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My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, As we begin a new calendar year, we always make time to recognize our Catholic schools. Unfortunately, again this year we are challenged to celebrate Catholic Schools Week (January 30 – February 5, 2022) in the midst of rising COVID numbers and the disruption that has resulted. But, as always, our schools will rise to the challenge. I was very proud that our schools were able to offer in-person education last year to those families that wanted to have their children in school. In addition, for those families that preferred to have their students remain at home, a very successful virtual learning opportunity existed in every school. It was a great blessing to be able to serve our families, and I am so grateful to the pastors, principals and teachers that made it happen. The students were most cooperative too. Without a doubt, being able to keep our schools open during that challenging time was certainly a blessing.

How we need a little Christmas right this very minute! Many people are saying this Christmas will again be a subdued one. The pandemic continues and rising inflation has come down full force upon our country and, in reality, the entire world. The fears that have stalked us with our military overseas, threats of attacks and terrorism, all contribute to make us a little more somber this year. It also contributes to the weakening of the value and dignity of all human life and hence to life giving celebrations, like Christmas.

Know that you are in my prayers as we begin this synod experience. God has been good to us, and I have no doubt, will continue to be. Thank you for your fidelity to Him and His Church. The process will be guided by our reliance on our friendship with Jesus and the constant teachings of our Church.

Along with the Labor Day holiday which reminds us of the dignity and purpose of work, September always brings a change in mindset as the summer break and vacations end, and we return to “normal” life.  This year, however, life has been anything but normal. There was a major earthquake in Haiti and tragedy reigned in Afghanistan. Hurricane Ida devastated parts of our state, and the ongoing pandemic is still claiming too many lives and even creating challenges for our schools.   

This August 22nd is the celebration of the principal patroness of our diocese: The Queenship of Mary. As I think of this beautiful feast in honor of Our Lady and the maternal role she plays in the life our diocese, I am reminded that this coming November 19 will mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Metuchen by then-Pope, now St. John Paul II. A remarkable milestone in the life of our “young” local Church. We continue to build upon what has been given to us. It is “our turn,” so to speak, to be the workers in the Father’s vineyard. 

My brothers, Ariel, Greg, Jay, Tim, Ronal, your being ordained in the year of St. Joseph will be something you will always remember, and hopefully you will take on from this day forward an even more special bond with St. Joseph. As you know, from Dec. 8, 2020, until Dec. 8, 2021, Pope Francis has asked for St. Joseph’s special intercession for the whole Church in his apostolic letter, “With a Father’s heart.” The introductory line gives us very simply the identity of St. Joseph as it begins “With a father’s heart: that is how St. Joseph loved Jesus.” St. Joseph was given a father’s heart to love with the love of our Father in heaven, not only Jesus, but also Mary and all of us, God’s children.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Spirit is gratefully alive in our Diocese and not even a pandemic can stop Him! Even amidst the great sorrows we have experienced this past year, there have been blessings, too, as some of you have shared with me about your renewed and deepened faith and a renewed appreciation for the Eucharist that truly is a gift. A fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit certainly helps us to renew ourselves and our commitment as Christ’s disciples, and hence renews and enlivens our Church.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Five years ago today, I was blessed to become your Shepherd. In sending me to your diocese, I remember Pope Francis said to me, “you must know a lot of people and clergy in your new diocese since it is so close to your home.” Obviously, he thought my transition from Rector of a college in Rome to Bishop in New Jersey would be eased by my friends and acquaintances. However, the opposite was true. I knew very few individuals here having met only a couple of Metuchen priests in my 24 years as a priest, and just a few lay people. Today, the Metuchen Diocese is my home filled with friends: clergy, religious and laity.

Jesus tells us, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life!” And, my brothers and sisters in Christ, how we need the light of life this year!  

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I always enjoy having the opportunity to share some thoughts with you in “The Catholic Spirit.” Sometimes, the newspaper asks for my column a bit early, because of holidays and deadlines, so on Sunday afternoon, March 7, I began this column highlighting Easter since the paper would be published on March 25, right before Holy Week.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,    Just a few days ago, we entered into the season of Lent — a time which calls us to sanctify our lives and unite ourselves more deeply with Christ through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. But it is also a season which leaves us ripe for renewal; a time in which we renew our encounter with Christ and give witness to His word, as well as mindfully participate in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, so that we may conform our lives to be more like His. 

Every New Year brings us an opportunity to focus anew on our priorities and try to make things better for all of us! As we begin 2021, we cannot help but reflect on how difficult 2020 was for so many in our world, nation and our Church. The pandemic has greatly impacted everyone and has resulted in people losing their jobs, losing loved ones and some losing their way. We all have faced challenges. Gratefully, this January brings a chance to start anew with resolutions and hope for a better future. This new year, I am particularly struck by events that reveal how fragile life is as well as what an extraordinary gift it is.

The current pandemic situation has certainly altered our lives, but it has not crushed our spirit or kept us from practicing our Catholic faith! It has greatly challenged all of us and presented us with a unique time in our lives to go deeper into our own spiritual journey to realize how even now God is calling us to recognize Him in our midst.

The Season of Advent is my favorite liturgical season as it is a season of hope. Hope is a combination of the desire for something and the expectation of receiving it. Our desire is for Jesus, and that is what Advent prepares us for, Jesus’ coming to us again and again! During Advent, we are regularly reminded in our readings about all that God has done throughout the millennia before Jesus’ birth to meticulously prepare the world for His arrival. We are also reminded that we are a pilgrim people as we read about generations of our ancestors longing for the coming of the Messiah. We join with them, knowing we were made for and destined for heaven with our Lord, guided on our way by His Mother and the saints who intercede for us as our friends in heaven, assisting us on our way.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,  Over the past eight months, our lives have been steeped in an exhaustive state of disorder, uncertainty, and, at times, despair. All too often, we hear in the news or read about the loss, grief, isolation, fear, and suffering endured by all people as a result of the coronavirus – no one is unaffected by this global pandemic disease. Similarly, and again all too often, we hear analogous stories of the loss, grief, isolation, fear, and suffering endured by survivors of abuse, some of whom were subject to their abuse by some members of the clergy – and again, no one is unaffected by these horrific revelations of past abuse and occurrences of lack of proper leadership by those in authority. Indeed, the times through which we are living, in our Church and in our world, are like no other. 

Our strange summer is about to come to a close and we see our days becoming shorter! The long Labor Day weekend usually provides us with some extra rest, but for many in our diocese, it was anything but restful this year. Our Catholic schools and parish catechists have been working extra hard to reopen our schools and religious education programs.   

For months we have been hearing about the “precious souls,” we as a family in New Jersey, have sadly lost due to the coronavirus. The number of deaths, particularly amongst our nursing home communities, has been especially disturbing. Everyone has been called upon to sacrifice and to do their part in slowing the spread of this deadly virus.

As we continue to respond to the global pandemic of COVID-19 and its impact on our health and our economy, the social disease of racism in our country has also come to light in a compelling way. During this already difficult time, confusion, mistrust, anger and anxiety have all helped to bring to light an extremely contagious and dangerous outbreak of hate.

In our Gospel passages in these last weeks of Easter, we start to see a shift from the Resurrection appearances of Jesus, to meditations about the ongoing presence of the Risen Christ in the life of His Church through the Spirit. We hear Jesus promise the Apostles the Paraclete, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. This Gospel beckons us back to the Last Supper and Jesus’ last words with His disciples before being arrested and put on trial. How long Jesus must have thought about what He wanted to share with His dearest friends at this last chance to speak privately with them. He knew what was ahead for Himself with His crucifixion, and what was ahead for the disciples and their ministries. He must have wanted to reassure them that even though things might not appear to be so in the eyes of the world, all would work out well in God’s plan. As they watched His arrest, torture and crucifixion, the Apostles must have felt that evil did have the upper hand, but Jesus did not want them to believe this. 

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I write to you in the midst of what can only be described as unusual times to proclaim to you Easter joy! The fact that changes all of history forever is this: Christ is Risen! Indeed, it may seem odd, it may seem out of place when life as we are accustomed to has been so disrupted; for some tragically so with an unexpected loss of a loved one or serious illness of a family or friend. Economically we face grace consequences. These dire circumstances of course are the ravaging destruction of the COVID-19 pandemic; the likes of which we have not seen in our lifetime. One common experience we all now share has been that our lives, as we know them, have seemingly come to a halt. We are “sheltered at home,” with only “essential” outings to places like the pharmacy and grocery store. Social distancing has canceled or postponed every gathering. Sadly, our worship and sacramental life, too, has been radically changed, for the most part, to remote access from our local parish or our Cathedral.