvision tends to hosts form over time is alive andquickly, well inbut this diocese that one of hisanfavorite hobeven deeper established and they because peoplebond are isreally dedicated to bies is scrapbooking, often become a second family to thewhich child. has helped charity, to helping people in need.’”

According toofthetrack program’s website, him to keep ofMinistry his extensive life.

The Office Parish Your prayer requests are welcomed and criteria to get a mentor are: experiencing provides resources, referrals and case Now he wanted to add some Valentine encouraged. They shall be placed before the management significant and/or culwhenterminal pastors,medical clergy,diffi parcards to ahis collection of of mementos.

Jeanette Cullen, a member of St. Bartholomew Parish, East Brunswick, has served for which positive relationship social ministers andadult members Blessed Sacrament and lifted daily in prayer. ishties supervisor of the Connections Program at Catholic Charities, Diocese of from outside of the family would be helpful; word got conferout aboutas White’s Society of Once St. Vincent de Paul Metuchen, since 2000. The 26-year-old program pairs adult volunteers with youth fi nding themselves in serious situational/ encesrequest, contact it. staff All have the children program’s from and Beneloss crisis (i.e., number but not limited to divorce or in Middlesex County from ages 5 to 18.

The ministry of this Hermitage is God’s gift, mobile phone — (732) 387— Joanne Kleinle photo dict isA. Cucinella Elementary School, a parent dying/just deceased) a help— that is available to and parishes Children in the Catholic Charities' after school child c a life of prayer, freely given to our diocese 1315 fulLong adult is needed. and Willow Grove Elevery hourrelationship ofValley, every day.

Hatchery HillOffice Elementary basketball or share a meal. director, advice or School, support.

TheHackettstown, program hosts send t Hunter, program of Parish Social Ministry for also Catholic Westaccept MainthisSt.free Suite Kathy McCrystal said she as Maria for you.95 Please gift.5-106 It is a According toSchool Hunter, thestarted Diocementary joined with Hatchery McCrystal spends about four hoursain quarterly mentor support nights.

Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, poses her office inII East Brunswick Feb. 8. Heart a mentor when her twin boys were teenMajor Bill White, World War veteran and Purple Emergency Assistancethey Program Hill and together sent three large NJ 07930 a weekher withis the boys depending on whatSocial Teaching Jeanette Cullen, a member St. — Bar-photo co Above a Certificate in Catholic she earned at ofCatholic privilegeChester, to be united with you in prayer. esan agers.

She was paired with a boy close in (DEAP), funded by the “Together in University they plan. SheWashington, looks forwardD.C. to tholomew Parish, East Brunswick, where of America, ageenvelopes to her sons because she thought men- activities full hand-made Valentine collection takenof every January, www.ourladyoftenderness.com Charity” — Chris Donahue photo her time with them and loves watching she serves as an extraordinary minister of toring would be a great way to engage her cards and wishes honor White and to assistance to 323 to households Be still and know that I am God. - Psalm 46:10 provided own boys. She got much more than she them grow and mature into teenagers. They holy Communion and in its Society of St. (withbring 505 adults and 424 joy children) in the ing: treat every person with dignity andWhite don’tand knowwe if you and if they say,care for child support to Maj. arepray,’ all relove expected. The boyand became to the retired Marine. often talk to her about their Vincent de Paul chapter, has been superviamount of $155,685.62 the during fiscal respect. Every issues person is ashe child of God ‘yes,’ Ithe tell them, ‘God is withsince you.

Just distric Prayer Request: and gives them sor of Connections Program 2000. school minded of how important it is to provide close to her family, “We arewhole so thrilled about theandcases, response Your prayer requests are welcomed and year 2020 (July 1 to June 30). “In many you realizewhatever — they are our brothers say prayer.

Ask Him fornot help.’” guidance she Sheawho sees thehave impact it has only on the participating in traditions Somerset and recognition tocan.those served _______________________________ we received from came the from school district,” Referrals for assistance and sisters.

I don’t use the word client,” She noted that she has inMentors must un- the youth, but on the mentors andbeen families. we put the her in-laws annual New encouraged. They shall be placed before the 44like For more our rigorous country.” ofsaid the 90 parishes in the diocese. sheDirector added. while isreading Pope Francis’ Care Service Area dergo screening spired “The program not meant to replace the Year’s EveChild party, decorating _________________________ childhood back are kept in a database so Hunter said she is encouraged by book, “Fratelli Tutti.”

In it, he speaks interview and background parents, but to give support,” she said.

“In Charities’ child Last year, Catholic Charities, DioBlessed Sacrament and lifted daily in prayer. Recipients theKrista ChristmasGlynn. tree and go“The staffif and children Hunter will be able to tell a parish the diocese’s recent creation of the Secof a culture of encounter as a common checks before they receive many cases, we put the childhood back in ingwere on an annual Easter eggto send in the child’s ccdom.org/chil cese of isMetuchen provided affordable so excited their lovelife and they have served.

She said that retariat for Charity, intendedto goal, encourages peoplethe to fun be activities fearless trainingwhich and continue the child’s life by offering hunt.

She been even took him on are spent in a fair and prudent The ministry of this Hermitage is God’s gift, funds to uphold the vision and integrate the in the ways they look beyond themby off ering the receive training after they and support that his or her family cannot college tours with her own manner.

For instance, when rent is Church’s essential mission of charity selves to the needs of others.

The pope beging serving. give them.” sons. They grew so close fun and activities and a lifeTHE of prayer, freely given to our diocese needed, the name of the landlord in all that it does.

“It is good because wrote: “Faith is an encounter with JeThe program sponsors Cullen treasures witnessing the lifethat when he aged out of address are always verified. it brings us together in one group.

We sus, and we must do what Jesus does: monthly group activities — changing impact that the mentors have on support that their the program, she agreed to for you. Please accept this free gift. It is a The his Office of Parish Social Minis- could really work together and collaboothers.” usually in person, but they encounter the youth. She said one child, whose parents mentor younger brothers families cannot tryand provides opportunities think of thecame Office ofthe Parish Solaborers, into program privilege to be united with you in prayer. they now participate infor members rate,” she said. have been held virtually be- were“Iday of McCrystal the parishfamily to encounter those in need This ministry also helps evancial Ministry as a pastoral care office of cause of the coronavirus — wanting to be a day laborer.

After spending traditions give them.” of just help — directly.

“It makes a differgelize because it serves people of all Catholic Charities,” Hunter said.

“I am for mentors and the youth. time with his mentor, he realized other poslike their brother did.

—Jeanette Cullen seeactivities the face of some- faiths. Recently, she read something happy that when parish members call Through these trainings and so sibilities were openstaff to him.

He started Be still and know that I am God. - Psalm 46:10 ence when Most you of the one need and look important McCrystal to remember and to say, this asituahas me to plan go ‘Maria, to collegewe andhave become busithatinshe does with the into boys their eyes.” she thinks is activities, Hunter said. Because of the recent lockdown when servingclose others, “We are because they know I amchanged connected also formed friendships withliving other tion,’ nessman and travel.

He also his are simple.

Prayer Request: “Social Ministry is different than mentors. diet to more healthy choices. proof of a living God.” with all the parishes, which connects us related to the coronavirus, she takes them for Case managers are in touch with menFor information about becoming a social service agencies since we strive “We need to offer time or at least to all the services in those towns.” _______________________________ a walk or buys them ice cream. They also tors two to fiveshe times each month“Someand are mentor, Jeanetteor Cullen at jcullen@ to share help her people a pastoral way. Even an ear,” continued.

Forcontact information to contact the love in of biking and hiking.

Some- offer available daysay or night by phonecalling if they need ccdom.org or (732)Social 738-1323. if times we can’t helptowith they I will to someone for Office of Parish Ministry, visit they want visit atthe hermoney house and play times _________________________ need, we follow Catholic Social Teach- help that sounds so much in need, ‘I the website CCDOM.org

Tues., Wed. & Thurs.: 10 am – 3pm Friday: 10 am – 2 pm Saturday: 9:30 am – 12 noon

Our Lady of Tenderness

Our Lady of Tenderness

FEBRUARY 25, 2021 THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT AUGUST 20, 2020 THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

CT

McAULEY

“Come follow me” 10:21) atholic Spirit C(Mark

Is God calling you to serve as a priest, deacon, religious sister or brother?

If you think maybe...

Journey of Faith

By Father John Gerard Hillier People have always claimed to be sure about certain things...sure that the world is flat; sure they could make gold out of lead; sure that if a mad dog bit them they would die.

No doubt, being sure doesn’t always make one right! However, when considering the Ten Commandments, we are both sure and right in stating that God never made a mistake in giving us these laws for our good, the good of our society and our eternal good.

Perhaps this is why the Ten Commandments have been relevant for more than 1,000 years, even before the Incarnation, when the Eternal Word of God, Jesus, became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

The first three Commandments are summarized in the Book of Deuteronomy 6:5: “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with all your soul, and with your whole strength,” and the last seven Commandments are summarized in Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Although these Ten Commandments were originally given in a Jewish context, they have been accepted fully into Christ’s teaching. This is the point that second-centu-

ry St. Justin Martyr makes in his “Dialogue with Trypho,” (possibly a Rabbi) to whom St. Justin seeks to make the case that Christianity is the new law for all of us and, as Sacred Scripture attests, that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah. Quoted in the Catechism, St. Justin writes: “There will never be another God, Trypho, and there has been no other since the world began...than he who made and ordered the universe. We do not think that our God is different from yours. He is the same who brought your fathers out of Egypt ‘by his powerful hand and his outstretched arm.’

We do not place our hope in some other god, for there is none, but in the same God as you do: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (ccc 2085).

St. Paul also writes about the Commandments. He says, they are “now made known to all the Gentiles that they may believe and obey” (Rom 16:26). The greatest motive for keeping the Commandments is faith in God. A powerful faith should result in the person’s commitment to these Commandments. Although revealed in Sacred Scripture, these Commandments are engraved inside every human person. St. Paul writes, “For what can be known about God is evident...because God made it evident” (Rom 1:19).

St. Paul’s observation includes the First Commandment, the one we consider in this article: “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve” (ccc 2083). This First Commandment embraces the theological virtues of “faith, hope and charity. When we say ‘God’ we confess a constant, unchangeable being, always the same, faithful and

just, without any evil” (ccc 2086).

Notice that the Catechism includes in its definition of God as One “without any evil.” Although most would assume this point to be redundant when defining “who God is,” it would seem that the Church makes the point in order to exclude current definitions of God which suggest that “evil” resides in God. Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung and his disciples are adherents of this idea.

Regarding the first theological virtue of “faith,” “our duty toward God is to believe in him and to bear witness to him” (ccc 2087).

The Catechism continues: “The first commandment requires us to nourish and protect our faith with prudence and vigilance, and to reject everything that is opposed to it” (ccc 2088).

The second theological virtue of “hope” “is the confident expectation of divine blessing and the beatific vision of God; it is also the fear of offending God’s love and of incurring punishment” (ccc 2090).

The Catechism further explains that “the first commandment is also concerned with sins against hope, namely, despair and presumption” (ccc 2091). Two types of “sinful” presumptions are highlighted including: 1. That we hope to be able to save ourselves without “help from on high” (ccc 2092); and 2. We presume God’s mercy will save us: “hoping to obtain his forgiveness without conversion” (ccc 2092).

Regarding the third theological virtue — “love” — the Catechism tells us: “Faith in God’s love encompasses the call and the obligation to respond with sincere love to divine charity” (ccc 2093). The final paragraph in this section (ccc 2094) then

explains the various ways in which we can sin against God’s love, including: • indifference: neglects or refuses to reflect on divine charity; it fails to consider its prevenient goodness and denies its power.

• ingratitude: fails or refuses to acknowledge divine charity and to return him love for love.

• lukewarmness: hesitation or negligence in responding to divine love; it can imply refusal to give oneself over to the prompting of charity.

• acedia or spiritual sloth: goes so far as to refuse the joy that comes from God and to be repelled by divine goodness.

• hatred of God: comes from pride. It is contrary to love of God, whose goodness it denies, and whom it presumes to curse as the one who forbids sins and inflicts punishments.

The First Commandment reminds us that the love we have for God is our response to the love he has for us. Nothing else in life should concern us more than our desire to love and be loved by God. If we do have some other concern stronger to us than our love for God, it is not so much that we are breaking God’s rules, but that we are not truly in a loving relationship with God. Perhaps money, power, security, recognition, sex, or something else has become our god.

This god will have its own commandments at odds with the Ten Commandments of God. Observing the Ten Commandments is only possible for those who choose to have no other god than God. Father Hillier serves as Director of the Office of the Pontifical Mission Societies, Censor Librorum and oversees the Office for Persons with Disabilities

FAITH ALIVE

Article 147 - Catechism of the Catholic Church Series Paragraphs 2083-2094

31

Primary concern should be to love, be loved by God

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT FEBRUARY 25, 2021

32 OUR DIOCESE THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Diocesan-sponsored hospital to host free lectures via Zoom NEW BRUNSWICK — Saint Peter’s University Hospital, a member of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System, is hosting a free virtual lecture series on adolescent and family health issues.

After several events in the series were held via Zoom in February, registration is available for “Adolescent Brain Development and Addiction.”

The event, which is scheduled to be held March 10, 6: 30 to 7:30 p.m., will be presented by Dr. Tejal Mehta, Pediatrics, The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital.

The registration link is https:// SaintPetersHCS.zoom.us/webinar/ register/WN_p6L9vxZ1SiuLRSQFuyW_Fw On March 24, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., “Vaping and the Adolescent” will be presented by Nicki Francis and Mara Carlin, BS, CPS, Wellspring Center for Prevention.

Th registration link is https:// SaintPetersHCS.zoom.us/webinar/ register/WN_TswvyYdFTxm6d5qSNMRNJw On April 7, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., “Recovery Coaches” will be presented

by Bonnie Nolan, PhD, Woodbridge WN_5QCvDKsbSk-JkDa2sAna3w For questions about the virtual Opioid Overdose Recovery Program lectures, please contact (WOORP).

The registration The Children’s Hos- Robert J. LaForgia, coordinator, Healthier link is pital at Saint Peter’s Middlesex, at rlaforhttps://SaintPetersHCS.zoom.

University Hospital g i a @ s a i n t p e t e r s u h . us/webinar/register/ com or (732) 745WN_dcB-NO7KQbC- provides families with 8600, ext. 5831. Please up to 48 hours uOm1fhIIvqw access to a full range allow for a response.

On April 21, 6:30 Saint Peter’s to 7:30 p.m., “Sucof pediatric specialcessful Recovery from University Hospital, ties, including a Addiction” will be prea member of Saint Pesented by Don Rogers, nationally recognized ter’s Healthcare System, is a 478-bed acuteCommunity Outreach Level III Neonatal care teaching hospital Director at The Recovby the Dioery Village Cherry Hill Intensive Care Unit. sponsored cese of Metuchen. at Cooper.

The registraSaint Peter’s, which tion link is https://SaintPeter- received its sixth consecutive designas H C S . z o o m . u s / w e b i n a r / r e g i s t e r / tion as a Magnet® hospital for nursing

excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2020, is a state-designated children’s hospital and a regional perinatal center, and is a regional specialist in diabetes, gastroenterology, head and neck surgery, oncology, orthopedics, and women’s services.

The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital provides families with access to a full range of pediatric specialties, including a nationally recognized Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, pediatric surgery and orthopedic surgery featuring innovative anterior scoliosis correction.

The hospital offers a midwifery service and the brand-new state-ofthe-art Mary V. O’Shea Birth Center.

Saint Peter’s is a sponsor of residency programs in obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and internal medicine, and is a major clinical affiliate of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences.

For more information, visit saintpetershcs.com or call (732) 7458600.

tending two Masses daily and cheered the St. Joseph’s Senior Home residents. Sister Ryszarda is survived by her siblings, Little Servant Sister Teresa Kopec, Anna Ignas, other relatives and her religious community.

A funeral Mass was celebrated Feb. 4 at the Provincialate Chapel in Cherry Hill. Interment was at St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Chews Landing.

Arrangements were handled by Ciechanowski Funeral Home, Runnemede.

Memorial contributions in Sister Ryszarda’s memory may be sent to the Little Servant Sisters, Provincialate, 1000 Cropwell Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003.

Mercy Sister Mary Edwardine Brown, 87, who taught at parochial schools in Bernardsville, Sayreville, South Plainfield, Bound Brook and Piscataway dur-

St. Ann Parish Hansel and Gretel PreSchool.

She participated in activities such as Mercy Associates, Christmas bazaar preparations, the community-sponsored golf classic and other local and community events. In her later years, Sister Edwardine joined two sisters whose ministry was spiritual direction, retreats and programs in Mays Landing.

Because of an unexpected illness, she recently moved from Mount Saint Mary to McAuley Hall Health Care Center.

Sister Edwardine is survived by many Sisters of Mercy and many nieces and nephews. Services were private.

Interment was at Holy Redeemer Cemetery, South Plainfield.

Arrangements were handled by Higgins Home for Funerals, Watchung.

Memorial donations may be made to the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, 1645 US Highway 22 West, Watchung, NJ 07069

OUR DIOCESE

Sister M. Ryszarda (Richard) Kopec, 93, died Jan. 29 at Raritan Bay Medical Center, having lived with her community at St. Joseph’s Senior Home, Woodbridge, since 2014.

As Zofia Kopec, she entered the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in 1947. A dedicated religious for 73 years, she professed her final vows in 1957. As a trained dietician, Sister Ryszarda worked in kindergartens, children’s homes, a provincial house and a religious guest house in Poland. She came to St. Joseph’s Convent, Woodbridge, in 1984. From 1988 to 1996, she was the chef at the archbishop’s residence in Philadelphia for both John Cardinal Krol and Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, and then returned to serve at St. Joseph’s.

She was an excellent baker, vegetable gardener, and beloved for her cheerfulness, kindness and prayerfulness.

In her final years, she prayed fervently, at-

ing her 40 years in education, died Feb. 2 at McAuley Hall Health Care Center, Watchung.

The youngest of nine children born to George and Marie Brown in Montclair, she was baptized Elizabeth Anne and known affectionately as Betty Brown. She was a member of one of the first classes at Holy Cross School, Rumson, and continued her education at Red Bank Catholic High School, where she was deeply involved in academics and extra-curricular activities. Inspired by the community of sisters who educated her, she entered the Sisters of Mercy in Watchung in 1952 after her high school graduation.

She began teaching first grade at St. Mary School, South Amboy, and earned a degree at Georgian Court College (now University), Lakewood, in 1954. She also taught primary and intermediate grades at schools in Red Bank and Hazlet.

When a new ministry was initiated in Keansburg, she was invited to open

33

OBITUARY

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT FEBRUARY 25, 2021

34

OBITUARY

OUR DIOCESE

Sister M. Aurelia Jackiewicz, 85, a devoted religious of the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception for 66 years who served as a teacher and principal at Our Lady of Lourdes School, Milltown, died Feb. 8 at St.

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Joseph Nursing Center, Woodbridge.

She had been a member of the community at the Provincialate, Cherry Hill, since 2013.

Baptized Halina, she entered the congregation in 1955, and professed her perpetual vows in 1962. She was a dedicated trained religious educator in

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Poland. Beginning in 1972, she served as a teacher and principal at three elementary schools in New Jersey.

She also served as superior at St. John Retreat House, Atlantic City.

Sister Aurelia was committed to prayer and to her community. Open to people, her ministry in Poland was in the time of communism.

In her new world of New Jersey, she endeared herself to her students and had the gift of hospitality. She loved helping the poor and gardening.

A funeral Mass was celebrated for Sister Aurelia Feb. 13 at the Provincialate Chapel.

Interment was at St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Chews Landing.

Arrangements were handled by

Ciechanowski Funeral Home, Runnemede.

Memorial contributions in Sister Aurelia’s memory may be sent to the Little Servant Sisters, Provincialate, 1000 Cropwell Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003

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Pastoral Visit Bishop James F. Checchio recently visited the Augustinian Recollect Nuns at their monastery in Belvidere. Posing with the bishop are Mother Beatriz (left), superior; Mother Rosita, general superior of the Federation of Mexico who lives in Mexico City; and Mother Guadalupe, secretary and former general superior.

— photo courtesy of Bishop James F. Checchio

3/19 Deadline for all entries to the diocese’s Annual Respect Life Poster Contest launched Feb. 12 in Catholic Schools and Religious Education programs (grades 1-8). The theme of the contest is ‘The Year of St. Joseph.’ For more information contact Jennifer Ruggiero at jruggiero@diometuchen.org

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Choices Matter All Presentations of the diocese’s Choices Matter Virtual Conference Series are available for viewing by visiting: https://www.diometuchen.org/choicesmatter. Presentations delivered at the diocese’s Choices Matter Conference included: Integrity, God’s Plan for sexuality, defending life in the black community, and fighting the legalization of assisted suicide. Each session will challenge you to reflect on why, in each of these areas, our choices matter if we want to build a culture of life and love.

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WOMEN’S LENTEN JOURNEY, virtual Lenten spirituality group beginning on Sunday, Feb. 21 on Zoom. The group will meet each Sunday of Lent at 2:30 p.m. using the Ascension Press “Lenten Companion” book. For more details or to join, please contact Cristina, director of Family Life at cdaverso@diometuchen.org WEEKLY PODCAST – Am I Not Here?

Produced by the staff of the Office of Communications, “Am I Not Here?” – a weekly podcast – highlights the good news within our local Church and those working to minister to the people of the Diocese of Metuchen. New episodes are released each Monday and once aired they are archived. To listen to any episode, or to learn more, please click the links on the diocesan Facebook page or lighting hearts on fire website LECTIO DIVINA, Mondays at 11 a.m. join faithful from around the diocese in a prayerful, virtual gathering of Lectio Divina, a method for praying with the Scriptures. As one reads and invites the Word to become a transforming lens that brings the events of daily living into focus, one can come to live more deeply and find the presence of God more readily in the events of each day. Start your week with prayer, community, and hope. To get the most out of these sessions, please remember to have your bible readily available. For the Zoom meeting information, please email: ssharlow@diometuchen.org

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TEACHER St. Thomas the Apostle School in Old Bridge has an immediate opening for a long-term replacement (through June) 5th and 6th grade Language Arts teacher, with the possibility of hire for the 2021-22 school year.

This teacher will also be responsible for a 5th grade homeroom class. Candidates must be New Jersey State Certified with a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree.

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ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT A Parish in Somerset County is looking for an Administrative Assistant (32 hours per week) to support the pastor and church staff with daily functions and serve as the primary contact during business hours.

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT FEBRUARY 25, 2021

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 1-800-8355510 (TTY/TDD for the deaf), and also the Diocesan Response Officer at (908) 930-4558 (24 hours/7 days a week).

Family Care Placement,

FOR SALE

RATES

DIOCESAN PROGRAMS MEDITATING TOGETHER IN LENT Virtual Group which began Feb. 23 and will meet on Zoom on Tuesdays in Lent at 7 p.m. using the Agustin Institute “The Tears of Christ” book. To register and receive a free book, contact Allan Caballero, director, Office of Evangelization at acaballero@diometuchen.org or Megan Vantslot, director, Youth Evangelization at nvantslot@diometuchen.org

HELP WANTED

OUR DIOCESE

MARCH 3/19 Mass for the Solemnity of St. Joseph, 5 p.m., Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Bishop James F. Checchio to celebrate the Mass which will be Livestreamed on the Cathedral website. Seating is limited so registration is required. Please email evangelization@diometuchen.org Face coverings and social distancing are required.

CLASSIFIED

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DIOCESAN EVENTS

36 OUR DIOCESE THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT FEBRUARY 25, 2021

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CALL THE OFFICE OF STEWARDSHIP & DEVELOPMENT AT 732-562-2432