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For the Missionary Families of Christ New Jersey (MFCNJ), the two most important aspects of Christian life are the renewal of families and the work of evangelization.
In the spirit of inviting others to a seat at the table of the Lord around the celebration of Thanksgiving, MFCNJ invited the diocese to send a speaker to a gathering of the group at St. Anne Parish, Fair Lawn, Nov. 19.
In his Thanksgiving message, Adam Carlisle, Secretary of Evangelization and Communication, reminded everyone that the first Thanksgiving was actually Catholic.
On September 8, 1565 — fifty-six years before the “first” Thanksgiving — Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and 800 Spanish settlers founded the city of St. Augustine (in Spanish Florida). As soon as they were ashore, the landing party celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving. The celebrant of the Mass was St. Augustine’s first pastor, Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales, and the feast day in the Church calendar was that of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As Carlisle noted, while people tend to think of Thanksgiving as a secular holiday, it is important to realize that, from the very beginning, thanksgiving and evangelization were linked.
“We must never lose sight of the fact that our faith is a gift and that those of us who are blessed with the gift of faith have an obligation to share that gift — much like the missionaries who came to North America nearly 500 years ago — with the whole world, making disciples of all nations,” Carlisle said.
MFCNJ, a nonprofit Catholic lay organization, was founded in the Philippines by Frank Padilla in 1981 as an outreach to couples. It now has several missions around the world and about 15 in the United States, including St. Bernadette Parish, Parlin.
MFCNJ has about 500 members in the Diocese of Metuchen and more than 1,000 in the Diocese of Passaic, said George Santos, a member of the group and St. Bernadette’s.
For information or to join the group contact George and Joyce Santos at [email protected]
