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The current pandemic situation has certainly altered our lives, but it has not crushed our spirit or kept us from practicing our Catholic faith! It has greatly challenged all of us and presented us with a unique time in our lives to go deeper into our own spiritual journey to realize how even now God is calling us to recognize Him in our midst.

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen (CCDOM), was recently recognized by the New Jersey Department of Human Services and Valerie L. Mielke, assistant commissioner, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

KENDALL PARK — St. Augustine of Canterbury Church has added a beautiful new addition to its Chapel of the Saints — a reliquary containing an amazingly lifelike replica of St. John Paul II.

One is a New Jersey native; the other moved to the Garden State from South America while in high school and recently, Bishop James F. Checchio appointed both to head key offices in the diocese.

OLD BRIDGE — St. Thomas the Apostle Parish began its 100th anniversary celebration Oct. 13 when a 20-gallon tank with a time capsule inside was unearthed.

“Catholic Charities is part of the mission of us all: to be baptized to spread the heart and mind of Jesus everywhere we go,” declared diocesan vicar general Father Timothy A. Christy during the 2020 Champions for Catholic Charities virtual gala and fundraiser Oct. 22.

BOUND BROOK — The young sapling stood along busy Mountain Avenue, its leaves rustling in the morning breeze. Though spindly now, it represented hope for a better tomorrow, an attitude more tuned to nature and respect for the environment, declared Msgr. Joseph J. Kerrigan, pastor, St. Joseph Parish.

​​​​​​​When thinking about “the Church,” how often do we consider the fact that Jesus had us in mind some 2,000 years ago when, at Caesarea Philippi, he told Saint Peter, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church…And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 16:18-19)? Do we appreciate that Jesus was actually thinking about us when he stood, in his glorified risen body, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and drew from that same man, Saint Peter, the three-fold repeated profession of love: “Lord, you know that I love you” (Jn 21:15-17)? He then gave Peter supreme authority over his Church (Jn 21:15-17).

We all have Christmas expectations.  We imagine that Christmas should be marked by snowflakes gently falling from the sky; not a lot of snow that would cause travel hazards, just a little coating of the white stuff so that it looks like a Currier & Ives postcard.  Instead, maybe we get a “nor’easter.”

The Season of Advent is my favorite liturgical season as it is a season of hope. Hope is a combination of the desire for something and the expectation of receiving it. Our desire is for Jesus, and that is what Advent prepares us for, Jesus’ coming to us again and again! During Advent, we are regularly reminded in our readings about all that God has done throughout the millennia before Jesus’ birth to meticulously prepare the world for His arrival. We are also reminded that we are a pilgrim people as we read about generations of our ancestors longing for the coming of the Messiah. We join with them, knowing we were made for and destined for heaven with our Lord, guided on our way by His Mother and the saints who intercede for us as our friends in heaven, assisting us on our way.

PISCATAWAY -- When Bishop James F. Checchio addressed the small crowd gathered recently in the chapel at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, he recalled a past visit to a friend of his who was a priest ministering in a village in South Africa.

Editor’s Note: When Msgr. Seamus F. Brennan, former pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, Somerville, and Msgr. Charles W. Cicerale, former pastor of St. James Parish, Woodbridge, retired in September, “The Catholic Spirit” asked them to reflect on their decades of experience in Catholic education. Natives of County Laois, my family benefited from the emphasis on faith and scholarship, fostered in our Catholic education in Ireland. For nearly 40 years of my 48 year-priestly ministry in America, I have been assigned to parishes with schools. As a young priest assigned to St. Philip and James Parish in Phillipsburg, which had a K-12 school system, including Phillipsburg Catholic High School, I had my first view of the American Catholic school system and was impressed by the spiritual and academic formations.

When she was a junior at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, life changed for Franciscan Sister of Penance Lisa Marie Shatynski. She began discerning religious life that year when her spiritual director suggested she read, “Discerning the Will of God,” by Timothy Gallagher. “By the end of that book, it was just blatantly clear that the Lord was calling me to religious life,” Sister Lisa said. She recalled telling her spiritual director, “I feel like God is my boyfriend.”

I recently had a wonderful opportunity to witness one of our third-year theologians (seminarians) become a Candidate for Holy Orders. The candidacy ceremony marks a moment in a man’s journey toward priesthood when, having achieved a certain level of qualification and maturity, he asks the Church to formally hear of his continuing commitment to prepare for the sacrament of holy orders for the sake of God and his people.

SOMERVILLE — Immaculata High School recently announced its seventh Hall of Fame class.

METUCHEN — Upon hearing about the search for a president of Saint Joseph High School, John G. Nolan was sure the position would be a perfect fit for him. It would combine his 35-plus years in fundraising experience, his commitment to his Catholic faith, and his dedication to the high school. His son, John, graduated from Saint Joe’s in 2009.

NEW BRUNSWICK — Saint Peter’s University Hospital recently recognized one of its longtime employees for 60 years of service.

In January 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States gave our nation Roe v. Wade and its companion decision Doe v. Bolton, and, in doing so, effectively removed every legal protection from human beings prior to birth. Over the past 47 years, millions of lives have been destroyed before birth and even during the very process of being born. Countless women have been traumatized so deeply by abortion that they spend years struggling to find peace, healing, and reconciliation. Men grieve because they could not “choose” to protect a child they helped bring into existence, and society has increasingly coarsened by toleration and acceptance of acts that purposely destroy human life.

Article 144 - Catechism of the Catholic Church Series Paragraphs 1987-2016 As a child, when I insisted on doing something or questioning something that was not in line with our Catholic faith, my mom would often say: “God’s ways are not our ways and our ways are not always God’s.” Little did my mom know that she was quoting from Isaiah 55:8 in the Old Testament when she spoke these words. Perhaps we’ve all heard a variation of them. In any case, they all derive from this passage in the Book of the Isaiah.

In just a few days, we will once again gather around the dining room table and give thanks for our blessings by sharing a prayer, a bountiful feast and the company of loved ones.  Afterwards, maybe we’ll enjoy a nap, some football and, top off the meal with pumpkin pie, a kiss goodnight and a sigh of relief that a COVID vaccine is on the horizon.  Meanwhile, we must continue to wear our masks, keep social distance of six feet from each other, wash our hands frequently and avoid large groups.