Priests Celebrate 50 Years Serving Our Diocese

By Christina Leslie
 
It’s not surprising that Father Joseph L. Desmond credits along, diverse list of influences as inspiration for his 50 years of priesthood, for he has enjoyed a long, diverse ministerial journey. “I have wanted to become a priest ever since I could remember,” he said, adding his family of faith and priests along the way played a part in his decision. “I am amazed about what happened from God through me.”

Born in 1947 in Long Branch as one of four children of the late Gertrude and James Desmond, he graduated from the town’s Our Lady Star of the Sea School, then received his high school education at Mother of the Savior Minor Seminary, Blackwood. He then attended St. Charles College, Catonsville, Md., and St. Mary Seminary and University, Baltimore, where he earned a Master of Divinity Degree.

Father Desmond was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop George W. Ahrat St. Mary Cathedral, Trenton, on May18, 1974. Within the diocese, he served as associate pastor in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Metuchen, and Our Lady of Peace Parish, Fords. He was secretary to Bishop Theodore E. McCarrick from 1982-88. In 1984, he was selected to serve as the first pastor of Most Holy Redeemer, Old Bridge, a parish which began as an 8.5 acre field.

Recalling the ambitious project, Father Desmond said, “I trusted in the Lord to send the right people to form the community. It was very exciting. The main reason for it growing and our paying off the mortgage after 11 years was people tapping shoulders, that is, inviting them to do work, attend ser-vices, etc.”

Father Desmond was transferred to Our Lady of Mount Virgin Parish, Middlesex, in 1996 and named pastor; a year later he was named pastor of St. Cecilia Parish, Monmouth Junction, and served in that position until 2002. After four years of ministry in Tennessee, he assumed the role of chaplain in Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick. He is now retired and is in residence back at Most Holy Redeemer.

Additional degrees and certifications earned by Father Desmond include a master of science degree in rehabilitation counseling from St. John University, N.Y.; pastoral care training at Mercy Medical Center, Darby, Pa., and pastoral care certification from the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. In the medical arena, the priest has served at St. Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick, in a variety of roles, including as hospital chaplain and a member of the foundation board, board of trustees and ethics committee. Father Desmond also served as the bishop’s representative to the medical and dental staff there, and as coordinator of the diocesan Health Care Apostolate.

His service to the Diocese of Metuchen included as a member of the advisory committee of the diocesan Seminary Board and the Priestly Life and Ministry Committee; member and special assistant to the Archbishop of Newark on health care issues, and dean of the Raritan Bay Deanery. Father Desmond has also served as a member of the ethics committee of Old Bridge Township and of the Catholic Charities Managed Care Coordinating Commit-tee, and as chaplain to the Cheesequake Fire Department, Old Bridge. The long-time priest has sage ad-vice for any young man contemplating the priesthood.

“Pray to the Holy Spirit,” Father Desmond recommended, “for you won’t see what’s coming down the road.”



By Christina Leslie

Capuchin Father Joseph M. Kubiak credits “strong ladies” of faith with his decision to join the priesthood. “I had two aunts who were nuns, and they visited us often,” he recalled. “I was to be named Anthony, but my mother and grandma named me Joseph because I was born on his feast day.”

The future priest was born in Jasien, Poland, in 1948 as the eldest of six children to Walter and Elizabeth Kubiak. When he was 14, he began priestly studies at a minor seminary and eventually earned a master’s degree from Lomza Major Seminary, Poland. Turmoil in that country forced him to serve in the Polish army from 1968-1970 while attending seminary.

“They tried to control the Church,” he said of the military leaders. “They tried to change our minds. It was hard physically, mentally and emotionally.” Quoting Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko, a martyred Polish priest associated with the country’s Solidarity trade union, the priest added, “Persecution makes saints.”

Nonetheless, Father Kubiak was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Nicholas Sasinowski on March 30,1974 in Poland, and served there until he was sent by his order to the United States, arriving in 1979. Father Kubiak ministered in the Chicago area where he earned a master’s degree in social studies and mass media from Loyola University, followed by assignments in Oklahoma before beginning service to the Diocese of Metuchen in 1984.
One of the priest’s favorite aspects of his ministry is walking in the steps of the Lord as he serves. “I love to celebrate the Sacraments and the Mass, to see Je-sus do these things through my hands,” Father Kubiak said. “I can connect with God and his people and be humble.”

The native Pole visited Elk, Poland in 1999 for his 25th anniversary to the priesthood; he and several of his seminary classmates were concelebrants at the Mass, including a revered fellow clergyman from that country: the future St. John Paul II. “When he said, ‘Lord, send out your spirit, and renew the face of the earth,’ you could feel it,” Father Kubiak recalled.
Father Kubiak served as chaplain at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, New Brunswick, while assisting with ministry in the city’s St. Joseph Parish. He also served in the role of associate pastor in St. Ambrose Parish, Old Bridge, and St. John Vianney Parish, Colonia. He is in residence at St. Helena Parish, Edison.

The priest’s advice to a young man considering a life of service is “to discern, to contemplate, to go to Mass every day if you can,” he said. “Pray about it, spend some time with the Eucharist. Also you should see your parish priest. If you are from [this parish,] come and see me.”

By Christina Leslie

Msgr. Richard J. Lyons has three important tools in his spiritual work belt which have served him well throughout this five decades of service to the Church of Metuchen. “You need perseverance, compassion and forgiveness, just as Je-sus showed in his ministry,” the priests aid, identifying the traits as crucial in shaping the Church as both a pastor and a member of the diocesan Tribunal.

Born in 1947 in Red Bank to Mildred and Frank J. Lyons, the future priest attended public elementary and high schools in Atlantic Highlands and was inspired by his home parish’s Irish associate pastor to consider a life of religious service. Msgr. Lyons earned a bachelor’s degree in classical languages from Seton Hall University, South Orange, in 1970;a master’s degree in homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a master of divinity degree in pastoral theology from Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, in 1975.

Msgr. Lyons was ordained May 18,1974, in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, by Bishop George W. Ahr. Ten years later, he earned a licentiate degree in canon law from the Catholic University of America, Washington and was the first clergyman to be appointed to the Diocese of Metuchen’s Tribunal. Msgr. Lyons served as associate judicial vicar for 15 years before his appointment as judicial vicar in 2001.

“It was challenging to get sent back to school,” the priest admitted, “but when the Diocese of Metuchen was created, we had no one with a background in law. They chose me because I was the only one with some expertise in common law they could use. When the dust settled, it was a tremendous opportunity to get back to the Sacraments by validating couples’ marriages.”
Msgr. Lyons will celebrate 40 years on the tribunal this November, and continues to work there twice weekly. To assist his newly ordained brethren, for many years he held seminars on annulments so that priests might better understand the process.

The priest’s parish work includes diaconate ministry in St. Mary Parish, South Amboy; he also taught religion and marriage courses at the parish’s high school and Immaculata High School, Somerville. Subsequent assignments included as associate pastor at Immaculate Conception Parish, Somerville; Sacred Heart Parish, South Plainfield; and St. Matthew the Apostle Parish, Edison.

Msgr. Lyons was appointed temporary administrator of St. John the Evangelist Parish, Dunellen, in 1986, and in1989 was named pastor. He served as pastor until June 2008.
“It was a small parish, so with the help of some wonderful deacons I was very fortunate to work there and the tribunal for 22 years,” he said.

When asked what he might counsel a prospective priest, Msgr. Lyons used those important tools in his spiritual work belt once again, adding one additional phrase of advice.

“The Church is in flux,” he said. “There are issues I could not have conceived. They should persevere, have compassion and forgiveness like the Lord did in his ministry. Be courageous.”

Little wonder Polish youth John P. Stec knew he was destined for the priest-hood at an early age – it was in his blood.

“Two of my mother’s brothers were priests, and they visited often,” here called. Faith was strong amongst his fellow students in the town of Jablonka Orawska as well, with nine of the 33 in his class ordained to the religious life. John’s parents, Jan and Maria, nurtured his faith journey and encouraged his education in Krakow Archdiocesan Seminary.

The young man was ordained to the priesthood by another faith-filled Pole: Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, the future St. John Paul II, on May 19, 1974, in Krakow. Father Stec’s first ten years of ministry were in parishes in his native Poland, then he followed his priest uncle in emigrating to the United States in1984.

Father Stec’s American service began for the Archdiocese of Newark as an extern priest at Most Sacred Heart Parish, Wallington, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Bayonne. Joining the Diocese of Metuchen, Father Stec served its people as parochial vicar of Sacred Heart Parish, Manville; St. Stephen Parish, Perth Amboy; St. Mary of Czestochowa Parish, Bound Brook, and St. Magdalen de Pazzi Parish, Flemington.

Father Stec was incardinated into the diocese Jan. 10, 1994, and appointed to his first pastorate in St. Stephen Parish, Perth Amboy, the following May 17.“Those 12 years at St. Stephen’s were my passion,” he reflected, explaining the large-scale renovation project which included new stained-glass windows, anew ceiling and altar, and an intricate marble floor.

Father Stec was transferred in 2006to St. Mary of Ostrabama Parish, South River, and St. Stephen Protomartyr Parish, South River, where he served as parochial vicar until being transferred to Holy Family Parish (now Divine Mercy Parish), Carteret, in 2007. In 2013, Father Stec returned to St. Mary of Czestochowa Parish, where he now serves as pastor.
“One of the great joys of the priest-hood is to celebrate the Mass,” Father Stec stated. “I like to preach and sing[the Mass] parts in Polish.”

His advice to a prospective priest is sage even if that gentleman does not have that strong bloodline of faith. He recommends, “Have a positive effect on people. Teach people the truth.”