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EDISON — Festivities, family and prayer were the main ingredients for a joy-filled series of events to mark 50 years of faith-filled education on Tingley Lane.

MIDDLESEX — When the Diocese of Metuchen was established Nov. 19, 1981, it became the 24th largest diocese in the United States. Many sets of strong shoulders were needed to help carry it through its formative years and into a stable future.

PISCATAWAY — John Glynn, director, diocesan of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, addressed the athletic directors from schools throughout the diocese in advance of the upcoming CYM basketball season at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center Oct. 1.

PORT READING — During a Sept. 29 liturgy, the congregation in a suburban Catholic church, many of them long-standing area residents, listened intently as their deacon shared sobering statistics of persons who had no place to call their own.

RARITAN TOWNSHIP — More than an hour before the Annual Solemn Pontifical Benediction and Blessing of Roses began at the Carmel Monastery Oct. 1, people arrived. They filled the pews of the small chapel, lined the walls and stood in the hallway just outside. They had come out of love for St. Thérèse of Lisieux, a French Discalced Carmelite Nun also known as “The Little Flower of Jesus,” to celebrate her feast day, to thank her for favors received and seek her help.

PHILADELPHIA — Sister Colleen Michelle Gibson, who was raised in St. Joseph Parish, Hillsborough, professed final vows as a Sister of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia Sept. 15 during a Mass at Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart Chapel, Mount Saint Joseph Convent, according to a release from the congregation.

With a heart full of gratitude, I have some good news to share with you: we have exceeded our goal for the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. I am so grateful for your extraordinary generosity! It certainly is a testament to your faith and your actively trying to build a Civilization of Love here in our four New Jersey counties — Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren. You are a blessing to me and all those who will benefit from your generosity!

In my Back to School opening article, I shared that I embarked on a journey to develop a stronger academic relationship between our schools and Seton Hall University, South Orange.

Erio Rosario-Perales is not your typical student. A graduate student at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, Rosario-Perales is also a community organizer in the New Brunswick “Unity Square Neighborhood,” operated by Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen (CCDOM), with a passion for social justice.

PISCATAWAY — Celebrating a collective 830 years of consecrated life, 15 religious jubilarians from the diocese were honored at a Sept. 12 luncheon at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center.

NEW BRUNSWICK — A unique birthing experience awaits expecting families with the expected opening of Saint Peter’s University Hospital’s new Mary V. O’Shea Birth Center in October.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I have been on plenty of pilgrimages during my life, but one of the best was two weeks ago, when our diocese was blessed with a memorable experience as we went on a Walking Pilgrimage in Annandale, “The Way of St. Juan Diego.” I will not forget it! More than 700 pilgrims walked the nine-mile journey in imitation of the nine miles that St. Juan Diego regularly walked from his home to get to his catechism lessons while becoming a Catholic in Mexico in 1524.

METUCHEN — “We must, in all sincerity, ask ourselves tonight, ‘Am I a disciple of Jesus Christ?’” Father Timothy A. Christy asked the hundreds seated before him Sept. 20 at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. “We must not answer too quickly — to be a true disciple of Jesus, we must consider the cost.”

ANNANDALE — Tara Paccillo, who is a massage therapist, usually works Saturdays. However, on Sept. 21, she took the day off to join 700 other individuals on a nine-mile walk through parts of Hunterdon County. She was not trying to meet new clients or network but wanted to be part of the diocese’s pilgrimage, “The Way of St. Juan Diego.”

NEW BRUNSWICK — Thirty-five young adults from the diocese gathered to deepen their faith at a retreat held by the diocesan Office of Young Adult Ministry at the Catholic Center at Rutgers Aug. 17.

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Heb 13:2) The United States and other countries around the globe are facing enormous humanitarian challenges in a world with more than 70 million refugees and displaced people – those who are fleeing violence, persecution and economic instabilities in their native countries – those who are seeking protection, security and a better future.

This edition of our “Catholic Spirit” pays tribute to our catechists. How blessed we are to have an army of men and women, from the young to the more senior, who volunteer to serve in this wonderful ministry, helping our youth to know Jesus and His Church better through the many different catechetical programs our parishes host. In fact, the formation of our children as faithful disciples of the Lord is one of the most important works of the Church. St. Paul in his letter to the Romans expresses our gratitude for those who bring the good news to others beautifully: “And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Growing up in the spiritual home of St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, Kendall Park, Brother Nicholas Riccardi said had a “strong sense of closeness” to Mary, the mother of Jesus, “even at a young age.” On Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother into Heaven, that closeness inspired Brother Nicholas to be one of five men who professed their first vows as members of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary at Mass at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, Stockbridge, Mass.

UNION TOWNSHIP — For most Catholics, going to Mass means going to their parish church. Inmates at the Edna Mahon Women’s Correctional Facility in Annandale, however, attend Mass not in their parish, but in their prison’s library, except on special occasions. One of those times was Aug. 28.

One of the Lord’s imperatives to His first disciples was “Come away with me and rest awhile.” As we come to the end of summer, I hope you were able to find some time to relax and be renewed during this wonderful season.