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On September 20, 1519, Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese navigator working for Spain, led the 1st expedition to circumnavigate the globe, via the Pacific Ocean, in search of valuable spices in the Moluccas.

NEW BRUNSWICK — “U.S. News & World Report,” the global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice, has ranked The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital among the top 50 hospitals in the nation in neonatology in the new 2021-22 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings recently published online.

The Fourth Commandment in Sacred Scripture found in Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16, which states: “Honor your father and your mother...”, is explained further in the Catechism as follows: “God has willed that, after him, we should honor our parents to whom we owe life and who have handed on to us the knowledge of God” (ccc 2197).

The Youth Partial Care (YPC) program operated by Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, resumed full services June 14, making YPC the first partial-care program in Middlesex County to resume the full range of in-person services following the COVID-19 outbreak.

On June 11, the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Father Robert G. Lynam, pastor, St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, Kendall Park, presided at a blessing and dedication of a redwood tree and memorial stone in memory of Daniel Mark Anderl at the parish’s school.

ASBURY — On the eve of Father’s Day, four new fathers were ordained to the priesthood for the diocese at a shrine dedicated to the Blessed Mother.

The teenagers of today, otherwise known as Generation Z, are considered digital natives. They were born in the era of smartphones and are creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial. They are present in our Church.

Two weeks ago in the Sunday Gospel, Jesus instructs the Apostles that if they are not welcomed wherever they go, they should “shake the dust from their sandals” and leave that place. The Lord’s instruction that the disciples should leave the place where they are not welcomed makes perfectly good sense and follows Jesus’ teaching that we have dignity and should never surrender that God-given trait, even if it seems the only way to win peace or harmony.

On July 26, the Church celebrates the feast day of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and grandparents of Jesus. Their feast day is a celebration and reminder of the important work of educating children in the faith in the hope that one day, like Mary, they would also love God with all their hearts and remember to always say “yes” to His will.

The old adage “Charity begins at home” holds true, even when “home” is a land more than 6,000 miles away.

My brothers, Ariel, Greg, Jay, Tim, Ronal, your being ordained in the year of St. Joseph will be something you will always remember, and hopefully you will take on from this day forward an even more special bond with St. Joseph. As you know, from Dec. 8, 2020, until Dec. 8, 2021, Pope Francis has asked for St. Joseph’s special intercession for the whole Church in his apostolic letter, “With a Father’s heart.” The introductory line gives us very simply the identity of St. Joseph as it begins “With a father’s heart: that is how St. Joseph loved Jesus.” St. Joseph was given a father’s heart to love with the love of our Father in heaven, not only Jesus, but also Mary and all of us, God’s children.

Bishop James F. Checchio recently announced the following assignments. Unless otherwise noted, all are effective July 1, 2021.

SOMERSET — Often seen lighting candles on the altar or distributing patens to extraordinary ministers of holy Communion, just as he did at the Vigil Mass at St. Matthias Church June 5, Tom Fullerton is a familiar face at St. Matthias Parish, having once served as the sacristan there.

The Pentecost Novena is a very powerful and popular form of Roman Catholic devotion. The prayers that are said on each of the nine days culminating with the great Solemnity of Pentecost took on a new level of meaning this year for St. Joseph Parish, Bound Brook. Those days also became a time of preparation for the installation of its new pastor, Msgr. Joseph J. Kerrigan, by Bishop James F. Checchio May 23.

Father Michael Fragoso entered St. Mary of Mount Virgin Church for the first time in 2013 on the evening before his ordination to the priesthood.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Spirit is gratefully alive in our Diocese and not even a pandemic can stop Him! Even amidst the great sorrows we have experienced this past year, there have been blessings, too, as some of you have shared with me about your renewed and deepened faith and a renewed appreciation for the Eucharist that truly is a gift. A fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit certainly helps us to renew ourselves and our commitment as Christ’s disciples, and hence renews and enlivens our Church.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Father Michael T. Kottar, 53, passed away on the Vigil of Pentecost May 22, 2021, after a battle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. He had served as a Catholic priest for 27 years.

Article 150 - Catechism of the Catholic Church Series Paragraphs 2133-2159 We have all heard it said in our grammar school “geography lessons” that all the rivers of the world flow to the ocean. Similarly, it can be said, that all words uttered under Heaven reach the “mind” of God. Thus, the Second Commandment teaches that words matter, especially when referencing the Divine Name, as well as the Christian name given at Baptism.

The Fed Challenge team at Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung, recently had a paper entitled, “Leading Factors of Gender Inequality” accepted into the “Journal of Future Economists,” said Kathleen Brennan, chairperson of the all-girls school’s Department of Mathematics.

PHILLIPSBURG – Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen (CCDOM), is offering immigrants who want to apply to become a United States citizen, consultations and a free companion. This free offer is available until September. The normal cost for the service is $550.