This Sunday, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, the final Sunday of our liturgical year. Pope Pius XI presciently instituted the feast of Christ the King in 1925 to combat the progressive secularization of Western civilization. The Holy Father was dismayed by the increasing influence of anti-Christian values in the mainstream of society, culture, and government; his point was that despite attempts to find fulfillment in all the wrong places, only when all people “realize that Christ is King, will society at last receive the blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace, and harmony.”
Many of you may recall, as I do, the catechetical lessons of childhood. When my mom taught me the Ten Commandments, her explanation was simple: “These are God’s laws,” she explained. “By following them, we are preparing ourselves to be with God forever in Heaven.” I would ask her: “What do we do in Heaven?” My mom would explain: “Oh it is beautiful…We kneel before God and worship Him for all eternity.” My response: “Forever? That sounds boring.” My mom would try to explain that God would make sure it would not be boring for us. I would mostly leave her lap unconvinced about “how” God would make it less boring, but quite convinced that following God’s Commandments would enable us to gain Heaven.
Margaret Josephine Dodd Hillier, 98, of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, passed away peacefully Oct. 30 in St. Patrick’s Mercy Home in St. John’s surrounded by her loving family. She is the mother of Father John G. Hiller, Director of the Office of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the Diocese of Metuchen and the Office for Persons with Disabilities.
Religious Teachers Filippini Sister Anne Marie Pace, 98, who taught at St. Ann School, Raritan Borough, and Perth Amboy Catholic School, died Oct. 14 at St. Joseph Hall Infirmary, Villa Walsh, Morristown.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, With a grateful heart, I am able to share with you today that we exceeded the 2022 Bishop’s Annual Appeal goal by over one million dollars! We raised almost 8.4 million dollars this year. This is a great tribute to you and act of thanksgiving as we celebrated our 40th anniversary as a diocese. As you know, the needs have become greater given the pandemic and the recent inflation issues we are suffering from. I am told that many more elderly brothers and sisters are coming for assistance these days and the number of people coming has tripled since the beginning of the pandemic. The extra funding available to respond to all these many needs is a great relief. Yes, we are able to respond to so many of these needs in the name of Christ, thanks to your overwhelming generosity. This is a blessing and something we cannot do alone or as an individual parish, so you came together to respond as a diocesan community in a beautiful way. Thank you!
Queen Esther would have made a fine religious sister! This heroine of the Hebrew people exemplifies what it means to be completely dependent upon God. She asks for courage, persuasive words in her mouth and the wherewithal to overpower Haman, the Agagite, vizier to King Xerxes of Persia, to whom Esther is bethrothed. Since Xerxes makes Esther his Queen, and her uncle, Mordecai, refused to offer homage to Haman, the latter sets out on a plot to obtain from the King a decree of extermination against all the Jews living in the Persian Empire.
METUCHEN — “We gather together dedicated to the mission of teaching,” said Father Timothy A. Christy to the scores of both new and seasoned Catholic school teachers, staff and administrators filling the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi Aug. 30 for the Mass for the Opening of Schools. “The mission of Catholic education is to form students intellectually, spiritually, socially and mentally, the whole child in the context of our faith.”
SOMERVILLE — When Pope Francis released his second encyclical, “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home,” in 2015, he set into motion a conceptual blueprint as to how all of humanity might come together to respond to the global climate crisis, urgently issuing an appeal to begin a new dialogue about shaping the future of the planet.
September 11 is an emotional day for us all, as it always reminds us of the horrific terroristic attacks in our country that changed and took the lives of too many innocent people. We continue to pray for the victims and their families and all of us affected by that day’s tragic events. Gratefully, this year, we had a celebration that gives us a reason to offer thanks as our diocesan community gathered with Bishop Emeritus Paul G. Bootkoski at our beautiful Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi for a Mass of thanksgiving for his special milestone of 25 years of episcopal service. Indeed, we have much to be grateful for as 20 of those 25 years have been spent serving the faithful of this wonderful Church of Metuchen.
NORTH BRUNSWICK — On July 16, two years after 20-year-old Daniel Anderl died protecting his mother and father from a gunman, 1,100 runners gathered at the North Brunswick Community Park to celebrate his life and create a legacy in his name at the second and final Daniel Anderl “Love is Light” 5K run.
GLEN GARDNER — After a hiatus of two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Four Day Walking Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pa., returned. The pilgrims’ journey began Aug. 4, at Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Great Meadows, and ended at the shrine on Aug. 7. The shrine contains a reproduction of the Black Madonna of Jasna Góra, who has a special place in the lives of Catholics of Polish descent and is Poland’s most revered icon.
No matter how many times I prepare for a funeral, the surviving family has much more interest in requesting a favorite song or hymn than they do in choosing the Scripture which will be read. Perhaps the first reading from the Book of Wisdom gives us some insight into this phenomenon when we hear how the “just sang the hymns of their ancestors.”
The great Irish author and theologian, C.S. Lewis, once wrote that “humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.” This insight serves as an apt introduction to our readings this Sunday. Our call is to re-member that it is all about God — and God’s goodness — and our privilege to be instruments of that goodness.
When was the last time you spoke ill of another? Perhaps in frustration? Perhaps in anger? Perhaps due to jealousy? Maybe even envy? Those of us who have experienced a moment like that have broken the Eighth Commandment.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Amidst the slower pace and extra rest the summer provides, I had two beautiful experiences earlier this month that I want to share with you.
NEW BRUNSWICK — Boxing gym owners Dionne Roberts-Thompson and her husband, John (JT) Thompson want to help young people in more ways than one with their Pillars of Success Program. The couple have owned Brunswick Boxing Stars for about 11 years.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, St. Luke presents Jesus speaking to his disciples about prayer. For the past few weeks, our Gospel readings have focused on the marks of a good disciple — love and service of God and neighbor as well as devotion to Jesus — and now Jesus adds the necessity of prayer as another such characteristic.
Justice and solidarity among nations” and “love for the poor” are themes close to my heart. How are these topics related to the Seventh Commandment, “You shall not steal”? When unjust relations exist between nations or when circumstances create a situation causing people to live on the brink of destitution, we need to consider how we might lend a helping hand.
I’ll never forget my freshman year in college. I had just returned home after my final exams. Two days later, I got a call from the resident assistant of my dorm who informed me that my roommate took his own life. First of all, my roommate was the last person on the floor that I would have ever expected to end his own life. He was handsome. He was popular. He was athletic and intelligent. He had lots of friends and was even engaged. So, why would somebody with so much going for him decide to call it quits. And while 48 years have elapsed since my buddy committed suicide, it’s something that remains with me to this day. I share this vignette from my life because suicide is the third largest killer of young people in the United States.
MIDDLESEX — When Father David V. Skoblow began his journey as a newly-ordained priest and parochial vicar at Our Lady of Peace Parish, Fords, in 2015, he told a reporter that his primary responsibility was the salvation of souls, which, pursuant to canon law, is “the supreme law of the Church.” Seven years later, it remains the focus of his ministry as he assumed the office of pastor of Our Lady of Mount Virgin Parish.
