News RSS Feed

Among the poems my dad would often recite from memory was a poem called “Trees” by New Brunswick, New Jersey native Alfred Joyce Kilmer. I fondly recall the opening line: “I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree;” and the final line would always bring a smile to my face: “Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.”

(Editor’s note: Father Sirianni, pastor, St. Helena Parish, Edison, recently spent three days with Catholic Extension in the United States Virgin Islands in one of the poorest dioceses in the United States. Since Catholic Extension was founded in 1905 by Father Francis Clement Kelly in Lapeer, Mich., the now Chicago-based Papal Society has contributed more than $500 million — $1.2 billion in today’s dollars — to poor mission dioceses in the U.S. where the faith is thriving but the resources are scarce. Below is an excerpt from a message from Father Sirianni to his parishioners about the visit.)

WATCHUNG – Bishop James F. Checchio issued the newest pastor of St. Mary-Stony Hill Parish a loving challenge at his installation Dec. 8, saying his task would be “to help us open our hearts more widely to Jesus so that his presence may fill us and all those we encounter each day.”

Did you ever wonder: “Why did Jesus ask to be baptized?” After all, the Church teaches that Christ shared in our humanity in all ways but sin. So, if Jesus was without sin, why would he ask for something that he really did not need?

METUCHEN – With a worshipful mix of prayer, song, veneration and reverent pageantry, Catholics of Filipino descent honored the Virgin Mary Dec. 15 during the opening Mass of a nine-day novena known as Simbang Gabi.

On the Solemnity of the Epiphany, I started a week retreat together with the bishops of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Be assured that I am praying for you during my retreat, but I also ask that you pray for me, too. The Epiphany was a great day to begin a retreat, a longer period of intense prayer.

This Sunday, we celebrate the great feast of the Epiphany, the manifestation of Jesus’ glory. Like Christmas itself, the Epiphany is one of the most ancient feasts in Christendom, having been observed as early as the mid 300's in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. Actually, immediately after the legalization of Christianity, the Church borrowed the pagan festival known as the “Birthday of the Unconquered Sun” and baptized it as the Epiphany, the feast of God’s Son gloriously shining among his people. By doing so, the Church was able to re-direct people’s allegiance from the pagan deities to Jesus Christ.

EASTON, Pa. ­­ — The concept of retreat can have a negative connotation. It usually brings to mind a situation where an army or another group is forced to move back or withdraw after a defeat. But in the context of the Catholic spiritual practice, the withdrawal is not because of a defeat but to allow a period of reflection and renewal to strengthen an individual or a group in a desire to follow Our Lord’s command to “Take up your cross and follow Me” (Mt 16:24).

METUCHEN — Standing before a banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe bedecked with fragrant roses, Bishop James F. Checchio issued a challenge to the faithful seated within the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi Dec. 12: their work had only just begun.

Article 130 - Catechism of the Catholic Church Series Paragraphs 1699 -1709 As Director of the Propagation of the Faith for the Diocese of Metuchen, I often make appeals for the poor in missionary lands. I once made this suggestion in an appeal talk: “Imagine as you place your monetary gift into collection basket that you are really placing it into the pierced hands of Jesus, who died on a cross to save you...”

Each year, we celebrate the birth of Jesus. The baby in the manger is an image we hold dear to our hearts — but, the image only has meaning for us because we have been told what the world was like before the incarnation. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we have seen his glory: The glory of an only Son coming from the Father, filled with enduring love.” (Jn1:14) Until this moment, ours was a world that could never conceptualize the divine. Now, we can actually put a face on the infinitely transcendent God, who mediates our matter to himself and embraces fully our humanity in the person of the Holy Infant. Still, we have to remember that we can only begin to grasp the impact that the incarnation had on our world because our faith has been tweaked by what followed the infancy of the Christ-child, Jesus’ ministry, his Passion, Death and Resurrection. It is in light of what follows the incarnation that we can look back and say “this birth is different from all others.” Then and only then, can we pause and give thanks to God for the gift of his Son, for the glory of his incarnation and subsequent birth of Jesus.

What a blessed time for our Diocese! I certainly count it among my blessings in life to be a part of this Church of Metuchen, and I thank God for all of you each morning. Our Year of Spiritual Awakening of Faith bore much fruit, as we strove to wake up and become even more aware of God’s love and desire for us. Just as St. Juan Diego was prepared for the encounter he had with our Mother Mary, so we have been preparing ourselves for our encounter, our consecration to Jesus through Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our students participated with a consecration in each of their schools on her feast day, and in the evening, we gathered in our beautiful Cathedral, filled to capacity, with Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Pope’s representative to our country, presiding at Mass. At the end of the Mass, I led our faithful in our consecration and on the following weekend, each of our parishes was asked to recite the prayer of consecration together in a great moment of prayer as we entrusted our whole Diocese to Our Lady of Guadalupe asking her to bring us closer to Her Son.

Article 129 - Catechism of the Catholic Church Series Paragraphs 1691-1698 As a small child, do you remember learning to pray to your guardian angel? Perhaps you remember your mother teaching you that your guardian angel helped keep you from hurting your soul by sin. Perhaps you remember her telling you that your guardian angel helped steer you away from sin. Perhaps you remember her telling you that your guardian angel helped you understand what God wants. Perhaps you remember the little prayer to your guardian angel ...

On this feast, it is good for us to visualize the real humanity of the only woman conceived without sin. If we look, for example, at the Joyful Mysteries of the rosary, we will find five portraits of a woman in whose image any action hero pales.

FORDS — The wet weather did little to dampen spirits of the faithful who filled Our Lady of Peace Church Oct. 27 for a Mass celebrating the parish’s 100th anniversary. Bishop James F. Checchio presided at the liturgy together with 20 concelebrating priests and assisting deacons.

NORTH BRUNSWICK — The familiar words of the Nicene Creed took on an extra dimension for the congregation at Mass Nov. 2 at Our Lady of Peace Church, when Bishop James F. Checchio installed Father Michael G. Krull as the third pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish.

NEW BRUNSWICK — “Choices do matter,” declared Bishop James F. Checchio Nov. 2 at St. Peter the Apostle University and Community Church. “We choose heaven by accepting God’s grace in our lives. By living that grace, sharing that grace with others, we make heaven seen on earth.”

METUCHEN — “This has become one of my favorite gatherings of the year,” declared Bishop James F. Checchio at the Oct. 27 Silver and Gold Wedding Anniversary Prayer Service at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. “We thank you for your faithful witness to married love in a world so much in need.”

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, This will be a Thanksgiving Day I won't soon forget. On Thanksgiving morning, the bishops of Pennsylvania and New Jersey will be meeting with Pope Francis. Certainly, being your bishop is one of the things I am most grateful for, so it will be an appropriate way to spend Thanksgiving Day and I can thank the person who sent me here to you, Pope Francis.

Article 128 - Catechism of the Catholic Church Series Paragraphs 1680-1690 The most beautiful legacy my father left to his family is that he taught us how to live and he taught us how to die. During his lifetime, the words my dad spoke to us, and the example he set, were a perpetual lesson in how to live virtuously. Throughout his life, though deaf from the age of 21 and blind in the years before the end of his life, having battled years of sickness due to tuberculosis and many major surgeries that included the removal of a kidney and lung coupled with cancer and heart disease, my dad never thought of himself as disabled or needy, or otherwise less blessed by God.