January 25, 2024

Spirit atholic C For information about the diocesan pilgrimage to the National Eucharistic Congress see pg. 48.

THE

THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF METUCHEN

THE EUCHARIST, ALWAYS.

JANUARY 25, 2024 • VOL. 28 NO. 12

In the Eucharistic celebration, through the words of the priest and the action of the Holy Spirit, simple bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist never changes, but it has the power to change God’s children – for the better. Pictured, Bishop James F. Checchio holds the chalice with the Blood of Christ during Mass for the Nativity of the Lord on Christmas Day in St. Mary of Ostrabrama Parish, South River. Read more on pgs. 6,7,13.

–Gerald Wutkowski Jr. photo

INSIDE Eucharistic Revival

6-7

Our Faith

8

Perspectives

16

Movie Review

46

Diocesan Events

47

St. Jude Relic tour

4-5

Thousands flock to parishes for veneration

2 UP FRONT

Remembering who we are in the Grace of Ordinary Time

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

JANUARY 25, 2024

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

It never seems like I am ready to say goodbye to the Christmas season. The joyful days of Christmas always pass by so quickly. Our churches look so beautiful during Christmas with the Nativity scenes, the trees and poinsettias but it is only a couple of weeks long.

For Easter we celebrate the season for 50 days until our Lord’s Ascension, but Christmas is so much shorter. We all remember the song about the 12 days of Christmas and the gifts given on each of those days. Twelve days is generally about it for the season as we celebrate on the following Sundays the Holy Family, Epiphany and then the Baptism of our Lord, closing our Christmas season.

The Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord was celebrated on Monday, the day after Epiphany this year. The lights on houses disappear for another year, the wonderful scent of our Christmas trees and wreaths disappear and while the joy of Christmas and family stay with us, we lose these physical reminders so quickly.

This edition of The Catholic Spirit has a few Christmas remembrances for us to help pick up our spirits reminding us of the blessed season we have finished.

I find the Baptism of the Lord a good way to end the Christmas season and transition us back into “ordinary time.” It is always a beautiful celebration and reminds us of our own baptism, too, which is important, as our baptism is the foundation of our relationship with God; it immersed us into the very life of the Trinity and made us adopted sons and daughters of God. “Ordinary time” is one of the regular parts of the liturgical year where we are not

celebrating the great solemnities of Christmas or Easter, nor celebrating Advent or Lent when we are preparing ourselves spiritually for those great celebrations.

However, practically speaking, most growth in our lives takes place in ordinary ways throughout the year. When we read the lives of the saints, we see that most of their holiness comes during the “daily grind” of their lives.

Generally, it is not for some heroic or exceptional act that they are proclaimed saints, but for how they lived and loved each and every day. They do ordinary things in daily life with extraordinary love. We are reminded that God is working with us throughout even the most mundane moments and not just in the grand moments of our lives.

Sometimes it is helpful to look at our lives over a longer span, so we can compare ourselves with where we were five, ten or 20 years ago. Over time, we can see our further dependence on God and the deepening of our friendship with Him. Sure, there are the exceptional moments when we feel God’s presence in our lives clearly, but that’s not the majority of our experience.

As the new year began, I was on retreat with the bishops of New Jersey and New York, so let me offer you a little prayer for us to make together as we begin Ordinary time. At Jesus’ baptism, we are told the heavens opened and a voice could be heard, “This is my beloved Son on whom my favor rests.” That didn’t just happen to Jesus, but it happened to each of us, too. This is what Jesus came to do, not just to save us but as we were baptized, we were made members of His own mystical Body, the Church, and adopted as His sons and daughters.

God said those same words to us, “This is my beloved Son … This is my beloved daughter.” Look into the mirror and say those words to yourself. Do we really believe that I am an adopted daughter or son of God the Father? Then pray that we can truly understand that we are unconditionally loved by God, as we

Catholic Spirit THE

are part of Jesus’ Body, His Beloved, His sons and daughters. That is the blessing of our life in Christ!

As we remember the joys of our recent Christmas, let us thank God for the blessings that are ours, every day. Know of my love, prayers and gratitude for you, and please remember to pray for me, too!

God Bless.

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

Into Ordinary Time During his recent pastoral visits and wearing the green vestments of Ordinary Time, Bishop Checchio poses for a photo, above, with altar servers after celebrating the Vigil Mass for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, Jan. 13, in St. Magdalen de Pazzi Parish, Flemington. On Jan. 14, the Bishop celebrated Mass for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, in St. Bartholomew Parish, East Brunswick. St. Magdalen de Pazzi photo by Mark Lee; St. Bartholomew photo by Marlo Williamson.

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

Correction: In a sports story on pg. 41 in the December issue of The Catholic Spirit, Immaculata High School, Somerville, coach Mike Columbo was incorrectly identified as Mike Lombardo.

3 OUR DIOCESE

S T. F R A N C E S C A B R I N I , P I S C ATAWAY

Christmas Mass with Bishop Checchio Celebrating Mass for the Nativity of the Lord was an opportunity for Bishop James F. Checchio to spend time with parishioners in three parishes. Bishop Checchio celebrated the Vigil Mass for the Nativity of the Lord in St. Frances Cabrini Parish, Piscataway, and then celebrated Mass during the Night for the Nativity of the Lord in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen. Christmas Day found him celebrating Mass for the Nativity of the Lord in St. Mary of Ostrabrama Parish, South River.

—Gerald Wutkowski Jr. photos

S T. F R A N C E S C A B R I N I , P I S C ATAWAY

C AT H E D R A L O F S T. F R A N C I S O F A S S I S I , M E T U C H E N

C AT H E D R A L O F S T. F R A N C I S O F A S S I S I , M E T U C H E N

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

ST MARY OF OSTRABRAMA, SOUTH RIVER

ST MARY OF OSTRABRAMA, SOUTH RIVER

JANUARY 25, 2024

C AT H E D R A L O F S T. F R A N C I S O F A S S I S I

4 SPECIAL FEATURE THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT JANUARY 25, 2024

B

y the thousands they descended upon several parishes in the Diocese, devoted faithful who gathered to venerate the first-class relic (part of a saint’s body) of St. Jude Thaddeus, known as the Apostle of the Impossible.

St. Jude was one of the twelve Apostles who accompanied Jesus during his ministry, eventually martyred in what is today Beirut, Lebanon.

According to the website, apostleoftheimpossible.com, a few centuries after his death, St. Jude’s remains were transported to Rome, where they now lie below the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica, in the same crypt with St. Peter.

The relic of St. Jude’s forearm, separated from his remains several centuries ago, is ensconced in a wooden carving in the shape of an upright arm in the form of a blessing and placed within a large glass receptacle.

The relic was brought to the parishes of St Thomas the Apostle, Old Bridge; Our Lady of Fatima, Piscataway; Sacred Heart, South Plainfield; St. Augustine of Canterbury, Kendall Park, and St. Jude, Blairstown, on Dec. 12, 13, 14, 15 and 17 respectively, five stops on a one-hundred city U.S. tour. Four parish sites included veneration of the relic from 1 until 10 p.m., with Mass at 7 p.m.

Companions of the Cross Father Carlos Martins, director of the evangelization ministry Treasures of the Church, manages the tour of the relic during its nine-month journey from September through May. In an August 2023 press release, Father Martins said, “The apostle’s visit is an effort by the Catholic Church to give comfort and hope to all who need it. … Regarded as the patron saint of lost causes and desperate situations the visit provides an opportunity for individuals to experience intimacy with someone who dwells in heaven and beholds God face-to-face. It allows devotees to receive his blessing and entrust him with their petitions.”

The crowd at Our Lady of Fatima created long lines winding out into the parking lot, resulting in an hour’s wait to view the relic. A few parishioners expressed what drew them to the veneration.

“I have a lifelong devotion to St. Jude and wear his medal,” said Bruce Zehnle, while Maria Perry commented, “I wanted to experience this historic event.”

Members of the fourth degree Knights of Columbus stood watch over the relic, garbed in their regal black attire, sword and beret, adding a noble touch to the event. During Mass, Father Martins delivered a homily integrating the history of St. Jude and his relic with the spiritual significance of Christian relics.

At Sacred Heart Parish, parishioners gathered outside before the opening of the veneration. “I pray to him all the time.

I can tell you that he has answered my prayers,” Sue Porchetta acknowledged.

Maria Fusillo commented, “I am honored and blessed, and extremely grateful, to be here.” She was accompanied by her brother-in-law Dominic from Staten Island, who said he was here “to listen, learn, and observe.”

Father Jerome Johnson, pastor, St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, confirmed that some three thousand people venerated the relic, and another one thousand attended that evening’s Mass. “We were full,” he said. “People have a great devotion to St. Jude. They have a real affinity for him. They came not just from our parish but from other places as well. It was quite gratifying and moving.”

Father Robert Lynam, pastor, St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, recalled that some “two thousand people passed through the church throughout the day and the church was full for Mass.”

The relic’s visit came as a surprise to St. Jude Parish. Father Ron Jandernoa, pastor, encouraged his parishioners to visit one of the other four parishes to venerate the relic when, on Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the parish was advised they had been added as a tour site.

“Our parish was greatly blessed to have such a major relic of our patron saint visit our parish,” said Father Jandernoa.

“We experienced St. Jude himself present and were overjoyed. Hundreds of people came from all over as the church was packed for a special 3 p.m. Mass” and veneration which followed until 9 p.m.

Reflecting on the reason many thousands of people in the Diocese came to venerate St. Jude’s relic, Father Lynam recounted the story shared by Father Martins who explained the image of Jesus always seen on the saint’s chest: A pagan king, Abgar of Edessa, who was terminally ill, sent a letter to Jesus asking him to heal him. Jesus replied he could not come in person but would send one of his Apostles. Jesus pressed his own face into a cloth, leaving an impression, and sent the cloth with St. Jude to present to the king. The king pressed the cloth to his face and was immediately healed.

While initially preserved, the image was eventually lost after the French revolution.

Today, this image of Jesus is forever associated with St. Jude as intercessor of impossible causes through faith in Christ.

To learn more visit apostleoftheim possible.com for information.

Mary Morrell, editor-in-chief, contributed to this story.

Companions of the Cross Father Carlos Martins stands at the altar in St. Augustine of Canterbury Church, Kendall Park, behind the glass box holding the wooden reliquary carved in the shape of an upright arm in the gesture of imparting a blessing.

—Marlo Williamson photo

The wooden reliquary, seen close up in this photo, is protected by a glass case for veneration and by Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus who stand alongside in Our Lady of Fatima Church, Piscataway. —Gerald Wutkowski Jr. photo

St.

Relic of

draws thousands to five diocesan parishes

By Robert Christie, Correspondent

5

—Marlo Williamson photo

Below left, the reliquary was last opened during the time of Cardinal Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani, who served as Vicar General of His Holiness from 1931-1951. His seals enclose it, ensuring provenance and authenticity. —Gerald Wutkowski Jr. photo

SPECIAL FEATURE

Left, thousands of parishioners stood in lines to venerate the relic of St. Jude, the saint of the impossible, hosted in St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, Kendall Park on Dec. 15, including families with children and many of those with infirmities.

Below, the faithful packed St. Augustine of Canterbury Church for Mass honoring St. Jude with many staying for prayer and devotion. —Marlo Williamson photo

Far right, hundreds packed St. Jude Church, Blairstown, for their 3 p.m. Mass honoring St. Jude and stayed for veneration of the relic until 9 p.m.

—Courtesy photo

Right, the Knights of Columbus, who stood guard over the relic in St. Jude Church, added to the solemnity of the evening. —Courtesy photo THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT JANUARY 25, 2024

Long lines of faithful waiting to view the relic wound out into the parking lot, resulting in an hour’s wait to view and venerate the relic in Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Piscataway. —Robert Christie photo

6 EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL

REAL PRESENCE

Fruits of the Same Spirit: Eucharist, Holy Orders and the Christian

By Father Michael Tabernero Special Contributor “As in the Mass it is [the Holy Spirit] who works the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, so in the Sacrament of Orders it is [the Holy Spirit] who works the consecration of bishop or priest” (John Paul II, Gift and Mystery, p. 53).

As my ordination approached, I found myself deeply reflecting on these profound words of St. Pope John Paul II. His 1998 letter to priests, particularly emphasizing the role of the Holy Spirit, remains one of the most impactful and my personal favorite among all his letters. John Paul spoke with remarkable clarity and depth about the Holy Spirit’s role in the Church and, more specifically, in the life of a priest.

The weight of the responsibility associated with being a priest was daunting for me as a seminarian. A –––––– A monstrance is seen as Pope Francis leads vespers on New Year’s Eve in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

The monstrance is an open or transparent receptacle in which the consecrated Eucharist is exposed for veneration. —CNS photo/Paul Haring

priest is called to be a representation of Christ to the people, in sacramental moments, pastoral settings and in our day-to-day life.

The words of the Pope provided solace as they drew me back to my faith. While my belief in the true presence ran deep, my own shortcomings made it challenging to believe that Jesus could shape my heart and mind to resemble his. John Paul II helped me realize that if Jesus could transform simple bread and wine into himself, he could do the same with me.

It is still consoling to recall this truth as I extend my hands and call down the Holy Spirit at each Mass.

Priests have a privileged relationship with the Eucharist; both the Sacrament of Orders and the Eucharist were instituted by Christ at the Last Supper. Both sacraments are born of our Lord’s desire to remain always with his people.

During the Mass, we have the privilege to stand at the head of the congregation and utter the words of consecration. Outside the Mass, we are tasked with a great responsibility from our Ordination – to conform our lives to the same Christ we make present in the Eucharist.

Both tasks, consecrating the Eucharist and conforming our lives to Christ, are impossible to do on our

own. We need the help of the Holy Spirit.

“The Eucharist and Orders are fruits of the same Spirit,” says John Paul II. In a certain sense, each Christian is also a fruit of that same Spirit.

Since Confirmation, the Holy Spirit has been at work in each of us to mold us into a likeness of Christ.

Through the gifts of the Spirit, our hearts and minds can increasingly resemble Jesus’ own. Our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and actions can mirror his. The one we worship at every Mass and every time we come to adoration – Jesus Christ – is the one the Holy Spirit is shaping our hearts and minds to become.

We speak about the Eucharist as the source and summit of our faith.

We also speak of the Christian life as a pilgrimage. As a hiker I like these analogies.

Our goal, the summit of the Christian life, is to become like Christ. The way is difficult, it’s a hard summit to reach, but we have the Holy Spirit who guides us and shapes us with each step so we all might one day reach the full stature of Christ (Eph 4:13) and be united with Him forever.

Father Michael Tabernero serves as director of Catholic Identity in St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison.

JANUARY 25, 2024

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Eucharistic Miracle Exhibit ‘a display of God’s love for us’ The Eucharistic Revival Team in St. Jude Parish, Blairstown, recently arranged for the traveling Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit, created by the Diocese of Trenton, to be hosted in the parish hall for two weeks.

The exhibit is based on the website created by Blessed Carlo Acutis, who attempted to catalogue all the Eucharistic miracles that have taken place worldwide.

Father Ronald L. Jandernoa, pastor, recalled, “Of the 500 to 600 people who came to encounter the Eucharistic Miracle Exhibit, 294 signed the guest book during the [time] the Miracle of the Eucharist was here at St Jude. Many people were touched by the exhibit.”

According to the Diocese of Trenton website, dioceseoftrenton.org/eucharistic-miracles-exhibit, the exhibit is circular and is divided into seven sections or rooms. In the first six rooms, information about the Eucharistic miracles is displayed. Each panel names a miracle, recounts the story of its occurrence and the country where it took place. The panels are arranged in chronological order from the early third century to 2013.

All of the rooms point to the center of the exhibit to remind visitors that the historical miracles on the walls of the exhibit are pointing to the miracle in front of them – Jesus, present in the Holy Eucharist. In the seventh room, the Eucharist is clearly visible in the monstrance and a place is prepared for visitors to rest in Jesus’ presence.

Prepared by Mary Morrell, editor-in-chief.

Guest Book comments “These Eucharistic miracles confirm my belief in the miracle we witness at every Mass.”

“This was an amazing and very informative exhibit. I learned a lot” “So glad we did not miss this there are no words to describe the experience.”

“This is a beautiful display of God’s love for us. Thank you for sharing the message of his real presence in the Eucharist and our lives every day.”

“Thank you for bringing this lovely display to our parish. It’s truly been an enlightening experience to read about these miracles throughout many periods of history.”

Father Ron L. Jandernoa, St. Jude pastor, leads prayers with faith formation students during Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in part of the Eucharistic Miracle Exhibit. —Courtesy photo

“This was an incredible uplifting experience - how blessed we are.”

“This is a very moving display.”

“Amazing miracles - love it.”

7

Patrick Cline photo

On the Memorial of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Oct. 16, 2023, Bishop James F. Checchio celebrated Mass and blessed the new outside shrine dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the grounds of St. Ann Parish, Hampton. —Gerald

Shrine to the Sacred Heart of Jesus a parish Eucharistic Revival initiative

By Deacon Patrick Cline Correspondent In 2022, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops launched a three-year Eucharistic Revival initiative to renew the American Church “by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.” The first year was focused at the diocesan level.

On June 11, 2023, the Year of Parish Renewal began on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ to inspire grassroots creativity in parishes to encourage and reawaken devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist.

In response, St. Ann Parish, Hampton, considered a number of ideas to establish a tangible response to the USCCB’s call for creativity during the year of parish renewal. The concept that was chosen was the construction of a shrine to the Sacred Heart on the parish grounds.

Bishop James F Checchio dedicated the newly constructed Shrine to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Oct. 16, 2023. The

Shrine was the result of a parish vision to create, “A lasting symbol of (the) parish’s faith and Christ’s invitation to come to him when we find life burdensome,” said Father Michael C. Saharic, pastor, reflecting on the Gospel of the Mass that day.

In discussing the design of the shrine it was suggested that a wooden structure similar to the framework Father Saharic had designed for the church’s bell tower porch in 2005 would be perfect. After modifications were made to the original design to provide for a freestanding structure, work on the shrine commenced. Using the talents of a number of the parishioners involved in the construction industry, masons, carpenters and other craft workers, the shrine was constructed.

On one of his pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Father Saharic collected small pebbles from a number of the major biblical sites associated with Jesus Christ. As the concrete was being mixed for the foundation, these pebbles were incorporated into the structure, tying the

Wutkowski Jr. photo

shrine closer to the Lord.

During the planning and creation of the shrine, a long-time parishioner, Dr. George P. Polachak, died suddenly. In recognition of his many contributions to the parish and parishioners, both personally and professionally, Father Saharic commented that Dr. Polachak was never too busy to provide whatever assistance he could to anyone referred to him. Father Saharic thought that the shrine would be a fitting memorial to the doctor and his life.

The Feast Day of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was chosen for the dedication of the shrine because she was the person most responsible for the spread of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Eucharist. A member of the Visitation order in France, Margaret Mary began in 1673 receiving a series of private revelations from Jesus Christ in which he disclosed his divine love and compassion.

Jesus expressed his desire that devotion to his Sacred Heart should consist of reception of the Holy Eucharist on the first Friday of every month, Eucharistic

Adoration and the establishing of a Feast of the Sacred Heart. Although initially met with doubt and resistance, the saint persevered and today devotion to the Sacred Heart is a worldwide practice, especially the nine consecutive monthly First Friday Devotions.

In his homily at the dedication, Father Saharic said “The new parish shrine in honor of the Sacred Heart was built during this Year of Eucharistic Renewal as a lasting witness to the divine love and compassion that comes to each of us in our reception of Holy Communion.”

While the Bishop’s dedication Mass was the first one celebrated at the shrine, future liturgies are expected, with the next Mass on the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, June 8.

Father Saharic hopes that the shrine will be, “a place of prayer and solace, a place of rest and refreshment, a place of comfort and peace, but ultimately a place where Jesus Christ is found.”

Deacon Patrick Cline serves in St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish, Bernardsville.

available each weekday.

On the 22nd of each month, the center will offer a liturgy in honor of St. Sharbel for the intentions of those present, with Eucharistic Adoration, Confession and veneration of the saint’s relic.

Day retreats will also be offered in the coming months.

Maronite Bishop Gregory J. Mansour, who leads the St. Maron Eparchy, said in a statement that he and fellow Maronite Catholics are “supremely blessed” to be able to share the legacy of St. Sharbel.

Continued on page 38

A digitally created representation of St. Sharbel Makhlouf, a Maronite Catholic monk and priest from Lebanon. —OSV News photo/Public domain via Wikimedia Commons under CC-Zero license

JANUARY 25, 2024

(OSV News) – With Catholics in the U.S. marking the National Eucharistic Revival, a new spirituality center in Pittsburgh is encouraging deeper devotion to the Eucharist through the intercession of a beloved Lebanese saint.

The St. Sharbel Spiritual Life Center, which opened its doors Dec. 14, offers opportunities for worship, Eucharistic adoration, education, ministry, training and Scripture studies. The center operates under the direction of the Eparchy of St. Maron in Brooklyn, New York, in the Maronite Catholic Church, one of the 24

self-governing Eastern and Latin churches in communion with the Pope that together make the global Catholic Church.

Situated on three acres, the center is adjacent to Our Lady of Victory Maronite Catholic Church, and includes a chapel, an extensive library, classrooms, prayer spaces, offices and kitchens.

Liturgies are celebrated Monday through Friday at the center by a rotation of priests from the Maronite, Byzantine and Roman traditions “as a sign of unity within the Catholic Church,” according to a press release from the organization.

Opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration and the Sacrament of Reconciliation are

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

New St. Sharbel spirituality center provides a place of ‘health and holiness’ through Eucharist

By Gina Christian

EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL

The Shrine to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, located in a peaceful setting, contains a statue, an altar and benches for both public worship and private prayer and reflection. —Deacon

8 OUR FAITH

The Lord’s Prayer leads us safely to our heavenly home Article 182 - Catechism of the Catholic Church Series Paragraphs 2803-2806

I recall reading several years ago the account of a pilot who became disoriented in the fog near Fairbanks, Alaska in 1949. Coupled with this, his radio went dead, and his fuel began running low. Through his headphones, the pilot could hear a voice speaking: “Keep talking, Captain; say anything that comes to mind…Just keep talking.” It was the ground operator at a nearby airport who came up with a plan. He decided that he could zero in on the pilot’s voice with a radio beam and pinpoint the position of the airplane. Then he could communicate the position of the lost plane with regard to the airport to the pilot. Immediately the pilot began to speak the first words that came to mind, which he repeated again and again. Soon after, through the clouds, he could see land and then the airport. After landing safely, he shook the hand of the ground operator who smiled and said: “Sir, I had no doubt that you would make it when I heard your voice so strongly, saying over and over again the Lord’s Prayer.” The lone pilot preferred

to speak the words of the most beautiful prayer ever composed. Thankfully, with the help of this prayer given by Jesus, he was able to guide his plane through the dense fog and land safely.

Whether we pray the Lord’s Prayer as members of Christ’s Church at Holy Mass during the “Rite of Communion,” during the recitation of the Holy Rosary, or in the privacy of our own homes, we place ourselves “in the presence of God our Father to adore and to love and to bless Him” (ccc 2803). During the prayer “the Spirit of adoption stirs up in our hearts seven petitions, seven blessings” (ccc 2803).

The first three petitions are described in the Catechism as “more theological” (ccc 2803). These include: 1. Hallowed be Thy name, 2. Thy Kingdom come, and 3. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. These petitions “draw us toward the glory of the Father” (ccc 2803). They carry us “toward Him, for His own sake: Thy name, Thy kingdom, Thy will! It is characteristic of love to think first of the one whom we love. In none of these three petitions do we mention ourselves” (ccc 2804). In fact, “the burning desire, even anguish, of the beloved Son for His Father’s glory seizes us: hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done…” (ccc 2804). These three appeals were already answered in the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. “They are henceforth directed in hope toward their final fulfillment, for God is not yet all in all” (ccc 2804).

The last four petitions are: 1. Give

us this day our daily bread, 2. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, 3. Lead us not into temptation, and 4. Deliver us from evil. These last petitions “commend our wretchedness to His grace” (ccc 2803).

As well, they remind us of the various “Eucharistic epicleses” (ccc 2805). What does “epicleses” mean? In the Eucharistic Prayers of various liturgies, this refers to the invocation of the Holy Spirit or the calling of the Holy Spirit by the priest upon the gifts of bread or wine and offering them so they may become the Body and Blood of Christ.

Regarding the last four petitions of the Our Father, this refers to the “offering up of our expectations, that draws down upon itself the eyes of the Father of mercies” (ccc 2805). In the words of the Catechism, “they go up from us and concern us from this very moment, in our present world: ‘give us…forgive us… lead us not…deliver us’” (ccc 2805). Notice how these fourth and fifth petitions of the Lord’s Prayer “concern our life as such – to be fed and to be healed of sin,” while these final two petitions “concern our battle for the victory of life – that battle of prayer” (ccc 2805).

In summary, by the first three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, “we are strengthened in faith, filled with hope, and set aflame by charity” (ccc 2806). By the final four petitions, we surrender ourselves to the justice and mercy of God. Recall that when He lived among us in the flesh, Jesus was critical of those who followed only the laws of God that

they liked. In truth, our salvation depends on keeping all of God’s Commandments.

We have heard people say that God will forgive some great sin and be gracious to us because we generally keep His law, even though we fall short of it by committing, or planning to commit, some future sin of impurity or hatred or drunkenness or dishonesty or unkindness. But, we need to remember the words of St. James in Sacred Scripture: “For whoever keeps the whole law, but offends in one point, has become guilty in all” (James 2:10).

Jesus likewise critiqued those who were outwardly wholesome, but inwardly sinful. For example, in our own day, there are those who participate in Sunday Mass and receive the sacraments but are full of ambition and even hypocrisy. Why would such people follow religious practices at all? Is it for the greater honor and glory of God? How about us? Are our hearts far from Him? “Being creatures and still sinners, we have to petition for us [in the Lord’s Prayer] … through the name of His Christ and the reign of His Holy Spirit, [that] our Father accomplishes His plan of salvation, for us and for the whole world” (ccc 2806).

Like the lone pilot in Alaska so many years ago, we pray that we, too, by living the Lord’s Prayer, might be guided through the darkness of sin and death and led safely to our eternal home in Heaven.

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

JANUARY 25, 2024

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Enrich the New Year with sacred time On a recent visit to the local convenience store, I turned from the cash register and came face to face with a large display of chocolate Easter eggs.

I paused for a moment to collect my thoughts. Didn’t I just start taking Christmas decorations off my front porch? Isn’t my Christmas tree still up and happily lit in my family room?

It seemed we had just rocketed from the Birth of Jesus to his Death and Resurrection in the speed of light, a move only possible when we view time as linear.

Sadly, our culture has us positioned on a timeline that moves from one income producing holiday or season to another with businesses promoting a sense of time that works to their benefit. But when we buy into that experience, we are allowing commerce and culture to hijack our faith and our spiritual nature.

What we need is the resolve to take back time, and to make it meaningful, not just useful.

For me, as the child of an Irishman who embraced the spiritual view of both his Celtic ancestors and his Christian faith, time has always reflected the ebb and flow of nature as a system created by God for our benefit. Life has its seasons,

as does nature, and humanity has always found ways to honor these life cycles with times of rituals, prayer, and worship.

Time is not meant simply for filling up our day planner, for charging full steam ahead on the doing, but requires space for the being, the opportunity to become, to grow through prayer and reflection. Our spiritual health requires that we are attentive to the rhythms of time, the breaking of light into the darkness and our daily journeys through the valleys and to the peaks.

In Laudato Si, Pope Francis writes, “The ear of the heart must be free of noise in order to hear the divine voice echoing in the universe. Along with revelation properly so-called, contained in Sacred Scripture, there is a divine manifestation in the blaze of the sun and the fall of night. Nature too, in a certain sense, is the book of God.” When I was growing up, the Church still celebrated Rogation and Ember Days, times of petition and thanksgiving which were focused on the harvest and the changes of the seasons, keeping us mindful that the work of our hands is to be elevated to God. It seems to me that as we move

away from an intimacy with the earth and are swept up into a commercial and technological ideology, we are losing touch with the meaning of time which God has placed in our hearts. We have become, as Thomas Merton once said, “sharecroppers of time.”

The Trappist monk once offered a reflection on the need to give prayer the time it needs. He explained that the contemporary perception and use of time was detrimental to the spiritual life. He shared an experience of going to the hermitage where, “one of the best things for me … was being attentive to the times of the day: when the birds began to sing, and the deer came out of the morning fog, and the sun came up…

“The reason why we don’t take time is a feeling that we have to keep moving. This is a real sickness. Today time is commodity, and for each one of us time is mortgaged. We experience time as unlimited indebtedness. We are sharecroppers of time. We are threatened by a chain reaction: overwork–overstimulation– overcompensation–overkill.”

Fortunately, through all the noise and din of a linear timeline of holidays and secular seasons, the wisdom of the

Church’s liturgical calendar provides the opportunity to reclaim our sense of kairos – God’s time. Within the seasons of the liturgical year, our lives remain connected to and unified with the life of Christ, God’s love and mercy, and our opportunities to bring that love to our neighbors.

In this new year, on every new day, we should allow ourselves, as often as possible, to enter into the rhythm of life, to experience the transition from morning to evening to night, to feel the heartbeat of the seasons without measuring any of it with a clock or a schedule.

Balance linear time with sacred time, time as God created it, so we may begin to regain a sense of peace and bring that peace to others.

And remember the words of American poet, Carl Sandburg: “Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”

9

In adherence to a centuries old tradition of devotion and celebration, Bishop James F. Checchio joined with the Filipino Community Dec. 15 as principal celebrant and homilist for the opening Mass of Simbang Gabi, a devotional nine-day series of Masses honoring the Blessed Mother Mary in preparation for the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines, Simbang Gabi means “night Mass.” The practice, which was introduced by Spanish evangelists to the Philippines in the 17th century, saw the faithful arise before daybreak during the nine days before Christmas to attend Mass before they set off to work in the fields.

—Courtesy photo

The Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, was awash with color and joyful reverence as faithful celebrated Simbang Gabi this December. At left, banners from numerous Filipino Apostolates led the procession, and center, faitfhful carried lit star-like ornaments known as parols lit the assembly. At right, Bishop James F. Checchio accepts donations of food for the poor during the Preparation of the Gifts. —Gerald Wutkowski Jr. photos

Simbang Gabi Churches Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen Our Lady of Fatima, Piscataway St. Bartholomew, East Brunswick St. Matthew the Apostle, Edison Immaculate Conception, Somerville Nativity of the Lord, Monroe St. Bernadette, Parlin Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Hackettstown Queenship of Mary, Plainsboro St. Helena, Edison

St. Frances Cabrini, Piscataway St. Matthias, Somerset St. Anthony of Padua, Port Reading St. Cecilia, Monmouth Junction St. James, Woodbridge Mary, Mother of God, Hillsborough St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Bridgewater Our Lady of Victories, Sayreville St. Cecelia, Iselin Church of the Sacred Heart, South Plainfield St. Augustine of Canterbury, Kendall Park

JANUARY 25, 2024

During a Dec. 21 Christmas visit to St. James School, Woodbridge, Bishop Checchio viewed the students’ Nativity Play and visited the student-led Wildcats Café.

Adoration of Mary was central during the early morning Masses, which featured song and procession as early as 4 a.m. Over time and in urban areas, Masses today are most often celebrated during the evening.

Through the coordination of the diocesan Filipino Apostolate, Simbang Gabi this year included Masses celebrated in 23 churches. Misa de Gallo, or “Rooster Mass,” was held at 5 a.m. each day of the novena in St. Ladislaus Church, New Brunswick.

Prepared by Mary Morrell, editorin-chief.

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Nativity on Stage

devotions with Cathedral Mass

CHRISTMAS

Bishop opens

10 CHRISTMAS

The Nativity through the eyes of a talented Perth Amboy Catholic School student.

A Christmas treat Bishop James F. Checchio made a Christmas visit Dec. 22 to students, faculty and administration at St. James School, Basking Ridge, just in time to see gingerbread houses under construction. —Gerald Wutkowski Jr. photo

Nativity Play Second graders in St. Francis Cathedral School, Metuchen, reenact the Nativity on Dec. 19 in the Cathedral. Kindergarten, first and second grade classes entertained the school and their families in two performances celebrating the holiday season. —Elaine Scull photo

JANUARY 25, 2024

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Christmas at the Carmel

Away in a Manger Among the celebrations for Christmas at the Carmel of St. Mary Immaculate and St. Mary Magdalen, Flemington, is the chanting of the Christmas Proclamation, a reminder of how long Advent waiting actually was. Traditionally, it was chanted as part of the Liturgy of the Hours on Christmas Eve. At the Carmel, Sisters chant the proclamation in English at supper on Dec. 23 so everyone may know the text and solemnly in Latin before morning Mass on Dec. 24. Pictured, the Chantress at the Carmelite Monastery leads the sisters, not visible, In the Latin chant in the monastery choir. —Courtesy photo

The beauty of the outdoor Nativity scene at St. John Neumann Parish, Califon, reminds visitors of the reason Christmas is celebrated. —Facebook photo

In early November, the whole house received an email from Benedictine Father Kurt Belsol who is the coordinator of liturgy at the North American College.

He informed us that the officials at St. Peter’s Basilica had requested 16 servers for the Christmas Mass During the Night with the Holy Father. A sign-up sheet was posted on the main bulletin board, and when passing by it one day, I decided to jot down my name in one of the empty slots. Just like that, I was on my way to an unforgettable experience.

I grew more and more excited as the day grew closer. We had a run-through the day before, where I was assigned to be the mitre-bearer for the Holy Father, which meant I would be sitting on his right throughout the Mass! It may interest you to know that this selection is made based on height … the shorter servers are usually chosen to bear the mitre, crozier, book or microphone, all of whom sit in the vicinity of the Roman Pontiff. The day had finally come when my lack of vertical reach was something to be desired!

We arrived at the basilica in the evening on Christmas Eve, and once we reviewed our responsibilities and vested, we waited to greet the Holy Father. He was wheeled in through a side entrance and greeted all of us individually, sporting a warm smile. I was thrilled to shake his hand for the second time in five months! I greeted him with a “Buon Natale, Santo Padre!” and then it was time to line up.

The Mass itself was beautiful! I was quite nervous at the outset, as I was very aware of the magnitude of the event, and the vast number of eyes which were trained on the man from whom I was seated just a few yards away. As the liturgy progressed, I began to relax and started to really be able to absorb what was happening.

In front of me, the 90-ton bronze baldacchino of Bernini towered above the Altar of the Confession, under which lie the bones of St. Peter. I looked up to the soaring heights of the dome, designed by Michaelangelo, which testifies to the great Apostle’s authority with words from Scripture in 6-foot-high font: “TU ES PETRUS ET SUPER HANC PETRAS AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM, ET TIBI DABO CLAVES REGNI CAELORUM,” which means, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and I give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” My gaze drifted down to my left, where the successor to Peter was seated in prayer after having received Our Lord in Holy Communion.

I want to take this opportunity to praise God for his infinite goodness. Not much more than three years ago, I was at the lowest point of my life. The outbreak of COVID-19 forced me out of my job, away from my friends, and sent me home with my tail between my legs. I hadn’t attended a Sunday Mass in around six years. Such is the merciful love of our God, who brought me from that point to where I am today, and who for our sake became man, born of a Virgin in a lowly

OUR DIOCESE

By Bruce Cargill, Special Contributor

11

Christmas Mass with the Pope a graced experience for seminarian

manger, and died for us while we were yet sinners to save us from our sin! All glory, honor, and praise be to Him, now and forever!

Bruce Cargill is a seminarian of the Diocese currently studying at the North American Pontifical College in Rome.

In the screenshot, top photo, seminarian Bruce Cargill is seated far left after the reception of Holy Communion during Mass during the Night for the Nativity of the Lord. In bottom photo Pope Francis greets seminarian Cargill, as he greeted all those who were serving the Mass.

—Gerald Wutkowski Jr. photos

JANUARY 25, 2024

The Dec. 21 annual Seminarian Christmas gathering with Bishop James F. Checchio, held in the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway, was a time of prayer and fellowship for all in attendance, and included Midday Prayer, lunch and Christmas gifts from the Bishop to the seminarians. At right, Bishop Checchio prays midday prayer with seminarians. At the close of the gathering, theologians and pre-theologians went to their assigned parishes to help through Christmas Day, while collegians returned home to their families.

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Bishop joins seminarians for annual Christmas gathering

— Vatican Media photo

12 OUR DIOCESE

Virtual Women’s Group completes ‘Catechism in a Year’

JANUARY 25, 2024

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

By Anna M. Githens Correspondent The diocesan Virtual Women’s Group has broadened their horizons and expanded their knowledge of the Church and its teachings without ever leaving home. Through listening to the podcast “Catechism in a Year” by evangelizer Father Mike Schmitz, individual study of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and weekly Sunday Zoom meetings, the group completed the program Jan. 1 of this year.

The group, which was formed a few years ago during the Covid pandemic, got together in the solarium of the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, for a potluck lunch and a belated Christmas gift exchange. The members talked about the fruits of their studies and their future plans.

“I wish all teenagers could hear it because it’s so beautiful,” said women’s group member Kim Azzinaro in reference to the podcast. “Father Mike is them. His personality, his delivery resonates with them. He talks about how loved we all are.”

As the cleric says in the podcast, “It is not about information transfer, but transformation.” Cristina D’AversoCollins, director of the diocesan Office of Family Life, explained that being “transformed through an encounter with Christ” is what is needed most to fully appreciate and understand the Catechism.

“Without that relationship one cannot possibly make sense of many things which seem harsh by the world’s standards,” she said. “Remaining focused on Christ is the only way to see that what our faith offers is really based on true love.”

The dynamic group of women consists of members from various dioceses parishes within the Diocese of Metuchen and also from the Trenton Diocese. They are open to anyone interested in joining

and are not geographically bound because of the Zoom format. The group has been steadily growing thanks to word of mouth and bulletin advertisements.

“In our meetings we discussed the week’s readings and podcast episodes, and any highlights or questions,” explained D’Averso-Collins. “Very robust discussions ensued. We discussed anything that the women wanted to in terms of how the Catechism relates to their lives, the current culture, etc. We relate everything to our daily lives, families and faith life at home,” she said. noting, “Everyone feels comfortable knowing that what they say will be kept confidential and that everyone will genuinely pray for one another.”

In addition to the “Catechism in a Year” program, the women also have a group chat where members can make prayer requests, offer prayers for one another and share important information.

One member, Carol Goodman, from St. Joseph Parish, Hillsborough, shared how pastor Father Hank Hilton’s livestreamed “Fireside Psalms” were very well received and so helpful during the pandemic and beyond.

This year virtual women’s group they are undertaking “The Bible in a Year,” also with Father Mike Schmitz, which was inspired by “The Great Adventure Bible Timeline” created by renowned Catholic biblical scholar Jeff Cavins. Although the group began Day 1 of the podcast on Jan. 15 new members are invited to join the group.

“There are many stories in the Bible but there is one main story,” said Corazon Jeevaratnam, who shared with the group some valuable materials from Ascension Press that aid in her studies, such as the Bible timeline chart. She asserted that Jeff Cavins is a “super scholar” who is “truly an asset to the Church,” and all in the group agreed.

“My hope is that this year proves to

Left, The women’s virtual study group includes Lina Vallejo, Sacred Heart Parish, South Plainfield; Kim Azzinaro, Immaculate Conception Parish, Spotswood; Carol Goodman, St. Joseph Parish, Hillsborough; Patricia O’Reilly, Immaculate Conception Parish, Somerville; Cristina D’Averso-Collins; Corazon Jeevaratnam, St. Augustine Parish, Kendall Park; Silvana Gomes Heil, Sacred Heart Parish, South Amboy, and Denise Brasco, St. Leo the Great Parish, Lincroft.

Top right, Cristina D’Averso-Collins, diocesan director of Family Life, holds a Catholic card game she received as a gift during the exchange Above right, Group member Lina Vallejo holds a new Great Adventure Bible for this year’s Bible in a Year study. She added tabs for easy access to the readings.

—Anna M. Githens photos

be as fruitful as the last one,” D’AversoCollins expressed. “I know that we have all grown so much by studying the Catechism and am personally very excited to read through the whole Bible. Apart from the Mass we often know certain tidbits from the Bible rather than the whole story/overarching plan of salvation history.

The goal is for all of us to be able to truly deepen our appreciation for God’s plan for salvation and his love for mankind.”

Zoom meetings will again be held on Sundays at 2:30 p.m. and anyone interested can contact Cristina D’AversoCollins at 732-562-1990, ext. 2478.

Deacon Remembered

Members of the 1996 diaconate class (l to r) Steve Gajewski, Tom Giacobbe, Walt Maksimik, and Tony Gostkowski, participated in a Memorial Mass Jan. 11 for classmate Bill Vanzino who died Dec. 11 in Florida. The Mass was celebrated in St. Bartholomew Church, East Brunswick. Father Tom Walsh, pastor presided and Deacon Gostkowski preached the homily. —Courtesy photo.

Parishes from every corner in our nation will gather at the feet of Jesus, boldly anticipating a new Pentecost at the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. Your life—and our Church—will never be the same.

JANUARY 25, 2024

For information on the Diocesan Pilgrimage to the National Eucharistic Congress with Bishop James F. Checchio visit www.diometuchen.org/nec2024.

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

(OSV News) – Armed with art supplies, Sister Alicia Torres recently invited young adults attending a Catholic conference near Milwaukee to create a selfportrait on paper, drawn inside a circle.

The circle, she explained, represented the Eucharist. Through the Eucharist, each person better understands himself or herself as made in the image and likeness of God, she told them.

About 50 young adults worked for almost an hour, and when they finished, they silently walked around the room to see what others had created. To Sister Alicia’s surprise and delight, the 20- and 30-year-olds naturally formed a circle around the edge of the room as the session came to an end.

“This is an image of the Body of Christ,” she remembers thinking. “Here we are, united in our faith of the Holy Eucharist, and all these young adults – who have so many struggles in the culture, in their personal lives – had this experience of connecting with Jesus through this art project.”

The art session was part of a Nov. 11 workshop Sister Alicia led on the Eucharist and creativity for Inheritance 2023, a young adult conference organized by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. It is one of the highlights from her work in the past year with the National Eucharistic Revival.

“There has been, in my awareness of what’s going on nationwide, an attentiveness to not forget our young people,” said Sister Alicia, a member of the Franciscans of the Eucharist of Chicago as well as the National Eucharistic Revival executive team. “That’s very important because the data indicates that by their early 20s, we (the Catholic Church) lose 80% of the young people that have been confirmed. … And so to be able to bring the message of Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist – his love, his mercy and his power – to the young people, I think is critical. And I see that happening, which brings me a lot of hope.”

A three-year initiative of the U.S. bishops, the revival is nearing its midpoint. It began in June 2022 with the feast of Corpus Christi. The first year focused on diocesan revival, inviting bishops, priests and diocesan leaders to deepen their relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist. The Year of Parish Revival began in June 2023, with emphasis on reaching Catholics in the pews.

The coming calendar year will include the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage that begins mid-May and the National Eucharistic Congress in July, two largescale efforts that lead into the revival’s final year, the Year of Going Out on Mission, which ends on Pentecost 2025.

A parish year playbook for local

leaders identified four areas of focus: reinvigorate worship, personal encounter, robust faith formation and missionary sending. Each “invitation” contained ideas and examples of how parishes might respond.

In the fall, revival leaders launched “Jesus and the Eucharist,” a seven-session, video-based study designed for the Year of Parish Revival and intended for use in a small group setting.

The series is “a chance to invite people to explore basic mysteries of the faith – that God loves us enough to send his son to lay down his life for us, and who then offers himself to us here and now and walks with us,” said David Spesia, executive director of the Secretariat of Evangelization and Catechesis for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “That invitation to a renewed encounter to Jesus Christ each day, that is really what’s going to set the stage for the revival, through the pilgrimage and the congress.”

Revival leaders hoped that dioceses, parishes and other local Catholic entities would make the revival their own. The result is new or expanded Adoration hours, Eucharist-focused homily series, and large Eucharistic processions. Processions this year in Manhattan, New York, for example, drew thousands of participants.

“This last year, for me, is about all the little things that are happening in local parishes,” said Tim Glemkowski, CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress. “It’s the pastor I heard about who is doing a preaching series on how the Eucharist is a ‘who’ and not just a ‘what,’ and how to have a relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist.”

Revival leaders hope the 10th National Eucharistic Congress – the first national congress in 83 years – can help cultivate that sacramental imagination among the tens of thousands of Catholics expected to attend.

In November, revival leaders announced plans to make single-day passes available for the July 17-21 congress.

Meanwhile, full five-day passes are offered at a 10% discount through Christmas Day at the congress’ website, www. eucharisticcongress.org. The website also includes the congress’ general daily schedule and speaker lineup.

“God has really spoken into what he wants this event to be,” Glemkowski said of the congress. “It’s truly going to be a moment of spiritual revival for the Church, not just a conference. I don’t think people are going to walk away being like, ‘I heard a cool talk that was kind of meaningful to me.’ I think people are going to walk away and be like, ‘My life has changed.’”

Maria Wiering is senior writer for OSV News.

EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL

By Maria Wiering

13

National Eucharistic Congress 2024 to be a time of spiritual revival following a year of creative parish, diocesan efforts in 2023

14 OUR DIOCESE

Are you being called to the Diaconate?

The Diocese is looking for Spanish-speaking or bilingual men who are interested in becoming Deacons. A new diaconate formation class is about to begin. Applications for that class will be accepted this Spring; prior to applying, interested men must attend an Information Meeting.

Meeting Information Meetings will be held at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center in Piscataway on Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 7 PM and again on Saturday, February 3, 2024 at 10 AM. If you are between the ages of 35 and 60, and you believe you are being called to this ministry, you, your wife and your pastor are cordially invited to attend one of these meetings. If you have any questions, or wish to advise that you will attend, please contact the Diocesan Diaconate Office at (732) 562-2457 or diaconate@diometuchen.org.

¿ Sientes el llamado al Diaconado?

La Diócesis extiende un llamado a los hombres que hablen español o sean bilingües y sientan la vocación o la inquietud de convertirse en Diáconos. Una nueva clase de formación diaconal comenzará pronto. Las solicitudes para esta clase se aceptarán esta primavera de 2024; antes de aplicar, los interesados deben asistir a una Reunión Informativa.

Las reuniones informativas se llevarán a cabo en el Centro Pastoral St. John Neumann en Piscataway, el miércoles 31 de enero de 2024 a las 7 PM y nuevamente el sábado 3 de febrero de 2024 a las 10 AM. Si tienes entre 35 y 60 años, y sientes que estás siendo llamado a este ministerio, tú, tu esposa y tu párroco están cordialmente invitados a asistir a una de estas reuniones informativas. Si tienes alguna pregunta o deseas confirmar tu asistencia, comunícate con la Oficina de Diaconado Diocesana al (732) 562-2457 o envia un correo electrónico a la siguiente dirección: diaconate@diometuchen.org.

Stress

in your Marriage?

WEEKEND FOR COUPLES

FEBRUARY 2-4, 2024 Is your marriage going down the right road . . . or is it a little off track?

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT JANUARY 25, 2024

ANNOUNCING AN UPCOMING RETROUVAILLE

Life can be difficult, and so can the challenges you face in marriage.

FOR MORE INFO OR REGISTRATION: RICH COLASUONNO @ 732-236-0671, ANNETTE COLASUONNO @ 732-672-0748 OR 3024@HELPOURMARRIAGE.ORG

Does the distance between you seem wide? Are you already separated?

Looking for a better way? Retrouvaille can help and offers hope for a better relationship. Retrouvaille is a peer ministry of volunteer couples that can help you learn the tools of healthy communication, build intimacy and heal, just as they have done in their own marriages. Retrouvaille is Christianbased, and Catholic in origin, but welcomes couples of all faiths as well as non-religious couples. Retrouvaille can help get your relationship back on track.

New Year, New Baby!

Just seconds after midnight, the first baby of 2024 in New Jersey was born at 12:01 a.m. in Saint Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick to Jessica Johanna Cardona-Giraldo and Esteban Josue Aguirre Monterrosa from Dunellen. The 5 lbs. 11 oz. baby girl was named Belen Aguirre Cardona, and is the couple’s first child.

In a mycentraljersey.com story, the couple said, “We are so happy to have had a healthy baby to start the New Year … And we are very thankful to all of the staff at Saint Peter’s University Hospital for making us feel so comfortable and showing us such caring and love.” —Photos courtesy Saint Peter’s University Hospital

20 2 0 24 2 4

Choices Matt tt tte ter A CRITICAL LIFE ISSUES CONFERENCE

Saturday,

March 16 at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center Piscataway, NJ

Opening Mass with Bishop Checchio at 9:00 a.m.

Confe f rence 10:00 a.m. fe to 3:30 p.m.

SPEAKERS, EXHIBITS, EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

Learn more at www.diometuchen.org/choicesmatter

Top, Father Glenn Comandini, diocesan coordinator of Ongoing Faith Formation, shares his biblical scholarship on the “Theology of the Eucharist,” with attendees from across the Diocese. The session was one of 12 held on Thursdays through March 21. —Gerald Wutkowski Jr. photo.

Right, return attendees, Fran Ferino and Ruth Payer, were excited to be back in the “classroom.” —Robert Christie photo.

“Father Glenn is a gifted teacher and the adult enrichment courses that he is offering provide wonderful opportunities for older adults to learn about the many aspects of their Catholic faith. The classes not only provide spiritual enrichment and faith formation, they also help participants to deepen their faith life.”

JANUARY 25, 2024

the ancient sacrificial meal – with his instruction, “Do this in remembrance of me” which is the basis of the Church’s dogma of the Eucharist.

The sessions also underscored three important facts for Scripture study: Scripture cannot be separated from Church as Scripture developed out of the early Church, the Church did not develop out of Scripture; Scripture is revealed by God, containing truths which would otherwise remain unknown; the Holy Spirit oversaw their writing, a process called “inspiration,” by which God influenced the writers to include truths which God wanted known.

Dino Deborja, a parishioner of St. Bartholomew Parish, East Brunswick, and another former attendee, spoke highly of past sessions and their necessity at this point in time for the Church community, commenting, “As it says in Malachi, ‘My people are perishing from lack of teaching,’ and it is the application of the teaching that is important.”

Sessions continue Thursdays through March 21 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. For more information please email amarshall@ diometuchen.org or call 732-562-1543.

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

“Are we really thinking of what the Eucharist is when we receive it?”

The question was posed Jan. 4 by Father Glenn Comandini, diocesan coordinator of Ongoing Faith Formation, during the first of his twelve sessions on “The Theology of the Eucharist,” the foundation of Roman Catholic faith.

Some 40 attendees filled the conference room in the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway, for the return of the broader on-going faith formation program which was interrupted by the Covid epidemic.

Many of the participants were previous registrants who were very pleased to be back in attendance. “I asked the bishop to bring it back,” said former attendee Patricia Murphy from the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, recalling how much she enjoyed the previous session on the Beatitudes.

“I even rearranged my doctors’ appointments to be here,” added former participant Stephen Dudeck, displaying a true appreciation for the program.

Father Comandini spoke of his love for teaching, having done so at numerous Catholic universities in the New York metropolitan area. After working on other assignments, including a stint of six years as managing editor of The Catholic Spirit, he was happy to return to his “first love.”

Reflecting on the program, and Father Comandini’s series, in particular, Jennifer Ruggiero, diocesan Secretary, Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life, said, “Father Glenn is a gifted teacher and the adult enrichment courses that he is offering provide wonderful opportunities for older adults to learn about the many aspects of their Catholic faith. The classes not only provide spiritual enrichment and faith formation, they also help participants to deepen their faith life.”

Father Comandini’s affection for instruction was evident throughout the sessions. With a style one attendee accurately described as “welcoming,” Father Comandini complemented it with his biblical scholarship across the first two sessions, beginning with Old Testament texts from the time of Moses, who created the original first covenant with the Jewish community through a sacrificial meal offered to God. He continued with the prophets, the practice of sacrifice, and the new Covenant of Jesus, culminating in the Eucharist, instituted at the Last Supper, followed by Jesus’ passion and death.

“The Last Supper is the fulfillment of the messianic sacrificial feast, an important fact,” stressed Father Comandini., noting for participants that it was at the Last Supper that Jesus institutionalized the Eucharist – it became a formal part of early Church worship, replacing

OUR DIOCESE

By Robert Christie Correspondent

15

‘Theology of the Eucharist’ a welcomed formation opportunity

16 PERSPECTIVES

What are New Year’s resolutions supposed to resolve?

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Pilgrimage to the Imperial Cities of Eastern Europe

JANUARY 25, 2024

Making New Year’s resolutions seems to have become as much a part of the Christmas Season as candy canes and eggnog. I must confess, I don’t do New Year resolutions. A firm resolution of amendment in confession, yes, but not New Year’s resolutions. That’s asking too much.

The main reason why I don’t do New Year’s resolutions is that I would have to make too many for them to have any impact in changing my life. Once I sit down and take a look at what I think my life should be, the number of changes that I would have to make is simply too exhausting to contemplate. Besides, we are called to be transparent, and I have enough self-knowledge to admit that I would never keep even a few of them.

Not for very long, at least.

There is another reason why I don’t do New Year’s resolutions: life doesn’t cooperate with me in keeping them. I can’t possibly keep a whole list of good resolutions by my own efforts. I expect a minimum of cooperation! But I never get it. We have quite a good schedule set out for our community life, and events don’t even let me keep that. In no time, something happens to disrupt it.

Workmen come to fix some machine when I should be writing my article for the Spirit, and there goes my train of thought. At least there would go my train of thought if I had one, which isn’t always the case. When that happens, I’m quite content to be interrupted since I couldn’t think of anything to write anyway, and now I have an excuse for not writing it. That’s what I mean when I say that life wouldn’t help me keep any New Year’s resolutions!

I did make a resolution once, but

it wasn’t a New Year’s resolution, and I didn’t actually make it. It happened in late October years ago, while I was walking through an underground parking lot on my way to a supermarket. I suddenly found that a resolution had been made within me. It had risen up out of nowhere and I had no chance to say yea or nay. It was a very simple resolution, too. I found that I had resolved not to form an opinion until I needed an opinion to make a decision, which meant keeping an open mind and be willing to consider any information that I perceived on the matter.

It’s a very practical resolution, because once I form an opinion, even without realizing it, I automatically reject any information or ideas that don’t fit in with the opinion that I already have.

That automatically biases me against any new facts or viewpoints. It was a very good resolution, and I can honestly say that while I have dented it slightly from time to time, I have never broken it. Also, as I said, I didn’t make it. In fact, I have found over the years that it has made me.

It has made me more prudent, more open to reality, more ready to accept what is unfamiliar, more adventurous.

As I was considering this article, I have come to understand why this one resolution has in fact prevented me from making those long lists of impractical New Year’s resolutions. If I made any resolutions on my own, I would be charting my own path through life. I would be mapping out my own goals and desires.

This one Resolution prevented that. As I said, it was made in late October years ago, only a few weeks after I received my vocation to contemplative religious life. This Resolution has kept me open to what God has planned for me, and it continues to do so. It leaves me free to follow Him. Sister Gabriela of the Incarnation is a member of the Discalced Carmelites order in Flemington. Learn more at www. flemingtoncarmel.org.

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St. Paul and his conversion continues to bear meaning, fruit for the faithful

“MAY CHRIST DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS THROUGH FAITH AND MAY CHARITY BE THE ROOT AND FOUNDATION OF YOUR LIFE” EPH. 3:1

When I was a seminarian, one of my summer assignments was St. Paul Parish in Highland Park. This hamlet adjacent to New Brunswick, Piscataway and Edison is predominantly Jewish. There were four synagogues in town, Reformed, Conservative, Orthodox and Hassidic.

All the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were represented – from Ashkenazi Jews, whose roots lay in Eastern Europe to Sephardic Jews whose olive skin speaks of their origins in the lands of the Mediterranean.

Given this melting pot of Judaica, it seemed only appropriate that the Bishop of Trenton who founded the Catholic parish in Highland Park should place that community of faith under the patronage of the Apostle to the Gentiles, St. Paul, whose roots were Jewish. Now, St. Paul Church and Guardian Angels, Edison, form the consolidated parish of the Transfiguration.

As my summer assignment progressed, I found myself fervent in prayer, deep into the Scriptures and in admiration of St. Paul – whose stained glass window, depicting his conversion, occupied a place of prominence in the church.

Well, toward the end of my assignment in Highland Park, I remember standing in the sacristy with my pastor, the late Msgr. Emmanuel Vernon, who was seated before Mass. As I stood there, I prayed that I, too, could undergo a conversion like St. Paul. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a ball of light flashed before my eyes – and Msgr.

Vernon blurted “Glenn, lightening just struck the doorknob next to your arm.”

Well, I wasn’t thrown from a horse, I didn’t find myself blinded by cataracts or nestled in the bosom of Ananias but the

whole experience convinced me that my prayer was heard and God was telling me: “Glenn, be careful what you wish for.”

Needless to say, I never asked God for anything resembling the Pauline conversion experience again.

As we know from Scripture, St. Paul’s ancestry originated in Israel. In fact, he could trace his family back to the Tribe of Benjamin. His conversion on route to Damascus was sparked by what appeared to be lightning. This bolt, this divine catalytic converter, triggered a complete metamorphosis of the man.

Overnight, he changed from Saul the persecutor of all things Christian to Paul, the master of apologetics and defender of the Christian faith.

Paul’s Hebrew upbringing proved to be quite helpful in as much as he bridged the integration of the Christians of Palestine with the Christians who had no ties to Judaism, the Gentiles. He was a negotiator, a unifier, a diplomat, an apologist, a great debater, a teacher and an evangelist.

Paul’s conversion to Jesus may have been extraordinary but, his three missionary trips through Asia Minor were perilous, riddled with dissent, imprisonment and the worst blow to his ego, the credentials of this Apostle were constantly called into question by those who remembered Saul, persecutor of Christians.

As a Roman citizen, Paul could travel easily from Israel to Ephesus, from Colossae to Corinth, from Thessalonica to Rome. In each of these places, this convert to Christianity preached with the authority of the Twelve. He not only established Christian churches in Asia Minor – he helped those who erred from the true faith to avoid heresy. He prevented schisms within the Church. He helped Gentile Christians to appreciate the Jewish roots of Jesus and he helped Jewish Christians to accept their Gentile confreres.

Two thousand years later, Paul continues to bear meaning and fruit for us, who follow in his steps, who ponder his writings, who endeavor to follow the way of the Lord Jesus.

In my case, I was so moved by my summer experience at St. Paul’s in Highland Park that I chose to engrave a verse from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians on the base of my personal chalice. For almost 38 years, these words have served to remind me how I, as a priest, disciple of Jesus and member of the Church, am called to live. It reads: “May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith and may charity be the root and foundation of your life” (Eph. 3:1).

Father Comandini serves as coordinator of the Office of On-Going Faith Formation.

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WORLD DAY FOR CONSECRATED LIFE

By Sister of Christian Charity Anna Hằng-Nga Thị Nguyễn Special Contributor At different times throughout the year, I receive invitations to speak on vocations to consecrated life to students in elementary schools, high schools, or in parish catechetical programs within the Diocese of Metuchen. Early in my experience of doing vocation talks, I would put together a PowerPoint presentation to include the latest researched data, photos of religious, some shots of sisters from the congregation of the Sisters of Christian Charity in Mendham, the community to which I belong.

Lastly, I would add music in the background to make the presentation more appealing to my audiences. Many times, I would arm myself with a couple of age-appropriate activities in order to drive home the points I intended to make or to help the students to understand and remember. Also, for reinforcement, I would have handouts available for takehome.

However, toward the end of each presentation, when it was time for questions and answers, the questions would go something like this: Are you an honest to goodness nun?

What made you go to the nunnery?

Why did you do it?

Do you enjoy being called, “Sister”?

Do you pray all day?

Why would you want to live in poverty?

Can you change your mind and switch to getting married? And on and on.

—Wikimedia image

“As I entrust to the maternal protection of Mary the institution of this World Day, I deeply hope that it bear abundant fruits for the holiness and the mission of the Church. May it help, in a special way, to heighten in the Christian community an esteem for vocations of special consecration, to stimulate ever more intense prayer for obtaining them from the Lord, in this way helping to mature in young people and families a generous willingness to receive them as gift.

The life of the Church as a whole will draw benefit from this and so will the new evangelization.”

~ St. Pope John Paul II was strengthen by the gifts of the Holy Spirit or the charism of their particular congregations, that consecrated persons were called to bring. Pope Francis described this witness as prophetic and as light, that consecrated persons were missioned to bring the light of the Gospel to illuminate all of humanity (Pope Francis, Feb. 10, 2023).

Sister of Christian Charity Anna Hằng-Nga Thị Nguyễn serves as diocesan delegate for Religious and Consecrated Life.

JANUARY 25, 2024

which should inspire their offering of themselves to the Lord” (John Paul II, Jan. 6, 1997).

Similarly, our Holy Father Pope Francis, in his 2023 message to the consecrated women and men who gathered in the Basilica of Saint Maria Maggiore to commemorate the World Day for Consecrated Life stressed the witness, which

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

All of the questions coming from my audiences would have little to nothing to do with my presentation. The attention seemed to focus on me as a person and on my daily living out of the vows – how chastity, poverty and obedience work in my life actually.

I learned quickly then from the children I met that these talks were not meant to be ‘presentations.’ But rather they were to be ‘witness talks.’

Saint Pope John Paul II instituted the World Day for Consecrated Life on Feb. 2, 1997, on the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple for the witness value of the consecrated persons. On the first of this global celebration, He wrote: “The celebration of the World Day for Consecrated Life, which will be observed for the first time on Feb. 2, is intended to help the entire Church to esteem ever more greatly the witness of those persons who have chosen to follow Christ by means of the practice of the evangelical counsels and, at the same time, is intended to be a suitable occasion for consecrated persons to renew their commitment and rekindle the fervor

Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, a 12th century cloisonné enamel work from Georgia.

Annually since 1997, especially through the voices of our Holy Fathers, the Church throughout the world acknowledges, thanks and promises prayerful support to religious institutes as well as to all who have chosen the Evangelical Counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience as a pathway to Christ who is the Savior of the world. The Church also looks to consecrated persons to be a sign of an eternal future of happiness with her Divine Bridegroom.

Bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen, the most Rev. James F. Checchio, echoes the Universal Church in expressing his personal appreciation to our sisters and brothers for their life of witness and for their faithful service to the people of the diocese.

He wrote: “Today is a special day to say thank you to God for you and your witness. We are so blessed here in the Metuchen Diocese by you, your commitment to your vows and your ministry on behalf of the Church. You give testimony to the world that Christ is enough in life and deserving of our love. You remind us that while we live in this world, we are journeying toward another and are called to try to make this world a little more like heaven by your acts of charity and mercy.

Your leading others into deeper friendship with Christ has a significant impact on our diocesan family. Thank you!”

In 2019, Bishop Checchio led the Diocese of Metuchen in consecration to our Lord, through His Mother, under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Star of the Evangelization. Bishop created this special time so that the hearts of the faithful be renewed: “That we will be people on fire with the love of God, living as His faithful disciples, right here, in 2019 throughout the 90 parishes of our beautiful counties of Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren.”

This year is the fifth anniversary of this consecration. It was and is now yet another time for those in consecrated life as well as all of the faithful to be renewed in consecration to the Lord through our Lady, and to be transformed by grace in burning zeal for the Gospel.

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to send a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to our sisters and brothers in vow consecration! You have shown me how to be rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, and be steadfast in prayer in all circumstances. You have my humble gratitude, deep admiration, and sincere prayer as I count it a unique blessing for me to be at your service. May God bless you abundantly!

CONSECRATED LIFE

Consecrated persons bring prophetic witness, light of the Gospel

18 CONSECRATED LIFE

Sisters of Christian Charity celebrating two milestone anniversaries

Above left, Kent Manahan, Sister Ann Lavelle, and Ann Marie Manahan, who served as head of the Christmas Open House Committee, stand in front of the Christmas tree in Villa Pauline, Mendham.

Above, Sister Annelyth Pandi sings as part of the choir from St. James Parish, Basking Ridge, during the Dec. 10 Christmas Open House held in Villa Pauline.

Left, Sister Mary Irene Sorber and Sister Esther Falzone, from left, enjoy a ride in the golf cart during the 10th Annual Golf Outing at Fiddler’s Elbow in Bedminster, Sept. 24.

Right, Sister Ellen Fischer and Provincial Superior Sister Joann Marie Aumand look at historical documents and artifacts at the 175th Anniversary Celebration in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. —Courtesy photos

JANUARY 25, 2024

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

By Cori Urban, Correspondent The New Year of 2024 finds the Sisters of Christian Charity have been celebrating not one but two milestones: 175 years as a congregation and 150 years in the United States.

The Sisters of Christian Charity is a congregation of vowed women religious responding to God’s call to bring the love of Christ to the world. The sisters work in a variety of ministries including education, healthcare, pastoral work, retreats and social work.

The congregation was founded by Mother Pauline von Mallinckrodt in 1849 in Paderborn, Germany.

“The congregation has existed for 175 years, which is amazing,” said Sister Ann Lavelle, director of mission advancement for the Mendham-based congregation. “It started in one town, in one country, and quickly spread to many cities and towns in Germany until the Kulturkampf … which closed down most missions.” The Kulturkampf was a conflict from 1872 to 1887 between the German government and the papacy for, among other things, control of schools

and Church appointments. Catholic Church suppression was at its height during these years.

“This marked the beginning of life for the Congregation in North and South America. The rate of speed at which the congregation grew was impressive,” Sister Ann said.

Today the congregation is present in North and South America, Europe and Asia.

The sisters arrived in the United States in 1873. Their first motherhouse was in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The congregation quickly grew in the United States because of more German families coming the United States. As of Mother Pauline’s death on April 30, 1881, there were 213 sisters ministering in North America.

In 1916 the motherhouse was transferred to Wilmette, Illinois, until 1927.

At this point the North American Province divided into two provinces: The Western Province with a motherhouse in Wilmette and the Eastern Province with a motherhouse in Mendham.

On Nov. 4, 2023, the two reunited to become the North American Province.

This was in conjunction with a Mass at St. Nicholas Church in Wilkes Barre,

Pennsylvania, celebrating the 175th anniversary of the congregation and the 150th anniversary of Sisters of Christian Charity coming to the United States.

Today there are more than 300 members of the congregation; there are seven women in formation.

Sister Lavelle – who entered the congregation in 1974 – considers the interest of young women a response to God’s call to religious life for that particular person: “Each of us has a mission here on earth.

Finding God’s will for yourself is a job each of us has. It could be religious life, married life or single life. Discernment of your life’s work is something that each person has to do.”

Life changes, society changes and women’s roles in society have changed over the years. “What God has in store for us is yet to be seen. We are open to His will,” she said.

To celebrate the two anniversaries of the congregation, there were some events that were enhancements of previous events, and others were new events.

In August, the sisters opened their celebratory year and celebrated jubilarians at a Mass with a dinner and program.

The sisters received a special pin marking the 175th anniversary. In the afternoon there was a prayer service.

In September, the 10th annual Gold Outing took place at Fiddler’s Elbow, Bedminister, with the largest number of golfers attending, and in October the 10th annual Run for a Nun took place at Natirar Park, Peapack-Gladestone.

In November there was a 175th Anniversary Mass in Wilkes-Barre, and in December there was a Christmas Open House at Villa Pauline, the congregation’s retreat center that originally was the Cromwell mansion before the sisters purchased it in 1927. It was used as the first motherhouse of the Eastern Province until a larger motherhouse was built.

Sister Ann said her hope for the future of the Sisters of Christian Charity is similar to that of its foundress’ hope: “If God wills to grant growth and prosperity to the congregation, wills to extend its sphere of activity, then may it proceed courageously, taking as its motto: ‘In God we can do all things; of ourselves nothing.’”

For more information on the Sisters of Christian Charity, go to www.sccus.org.

To help offset financial hardship experienced by many low-income families, the New Jersey Catholic Conference wrote to Gov. Phil Murphy Jan. 11 to request his support on the “Working Class Families Anti-Hunger Act” – a bill that would expand eligibility for free school meals to include nonpublic schools.

On Jan. 16, Gov. Murphy signed the bill into law, effectively making some 60,000 families newly eligible.

Introduced in the 2022-2023 legislative session, A-5684 was passed by the General Assembly June 30, 2023, and amended versions passed the Senate and Assembly Jan. 10.

The bill will require certain public and nonpublic schools to provide inschool meals – breakfast and lunch – free of charge to all eligible students and would raise the income threshold to between 185 and 224 percent of the federal poverty level.

This legislation applies to public and non-public schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and/ or federal School Breakfast Program.

The bill also directs the New Jersey Department of Agriculture to provide funding to each school district and non-

public school that participates in the National School Lunch Program and to reimburse nonpublic schools for certain free school lunches and breakfasts during the 2024-2025 school year and for spring of 2024.

“One of the Catholic Church’s priorities is a ‘preferential’ care for the poor and vulnerable,” wrote NJCC executive director James King. “Collectively, society must work together to implement laws and policies intended to eliminate barriers that prevent people living in poverty from obtaining basic needs, such as healthy food, affordable housing and quality healthcare.

“Without these basic needs, it is nearly impossible to flourish and live a life of dignity, to which, as children of God, all persons are entitled.”

King expressed appreciation that the Governor signed the bill, and added, “The Catholic Church in New Jersey remains committed to these efforts through our daily charge to foster, promote and actionize our charitable legacy of feeding the hungry through a multitude of social agencies, parish-based food banks and Catholic Charities, and are grateful for your administration’s past support of anti-hunger legislation.”

Estimates project that more than 102,000 families’ income would put them

OUR DIOCESE

By EmmaLee Italia Contributing Editor

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New state law extends eligibility for free meals to nonpublic schools

in the newly expanded income bracket, making their children eligible to receive free meals via the National School Lunch Program or the federal School Breakfast Program.

Gov. Murphy signed similar legislation into law in Sept. 2022 – A2368/ S1677 – which increased income eligibility for free public school meals up to

200 percent of the federal poverty level.

To read the entire Working Class Families Anti-Hunger Act, visit https:// pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2022/ S4500/4055_E2.PDF. Emmalee Italia serves as contributing editor for The Monitor, Diocese of Trenton.

— Isabella Fischer/Unsplash photo

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT JANUARY 25, 2024

20 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

St. John Neumann, first American saint, patron of educators

By Michael Heinlein (OSV News) – When a young Bohemian immigrant arrived in New York City on a rainy June day in 1836, his hopes for priesthood were uncertain. Due to an ordination moratorium imposed by his homeland’s government, St. John Neumann could not be ordained at home.

Forsaking the comforts of home and family, desiring only his life’s oblation in love and service, Neumann chose to go to America.

He read accounts of such storied missionaries as Frederic Baraga – a current candidate for sainthood – and he hoped to follow in their footsteps. Little did the young seminarian know when he set foot on American soil that the path God had in store would result in his canonization as the country’s first male saint.

Born in modern-day Czech Republic in 1811, Neumann grew up in a devout Catholic home, and he had many siblings called to religious vocations.

New York’s Bishop John Dubois – the one-time advisor to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton – was impressed quickly by Neumann’s intellect and missionary zeal, ordaining him a priest within his first month in America. Dubois assigned him to regions near Buffalo, New York.

While there, Neumann expressed how he faced many hardships and bouts

with loneliness. Outwardly, he seemed successful, having established many parishes between Buffalo and Erie, Pennsylvania. But Neumann knew he needed a change. With the help of several priestadvisers, Neumann recognized his need for the support of a religious community to settle his troubled spirit, and he set out for the Redemptorist novitiate in Pittsburgh in 1840.

Neumann proved himself to be a competent and talented administrator, responsible for finishing the building project at St. Philomena’s Church in Pittsburgh, where he ministered alongside a fellow Redemptorist, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos. Neumann then went on to pastor several other churches, mostly in Maryland. A surprise came when Neumann was appointed the American provincial of his order in 1847, requiring a move to Baltimore, where he became a naturalized American citizen the following year.

Administration of his order brought heavy burdens to Neumann since Redemptorists in America at the time tended to work independently. Neumann was chosen to provide unity among his brothers, and proved to be successful.

In Baltimore, he also served as pastor of his order’s St. Alphonsus Church and provided much needed support to many religious orders of women in the area.

St. John Neumann A saint for Catholic teachers Neumann’s talents as an administrator would change directions in his life yet again in 1852, when he was named fourth bishop of Philadelphia by Blessed Pope Pius IX. He was ordained a bishop in Baltimore on his 41st birthday.

Neumann received an overwhelming welcome in his new diocese, and he was immediately recognized as a fatherly, kindly and even saintly pastor.

His legacy as bishop includes the estab-

lishment of the first American diocesan schools system, the founding of religious orders, starting the Forty Hours Eucharistic devotion, and care for the poor and the city’s booming European immigrants.

Neumann led his flock courageously amid the rampant anti-Catholicism and anti-immigration prejudices of the Know-Nothing party.

Neumann excelled in the virtues, most notably humility, without which he said “other virtues could be neither genuine nor permanent.” Neumann desired sanctity, praying at his first Mass, “Dearest God, give me holiness!” No matter what obstacles presented themselves in his life, Neumann responded with a total “yes” to God. A life of love and service came to a sudden end when, on Jan. 5, 1860, at age 48, Neumann collapsed from a stroke on a Philadelphia street. In 1977, when Neumann became the first (and to date, only) American bishop to be canonized, Pope St. Paul VI said that for Neumann to accomplish his great works, “love was necessary. And love meant giving; love meant effort; love meant sacrifice. And in his sacrifice, Bishop Neumann’s service was complete.”

His feast day is Jan. 5. He is the patron of educators and teachers.

Michael Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic.

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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Open House

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT JANUARY 25, 2024

22 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

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Welcome To Our Open House

Education is a journey and where it begins matters.

Sunday, January 28th 11 am to 1:30 pm Tours limited to new families only Call 732-251-4000 ext. 8254 or 8253 Pre K3 through 8th Grades Full Day Kindergarten Before and Aft fteercare 2018 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Saint Thomas the apostle school 333 highway 18 south, old bridge, new jersey 08857 www.sttaob.com

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

January 28, 2024 | 9:00am-2:00pm* 40 Second Avenue Raritan, NJ *Pancake Breakfast in school cafeteria 9-10:30am | Mass at St. Ann Parish 10:30am *Open House, tours & meet and greet following Mass 11:30am-2:00pm

Can’t make the Sunday Open House?

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St. Ann Classical Academy: The Only Classical School in the Diocese of Metuchen

—Courtesy photo

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

Second graders in Perth Amboy Catholic School are full of smiles on the first day of the 2023-2024 school year.

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National Catholic Schools Week is an annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. Now entering its 50th anniversary year, CSW has traditionally been held the last week in January. This year, Jan. 28 to Feb. 3, schools will observe the week with Masses, assemblies and other activities for students, families, parishioners and community members to celebrate what makes Catholic schools great. The Catholic Spirit will feature CSW celebrations in the February issue.

Catholic Schools Week highlights the unique qualities that define Catholic schools dedication to our schools and students.

Superintendent Barbara Stevens stated after a recent visit to two diocesan schools, “From the moment I stepped through the doors, I was greeted with an atmosphere of enthusiasm, dedication, and a genuine commitment to fostering both academic excellence and spiritual growth. The passion and dedication of the staff, the engagement of the students, and the overall sense of community were truly commendable.”

Assistant superintendent of schools, Joseph Diskin, who spent 36 years in public education, is truly impressed with the academic excellence and positive learning environment in our schools.

He states, “I have observed teachers, working together, providing a studentcentered environment from which flows mutual respect and a sense of personal responsibility and fulfillment. The spirit of our student’s positivity, happiness, and kindness shines bright through the smiles and conversations I have had with them during my school visits.”

The Office of Schools’ new initiative, “Saint of the Month” program, provides our schools meaningful lessons that are designed to introduce students to the lives and teachings of various saints throughout the academic year. Director of

Curriculum, Filippini Sister Mary Louise Shulas, shared, “This program aims to deepen student understanding of their faith, foster spiritual growth, and inspire them to emulate the virtues demonstrated by these exemplary figures in the Catholic tradition. My hope is that they use the saints and their virtues as role models to live virtuous and compassionate lives.”

We are grateful for the work of all of our schools and are looking forward to joining them during this week of celebration with Masses, open houses and other activities for students, families, parishioners and community members. Catholic Schools Week is a time-honored tradition that allows us to reflect on the unwavering commitment to academic excellence, spiritual growth and community service that defines our Catholic schools in the Diocese of Metuchen.

Barbara Stevens Superintendent of Schools Joseph Diskin Assistant Superintendent of Schools Sister Mary Louise Shulas Director of Curriculum and Instruction

JANUARY 25, 2024

shaping well-rounded individuals who not only excel academically but also embody values that contribute positively to their communities and the world at large.

We celebrate our schools each day but Catholic Schools Week is the point in time for a poignant celebration that transcends the boundaries of education, instilling a sense of purpose and faith in the hearts of students, educators, and the entire community. It is a time when the profound impact of Catholic education becomes evident, as these schools not only impart knowledge but also cultivate values that resonate with the teachings of compassion, integrity, and service.

The week serves as a reminder that Catholic schools are not just institutions of learning, but nurturing grounds for the religious and academic development of individuals who are empowered to navigate the complexities of life with a strong moral compass. In a world often filled with challenges, Catholic Schools Week stands as a testament to the enduring commitment of our schools to shape not only the minds but also the souls of those entrusted in our care.

We are very proud and grateful for the work of our teachers, administrators, support staff, parents, and volunteers and their

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

As we embark on the celebration of Catholic Schools Week 2024, this is a time for reflection on the invaluable impact of Catholic education on the lives of our children. This week is not merely a time for festivity but an opportunity to recognize the special role that Catholic schools play in shaping the minds, hearts, and spirits of our young learners. This year’s theme, “United in Faith and Community,” illustrates the mission of our schools and our common faith in creating a community of learners who support and uplift one another.

The Office of Schools for the Diocese of Metuchen is extremely proud of the work and accomplishments of our Catholic Schools. As part of our mission and service, we visit our schools routinely to observe firsthand the positive climate and culture, faith-based teachings, and academic opportunities that take place each and every day.

From Saints Philip and James in Warren County to St. Joseph School in Middlesex County, we have witnessed and appreciate the values-based education that our Catholic schools provide. It goes beyond academics and shape students into compassionate and ethical individuals.

Our four high schools play a vital role in

24 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

Zoe Schack, Mount Saint Mary Academy senior, receives DAR Good Citizen Award

The Mount Saint Mary Academy Social Studies Department and the Loantaka-Parsippanong Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Chapter are pleased to honor Zoe Schack of Westfield, for the DAR Good Citizens Award, which honors an outstanding senior who demonstrates qualities of a good citizen.

Joanne Cadigan-Peters, Social Studies Department Chairperson in the Watchung school, stated, “My department feels that Zoe embodies the four qualities of a DAR Good Citizen which are dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism. She has exhibited these qualities in her life and her relationships with others. We are proud of Zoe’s accomplishments at the Mount as well as in the community.”

“I’m incredibly honored to be chosen for this year’s Good Citizen Award: not only will I be recognized for my work in political and activism-related efforts, but I will have the chance to attend future

DAR meetings via our local chapter,” shared Zoe. “Being welcomed into a community of inspiring women who can help me further my goals and live out my values is really exciting to me, so I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity.”

Zoe works for Voters of Tomorrow, Civics Unplugged, and is an intern for TapInto Westfield, to name a few. She is also the founder of Project Well-Z, a non-profit to educate young people about mental health issues. At the Mount, she is a member of the Cum Laude Society, National Honors Society, president of the Junior State America, school ambassador, and tour guide to name a few.

“She has completed her core history requirements and has challenged herself in the Social Studies Advanced Placement program,” said Cadigan-Peters.

“She has taken AP U.S. History, AP U.S. Government and Politics, etc. Zoe is an outstanding young woman, and this award is well deserved.”

Pictured, left to right, are Joanne Cadigan-Peters, social studies department chair; Zoe Schack, and Annabelle Murray-Loantaka, Parsippanong DAR Chapter representative and former Mount parent. —Courtesy photo

JANUARY 25, 2024

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Bishop’s PACS visit a bright spot during Hope Through Education tour On Dec. 20, Bishop James F. Checchio, members of the diocesan Office of Catholic Schools and members of the Board of Trustees of Hope Through Education USA visited Perth Amboy Catholic School. The guests were welcomed in the school gym by faculty members and student ambassadors. Stockings decorated by every school family created a festive backdrop. A delicious brunch, which included treats made by members of the school community, was blessed by the Bishop.

Principal Anacelis Diaz spoke of how in her tenure at Perth Amboy Catholic, the school has been the recipient of numerous miracles and Hope Through Education is the latest. Seventh grader, Amelia Hernandez, described her love for the school that she and her sisters are able to attend because of the organization’s support.

Entertainment was provided by the Liturgical Dance Team who performed one of their signature routines.

Student ambassadors guided members throughout the school, pointing out the beautiful chapel and the first phase of the library renovations. Students were happy to have the Bishop and board members visit the classrooms. Mrs. Genao’s fourth grade class presented Bishop Checchio with a Merry Christmas ornament with a special prayer for him.

Luis Perez and Liah Grullon Munoz demonstrated the class’s math skills by explaining that prayers for the Bishop will be multiplied by the Lord and then divided among his flock. Eighth grader Luzviviani Munoz-Palacio said that the Bishop’s presence made them feel special, truly a morning celebrating miracles and blessings.

Hope Through Education USA is a non-sectarian, non-profit organization that provides assistance for economically disadvantaged children in the poorest communities in central New Jersey to attend high quality, value-based schools.

Contributed by Karen Ninehan, Perth Amboy Catholic School

Bishop James F. Checchio, at right, greets students in their classrooms during a tour Dec. 20 when Hope Through Education USA visited PACS. Below, eager students demonstrate their skills for the Bishop. Below right, guests enjoy a brunch which included treats made by members of the school community.

— Gerald Wutkowski Jr. photos

Top photo, Aquinas Star Jack Heilich, center front, with family, gathered for a photo with Bishop James F. Checchio and, from left in back row, STA Principal Harry Ziegler, Father Keith Cervine, Father Michael Tabernero, and Father David Keyes.

Above, St. Thomas Aquinas students, from left, Emma Figueiredo and Hailey Zeszotarski, bring the gifts of bread and wine to Bishop Checchio during the Aquinas Star Mass, Dec. 15. —Photos courtesy of Lors Photography

—Courtesy photo.

Members of the Immaculata Boys Lacrosse team, Somerville, assist with the Saturdays in Motion program at Somerset Hills YMCA for children with autism and their families.

—Facebook photo

JANUARY 25, 2024

Seven students from St. Augustine of Canterbury School, Kendall Park, just entered the ministry of altar servers, serving God and the Church. They are pictured with school principal Edward Modzelewski.

IHS Service

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Young Faith

It was a day that brought the Christmas virtues of joy, love, and giving to life. On Dec. 15, students and faculty of St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison, gathered with joy and excitement, as it was once again time to be with this year’s Aquinas Stars, Jack Heilich and Domenic Horbacz.

The STA Aquinas Star program adopts two children with chronic medical conditions each year with the goal of supporting them spiritually, emotionally, and financially. Though Domenic was not able to attend the Mass, he was, and continues to be, in our thoughts and prayers. However, Domenic’s family, as well as Jack and his family, joined STA for a morning of prayer and celebration.

Joining the STA community for Mass were Bishop James F. Checchio; interim St. Thomas Aquinas High School president, Father Keith Cervine; director of Catholic Identity Father Michael Tabernero, and STA theology teacher Father David Keyes.

It was so important for the students and Aquinas Star families that everyone

was able to come together in celebration, and it was even more important that we were able to do it through liturgy.

Aquinas Star co-chairpersons Caroline Devlin ’24 and Brianna Romero ’25 had a few words to describe the preparation for this day, and why it was so extraordinary to them and the school community.

“The Aquinas Star Mass is special for so many people. For the Aquinas Stars and their families, they get to see the whole school come together to celebrate them and their strength through difficult times. And for the school, they get to see the amazing families and provide them a sense of community,” said Devlin.

“Caroline, Father Mike, and I worked hard to prepare for the Mass and to make it as special as possible for the Aquinas Stars. So, trying to figure out the perfect gifts and the brunch was fun to plan as well,” added Romero.

At the end of Mass, a special guest appeared to give gifts to Jack, Domenic, and their families. Santa and his helpers were able to make some of our Aquinas Stars’ dreams a reality. Everyone watched in excitement as they opened the gifts.

Jack and his family received family suite tickets for a NJ Devils game and backpacks for his sisters. Domenic was gifted a toy Lamborghini, a personalized Mets jersey, and backpacks for his sisters, too.

When asked about their favorite part of the day, Devlin and Romero both agreed: “Our favorite part [was] definitely watching the Aquinas Stars and their families’ reactions opening the gifts we got all of them. We always try our best to make sure the gifts are something they’ve been wanting for a while, so being able to see their reactions once they realize their gifts is always so adorable.”

The school community couldn’t be more grateful for the Aquinas Star Program, and the families they help support every year. The Aquinas Star Mass was truly a day of faith, hope, love, and Christmas cheer for STA’s wonderful Aquinas Stars.

Elizabeth Bera is a member of St. Thomas Aquinas class of ’24.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

By Elizabeth Bera, Special Contributor

25

AQUINAS ST R MASS

26 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

Brighter fu f tures start here.

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Celebrating Catholic Schools Week Experience the Difference of a Mercy Education

1645 US Highway 22 W, Watchung, NJ 07069 www.mountsaintmary.org

JANUARY 25, 2024

Mount Saint Mary Academy

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Candidates for the Class of 2028 - There is still time to apply! Schedule a Mercy Girl Experience visit to learn more about the Mount. Transfer inquiries are also welcome for grades 10 and 11.

Contact enrollment@mountsaintmary.org or (908) 912-2231.

28 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

St. Francis Cathedral School

528 Main Street, Metuchen, NJ 08840 732-548-3107 stfranciscathedralschool.org

Sunday, January 28, 2024 Mass @ Noon Classroom Visits 1pm - 3pm

St. John Vianney School 420 Inman Avenue, Colonia, NJ

Accredited Pre-K 3 through Eighth grade

Tradition. Excellence. Achievement.

Begin at Home, Reach the World!

Follow us on: A 2017 National Blue Ribbon School

ST. BARTHOLOMEW SCHOOL 470 Ryders Lane, East Br unswick 732-254-7105 school.stbar tseb.com

Voted Best Pre-K and Private School In Central Jersey General Information

JANUARY 25, 2024

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NO MANDATORY SERVICE HOURS OR BINGO REQUIRED!

After School Activities

Homework Club Chess Club STEM Programs Beginner and Advanced Band Chorus Drama Mad Science Coding Club Sign Language Club Magic Club Crocheting Club Yoga Club Book Buddies Dance Club Robotics Cllub Kindness Club Cooking Club Newspaper Club Yearbook Club Basketball Cross Country /Spring Track

Recognized Academic Excellence in the Catholic Tradition Kindergarten – 8th Grade – Cognia Accredited Full Day Pre K-3 and Pre K-4 Programs Extended Childcare Program (Before & After Care) Nurturing, Family Environment with Electronic Surveillance Full Time Director of Safety and Security Full Time ER Certified Nurse and School Counselor on Staff Fully Automated Lending Library Modern Gym Facility and Dedicated Art and Music Classrooms Independent Pre K and K-8 Playgrounds Busing Arranged through Individual Townships

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Technology Advanced Computer Resource Center Digital Microscope 3-D Printer VGo Robot 1:1 Devices for Middle School 1:1 iPads for Primary Level Digital Whiteboards in Every Classroom Google Classroom IXL Learning

29 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS…

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St. John Vianney, Colonia school.sjvianney.com 732-388-1662 St. Bartholomew East Brunswick school.stbartseb.com 732-254-7105

St. Francis Cathedral Metuchen stfranciscathedralschool.org 732-548-3107

St. James, Woodbridge sj-school.org 732-634-2090

St. Ambrose, Old Bridge stambroseschool.net 732-679-4700

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St. Thomas the Apostle Old Bridge sttaob.com 732-251-4812 Assumption Catholic Perth Amboy assumptioncatholicschool.net 732-826-8721 Perth Amboy Catholic pacatholicschool.org 732-826-1598 St. Stanislaus Kostka, Sayreville

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Holy Savior Academy South Plainfield holysavioracademy.com 908-822-5890

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Immaculate Conception Spotswood icsspotswood.org 732-251-3090

St. Ann, Raritan stannclassical.org 908-725-7787 St. Matthias, Somerset stmatthias.info 732-828-1402 Immaculate Conception Somerville icsschool.org 908-725-6516

Immaculata, Somerville immaculatahighschool.org 908-722-0200 Mount Saint Mary Academy Watchung mountsaintmary.org 908-757-0108 Saint Joseph, Metuchen stjoes.org 732-549-7600

To find a Catholic school visit: diometuchen.org/ schoolfinder

Warren County Saints Philip and James Phillipsburg sspjnj.org 908-859-1244

Diocese of Metuchen • Office of Schools • 732-562-2446 • https://diometuchen.org/schools

JANUARY 25, 2024

St. Augustine of Canterbury Kendall Park school.staugustinenj.org 732-297-6042

sskschool.org

School of St. Elizabeth Bernardsville steschool.org 908-766-0244

St. Thomas Aquinas, Edison stahs.net 732-549-1108

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St. Helena, Edison sthelenaedison.org 732-549-6234

Saint James, Basking Ridge sjsbr.org 908-766-4774

High Schools

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

Ambr ose School Learn Today T , Lead Tomorrow!

The Saint Ambrose School Advantage Academic Excellence for grades Pk-8 A Step Above...

Our Mission:

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•T Top 15% Nationally in Mathematics & Language Arts • Award-Winning A Academic Teams T • Extra-Curricular Clubs & Athletic Programs • Engaging & Differentiated Instructional Strategies • Curriculum Aligned to Data-Driven Standards for Academic Excellence • STEM & T Technology Enhanced Classrooms with 1:1 Computing • Enrichment and Intervention classes • Offering Art, Music, T Technology/Coding, echnology/Coding, P P.E., .E., W World Language

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Proud To Offer:

The Mission of St. Ambrose is to cultivate confident and reflective life-long learners, whose personal goals and achievements are rooted in a foundation of Catholic doctrine, social self-awareness, and engaging academic experiences. The students of St. Ambrose are inspired to be dynamic members of our community supporting each other while embracing the challenges of today with a positive and assured mindset.

• Engaging & Structured Pk-3 & Pk-4 Programs • Extended Care from 6:30 am to 6:00 pm • Enhanced Security Systems • Convenient Full-day & Half-day PreK 3&4 programs • Advanced high school preparation with resume building opportunities • Supportive Faith-Based Learning with a “Growth-Mindset” Approach

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Little Scholars: (Pre-K3 - Kindergarten)

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•W Weekly classes include Art, Library, Computers, Physical Education, Music, and W World Language.

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JANUARY 25, 2024

32 WORLD & NATION

WORLD & NATION Women religious gear up for battle against human trafficking with prayer, education

Syria sees ‘worst situation ever’ as World Food Program cuts off aid to war-torn country

BRIGHTON, Mich. (OSV News) – As the nation marks National Human Trafficking Awareness Day Jan. 11, women religious in the U.S. are combating modern slavery with prayer and education. The Alliance to End Human Trafficking – whose members include more than 100 congregations of Catholic women religious – has created a dedicated webpage featuring a prayer service and tool kit for the national observance, which was established by Congress in 2007. On the same day, the organization launches a daily prayer series on social media leading up to the Feb. 8 International Day of Prayer and Awareness. In 2021 alone, some 50 million individuals worldwide were in a form of modern slavery, according to the United Nations’ International Labor Organization. The two most common types of human trafficking are forced labor (including sex trafficking) and forced marriage. Education, awareness and support for survivors is crucial – as is prayer, said Sister of St. Joseph Meaghan Patterson, a social worker and executive director of Dawn’s Place, which is part of the alliance and Philadelphia’s first residential recovery program for women who have been sex trafficked. While not all Catholics can work directly with survivors, “the number one thing you can do is pray,” Sister Meaghan said. “There is a huge power in prayer.”

People displaced by fighting between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Islamic State militants are pictured in a file photo waiting for food aid given by the United Nations World Food Program at a refugee camp in Ain Issa. The U.N. said it would end its main food assistance program in January 2024 across war-torn Syria, where over 12 million people lack regular access to sufficient food. —OSV News

A group including students from Sacred Heart Academy and Presentation Academy in Louisville, Ky., listens to a speaker during the seventh annual prayer service for the victims of human trafficking on April 30, 2019, at Jefferson Square Park in downtown Louisville.

—OSV News photo/CNS file, Ruby Thomas

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Servant of God’s ‘Diaries’ open a window into the soul of a disciple, says Boston cardinal

JANUARY 25, 2024

Compiled from Our Sunday Visitor and the Catholic News Service

BRAINTREE, Mass. (OSV News) -- When Boston Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley first met the co-initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way, Kiko Argüello and the late Carmen Hernandez, he was struck by the intense nature of their interactions, which – no matter how blunt or irrepressible – he came to realize were a manifestation of the genuine affection they had for one another. “Carmen’s job was always keeping Kiko grounded, and she did that with great expertise,” Cardinal O’Malley said. “And Kiko was always very grateful for that. ... He realized the importance of her witness to him.” During the Jan. 7 presentation of the English edition of Hernandez’s “Diaries: 1979–1981” (Gondolin Press), the prelate compared the “spiritual alliance” between Argüello and Hernandez, a servant of God, to that of St. Francis and St. Clare or that of St. Benedict and his sister, St. Scholastica. Founded in Spain in the 1960s, amid the shanty towns of Palomeras Altas near Madrid, the Neocatechumenal Way was defined

by St. John Paul II as “an itinerary of Catholic formation.” Cardinal O’Malley called Hernandez the midwife for the birth of the Neocatechumenal Way, which has over 21,000 communities worldwide according to the organization’s website. The cardinal said that it also has about a million members, 100 seminaries, “and (is) preparing for the evangelization of China.”

Boston Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley greets Carlos Metola, postulator for the sainthood cause for Carmen Hernández, co-initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way, prior to an event hosted Archdiocese of Boston’s Pastoral Center in Braintree, Mass., to officially introduce the English translation of a book of Hernández’s diaries on Jan. 7, 2024. Hernández’s sainthood cause was opened officially in December 2022. —OSV

News photo/Gregory L. Tracy, The Pilot

photo/Erik De Castro, Reuters

AMMAN, Jordan (OSV News) – Catholics warn that Syrians are on the brink of starvation as the United Nations food program cuts off its assistance in the country this month.

“The Syrian people are condemned to die without being able to say a word,” Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs told Vatican Radio. “It is a terrible and unfair decision. For us, it is as if the world were telling the Syrian people, ‘You are condemned to die, without raising your voice, without saying anything’. And for what? What is the fault of the Syrian people?” he asked. The U.N. World Food Program said it would end its main assistance program this January across war-torn Syria, where over 12 million people lack regular access to sufficient food. It cited a funding crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and now the conflict in Gaza as reasons for the decision.

“I’ve been living in Syria since 2015, but the situation has never been this tragic before,” said Franciscan Father Fadi, who serves with Pro Terra Sancta in the western Syrian city of Latakia and only gave his first name. “People cry, they are truly desperate. … There is no hope for the future,” he said, underscoring Catholic concerns. “It’s the worst situation ever in Syria,” said Andrea Avveduto, communications chief for Pro Terra Sancta.

Pope: Catholics working in media can de-escalate today’s war of words

Pope Francis poses for a group photograph with a delegation representing the Society of Catholic Journalists in Germany during a private audience at the Vatican Jan. 4, 2024. —CNS photo/Vatican Media VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Help “de-weaponize” the way language is used in the media by being respectful to others and fostering greater understanding and peace between people, Pope Francis told a group of Catholics journalists from Germany. “How many conflicts today, instead of being extinguished by dialogue, are fueled by fake news or inflammatory statements spread through the media!” he said in a text handed to participants. “Therefore it is even more important that you, steadfast in your Christian roots and the faith you live out daily, with hearts ‘demilitarized’ by the Gospel, support the disarmament of language,” the Pope wrote. The Pope gave his text to a delegation representing the Society of Catholic Journalists in Germany during a private audience at the Vatican Jan. 4. The association, which was celebrating its 75th anniversary, brings together Catholic professionals working in media – either Catholic or secular outlets. There is an urgent and fundamental need, he wrote, for “fostering overtones of peace and understanding, building bridges, being willing to listen, and exercising respectful communication toward others and their reasons.” “Even the Church needs communication that is ‘gentle and at the same time prophetic,’” he wrote.

saintly final emperor in Bl. Karl I. We, as Catholics, have too quickly discarded centuries of wisdom on how to live our faith in the world. In fact, in accord with Kennedy’s false doctrine, we often live secular lives, keeping our faith and life in society in distinct compartments. Archduke Eduard’s distilling of his family’s ethos provides deep insights, even for diehard adherents of modern democracy. We all can celebrate the accomplishments of this unique family, working for peace throughout Europe, bringing the faith around the globe, and, when necessary, leading military victories that saved the very life of Christendom.

The Archduke does not hide the sins and foibles of his family, but, drawing upon their strengths, he proposes concrete lessons for us from its long history, organizing the book around them: Rule 1: Get married and have lots of children. This first point could summarize the heart of the Habsburg way as they forged peaceful alliances throughout Europe by love rather than war. They survived for over a thousand years due to their commitment to family life.

Rule 2: Be Catholic and practice your faith. Not all Habsburgs followed this principle but those who did became great examples and defenders of the faith, modeling the integration of faith and life.

Rule 3: Believe in the Empire and in Subsidiarity. This might seem like the chapter that would be the least accessible, but I found it to be one of the most compelling. The Holy Roman Empire succeeded for so long because it united a large number of peoples and respected their local customs. Subsidiarity is desperately needed today to reinvigorate local communities by enabling them to shape their own daily political and economic life.

Rule 4: Stand for law and justice and your subjects. Because the Habsburgs were not elected officials, they could stand for timeless principles and represent the people more effectively than modern politicians who largely seek to enrich themselves. The family embodied the timeless traditions and laws of European Christendom.

Rule 5: Know who you are and live accordingly. In our modern democratic societies, we often do not know who we are, cut off from our ancestors and the traditions of the past. Archduke Eduard certainly has much family history to guide him in his own mission and work, which currently consists in serving as the Ambassador of Hungary to the Holy See. Rule 6: Be brave in battle or have a great general. The Habsburgs were known for promoting peace and avoid-

ing aggressive and expansionist warfare.

Nonetheless, they knew how to fight when necessary and fought for the freedom of Europe against the Turks and Napoleon.

Rule 7: Die well and have a memorable funeral. The public witness of faith given by the Habsburgs continued to death. In this moving chapter, we hear how many of them died publicly professing their faith and receiving the sacraments (especially Bl. Karl) and bore witness to the primacy of eternal life through the ceremony of their Catholic funerals.

PERSPECTIVES

Catholics have long held that all genuine authority derives from God. Any public official, whether elected or hereditary, carries a duty to act for the good of others rather than pursuing personal interests. Because we often view authority as deriving from the people directly, not from God, we act like we can establish any law or take any action that furthers our interests as we perceive them, apart from any set or established order.

A Catholic approach to politics, and to life in general, recognizes within public life the opportunity to pursue the good in cooperation with others. This Catholic approach to politics and life has recently been expressed in a captivating and delightful way by Archduke Eduard Habsburg, detailing the accumulated wisdom of his imperial family: The Habsburg Way: Seven Rules for Turbulent Times (Sophia Institute Press, 2023). Starting out as barons in Switzerland, the family came to prominence in the 13th century through Rudolph I, who stabilized the Holy Roman Empire after a damaging interregnum. It would be centuries until another Habsburg became emperor again, but from the 15th century until the end of the Empire in 1806, the dynasty served almost exclusively in this role. Their imperial role continued in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire until the end of the First World War, ending with a

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The Catholic Way: Lessons from an Imperial Family

The entirety of the book could be summarized well in Rule 5, which stresses the importance of finding who we are today by returning to our roots and the Catholic ways of our ancestors: “Finally: what about you? Do you know who you are? Do you know the values that shaped you? Do you live accordingly? I hope.”

Dr. Staudt’s column is syndicated by the Denver Catholic, the official publication of the Archdiocese of Denver.

Speaking truth in love: Quotes from Benedict XVI

By Our Sunday Visitor Staff

On the liturgy “Are we not interested in the Cosmos anymore? Are we today really hopelessly huddled in our own little circle? Is

On hope “Man was created for greatness – for God himself; he was created to be filled by God. But his heart is too small for the greatness to which it is destined.

It must be stretched.” (Encyclical letter “Spe salvi,” Nov. 30, 2007) On love “Do not desire anything less for your life than a love that is strong and beautiful and that is capable of making the whole of your existence a joyful undertaking of giving yourselves as a gift to God and your brothers and sisters, in imitation of the One who vanquished hatred and death forever through love

On truth “The truth comes to rule, not through violence, but rather through its own power; this is the central theme of John’s Gospel: When brought before Pilate, Jesus professes that he himself is The Truth and the witness to the truth. He does not defend the truth with legions but rather makes it visible through his Passion and thereby also implements it” (“Light of the World: The Pope, the Church, and the Signs of the Times – A Conversation with Peter Seewald,” 2010).

“A Christianity of charity without truth would be more or less interchangeable with a pool of good sentiments, helpful for social cohesion, but of little relevance. In other words, there would

Pope Benedict XVI smiles as he bids the crowd farewell after celebrating Mass at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., in this file photo dated April 17, 2008.

—OSV News photo/Nancy Wiechec, CNS

no longer be any real place for God in the world” (Encyclical letter “Caritas in Veritate,” July 7, 2009).

On freedom “As Son, Jesus brings a new freedom: not the freedom of someone with no obligations, but the freedom of someone totally united with the Father’s will, someone who helps mankind to attain the freedom of inner oneness with God” (“Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives,” 2012).

JANUARY 25, 2024

On theology “Every theologian now seems to want to be ‘creative’. But his proper task is to deepen the common deposit of faith as well as to help in proclaiming it, not ‘to create’ it. Otherwise, faith will be fragmentized into a series of often conflicting schools and currents to the grave harm of the disconcerted people of God” (“The Ratzinger Report,” 1985).

On faith “Faith is not a mere intellectual assent of the human person to specific truths about God; it is an act with which I entrust myself freely to a God who is Father and who loves me; it is adherence to a ‘You’ who gives me hope and trust” (General audience, Oct. 24, 2012).

(Rv. 5:13).” (Message to the youth of the world on the occasion of the 22nd World Youth Day, 2007) “Love – caritas – will always prove necessary, even in the most just society. There is no ordering of the State so just that it can eliminate the need for a service of love. Whoever wants to eliminate love is preparing to eliminate man as such” (Encyclical letter “Deus caritas est,” Dec. 25, 2005).

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Nicknamed the “professor pope,” Benedict XVI lived a life devoted to placing the truth in the service of love. A keen defender and teacher of the church’s doctrines, he had a deep confidence that the truths handed down by Jesus Christ would never detract from our ability to carry out his commandment to love.

Rather, they would help us fulfill it.

As a young priest, as cardinal, as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and as Pope, Benedict spoke words that encouraged and inspired – but also corrected and clarified.

Below is a collection of quotes that show his inimitable way of speaking – and living – the truth in love.

it not important, precisely today, to pray with the whole of creation? Is it not important, precisely today, to find room for the dimension of the future, for hope in the Lord who is to come again, to recognize again, indeed to live, the dynamism of the new creation as an essential form of the liturgy” (“The Spirit of the Liturgy,” 2000)?

34 OUR FAITH

In Jesus, we see our God made visible Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) As we move further into this liturgical year with our eyes particularly focused on St. Mark’s Gospel, we begin to sense the themes that will be important for Mark’s particular brand of storytelling. Our Gospel this Sunday provides important information about the unique power and authority with which Jesus proclaimed his teaching.

St. Mark recounts that “the people were astonished at [Jesus’] teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22).

In this, Mark is presenting Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promise recounted in today’s first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy: “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him” (Deuteronomy 18:18). Jesus teaches with a power all his own, and we quickly learn the source of that power – this Jesus

of Nazareth is the “Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24c). Jesus teaches with such authority because his words are God’s words – when we see and hear Jesus, we are seeing and hearing the Father himself.

To illustrate the extent of Jesus’ power, the Gospel immediately presents a miracle story, the exorcism of the possessed man at Capernaum. Demonic possession was a horrifying burden. Its victims lost complete control of themselves and their actions; they were feared and excluded from society. In demonic possession, the power of evil became too strong for any human authority to overcome.

In the face of this terrible power, Jesus simply uttered the words, “Quiet!

Come out of him!” (Mark 1:25), and the demon was expelled, the grip of evil completely undone. In the face of Jesus’ divine authority, Satan was emptied of all his fearsome might.

This miraculous exorcism both gives us a concrete demonstration of Jesus’ authority as well as teaches us

SCRIPTURE SEARCH® Gospel for January 28, 2024 Mark 1:21-28

Following is a word search based on the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B: Jesus and the demons at Capernaum. The words can be found in all directions in the puzzle.

CAPERNAUM PEOPLE A MAN NAZARETH YOU ARE COME OUT OBEY

SABBATH TEACHING CRIED OUT DESTROY US HOLY ONE OF GOD CRY SPREAD

SYNAGOGUE NOT AS JESUS KNOW QUIET AMAZED REGION

JANUARY 25, 2024

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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how Jesus intends to use it. The power of Jesus, that is, God’s own power revealed to his people, is oriented to the coming fullness of God’s kingdom. By his teaching and miracles, Jesus intended to make plain the true measure of God’s power – “nothing is impossible for God” (Luke 1:37). But this miraculous sign is also a proof of God’s love. In this exorcism, God reaches out to one of his beloved people to restore him to sanity and grace – the burden of evil was lifted from the formerly possessed man; in a sense, this miracle illustrates Jesus’ entire mission – to lift the terrible weight of sin from his people, to restore the pristine goodness that God intended for all his creation before sinfulness so debased our world.

In this text, St. Mark wonderfully sets up the rest of his Gospel. A new presence is introduced, Jesus of Nazareth, who speaks and acts with God’s own power, a power that will be used to uplift his people by removing the shackles of evil. This motive will explain all the rest of Jesus’ activity throughout the Gospel.

We are also reminded of the ultimate reason for following Jesus – we look to him not simply because he was a good fellow, or had a good philosophy of life, or treated people with kindness; we look to Jesus first and foremost because he is the “Holy One of God,” the Lord of Life and Eternal Son of the Eternal Father. We look to Jesus because in him we see our God made visible.

To continue this mission after the

conclusion of his earthly ministry, Jesus endowed his disciples, the Church, with his own authority to reveal the will of God and dispel the power of evil. Invested with this authority, the Church fulfills its mission by continuing to teach as he taught and to manifest the practical goodness that he brought into the lives of all he met. The Church gives ongoing effect to the efforts of Jesus as it forms disciples to manifest his teaching and example in the midst of their lives in this world. And the mission of Jesus endures in the Church’s efforts to draw all people to the Lord even when they are weighed down by the power of sin that still, sadly, afflicts our world.

Especially through the Sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation, believers are offered the grace that so powerfully freed the possessed man in today’s Gospel, the grace that empowers them to throw off the shackles of sin and to live in the joyful freedom of daughters and sons of God. As we move to more deeply explore the riches of St. Mark’s Gospel on offer this year, may we strive to embrace and reflect the authentic witness that Jesus continues to offer through his Church.

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

Critical Life Issues Conference to be held in March The 2024 Choices Matter: A Critical Life Issues Conference, will be held March 16 in the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway. The conference is sponsored by the diocesan Office of Human Life and Dignity.

The event will include opening Mass at 9 a.m. with Bishop James F. Checchio, as well as feature keynote speakers Evie West, author on the topic of “Revolving Choices – Playing Roulette with Life;” Jim Towey, author and personal friend of St. Teresa of Calcutta on “St. Theresa of Calcutta – To Love is a Choice,” and Kevin Dunn, award-winning film maker, on “Prophets of Hope in a Culture of Fear.

The conference will also feature exhibits, Eucharistic Adoration and Confession.

Conference sessions begin at 10:15 a.m.

General admission is $35. Student admission is $15. Admission includes lunch and handouts. Register at www.diometuchen.org/choicesmatter.

E vie W e s t

J i m T ow e y

K ev i n Dunn

HOLY FATHER

By Cindy Wooden

Pope Francis shares a laugh with Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, right, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Msgr. Armando Matteo, secretary of the dicastery’s doctrinal section, during a meeting in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Dec. 18, 2023. —CNS photo/Vatican Media The Church, it said, should be grateful when people ask for a blessing and should see it as a sign that they know they need God’s help.

“When people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it.

For, those seeking a blessing should not be required to have prior moral perfection,” it said.

At the same time, the declaration insisted that the Mass is not the proper setting for the less formal forms of blessing that could include the blessing of a gay couple, and it repeated that “it is not appropriate for a diocese, a bishops’

conference” or other church structure to issue a formal blessing prayer or ritual for unwed couples. The blessing also should not be given “in concurrence” with a civil marriage ceremony to avoid appearing as a sort of Church blessing of the civil union.

However, it said, a priest or deacon could “join in the prayer of those persons who, although in a union that cannot be compared in any way to a marriage, desire to entrust themselves to the Lord and his mercy, to invoke his help and to be guided to a greater understanding of his plan of love and of truth.”

Pope Francis’s

Monthly Prayer Intentions February For the terminally ill We pray that those with a terminal illness, and their families, receive the necessary physical and spiritual care and accompaniment.

JANUARY 25, 2024

marriage and other sacraments.

“Blessings are among the most widespread and evolving sacramentals.

Indeed, they lead us to grasp God’s presence in all the events of life and remind us that, even in the use of created things, human beings are invited to seek God, to love him, and to serve him faithfully,” the declaration said. That is why people, meals, rosaries, homes, pets and myriad other things can be and are blessed on various occasions.

“From a strictly liturgical point of view,” the declaration said, “a blessing requires that what is blessed be conformed to God’s will, as expressed in the teachings of the Church,” which is why the then-doctrinal congregation in 2021 excluded the possibility of blessing gay couples.

But, the new document said, Catholics should “avoid the risk of reducing the meaning of blessings” to their formal, liturgical use because that “would lead us to expect the same moral conditions for a simple blessing that are called for in the reception of the sacraments.”

“Indeed, there is the danger that a pastoral gesture that is so beloved and widespread will be subjected to too many moral prerequisites, which, under the claim of control, could overshadow the unconditional power of God’s love that forms the basis for the gesture of blessing,” it said.

A person who asks for God’s blessing, the declaration said, “shows himself to be in need of God’s saving presence in his life and one who asks for a blessing from the Church recognizes the latter as a sacrament of the salvation that God offers.”

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A Catholic priest can bless a gay or other unmarried couple as long as it is not a formal liturgical blessing and does not give the impression that the Catholic Church is blessing the union as if it were a marriage, the Vatican doctrinal office said.

The request for a blessing can express and nurture “openness to the transcendence, mercy and closeness to God in a thousand concrete circumstances of life, which is no small thing in the world in which we live. It is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered,” the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said in a formal declaration published Dec. 18.

The document, Fiducia Supplicans (“Supplicating Trust”) was subtitled, “On the pastoral meaning of blessings,” and was approved by Pope Francis during an audience with Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, dicastery prefect, Dec. 18.

In his introductory note, Cardinal Fernández said questions about a priest blessing a LGBTQ+ or other unmarried couple had been sent to the doctrinal office repeatedly over the past few years.

The need for a fuller explanation of blessings became clear, he wrote, after Pope Francis responded to the “dubia” or questions of several cardinals in a letter released in early October.

In his letter, the Pope insisted marriage is an “exclusive, stable and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to conceiving children,” which is why the Church “avoids all kinds of rites or sacramentals that could contradict this conviction and imply that it is recognizing as a marriage something that is not.”

At the same time, the Pope said, “pastoral prudence must adequately discern if there are forms of blessing, solicited by one or various persons, that don’t transmit a mistaken concept of marriage.”

Cardinal Fernández said the declaration “remains firm on the traditional doctrine of the Church about marriage, not allowing any type of liturgical rite or blessing similar to a liturgical rite that can create confusion,” but it also explores the “pastoral meaning of blessings” in a way that opens “the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage.”

The Church “remains firm” in teaching that marriage can be contracted only between one woman and one man, he said, and continues to insist that “rites and prayers that could create confusion” about a marriage and another form of relationship “are inadmissible.”

But in Catholic tradition blessings go well beyond the formal ritual used in

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Doctrinal dicastery explains how, when gay couples can be blessed

36 STEPPING FORWARD IN CHARITY

Stepping forward in charity Spreading Christmas

Cheer

Stepping forward in charity 1 The Bridgewater staff got in the holiday spirit with their “ugly” sweaters contest.

2 Santa and Mrs. Claus visited the YES Early Learning Center at St. Ladislaus!

• Santa and Mrs. Claus visited with each class and each child got a gift courtesy of St. Matthias in Somerset. There was even a special appearance by The Grinch and an awesome dance party! Special thanks to the Professional Latino Firefighter of Central New Jersey New Brunswick Chapter.

• Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, offers free preschool for New Brunswick residents. Please contact our schools if you are in need of preschool for your child! YES ELC at St Ladislaus, 732-214-1475, 197 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ 3 Santa Claus also visited the YES Early Learning Center.

• He visited each classroom and each child received a gift. The children were delighted to see Santa and knew he was coming by listening for his special bell.

• Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, offers free preschool for New Brunswick residents.

• Please contact our schools if you are in need of preschool for your child!

YES ELC, 732-249-3881, 115 Robeson Blvd, New Brunswick, NJ

STEPPING FORWARD IN CHARITY 2

JANUARY 25, 2024

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

4 The Mobile Family Success Center of Middlesex County’s Annual Holiday Party took place at Parson’s Elementary School in North Brunswick.

• 120 kids were registered for this event and they brought their families for some food and holiday fun with games and prizes. Santa got a police escort from the North Brunswick Police Department and gave out lots of candy canes. Each child got to sit on Santa’s lap and receive a gift.

• For more information about the services Mobile Family Success Center offers, visit them on Facebook. Email questions to mfscmiddlesex@ccdom.org. Further information, visit ccdom.org 5 The PACT program celebrated their annual holiday party at the Middlesex County 4-H. • Clients in the program enjoyed food, music courtesy of DJ Vinnie, who played the best dancing tunes! Santa even stopped by for a visit and got in on the fun!

• The East Brunswick PACT team put together a craft for each client in the program, and each client went home with a gift. The traditional PACT holiday party is a chance for the clients to socialize with their peers, celebrate the holidays, and just have fun!

• The Program for Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) is an evidence-based practice that offers person-centered, recovery-based care in community-based settings to individuals diagnosed with serious mental illness. Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen operates three PACT Teams which cover all of Middlesex County. For more information about the PACT program and other programs that Catholic Charities offers please visit ccdom.org 6 Young adults from Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen were invited to a special Christmas party.

• Young adults that are a part of the LifeSet program, as well as the My First Place program, attended a Christmas party at Verona Hills in Newark and received gifts courtesy of One Simple Wish. Also in attendance were the Care Plus LifeSet Young Adults and some even brought their children.

• One Simple Wish is a wonderful nonprofit organization that raises awareness about foster care and grants wishes for children and young adults in need. Big thanks to One Simple Wish for the venue, gifts, food and drinks!

• The young adults enjoyed pizza, played fun games and even got to try their luck in a few raffles. There were lots of smiles and cheers throughout the event.

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Stepping forward in charity

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a memorable experience building faith and community

YOUTH

Youth Conference

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The National Catholic Youth Conference held Nov 16 – Nov 18 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, gathered people from across America for a life-changing encounter with Christ. It was a three-day experience of prayer, community, evangelization, catechesis, service, and empowerment for Catholic teenagers (of high school age) and their adult chaperones.

Diocesan representatives to the conference, including 24 youth and chaperones from the parishes of St. Joseph, Hillsborough; St. Joseph, Bound Brook, and a deacon from St. Matthias, Somerset, joined more than 12,000 NCYC participants for the “Fully Alive” conference.

Chaperones included Valeria Morales, youth minister, St. Joseph, Bound Brook, and Deacon John Radvanski, youth minister, St. Matthias, Somerset, accompanied five teens from St. Joseph, Bound Brook.

Youth minister Bob Ferretti and Marie and Josh Huang chaperoned 15 teens from St. Joseph Parish, Hillsborough.

• At left, group from St. Joseph Parish, Hillsborough. —Bob Ferretti photo • At right, groups from St. Joseph Parish, Bound Brook, and St. Joseph Parish, Hillsborough. —Courtesy photo • Fun hats are a “thing” at NCYC. Youth minister Bob Ferretti explained, “Many groups come with a hat evoking the place they’re from (think cheeseheads from Wisconsin). The Diocese of Metuchen contingent couldn’t find pork roll hats so, this year, their hats were cow hats. The NCYC tradition is to trade hats with someone and get to know them a little. By the end of the trip, all youth had traded their hats at least once.”

• Bottom photo, Bishop William Francis Medley, Diocese of Owensboro, Ky., joins youth from Diocese of Metuchen at NCYC.

REFLECTIONS!

St. Joseph, Hillsborough

Melanie Garcia Bautista: My NCYC experience was great, I got to learn more and grow spiritually and mentally. My biggest takeaway were all the messages … like “You are not a problem to be dealt with but a mystery to be encountered.” My favorite part of NCYC was the time spent with my group, reflecting and expressing our personal thoughts and opinions on certain subjects talked about or what we’ve seen during NCYC.

Youth minister Bob Ferretti: Having 12,000 young Catholics together, worshipping God in song, prayer, adoration, and the Eucharist is a very powerful experience. For the 24 teens who traveled from the Diocese of Metuchen to Indianapolis in November, it was, in many ways, life changing.

The theme this year, Fully Alive, allowed our teens to find ways to enter deeper into their relationship with Jesus wherever they find themself. The highlight of the pilgrimage for most of the teens we brought from St. Joseph Church in Hillsborough was Bishop Joe Espaillat from the Archdiocese of New York. Bishop Joe’s sharing of what Adoration is and how to enter more fully into relationship with Christ during it was impactful. His homily during the closing Mass was powerful – “If you want to be fully alive then you must choose joy over fear,” and he challenged us to return to our home parishes filled with joy.

Sandra Moran Martinez: For me NCYC was an amazing experience where I met people from all around the world who also shared the love of my faith. I am so happy that I got to experience NCYC and that so many people also experienced NCYC and will take their experience with them back to their church. My biggest takeaway was, “Joy over fear; if we want to be “fully alive” we cannot be afraid.”

Bringing home the experience!

Ally Quinn: I really enjoyed Adoration, which has helped me spend more time alone in my thoughts with God. Some of the musicians reinforced that worship can be exciting and fun rather than strict and stressful.

Megan Vogt: The understanding I gained from NCYC helped me realize that my faith is a lifelong journey and I am so excited to continue to experience God on this journey. NCYC helped to change my view and realize that experiencing the Lord will happen all throughout my life and every time I do, I learn something and my faith deepens.

Hannah Herterich: God is the one calling you to pray, He is always within you. When you struggle in life turn to prayer because God is always there to listen.

Brenna Roarty: I would definitely bring back the idea of singing and worshiping God in more ways than just structured prayers.

Katie Cusack: I think it is important that everyone who attends youth group knows that everyone’s on a different journey in their faith and it is okay to not feel exactly like what the person next to you feels.

Alex Acocella: In our youth group we should be asking more controversial questions to gain deeper understandings and connections with God. Ally Quinn: I really want to have a box of intentions since people are scared to speak up about their intentions but still want us to pray for them.

Megan Vogt: One thing that I think would be fun to bring back to youth group is a civil dialog format of discussion that I practiced in a breakout room which is basically creating a very structured discussion on a specified topic in an environment where everyone can speak their mind and interact with each other’s opinions without it getting tense or confrontational.

JANUARY 25, 2024

Katie Cusack: HAVE FUN! Even Bishop Joe said Jesus himself was a jokester. Part of being Catholic is spreading love and we must enjoy our faith to do that. … My favorite part about NCYC is the fact that I was able to experience it with a family.

To have faith, you need a sense of community. The group that traveled to Indiana was one that could never be forgotten. It was an unbelievable bonding experience that made friends into family.

Grace Hanna: Letting the youth of our parish know that God has a plan for us is important because teens sometimes can be confused or unconfident about what they should do in their life.

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

St. Joseph, Bound Brook

38 SPIRITUALITY THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT JANUARY 25, 2024

A Journey to the Heart of the Father New center encourages Eucharistic devotion The next series from Father Dave Pivonka, the Wild Goose and 10th Hour Productions

DAPHNE, ALABAMA – “My father’s Father,” a new 6-part series from the makers of “The Wild Goose” and “Metanoia,” will be released on Wild Goose TV and Faith and Reason for free with the first episode available on Jan. 9.

This moving and enriching series follows Franciscan Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, co-founder of the Wild Goose and president of Franciscan University of Steubenville, as he returns to his hometown of Durango, Colorado, to dive more deeply into what it means for each of us that God is Father and how our earthly fathers impact our relationship with Him. Having first focused on fostering relationships with the Holy Spirit in the series “The Wild Goose” and then on Jesus in the series “Metanoia,” Father Pivonka and 10th Hour Productions have set out to complete the Trinitarian image with this new series about God the Father.

“This series is more intimate and relational,” Father Pivonka noted. Instead of prepared talks and stories with rehearsed scripts and retakes, Father Pivonka vulnerably sits in front of the camera and is directly interviewed by Johnson, who is not only the director of the series, but Father Pivonka’s friend as well.

In addition to being interviewed himself, Father Pivonka sits alongside all the interviewees in this series. Some of those featured are his mother Margi Pivonka, Father Jacques Philippe, Chris Stefanick, Dr. John Bergsma, Dr. Matthew Breuninger, Mark and Katie Hartfiel, Heather Khym, and more. “In this series, I’m in all of the interviews. It’s really about the relationship I have with the people as much as the relationship I have with the topic matter,” Father Pivonka noted.

“My father’s Father” will release one episode each week beginning on Jan. 9, and will stream for free on Wild Goose TV – the streaming platform that houses all the Wild Goose and 10th Hour Productions’ content – as well as on Faith and Reason, Franciscan University’s video content website.

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A Redemptorist Spiritual Center overlooking the Atlantic Ocean offering preached retreats, days of prayer and use of the facility for outside groups.

“St. Sharbel is well known to Maronites and many other Catholics around the world, but now we will be better able to spread his devotion, his faith and – we pray – extend his blessings even further,” Bishop Mansour said.

Born in 1828 in Lebanon, Yussek Antoun Makhlouf was drawn from an early age to solitude, prayer and contemplation, likely inspired by the example of two uncles who had entered the monastery of St. Anthony of Qozhaya. Having lost his father as a very young child, the future saint quietly rejected his family’s exhortations to marry and undertake a trade, leaving home at age 23 to embrace monastic life. He was ordained a Maronite priest in 1859, living and praying at the monastery of Annaya.

In 1875, St. Sharbel received permission to become a hermit at Sts. Peter and Paul in Aannaya, abandoning his solitude only at his superiors’ request to visit and heal the sick. He died on Christmas Eve in 1898 from the effects of a stroke.

Immediately after his death, witnesses reported seeing lights around his tomb, and upon exhumation his body was found to be both incorrupt and exuding sweat and blood. St. Paul VI beatified the humble monk in 1965, canonizing him in 1977.

Miracles through St. Sharbel’s intercession continue to this day, center director Dr. Anne Borik, a Catholic physician, told OSV News.

Borik, a Pittsburgh native who now lives in Arizona, said she has had “a great devotion to St. Sharbel for years,” as her family worships in both the Maronite and Roman rites of the Catholic Church.

That devotion dramatically intensified after she headed up a medical team

investigating the case of Dafne Gutierrez, an Arizona mother of five who became legally blind in 2014 due to a medical condition that increased pressure in her skull mimicking the effects of a brain tumor.

Gutierrez, then 37, had been an indifferent Catholic who knew nothing about St. Sharbel. She began attending Catholic healing Masses and venerated a relic of the saint during one 2016 Maronite liturgy. That visit also included a return to the confessional and an anointing. Mere days later, Gutierrez’s sight was restored.

For Borik, the experience further inspired her faith since Gutierrez had, in her judgment, suffered “irreversible” damage from “constriction to the optic nerve” under “very, very high” pressure on the brain.

“When this happened, it totally turned my way of practicing medicine completely around,” Borik told OSV News, adding, “I (now) pray at the bedside with patients, and I’ve never had somebody refuse when I just offer, ‘Do you want me to say a prayer.’”

Borik, who also founded the St. Sharbel Global Prayer Net, an international prayer group hosted on the Mighty Networks app, said “prayer is such a powerful tool that we have for healing.” She indicated those who come to Pittsburgh’s St. Sharbel Spiritual Life Center will discover St. Sharbel is the perfect guide to lead others to “health and holiness.”

“It’s not really a shine,” she marveled, “but a life center.”

ST. FRANCIS RETREAT HOUSE 3918 Chipman Road, Easton, PA 18045 Phone: 610-258-3053, ext. 10 • Fax: 610-258-2412 Info@stfrancisretreathouse.org • stfrancisretreathouse.org

VILLA PAULINE RETREAT AND SPIRITUAL CENTER 352 Bernardsville Road, Mendham, NJ 07945 732-285-5015 • mlszalejko1955@gmail.com • sccus.org

For more information on the St. Sharbel Spiritual Life Center, visit the center’s website at https://saintsharbelcenter.org.

Gina Christian is a national reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @GinaJesseReina

LOYOLA JESUIT CENTER 161 James Street • Morristown, NJ 07960 973-539-0740 • Fax: 973-898-9839 www.loyola.org • retreathouse@loyola.org

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The sick, and the world, need ‘therapy’ of love, Pope says in message

By Cindy Wooden

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Healthy 2024: CDC-recognized program to help prevent, delay type 2 diabetes offered by Saint Peter’s Healthcare System Registration now open for the next FREE virtual program; first class is Monday, Feb. 19, 2024 Saint Peter’s Healthcare System, New Brunswick, is committed to assisting members of the community prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes through a free, year-long program that educates individuals about 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. The next year-long session, which will be held virtually, begins on Monday, Feb. 19, and registration is required.

The Prevent T2 program received full recognition from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a designation reserved for programs that are high-quality and evidence-based. Taught by registered dietitian nutritionists, Prevent T2 has shown promising outcomes. This year will be Saint Peter’s ninth session.

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. The next session begins on Monday, February 19 with all classes meeting virtually on Mondays from 7 pm to 8 pm. The year-long program meets every other week for the first six months, followed by monthly meetings in the second half of the year.

Please call (732) 339-7772 for more information or to register. Space is limited.

JANUARY 25, 2024

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The Pope said such thinking is reflected in “certain political decisions that are not focused on the dignity of the human person and his or her needs, and do not always promote the strategies and resources needed to ensure that every human being enjoys the fundamental right to health and access to healthcare.”

But, he said, the human dignity of sick and vulnerable also is abandoned when health care is seen simply as the

provision of procedures and medication, rather than as caring for the whole person and involving the family in creating a network of support.

“Brothers and sisters,” he wrote, “the first form of care needed in any illness is compassionate and loving closeness. To care for the sick thus means above all to care for their relationships, all of them: with God, with others – family members, friends, health care workers – with creation and with themselves.”

Addressing those who are ill, Pope Francis said: “Do not be ashamed of your longing for closeness and tenderness! Do not conceal it, and never think that you are a burden on others.”

And he called on all Catholics, “with the love for one another that Christ the Lord bestows on us in prayer, especially in the Eucharist,” to “tend to the wounds of solitude and isolation” found particularly among the sick.

“In this way,” the Pope said, “we will cooperate in combating the culture of individualism, indifference and waste, and enable the growth of a culture of tenderness and compassion.”

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The “first therapy” that must be offered to the sick, and to the world, is a dose of closeness, friendship and love, Pope Francis said in his message for the World Day of the Sick.

“We came into the world because someone welcomed us; we were made for love; and we are called to communion and fraternity,” he wrote in his message for the annual observance Feb. 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.

A connection with other people “is what sustains us, above all at times of illness and vulnerability,” the 87-year-old Pope wrote. “It is also the first therapy that we must all adopt in order to heal the diseases of the society in which we live.”

The theme chosen for the 2024 observance is from the Book of Genesis, “It is not good that man should be alone.” It was subtitled, “Healing the Sick by Healing Relationships.”

In his message, released Jan. 13, Pope Francis said Christians believe that “from the beginning, God, who is love, created us for communion and endowed us with an innate capacity to enter into relationship with others.”

“We were created to be together, not alone,” he wrote. “Precisely because this project of communion is so deeply rooted

in the human heart, we see the experience of abandonment and solitude as something frightening, painful and even inhuman.”

Pope Francis recalled the horrible pain of loneliness endured by those who were sick or in nursing homes during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic and had no contact with their loved ones.

“I share too in the pain, suffering and isolation felt by those who, because of war and its tragic consequences, are left without support and assistance,” he said. “War is the most terrible of social diseases, and it takes its greatest toll on those who are most vulnerable.”

But even in rich countries at peace, he said, “old age and sickness are frequently experienced in solitude and, at times, even in abandonment.”

When a culture emphasizes the individual, “exalts productivity at all costs, cultivates the myth of efficiency,” he said, it “proves indifferent, even callous, when individuals no longer have the strength needed to keep pace.”

“It then becomes a throwaway culture, in which ‘persons are no longer seen as a paramount value to be cared for and respected, especially when they are poor or disabled, ‘not yet useful’ – like the unborn – or ‘no longer needed’ – like the elderly,’” he said, quoting his encyclical “Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship.”

HEALTH

—CNS photo/Paul Haring

39

Pope Francis embraces a sick child during an audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican Nov. 14, 2014.

40 MENTAL HEALTH

Consider USCCB novena in mental wellness goals for self, others Nove n a fo r Me n ta l H e a lth

By Mary Morrell, Editor-in-Chief

JANUARY 25, 2024

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

With January designated as Mental Wellness Month, it is an appropriate time to set goals for mental health awareness among families, friends and communities. It is also a good time to tap into the on-going United States Conference of Catholic’s Bishop’s National Catholic Mental Health Campaign which began in October 2023.

In their joint statement at the beginning of the campaign, Archbishop Borys Gudziak, chairman, USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development and Bishop Robert Barron, chairman, USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, explained, “Although mental illness is a pervasive and common aspect of human life, there is an alarming shortage of mental and behavioral health resources and providers. Furthermore, over the last decade, both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen an alarming increase in depression and suicidal tendencies, especially among young people.

Despite its ubiquity, mental illness and mental health challenges often remain associated with embarrassment, shame, or guilt, which can prevent people from seeking and receiving help.”

They described the campaign as “a modest initial effort by the USCCB, with the support of key collaborators in minis-

try and advocacy, to address this enormous issue and start discussions that can lead to greater action and change.” The campaign was set to begin with three main components: a Novena, virtual roundtables, and advocacy for more resources so that everyone who needs help can get help.

The statement underscored that “the Novena has a ‘Pray, Learn, Act’ structure, with different themes for each day.

It will seek to inform and encourage both prayer and action in response to nine of the many distinct aspects of mental health,” including: Removing Stigmas, Families, Mental Health Ministry, Childhood, Youth and Young Adults, Effects of Racial Discrimination on Mental Health, Poverty and Mental Health, Suicide Awareness and Grief.

Archbishop Gudziak and Bishop Barron explained that virtual roundtables will be held first with bishops and then with other Catholic leaders “to discuss how mental illness touches every person’s life, to stand again any kind of stigma, and to discern proactive measure to move forward.”

Finally, the Bishops invite “all Catholics and people of good will to advocate for bipartisan legislation and policies that address the severe lack of health care resources for prevention and treatment of mental health conditions. Together, we can work towards a more just and compassionate society.”

“… We offer this Novena in solidarity with those suffering from mental health challenges as well as health care professionals, family, and friends who are caring for people in need. The World Foundation of Mental Health identified the 2023 theme as “Mental health is a universal human right.” We hope that this modest Novena will move all people to discern how God is calling them to offer greater assistance to those with mental health needs.”

Day 1 – Removing Stigmas P R AY St. Dymphna (7th Century) is known as a patron of persons suffering from mental and neurological disorders and illnesses, as well as mental health professionals. According to legend, she was an Irish princess who fled from her father, a man who appears to have had a mental illness. She is said to have settled in Geel, Belgium, but was ultimately found and martyred by her father. The people of Geel built a church in her honor, and many made the pilgrimage there seeking to be cured of mental illness. So many pilgrims came that the people of Geel began to open their homes to them, providing them a place to stay.

Persons with mental illness could live and work in their community without stigma or discrimination. Even today the town of Geel is known as a model for community acceptance of persons who live with mental illness.

Good St. Dymphna, great wonder worker in every affliction of mind and body, we humbly implore your powerful intercession with Jesus through Mary, for the health of the sick.

St. Dymphna, patroness of persons with mental health conditions, always look out for those men and women, for their healing and recovery, and for an end to stigma and indifference in society.

Amen.

St. Dymphna, pray for us.

LEARN Many people will experience a mental health challenge at some point in their life. The three most common disorder categories are depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders. Yet, despite how common mental illness is, persons living with the symptoms of a mental health condition still face the added burden of stigma. Self-stigma can result in low self-esteem, low self-efficacy, and feelings of futility. Moreover, stigma may result in discrimination, such as in housing or employment.

Stigmatization can also occur in important settings within the Church.

Many coping with mental illness or facing mental health challenges seek help from the Church, often before mental health professionals, and receive vital social support within parish life. But if they perceive stigmatization in the Church, they may shy away from involvement. Common stereotypes include that persons with poor mental health are dangerous, somehow responsible for their symptoms, unable to care for themselves, and unlikely ever to recover. These stereotypes are false! One of the first ways to eradicate stigmas from Church life is to learn about mental health.

ACT Before we can collectively move toward removing stigmas from the Church, we must first reflect on our own beliefs about, and behaviors toward, persons living with mental health conditions. Learn more about how broad the term mental illness is, which covers, for example, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessivecompulsive disorder, and eating disorders. To dispel stereotypes that you may hold, consider taking The Sanctuary Course for Catholics to learn more about mental health, including mental illness, and how to accompany fellow parishioners in their mental health journey.

To read the full Novena visit www.usccb.org/mental-health-novena.

To learn more about the USCCB National Catholic Campaign for Mental Health visit www.usccb.org/committees/domestic-justice-and-human-development/mental-and-behavioral-health To read the October Bishops’ statement, which includes an appendix with links to important statistics on mental health visit www.usccb.org/resources and type in ‘mental health.’

Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy Campbell Jr. gives Communion to a woman a Jan. 13, 2024, Mass celebrating the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Washington. The annual Mass is sponsored by the Washington Archdiocese’s Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach and this year was celebrated at a parish known as “the church on the hill” for its lofty perch overlooking Washington. —OSV News photo/Mihoko Owada, Catholic Standard children anywhere ought to stun us all.”

But the sacrifice of the Birmingham four proved to be redemptive.

“Sixty years ago, those four youngsters’ brutal deaths were a powerful force that compelled the U.S. Congress finally to take legislative action that led to the Civil Rights Bill of 1964,” the cardinal said. The bill is considered the broadest civil rights legislation passed since Reconstruction.

Aligning Rev. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and vision of a nation where people could live together in love, peace and harmony based on the content of their character, rather than the color of their skin, the cardinal encouraged attendees “to recall his always riveting words of a dream that must challenge us all to examine the content of our own characters.” But not as a hope, fantasy or mere suggestion.

Rev. King’s words were “a challenge for all of us, no matter what our race, age or ethnic heritage. Our personal character all need development and constant attention. Our character is the very gatehouse of the virtues that we must pursue. Our character is the foundation of our integrity,” the cardinal said.

While the four children slaughtered in 1963 did not have the opportunity to “bring their character to full flower,” they

JANUARY 25, 2024

Gospel Mass Choir under the direction of Henry Herrera. At other times they sat silent, at rapt attention as Cardinal Gregory related history.

The cardinal recited the names and ages of the four children who were “victims of indiscriminate hatred on Sunday morning, Sept. 15, 1963”: Denise McNair, who was 11, and Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson, all of whom were 14.

They would be senior citizens today, he said, and most likely would have become wives and mothers, maybe grandmothers, if “these lives taken at a tender age” had not been ended by an explosion

by Ku Klux Klan members that shook their church and the conscience of the nation.

“The nation had already heard of and been stunned by the news of the assassination of other adult victims of racial hatred and violence, including that of Medgar Evers earlier that same year,” the cardinal recounted. “But there is something transfixing about the violent death of a child.

“Our hearts still ache at the memory of the vicious deaths of the little ones from Newton, Connecticut; Ulvade, Texas; Parkland High School in Florida, and in far too many other places in our nation from the more recent past. The death of

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Just like the “unnamed and countless toddlers” Herod ordered killed “to make sure that the Child Jesus would never reach maturity,” Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory said Jan. 13, “innocent children killed in the quest for inclusive, social justice have also paid the ultimate price for freedoms enjoyed by Americans today.”

He invoked the Christmas feast of the Holy Innocents celebrated by Catholics worldwide in his homily at the Archdiocese’s annual Mass honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Southeast Washington.

“We consequently have no idea of the number or the names of those little ones that we today honor as the martyred saints whom the Church now calls the Holy Innocents,” he told the capacity crowd of about 400 worshippers.

“Nonetheless we do know the names and the number of the innocent children who were brutally murdered as a defining part of the civil rights movement at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963,” said the cardinal, wearing clerical garb embellished with colorful African textile.

People can celebrate the legacy of the slain civil rights leader and draw strength and inspiration from the witness of people, young and old, he said.

The sobering history lesson was the focal point of the annual commemorative event coordinated by the Washington Archdiocese’s Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach and celebrated this year at a parish known as “the church on the hill” for its lofty perch overlooking Washington. The Mass came two days ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, observed on the third Monday of January.

This year’s holiday, Jan. 15, fell on his actual birthday.

A multiracial, intergenerational gathering was united in a joyous, emotionally moving celebration. Worshippers sang, clapped and swayed to spirited music delivered by the archdiocese’s

LEGACY

By Joann Stevens

still inspire, he said. “The memory of their premature deaths encourages all of us to develop our own character according to the highest principles of our nation and our religious heritage.

“We are all prodded to take up Dr. King’s admonition and warning that we live lives of integrity that are capable of withstanding the withering scrutiny of public examination -- as well as the even more perfect summons of God himself who, as the first reading (I Samuel 3:3b-10, 19) reminds us, calls each of us incessantly.”

The cardinal concluded by highlighting the ultimate goal of the U.S. civil rights movement – “to establish a society of justice” based on content of character, not by one’s skin color, age, gender, national origin, language, IQ, political opinion or any other attribute.

“Dr. King himself paid the ultimate price of real leadership” to realize his dream, the cardinal said, “as have countless others not only in the civil rights movement” but also while fighting struggles for human dignity around the world.

The civil rights leader was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, April 4, 1968, when he was 39 years old.

Josephite Father Cornelius Kelechi Ejiogu, recently assigned to lead Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, welcomed all and thanked clerical leaders including Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr., a concelebrant at the Mass, for their pastoral care in helping “this young pastor from Lagos, Nigeria, realize promises and dreams.”

The service ended with all rising to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song often called the Black national anthem.

Afterward, people attending the Mass commented on the importance of Rev. King’s legacy to freedom and civil rights today and expressed appreciation for Cardinal Gregory’s reflections that used history to give context to that legacy and current events.

“Dr. King supported inclusiveness and togetherness in a peaceful way,” said Jazmin Brabson, 27, of Washington. “Everyone just getting along.”

“Martin Luther King, Jr. means everything to me, and probably to most Black Americans,” noted Kelvin Fowler Jr., 31, a visitor from Los Angeles who attended Mass with Jazmin. “It was his dream that we be here (as united people) today. I like the way the cardinal emphasized that inclusiveness, and hearing how children, babies, helped advance freedom.”

Mary Leibolt, a parishioner at St. Andrew Apostle Parish in Silver Spring, Maryland, said she loves visiting and working with people at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The parish community “is a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and dream” and “a model of people working together,” she told the Catholic Standard, Washington’s archdiocesan newspaper.

Joann Stevens writes for the Catholic Standard, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington.

41

At Mass marking Rev. King’s legacy, cardinal highlights the witness of children

JANUARY 25, 2024

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

OUR FAITH

42

Understanding the significance of Ash Wednesday

By D.D. Emmons (OSV News) -- Among the beautiful, meaningful and solemn ceremonies of the Catholic Church is the gathering of the faithful on Ash Wednesday.

This special day begins our Lenten journey. It is the start of 40 days of prayer, penance and almsgiving as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. But why does Lent begin on a Wednesday, and what is the significance of ashes?

Ash Wednesday was added to the liturgical calendar well after the 40-day penitential season of Lent became the norm throughout the Latin Church. Lent, in turn, was universally established only after the early Church sorted out the date of Easter. The issue was clarified at the famous Council of Nicaea in 325 where “all the Churches agreed that Easter, the Christian Passover, should be celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon (14 Nisan) after the vernal equinox” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1170). The vernal (spring) equinox generally falls on March 21, thus the date of Easter in the Western Church can occur anytime between March 22 and April 25.

The word “Lent” is from an Old English term meaning “springtime,” and by the second century the term was being used to describe the period of individual fasting, almsgiving and prayer in preparation for Easter. Among the Christians of the first three centuries, only those aspiring for baptism -- the catechumens -- observed a defined period of preparation, and that time lasted only two or three days.

The idea of Lent being 40 days in length evolved over the next few centuries, and it is difficult to establish the precise time as to when it began. Among the canons issued by the Council of Nicaea, the Church leaders, in Canon Five, made reference to Lent: “and let these synods be held, the one before Lent that the pure gift may be offered to God after all bitterness has been put away, and let the second be held about autumn.” The language of this canon seems to validate that Lent, in some fashion, had by the fourth century been established and accepted by the Church. While the exact timing and extent of Lent both before and after the Nicaea council is unclear, what is clear from historical documents is that Christians did celebrate a season of Lent to prepare themselves for Resurrection Sunday and used a variety of ways to do so.

That Lent evolved into a period of 40 days in length is not surprising, as there are numerous biblical events that also involved 40 days. Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving instructions from God for that number of days (see Ex 24:18); Noah and his entourage were on

the Ark waiting for the rains to end for 40 days and 40 nights (Gn 7:4); and Elijah “walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb” (1 Kgs 19:8).

Mostly, though, the 40 days of Lent identify with the time our Lord Jesus spent in the desert fasting, praying and being tempted by the devil (Mt 4:1-11).

“By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert” (Cat-

echism, No. 540).

There is, therefore, evidence that by the end of the fourth century Christians were participating in a 40-day Lent before Easter. The dilemma now became how to count the 40 days. In the Latin Church, six weeks were used to identify the Lenten period, but one doesn’t fast on Sundays, so six Sundays were subtracted and there remained only 36 fasting days.

In the early seventh century, St. Pope

Top photo, cups containing ashes are seen prior to an Ash Wednesday Mass at Holy Cross Church in Nesconset, N.Y., Feb. 22, 2023.

—OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz

Above, A student prays during an Ash Wednesday Mass March 2, 2022, at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, N.Y. —CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz

Gregory I the Great (pope from 590-604) resolved this situation by adding as fast days the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday before the first Sunday of Lent. Thus, the Lenten 40-day fast, or the Great Fast as it was known, would begin on a Wednesday.

Initially, people fasted all 40 days of Lent. They ate one meal a day and only an amount of food that would sustain survival. But the Church taught, and people believed (then as now), that fasting is not about what we eat, it is about changing hearts, interior conversion, reconciliation with God and others. It’s about living in an austere way, giving from our abundance to the poor. St. John Chrysostom (347-407) explained it this way: “Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works! … If you see a poor man, take pity on him! If you see an enemy, be reconciled to him! If you see a friend gaining honour, envy him not! If you see a handsome woman, pass her by!” (Homily on the Statutes, III.11).

The Church has long used ashes as an outward sign of grief, a mark of humility, mourning, penance and morality.

The Old Testament is filled with stories describing the use of ashes in such a manner. In the Book of Job, Job repented before God: “Therefore, I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes” (42:6). Daniel “turned to the Lord God, to seek help, in prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes” (Dn 9:3).

Jonah preached conversion and repentance to the people of Nineveh: “When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes” (Jon 3:6). And the Maccabees army prepared for battle: “That day they fasted and wore sackcloth; they sprinkled ashes on their heads and tore their garments” (1 Mc 3:47).

Ashes were imposed on the early catechumens when they began their preparation time for baptism. Confessed sinners of that era were also marked with ashes as part of the public penitential process. Other baptized Christians began asking to receive ashes in a manner similar to catechumens and penitents. Christian men had ashes sprinkled on their heads while ashes were used to trace the cross on the forehead of women. Thus, the use of ashes as the sign of penance, in readiness for Easter, was becoming a Churchwide practice.

Like all those before us, we unhesitatingly embrace this invitation to sanctity, this time to turn away from sin. We are part of that great cloud of witnesses who through all the ages have donned the ashes, publicly acknowledging that we are Christians, Christians who have sinned and seek to repent. We acknowledge that “we are dust and to dust we shall return.”

D.D. Emmons writes from Pennsylvania.

50 “I ___ in God, the Father Almighty…”

54 Suppose 57 Cavalry 58 Heroine at Jericho 59 ___ de vivre 60 Zhivago’s love 61 Delight 62 Some annexes 63 Flat circular plate 64 This, that or the ___ 65 Direction from the Jordan to Bethlehem 66 Narrow strip of wood DOWN 1 Medieval concept that was never an official teaching of the Church 2 Whatsoever 3 Measured 4 Magician’s word 5 Musical instrument 6 This was rolled in front of Jesus’ tomb 7 Alcoholic drink 8 Animal of sacrifice in the Old Testament 9 Early landing place 10 Drink 11 By this date 12 Perky 13 Picnic intruders 21 Seductively beautiful woman

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Jubilee entry “___ us, O Lord…”

Chooses Roman emperor who persecuted Christians Winter stuff Insect The Diocese of Calgary is here (abbr.)

Insult Commandment word You, to Pierre Appraise Paul was upset because of the number of these in Athens “On the third day he ___ again” Highest mountain Gloomily dark Handles, as a sword Sixth plague Online letters Vice follower Make real Pertaining to Mars Dead Sea component Sovereign Gap “There is neither ___ nor Greek” (Gal 3:28)

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OUR DIOCESE

ACROSS 1 Sanctuary ___ 5 Title for a priest (abbr.)

9 Confirmation gesture 14 Road to the Colosseum 15 Trac II successor 16 “He is ___!”

17 Spouse 18 There was none at the inn 19 Fail at a premature stage 20 Grace 22 Blueprints 23 Give me that ____ religion 24 Jesus slept in one 25 Globe 26 Cream 30 Used to be 33 The day of the Resurrection 36 Paul and Silas’ prison doors after the earthquake 37 Catholic vaudevillian, Gracie ___ 39 It follows Dan 40 Opening 41 Alphabet string 42 “He has been ____.”

(Mk 16:6) 44 Birds of the air don’t do this, as said in the Sermon on the Mount 45 It can be used as a sunshade 47 Poverty or obedience, for example 49 The ___ Coin

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Crossword Puzzle

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66 www.wordgamesforcatholics.com

Answers can be found on page 47

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Jenna Marie Cooper, who holds a licentiate in canon law, is a consecrated virgin and a canonist whose column appears weekly at OSV News. Send your questions to CatholicQA@osv.com.

Why does the Christmas season end with Jesus’ Baptism?

Q

I always thought the end of the Christmas season came with Epiphany and the arrival of the Magi. A priest recently said the season doesn’t end until a week later with the Baptism of the Lord. What has the baptism of the adult Jesus got to do with Bethlehem? If it’s supposed to mean a “turning of the page” in the life of Jesus, wouldn’t a better event be the last scriptural appearance of the Holy Family, “the finding of the child Jesus in the temple” (Lk 2:48)?

(City withheld, Indiana)

A

In our current liturgical calendar the last day of the Christmas season is indeed the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Normally, that feast is celebrated on the Sunday after Epiphany – although if Epiphany falls on January 7 or 8, as it does in 2024, the Baptism

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of the Lord is celebrated the following Monday.

But it is interesting to note that traditionally, February 2, the Feast of the Presentation, was considered the end of the Christmas season. We can still see a few echoes of this even today. For instance, the Vatican keeps their Christmas tree and creche up in St. Peter’s square until

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February 2. And the blessing of candles customarily celebrated right before Mass for the feast of the Presentation opens with a prayer stating: “Brothers and sisters, forty days have passed since the solemnity of Christmas. Today the church once again prepares to celebrate the day in which Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple.”

I would say that Jesus’ baptism truly is a major “turning of the page” in Jesus’ life, since, after his baptism at the hands of John the Baptist his quiet, hidden life became one of public ministry, wherein he actively sought to make his saving mission and identity known and proclaimed.

Further, the Baptism of the Lord, the Epiphany, and – perhaps surprisingly – the wedding at Cana all connect thematically, as they are all about the first manifestations of Jesus as the son of God. That is, they are all instances where the glory of Jesus’ divine nature, which would ordinarily have been obscure and hidden to human eyes during Jesus’ early life, is revealed.

At the Epiphany, (a word which literally means “revelation”) Jesus’ glory is revealed to the Magi. Traditionally, the church sees the Epiphany being, by

extension, Jesus’ manifestation to “the nations,” or to all the other non-Jewish pagan cultures of the world who would not have previously known the one true God. In the narrative of Jesus’ baptism, it is revealed that he is the beloved Son of God. (See Mk 1:9-11 and Lk 3:22). The wedding at Cana is the setting for Jesus’ first public miracle, when he changes water into wine at Our Lady’s request, (see Jn 2:1-11) and as such was a revelation to Jesus’ friends and disciples of his glorious divine power over nature.

The connection between these seemingly unconnected events in the life of Jesus is particularly clear and intuitive to those of us who pray the Liturgy of the Hours. For example, the Magnificat antiphon for Evening Prayer for the Epiphany is: “Three mysteries mark this holy day: today the star leads the Magi to the infant Christ; today water is changed into wine for the wedding feast; today Christ wills to be baptized by John in the river Jordan to bring us salvation.”

All these scriptural manifestations, even those that occurred decades apart, harken back to Bethlehem, because the birth of Christ was the first and most radical revelation of the Incarnate Word of God.

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How do your motivations, actions, and example at work differ from your motivations, actions, and example at Church?

Explore the benefits of applying the basic tenets of faith – teamwork, perseverance, trust, and goodwill – at work while connecting with the funny and heartfelt lessons learned along the way by Kevin Lowry.

An inspiring exploration of this common and continuous struggle of finding our balance of faith and work.

“An important reminder that we are called to live our faith in our work, ... keeping Christ at the top of one’s priorities, regardless of the demands of the workplace.” – J. David Karam, president, Wendy’s International, Inc. These books are available at www.osvcatholicbookstore.com

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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ARTS & MEDIA

Most of us were never taught how to handle money, let alone what God has to say about it. Just thinking about money makes us worried and anxious. If you’re tired of living in debt, stuck in the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, stressed out when emergencies pop up, and wish you could be more generous, Jonathan and Amanda Teixeira are here to help.

How to Attack Debt, Build Savings, and Change the World Through Generosity is your step-by-step guide to gaining control of your money so that, as a Catholic, you can live your life in freedom and generosity according to God’s will. The Teixeiras make learning about your finances not just informative and helpful but fun and entertaining. Among other topics, they cover: • What money really is – and why you should care about it as a Catholic • Common mistakes people make that keep them in debt • The key to gaining financial momentum (hint, it’s not a bigger income) • How to get the financial results you want while actually enjoying your life • A financial blueprint you can use to get out of debt, build savings, and live generously • The Teixeiras will walk you through a proven, practical strategy for managing your money, no matter what your circumstances. You’ll hear stories from individuals and families who have applied the Teixeiras’ method and changed their lives. Ultimately, Jonathan and Amanda will equip you to pursue financial freedom for yourself and your family – and change the world while you’re at it.

Making Peace with God and Money This is not a book about how to make money ... or spend it ... or give it away.

Rather, it’s a book for anyone who has ever worried about money – about having enough – and it begins with a startling assumption: No amount of money will ever lift your anxiety.

This may seem counterintuitive, but in Gregory Jeffrey we have an experienced guide.

With degrees in business and theology, he has worked as a development consultant for two decades. In meeting with thousands of individuals to ask their support for various causes, he discovered – to his amazement – that some people with millions worried constantly about money; others, of very modest means, seemed immune.

Apparently, making peace with money entails something other than money.

This insight led Jeffrey to question every fundamental assumption we hold about wealth. With warmth, humor, and a writing style as simple as the Dakota prairie he grew up on, he offers a unique perspective on the interplay between our spiritual and financial lives. Rich with images, stories, and compassion for the millions now burdened with financial worries, Jeffrey teases out what is required of the soul who wishes to be free of anxiety.

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Books of the Month

Kenneth “Ken” Genco, SFR, ABR

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JANUARY 25, 2024

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46 ARTS & MEDIA

Movie Review

The Boys in the Boat

By John Mulderig NEW YORK (OSV News) – In 2013, Daniel James Brown published a non-fiction novel about a Depression-era crew team that had an unlooked-for rendezvous with destiny. The book went on to become a bestseller and now arrives on screen, under George Clooney’s direction, as “The Boys in the Boat” (Amazon MGM).

This rousing sports drama promotes positive values and showcases a sweetly innocent romance. As a result, many parents may consider it acceptable for older adolescents, a smattering of off-color language notwithstanding.

Mark L. Smith’s script centers on isolated, cash-strapped University of Washington student Joe Rantz (Callum Turner). Mainly attracted by the job that accompanies membership on the squad, he tries out for a seat in the school’s eight-man junior varsity scull.

Joe survives the grueling regime supervised by the school’s taciturn, harddriving rowing coach, Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton), and his good-humored assistant, Tom Bolles (James Wolk). He also rekindles his relationship with his childhood sweetheart, Joyce Simdars

(Hadley Robinson), while developing a friendship with the Huskies’ master boatbuilder, George Pocock (Peter Guinness).

Smith paces the movie’s races with gentle comedy and understated emotional complications. And his screenplay emphasizes, through all the vicissitudes Joe and his confreres endure, that dedication and cooperation can sometimes yield spectacular results.

Within the context of Joe and Joyce’s old-fashioned courtship, their first kiss comes across as a matter of considerable significance. Thus, although they are portrayed in a brief scene lying down together and snuggling, both remain fully clothed and there is no suggestion that they are doing anything more than getting comfortable.

The film contains a few profanities, at least one milder oath and a couple of instances each of crude and crass language. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 – parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

John Mulderig is media reviewer for OSV News. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @JohnMulderig1.

In case you missed it: The Holdovers

Dominic Sessa, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Paul Giamatti star in a scene from the movie “The Holdovers.” —OSV News

JANUARY 25, 2024

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

photo/Seacia Pavao, Focus Features

2024 GOLDEN GLOBES WINNERS

Paul Giamatti Best Male Actor – Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy Da’Vine Joy Randolph Best Supporting Female Actor – Motion Picture

By John Mulderig NEW YORK (OSV News) – Partly a conversion story, partly a study in the triumph of friendship over isolation, the moving comedy-tinged drama “The Holdovers” (Focus) is an intimate, beautifully crafted film. Yet, while this masterful picture’s appeal might potentially

extend to teen moviegoers, a barrage of off-color language precludes recommendation for them.

Director Alexander Payne’s emotionally pitch-perfect production is set at Barton Academy, a fictional New England boarding school, during the Christmas vacation of 1970-71. The plot focuses on three individuals stranded on

campus over the holidays after the vast majority of instructors and pupils alike depart to celebrate with their loved ones.

As punishment for flunking a student with powerful connections, meanspirited and universally disliked ancient history teacher Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) has been given the task of supervising the handful of kids who will not be going home. A change of circumstances, however, soon reduces the number of his charges to one.

Paul’s sole remaining protege is Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa). Intellectually promising but troubled and mildly rebellious, Angus, at the outset, has as low an opinion of Paul as everyone else. He’s also grappling with his unsettled family situation in the wake of his mother Judy’s (Gillian Vigman) remarriage.

Rounding out the marooned trio is Barton’s head cook, Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph). Deeply bereaved by the recent death of her son Curtis, a casualty of the war in Vietnam, Mary has chosen to spend the yuletide alone rather than face interacting with relatives and friends.

As they get to know each other

better, Angus gradually realizes that there’s more to Paul’s personality than the bitterness and petty cruelty he generally projects. Egged on by sensible, well-grounded Mary, meanwhile, Paul softens, relaxes and becomes attuned to insecure Angus’ vulnerability.

Paul’s acrid initial outlook on life includes aggressively stated atheism.

But, far from vindicating this lack of belief, the narrative instead implicitly endorses the critical skepticism with which it’s met by the obviously religious Mary, who serves as the tale’s moral compass throughout.

Warm in tone and rich in insight, screenwriter David Hemingson’s script delves into the personal complexities lying below the surface of the story as he charts the formation of an unlikely but firm bond among the principals. Striking performances, especially from Giamatti, further enhance “The Holdovers,” helping to make it a touching and memorable experience for viewers.

The film contains glimpses of pornography, drug use, more than a dozen profanities, a few milder oaths, frequent rough and crude talk and an obscene gesture. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R – restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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JAN

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JAN

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Hispanic Bible School - The Diocese of Metuchen will launch a new cycle of the Hispanic Bible School on Jan. 25 with the introduction of Sacred Scriptures Besides the introduction course, the School offers eight basic courses including: Pentateuch, Historical Books, Prophets, Sapiential Literature, Gospels, Pauline Letters, Catholic Letters, and Revelation. Each course has seven sessions and costs $35 per person. Classes will be held from 7 to 9 p.m, at St John Neuman Pastoral Center, Piscataway. For more information and registration visit: www.diometuchen.org/taller-de-bibliaintroduccion or contact lescobar@diometuchen.org or 732-243 4573 Live webinar, Family Ministry Fair, 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Zoom. Sponsored by the diocesan Office of Family Life. Four speakers will address how a parish can grow their outreach to families and minister to marriages. For more information contact Cristina D’Adverso-Collins, diocesan director, Office of Family Life at cdaverso@diometuchen.org

FEB

Retrouvaille weekend – Retrouvaille is a lifeline to help couples heal and renew their marriages, sponsored by the diocesan Office of Family Life. The program consists of a weekend experience for married couples (no group discussions) with four follow-up sessions. The upcoming weekend is February 2 - 4, 2024. All inquiries are confidential. For information contact Rich Colasuonno 732236-0671 or Annette Colasuonno 732-672-0748 or email 3024@helpourmarriage.org.

FEB

First Friday Holy Hour and Social, 7:30 p.m., Saint Peter the Apostle University and Community Parish, New Brunswick. Sponsored by the diocesan Office of Vocations.

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FEB

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Catechist Formation Day – sponsored by the diocesan Office of Discipleship Formation for Children, this event will focus on Catechesis on the Eucharist: Teaching children and adolescents about the Source and Summit of the Faith. Participants will explore best practices on how to teach children about the Eucharist. Sister Lorraine Doirin and Father James De Fillipps will share their years of personal experience and passion for leading others to Christ. To register visit: https://diometuchen.org/ discipleship-formation-for-children.

FEB

St. Timothy Awards – sponsored by the diocesan Office of Youth & Young Adult Ministry, the event to be held at 11 a.m in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. Bishop James F. Checchio will honor high school juniors and seniors from the diocese with the St. Timothy and St. Teresa of Calcutta Awards.

FEB

Cathedral Lecture Series – All are welcomed to the third in a three-part series of lectures hosted by the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen: “The Beauty of the 21st Century Mass and other Liturgies” with Very Rev. Jeffrey M. Calia, C.O., Provost, The Oratory of Saint Phillip Neri, Raritan. The Saturday morning session will begin with breakfast following the 8 a.m. Mass and runs until 11:30 a.m. with a coffee break. For more information, please contact the Cathedral Office at 732-548-0100.

There is no cost to attend these workshops.

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DIOCESAN PROGRAMS Eucharistic Adorers Wanted The Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, Raritan, is looking for adorers to sit with the Blessed Sacrament Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is also being offered the third Thursday of each Month (Night Vigil) from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Anyone interested in signing up should visit https://blessedsacramentshrine.com/.

AROUND THE DIOCESE

Feb. 15, 6 – 7:30 p.m., Lenten Night of Recollection and Soup Supper, sponsored by St. Bar-

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY - GRAPHIC DESIGNER The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, seeks a Graphic Designer to assist with the layout and design of its publication. The ideal candidate will have Adobe InDesign and Photoshop experience in a PC environment, be familiar with all aspects of electronic publishing, be well-organized and reliable, and have a proven track record of meeting deadlines.

Interested candidates should forward their resume to hr@diometuchen.org.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY - FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER The Diocese of Metuchen is seeking a freelance photographer to cover important events throughout the diocese, including the Bishop’s pastoral visits. The ideal candidate will assist the Office of Communications and Public Relations, as well as The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the diocese, in telling the story of the diocese and its partners. Interested candidates should contact Jerry Wutkowski at communications@diometuchen.org.

Ash Wednesday Feb issue “Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy.”

Pope Francis Call Mary Gregory for advertising at 732-529-7934 or send an email to mgregory@diometuchen.org

Crossword Puzzle Answers: L A M P M S G R A L A P A A T R A R I S E N I T E R M A T E R O O M A B O R T B L E S S I N G D R A F T S O L D T I M E B O A T O R B L O T I O N S W A S E A S T E R O P E N A L L E N H O S I N T R O R A I S E D S O W S T U V V O W P A R A S O L L O S T B E L I E V E A S S U M E H O R S E M E N R A H A B J O I E L A R A E L A T E E L L S D I S C O T H E R W E S T S L A T www.wordgamesforcatholics.com

That’s what’s missing from The Catholic Spirit!

Send your ideas for stories about your parish or school to mmorrell@diometuchen.org.

We’ll be glad you did!

JANUARY 25, 2024

Jan. 28, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., blood drive, Our Lady of the Mount Parish, Warren, sponsored by the parish Wellness Ministry. To make an appointment visit www.nybc.org/drive. Sponsor code: 08726. Call 1-800-933-2566.

Feb. 29, 1 – 7 p.m., Blood drive conducted by New Jersey Blood Services in Most Holy Redeemer Parish, Old Bridge-Matawan, in Desmond Hall. For an appointment, call 1‐800‐933‐2566 or visit www.nybc. org/drive. The sponsor code is 10712. Visit www.mhrparish.org or call 732-566-9334 for further details.

DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

St. Joseph Church, 8 West Main St, Mendham, seeks Director of Religious Education.

This is a P/T position with a competitive salary.

Responsibilities include: Develop, implement, and direct faith formation curricula.

Plan and facilitate the sacramental preparation program.

Qualifications include: Must be a fully initiated, practicing Catholic in good standing.

Must have a Religious Education certificate or be willing to obtain one.

A bachelor’s degree in theology or related field is a plus. Computer skills and organizational skills are essential. Proficient in Access, Word, and Excel.

Qualified candidates should forward resume & cover letter to: jcronin@stjoesmendham.org

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Lectio Divina A meditative reading of a short Scripture passage; no experience or preparation are required. Program began Sept. 18 and is being held two Thursdays per month on Zoom at 6:30 p.m. For details contact Cristina D’Averso-Collins, diocesan director, Office of Family Life at cdaverso@diometuchen.org

tholomew Parish Altar Rosary Society, East Brunswick including time for private prayer, reflection by Lori Albanese, JCL, Mass and soup supper following. Fee $7 for soup supper only. Call Nellie at 732-207-9786 for soup reservation. Visit stbartseb.com for more details.

SELLING YOUR HOME? Willing to buy your home or townhouse in as-is condition. Quick 30 day cash closing.

I’m a Licensed realtor in the State of NJ. Eugene “George” Pantozzi 908-392-2677 (call or text) georgepantozzi@hotmail.com

OUR DIOCESE

DIOCESAN EVENTS

48 OUR DIOCESE

INDIANAPOLIS | JULY 17-21, 2024

JANUARY 25, 2024

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Our Diocesan Pilgrimage with Bishop James F. Checchio

This historic 5-day gathering of missionary disciples will be a new Pentecost, a powerful anointing and personal commision to invite others to know Christ

DIOCESAN PILGRIM PACKAGES STARTING AT

$1,189

Price reflects an early booking discount of $100 for registrations made before January 31, 2024 Price does not include optional group travel air package

PLEASE SCAN THE QR CODE FOR MORE INFORMATION

or visit www.diometuchen.org/nec2024 to access the secure registration site

THE DIOCESE OF METUCHEN'S PARTICIPATION IN THE 10TH NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS IN INDIANAPOLIS IS BEING ORGANIZED BY THE SECRETARIAT FOR EVANGELIZATION AND COMMUNICATION Registration and Travel Assistance is provided by Corporate Travel | 866.468.1420 nec@ctscentral.net