NEW BRUNSWICK — Thirty-five young adults from the diocese gathered to deepen their faith at a retreat held by the diocesan Office of Young Adult Ministry at the Catholic Center at Rutgers Aug. 17.

This edition of our “Catholic Spirit” pays tribute to our catechists. How blessed we are to have an army of men and women, from the young to the more senior, who volunteer to serve in this wonderful ministry, helping our youth to know Jesus and His Church better through the many different catechetical programs our parishes host. In fact, the formation of our children as faithful disciples of the Lord is one of the most important works of the Church. St. Paul in his letter to the Romans expresses our gratitude for those who bring the good news to others beautifully: “And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Growing up in the spiritual home of St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, Kendall Park, Brother Nicholas Riccardi said had a “strong sense of closeness” to Mary, the mother of Jesus, “even at a young age.” On Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother into Heaven, that closeness inspired Brother Nicholas to be one of five men who professed their first vows as members of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary at Mass at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, Stockbridge, Mass.

UNION TOWNSHIP — For most Catholics, going to Mass means going to their parish church. Inmates at the Edna Mahon Women’s Correctional Facility in Annandale, however, attend Mass not in their parish, but in their prison’s library, except on special occasions. One of those times was Aug. 28.