News - October 2024 RSS Feed

At the end of September into October, I had the blessing of going to Rome for a visit. I always enjoy going back to visit Rome. I stay at the North American College (NAC) where I studied as a seminarian and a young priest and then, later, served as Rector. So Rome has many beautiful memories for me. During my time as Rector, 500 seminarians were ordained priests for service here in the United States and work throughout the country in parishes, but some are back in Rome doing graduate studies, working for the Holy See or at the seminary forming new priests. It is always great to have an opportunity to catch up with them and hear about their priestly ministry.

A shower of blue confetti and happy cheering from the student body of St. James, Basking Ridge, filled the air at the announcement that the Catholic elementary school has been designated one of the nation’s Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence for 2024.

At least 35 Metuchen Diocese parishioners traveled by bus to New Jersey’s first statewide March for Life, joining more than a thousand demonstrators at the state capital in Trenton to express their opposition to the state’s abortion laws and advocate for the right to life from conception to birth.

For 39 years, the Life Choices Resource Center has been helping pregnant mothers choose life for their unborn babies. Jo Ann Gerling, the volunteer board chair of LCRC, said, “We have served thousands of clients; some don’t come back for years, then one day proudly return with their children to thank us.”

Joining a nationwide movement, the parish-based Pro-Life and Pro-Family Committee of Perth Amboy organized a Life Chain for an end to abortion, with prayers and a march through downtown.

October is Respect Life Month – a time given by the Church for us to reflect on our responsible stewardship as recipients of God’s gift of life! We are also reminded during October that we are called to be missionaries of the Gospel. Therefore, we celebrate World Mission Sunday in October to heighten our awareness and our commitment, especially to missionaries as well as the poor and the vulnerable they serve in missionary lands.

For Jay Donofrio, the new diocesan Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, there is a great opportunity to cultivate among youth and young adults a stronger relationship with God, and their faith.

The Saint James Men of Charity sponsored a Parish Ministry Fair Sept. 22, with the help of the Knights of Columbus Council #2363, BOLD Youth Ministry, and many others; the first in almost ten years. Saint James Church is blessed with about 30 active ministries, serving and engaging parishioners of all ages – toddlers, to teens, to adults and seniors. A postcard was mailed to more than 600 families, targeting those who registered in the parish over the past five years, and inviting them to come learn about ways to join in the life of the parish.

Years of planning, toil and prayer came to a triumphant conclusion Sept. 21 as the Coptic Catholic community celebrated its new home in Perth Amboy.

Faith and fellowship were on the menu Sept. 17 as some 400 individuals crucial in the life and work of the Diocese of Metuchen gathered in The Imperia, Somerset, for the annual Pride in our Priests dinner sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.

St. John Paul II asked women to consider Mary their inspiration for their special gifts, and a Seton Hall University professor elaborated on those gifts at the second annual Feminine Genius Brunch hosted by the diocesan Office of Human Life and Dignity.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, “taught us so much with her childlike faith,” Auxiliary Bishop Christopher Cooke of Philadelphia told about 75 people gathered at the Carmel of Mary Immaculate and St. Mary Magdalen in Flemington.

Speaking to a room full of parish catechetical leaders from around the Diocese, Father John Hillier, director of the Office of Persons with Disabilities, shared a personal story about his experience as a teenaged volunteer working with children with special needs.

The parish community of St. Philip and St. James, Philipsburg, one of the oldest parishes in the Diocese, welcomed Bishop James F. Checchio Sept. 14 as principal celebrant for their 4:30 p.m. vigil Mass, which was also the occasion for the thirteen men of the Diaconate Ordination Class of 2027 to receive the Rite of Candidacy.

I would like to address this column to our young people, especially those in elementary school. When I lived in Italy, pursuing a doctorate in theology, I was in a restaurant one day and ordered linguini and clam sauce. When the waiter brought me the dish, I asked for grated cheese – at which point the waiter corrected me and said: “Non ci va,” (pronounced nohn chee va) an Italian phrase which means “They don’t go together.”

Once, during a trip to Philadelphia, I joined a guided tour of the City Hall. The Philadelphia City Hall is the magnificent blue and white edifice standing at one end of the Benjamin Franklin Partway facing the Museum of Art. It houses the various governmental offices, but it is also a work of art with many sculptures and the iconic statue of Billy Penn on top of its 500 ft. tower.

As followers of Jesus Christ, Christians recognize a need for spiritual healing in their individual lives. Sometimes these needs can also be discerned on a communal level.

Having never attended a Healing Service before, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the Healing the Whole Person (HWP) weekend, led by the team at the John Paul II Healing Center, held at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi this past September 19-21.