The Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, was filled Sept. 19-21 with hundreds of faithful searching for the healing and forgiveness that comes from a loving God. Some 800 people, worldwide, registered for the three-day retreat offered by the John Paul II Healing Center, Tallahassee, Fla., entitled “Healing the Whole Person.” See pgs. 19-20.
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
At the end of September into October, I had the blessing of going to Rome for a visit. I always enjoy going back to visit Rome. I stay at the North American College (NAC) where I studied as a seminarian and a young priest and then, later, served as Rector. So Rome has many beautiful memories for me. During my time as Rector, 500 seminarians were ordained priests for service here in the United States and work throughout the country in parishes, but some are back in Rome doing graduate studies, working for the Holy See or at the seminary forming new priests. It is always great to have an opportunity to catch up with them and hear about their priestly ministry.
While visiting Rome, I was able to visit with our two seminarians studying at NAC – Bruce Cargill, a second year theologian from Immaculate Conception in Annandale and Jacob Miller, a first year theologian from Mary Mother of God in Hillsborough. I am grateful to pass on that both are doing very well in their formation and in forming their hearts to be more like the Good Shepherd’s. Both, also, have had a chance to meet the Holy Father and often receive his blessing at Masses or at the Sunday Angelus or General Audiences he holds weekly. Please pray for them and for all 19 of our seminarians with whom we are blessed.
Also, while there, 16 young men from the U.S. studying at the College were ordained deacons at St. Peter’s. It was a joyful, blessed day as these generous men laid down their lives and were
configured to Christ the Servant! They will be ordained priests next spring, God willing. I also had the opportunity to concelebrate Mass at the tomb of St. Peter in the necropolis of St. Peter’s with Father Andrzej Wieliczko, pastor of Holy Trinity in Helmetta, and some of his friends visiting Rome with him for his 25th anniversary of priestly ordination.
It was wonderful to offer this Mass with him and his friends, thanking God for the gift of his priestly ministry. Another Mass I had in the necropolis of St. Peter’s was with some friends of mine whom I married more than 30 years ago as a newly ordained priest. The wife, after having married her Catholic husband in the Church and raising their five children as Catholics, was received into the Church and celebrated her first Communion and Confirmation at our Mass in the crypt. The joy of this couple and her friends at the Mass, at which her husband had been surprised as she told him right before Mass began, was certainly uplifting. Yes, the Rome trip had many joyful moments. I was also able to spend time with an Irish priest I got to know in Rome who has been working for 20 years at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Msgr. John Kennedy. Monsignor worked in the Congregation with Cardinal Ratzinger as a young priest and has continued his service there being recently named Secretary of the Dicastery by Pope Francis and made an Archbishop. Monsignor was ordained an archbishop while I was there, so I was able to join at St. Peter’s for the Ordination Mass along with 15 cardinals, more than 30 bishops, many priests, along with his family and friends from Ireland. It was a day for me to recall my own Ordination here as a Bishop at Sacred Heart Parish in South Plainfield and thank God for the blessings that have come to me from my service here as your Bishop. You are a blessing to me. I thought that service as Rector in Rome, helping all those young men to be priests,
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).
would be the highlight of my priesthood, but my years here with you have been a joy that would be hard to top!
Yes, my recent trip to Rome was grand, but I am happy to be back now in our beloved Metuchen Diocese. Recently, I gathered with the priests of our Diocese for our annual three-day convocation. Our priests are generous, good men, striving to meet your pastoral and spiritual needs at a challenging time. The annual convocation is a great time for us
more shepherds for our parishes, and I count on your prayers for that, as well as your asking men whom you think would be good priests to open their hearts to it! If you know of anyone who might be interested in the priesthood, you can email our vocation director, Father Tom Lanza, at tlanza@diometuchen.org.
Pray for me, too, please, even as I will be praying for you. Know of my love, prayers and gratitude for you! God bless you all.
During his recent trip to Rome, Bishop Checchio spends some time at North American College with the diocese’s two seminarians, Jacob Miller, first year theologian, left, and Bruce Cargill, second year theologian. —Office of the Bishop photo
• Reverend Patrick Ekong, CMF, new parochial vicar at Our Lady of Fatima, Perth Amboy.
• Reverend Kenneth Kolibas, from Our Lady of Peace Parish, North Brunswick, to retired status.
• Reverend Edgar Madarang, from Administrator, Saint Mary Parish, Alpha, to Pastor of that same parish, effective October 10, 2024.
• Reverend Pawel Michalowski, formerly a priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco, was incardinated into the presbyterate of the Diocese of Metuchen, effective October 11, 2024.
PUBLISHER: Bishop James F. Checchio
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Mary Morrell, 732-529-7935 ADVISOR: Joanne Ward BUSINESS MANAGER: Mary Gregory, 732-529-7934
• Rev. Slawomir Romanowski, C.Ss.R., from Administrator, St. John Paul II Parish, Perth Amboy, to Pastor of that same parish, effective September 1.
• Reverend James Tucker, from Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of Peace Parish, Fords, to Chaplain at Parker at Somerset and back-up Chaplain at Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health, New Brunswick. Formerly a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, he was incardinated into the presbyterate of the Diocese of Metuchen, effective September 9, 2024.
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On Sept. 12, Hope Through Education hosted their “2024 Hope Gala” at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone. Robert “Bob” Unanue, president and CEO of Goya Foods, Inc. was the recipient of the 2024 Hope Award. The evening commenced with inspirational words from Bishop James F. Checchio and was filled with a garden cocktail reception, student performances and heartfelt testimonials. Hope Through Education is collaborating with Goya Cares to bring the Goya Cares educational programs to the children of central New Jersey. Unanue created and launched Goya Cares, a global initiative dedicated to combating child trafficking and raising awareness of mental health issues among children and teens. This initiative supports nearly 300 charitable endeavors, programs, scholarships, and events that promote culture and benefit overall community wellness. Hope Through Education is an independent 501(C)3 organization that provides disadvantaged children in central New Jersey with scholarships to attend academically excellent, values-based schools. Pictured with the Bishop is 2024 Hope Award recipient, Robert Unanue. Also pictured is Christopher Rodriguez, Hope Scholar Alumni who delivered the testimonial, alongside his mother, Ayasmin Torres, and his brother Alexis Rodriguez. For more information visit www.hopethrougheducationusa.org Contact: info@ hopethrougheducationusa.org — Peach Photography photos
On Sept. 19, Bishop James F. Checchio joined religious jubilarians for a luncheon honoring their many years of service to God and the Church. Fifteen jubilarians were honored, though not all were present, celebrating 25, 50, 60, 70 and 75 years of service. From left standing are Sister of Christian Charity Anna Nguyen, diocesan Delegate for Religious and Consecrated Life; Filippini Sister Barbara Takacs; Sister of Christian Charity Martha Kavanagh; Mercy Sister Dorothy Lazarick; Franciscan Sister Mary Antonelle Chunka; Mercy Sister Eileen Smith; Bishop Checchio, and Very Rev. Jonathan Toborowsky, diocesan vicar general. Pictured sitting are Mercy Sister Christine Triggs and Filippini Sister Veronica Corbett. —Tiffany Workman photos
Following the Solemn Opening Liturgy of Jesus the King Coptic Catholic Church, Bishop Checchio presented the church community with a mayoral citation on behalf of the City of Perth Amboy. Signed by Mayor Helmin Caba, it bade a warm welcome to the new faith community. “May your church be a lasting sanctuary, offering strength, guidance and inspiration for generations to come,” it read. “As you embark on this new chapter, may faith, hope and love uplift all who seek its embrace, leaving a profound and enduring impact in their lives.” See full story on pg. 12. —Mike Ehrmann photo
By Christina Leslie Contributing Editor
A shower of blue confetti and happy cheering from the student body of St. James, Basking Ridge, filled the air at the announcement that the Catholic elementary school has been designated one of the nation’s Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence for 2024.
St. James was chosen as one of 356 schools nationwide, 11 of them in New Jersey, to receive the designation as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence for 2024 from U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel A. Cardona in a live broadcast announcement Sept. 23. The National Blue Ribbon award recognizes schools for either exemplary high performance or great strides in improving achievement gaps; nominations for Blue Ribbon public elementary, middle, high and K-12 schools are made by the top education official in every state and U.S. territory, or by the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) in the case of private schools.
St. James School credited its faithbased academic excellence and efforts to provide a safe, engaging and fun learning environment to nurture their emerging skills in its 22-page application for the award. Principal Suzanne Florendo stressed that teamwork is another integral
ingredient in the success of the preK-3 to eighth grade school.
“Since opening our doors in 1965, St. James School has provided an exem plary, Christ-centered education that has shaped the lives of countless students,” Florendo said. “This recognition is a tes tament to the collective commitment to excellence of our students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni and parish - past and present - who work together to make our school community such a special place.”
The principal admitted keeping the school’s Blue Ribbon award a secret from the 340-student body was difficult, but teamwork proved the key. Official notification of the win came just a week before the broadcast, giving her little time to plan a celebration, but emails to parents and advisory board members; a dress-down day during which students sported blue “Hearts on Fire” t-shirts, and arranging a link from the national broadcast with the parish livestream set the event in motion.
One last request was made by Florendo to the Home School Association, she revealed with a chuckle. “I told them, ‘All I wanted were confetti cannons.’”
A video posted on the school’s Facebook page shows a sea of students, parents, faculty, staff, administrators and visitors viewing the press conference by
Cheers and blue confetti fill the air Sept. 23 during a livestream in which the U.S. Secretary of Education, Dr. Miguel Cardona, announces that St. James School, Basking Ridge, has joined the ranks of the 2024 U.S. National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence (1, 2). Exuberant students, staff and invited guests celebrate that the Catholic school is one of 356 in the nation (11 of New Jersey) to be recognized this year. (3) From left, Msgr. William Fadrowski and Msgr. Seamus Brennan, both retired priests in residence at St. James Parish; Msgr. Sylvester Cronin, pastor; Barbara Stevens, superintendent of schools, and Msgr. Randall Vashon, pastor, St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish, Bridgewater, attend the Blue Ribbon Award announcement. —Courtesy photos
gnor Sylvester Cronin, pastor, leads the students and teachers in prayer for a blessed school year. (5) Seventh graders introduce their October saint – Blessed Carlo Acutis – one of the monthly presentations to be made throughout the year as students learn about saints and their lives. (6) St. James School holds their Walkathon for the Missionary Childhood Association. All money raised supports children in mission countries with food, medicine and resources to learn about Jesus. (7, 8) St. James School Cross County team varsity girls take first place overall at the Wild Safari Invitational at Great Adventure, and varsity boys take 2nd place. —Facebook photos
the Dept. of Education in relative order… until the name of St. James School was announced by Dr. Cardona. As the adults smiled and applauded, the students erupted in joy, jumping, high-fiving and firing off those cannons filled with blue confetti. The decibel level in the gymnasium from the exuberant schoolchildren rivaled that of a fighter jet taking off at top speed. All were treated to an ice cream party following the announcement.
St. James Parish pastor, Msgr. Sylvester J. Cronin, was present for the jubilant video reveal. Reflecting upon the win, he stated, “As I witnessed the announcement of this wonderful achievement for our school, I could not help but be inspired by the hard work and dedication of our administration, faculty, staff and by the commitment of our students and their parents to making St. James School worthy of the Blue Ribbon award. Education may be the foundation of a successful future for our children, but to be able to ground education in the principles of our Catholic faith bodes well for the future of our world at large. I am proud of our students and grateful to our teachers and administration, present and past, who have built an environment of faith, love and learning.”
The Metuchen Diocese Office of Schools issued a statement in praise of the Somerset County school, saying, “This prestigious national award is a testament to the outstanding dedication, hard work, and commitment of the entire St. James community – its faculty, staff, students and families. St. James has consistently
demonstrated academic excellence and a nurturing environment that fosters spiritual, academic and personal growth for their students… We are confident that this achievement will further strengthen the mission of Catholic education, bringing even greater opportunities for student success and flourishing. Congratulations once again to the St. James School community!”
St. James School is the eighth Catholic school in the Diocese of Metuchen to be named a Blue Ribbon recipient. Prior winners include: Immaculata High School, Somerville (1997); St. Matthias School, Somerset (2001); Immaculate Conception School, Annandale (2013); St. Augustine of Canterbury School, Kendall Park (2016); St. Francis Cathedral School, Metuchen (2017); St. Helena School, Edison (2018), and St. Thomas the Apostle School, Old Bridge (2018).
Florendo noted she and Msgr. Cronin planned to represent St. James School at the national Blue Ribbon Award recognition ceremony slated for Nov. 7-8 in Washington, but once again stressed the hard work of so many others were the keys to the school’s success.
“I am beyond proud of this whole community,” Florendo said. “I have been receiving emails congratulating me, but I tell them, ‘No, this is for everyone.’”
St. James School’s winning application is posted on the U.S. Education Department’s Blue Ribbon website at 24nj102pv_st_james_school_finalapplication.pdf (ed.gov)
The Parish Family of the Church of Saint James proudly congratulates the faculty, staff, students and families of our beloved Saint James School on receiving the Blue Ribbon School 2024 Award.
May our Patron Saint James the Greater continue to bless our children with wisdom, grace and kindness.
The Church of Saint James, 184 S. Finley Avenue, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920 saintjamesbr.org, 908-766-0888 • School: sjsbr.org, 908-766-4774
National Blue Ribbon School 2024
By Robert Christie, Correspondent
At least 35 Metuchen Diocese parishioners traveled by bus to New Jersey’s first statewide March for Life, joining more than a thousand demonstrators at the state capital in Trenton to express their opposition to the state’s abortion laws and advocate for the right to life from conception to birth.
Father Jonathan S. Toborowsky, Metuchen vicar general, represented Bishop James F. Checchio. Father Toborowsky joined Newark Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin and about 100 priests and bishops to concelebrate the Mass for Life at St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, before rally participants marched to the State House Annex for prayer and speeches.
Before the cathedral’s standing-room-only congregation and others watching via livestream Sept. 26, Trenton Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., framed his homily around the words “Duty to Protect” when it comes to protecting all human life, especially “the child in their mother’s womb, the child in the mother’s arms and beyond.”
“All human life, every human life, from conception to natural death – ours is a duty to protect,” Bishop O’Connell said.
“Today in Trenton, we in all the Dioceses of New Jersey affirm that ‘duty.’ One need not be a Catholic to express and believe it. One needs only to be a rational, honest human being. But one cannot, however, be a Catholic without that conviction rooted deep in our souls as a preeminent priority of our faith.”
He mentioned that many politicians, even some who self-identify as Catholic, advocate for abortion legislation.
“The dying cries of the innocent children call out to them,” Bishop O’Connell said.
Sister of Christian Charity Anna Nguyen of Metuchen Diocese’s Office for Religious led the Rosary, using the Luminous Mysteries. She later said she
felt it was important for her to be at the cathedral “because I realize that even though Roe v. Wade ended, lawmakers in New Jersey have been intensifying the option for abortion, even to bring it to full term and allow that to happen – that adds fuel to my desire to pray for life. … I pray the Rosary to protect the lives of the unborn and to change the hearts of our lawmakers.”
After Mass, the congregation – with contingents of high school students from around the state – marched about half a mile to the State House Annex, where Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney of Paterson opened the rally with a prayer. Participants heard speakers that included medical doctors, politicians, pro-life advocates, and at least one woman who survived a failed saline infusion abortion. Afterward, attendees marched a one-mile loop around the state capital.
Jennifer Ruggiero, secretary of Metuchen Diocese’s Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life, noted that the theme of the day was “With every woman, for every child.”
“It was energizing to see so many Catholics and people of goodwill come together in support and in prayer for women, children and families,” she said. “Pregnant and parenting moms in need are in our parishes and our neighborhoods but, in desperation, they are turning to other places for help. This event challenged each of us is to do more to be beacons of hope.”
Anita Daugherty, a parishioner at Metuchen’s Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, mentioned her long personal commitment to the pro-life movement ever since her mother suffered a miscarriage.
Rose Marie Goggins of St. Anselm Parish, Tinton Falls, said it was her first time at a pro-life rally.
“I truly believe in the spirit of today, living the life God gave us. We have no right to take anyone else’s life. God gave us this gift and we have no right to take away another’s future,” she said.
Faithful from all five New Jersey Catholic dioceses converged on the state capital Sept. 26 for the first statewide Mass and March for Life. Pictured from top, a congregation sat shoulder to shoulder inside St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, as a Mass was celebrated by about 100 bishops and priests, including Father Jonathan S. Toborowsky, Metuchen vicar general, representing Bishop James F. Checchio. In his homily, Trenton Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., reminded the marchers, “All human life…ours is a duty to protect.” Following the Mass, many from the congregation walked about a half-mile to the State House Annex carrying signs proclaiming their pro-life views. Many sheltered from the rain with umbrellas in the group’s signature blue color, where they prayed and heard speeches from medical doctors, politicians and others who professed their love for life at all stages. —Mike Ehrmann photos
By Marianne Komek, Correspondent
For 39 years, the Life Choices Resource Center has been helping pregnant mothers choose life for their unborn babies. Jo Ann Gerling, the volunteer board chair of LCRC, said, “We have served thousands of clients; some don’t come back for years, then one day proudly return with their children to thank us.”
After counseling a pregnant mom, the staff and volunteers often pray that she will have her baby. “We aren’t always certain of the outcome, but leave it in the hands of God,” Gerling said. The Christian nonprofit charity adheres to Catholic teaching, relying solely on donations. In 2023, LCRC served 353 clients.
Trained volunteer consultants counsel the women and complete a comprehensive Heartbeat International work program and testing. Guided by staff members, including a registered nurse, the consultants interact with their clients in person at their office at 503 Main Street in Metuchen and by phone or text on their 24-hour helpline: 732-516-0911. All services offered at LCRC are confidential and free of charge, including pregnancy tests and ultrasounds. They are open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
LCRC’s mobile unit serves as a moving billboard which displays their free services and telephone number. Volunteers drive near Planned Parenthood offices, abortion centers and near college campuses.
“Most abortions are now chemical abortions with the deadly mifepristone and misoprostol pills. These drugs fail to result in a complete abortion two percent
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to the FDA. Complications from chem ical abortions may include hemorrhages, infections, and rupture of undiscovered ectopic pregnancies, many requiring hospitalization or surgery,” Gerling said.
LCRC offers numerous ways to support the lives of mothers and infants:
• Referrals for pregnant moms are provided to Catholic Charities, food pantries, housing, hospitals, immigration advice, mental health services, addiction recovery, legal advice and social services.
Depending on the mother’s situation, consultants discuss adoption agencies.
• LCRC educates clients about nutrition, and provides breastfeeding education
and classes for their pregnant and postpartum clients; Gerling is a board-certified lactation consultant.
• Material aid such as cribs, car seats, strollers, diapers, blankets, Bibles, clothing and formula are provided. Mom and dad support groups are arranged, along with parenting classes. Their consultants and staff offer moral support to moms and dads experiencing a difficult time.
• Education about abortion and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is offered. Clients are helped with abortion recovery.
• LCRC encourages Natural Family Planning (NFP) for married clients who are referred to St. Peter’s University Hospital’s NFP classes. Chastity
and abstinence are emphasized for single clients.
Parishes and schools can sponsor LCRC Baby Showers and Baby Bottle Blessings fundraisers to obtain material items for needy families and monetary donations for operating expenses. Churches can obtain free LCRC banners. Call 732-516-0911 for information.
“We follow up with our clients, giving them hope, and don’t abandon them. We appreciate our donors, the churches who support us, our wonderful clergy and our volunteers. Our staff prays for them every day. LCRC is God’s ministry. We’re thankful to Jesus and his Blessed Mother for their help,” Gerling said.
By Marianne Komek, Correspondent
Joining a nationwide movement, the parish-based Pro-Life and Pro-Family Committee of Perth Amboy organized a Life Chain for an end to abortion, with prayers and a march through downtown.
“It’s important for the Church to defend the lives of the unborn,” said Denise Perez, a member of Most Holy Name of Jesus Parish.
The large group gathered Oct. 6 at Planned Parenthood on Market Street. Father Ron Machado, pastor of Most Holy Name Of Jesus Parish, prayed the invocation.
“Life is created by God, and we are his creatures and his children. So we need to respect life. When we respect life, we respect God,” Father Machado said.
He and the participants then processed nearly a mile to Smith Street and Madison Avenue. Some 200 parishioners walked behind a banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe, families pushed babies in strollers. Some prayed the Divine Mercy
Chaplet and the Rosary and sang Spanish hymns. A statue of Our Lady of Fatima was carried,
Participants in the eight-member Pro-Life and Pro-Family Committee of Perth Amboy belong to Most Holy Name of Jesus Parish and Our Lady of Fatima Parish. They meet monthly with the sup port and encouragement of Father Mach ado and Claretian Father Gilles Njobam, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish.
The committee was formed in 2022, after the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act became law in New Jersey.
“We felt in our hearts God’s call to start a movement raising the awareness and responsibility to advocate for and defend life from conception to natural death,” said Jenny Navarro, coordinator of the pro-life committee. Committee members also seek to defend family val ues, which they believe are attacked in today’s culture.
Human Life International, a Catholic organization, is in the process of certifying
October is Respect Life Month – a time given by the Church for us to reflect on our responsible stewardship as recipients of God’s gift of life! We are also reminded during October that we are called to be missionaries of the Gospel. Therefore, we celebrate World Mission Sunday in October to heighten our awareness and our commitment, especially to missionaries as well as the poor and the vulnerable they serve in missionary lands.
October is also “Learning Disability Month” as pronounced by President Reagan in 1985. A recent proclamation by President Biden also makes it the “National Disability Employment Awareness Month.”
Throughout October and beyond, we are challenged not only to become more attuned to learning more about disabilities through personal research and participation in relevant events, but to work vigorously and double down on the importance of meaningful employment for persons with disabilities.
Our Blessed Lord led the way by proclaiming the Gospel to all people.
God’s Word in the New Testament shows no trace of bias or discrimination. Whether a child or an adult; infant or elder; Jew or Gentile; slave or free; a person “abled” or “disabled,” all are called to join our Blessed Lord in living the Gospel and extending His Kingdom.
By way of example, recall those of all age groups (men, women and children) “born again” through the waters of baptism (examples: Acts 16:15, Acts 16:33, Acts 18:8, 1 Corinthians 1:16). No where do we see those with disabilities excluded from this number. In fact, Our Lord’s outreach to the multitudes included many with disabilities including the lame, the blind, the deaf, the mute, the leper and those possessed with demons. He made it abundantly clear that all are called to be His disciples.
Most especially during October we are reminded to include those with a myriad of learning disabilities in our loving outreach. Our attention must be marked by patience and hope because it is paramount that we take the time to understand correctly what another person’s learning disability is. We also need to help the person, despite their disability, to see the future with a reasonable expectation that every tomorrow will be ever brighter than today. Many of us know exceptional teachers who dedicate themselves to this daily challenge, not only in our Catholic schools and religious education programs but in our public schools
as well. We salute those who go that extra mile for our children!
Owners of companies and employers must have hearts overflowing with a special disposition toward people with disabilities. We see the fruit of this in some retail stores and businesses. But it is too often the case that persons with more obvious disabilities are not promoted or even given a chance to become gainfully employed.
Even as a priest with a very visible disability, my experience tells me that people like myself with disabilities are clearly discriminated against. This is most obvious when seeking to gain access to certain offices (doctors, lawyers, dentists, ophthalmologists). It is equally obvious when seeking access to churches, and most especially sanctuaries. My former ministry as Vice Rector of a national seminary with the obligation to attend diaconate and priestly ordinations across the country would often result in having to concelebrate Mass from a place in the congregation or in a sacristy or behind a post or beam. My present ministry continues to offer challenges, especially when asked to visit other churches. I was once invited to officiate at a funeral in a parish where the pastor assured me that the church had “handicap access.” When I arrived, I made my way up a long ramp only to be blocked by a huge step. But it only takes one barrier! Before I had the opportunity to protest, some very well intentioned men tried to lift my 350 pound wheelchair up that step only to end up ripping the power stick and wires from my chair which caused it to immediately stop working.
I know from visiting other states how insurmountable it is for the disabled and elderly to get gas at a self-serve gas station. Although there is a decal on one of the pumps at each station to alert peo-
Like many adult children who have lost their parents, I have a tendency to talk to my mom and dad when I have something on my mind. When it’s something to do with writing, I check in with my dad, especially when a column deadline is looming and I’m struggling with an idea.
Recently, I proposed, “So, what do you think about the topic of keeping your balance? You think that’s important, right?” Suddenly, a framed collage of photos began to slip from its precarious perch on a much too thin nail, and head for the floor. I was able stop the momentum with an outstretched cane and grab it before it crashed to the ground.
“Seriously?” I complained to my dad. “A simple yes would have been sufficient.”
It may have just been his enthusiasm for the topic because he was someone who consistently preached “all things in moderation,” which for him meant “keep everything balanced.” I guess I just didn’t realize how many “things” there were
that needed to be kept in balance, which, I discovered is not the same as having so many things to balance, like the circus juggler or plate spinner.
When I was raising my family there was barely time to think about balancing anything. There was just a continual momentum of trying to meet responsibilities. But as the nest began to empty, I became aware of a lopsidedness in my spiritual life, which had for so long taken a backseat to my role as a parent, especially when I became a parent who also worked outside the home.
At some point, probably through a fatherly nudge, I found myself recalling the things my father taught me as a child to help me know myself and center myself when I felt lost or disconnected or overwhelmed – to sit in silence and listen, to the sounds of life or the whisperings of God; to control my breathing and meditate on the breath of life with which God created us, and which keeps us alive; to create something, whether it be growing flowers in my garden, draw-
ple with disabilities, the fact is that one must wait a very long time before being served, if ever! My sincere hope is that New Jersey will continue to provide everyone equal access to full-service gas.
I once answered the parish phone and it was a woman who asked if the priest in the wheelchair was offering the early parish Mass that upcoming weekend. She explained that her preference was not to attend Mass with the priest in the wheelchair because people have a right to attend Mass without distractions like wheelchairs and walkers. Little did she know I was that priest!
Even in our sophisticated culture people with disabilities are too often denied gainful employment due to “optics.” Our culture is fixated on how a person looks. People with visible disabilities are often denied a decent job or employed only for menial work that is unsuited to the greater gifts and proficiencies they enjoy.
I thank God each day for His many great gifts and for the exceptional gift of the Holy Priesthood. Sad to say, however, that the Church is still not onboard with welcoming many with disabilities to ordained ministry. When all is said and done, it always depends on the benevolence of the employer or superior as to whether a person, especially with a visible disability, is welcomed into their place of work.
May we use every means possible (our voices, our social media platforms, our peaceful protests and our powerful prayers) to make the path easier for people with disabilities to follow God’s dream into the place and type of gainful employment, as well as the life they so often desire.
Father Hillier serves as diocesan director, Office of Pontifical Mission Societies, the Office for Persons with Disabilities and Censor Luborum.
ing and painting, writing poetry, playing the piano or baking his favorite apple pie.
I realized these were all things, among others, I had let slip away off the thin nail of my unbalanced life, and almost lost them, and me.
With prayer and introspection, I regained an understanding that being balanced was not just a matter of not being overly busy, but learning to let go of all the emotional and spiritual baggage I had horded over the years, weighing down one side of my life’s seesaw – the fears, the failures, the fear of failure, the hurts and grudges and, at times, the inability to forgive. Add to those, grief and losses, which often kept me feeling like I was mired in cement.
When we examine our lives, we often discover we are weighed down with many things, among them the baggage of woundedness that so often impedes our growth. We find ourselves in cycles of behavior we can’t seem to break and buried in emotional clutter. Our spiritual lives are ruptured.
Today when I am challenged to rebalance my spiritual life, I recall the words of author Anais Nin: “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”
Our life also expands when we make a commitment to letting go, to developing an interior sense of peace and calm, all of which requires the courage to look honestly at who we are as God’s children, what we value, what we are holding on to and why.
Letting go is hard, so much harder than holding on. But over the many years of my life, I’ve learned that you can’t hold on to God when your hands, and heart, are filled with everything else.
By David Karas, Correspondent
For Jay Donofrio, the new diocesan Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, there is a great opportunity to cultivate among youth and young adults a stronger relationship with God, and their faith.
“Throughout the years, I have been observing the need for Jesus in the youth’s lives,” he said. “To have God, the Holy Spirit work through me and bring about any assistance needed in the parishes within the Diocese regarding Youth and Young Adult ministry, is a blessing.”
Before starting in his new role in mid-September, Donofrio worked in the pharmaceutical industry, where he was responsible for managing complex projects and leading a group of project coordinators.
But even though his most recent job was in a secular firm, faith has been at the center of his life.
“My faith has become who I am over the years, and I strive every day to do God’s Holy Will,” he said. “I fall short at times, but I am so grateful for all that he has provided for me. The gratitude I have for what God has done in my life
has been an important anchor of my faith.”
Donofrio was born and raised in the Diocese of Metuchen, growing up attending Mass at St. Augustine of Canterbury Church, Kendall Park – where he also attended the parish school through the fifth grade, and where he now serves as a lector. He also attends the Young Adult group at St. Paul Church, Princeton, and attends Mass at Queenship of Mary Parish, Plainsboro.
He shared that he grew up playing sports – baseball and basketball, to be specific – and went on to earn a degree in health studies from Monmouth University, West Long Branch. He also created music from ages 15 to 25 and has published some songs of his own – a part of his background that resonates with youth.
“Music was my passion and a great hobby of mine for a long time,” he said.
As he settles into his new position, Donofrio hopes to accomplish a number of things, including increasing the number of youth and young adults involved in ministry throughout the Diocese. He also hopes to be a resource for youth and young adult ministers by helping them to be as effective as possible.
Donofrio said he also hopes to cultivate a love for the Eucharist, Confession and Eucha ristic Adoration among young Catholics, and to keep them engaged after Confirmation.
“Creating a bridge from Confirmation to young adulthood within the youth is crucially important,” he said. “Once the young people get confirmed and re ceive that Sacrament of Confirmation, the goal is to keep them actively engaged in the faith and continue their journey of falling in Love with Jesus.”
He is also eager to collaborate with pastors, religious, youth and young adult ministers, parish catechetical leaders, and youth and young adults throughout the Diocese of Metuchen.
The Saint James Men of Charity sponsored a Parish Ministry Fair Sept. 22, with the help of the Knights of Columbus Council #2363, BOLD Youth Ministry, and many others; the first in almost ten years. Saint James Church is blessed with about 30 active ministries, serving and engaging parishioners of all ages –toddlers, to teens, to adults and seniors. A postcard was mailed to more than 600 families, targeting those who registered in the parish over the past five years, and inviting them to come learn about ways to join in the life of the parish.
Rich Vieser, from the Men of Charity who spearheaded the event, said, “We were very pleased with the response. Many parishioners attended and expressed interest in getting involved. A lot of our Ministries will benefit from the fair and our parishioners now have a greater appreciation of all that St James has to offer. It was a great way to begin the fall season.” Al Patterson, also of Men of Charity, added, “We know that the unsung heroes of parish life like the music ministry, the ushers, altar servers
and more need more participants. We have such a strong base of enthusiastic leaders at St. James who are ready to share the joy of what they do.”
And joy there certainly was. The ministries all put thought and care into setting up their tables to best showcase their missions as visitors were treated to balloons, posters, handouts, booklets, rosaries, and homemade baked goods. John Gregor got involved with the Transportation Ministry which provides rides to medical appointments because “he knew it was such a fundamental need.” He and his co-coordinator Deborah Brievogel have been providing more than 100 rides per year.
The Ministry Fair provided an array of choices providing opportunities for parishioners to deepen their faith, become more involved in the parish, help others, and make new friends. What a joy it was to be together as a parish family.
To see the list of varied parish ministries visit saintjamesbr.org/ministries
Contributed by Mary Corbet, administrative assistant, St. James Parish, Basking Ridge.
St. James Parish, Basking Ridge, ministry fair, held Sept. 22 was the first in almost ten years, highlighting 30 active ministries that work as the “unsung heroes” of parish life. Bottom left, Soup Kitchen Ministry lists are growing, and bottom right, Father R. Ariel
Jr., parochial vicar, encourages youth to consider serving Jesus as altar servers. —Courtesy photos
By Christina Leslie Contributing Editor
Years of planning, toil and prayer came to a triumphant conclusion Sept. 21 as the Coptic Catholic community celebrated its new home in Perth Amboy.
“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice,” declared Bishop James F. Checchio at the Solemn Opening Liturgy of Jesus the King Coptic Catholic Church. The congregation, which had been worshipping in rented spaces around the state, now will call the former St. Mary Church on Center Street its permanent spiritual home.
In addition to Bishop Checchio, who attended in choir (see sidebar), celebrants of the liturgy included leaders of the Coptic Catholic community from around the world including His Beatitude Bishop Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, the Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt; Bishop Pola Shafik, Apostolic Visitor of America and Canada, and Bishop of the Diocese of Ismailia in Egypt; Jesus the King pastor Msgr. Malak Saadalla, and Deacon Sabry Abdel-Malak.
The liturgy was celebrated in both Arabic chant and English scripture passages from the letter of St. Paul to the Colossians, the Book of Revelations and the Gospel of St. Matthew, all accompanied by triangles, cymbals and drums. English translations were broadcast on video screens erected
on columns throughout the church to assure all might worship together.
During his remarks, Msgr. Saadalla thanked the scores of individuals and groups instrumental in establishing the parish, saying, “It was a dream for our people to find a place we can pray and be open to others attracted to our rituals and firm traditions… We are not celebrating the building, not celebrating the walls, but celebrating the great gift of a home for prayer.”
Patriarch Bishop Sidrak issued a challenge to the congregation. “From now on, we are going to talk about the future, not the past,” he said. “Our faith, and our future, is in Jesus Christ. We have to be an active, creative witness to Christ in everything we do.”
According to the church’s website, the Coptic Catholic Church in New Jersey has been served by priests from the Church of Brooklyn for more than 30 years in Old Bridge and for more than nine years in Bayonne until a full-time priest was appointed in 2016. The community’s dream of finding a consolidated, fixed place to worship was realized with the purchase of St. Mary Church, closed by the Diocese of Metuchen in Sept., 2015.
The renamed Jesus the King Coptic Catholic Church is affiliated with the Church under the patronage of the Diocese of Metuchen and the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate in Egypt under the auspices of Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac; its motto is “I
will build my Church” (Matthew 16:18.)
In a video on its website detailing the creation of the new Jesus the King Parish, Msgr. Saadalla noted the process to purchase the former St. Mary Church began in Dec., 2022, with worship commencing the next year. Extensive renovations were necessary to repair and update the church whose cornerstone was laid in 1903: the roof, electricity and plumbing of the church and rectory were renewed, as was the large church basement in which meetings and celebrations are held.
Despite the many faithful from around the world who contributed their funds and labor, Msgr. Saadalla reserved his highest praise for the Almighty, declaring, “God alone was leading this project, and God alone was the planner.”
Bishop Checchio presented the church with a mayoral citation on behalf of the City of Perth Amboy. Signed by Mayor Helmin Caba, it bade a warm welcome to
Continued on page 32
A joyous and plentiful congregation fills the pews Sept. 21, grateful as the traditional procession began the Solemn Opening Liturgy of Jesus the King Coptic Catholic Church (1,2,3). The painstakingly renovated spiritual home, formerly known as St. Mary Church on Center Street, welcomed a congregation which had been worshipping in rented spaces around the state. The Mass (4), celebrated by Patriarch Ibrahim Issac Sidrak, Bishop Pola Ayoub Matta and Msgr. Malak Saadalla, pastor, was offered in both Arabic chant and English. Bishop James F. Checchio attended in choir, sharing words of welcome and thanksgiving. (5) On the steps of the church, from left, are Jesus the King pastor Msgr. Malak Saadalla; Bishop Pola Ayoub Matta, Apostolic Visitor of America and Canada and Bishop of the Diocese of Ismailia, Egypt; His Beatitude Bishop Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, the Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt, and Bishop Checchio. —Mike Ehrmann photos
“IN CHOIR” When the bishop is present at a liturgical event, but does not preside, he is considered to be in attendance “in choir.” On these occasions he wears what is known as “choir dress” – a purple cassock, a surplice (short white garment) with mozzetta (a matching purple colored buttoned vestment worn over the shoulders). On top, he wears his pectoral cross on a green cord, symbolizing keeping the Cross of Jesus near his heart. Green is still considered the color of bishops, which is why on their coats of arms the galero and tassles are green. However, most bishops in day-to-day wear will wear their cross on a silver or gold-colored chain, with the cross itself tucked into a pocket. When the bishop is in choir, he is not seated at the cathedra but at some other suitable place within the Sanctuary.
By Christina Leslie Contributing Editor
Faith and fellowship were on the menu Sept. 17 as some 400 individuals crucial in the life and work of the Diocese of Metuchen gathered in The Imperia, Somerset, for the annual Pride in our Priests dinner sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.
As the lay pillars of the local Church exchanged pleasantries and renewed their bonds with the 102 active and retired priests, seminarians and religious, Knights of Columbus State Deputy Raymond Sands explained why the fraternal order hosts the event each year to honor the men who pledge their lives to take up the Lord’s Cross.
“Priests provide us with the means to receive the grace of the Lord by the expression of his sacrifice through the Eucharist,” Sands said. “This sacred act is the cornerstone of our religious nourishment. We give thanks to them and their ministry, and we are here to support them and celebrate them publicly.”
Fellow Knights and clergy expressed their mutual gratitude and respect for each of the groups in attendance.
“There is a camaraderie amongst Knights and priests,” declared James Trenchard, Past Grand Knight of the Somerville council. “This is a chance for Knights to show their appreciation to priests for all the work they do for us and the support they do for us.”
Father Peter Phan, parochial vicar in St. Bartholomew Parish, East Brunswick, called the order “very supportive,” while new deacon candidate Miguel Colon of Our Lady of Peace, North Brunswick, noted the Knights were the “order and process of what happens in our parishes.”
Knights State Advocate Scott Wil liams, a parishioner in St. Cecilia, Mon mouth Junction, said, “It is important that we show respect and gratitude to our spir itual leadership. They are here for us; to hold this dinner for them is just a no-brain er, a great way for us to say ‘thank you.’”
“They are one of the backbones of the parish,” said Father Gerry Paderon, pastor of Queenship of Mary, Plainsboro. “The Knights are always ready to help and support all of our activities. They are a good witness to the faith.”
proud to be part of the presbyterate of the Diocese of Metuchen.”
Turning his attention to the Knights at the meal, Bishop Checchio concluded, “We support you as you are supporting us. You further the Church, and we need you so much at this time. Don’t tire: Je sus is our example.”
“We are grateful for all you do all year long in parishes and institutions of the Diocese,” said Bishop James F. Checchio to some 400 Knights of Columbus and clergy during the annual Pride in Our Priests dinner, held Sept. 17 in the Imperia, Somerset (top). Center left, illustrating the four pillars of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism, members of the Knights’ Color Corps post flags at the start of the program and led the assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance. Center right, State Advocate Scott Williams presents a check to Bishop Checchio from the Knights to further his good works in the diocese. Bottom, state officers of the N.J. Knights of Columbus pose with the Bishop. —John Batkowski photos
Bishop James F. Checchio expressed his gratitude to the Knights, labeled as “the strong right arm of the Church” by St. John Paul II, for their integral assistance to their faith communities, and thanked the more than 100 active and retired priests, deacons and religious in attendance for devoting their lives in faithful service to God’s people.
“We are grateful for all you do all year long in parishes and institutions of the diocese,” said the Bishop, “and pray for you and families.” Recognizing the new priests, their active and retired brothers in faith, he continued, “I am
“We are all called to be Marian women … see others’ wounds,” Dianne M. Traflet (top photos) advised the more than 125 attendees at the second annual “Feminine Genius Brunch” held Oct. 5 in the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway. Traflet, who is a professor at Seton Hall University’s Immaculate Conception Seminary, discussed the gifts women utilize to become closer to Christ through Mary. A diverse group of attendees, one of whom labelled the day “touching and very inspirational,” include (center photo) 14 cadets from the West Point Military Academy, N.Y., and (lower photo) 15 wives of deacons and deacon candidates of the Diocese of Metuchen. —Hal Brown photos
By Anna Githens, Correspondent
St. John Paul II asked women to consider Mary their inspiration for their special gifts, and a Seton Hall University professor elaborated on those gifts at the second annual Feminine Genius Brunch hosted by the diocesan Office of Human Life and Dignity.
“Mary sees us. She sees our wounds, our imperfections, but she is going to stay with us, stick with us, and bring us to Jesus,” said Dianne M. Traflet, associate dean for graduate studies and administration and assistant professor of pastoral theology at Seton Hall’s Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology. “And we are all called to be Marian women so we, too, see others’ wounds and imperfections, and carefully we try to bring others to Jesus.”
Approximately 125 women – including 14 cadets from the U.S. Military Academy and 15 wives of deacons and deacon candidates – attended the Oct. 5 luncheon at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway.
“The word genius actually comes from Latin and it means beget,” said Traflet, whose talk formulated around an acronym she created out of the word: B for beholding, E for Eucharistic, G for generative, E for entrusting, T for treasuring – gifts that comprise the feminine genius.
For instance, she described beholding as “that way of seeing, of gazing. John Paul II said, ‘Perhaps more than men, women acknowledge the person, because they see persons with their hearts.’”
Traflet, who authored the book, “Saint Edith Stein: A Spiritual Portrait,” said that in describing Mary’s “quiet, observing look” at the wedding feast at Cana, St. Edith Stein said Mary surveyed the situation.
“She walked into the situation, she looked around and thought, ‘Something is not right, and I know how to handle it. I am going to talk to my Son,’” Traflet said. “Then she said to the stewards, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’”
“So when we, too, see a situation and think there is something not quite right here, pray to Mary,” Traflet advised.
“We think of the bitter pains of Mary standing at the foot of the Cross collaborating with God for our redemption, and Jesus’ words, ‘Behold your mother.’ Mary is entrusted to us, she beholds us, she loves us.”
Kate Kelly, president of Catholic Women of the Chapel, traveled with the West Point cadets. CWOC’s members serve as spiritual mentors to female cadets at Most Holy Trinity, the Catholic parish at West Point.
Eve Crossett, cadet in charge of the women’s ministry group in the Catholic community at West Point, along with her partner in charge, cadet Emily Maceri, also attended the Feminine Genius brunch in Staten Island last year.
“We loved it and got a lot out of it, so we wanted to do it again,” Crossett said.
“I was touched by sharing the light of Jesus, having the light of Jesus within you and radiating it to others, because I never really felt the light of Jesus back home,” said Maceri, whose friend from FOCUS missionaries at West Point had approached her. “I really felt the light of Jesus in her, and she brought me to this wonderful community who have it.”
Nicole Choi, who described herself as “not really religious,” said her mom was the religious one in the house.
“I feel like coming to West Point, maturing and developing by myself without my mom by my side, I’ve come to look for religious things to do more, like go toward Jesus a little more,” said Choi, who was raised attending St. Joseph’s in Demarest. “I feel like this event really opened up new things for me. It was a really transformative speech that she (Traflet) gave. Now I know that I want to develop my faith deeper.”
Monica Fernandes, wife of Deacon Jacinto Fernandes, Our Lady of Fatima, Piscataway, called Traflet’s talk “touching and very inspirational. It made me stronger.”
At a time when there is “so much ‘gender confusion’ in the world, it is important for us to embrace and celebrate our femininity,” stressed Jennifer Ruggiero, director of the Office of Human Life and Dignity, and Secretary for the Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life.
“The Brunch borrows its name –‘Feminine Genius’ - from St. Pope John Paul II’s ‘Letter to Women’ in which he highlights the God-given attributes endowed to us as women,” said Ruggiero. “Our hope is that the experience of this brunch – fellowship, talks and prayerful reflection – will reveal to the women present their amazing gifts and open their hearts to the Holy Spirit who longs to spark these gifts to life!”
On Oct. 1, the feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the faithful gathered in the Carmel of Mary Immaculate and St. Mary Magdalen, Flemington, for the annual Blessing of the Roses. Below left, Auxiliary Bishop Christopher Cooke of Philadelphia incenses the tabernacle with Jesus in the Eucharist. Placed next to the tabernacle is a relic of St. Thérèse which was venerated. Below center, Bishop Cooke distributes blessed roses to the congregation. Below right, this woman with a child in her arms reflects Bishop Cooke’s words that the Little Flower, “taught us so much with her child-like faith.”
—Hal Brown photos
By Susan Odenthal, Correspondent
St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, “taught us so much with her childlike faith,” Auxiliary Bishop Christopher Cooke of Philadelphia told about 75 people gathered at the Carmel of Mary Immaculate and St. Mary Magdalen in Flemington.
“On her deathbed, St. Thérèse promised to let fall a shower of roses from heaven as symbols of the favor and blessings she hoped to obtain from God for all who asked for her intercession,” the Bishop noted as he spoke at the annual blessing of the roses. St. Thérèse was a French Discalced Carmelite and, each year, the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Flemington gather for the blessing of 150 roses in a rainbow of colors, all donated by local resident James Besch in honor of his deceased mother’s devotion to St. Thérèse.
The Flemington community of cloistered, contemplative religious, who model a simple and faith-filled life, hold the blessing each Oct. 1, the feast of St. Thérèse. This year, Bishop Cooke presided at the blessing with Auxiliary Bishops Manuel Cruz and Gregory Studerus of
Newark; Father Anthony Sirianni, pastor of St. Helena Church, Edison, and master of ceremonies; Father John Primich, chaplain of the Serra Club of Hunterdon County; and Father Peter Aquino, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Newark.
St. Thérèse longed at an early age to join the convent of cloistered sisters where two older sisters had already professed vows, but she would have to wait for some time to begin her novitiate. In his homily, Bishop Cooke noted that “God chooses the weak and builds them up; he makes them strong so that people can see that it is God working through them.”
Troubled as a young girl and lacking confidence in herself, St. Thérèse talked of a conversion one Christmas, said Bishop Cooke, when “God built her up.” St. Thérèse wrote, “My way is all confidence and love,” but hers was the confidence in the mercy, love and goodness of God. She emphasized the good that comes from small acts and taught that no suffering, no issue, is too small to give to Jesus, and that nothing done out of love for God is insignificant.
“St. Thérèse teaches us the power of God’s divine grace,” said Bishop Cooke.
“Thérèse teaches us what it looks like to be open to grace, to receive grace, and to act on grace. As grace is invisible, what a blessing she gives us in the image of a flower – specifically, a rose – to remind us all of what God has done before us with his love, following us with his love, that we might live devoutly and one day reach the fullness of glorification of his love in heaven.”
St. Thérèse wanted to be a missionary, Bishop Cooke noted, but left France just once, to go to Rome, and instead lived out her life in prayer and suffering. Her profound writings came at the urging of her prioress, to occupy Thérèse’s time while sick with tuberculosis, and it was only after her death at age 24 that her wisdom was shared in a book she called “Story of a Soul.”
Shortly before she died, St. Thérèse had a vision of Blessed Ana de Jesús, beatified in September by Pope Francis. St. Thérèse said the Spanish nun said gave her confidence that she would soon be called to heaven. Blessed Ana was also a Carmelite, responsible for establishing the order in France.
Canonized in May 1925 by Pope Pius XI, just 28 years after her death, St. Thérèse is one of only four women declared a Doctor of the Church, a formal title reserved for those who demonstrate both holiness and eminence in doctrine.
In blessing the roses, Bishop Cruz thanked the Besch family on behalf of the sisters and prayed that God would “look favorably on these roses which we bless in honor of St. Thérèse. For her, the beauty of flowers was a sign of your tender care for us and the good she could do for others in your name. Grant that all who receive these roses and enjoy their beauty may experience health of soul and body and, realizing your loving concern for them, may reveal it to others.”
The service concluded with veneration of a relic of St. Thérèse and distribution of the roses.
The Carmel of Mary Immaculate and St. Mary Magdalen is located at 26 Harmony School Road, Flemington. The monastery is open for daily prayer and Mass at 7 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on Sundays. Visit the website at flemingtoncarmel.org for more information.
a priest, an archbishop and a lesson for special needs
By Jill Kerekes, Special Contributor
Speaking to a room full of parish catechetical leaders from around the Diocese, Father John Hillier, director of the Office of Persons with Disabilities, shared a personal story about his experience as a teenaged volunteer working with children with special needs.
Upon discovering that three of the children in his care had not received all of their sacraments of initiation, he was prompted to visit several local parishes in the area and speak to pastors on behalf of the children regarding their need for sacraments.
After repeatedly being told that these children were not capable of receiving the sacraments, Father Hillier craftily maneuvered his way into speaking to the archbishop in a parking lot about this situation. Eventually a benevolent pastor was found and the children, with Father Hillier’s help as their catechist, received the sacraments at a Mass celebrated by this same archbishop.
“Incredibly,” Father Hillier noted, “so many years later, we are still confronted with the same challenges.”
Father Hillier shared his story Oct. 8 in the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway, during a professional day
focused upon catechesis and sacramental preparation for children with special needs.
“Persons with disabilities have the right to prepare for and receive the sacraments and a right to formation geared according to their comprehension level,” stressed Father Hillier, who gave many examples of various situations and potential accommodations that could be made for each. He emphasized that Jesus proclaimed the Gospel to “all people with no bias and no discrimination. Jesus did outreach to those with disabilities and we are all called to be Jesus’ disciples and do the same.”
Father Hillier’s address was followed by an engaging talk by Hammonton, New Jersey, author and blogger, Kelly Mantoan. As the mother of five children, and with her two youngest diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy in early childhood, Kelly has become an advocate for parents of children with special needs.
Using her own family’s experience of parish life with two teenaged boys in power wheelchairs, Mantoan provided many examples and shared personal insight on the challenges associated with navigating church spaces. In addition, Mantoan discussed a myriad of other
examples and challenges experienced in liturgical and social church gatherings by those with many other types of special needs, both visible and invisible.
Mantoan stressed, “The Church has many wonderful teachings about making all forms of liturgy accessible to those with special needs” and emphasized, like Father Hillier, how those with special needs have a right to be catechized and participate in all activities of the Church, liturgical and otherwise.
As the founder of the ministry for Catholic parents of special needs children: “Accepting the Gift,” Mantoan shared her vast knowledge gained through her advocacy work. She related that many parents of special needs children have experienced such difficulties in their parishes that they have left the Church. The stress level in families with special needs children tends to be very high, as is the divorce rate, leading to the increased difficulty of single parenting on top of the challenges of special needs parenting.
Mantoan urged the parish catechetical leaders in attendance to think about the families with children of special needs in their parishes and noted that “just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean that they are not there.” Many do
not participate in parish life and many assume that they will run into difficulties even if they make the effort.
She emphasized reaching out to these families and asking them what they need. Mantoan noted that often times accommodations in parishes are made with the best of intentions but are made without involving the families or individuals with special needs to determine what is really required or appropriate, leading to wasted time, energy, and finances.
She also emphasized, “Parishes have so much to gain from the participation of the families with children of special needs. The presence of children and adults with special needs in the parish helps to break down stereotypes and helps to change the mindset about people with special needs. It’s all about souls and we risk losing souls when we neglect those with special needs.”
The event concluded with a presentation by Matt DeCaux, the regional educational consultant for Loyola Press, which included an overview of the many products offered by Loyola Press to aid in catechesis and sacramental preparation for children with special needs.
Jill Kerekes serves as diocesan director for the Office of Discipleship Formation for Children.
Parish catechetical leaders discussed catechesis and sacramental preparation for children with special needs during an Oct. 8 professional day held in the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway. Father John Hillier, director of the Office of Persons with Disabilities, discussed his perspective on the issue as a wheelchair-bound priest who recognizes the rights of all persons with disabilities to be formed in faith, and receive the sacraments. Below, left, Bishop James F. Checchio chats with parish catechetical leaders, while PCLs familiarized themselves with resources from religious education publisher, Loyola Press, which included works for catechists who instruct children with special needs. — Tiffany Workman photos
By Deacon Patrick Cline Correspondent
The parish community of St. Philip and St. James, Philipsburg, one of the oldest parishes in the Diocese, welcomed Bishop James F. Checchio Sept. 14 as principal celebrant for their 4:30 p.m. vigil Mass, which was also the occasion for the thirteen men of the Diaconate Ordination Class of 2027 to receive the Rite of Candidacy.
This step is the first public expression the men make as they continue their five-year journey towards Ordination.
Among the concelebrants at the Mass were Father Anthony Arockiadoss, pastor of St. Philip and St. James, and a number of the pastors and parochial vicars from the home parishes of the candidates. Their presence was a visible sign of their support for the men. Deacons from across the Diocese were also in attendance to celebrate with and welcome the thirteen men into their new role in the Church.
The Gospel for that Sunday was the familiar passage from St. Mark where Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people
say that I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah!” In his homily Bishop Checchio reminded the congregation that Peter’s reply must be our reply as believers because, “St. Peter represents all of us.”
Bishop Checchio stated that just as we share faith with Peter we also share with him the danger of complacency. “It is very easy for us to become complacent. It is easier to justify our weaknesses most times than to deal with them.” That is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the Sacrifice of the Mass are the Lord’s great gifts to help us deal with our weaknesses.
After the homily Deacon Stephen Kern, diocesan director, Office of the Diaconate, called each man by name to come forward. As the men knelt in front of Bishop Checchio he asked them. “Do you resolve to complete your preparation … to undertake ministry in the Church through Holy Orders?” And, “Do you resolve to form your mind and heart in such a way to serve Christ the Lord and his Body the Church?” After each man replied, “I do” to both questions, Bishop Checchio added, “The Church accepts
your resolve with joy. May God who has begun the good work in you bring it to fulfillment.”
The look of joy on the faces of the men as they were received as candidates by their Bishop was evident to all present. Candidate Miguel Colon from Our Lady of Peace, North Brunswick, expressed his feelings after the Mass. “ It was a beautiful celebration and the presence of our wives and family along with the priests and deacons strengthened our response to the Lord’s call.”
Jennifer Anselmo, wife of candidate Robert Anselmo, of St. Philip and St. James Parish, was very moved by the ceremony and “the fact that Robert was received into candidacy in our own parish made it very special.”
Reflecting on the unique role she and all the wives would play as wives of deacons if their husbands were ordained, “A number of the wives decided to get together over the summer to discuss what will our husbands’ ordination mean in our lives and how we can prepare for it. We have decided to continue our meetings as our husbands go through their
preparations.”
Algin Lagdameo, wife of candidate Jose Lagdameo, from the Parish of St. Francis Cathedral reaffirmed both of those thoughts; the beauty and the meaning of the rite and also how important it will be for the wives to support each other. “I am very fortunate to be very friendly with a deacon and his wife so I have been able to talk with her to help understand what it means and how it might affect our lives.”
Before the final blessing Father Arockiadoss thanked Bishop Checchio for his presence that day and for letting the people of the parish be part of such a wonderful celebration. He then invited those present to a reception after Mass in Mercy Hall.
In his homily Bishop Checchio had thanked the candidates for agreeing to become like Christ, the Servant, and for generously responding to his call. At the end of the Mass he again expressed his gratitude to the men for their commitment and especially to the wives and families for supporting them in their continuing formation.
1. The thirteen men who received the Rite of Admission to Candidacy are arrayed at the foot of the altar in front of Bishop Checchio who prays one of the rite’s prayers.
2. Wives of the candidates serve as gift bearers for the Mass. From left, are Algin Lagdameo and Jennifer Anselmo.
3. Priests from the candidates’ parishes, and deacons from across the Diocese, provide a sign of support for candidates during the Mass which included the Rite of Candidacy.
4. Deacon Stephen Kerns, diocesan director, Office of the Diaconate, proclaims the Gospel, which for this Mass was the familiar passage from St. Mark where Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
— John Batkowski photos 1
I would like to address this column to our young people, especially those in elementary school. When I lived in Italy, pursuing a doctorate in theology, I was in a restaurant one day and ordered linguini and clam sauce. When the waiter brought me the dish, I asked for grated cheese – at which point the waiter corrected me and said: “Non ci va,” (pronounced nohn chee va) an Italian phrase which means “They don’t go together.”
You see, while we are accustomed to putting cheese on our linguini and clam sauce in the United States, the Italians believe that you never mix fish with cheese, so the waiter refused to bring me what I requested.
We can appreciate this non ci va mentality. What would we say if we saw
someone putting ketchup on his morning cereal which is floating on milk? What would we say if someone was putting mustard on Jello? How would we react if someone asked for salt for their ice cream? Non ci va!
Sometimes, when we, in American society, try to mix certain things together, most people would say, “Sure, whatever you want is fine by us.” However, there are certain non ci va situations that we, Catholics, on this Feast of All Saints, should keep in mind – here I’m talking about behaviors which just don’t go together. So, after I read each pair of things that don’t mix, I want you to say “non ci va.”
• Going to Church on Sunday – being a bully to one of our classmates on Monday. Non ci va
• Studying religion each day – not showing respect to our teachers. Non ci va
• Learning the Golden Rule – refusing to let your younger brothers or sisters hang out with you and your friend. Non ci va
• Collecting a big bag of candy from Trick or Treating on Halloween and refusing to share it with others when
you get home. Non ci va
• Studying the Ten Commandments in class, then you go home, and your parents tell you to do your homework. Later, you lie and say you did it when you really did not. Non ci va
• Wanting to make the honor roll so badly you decide to cheat on a test. Non ci va
• Saying prayers at the beginning of the school day but not thinking about one word of those prayers while you’re reciting them. Non ci va
• You ask your parents’ permission to go to a dance, but you complain when they tell you “Yes, but be home by 10:30.” Non ci va
• When you go to the cafeteria for lunch, you don’t like what you see, so you throw out your whole meal except for the dessert. Non ci va
• Your parents tell you to clean up your room, but you answer them – ”I’ll do it later,” even though you have no intention of cleaning your room. Non ci va
Boys and girls, there is a thin line between being a saint and a sinner, between being a real Christian and one of
Once, during a trip to Philadelphia, I joined a guided tour of the City Hall. The Philadelphia City Hall is the magnificent blue and white edifice standing at one end of the Benjamin Franklin Partway facing the Museum of Art. It houses the various governmental offices, but it is also a work of art with many sculptures and the iconic statue of Billy Penn on top of its 500 ft. tower.
As in every guided tour, I heard much information, but the fact that stayed in my mind was that building City Hall took 30 years, and as soon as it was built, they had to start repairing it.
This is something we all can relate to. Our present monastery was built in 1972, but we have been repairing it bit by bit, room by room, problem by problem, since 2001. The latest problem to come to our attention is that the cast-iron water pipes in the basement are cracked and need to be replaced.
This ongoing process of repairing is something that invades life for us all! Even if it isn’t on such a monumental scale, we are continually repairing something, if only to clean up after the cat. We install a machine, and we have barely learned how to use it when we need to call in the repairman. We sign a contract,
those religious hypocrites that Jesus criticizes in the Gospel, between really trying to imitate Jesus so as to become “holy,” which means, being in good standing with God and his Church, and just going through the motions half-heartedly.
We celebrate this feast of All Saints on November 1. Let us be mindful that certain humans have attained the goal for which we were all created, namely, holiness, which is to say, to be in good standing with God.
On this feast of All Saints, let us pledge, then, to do our best to become saints by becoming better Christians, making an effort to be the best students, the best sons and daughters, brothers and sisters that Jesus knows we can be. After all, one day, we’ll meet Jesus face to face and ask for entrance into Heaven, but the last thing we want to hear Jesus say is non ci va because, as you may have guessed, Jesus doesn’t really care if you want cheese on your linguini and clam sauce!
Father Comandini serves as diocesan coordinator of the Office for Ongoing Faith Formation.
and before we turn around, the company goes out of business, or they cease to furnish that service. We make or buy some clothes, and in no time, they don’t fit any more. I even feel guilty about eating because it takes so much time to eat a meal that is eaten in 15 or 20 minutes!
And, of course, I go to Confession and keep confessing the same sins over and over again. At least it’s some relief when I commit them in a different style or situation! That shows that I am not completely hide-bound. I do have a little creativity, if only in my faults!
This world of ours, these souls that we are, continually keep falling apart! Physically and spiritually, there is always something that needs to be fixed, to be mended and repaired. We never seem to get something to stay as it should be.
I was thinking about all this recently (just before my last Confession?) and
there came into my mind Jesus’ words, “My Father is still working, and I also am working”(Jn 5, 17). God is not the clockmaker deity the Enlightenment proclaimed. He is a repairman, always at work to repair the ravages of sin and to bring back to its true order and beauty the world he created and redeemed. It is not surprising that the Son of God became a carpenter, a handyman who made things and repaired them. He and his Father and the Holy Spirit have been doing that since sin first entered the beautiful world and its inhabitants that they made and delighted in.
Every time that we dust the furniture, wash the dishes, file a report, help someone return to health, whether physical or spiritual, we are sharing in God’s re-creation and redemption of a fallen and wounded world. However boring or repetitive a job may be, we can rejoice
that we are sharing in God’s work of bringing that small bit of creation back to its rightful beauty. There are many forms of healing and each of them is an act of love. To bring a smile to someone’s face heals their heart, even if only for a minute, but that minute of joy is indelibly written in God’s memory and in the heart of the one who smiled and the one who brought forth the smile.
All this may seem to be little when compared to the tragedies that we hear in the news, but they are not less real and because they share in God’s repair work, they have a never-ending power. In such little ways, we share in His redemption of the world.
Sister Gabriela of the Incarnation is a member of the Discalced Carmelites order in Flemington. Learn more at www. flemingtoncarmel.org.
By Deacon Patrick Cline Correspondent
As followers of Jesus Christ, Christians recognize a need for spiritual healing in their individual lives. Sometimes these needs can also be discerned on a communal level.
Brother Patrick Reilly, a member of the Brotherhood of Hope and former director of ministry at the Catholic Center at Rutgers University, explained: “For the past several years, the Catholic Center –both the students and staff – have been asking the question how the Lord heals us. After COVID-19, this was a relevant question. The rapid decline of Mass attendance in the dioceses in New Jersey and lack of priestly vocations were hurts and wounds that show we need healing at a deep level. This motivated us to see how we could bring healing to our Church, here in New Jersey.”
Brother Jude Lasota, pastoral associate at St. Peter the Apostle University and Community Parish, said that, for about 30 years, the Brotherhood of Hope has been associated with Bob Schuchts, founder of the John Paul II Healing Center, Tallahassee, Fla. Schuchts’ book, “Be Healed: Encountering the Powerful Love of Jesus in Your Life,” seemed to a number of the staff and students at the Catholic Center to offer positive concepts for addressing their questions and concerns. After discussions with Schuchts and his staff, it was decided to try hosting the Healing Center’s “Healing the Whole Person” retreat here in the Metuchen Diocese.
Robert Lang, who headed the Diocesan team of 12 members responsible for organizing and hosting the retreat, said the planning process took approximately two years from the initial decision to schedule the event to its implementation.
“The rapid decline of Mass attendance ... and lack of priestly vocations ... show we need healing at a deep level.”
Lang and a number of the team participated in retreats offered by the John Paul II Healing Center during the planning process, both for their own spiritual development and to experience the dynamics involved.
And so Sept. 19-21, the 800 registered participants gathered in the Cathedral of St. Francis in Metuchen to experience the retreat. It consisted of evening sessions Sept. 19 and 20 and concluded with an all-day session Sept. 21.
The program provided a series of talks by Schuchts and other members of his team addressing aspects of healing the whole person by facing personal brokenness and encountering God’s love in a way that allows participants to learn to live in freedom of that love. Along with these sessions, each day offered opportunities for worship with music and prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Priests from Metuchen Diocese as well as surrounding dioceses were available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Dani Conklin, event coordinator for the John Paul II Healing Center, explained that this retreat is only offered four times a year in various locations. A day before the program begins, the center offers a program for priests. Bishop James F. Checchio of Metuchen and approximately 40 priests from Metuchen and surrounding dioceses participated in the priests’ program Sept. 18.
Father Larry Magdasoc, parochial vicar at St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Bridgewater, attended the priests’ program and said, “The reminder that priests must remain close to the sacraments, especially reconciliation, in order to be in a loving relationship with God’s people was very
came from 27 states and five European countries. Those in attendance ranged from young adults to senior citizens, married and single, priests and consecrated religious and at least two couples with infants.
Hosting an event of this size obviously required a great deal of effort and coordination for both the Metuchen organizers and the Healing Center personnel. A staff of over 50 local volunteers was necessary to deal with all the organizational issues involved to successfully stage the retreat for such a large number of participants over a three-day period. This was the first time this retreat was offered this far northeast and, initially, there were concerns regarding some potential logistical issues, but no major problems occurred.
Lang credited the success of the retreat to his team, the staff of the Healing Center and the “wonderful cooperation of the staff of St. Francis Cathedral and School. They were amazing.” He especially expressed his gratitude to Bishop Checchio for his support and encouragement and the assistance of Diocesan staff.
In banner photo, some 800 faithful gather in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, Sept. 19-21 for a “Healing the Whole Person” retreat offered by the John Paul II Healing Center in Tallahassee, Fla. Below, Brother Matthew Warnez, Brotherhood of Hope, joins with other congregants in a prayer exercise during the retreat. Participants, bottom left, many of whom spoke about the joy of the experience, included religious from a wide-variety of orders, include these sisters, bottom right, from the Community of St. John.
—Dennis Dalelio photos
While 61% of the attendees at the retreat were from New Jersey, participants
Service before, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the Healing the Whole Person (HWP) weekend, led by the team at the John Paul II Healing Center, held at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi this past September 19-21.
As a life-long Christian–I converted to Catholicism while studying at Princeton Theological Seminary in the late 1990s–I was certainly aware of the physical, spiritual and emotional healing central to the Church’s life and 2,000 year tradition, but I must admit that I had not encountered anything quite like what I experienced at the HWP retreat.
Opinions about these sorts of retreats vary. I can only speak about my own experience, of course, but I walked away from the weekend encouraged by what I heard. I may have gone into the encounter with certain preconceived notions, but I left with a much clearer sense of what I–what we, as the Body of Christ–need to do to bring healing to our world.
According Pope Benedict XVI, “healing is an essential dimension of the apostolic mission and of Christianity. When understood at a sufficiently deep level, this expresses the entire content of redemption” (Jesus of Nazareth, 176). It is this “sufficiently deep level” that I believe can serve as a roadmap for the “great springtime for Christianity” that Pope Saint John Paul II first wrote about in his 1990 encyclical letter Redemptoris Missio
In order for us to understand healing, properly speaking, we must reflect on its true meaning. There are many definitions of healing, both secular and religious, but perhaps the best definition is “an ongoing encounter with God’s love and truth that brings us into wholeness and communion.” It is no coincidence that Dr. Bob Schutts, founder of John Paul II Healing Center, defines healing in relation to “wholeness” and “communion.”
It is for this very reason the U.S. Bishops have put forth a three-year plan to revive our understanding of and devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist, for there can be no healing outside of the Eucharist. In fact, as Dr. Schutts reminded us, “the whole history of salvation is God’s intervention into the world to bring healing to our entire being.”
As Catholic Christians, we believe that the human person is a unified whole. The Catholic Church rejects dualism,
—Forgiveness & Inner Healing
by Betty Tapscott and Father Robert De Grandis, S.S.J.
which views the body and soul as separate entities. The body and soul come into existence together at conception. In fact, “The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the ‘form’ of the body” (CCC, 365).
When writing about the National Eucharistic Congress this past summer, I wrote about our historic divisions. We are a divided people, to be sure. But our divisions are more fundamental than we realize. We are broken, both individually and collectively. We long to be made whole.
As we approach another divisive election, let us be reminded that we are called to bring love and healing to a broken world. As Pope Francis recently
reminded us, “We must participate in politics because politics is one of the highest forms of charity because it seeks the common good” (emphasis added). We should strive to bring wholeness to our world, but we should always be guided by love.
Our politics is divisive. But as Christians, we are called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We are also called to forgive, for there can be no healing without forgiveness. And this, for me, was the biggest takeaway from the Healing the Whole Person retreat, namely, that the greatest impediment to our own healing is unforgiveness
Contrary to popular opinion,
by wounding another.” We all need healing, each and every one of us. But, lest we forget, as the Body of Christ we, too, participate in the healing mission of the Church. “Christ and his Church thus together make up the ‘whole Christ’ (Christus totus). The Church is one with Christ” (CCC, 795).
If we are to bring about “a new springtime in the Church,” then we must rededicate ourselves to the healing mission of the Church. We are being called to Walk With One this year, but “we can’t give what we don’t have.” For us to truly be instruments of God’s healing grace, we must first walk with Jesus. God is calling all of us into a deeper relationship with Him.
Healing is not simply something that happens to us; we must participate in our own healing. Healing, like salvation, is a process by which we come closer to God throughout our whole life as we participate in the sacraments and the grace that comes through them. We cannot earn our salvation, just like we cannot heal ourselves, but we can participate in both.
As Pope Saint John Paul II reminded us in Redemptoris Hominis, “The mission of Christ the Redeemer, which is entrusted to the Church, is still very far from completion. As the second millennium after Christ’s coming draws to an end, an overall view of the human race shows that it is still only beginning and we must commit ourselves wholeheartedly to its service.”
The call to evangelize is part of our baptismal mission. It is for this reason that Bishop Checchio is asking all parishioners to attend an Evangelization Workshop this fall. Emboldened by the past two years, and inspired by the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage/Congress, let us come together this fall, so that we might be instruments of God’s healing.
As Bart Schutts noted at the end of the retreat, “you don’t get strong by looking at the gym.” The heart is a muscle. It is also God’s “dwelling place” (CCC, 2563). As we look to 2025–the Year of Jubilee–and beyond, let us exercise our hearts by forgiving those who have hurt us and, in so doing, bring the healing power of Jesus to our broken world.
Adam Carlisle serves as diocesan Secretary for the Secretariat of Evangelization and Communication.
By Jill Kerekes, Special Contributor
The USCCB has designated the third Sunday of September as “Catechetical Sunday” and several parishes across the Diocese of Metuchen marked the day, which fell on Sept. 15 this year, with a blessing of parish catechists at the end of Mass. Many parishes also hosted a special gathering following this blessing as a sign of appreciation and as the official launch of the catechetical year in their parish religious education programs. This special recognition of parish catechists gives rise to the opportunity to reflect upon the role of the parish catechist.
In any discussion of catechesis, it is important to note that parents are the primary catechists of their children. The witness of parents practicing and living out the Catholic Faith is paramount to the formation of their children. A poor or absent witness in the home cannot be overcome by even the best of parish catechists. The efforts of a parish catechist in no way usurp
the efforts of parents as primary catechists. A good parish catechist, however, can provide an additional powerful witness and can assist parents by offering a catechetical experience in support of the formation efforts of parents.
A misconception exists that a catechist is a teacher in the same way that a math or social studies teacher is a teacher and that all teachers make good catechists. This idea reflects a misunderstanding of both the aim of catechesis and the most important quality of a good catechist. Although classroom experience and formal training as a teacher can aid a catechist in the catechetical classroom, the most important quality of a good catechist is his or her relationship with Jesus.
A top-notch classroom teacher that has no relationship with Jesus can sometimes do more harm than good in the catechetical setting because he or she does not embrace the type of knowledge needed to be a good catechist. This teacher tends to aim for ‘head’ knowledge
only rather than ‘heart’ knowledge and can mislead his or her students down an intellectual path that serves to distance them from Jesus. How can a catechist that does not desire to receive the Eucharist lead children to have that desire? How can a catechist that does not embrace the Sacrament of Reconciliation lead children to want to cleanse their souls by celebrating the sacrament?
A catechist can receive instruction in classroom management strategies and lesson planning for evangelization. Great classroom resources and catechetical texts can and should be utilized in the catechetical environment to ensure that catechists are providing an age appropriate, engaging, systematic and organic presentation of the Faith, as mandated by the magisterium of the Church. These things can help a parish catechist present a captivating lesson in a well-managed classroom, but a parish catechist that does not have the heart knowledge of Jesus cannot pass on what
he or she does not have.
Good catechists begin their preparation for their classroom sessions on their knees in prayer and embrace the teachings of the Church in their hearts and minds and long for others to do the same. They call on the Holy Spirit to work through them to provide their students an encounter with Jesus that will settle in the hearts and minds of the students when they leave the classroom. The ultimate mission of the parish catechist, and the mission of the Church, is to help their students “share in the communion between the Father and the Son in their Spirit of love” (CCC, 850).
As the busy catechetical year unfolds, let us pray that the Holy Spirit guides the hearts and minds of our catechists and that their efforts bear much fruit in the hearts and minds of our precious children.
Jill Kerekes, is diocesan director, Office of Discipleship Formation for Children
St. John Vianney Parish, Colonia
Katie Frame, along with her husband and four children, is a long time parishioner of St. John Vianney Parish in Colonia. With over 22 years of teaching experience in both public and Catholic schools, plus several years of experience as the PCL at St. Joseph’s in North Plainfield, Katie brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her new role as PCL. In addition, Katie also serves as a 2nd grade teacher at St. John Vianney School. Katie agrees with Aristotle, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”
As a teacher, PCL, and parent, she truly believes “SJV is the place to be!” because St. John Vianney Parish and School are committed to educating the minds, heart, and spirits of the children each day.
St. Edward the Confessor, Milford
Karen Kirkpatrick and her family have lived in the Milford area and have been parishioners at St. Edward the Confessor for about 10 years. No stranger to the classroom, Karen is also an 11th grade history teacher at Edison High School where she has taught for 18 years. When asked about her vision for the religious education program at St. Edward’s, Karen replied, “I hope that our religious education program inspires a life long journey of faith, knowledge, and compassion.”
Paula Kolakowski Duffy Church of the Sacred Heart, South Amboy
Paula Duffy took on the role as PCL at the Church of the Sacred Heart in South Amboy in May of 2024. Paula and her family have been parishioners of the Church of the Sacred Heart for 45 years. Her grandparents were also parishioners and even donated the statue of St. Anne that is in the church today. Paula received her master’s degree in education from Monmouth University and previously worked as the media coordinator at St. Stanislaus Kostka School in Sayreville. Paula reflects, “My goal as the parish catechetical leader is to impart a basic foundation of beliefs, prayers, and social concern in all of our students.”
Andrea Madonna may be new to the role as PCL at St. Thomas the Apostle in Old Bridge, but is not new to parish catechesis at St. Thomas. Andrea was a catechist at St. Thomas for 13 years while her 2 children were in the program, eventually accepting the position as Elementary Coordinator and working in that position for 12 years. When asked about the religious education program at St. Thomas, Andrea responded, “Our focus is on the Mission Statement of our pastor, Father Jay Johnson: ‘To make disciples, as we know, love and serve God and one another.’ This statement refers to Jesus’ desire to make each one of us his followers. By being called, formed and sent by Jesus he invites us to use our gifts, talents and our entire lives to love and serve Him and each other.
Stanislaus Kostka parish in Sayreville after several years of being a parish catechist in the program. As a busy mother of two middle school aged girls, and with nine years as a middle school social studies and STREAM teacher at St. Stanislaus Kostka School, Jenn brings a wide range of experience and creative spirit to the position. When asked about her hopes for the parish catechetical program, Jenn replied: “I am looking forward to using a combination of modern catechetical tools and increased family involvement to engage our students in their journey of faith.”
By Mary Morrell, Editor-in-Chief
Every year, on the third Sunday of September, the Church celebrates Catechetical Sunday, when those in each parish community who have been designated to serve as catechists may be called forth to be commissioned for their ministry.
Catechist is a distinct and special ministry in the Church and was instituted as such by Pope Francis in May of 2021 with his Apostolic Letter, “Antiquum Ministerium” – a ministry with ancient origins.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops notes that “Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each person plays, by virtue of Baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel. Catechetical Sunday is an opportunity for all to rededicate themselves to this mission as a community of faith.”
In the Diocese of Metuchen, a number of parishes held commissioning and blessing services for catechists, including those pictured at right and below.
OCTOBER 20
THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH A PONTIFICAL MISSION SOCIETY
https://diometuchen.org/pontifical-mission-societies
Dear Friends in Christ,
On Sunday, October 20, 2024, the Church throughout the world observes World Mission Sunday (WMS).
This year the theme “Go and Invite Everyone to the Banquet,” serves as a reminder that we disciples of Christ are to actively invite and encourage others to participate in the great work of evangelization.
Based on the Gospel parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14) Catholics worldwide are asked to recommit themselves as missionaries, through prayer, participation in the Eucharist and by supporting the charitable needs of more than 1,150 mission dioceses and countless other missions in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Pacific Islands and the Middle East.
Your generous gifts, coupled with your prayers, support priests, religious, and lay pastoral leaders half a world away. Each day, on your behalf, they invite
the poor and vulnerable to hear and live Christ’s Gospel of life and love. Their witness to Christ brings practical help and God’s love where people face food uncertainty and violence, or where local clergy and their parishioners face persecution and martyrdom. This is our opportunity to help extend the Kingdom of God on earth and to help in the work of offering salvation to those who are beginning to hear and live the Gospel.
As your partner in helping “Invite Everyone to the Banquet,” I thank you for all you do for the missionary work of the Church – every October on World Mission Sunday and everyday throughout the year.
In Christ Jesus Our Lord, Reverend John G. Hillier, PhD
Your prayers and sacrificial gifts on World Mission Sunday will support Priests, Consecrated Sisters & Brothers and Lay Pastoral Leaders who proclaim the Gospel, serve the poor and support persecuted Christians throughout the world.
Photos from left to right:
The Brothers of the Sacred Heart’s Program “Project Iconhope” extends in several mission countries aimed at supporting schools and the needy students in the countries of Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Philippines, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
1. Provincial Brother Ronald Hingle stationed in Cebu, Philippines with a few of the children involved with Project Iconhope.
2. Brother Luc Favreau with students of the students in Amatongas, Mozambique, where he serves as the School Principal.
—Photos courtesy of Brother Henry Gaither, US Mission Representative of Brothers of the Sacred Heart
Maranatha Caring Missions (MSC) in Umueje, Nigeria endeavors to continue providing free medical clinics, feed the hungy, clothed the naked, and offer services that will alleviate the suffereings of the poor as the Spirit directs.
3. Sister Regina Mgbakor, the US Representative and Director of the Maranatha Caring Mission, is shown here with the recipients of God’s mercies.
4. Neonatal Care 5. Service to the poor and the elderly
6. Cataract Surgeries
—Photos courtesy of Sister Regina Mgbakor, MSC
In memory of Eugene Horan, a faithful benefactor to our mission appeal
Pray for the success and safety of missionaries and the communities they serve.
Your financial contributions make a tangible impact on the lives of people in mission territories. Every dollar counts!
Share our mission with your friends, family, and community. Together, we can make a difference.
Explore opportunities to actively engage in missionary activities and support projects for needy people.
Metuchen’s own missionaries doing work abroad
Deacon Enock Berluche Source de Vie, Beraud, Haiti
Mr. William Mosca Franciscans In Action, Beraud, Haiti
Sister Mary Vertucci, MM Maryknoll Sisters, Anrusha, Tanzania
Father Daniel Healy and Ms. R. Carol Vaccariello
Anawim Community, Metro Manila, Philippines
Diocesan Mission Office
Reverend John G. Hillier, Ph.D Director
Mila Dionisio
Assistant Director
Tess Kint
Administrative Assistant (Part-Time) Volunteers
Patricia Murphy, Shannon White, Charlie Zammit, Barbara Peterson
For more information about Catholic Missionaries, World Mission Sunday parade to St. Francis Cathedral.
Diocese of Metuchen’s Mission Office (Back from l-r) Charlie Zammit, Ines Berluche, Mila Dionisio, Pat Murphy, Barbara Peterson, Deacon Enoch Berluche, and Tess Kint. Front and center, Reverend John G. Hillier.
Mercy Sister Lisa Gambacorto, directress of Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung, welcomed students to convocation in September with a lesson about bees. Bees are cooperative, she explained to the young women beginning a new school year. She stopped short of demonstrating the “wiggle dance” bees use to communicate, but stressed how important it would be for the girls to work together and build each other up. She knew the lesson had struck a chord when she saw the girls wearing bee earrings to school.
In many ways, that dedication to helping others be their best selves has been a hallmark of Sister Lisa’s career. She is celebrating her 25th anniversary as directress, the longest-serving leader of the Sisters of Mercy’s sponsored work high on a hill in Watchung.
It started when she abandoned her career aspiration as a dentist about 45 years ago, Sister Lisa explains. “I entered the convent right after college. I had attended high school and college with the Sisters of Mercy, and they were so dynamic and progressive – they seemed so happy. I gradually discerned a vocation while in college, and since we didn’t have religious dentists in the order at the time, I changed my major.”
“As a young sister, I had taught previously at the Mount before the community asked me to study to become a counselor,” Sister Lisa explained. “I practiced marriage and family counseling for seven years before I got a call in 1999 from a search committee asking me to come in and discuss moving the Academy in a new direction. I had no idea I would be offered the role, and I initially said ‘no.’” After some prayer and persuasion by the
Below, Sister Lisa’s little dogs, Tommy (left) and Toby, are right at home in the halls of Mount Saint Mary Academy and in the arms of the young women who, like these recent graduates, treat them as their own. —Courtesy photos
sisters, she took on the role as the calendars turned on a new century and the world fretted over ‘Y2K.’
Recognizing that the grand facility was in dire need of upgrades, including the introduction of computers and modern science labs, “I immediately started making phone calls to raise money,” Sister Lisa said. “There’s a strong alumni base of people who have a great regard for this school, and they were waiting to be asked,” she said in response to a question about how she secured needed funding. Over time, those improvements have included one-to-one computers for students, a science and math wing, new cafeteria and gym, Bloomberg Financial Market Lab terminals, and the ‘Angels of Victory’ track and field built on the side of a mountain.
“The school never looked back,” Sister Lisa said, “and after 25 years, I have a good constituency of former students who are now in positions to support the school.”
Those who work with her and stud-
By Susan Odenthal, Correspondent
ied under her say she can count on that. Sister Lisa forges personal relationships with both students and staff and is there for them in a personal way at special times in their lives. She has been there when they have gotten married at the Mount, cooed over babies and consoled them at the wakes of loved ones. “If I had $5 for every baby picture I’ve received, I wouldn’t need to do any fundraising,” she jokes.
Jacqueline Muratore, now assistant directress for faculty, curriculum and planning, first knew Sister Lisa as a student, when she was president of her senior class. “The Mount is my home,” she said fondly. “The Sisters of Mercy are a big part of that. Sister Lisa is a big part of that. She is committed to supporting the entire person of each student. The ‘sis-
terhood’ is important to her. She connects what we do every day, challenging each student to develop to her full potential, with the mission of the Sisters of Mercy.”
Elizabeth Lyndon, vice chair of the Mount Saint Mary Academy Board, similarly experienced Sister Lisa first as a student at the school. “Girls often turned to her for emotional support – she was firm but fair,” Lyndon said. “When I got the phone call asking me about my interest in serving on the board, I didn’t hesitate. The Mount is where I found my voice, where I found my value. It was important to me to see the school advance; Sister Lisa is the reason I want to give back.”
Lyndon and others describe Sister Lisa as “a force.”
Shelby Carmant, now a senior and president of the Student Council Execu-
tive Board, said, “Sister Lisa is a driving force who inspires all the students. She brings out the best in you and encourages you to always reach for the stars.”
“I love my job,” said Dr. Dorothea Kominos, chair of the science department, who came to education after a successful career as a pharmaceutical research scientist. “It is very rewarding, and one of the best things about it is Sister Lisa. She is a big supporter of STEM [science, technology, engineering, mathematics] education.”
If it all started with the influence of the Sisters of Mercy, it ends there, too. “Consciously or unconsciously, I have tried to emulate for these girls the enormous influence of the Sisters of Mercy on me, because I want that for them, too,” Sister Lisa concludes.
By Christina Leslie, Contributing Editor
The seeds to a life of service to the Lord were planted deep within the future Brother of the Sacred Heart Richard Leven, an adoptee from a Philadelphia-area orphanage. His parents’ devotion to the Sacred Heart acted as a beacon toward which he joyfully walked, and he has continued to do so for 65 years.
“I come from a very religious family,” recalled Brother Richard of Metuchen’s St. Joseph High School Hall of Fame. “I can still remember the day [when] our house was consecrated to the Sacred Heart. We also had a statue of the Blessed Mother in our backyard, and we had the daily routine of praying the family rosary.”
A fortuitous visit to his grammar school, St. Joseph in Warrington, Pa. from Brother of the Sacred Heart George Woodburn fanned the flame of young Richard’s future vocation. The pictures Brother George showed of the brothers working with orphans struck a chord in the young adoptee; he professed his first vows in the Brothers Chapel on the campus of St. Joseph High School, Metuchen, on Aug. 15, 1959.
Brother Richard said, “Brother George influenced me by his dedication to the Christian education of youth. [He] was my mentor when I entered our community, and through his example and
encouragement, I wanted to follow in his footsteps.”
In addition to his duties as religion and physical education teacher, Brother Richard founded the St. Joseph High School cross country team which he led to a 168-16 record, including 27 Middlesex County/Greater Middlesex Conference and Catholic track Conference titles and two state championships. During an eightyear assignment to the former Phillipsburg Catholic High School, he sparked a friendship with its soccer coach, Msgr. Seamus Brennan, and the two joined talents to lead the team to a county championship.
Back at St. Joseph High School and retired from coaching cross country and track in 2020 after 46 years, Brother Richard still assists in the freshman guidance program “where I get to meet and guide our newest students through their St. Joseph High School journey,” he said. Asked to define his favorite aspects of living life as a religious, unsurprisingly, the brother focuses on his long years as a sports, and life, coach.
“Over the past 65 years, I have the enjoyed the opportunity to inspire, by example, the Christian values needed by our students to become men of faith,” he declared. “I have spent 53 years at St. Joe’s and the school community is like a family. I receive tremendous satisfaction on Graduation Day when I see the fruits of our labor. I also enjoy the letters of appreciation received from former students and the life-long friendships developed from my former runners.”
Brother Richard continued, “I also love working with the kids. It’s part of the reason why I joined the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. I enjoy seeing the impact of the teachings of [founder] Father Andre Coindre and the Brothers of the Sacred Heart have had on so many of our alumni and current students.”
The long-time religious stated his greatest challenge as “the lack of vocations to our religious community, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. We have so many of our students involved in Campus Ministry and other religious activities, but they are not ready to answer the call to religious life.”
Brother Richard recommended a young man contemplating the priesthood or religious life “sit in quiet prayer, praying for discernment, and say this simple prayer: ‘Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.’”
By David Karas, Correspondent
When students arrive at St. Helena School, Edison, they are greeted at the door by their parish pastor, Father Anthony Sirianni, as well as school principal Sister Mary Charles.
“This very important aspect of the day contributes to the school’s family environment,” said vice principal Lynn Jurcsek.
The morning routine continues with some time to socialize in the all-purpose room, and then classmates gather and are led to their classrooms by the eighth grade Safety Patrols. Morning prayer is led for the school community by a member of the eighth grade Spirituality Club, and Sister Charles shares morning announcements.
“The Safety Patrol is a very important tradition at St. Helena School,” said Jurcsek. “Safety Patrols lead the younger students to class in the morning, assist with activities on the rare occasions lunch is in the classroom, and set cones for recess and pickup. The Eighth-Grade
students are truly respected by the younger students.”
She explained that the last Mass of the school year is known as the “Pass It On Mass,” during which graduating eighth graders pass on their responsibilities and leadership to seventh graders in anticipation for the year to come. At the first school Mass, the now-eighth grade students take an oath to follow the rules and set positive examples for the younger students.
Jurcsek, who has been teaching at St. Helena School for 14 years, recalls how moving it was to participate in her first school Mass.
“The first school Mass I attended brought me to tears,” she said “Every month, a different grade leads the Mass. The students are the readers, cantors, altar servers and the choir members. They lead the congregation in song and prayer, and also perform a meditation song. That is one of the reasons St. Helena School is known as ‘the school that sings’.”
that they most enjoy about their St. Helena community – with fellow students and their teachers being among the favorites.
“I like how our school always has a positive mind and we have nice teachers and staff members,” said one fifth grade student.
Another fifth-grade student shared, “I like how our amazing teachers allow the advanced students to work ahead and learn a lot.”
Jurcsek noted that many teachers come in early, stay late and offer lunchtime tutoring sessions to help students, and that teachers who staff the school’s aftercare program provide homework assistance.
which meets after school and includes students in the fourth and fifth grade. Throughout the year, teams research various topics, formulate presentations and build a walk-through display – which last year consisted of a walk-through brain.
The largest group is the Drama Club, which has put on some great presentations, said Jurcsek.
“The director, Ms. Phillips, has quite the flair for choosing musical productions to meet the talents of the students. Last year’s production of “Newsies Jr.” was a hit,” she said. “The music teacher, Mr. Steffani, equally amazing, coaches the singing students in the play, but also runs the vocal and handbell choirs.”
With the new school year underway, Jurcsek said that the community is excited to be back, and to welcome its newest members – both students and staff.
As students settled into the new school year, they shared some of the things
Another popular part of daily life at St. Helena, honored as a Blue Ribbon School, is the wide range of clubs that are offered to students – including a chess club, book club and finance club. Students can initiate their own clubs by presenting a plan to Sister Charles, and a teacher will volunteer to monitor and support the group.
The school has a research club,
“The students and teachers are glad to be back at St. Helena,” said Jurcsek. “We welcomed new students and new teachers and are off to a great start. We are looking forward to an awesome year.”
St. Helena School students process into church for their first school Mass of the year (1). Pre-K, Kindergarten and sixth graders are happy to show off their varied projects (2,3,4,5), and Father Anthony Sirianni, pastor, shows evident pride in the new eighth grade Safety Patrol (6). —Courtesy photos
Saint Helena School is dedicated to providing a well-rounded education for students. Gospel values are instilled by creating an environment of stewardship and by encouraging respect and tolerance. Strong academic skills are achieved through a challenging curriculum enriched by the study of fine arts, technology, and physical education.
12:30 to 3:30 pm Tours from noon to 2 pm
Special Presentation at 2:30 pm in Chapel by Sister Lisa Gambacorto, RSM, Ed.S., Directress
To pre-register, e-mail enrollment@mountsaintmary.org
Catholic Charities Diocese of Metuchen is offering a free service to as sist residents of our Diocese in receiving support and education on how to under stand and obtain mental health services and help remove barriers that often exist when trying to figure out where to start.
Launched in February of 2024 and rooted in the values of Catholic social teaching, “the Mental Health Navigator Program … represents a significant stride toward helping to meet the need for crucial mental health assistance and resources for those who require them,” wrote Bishop James F. Checchio, in an April message about the new service.
Adults, the elderly and disabled, and our youth, are living in troubling times, especially in light of the failure to respect life, with the challenges of addiction, end of life
issues, violence, and disease impacting the mental and emotional health of many.
If you or a loved one would benefit from support during these trying times, please reach out to the Mental Health Navigator service by calling 732-857-3811 for Middlesex County residents, or 908333-2282 for Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren Counties’ residents. Leave a message on the confidential voicemail line. A Navigator will call back within 24 hours.
To pre-register for Open House or to learn about our MERCY GIRL
and ZOOM EVENTS, contact Donna Toryak, Director of Enrollment Management, at dtoryak@mountsaintmary.org.
Mount Saint Mary Academy has reported that two students, Madison E. DeFrancisco and Grace A. Prayias, have been named semifinalists in the 70th Annual National Merit Scholarship Program Competition. They are among 16,000 Semifinalists who have been recognized for their exceptional academic talent and performance on the PSAT. They will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Madison and Grace must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
Madison and Grace were celebrated by Mount Saint Mary Academy administration, faculty and staff on September 11 for this significant achievement.
Planning,
Writing has been used since ancient times to express the emotions and the realities of life we find hard to acknowledge. Experts say it helps heal trauma, strengthen resilience, and reduce anxiety by giving us a voice we often have trouble finding. In this era of uncertainty, pandemics and violence, where things seem so terribly out of control, sometimes writing is the only thing youth can do to make their voices heard – in poems, in prose, in song lyrics and in wrenching narratives we may not want to hear – but we need to hear.
This profound piece of writing was created by a 14-year-old freshman in a regional high school in Northwest New Jersey who comes from a Catholic family living in the Diocese of Metuchen. Early in the new school year, she and her classmates were asked in English class to write an “I am from” poem. It was just a few days after the Georgia school shooting so she decided to focus her writing on what it’s like to be a student in the midst of so many school shootings and the difficulty of acting like everything is normal. She acknowledged she wrote this on behalf of students everywhere who are disturbed by “what they need to do to stay safe, if that’s even possible.”
~ Mary Morrell, Editor-in-Chief
BY: NATALIE T
I am from school lockdown drills, From lights off, blinds down, At least once a month, from part of the French class syllabus being what we use to protect and defend ourselves against a shooter, From being glad there is a fire extinguisher next to the science class door, Because it’s perfect for hitting an intruder, From hearing about the last shooting, At the last school, And then going to class the next day like everything is normal, Like there isn’t a concentric circle of loss and tragedy closing in, Nothing to be scared about, until the next one, The next shooting, At the next school.
I am from wondering which drill will stop being a drill, Because in lockdowns we used to sit and fool around when we were little, But now we wait for longer times, we ask if it’s practice, We hope that it’s practice, So we don’t end up on the news next. We take sometimes 30 minutes out of class, To learn how to hide, to feel like we are being hunted, We sit in a corner with the lights off, Hearts beating loudly through the silence, The teacher shushing everyone, I am from a small-town high school, From new jersey, From the United States of America, Where in the last year, There have been over 35 school shootings. I am from fear, Fear of death, Fear of being shot, Fear of guns. I am from America. Sweet land of Liberty.
center front, STAHS director of Student Service and mother of the late James Fucci who suffered from hydrocephalus. —Mike Kowalczyk photo.
By Mike Kowalczyk, Special Contributor
St. Thomas Aquinas High School proudly joined forces with the Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation (PHF) at Yelencsics Park Sept. 21 for the annual Walk Out for Hydrocephalus Research. With over 300 attendees – including dozens of students, parents, faculty, and relatives from STA – the event was a resounding success, raising more than $46,000 for hydrocephalus research.
Among those representing STA was Allie Henry, one of this year’s Aquinas Stars, who, along with STA students, showed exceptional dedication and enthusiasm. Co-organizer for STA Carley Schwarz, Class of 2026, shared, “Seeing the amount of people that came together to support kids with hydrocephalus was amazing. This event meant so much to Mrs. Fucci, Mrs. Henry, and their families, and I am so grateful I could be a part of it!”
Emily Pittari, Class of 2025, who also helped organize STA’s participation in the event commented: “I wanted to do everything I could to help fundraise to find a cure for this disease that affects so many people. We helped sell bracelets at lunch, and it was so inspiring to see how many students, teachers, and staff wanted to support this cause.”
The beautiful sunshiny day was filled with hugs from old friends, newcomers eager to join the cause, and a strong sense of community spirit. “The staff, students, and parents of STA rocked our event this year! Simply amazing and some of the best volunteers we ever had!” said Kimberly Illions, PHF NJ president.
“It was heartwarming to see how many students, families, alumni, and staff came out to show support. I am very proud of our students and their willingness to help with anything that is needed. St. Thomas Aquinas High School is my home away from home and I know that the students have the same feeling.”
The countless volunteers, including students from STA, contributed significantly to the event’s success with their enthusiasm and dedication. The generous donations from participants will go directly towards funding research to find a cure for hydrocephalus, a condition that affects many, including families within our own community.
Mike Kowalczyk serves as STAHS director of communications.
Sunday of Ordinary Time (B)
Our readings this Sunday offer words of hope and encouragement to people of faith. Jesus’ restoration of vision to the spiritually clear-sighted yet physically blind Bartimaeus, the assurances of Jeremiah that God will never abandon his faithful people, and the Letter to the Hebrews’ reminder that our High Priest, Christ the Lord, is both patient and merciful, all serve to powerfully reassure us that, while a life of faith is not always easy, it is always overwhelmingly rewarded. Our task is to embrace and live this faith.
Jesus’ restoration of sight to the blind Bartimaeus is the last healing miracle recorded by St. Mark prior to Palm Sunday. Jesus was leaving Jericho for the 15 mile journey to Jerusalem. As he was leaving town with his disciples and a large crowd, a roadside beggar began calling out to him, “Son of David, have pity on me!” (Mark 10:47b, 48b). This simple cry had deep significance. First, publicly acknowledging his faith in Jesus during those anxious days just prior to the original Holy Week was very risky. Signaling that he was a believer in Jesus could certainly have subjected him to religious and civil penalties. Second, the fact that only this “blind” man was pleading for Jesus’ help highlights the sad truth that only he really “saw” Jesus for who he was; the disciples, amidst their arguing about positions of honor and their failure to ever understand Jesus’ true mission, were the spiritually ‘blind” ones. Interestingly enough, the blind man is only the second human being in St. Mark’s Gospel to recognize who Jesus really was (St. Peter was first in Mark 8:29).
The title “Son of David” itself is rich with meaning. This title calls to mind the
Messianic hopes of the Hebrew people. God’s promise to King David that “I will raise up your son after you … I will not remove my favor from him … your house and your throne shall endure forever before me” (2 Samuel 8: 12-16), was taken as an assurance that the Messiah would be an heir of David. By recognizing Jesus as the “Son of David,” Bartimaeus was seeing in him the agent of God’s promised restoration of his people, the promise heralded in this Sunday’s first reading from the Prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah exults, “Shout with joy for Jacob … the Lord has delivered his people … I will gather them from the ends of the world with the blind and the lame in their midst … they departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them …” (Jeremiah 31:7-9). God’s people may suffer for a time, but God promises that he will always raise them up again. Bartimaeus “saw” in Jesus the power to fulfill God’s promise in his own life. It is also interesting to note that the crowd seeks to silence the blind man. How often “the crowd,” both then and now, proves to be an obstacle to faith!
Jesus’ role, already glimpsed by Bartimaeus, is well explained in our second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. The Letter to the Hebrews, written by an unknown author sometime between the years 70-90, is really not a letter at all but rather a lengthy sermon. The main theme of this sermon is that Jesus Christ is the new, eternal, perfect, and divine High Priest. All that was incomplete and lowly before Christ is now complete and exalted with his presence. In this Sunday’s passage, we read of certain key characteristics of the priesthood of Jesus Christ. First, we learn that “every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God” (Hebrews 5:1). Jesus Christ, as our
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the new faith community. “May your church be a lasting sanctuary, offering strength, guidance and inspiration for generations to come,” it read. “As you embark on this new chapter, may faith, hope and love uplift all who seek its em brace, leaving a profound and enduring impact in their lives.”
The Bishop also thanked the Coptic Catholics on behalf of the Roman Cath olic Diocese of Metuchen. He said, “This church served the immigrant Irish com munity 170 years ago, and it is great to have it serving the same purpose today: to build up the Kingdom of God here in New Jersey. Now you in the Jesus Our King community will do the same exact thing.”
great High Priest, represents and intercedes for humanity before the throne of his Eternal Father. He takes the imperfect sacrifice and obedience of humanity and completes it with his own perfect sacrifice (the cross) and obedience.
We further learn that Christ, even though he is perfect, “is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness” (Hebrews 5:2). Jesus Christ, being not only fully divine but also fully human, had a profound understanding of the temptations and trials faced by his people. He is, therefore, an advocate sympathetic to our weakness and failures, remaining patient with us and constantly encouraging us to turn back to his Heavenly Father.
The Letter to the Hebrews also teaches us that “it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,” (Hebrews 5:5), but rather that “no one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God” (Hebrews 5:4).
Christ is our High Priest because he was commissioned by the Father, for he is not
only humanity’s Representative before the Father, but the Father’s Representative and fullest Revelation before us. In the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, we truly have the fullest witness of the love and mercy of Almighty God.
That love and mercy was poured out upon the blind man in today’s Gospel. It is also offered constantly to all of humanity, calling us to turn away from sin, and to imitate the example of Bartimaeus. We are thus moved to be stalwarts of faith, placing our lives under divine guidance and crying out as humble sinners, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on [us]!”
Msgr. Fell is a Scripture scholar and director, diocesan Office for Priest Personnel.
Gospel for October 27, 2024 Hebrews 5: 1-6 / Mark 10:46-52
Following is a word search based on the Second and Gospel readings for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B: Jesus’ ministry then and forever. Words can be found in all directions in the puzzle.
OFFER SINS WEAKNESS
PEOPLE HONOR CALLED BY GOD AARON CHRIST MELCHIZEDEK JERICHO BLIND ROADSIDE DAVID REBUKED HIM MORE CALL HIM MASTER FAITH RECEIVED SIGHT FOLLOWED
The Coptic Catholic Church in America has about 250,000 members served by more than 200 churches in five
congregations (Los Angeles, New Jersey, Brooklyn, Nashville and Boston.) During its liturgies, it uses the Coptic Rite and Coptic language derived from ancient Egyptian. It is in full communion with the Pope in Rome.
The Diocese of Metuchen Historic Records Commission, in conjunction with the New Jersey Catholic Historical Commission, will be presenting a one day workshop, “The Historian’s Craft: How To Research And Write Your Parish History Like A Professional Historian.”
The workshop will be held on November 16 from 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the parish center of Our Lady of Peace Church, 1730 Route 130 in North Brunswick.
The workshop is designed for parishioners interested in their parish history, especially those who are planning to write a parish history for a major anniversary celebration.
Topics will cover: “Historical Method (Not Your High School Term Paper),” “Historical Linguistics (Not as Boring as It Sounds!),” “What’s In a Diocesan Archive,” and a history of the St. Anthony Guild Press, Paterson, as well as research examples.
There will be time for questions and answers, as well as networking with other parish history buffs.
Cost of the workshop is $30 and includes lunch as well as a copy of the Catholic Historian’s Handbook by member Carl Ganz of Somerville, who recently wrote histories of the Shrine of St. Joseph in Stirling and St. Patrick Church in Elizabeth.
The N.J. Catholic Historical Com-
mission was established at Seton Hall University by the late Archbishop Peter Gerety in 1976 as part of the Catholic commemoration of the Bicentennial of the United States for the preservation and promotion of the Catholic history of New Jersey, and has representation from all five Roman rite dioceses in the state.
The Diocese of Metuchen Historical Records Commission was established by the late Bishop Edward T. Hughes in 1992 to encourage parishioners to preserve and promote the history of their parishes, which numerous parishes around the Diocese have done over the past 32 years. This workshop marks the first collaboration between both groups.
For more information or to register, please contact Father Michael G. Krull, chair of the Diocese of Metuchen Historical Records Commission at pastor@ olopnb.org. Checks may be made out to Our Lady of Peace Church, with the notation “History Workshop.”
We also invite you to save the date of Saturday, April 26, for our next Catholic History on the Road trip, “Two Deans and a Chaplain: Three Giants of N.J. Catholic History.” More details on this trip will be announced after Christmas.
Contributed by Father Michael G. Krull, chairman, Diocese of Metuchen Historical Records Commission.
faith initiative
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the Pro-Life and Pro-Family Committee of Perth Amboy.
“We’re committed to raising awareness about pro-life issues to parishioners’ groups and other organizations in the local community,” said Navarro. “We also pray the Rosary on Saturdays in front of Planned Parenthood. On the third Tues-
day of each month, we participate in a radio program, where we discuss different pro-life and family topics.”
“We must pray to Jesus and the Blessed Mother to end abortion,” added Graciela Castano, a member of Our Lady of Fatima Parish.
Christian believers have gathered across the country to peacefully pray for an end to abortion on the first Sunday of every October since 1987. This year, Life Chains also were held in the Diocese in Carteret, Flemington, Great Meadows, Phillipsburg, Sayreville, and Washington.
The first Life Chain was organized by “Please Let Me Live,” in Yuba City, Calif. About 2,500 Christians from Yuba and Sutter counties, holding Abortion signs, occupied designated sections of a three-mile route. After subsequent Life Chains, the distribution of literature and other measures, surgical abortions ceased in Yuba-Sutter.
Since then, there have been more than 3,000 Life Chains in cities across the United States and Canada. The movement is open to Christians of all denominations.
Sister Mary Magdalen of the Cross, O.C.D., (née Frances Regina Vannicola) a cherished and blessed cloistered Nun of the Discalced Carmelite Monastery in Flemington, died Monday, Oct. 14 at the Hunterdon Medical Center after a brief illness. She entered eternal life joyfully and peacefully on the vigil of their Holy Mother St. Teresa of Avila’s feast day.
Born September 7, 1943, in Lebanon County Pa, Sister Mary Magdalen was the daughter of the late Philip and Mary Magdalene (Scanlin) Vannicola. She is survived by her two sisters, Mary Ann and Theresa, and her brother, Anthony.
Sister entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chestnut Hill in 1961. After making her profession of vows, she taught first grade until 1976, when she felt Our Lord’s call to become a discalced Carmelite nun. She entered the Monastery in Flemington, New Jersey, and celebrated her Silver Jubilee in 2001. During her more than 48 years in Carmel, she held many offices in the community, including the vestry, habit room, provisor in the kitchen, sacristy, and answering the “turn” (when visitors come to speak to the nuns). She was always ready to lend a helping hand and show warmth and compassion to others. Even the doctors and nurses were astounded by her warmth and joy in her last days at the hospital. Sister will be greatly missed and continues to be loved both inside and outside the cloister.
Sister Mary Magdalen was also one of the three Carmelite Sisters whose photo graced the Nov. 16, 2023, cover of The Catholic Spirit on the occasion of Mass, opening the year of celebration for the 75th anniversary of the Carmelite founding in Flemington.
A Mass of Christian Burial for Sister Mary Magdalen was celebrated on Thursday, Oct. 17, at the chapel of the Carmelite Monastery, Flemington. Interment followed in the Carmelite Monastery Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Flemington, 26 Harmony School Road, Flemington N.J. 08822, with checks made out to the “Carmelite Monastery,” or made online through www.flemingtoncarmel.org or through the obituary https://www.holcombefisher.com/obituaries/mary-vannicola.
—Hal
Brown photo
It is said that God has three answers to prayer: “Yes.” “Not yet.” and “I have a better idea.” He certainly had a better idea in making our monastery known as we prepare to celebrate our 75th Anniversary of Foundation!
We had several reasons to undertake this campaign to make our foundation known. The first, of course, is that we depend on you for support since we receive nothing from any official organizations, either in the Church or the government. We depend on your generosity to continue our life of prayer.
The second reason also concerns our future: no one is likely to enter a community that no one knows exists. God can certainly direct applicants to an unknown monastery, but He is far more likely to encourage those to whom He gives a contemplative vocation to investigate a community that comes to their attention. We believe that He continues to call to contemplative life those who He knows are capable of accepting its challenges. For this reason, we want to make ourselves known as we are: a small contemplative community seeking to live the Carmelite charism in fidelity to the Church and her Magisterium and to our traditions. We do this through our outreach in personal contacts, through correspondence and an active online presence.
Our third reason for reaching out is the reason for which we exist: we are called to pray for the world, the Church and all those in need in any way, and we want to do what we can to make known to those who struggle that we are with you in prayer. You are not alone. You never face the challenges of life without
our support and that of all the praying members of the Church. There is an ever-growing isolation rampant in our culture, and we, who live lives of silent prayer, can go into every threat of loneliness, every fear of helplessness, every despairing cry for help. We are here for you and we want to do what we can to help you know our presence at your side.
Those are our prayers, our reasons for reaching out to you in every way we can. We planned several endeavors to make ourselves known, and we began with Special Masses in our chapel. Our plans were to have one of these Masses each month, and suddenly in May, an emergency arose that forced us to cancel our various plans and focus on a sudden, new situation. This was the discovery of the mold in our novitiate.
Not all of our attempts to make our-
selves known had to be cancelled. A very good friend of ours, the cousin of one of the Nuns, offered to give a presentation about our life and charism at various parishes. Many of you will remember Jennifer Halat who visited your church some weekend and told you about us. Many of you knew little about us, but you all reached out to us in gratitude and support. We owe Jennifer more than we can ever repay and she is forever in our prayers of thanksgiving!
Still, God had a better idea! The emergency of the mold in our novitiate was so overwhelming that we had to reach out asking for help. You responded with an overwhelming alacrity, not only to help us yourselves, but to spread the news about us. Those who did not know we existed, those who knew nothing of contemplative life, those who appreciate
Opus Dei Father Joseph Thomas, chaplain at Mercer House in Princeton, chats with the nuns who have gathered in the speakroom after the 75th Anniversary Mass celebrated Oct. 14 at the Carmel of Mary Immaculate and St. Mary Magdalen, Flemington. At right, a statue of St. Thérèse is encircled with roses during the annual Solemn Pontifical Benediction and Blessing of the Roses in honor of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Oct. 1. —Hal Brown photos
spread the word about us than the best of our plans could ever have done!
One would not think that black mold throughout a building could ever be “a better idea”, but God did. When it came to spreading the word about our vocation and our community, He used what was at first a devastating discovery to enable us to learn new depths of love in our friends, to discover friends we did not know we had, and, for those who did not know we existed, to discover us as their friends and supporters.
To him for his loving kindness that always enfolds both us and you, and to you for your continuous love and support, we express our most grateful and prayer-filled thanks!
The Flemington Carmelites
By Tiffany Workman Special Contributor
“The pain of addiction to alcohol or other drugs affects almost every family in some way, but recovery from addiction is also experienced by many.” These words were written inside a program for the Tree of Hope ceremony conducted by Wellspring Center for Prevention.
The ceremony took place in September and honored Catholic Charities Diocese of Metuchen’s Mobile Family Success Center as well as Morgan Thompson, CEO of Prevention Links.
Heather Ward, coordinator of Middlesex County Wellspring Center for Prevention, started off the award ceremony with background on both award recipients, praising the work that they do.
Ward introduced Marci Booth, associate executive director of Catholic Charities, who spoke about the Mobile Family Success Center.
“We appreciate Wellspring acknowledging the good work of Catholic Charities and the Mobile Family Success Center with the Tree of Hope award,” Booth said. “We understand the life-changing impact that providing substance use disorder services and education has on individuals and families on their journey from substance use to recovery.”
Rosela Roman, director of the Mobile Family Success Center, spoke about upcoming events the center will be having. She expressed her appreciation for support from Catholic Charities, her staff, their sponsors and their clients.
Ezra Helfand, CEO of Wellspring, presented Thompson with the Recovery Champion award. Thompson and her team connect people in New Jersey to life-changing resources that combat the negative impacts of drugs, violence, and inadequate educational and health institutions in our communities.
During the Tree of Hope awards ceremony there is a moment of silence to remember those who have struggled with a substance use disorder. Candles are lit and held by all and those that have loved ones touched by substance use are asked to say a few words in hope for finding recovery, maintaining recovery and remembrance for those who were not able to find recovery. Messages and names are written on stars and placed on the tree of hope.
This event aligned with National Recovery Month, a nationwide observance held every September to promote the benefits of prevention, treatment, and recovery for substance use and mental health conditions. By coming together, it’s a celebration of the strength and resilience of those in recovery and the importance of community.
In addition to the award and ceremony, Mobile Family Success Center also received a tree that was planted in front of its center.
Wellspring Center for Prevention is a private nonprofit agency serving community members and organizations of Middlesex and Monmouth Counties. The center is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities through prevention and early intervention services. Its programs promote sound mental health, effective family functioning, and awareness of the devastating effects of substance misuse and dependency.
Started in 2013, the Mobile Family Success Center seeks to strengthen individual and family functioning and empower people to acquire the knowledge, skills and resources they need to succeed and to provide an optimal environment for children’s development throughout Middlesex County.
Family-friendly workshops such as resume writing, family budgeting, or family fun activities are held in places such as schools, libraries, community centers, so they are accessible to everyone. Other services include information and referrals, as well as family success planning and case management.
The Mobile Family Success Center of Middlesex County is operated by Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, and administered by the Middlesex County Human Services Advisory Committee with funding from the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. Events are free and RSVPs are appreciated, but walk-ins are always welcome.
Like and Follow Catholic Charities on Facebook, Instagram, and X @ ccdom1 to stay updated on upcoming events and ways CCDOM helps clients get the services and assistance they need.
Tiffany Workman is the Communications Specialist in the Office of Communications and Public Relations.
in recognition of National Recovery Month.
Above, left to right, Jessica Polizzotto, Service Area Director CCDOM
Rosmery Suarez, Director Mobile Family Success Center
Rosela Roman, Director Mobile Family Success Center CCDOM
Marci Booth, Associate Executive Director CCDOM
Ezra Helfand, CEO of Wellspring Center for Prevention
—Tiffany Workman photos
Every soul, born and unborn, is a blessing from God and our ‘preeminent priority’ to protect
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I dedicated you,” Jeremiah 1:5. We may think to ourselves, how could we have existed before we were born? How could God have known us? How could there have been light before God made the sun? (cf. Gen 1:3,14) While we are here in the temporal world, these questions will confound us, yet our perplexity does not make the seemingly impossible not possible, for all things are possible for God.
In an interview with Jordan B. Peterson, Canadian psychologist, author, and media commentator, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minn., gave a fascinating explanation of the existence of God. Bishop Barron, known internationally for his Word on Fire evangelization ministry, said: “We would say that God is not a being but being itself. So the famous answer is then given to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ Moses is asking, what kind of being are you? He is trying to put God in categorical terms.”
But God is saying, according to Bishop Barron, “I am not a thing in the world you can name. I am the prius –that’s St. Augustine’s language. I am prior to thought and to language. I am prior to being.” God is being. God is Pope Benedict XVI said that when Jesus assumed human existence at his Incarnation, “he also assumed temporality. He drew time into the sphere of eternity.”
A baby sleeps peacefully in her mother’s womb. She knows God but has yet to make contact with the outside
world, has yet to take her first breath. She is simply floating, sleeping and growing. She exists. She is. Pope St. John Paul II said, “The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it” (TOB 19:4).
Yet, we reach into her world with our cold instruments and pull her out against her will – a violent act against nature. She fights back, which can be seen on the ultrasound. Her instinct is to fight. She knows where she belongs. God gave us the ability to see her in her mother’s womb through our own scientific advancements. Yet, many deny the reality that abortion attacks a human life. We live in an era that denies reality.
We often fixate on temporal circumstances surrounding a pregnancy. But when a human being is conceived, there is much more happening in the spiritual realm than we can possibly comprehend. When the body exists, the soul also exists, for we are embodied souls. “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna” (Mt. 10:28).
God can turn an unplanned pregnancy into a great blessing if we give him the chance and wait on his miracle. That is what my own birth mother did for me. At the age of 18 she carried me to term and gave me up for adoption to the
“We often fixate on temporal circumstances surrounding a pregnancy. But when a human being is conceived, there is much more happening in the spiritual realm than we can possibly comprehend.”
greatest parents on earth. What greater gift can a woman give to another than the gift of her own child? For 10 years my parents had been unable to conceive so they went to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Quebec, walked in a candlelight procession and prayed for a child. When they arrived home, they found out about me and chose adoption. A year later my parents conceived my brother. Fifteen years later my birth mother and her husband conceived two children. When we surrender to God, he will intervene with all his omnipotence and will resolve the most seemingly impossible situations.
Before the March for Life in Trenton Sept. 26, Melissa Ohden, founder and CEO of the Abortion Survivors Network, said, “Not only does abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy happen in states with no restrictions on abortion, but born-alive infants happen.”
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The United States is one of seven countries, including China and North
Korea, that allow abortion past 20 weeks’ gestation. New Jersey has some of the most permissive abortion laws in our country. “Babies survive first-, second-, and third-trimester abortions throughout the pregnancy,” Ohden said.
Kim Marvin, who survived a saline abortion at nine months, had vivid, repeated nightmares since she was a little girl. “This affected me in so many ways, but I want to share the most important thing: the power of forgiveness,” she said. “My mother and my father said they were sorry, and I forgave them. Miraculously, I never had that terrifying nightmare ever again.”
At the Mass for Life, Bishop David M. O’Connell of Trenton said the threat of abortion is not only our “preeminent priority,” as stated by the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, it is the “preeminent fundamental basis of all other priorities. As Catholics, we are pro-life. How can we be otherwise?”
“Today, as we share the greatest of all prayers, the Eucharist, let us together ask our Lord Jesus, who gave his life for all of us, born and unborn, to give us the grace to fulfill our duty to protect the innocent, most vulnerable child in the womb,” Bishop O’Connell prayed, “a duty instilled in us by God our Creator, along with his gift of human life.”
Anna M. Githens is a freelance writer with a career background in finance, teaching and journalism. She holds an MA in Theology, a BA in Economics and a Certification in Theology of the Body.
This month’s featured retreat house: Where God and sea come together ...
Ministry with Hispanic Catholics in 2024: Where Are We, Where Are We Heading? October 28, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm
Presenter: Hosffman Ospino, PhD, Professor of Theology, Boston College
Retreats For Women: November 8-10
Monthly Days of Prayer: November 13 • December 10
Advent Silent, Directed Weekend: December 6-8
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The Catholic Spirit, Retreat Guide, October featured retreat house, 4.91 x 3.15”, September 30, 2024
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To join this retreat guide, email mgregory@diometuchen.org
By Michael Kowalczyk Special Contributor
The St. Thomas Aquinas boys’ soccer team, Edison, has clinched the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) division title with an outstanding undefeated season under first-year head coach Jason Chung. The Trojans, currently 8-0 in the GMC at the midpoint of the season, have dominated their competition, outscoring opponents 64-2 and recording seven shutouts in the process.
St. Thomas Aquinas has showcased exceptional skill on both sides of the ball. The defense has been nearly impenetrable, allowing only two goals across eight matches, while the offense has consistently applied relentless pressure. “I am incredibly proud of the boys and the success they’ve achieved thus far,” said Coach Chung. “We look forward to the challenges ahead as we move into the tougher part of our schedule.”
The team’s offensive power has been led by senior Nelson Fuentes, who has contributed 15 goals and 21 assists. Freshmen Elias Araujo (eight goals, three assists) and Luca Malovini (12 goals, two assists), along with junior Snyder Reyes (seven goals, five assists), sophomore Ian Asinger (10 assists), and junior Jeremy Ramirez (seven goals, six assists), have all made significant contributions. Defensively, sophomore goalie Domenic Grande has been crucial to the team’s success, registering 40 saves to date.
The Trojans’ impressive form is a testament to the hard work and determination of the athletes, who have steadily developed their skills under the guidance of dedicated coaches and staff. Their focus on teamwork, sportsmanship, and academic excellence has laid the foundation for a truly exceptional season.
With their division title secured, St. Thomas Aquinas is poised for further success and is a team to watch as they enter the final stretch of the season under Coach Chung’s leadership.
Michael Kowalczyk serves as communications director for STAHS.
Top, the St. Thomas Aquinas boys’ soccer team clinched the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) division title with an outstanding undefeated season under first-year head coach Jason Chung. Middle, with 10 assists, sophomore Ian Asinger is among those who have made significant contributions to the team. —Fabian Malovini photos
Left, the team’s offensive power has been led by senior Nelson Fuentes, who has contributed 15 goals and 21 assists.
—Lors Photography photo
By Greg Johnson, Correspondent
What makes a good striker in soccer?
Mount Saint Mary Academy coach Roald Jornick often hears that question. He sees some players in New Jersey who are simply fast. Others may have a good shot but lack other traits.
Fiorella Perone, on the other hand, has been taking the state by storm with a diverse skill set and a relentless desire to score and create opportunities for her teammates to succeed.
“It’s just that drive that I think separates her from being not just good, but being one of the best,” says Jornick, a Netherlands native who has coached girls’ soccer in the United States for 13 years and is the assistant director of coaching at NJ Premier, a club soccer organization.
Perone, a Mount Saint Mary junior being recruited to play Division I soccer and who has already scored 53 goals in high school including 14 of her team’s 30 goals this season as of mid-October, believes that her drive can be traced back to her upbringing.
A Colonia native who is part Italian and part Peruvian, Perone grew up competing in soccer all the time with her two older brothers. Her father and uncle also have a soccer background, and her father later coached her when she began play-
ing organized soccer at age seven.
“I think I always just had a competitive side to me and I just loved playing,” Perone said. “I have such a passion for playing.”
Perone steadily developed while playing travel soccer in Metuchen for a handful of years, then moved over to club soccer with U.S. PARMA for one year and then NJ Elite, which is now NJ Premier and where she has played yearround with showcases for five years.
Perone even traveled with Premier to Amsterdam this summer and spent a week training with and playing against the pro team PSV as well as semi-pro teams with teenagers as old as 19.
“That was absolutely an amazing opportunity,” Perone said. “I definitely loved it. It was so interesting to see how differently they played over there. They don’t have high school over there. They just have club, so they’re with their club team all the time and the training is just so much different.”
Perone was primarily drawn to Mount Saint Mary because of the academics, but she knew she wanted to play soccer there because Phillip Iuliano, the school’s soccer coach during her freshman year, was the director of PARMA.
It has also been the perfect place to grow because of the school’s faith aspect.
“I’ve gone to private Catholic
school my whole life, so my faith is very important to me,” Perone said. “I play with wrist tape and I put a Bible verse on there and a cross, and I just try to be a good leader and be a good teammate, help my teammates get better on and off the field, and have good sportsmanship.”
Perone has been honing her craft on the field for the past two years under Jornick, who she says has improved the Mount Saint Mary program with better passing and movement away from the ball.
Jornick praises Perone for being an extension of coaching on the field with her positivity, leadership, guidance and versatility as a striker. The team can always rely on her to score a momentous goal and raise everyone’s spirits.
“When we’re dominant, she plays with the back to the goal and she’s holding up the plays for us,” Jornick said. “When we’re the lesser dominant team on the field, she’s able to run in behind and she has scored a lot of long-distance goals, but also dribbling, outplaying her direct opponent in getting that opportunity for herself. She made herself just an all-around player.”
Perone jokes that her favorite way to score is “whatever gets the ball in the back of the net.” But one of her favorite aspects of soccer is moving the ball around as a team with short passes until there is an opening within the defense
instead of forcing wasteful shots from long range.
Opposing teams are sending more double teams her way these days, but Perone is constantly looking for ways to adapt and become an even better player.
“If they’re playing aggressive, move the ball quicker, make more runs, just do whatever you can to get on the ball really,” said Perone, who has also dished out 11 assists during her high school career.
Skyland Conference coaches voted Perone to the First Team All-Mountain Division last fall as a sophomore, and she is likely to receive even more accolades as a junior and a senior.
But despite her stardom on the field, she never approaches games with the mindset that she needs to score a certain number of goals. It’s simply about preparing to perform well and then having fun on the field with her teammates.
The stellar results, as they have been since she was seven years old, will take care of themselves.
“I think I’ve always had a good shot and I’ve always been just aggressive with a lot of energy,” Perone said. “I think I’ve just continued to develop that as I got older, especially when I got to NJ Premier, I definitely took the next step to become a better player. I think I’ve just always had the drive to win. I want to win and I just want to compete.”
By Greg Johnson, Correspondent
It’s rare that two sisters and a mother are all part of the same sports program in high school, so it’s an experience that the Napolitano family doesn’t take for granted.
Senior forward Emilia, sophomore defender Sienna, and co-head coach Heather have been strengthening their bond with the Mount Saint Mary Academy field hockey team for the past two fall seasons.
“It’s been a really fun experience, and I feel like we’ve gotten a lot closer because we’re together all the time,” Emilia said.
In a way it was fated to happen one day because Heather also attended Mount Saint Mary and played field hockey there before playing Division I at Fairfield University. Naturally, she introduced her only two children to the sport, and their hometown of Metuchen provided a clear pathway to success because it featured a strong recreational program for them to start playing in first grade.
Emilia and Sienna have also played club field hockey with the Mid-Jersey Knights for the past eight years to foster their skills. Emilia is committed to playing the sport at Wesleyan University and is considering studying political science, while Sienna also intends to play in college but is still early in the recruiting process.
The sisters have grown up in a home where their backyard has a goal and a turf to play on, and their basement has a pad for passing a ball back and forth.
“Honestly, they’re super close,” Heather said. “People think they’re twins all the time because they’re similar in height. But obviously they’re siblings so there’s some bickering at times on the field, which is challenging being a coach and a parent because you have to try to navigate objectively how I would handle it if it weren’t my kids because we do have other siblings on the team.”
The irony is that even though they played the same position until they got to high school, when Sienna switched to midfield and eventually defense during club season, they’ve always played differently on the field in a way that they can complement each other.
“She has more touches on the ball, but I make passes,” Sienna said. “I just play more defensively.”
“I feel like it’s really good because she can also help me with the press because it’s more defensive, and I can help her with skills when she’s dribbling out of the circle in the back,” Emilia added.
“We can give each other tips based off of what we know.”
With an 8-5-1 record as of mid-Oc tober, Mount Saint Mary is poised to fin ish with its most wins in a season since 2021. Emilia has been the team’s leading scorer with 21 goals and 13 assists (133 points in four varsity seasons), while Si enna has a team-high 10 defensive saves.
They are one of two pairs of sisters on the team, along with senior Audrey Bas solino and freshman Katelyn Bassolino.
Heather was an assistant coach with the team in 2022 and 2023 before becoming a co-head coach this year with Brittany Maldonado. The opportunity to lead her daughters has brought mixed emotions, as one could imagine, because she admits that for as much as she would prefer to view them as any other players on the team, she is a bit tougher on them when coaching.
“Honestly, it has its pros and cons, but ultimately it’s an amazing experi ence,” Heather said. “The kids are great. I have a really, really great group of play ers this year. We have seven seniors, so they’ve really grown together as a team.”
Heather was originally a soccer player who only switched to field hockey because Mount Saint Mary didn’t have a soccer team at the time. But she quickly came to love the sport – and became quite good at it – at a school that is dear to her heart and special to see her daughters now excelling at.
“It’s an amazing school obviously rooted in faith,” Heather said. “The girls say the Hail Mary before each game, and we try to instill that on a day-to-day basis in practice and being kind to each other.”
Field hockey has become such a family affair for the Napolitanos that even their father will get involved with discussions about the sport. They will often study highlights and college games at home, which allows them to bolster the field hockey IQ of the high school team.
But ultimately, playing a sport is about having fun. The girls at Mount Saint Mary enjoy staying connected even when they leave the field with pool parties, pasta dinners and other social activities.
“When you see someone, you are friends with your field hockey friends for the whole year. It’s not just during field hockey season,” Emilia said. “We’re always talking in lunch, and I feel like also because it’s a fall sport, when you come in your freshman year, you make all these friends right off the bat and they kind of stay your friends for all of high school.”
On the weekend of Sept. 21-22, the St. Joseph Parish Hall, Washington, was filled with colorful displays manned by volunteers, inviting fellow parishioners to discover the many opportunities available to them to become a vibrant part of parish life.
The Parish Ministry Fair was the idea of parishioner Mary Kovacs, who knew their pastor, Father James A. Krypczak, was encouraging increased participation in the parish community. Kovacs, who is involved in the parish Pro-Life Ministry, oversaw the fair which was made possible “by many hands that went
into making it a success,” she said.
Some 19 ministries were represented, and some 100 parishioners visited the fair. The result was all but one ministry increased their ministry list – a good start.
In addition to parish ministries, Father Krypczak invited St. Philip and St. James Parish member Kelly Perna to set up a table for neighboring Saints Philip and James School, Phillipsburg, which was welcomed by Kovacs, whose children “are alumni from SPSJ, I love the school and encourage enrollment.”
Kovacs explained that parishioner Karole Bradunas, who had run the parish
for all Masses.”
According to those who work in the church communications field, parish ministry fairs not only highlight the many ministries most parishes undertake throughout the year but serve as strategic opportunities to develop connections and bonds within a parish community and help foster a sense of belonging and purpose among all the faithful, no matter their engagement level.
The parish hall of St. Joseph, Washington, was filled with displays from 19 parish ministries the weekend of Sept 21-22 for their Parish Ministry Fair. Some 100 visitors, including families with children, passed through the hall, stopped at tables, shared refreshments and learned about the important initiatives undertaken by their parish. Among the displays was one for nearby Sts. Philip and James School, Phillipsburg, and an educational display about the church Arts and Environment ministry. —Courtesy photos
In the ‘bleeding region,’ Gaza Strip’s Christian community lifts each other up, defying reality
Palestinians attend to a child who was a casualty of an Israeli airstrike on a house in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 24, 2023. Israel launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Oct. 7 assault on the country by Hamas militants that killed 1,200 people in Israel. —OSV News photo/ Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, Reuters
JERUSALEM (OSV News) – Even though death surrounds them every day, Gaza Strip’s Christian community tries to “relieve the suffering” by assisting each other with spiritual and material needs. The number of casualties and amount of destruction in Gaza since the outbreak of Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 2023 is so staggering that it is easy to forget that behind all those numbers there is a life, wrote Latin Patriarchate’s CEO Sami El-Yousef in a September reflection at the one-year mark of the war. “These statistics include over 41,000 killed including 60% women and children; close to 100,000 injured; a destroyed health and educational systems; over 60% of dwellings and 68% of road networks destroyed; with no infrastructure including electricity, water, sewage, communi-
cations; and very limited humanitarian aid trickling in,” he wrote. It is hard to comprehend that now not only the war in Gaza is still ongoing, but that a new front has been added in Lebanon, El-Yousef said, “promising that an already bleeding region is destined to a regional war with more destruction and loss of innocent human life,” he wrote. In a phone conversation with OSV News, he said the presence of Father Gabriel Romanelli, who was finally able to join his parish in May, has strengthened the community. He pointed out that the Christian community in Gaza, which is mainly sheltering on the campuses of the Holy Family Catholic Parish and St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church is “trying to do their best under extremely difficult conditions to relieve the suffering.”
CNEWA launches emergency campaign as Israel-Hamas war
A shipment of medical aid from the World Health Organization and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees arrives at the Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport Oct. 4, 2024. —OSV News photo/Louisa Gouliamaki, Reuters
NEW YORK (OSV News) – As the Israel-Hamas war expands into Lebanon, an agency of the Holy See has launched an emergency campaign to assist thousands of displaced families in that nation’s south. The Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA)-Pontifical Mission announced the campaign Oct. 3, with CNEWA-Pontifical Mission president Msgr. Peter I. Vaccari saying the agency had immediately released $250,000 for bedding, food, drinking water, nursing formula and medicine. For the first phase of the relief campaign, the Beirut office of the agency estimates it will need $700,000 -- $560,000 for food packages and hygiene kits for 8,000 families, $90,000 for mattresses and bedding for 2,000 people, and $50,000 for counseling for 500 mothers
Compiled from Our Sunday Visitor
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (OSV News) – The people of upper East Tennessee near the North Carolina border are working to piece their lives back together amid the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene. And the Catholic parishes of this region are joining together to lead disaster-relief efforts as communities find themselves without water, basic necessities, and even roads to access assistance. “They need prayer. They need our support and love, and they need to know they are not alone in the journey ahead,” Bishop Mark Beckman of Knoxville said after an Oct. 2 visit to affected communities. The survivors are suffering “immense grief and sadness,” the bishop said. “They are really traumatized.” The disaster unfolded on Sept. 27 as Hurricane Helene blew northeastward
A
and their children. “Lebanon faces a humanitarian disaster,” said CNEWA-Pontifical Mission’s Michel Constantin, who directs CNEWA’s operations for Lebanon, Syria and northern Iraq from Beirut, in the Oct. 3 media release. CNEWA said in its campaign announcement that “more than a million people in Lebanon … of an estimated total population of 5.8 million people” have been displaced since Sept. 17, and Constantin said in the news release that “many of these families are desperate, sleeping on the streets.” Previously, Constantin told OSV News, “Before, if you were not in the south of the country, you were safe. Now, you are at risk everywhere in Lebanon.” For more information on CNEWA’s campaign for Lebanon, visit cnewa.org.
after making landfall in the Florida panhandle. With high winds and dark clouds swollen with record amounts of rainfall, Helene unloaded on the mountains of western North Carolina, which sent torrents of water rushing down mountain tributaries and into the Nolichucky, Pigeon and French Broad rivers that flow through East Tennessee. Almost without warning, the rivers spilled over their banks and consumed everything in their path, including businesses, services, roads, bridges, and most importantly, residents. The towns of Erwin, Newport, Mountain City, Hampton and Greeneville in East Tennessee are still dealing with the devastation a week later. The communities have been without water, and some roads that connected the towns have been washed away.
The town of Hampton, Tenn., pictured Oct. 3, 2024, was hit hard by flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Helene, with many homes and businesses destroyed. —OSV News photo/Dan McWilliams The East Tennessee Catholic
‘living hell’: Survivor of Oct. 7 attack, father of hostage reflect as conflict approaches one year
JERUSALEM (OSV News) – The celebration of the Jewish New Year this Oct. 2-4 took place just ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel and just after a new act of violence by the terrorist organization that left seven more people dead and 16 injured in Tel Aviv Oct. 1. Israeli police and emergency services described it as a “combined shooting and stabbing attack” on people taking public transportation. Almost 100 families still await news of their loved ones who continue to be held hostage in the Gaza Strip after being abducted last year. Among those taken on Oct. 7, 2023, is Sagui, the 35-year-old American-Israeli who is the son of Jonathan Dekel-Chen. Sagui was wounded and kidnapped by Hamas as he joined Kib
the small southern agricultural community from onslaught. At the end of the day, 1,200 people were murdered throughout 45 communities, and 250 people were kidnapped, including women and children. Since then, Sagui’s wife, Avital, has given birth to their third daughter, and Dekel-Chen has been pushing every day to see what he can do to bring about his son’s release. It has been a year of “living hell,” he said. For Filipino caregiver Camille F. Jesalva, the past year has been one of reflection and of strengthening her Catholic faith. On that terrifying day in October, terrorists entered the home in Kibbutz Nirim, where she lived together with 95-year-old Nitza Hefetz. Jesalva protected Hefetz as the terrorists entered the home, praying her Rosary, and the two women survived.
Israel’s multilayered air-defense system intercepts missiles after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, Oct. 1, 2024. That evening Iran fired over 180 missiles toward Israel. —OSV News photo/ Amir Cohen, Reuters
of the Christian
Witherspoon of “Legally Blonde”
First NT epistle
on the
___ Professor”
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.
QWater, wine and hosts for consecration await the presentation of the gifts at Mass for the Star of the North Eucharistic Congress held at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minn., May 18, 2024. —(OSV News photo/ Courtney Meyer)
I’ve often wondered why Catholics emphasize the Eucharist more than the wine, as the wine is not offered at Communion time. Jesus said to do both in remembrance of him. Isn’t it wrong to not receive both as Jesus taught?
AFirst of all, the Eucharist is both the bread that becomes the body of Christ and the wine that becomes his blood. Usually after the bread has been consecrated – that is, changed into the body of Christ – we refer to it as the “host” to reflect the fact that despite outward appearances it is no longer bread; similarly, we refer to the wine after it is consecrated as the “precious blood” or we might refer to “drinking from the chalice.” In more technical terms, we might also refer to
speak of “receiving communion under both kinds.”
The Church has a teaching called the doctrine of concomitance, which holds that both Eucharistic species are fully consecrated, and that receiving Communion under either kind means that we are receiving Jesus fully in his body, blood, soul and divinity. That is, we are not receiving “less Jesus” when we receive under only one kind.
As we read in Paragraph 1390 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Since Christ is sacramentally present under each of the species, communion under the species of bread alone makes it possible to receive all the fruit of Eucharistic grace.”
This same paragraph of the catechism goes on to tell us: “For pastoral reasons this manner of receiving communion has been legitimately established as the most common form in the Latin rite [i.e., among Latin or “Roman” Catholics].”
The catechism doesn’t go into detail about what these “pastoral reasons” are. But historically, at the time of the Council of Trent in the mid-1500s, there was concern about the need to emphasize the doctrine of concomitance among the faithful. This was to counteract the arguments of some Protestant reformers that receiving under both kinds is strictly necessary for salvation.
In modern times, my own thought is that such “pastoral reasons” might tend to lean closer to practical logistics. For example, a parish might have concerns about the danger of the precious blood accidentally spilling if the chalice was
offered. Additionally, it is far easier to reserve the consecrated hosts in the tab ernacle, and to bring Communion to the homebound under this species.
Still, I would not say that this means the Church intends to emphasize one of the sacred species over the other in general. Despite the permissibility of receiving under only one kind, the Church today has a stated preference for Communion under both kinds in contexts where this is feasible.
As the General Instruction of the Roman Missal clearly states: “Holy Communion has a fuller form as a sign when it takes place under both kinds. For in this form the sign of the Eucharistic banquet is more clearly evident and clearer expression is given to the divine will by which the new and eternal Covenant is ratified in the Blood of the Lord, as also the connection between the Eucharistic banquet and the eschatological banquet in the Kingdom of the Father” (GIRM 281).
Even beyond this, it is the consistent traditional practice in Eastern Catholic Churches to administer Communion under both kinds as a matter of course.
And on an even more foundational level, the Church’s emphasis on the importance of both elements of the Eucharist is evident in canon law. For instance, although the lay faithful may receive holy Communion under only one kind, the Church always requires both bread and wine to be consecrated at every Mass. As Canon 927 of the Code of Canon Law states: “It is absolutely wrong, even in urgent and extreme necessity, to consecrate one element without the other.”
As followers of Christ, each of us is called to participate in pro-life activities, whether in an active ministry group or individually. We are called to respect, protect, love, and serve every human life.
Above All, Love will set you on an in-depth personal journey, helping you to cultivate your own pro-life attitude and activities through relatable stories, Scripture verses, and thought-provoking questions. The book culminates with an examination of conscience and prayers focused on pro-life ministry.
Written by a post-abortive mother who has been active for more than a decade in pro-life ministry, Above All, Love offers a first step in healing the fractures that have plagued this ministry, helping all of us to look inward and strive for sanctification. Author and speaker Elizabeth Gillette describes how she felt as a mother facing a crisis pregnancy and how no one “stood in the gap” for her. Her personal testimony she shares and the lessons she has learned will equip all of us to take responsibility for our own pro-life activities and defend life with intention.
Human life. We marvel at its complexity, we wonder at its fragility, and as Catholics we embrace its dignity. But as far back as 1880, the Church has faced the reality that our culture often stands in opposition to God’s loving design for life, love, marriage, and family. In Life and Love: Opening Your Heart to God’s Design, Terry Polakovic takes us on a fascinating tour of eight Church documents, spanning nearly 140 years, that pertain to human life and love:
• Arcanum Divinae (On Christian Marriage), by Pope Leo XIII, 1880 • Casti Connubii (Of Chaste Wedlock), by Pope Pius XI, 1930 • Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life), by Pope Paul VI, 1968 • Familiaris Consortio (On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World), by Pope John Paul II, 1981 • Mulieris Dignitatem (On the Dignity and Vocation of Women), by John Paul II, 1988
• Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), by John Paul II, 1995 • Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love), by Pope Benedict XVI, 2005 • Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), by Pope Francis, 2016
Whether you’ve read these documents before or are discovering them for the first time, Life and Love will help you understand how the Church consistently and fearlessly offers the only true response to the battles of our time. These books are available at www.osvcatholicbookstore.com
By Deacon Steven D. Greydanus
Watching Chris Sanders’s The Wild Robot, I felt things I haven’t felt in a very long time watching a Hollywood animated movie outside the Spider-Verse: wonder, discovery, joy. If it’s not a perfect movie, it’s the best kind of mostly perfect movie: the kind where the missteps, if they are missteps, don’t diminish the delight of the perfect parts.
The perfect parts are the first twothirds, which play a bit like a lost masterpiece from the era of Pixar greatness, interwoven with threads from non-Pixar masterpieces—especially Sanders’s own Lilo & Stitch, along with Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant and Hayao Miyazaki’s Laputa: Castle in the Sky. There’s a poetic “What if?” premise, powerful in its imaginative simplicity, suffused with heart-wringing parental themes; a parable of social anxiety, differentness, and found family that manages to transcend the clichés of those done-to-death motifs.
The last third stumbles, I think, in reaching for even larger themes while settling for a standard Hollywood heroes-vs.-villains action finale–but, thankfully, none of this detracts from what the film has already achieved. If the movie creaks a bit as it transitions from a winsome tale of an awkward mother of an awkward child learning to give everything she has to see her child succeed and find acceptance to some kind of cautionary parable about solidarity in the face of, like, predatory Big Tech capitalism or whatever, at least what Sanders does in the first two-thirds doesn’t need anything else.
Though the broad outlines of the plot appear to come from the source material (the first of a series of children’s books by Peter Brown, unread by me), The Wild
Robot’s plot resonates strikingly with Lilo & Stitch. An artificial being crash-lands on an island where it is unable to carry out its programming: programming it ultimately transcends, finding its own purpose by learning to love. In the end, the outside world of the creature’s origins comes to collect it, leading to the climactic conflict.
Stitch was a diminutive monster marooned on a Hawaiian island with no large cities on which he might vent his destructive impulses. The Wild Robot stars Lupita Nyong’o as ROZZUM Unit 7134, one of a line of mass-produced personal-service robots programmed to complete tasks for customers. When a delivery flight crashlands on an uninhabited island, 7134—or Roz, as she’ll come to be called—flails about among the island’s wildlife trying to identify a customer and acquire a task.
In a daring but successful echo of (I want to say homage to) the prologue of Finding Nemo, Roz falls on a nest of goose eggs, accidentally killing the mother and smashing most of the eggs—but the bot’s infrared scanners can see the embryonic life in the one intact egg. Roz comes to find her task in ensuring that the surviving gosling is fed and learns to swim and to fly by fall.
In the book, Roz (who learns animal language!) is advised by a sympathetic goose, but the movie pairs her with a snarky fox called Fink (voiced by Pedro Pascal). At first this looks like an Ice Age set-up, with Fink in the predatory Diego the saber-tooth role waiting for his chance to snatch the vulnerable youngster—called Brightbill, voiced by Kit Connor—from its powerful protector’s grasp. But Fink’s motives and character are ultimately more interesting than that, and this oddball family becomes surprisingly endearing.
Visually, The Wild Robot is an absolute revelation; I can’t recall the last non-Spider-Verse Hollywood animated movie I found so mesmerizing just to look at. American computer animation
has been in a rut for a long time, with the plastic 3D look pioneered by Disney/Pixar dominating everything. Only animation wizards Phil Lord and Chris Miller, producers of the Spider-Verse movies as well as The Mitchells vs. the Machines, have seemed interested in doing anything new. Recent DreamWorks Animation projects like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and The Bad Guys did make efforts at a more illustrative 2D style, but The Wild Robot takes this impulse to unprecedented artistic heights. At times the painterly style, with the natural-world setting, recalls the likes of Bambi (never more so than in the impressionistic lighting of a forest-fire sequence) and Miyazaki.
The voice cast is outstanding. Nyong’o, who made an outsize impact in a smaller maternal role as Mowgli’s wolf mother in Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book, beautifully modulates the many stages of Roz’s journey from customer service to wild robot mom. Connor’s ingeniousness as Brightbill is essential, obviously, but Pascal plays Fink with an unexpected sincerity that shifts the tone of the whole movie. Among solid smaller performances including Catherine O’Hara (a stoically ironic mother opossum), Ving Rhames (a dignified falcon), and Mark Hamill (a choleric grizzly bear), Bill Nighy is especially invaluable as a wise and sympathetic patriarchal goose who provides a much-needed counterweight to the rejection that Brightbill faces from his peers.
Following the source material, The Wild Robot eventually becomes the story of how the corporation that manufactures ROZZUM robots comes to collect her, and here the movie makes, for me, a disappointing choice. Almost uniquely among Hollywood animation filmmakers today, Sanders and frequent collaborator Dean DeBlois (who executive produced) prefer to avoid hero-villain conflict. Both Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon involve imagining new social situations
transcending conflict. (The same is true of Sanders’ The Croods, which I detest, but still.) Here, though, Roz’s manufacturers, a tech corporation called Universal Dynamics, are effectively militarized bad guys, and the climax is basically Return of the Jedi’s Battle of Endor with wild animals as Ewoks. Not that I’m against the idea of corporations as ruthless bad guys! Still, the tone and scale of the conflict in the last act struck me as unnecessary overkill in what had until then been a charmingly low-key story.
None of this, though, touches the joys of the film’s first hour or so. Most centrally, The Wild Robot is about what parents sacrifice, emotionally and even physically, in the course of raising and launching children into an uncertain, sometimes (but not always) unforgiving world. (This theme is given early expression by O’Hara’s mother possum and her cheerfully morbid litter. The early appearance of a possum family was the first time I thought of Bambi.)
Unlike so many cartoons about conventional parents who want their quirky children to conform to accepted norms (e.g., Sanders’ own How to Train Your Dragon), The Wild Robot is about the anxiety of being a weird parent whose child’s social issues are inseparable from your own. It’s also about the joy of connecting with sympathetic mentors who can take your child, so to speak, under their wing and teach them things you can’t. It’s about the power of kindness to change the world. I’m still processing the fact that it’s real, that this movie exists.
Steven D. Greydanus, a deacon for the Archdiocese of Newark, has been writing about film since 2000, when he created Decent Films, for film appreciation and criticism informed by Catholic faith. For 10 years he co-hosted the Gabriel Award–winning cable TV show “Reel Faith” for New Evangelization Television, has appeared frequently on Catholic radio and written for a number of Catholic outlets.
22nd Annual Diocesan Blue Mass - 10:30 a.m., Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen. Bishop James F. Checchio will celebrate the Blue Mass for local, county, state and federal law enforcement officials of all faiths. The Mass is an opportunity to honor and pray for law enforcement officials of all faiths who live and work in the Metuchen Diocese. For more information visit: http://www. diometuchen.org/bluemass
RCIA Formation, Making Disciples Institute – to be held at a yet-to-be determined location. The Diocese, together with Team RCIA, will supply participants with the in-depth knowledge of the initiation process as well as well as practical tools and resources they can use to work with the Spirit to form missionary disciples and be renewed in their call to serve. For more information, contact Adam Carlisle, Secretary for Evangelization and Communication at acarlisle@diometuchen.org.
Nov. 23 – Evangelization Workshop – 9:45 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Immaculata High School, 240 Mountain Ave., Somerville. Prior to workshop, 9 a.m. Mass with Msgr. Joseph Celano, Immaculate Conception Church, 35 Mountain Ave., Somerville. During this Year of Mission, the Diocese is hosting this workshop for all parishioners. The day will include presentations, small groups, exercises, breakfast, lunch and all training materials. Cost, $25. Online registration required at stpaulse.com/somerville. If you have questions, contact Adam Carlisle, Secretary for Evangelization and Communication at acarlisle@diometuchen.org.
Adoration and Mass at Pastoral Center – Now that the pandemic is over, Bishop Checchio would like to offer Eucharistic adoration at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Monday through Friday, from 9:00-11:45 a.m. As St. Pope John Paul II noted. “The Church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic adoration.” Anyone who is interested in signing up should contact Angela Marshall at amarshall@diometuchen.org
Bible Study in a Year – This virtual women’s group will be following Father Mike Schmitz’s “Bible in a Year” podcast and meeting each Sunday at 2:30 p.m. on Zoom to discuss insights from the week. For details or to participate contact Cristina at: cdaverso@ diometuchen.org
Lectio Divina for Couples & Families – This virtual program for couples and families is held two Thursdays per month at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. The program includes praying a meditative reading of a short scripture passage. For questions and more details, contact cdaverso@diometuchen.org
Immigration Talks - The Office of Hispanic Evangelization and Pastoral Ministry will be resuming immigration talks in coordination with Catholic Charities.
If your parish is interested in hosting an immigration talk, email: lescobar@diometuchen.org and indicate the best day for an immigration talk to your parish and community.
Dec. 1, 3 p.m. - The Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea, Church of the Sacred Heart, South Plainfield. To be conducted by Rev. Alphonse Stephenson. General Admission, $40; Seniors, $35; Students, $20. Buy tickets at: www.churchofthesacredheart.net or call: 732-742-5034 or 908-756-0633, x110
Nov. 14, 1-4 p.m. “The Black Poster Project,” an addiction and overdose awareness exhibition, will be presented in the Shrine of St. Joseph Auditorium located at 1050 Long Hill Road, Stirling. The exhibition of “Silent Memorials” is meant to be a beacon of support to those families that have lost loved ones due to addictions. It hopes to provide healing and support to all those who are suffering and grieving because of the epidemic of addictions and death in our families. For further information, contact I THIRST coordinator Keaton Douglas at 973-370-3784.
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
The Diocese of Metuchen is seeking a freelance photographer to cover important events throughout the diocese, particularly the Bishop’s pastoral visits. The ideal candidate will have knowledge of how to appropriately photograph liturgical events in the Diocese and assist the Office of Communications and Public Relations, as well as The Catholic Spirit. Interested candidates should contact Adam Carlisle at acarlisle@diometuchen.org.
Our Lady of Mount Virgin Church
Saturday, November 23, 10 - 3 pm
450 Drake Avenue, Middlesex, NJ 08846, 732-356-2149, ext. 1001
Wide variety of new and “gently used” merchandise for sale. Shoppers Treasure Hunt: Fill a bag from selected items for $10.
OLO Mount Virgin, TCS ad 1/8th page, 4.71 x 2.85” October 13, 2024
Hosted by the Rosary Altar Society
Saturday: November 30 th, 9 am to 4 pm 23 Manalapan Road • Spotswood, NJ
Quality holiday and handcrafted items
Breakfast/Lunch/Snacks available for sale
Free admission & parking • Crafters tables still available
Contact Jay at 609-409-0199
Congratulations Brother Richard Leven, S.C. for 65 years of service and commitment to the Brothers of the Sacred Heart.
You are a dear friend to all, and a shining example of Father André Coindre’s charism.
Ametur Cor Jesu!
John G. Nolan, Jr., President
Anne Rivera, Principal
All Partners in Mission Saint Joseph High School