Before TV, computers and social media, I was hooked on comic books. My hero was Superman and it was my dream to become like Lois Lane, a reporter in love with Clark Kent whose true identity I got to know as Superman.
Have you ever experienced a song so beautiful that you didn’t want it to end? Or a sunset that seemed to speak right to your heart, tapping into a deep longing that made you feel like it was made just for you? Words are incomplete but these are the closest images I can give for my encounter with Jesus.
Clergy from throughout the Diocese of Metuchen gathered to refresh body and soul while celebrating their fraternal bonds during the priest convocation held Oct. 15-17 in The Breakers on the Ocean, Spring Lake. The convocation addressed both the spiritual and the sacred, with the priests participating in Morning and Evening Prayer, Eucharistic Adoration and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
In observance of All Saints Day, students at St. Matthias School, Somerset, participated in a quarter-century old tradition of delving into the lives of saints.
What was planned as a fun learning experience for the littlest students in St. John Vianney School, Colonia, was just as rewarding for their teenage mentors from St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison, in a “Reach Out and Read” event this month.
On Oct. 25, students at St. Helena School, Edison, continued a decade-long tradition of participating in a Living Rosary for World Missions. More than 60 students in grades five through eight became the “beads” of the Rosary, lining the aisles around the perimeter of the church and holding candles with ribbons that represented world continents. The tradition began with older students leading prayers, teaching younger students about praying the Rosary. In addition to dedicating prayer to World Missions, the school community has also prayed together in times of tragedy and unrest, including prayer following terrorist attacks in Paris and for the people of Ukraine.
For members of the Vocations Ministry at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Old Bridge, celebrating and supporting vocations among faithful is a year-round mission.
This Sunday the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King, the final Sunday of our liturgical year. Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925 to combat the progressive secularization of Western culture. The Holy Father was dismayed by the increasing influence of anti-Christian values in the mainstreams of society, morality, and government; his hope was that increased attention to Christ the King would “hasten the return of society to our loving Savior” (Pope Pius XI, Quas Primas, 1925). The late Holy Father’s observations remain even more of concern in our own day, and thus our readings this weekend attempt to rekindle our own religious ardor by portraying Jesus’ kingship as a matter of loving service poured out for the sake of the truth, that is, his progressive revelation of his Father’s Heavenly Kingdom.
For Christians, Advent, meaning coming or arrival, is a special season to prepare for the birth of the Christ Child. Like Mary, we are called to be pregnant with faith as we look forward with anticipation and great excitement to bringing to life the life of God within us.
October’s Youth Ministry Meet-Up and Formation Day brought together youth ministers, parish catechetical leaders and religious for a day focused on reaching the hearts of teens.
For Jason Cordova, diocesan administrative assistant for the Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life, faith has always been an important part of his life.
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen’s Unity Square Community Center in New Brunswick has services that help community members with food insecurities, social concerns and housing resources.
When I recently had the pleasure of speaking at the Rosary Society Communion Breakfast in my parish, I began by asking why the Qu’ran, the holy book of Islam, pays so much attention to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
For the St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison, gymnastics team, the gymnasium is where tradition meets tenacity, and this season they proved it once again. The team clinched its third consecutive Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Championship, setting a state-high mark of 111.80. But they didn’t stop there: STA went on to win the NJSIAA North II State Sectional Championship with a new state-high score of 111.975, securing the top seed in the upcoming state team championships. This is STA’s third straight sectional title, adding yet another chapter to a story of hard work, history, and a program that consistently builds remarkable athletes.
St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison, is proud to announce that junior Samantha Villacis, one of the nation’s top high school swimmers, has verbally committed to Florida State University to further her academic and athletic career. Villacis, a celebrated member of the STA swimming team and school community, chose Florida State from among five prestigious offers, which included Indiana University, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, and Northwestern.
If you look around at high school sports teams throughout New Jersey, you’d be hard-pressed to find a greater transformation of a program than Somerville’s Immaculata girls soccer.
In 2020, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released the letter Samaritanus bonus (The Good Samaritan), “on the care of persons in the critical and terminal phases of life.” It explains Church teaching on care for the seriously ill or dying and includes pastoral guidance for end-of-life decisions. The USCCB article, “The Witness of the Good Samaritan: Palliative Care and Hospice” summarizes the document’s key points.
Saint Peter’s University Hospital’s Robert and Joan Campbell Adult Emergency Department has been selected as a recipient of the Emergency Nurses Association’s 2024 Lantern Award for demonstrating excellence in leadership, practice, education, advocacy, and research performance.