Bishop James F. Checchio stands with newly ordained transitional deacons Thomas Pluhar, left, and James Prumos, right, following their ordination in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen. They are joined by priests and deacons who celebrated with them May 24. Several days later, on May 31, Bishop Checchio would also ordain Deacons Jan Magcawas and Jerome Ocampo to the Order of the Priesthood. Read the deacon ordination story on p. 12 and the priest ordination story on pp. 6,7. —Hal Brown photo
With gratitude and prayers for our new Holy Father and our priests Bishop’s Appointments
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
It certainly has been enjoyable to follow, on social media and via other means of communications, Pope Leo XIV’s first weeks in the Chair of St. Peter. This issue of the Catholic Spirit covers the Mass for the beginning of Pope Leo’s Petrine ministry. He has certainly been busy over these weeks meeting with people, celebrating Jubilee events and Masses, and has given some wonderful homilies and addresses. It seems like he has adjusted to being Pope so well. It must be overwhelming to have so much put on your plate at one time, but he obviously has the Holy Spirit with him and hence comes across looking very peaceful, calm and holy. I am grateful that he speaks so often about us all keeping focused on Christ, about our unity in Christ and about Jesus’ love and mercy for us all. Let us continue to pray for him!
One of the inspiring homilies he recently gave was at the Ordination of 11 new priests for the Diocese of Rome which took place on the same day as our presbyteral Ordinations at our Cathedral in Metuchen on May 31st, the Feast of the Visitation. Something that was memorable for me in the Pope’s homily was that he said it is not important for priests to be perfect in their witness, but they need to be credible. He said that “priests always must try to be role models of Christian living through the transparency of their lives, lives known, readable lives, credible lives!”
The Holy Father’s hope is that these new priests, and all our priests, will by their manner of life help to “rebuild the credibility of a wounded Church, sent to a wounded humanity, in the midst of a wounded creation. In a Church and a world divided and fractured, priests are called to be witnesses of God’s love and forgiveness, which reconciles people and makes them one community”.
What beautiful insights into the priestly life and how true. Our people are so supportive of and patients with us priests who strive to serve them, even despite our shortcomings and faults at times, our not being perfect! We are grateful for your patience. The Pope spoke about the witness we are to give in a divided and
fractured world, and our country, in particular, seems to be so divided about so many things. I am so grateful to His Holiness for striving to bring us together in Christ and serving one another in Jesus’ name.
I always find Ordinations to be so uplifting. Being in priestly formation work at the Pontifical North American College for more than a dozen years, I don’t know how many Ordinations I attended over the years, but 490 young men were ordained priests during my years as Rector in Rome. And since becoming bishop here, I have ordained 26 priests for our Diocese. Such a privilege! We have much to be grateful for in our new priests who I know are working hard to try to shepherd our faithful while being authentic witnesses to God’s love. We are not perfect, none of us are, and it is a high call to be set aside to imitate Christ the Servant and Christ the Head, loving our faithful, providing the sacraments and coordinating the pastoral care that is needed. We could not do it without your kind support and prayers, so thank you!
I tried, like Pope Leo, to similarly encourage our priests at our Ordination, reminding them that we are called to share the very presence of Jesus. We need to be men of deep prayer, in touch always with the Christ within us, then we are called to live and witness to what we have received to all in our diocese as faithful disciples of Jesus and as priests of His Church, in a world which desperately needs that witness. This is very similar to what our Blessed Mother did at the Visitation, which was the Gospel at our Ordination Mass; she took the Word within herself, Jesus, and shared Him with her cousin Elizabeth. What a wonderful example our Blessed Mother is for us priests.
Please continue to pray for us priests, our seminarians and for more to join our ranks in the seminary and priesthood of the Diocese of Metuchen. Also we keep Pope Leo in our prayers too! Know of my love, prayers and gratitude for you, and please pray for me too. I hope that the summer provides you with some rest and extra time for prayer.
Yours in Christ,
Most Reverend James F. Checchio, JCD, MBA Bishop of Metuchen
Newly ordained
Bishop James F. Checchio has announced the following priestly appointments.
• Reverend Jan Magcawas, newly ordained, to Parochial Vicar, Sts. Joseph and Luke Parish, North Plainfield, effective June 9, 2025,
• Reverend Jerome Ocampo, newly ordained, to Parochial Vicar, Immaculate Conception Parish, Somerville, effective June 9, 2025, Pastors / Administrators
• Reverend Alphonsus Kariuki, Pastor, Saint John the Evangelist Parish, Dunellen, reappointed as Pastor for a second term at that parish, effective July 1, 2025,
• Reverend Michael G. Krull, Pastor, Our Lady of Peace Parish, North Brunswick, reappointed as Pastor for a second term at that parish, effective July 1, 2025, while continuing as Administrator, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Milltown,
• Reverend Brian J. Nolan, Pastor, Blessed Sacrament Parish, Martinsville, reappointed as Pastor for a second term at that parish, effective July 1, 2025, Parochial Vicars, Teachers, Other Priestly Asssignments
• Reverend Alexander A. Carles, from Parochial Vicar, Mary, Mother of God Parish, Hillsborough, to Parochial Vicar, Saint Philip and Saint James Parish, Philipsburg, effective August 1, 2025,
• Reverend Mhonchan Ezung, from Parochial Vicar, Immaculate Conception Parish, Somerville, to Parochial Vicar, Saint James Parish, Basking Ridge, effective June 9, 2025,
• Reverend Joseph Illes, from full time studies, to Parochial Vicar, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Bernardsville, and Defender of the Bond and Judge, Diocesan Tribunal, effective August 1, 2025,
• Reverend Fredy Triana Beltran, from Parochial Vicar, Saint Philip and Saint James Parish, Philipsburg, to Parochial Vicar, Holy Family Parish, New Brunswick, effective August 1, 2025,
• Reverend James Tucker, from Chaplain, Parker at Somerset, and Back Up Chaplain, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, to Parochial Vicar, Saint Elizabeth Saint Brigid Parish, Far Hills Peapack, effective August 1, 2025,
• Reverend Ronal Vega Pastrana, from Parochial Vicar, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Bernardsville, to Parochial Vicar, Mary, Mother of God Parish, Hillsborough, effective August 1, 2025, while remaining as Hispanic Lay Formation Assistant, Office for Multicultural Ministry, Diocese of Metuchen,
• Reverend Gilbert Z. Starcher, from Parochial Vicar, Sts. Joseph and Luke Parish, North Plainfield, to Vocation Director, Diocese of Metuchen, and Chaplain, The Catholic Center at Rutgers, with residence at Saint Peter Parish, New Brunswick, effective August 1, 2025,
• Reverend Ariel Bautista, from Parochial Vicar, Saint James Parish, Basking Ridge, to advanced studies in Canon Law at the Catholic University of America for the summer, effective May 19, 2025,
• Reverend David Keyes, from residence at Sts. Joseph and Luke Parish, North Plainfield, to residence at the Church of the Sacred Heart, South Plainfield, while remaining as Director of Catholic Identity, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison, effective August 1, 2025, Bishop Checchio has also granted retirement status to the following priests at their request:
• Reverend Lancelot McGrath, from Parochial Vicar, Saint Matthias Parish, Somerset, to retired status, effective August 31, 2025, and
• Reverend Wladyslaw Wiktorek, from Parochial Vicar, Holy Family Parish, New Brunswick, to retired status, effective August 1, 2025.
How to report abuse
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DECREE
Changing demographics and priestly resources can in our day strain parishes to the point that they can no longer meet the spiritual and pastoral needs of their faithful.
Over the last several years, my attention has been drawn to serious issues confronting Saint Luke Parish in North Plainfield.
After multiple consultations with the pastor, it is clear to me that the following facts are not in question.
► Saint Luke’s enrollment continues to decline. Since 2019, the number of registered households has decreased by 23%, from 365 to 281.
► Sacramental statistics do not forecast a change in the parish’s current position: in 2024, the parish recorded a single baptism, six First Communions, ten Confirmations, and no weddings. The 34 children of catechetical age are enrolled in a combined religious education program with Saint Joseph Parish in North Plainfield.
► Approximately 110 people attend one of only two weekend Masses. There are no Mass intentions.
► The cost of maintaining Saint Luke Parish is not being sustained by the contributions of parishioners. Daily
operating and insurance costs and diocesan assessments are being met only by the paying down of a bequest that is now several years old. The parish is not able to contribute to the salaries and benefits of the two priests assigned to Saint Luke and Saint Joseph parishes.
In evaluating the two options available for addressing the challenges faced by Saint Luke Parish–totally suppressing it or merging it with another parish–I concluded that a just cause exists for combining Saint Luke Parish with Saint Joseph Parish. I also note that it is the Holy See’s strong preference that territorial parishes be united and not suppressed.
Consequently, I began the process of uniting by extinctive union (merger) Saint Luke and Saint Joseph parishes in accordance with canon law and the Procedural Guidelines for the Modification of Parishes, the Closure or Relegation of Churches to Profane but Not Sordid Use, and the Alienation of the Same (hereinafter PG) published by the Dicastery for the Clergy on April 30, 2013.
The specific requirements for the valid modification of parishes by extinctive union have been satisfied.
► The union is being undertaken for the aforementioned just cause and for “the spiritual good” of Saint Luke parishioners, who will continue to have opportunities to worship in the church for which they have a strong affiliation (PG).
► The alternative remedy, i.e., suppressing Saint Luke Parish, was considered, but it was determined that suppression was not necessary and would be much more harmful spiritually than merging with a neighboring parish (PG).
► The union is supported by the pastor of the two parishes (PG).
► Parishioners of both Saint Luke and Saint Joseph parishes have been consulted through their finance and pastoral councils and there has been no opposition to the union (PG); in fact, some elements of parish life, e.g., religious education and the music ministry, are already combined.
► In accordance with canon 515 §2, which requires the diocesan bishop to consult his presbyteral council prior to altering a parish, I presented the proposal for an extinctive union of Saint Luke and Saint Joseph parishes at a meeting of the presbyteral council on May 8, 2025, and the council voiced unanimous support for the union.
THEREFORE, having examined this matter thoroughly and made provision for all parties involved to be informed and to be heard in accordance with canon 50, being motivated by the reasons given above, and having made provision for the pastoral care and the salvation of souls currently served by Saint Luke and Saint Joseph parishes, I hereby DECREE
that Saint Luke Parish and Saint Joseph Parish in the Borough of North Plainfield be merged to form an extinctive union, effective July 1, 2025.
I further decree that the name of the new parish will be Sts. Joseph and Luke.
This decree is to be made public by reprinting it in the parish bulletins and on the parish websites.
Anyone who feels injured by this decree may seek its revocation or emendation by contacting the diocesan chancery (P.O. Box 191, Metuchen, NJ 08840) within ten working days of its publication (c. 1734 §§1-2).
Given at the Curia of the Diocese of Metuchen, on this Thirtieth day of May in the Year of Our Lord 2025.
Bishop James F. Checchio, left, joined New Jersey’s Catholic bishops May 16 in the Diocese of Camden’s Chancery building for their quarterly meeting. Also present, from left, were Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., from Trenton; Bishop Joseph Williams of the Diocese of Camden, and Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, as well as Bishop Michael Saporito, Bishop Gregory Studerus and Bishop Manuel Cruz, all auxiliary bishops in Newark. —Courtesy photo
Bishop James F. Checchio blesses a memorial June 7 for departed members of Knights of Columbus, 4th Degree, Father Russell Council #11409, Our Lady of the Mount Parish, Warren. —Hal Brown photo
Pope Leo begins papacy calling for ‘united Church’ in a wounded world
By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service
Launching his papacy with a call for reconciliation and communion, Pope Leo XIV formally began his ministry as the successor of St. Peter by calling for “a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.”
“In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest,” the new pope said in his homily during his inauguration Mass May 18.
“For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world,” he told the estimated 150,000 people gathered in and around St. Peter’s Square. “We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: ‘In the one Christ, we are one.’”
A version of the quote from St. Augustine is the pope’s episcopal motto and is featured on his coat of arms.
Ecumenical and interreligious guests and more than 100 government delega-
Left, crowds gather in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration Mass at the Vatican May 18, 2025. —CNS photo/Lola Gomez
Below left, Pope Leo XIV uses incense to venerate the tomb of St. Peter in St. Peter’s Basilica before his inauguration Mass. —CNS photo/Vatican Media
Below right, Pope Leo XIV receives a pallium, a woolen band symbolizing his role a shepherd of the universal Church, from Italian Cardinal Mario Zenari during his inauguration Mass.
—CNS photo/Kendall McLaren
tions joined the new pope for Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
Among the Christian leaders present was Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, along with other delegations from the Orthodox churches, the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Methodist Council, the World Communion of Reformed Churches and various evangelical and Pentecostal communities. Representatives of the Jewish community as well as Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Zoroastrian and Jain traditions also were in attendance.
Before the Mass began, Pope Leo rode through the square in the popemobile for the first time since his election May 8, greeting the faithful as cheers of “Viva il papa!” (“Long live the pope!’) poured out from the crowd. He then entered the basilica to pray at the tomb of St. Peter, accompanied by patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic churches.
Following the Gospel reading, three cardinals from the different orders within the College of Cardinals took part in the formal beginning of the Petrine ministry: Italian Cardinal Mario Zenari placed the
woolen pallium on the pope’s shoulders, symbolizing his role as shepherd of the universal church; Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presented him with the fisherman’s ring, evoking St. Peter’s mission to draw people into Christ’s net; and Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo offered a prayer invoking the strength of the Holy Spirit for the new pontificate.
Representing the universal Church, 12 people – clergy, religious and laity from around the world – then came forward to offer their obedience to the new pope.
Reflecting on the Gospel reading from St. John – in which Jesus asks St. Peter three times to tend to his sheep – Pope Leo said in his homily that the ministry of Peter is rooted not in authority for its own sake, but in love that serves and unites.
“Peter is thus entrusted with the task of ‘loving more’ and giving his life for the flock,” he said. “The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ.”
The successor of St. Peter, he said, “must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an au-
tocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him.” Instead, “he is called to serve the faith of his brothers and sisters, and to walk alongside them.”
Pope Leo also recalled the period of mourning following the death of Pope Francis, and he said that the conclave that followed the late pope’s death was “a moment of grace.”
“I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family,” he said.
“With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world,” he said, calling for a Church that “proclaims the word, allows itself to be made ‘restless’ by history and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.”
At the end of Mass, the pope called for prayers for regions afflicted by war: Gaza, Myanmar and Ukraine, which “finally awaits negotiations for a just and lasting peace.”
Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, spends a moment in prayer as he celebrates his inauguration Mass. He is the first American pope in history. —OSV News photo/Remo Casilli, Reuters
Homily of Pope Leo XIV during the Mass of Inauguration of the Petrine Ministry
By OSV News
This is the full text in English of the homily given by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square during the Mass of Inauguration of the Petrine Ministry May 18, 2025. The homily was delivered originally in Italian.
Dear brother cardinals, brother bishops and priests, distinguished authorities and members of the diplomatic corps, brothers and sisters – I greet all of you with a heart full of gratitude at the beginning of the ministry that has been entrusted to me. St. Augustine wrote: “Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (Confessions, I: 1,1).
“Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters. … With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the Word, allows itself to be made ‘restless’ by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.”
In these days, we have experienced intense emotions. The death of Pope Francis filled our hearts with sadness. In those difficult hours, we felt like the crowds that the Gospel says were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36). Yet on Easter Sunday, we received his final blessing and, in the light of the resurrection, we experienced the days that followed in the certainty that the Lord never abandons his people, but gathers them when they are scattered and guards them “as a shepherd guards his flock” (Jer 31:10).
In this spirit of faith, the College of Cardinals met for the conclave. Coming from different backgrounds and experiences, we placed in God’s hands our desire to elect the new Successor of Peter, the bishop of Rome, a shepherd capable of preserving the rich heritage of the Christian faith and, at the same time, looking to the future, in order to confront the questions, concerns and challenges of today’s world. Accompanied by your prayers, we could feel the working of the Holy Spirit, who was able to bring us into harmony, like musical instruments, so that our heartstrings could vibrate in a single melody.
I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be unit ed in one family. Love and unity: these are the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus.
We see this in today’s Gospel, which takes us to the Sea of Galilee, where Je sus began the mission he received from the Father: to be a “fisher” of humanity in order to draw it up from the waters of evil and death. Walking along the shore, he had called Peter and the other first disciples to be, like him, “fishers of men.” Now, after the resurrection, it is up to them to carry on this mission, to cast their nets again and again, to bring the hope of the Gospel into the “waters” of the world, to sail the seas of life so that all may experience God’s embrace.
How can Peter carry out this task?
The Gospel tells us that it is possible only because his own life was touched by the infinite and unconditional love of God, even in the hour of his failure and denial. For this reason, when Jesus addresses Peter, the Gospel uses the Greek verb agapáo, which refers to the love that God has for us, to the offering of himself without reserve and without calculation. Whereas the verb used in Peter’s response describes the love of friendship that we have for one another.
Consequently, when Jesus asks Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (Jn 21:16), he is referring to the love of the Father. It is as if Jesus said to him, “Only if you have known and experienced this love of God, which never fails, will you be able to feed my lambs. Only in the love of God the Father will you be able to love your brothers and sisters with that same ‘more,’ that is, by offering your life for your brothers and sisters.”
Peter is thus entrusted with the task of “loving more” and giving his life for the flock. The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ. It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did.
The Apostle Peter himself tells us that Jesus “is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, and has become the cornerstone” (Acts 4:11). Moreover, if the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him (cf. 1 Pet 5:3). On the contrary, he is called to serve the faith of his brothers and sisters, and to walk alongside them, for all of us are “living stones” (1 Pet 2:5), called through our baptism to build God’s house in fraternal communion, in the harmony of the Spirit, in the coexistence of diversity. In the words of St. Augustine: “The Church consists of all those who are in harmony with their brothers and sisters and who
love their neighbor” (Serm. 359,9).
Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world. In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest. For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one. This is the path to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!
This is the missionary spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world. We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.
Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters. With my predecessor Leo XIII, we can ask ourselves today: If this criterion “were to prevail in the world, would not every conflict cease and peace return?” (Rerum Novarum, 21).
With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the Word, allows itself to be made “restless” by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.
Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization under Pope Francis, places the papal fisherman’s ring on Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, as the pontiff celebrates his inauguration Mass. He is the first American pope in history. —OSV News photo/Guglielmo Mangiapane, Reuters
TWO PRIESTS TAKE FIRST STEPS ON ROAD OF SERVICE
By Deacon Patrick Cline Correspondent
The Diocese of Metuchen was blessed with two new missionaries in the model of Mother Mary as Bishop James F. Checchio ordained Deacon Jan Magcawas and Deacon Jerome Ocampo to the Order of the Priesthood May 31 in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi.
“This day will tether you and your priesthood to the Blessed Mother. Mary is the perfect example of the ideal disciple and the feast highlights this for us as disciples of the Lord,” said the Bishop in his homily for the Feast of the Visitation. “In the Gospel today we see Mary the first missionary as she goes to her cousin Elizabeth to share the Good News of the Annunciation. She carries the Word which is within her and shares it with her cousin. She trusted and she went and shared the word and witnessed it to the world.”
The Bishop served as principal celebrant. Concelebrating were more than 70 priests from the diocese, many who served as formators for the candidates, along with priest friends of the ordinandi from other dioceses.
At the beginning of the Mass, Bishop Checchio acknowledged that the parents and family of Deacon Ocampo were present along with Deacon Magcawas’ father, but his extended family and friends would be viewing the ordination via livestream from their village in the Philippines.
Speaking to the two candidates, Bishop Checchio reflected on the Feast of the Visitation, reminding them that “this day will tether you and your priesthood to the Blessed Mother. Mary is the perfect example of the ideal disciple and the feast highlights this for us as disciples of the Lord. … She trusted and she went and shared the word and witnessed it to the world.”
Bishop Checchio continued, “This acting, trusting, sharing, witnessing is what you are to do as priests of Jesus Christ. You must take the joy and love you experience in your life and share it. Witness to the world. May you always be the best of Christ’s servants and create others to know love and serve him.”
After the homily the Bishop questioned both candidates on their willingness to assume the tasks and obligations of the priesthood. Each man expressed
his resolve to fulfill the office in accord with mind of the Christ and his Church and assured the Bishop of his obedience to him and successors, Bishop Checchio invited the assembly to pray for the candidates as they prostrated themselves in a biblical gesture of humility.
Afterward Bishop Checchio silently prayed to God to confer the sevenfold-grace of the Holy Spirit on the men and to dedicate them to the work of the ministry of the Office of Priesthood. Through this Prayer of Ordination and the ancient gesture of the Bishop laying hands on the ordinandi the gift of the Holy Spirit for service as priests was conferred on the newly ordained.
Once the deacons were vested in the priest’s stole and chasuble, Bishop Checchio then anointed the palms of each man with holy Chrism, signifying the sacred duties they will carry out in their priestly ministry. The hands of the new priests were then wrapped in a linen cloth, the maniturgium.
Bishop Checchio and all the priests present extended the sign of peace to the newly ordained by which they are welcomed into the ministry they now share.
Father Magcawas and Father Ocampo then joined the Bishop at the altar to concelebrate Mass for the first time.
Both of the newly ordained priests were born in the Philippines where each completed their early formation for the priesthood in seminaries. Both earned degrees in philosophy and Catholic theology.
Following the rite, the new priests shared their paths to a life of service in Christ.
Father Magcawas stated, “My late mother Armelita’s relationship with God so evident daily in her life of prayer was an inspiration for me to develop my own relationship with God and his Blessed Mother and really was the starting point of my discernment to the priesthood.”
Father Ocampo said, “I believe my vocation began in second grade when the pastor asked me in class what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said, ‘A priest like you.’ While that answer was probably more to please Father, I really began to think about the priesthood then.”
Father Magcawas will serve as parochial vicar at Sts. Joseph and Luke Parish, North Plainfield, while Father Ocampo will fulfill those duties in Immaculate Conception Parish, Somerville.
Photos represent elements of the Rite of Ordination including the election of the candidates by the Bishop, consent of the people, laying on of hands by Bishop Checchio, investiture with the stole and chasuble and anointing of hands. To learn more about Ordination visit https://www. usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/ priesthood/priestly-formation/faqs-priesthood-ordination-seminary—Hal Brown photos
PRAYER FOR PRIES T S
Gracious and loving God, we thank you for the gift of our priests. Through them, we experience your presence in the sacraments. Help our priests to be strong in their vocation. Set their souls on fire with love for your people. Grant them the wisdom, understanding, and strength they need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom. Give them the words they need to spread the Gospel. Allow them to experience joy in their ministry. Help them to become instruments of your divine grace.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as our Eternal Priest. Amen.
~ United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Following Ordination, Bishop James F. Checchio congratulates Father Jerome Ocampo, left, who will serve as parochial vicar in Immaculate Conception Parish, Somerville, and Father Magcawas, who will serve as parochial vicar in Sts. Joseph and Luke Parish, North Plainfield.
THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI
Extends prayerful congratulations to our new priests
Father Jan Magcawas
Father Jerome Ocampo
And to our new deacons
Deacon Thomas Pluhar
Deacon James Prumos
May you be a blessing to all.
“As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace. Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God; whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever.”
1Peter 4:10-11
Seminarian
James F. Prumos
was ordained a Transitional Deacon by Bishop Checchio on Saturday, 24 May 2025 at St. Francis Cathedral.
The Prumos Family are members of Our Lady of Peace Parish in Fords. Deacon James attended OLP School, graduating in 2009. He is currently a seminarian studying at Immaculate Conception Seminary, a part of Seton Hall University. OLP in Fords, congratulates Deacon Prumos and his family.
Congratulations to our newly ordained priests and deacons
Father Jan Magcawas, Father Jerome Ocampo, Deacon Thomas Pluhar, Deacon James Prumos. May God guide your steps and strengthen your faith as you serve the people of God. — The Catholic Spirit Staff
INVITES YOU TO JOIN US FOR OUR
The Catholic Community of St Magdalen de Pazzi Parish celebrates the Ordination of Father Jerome Ocampo
“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.” John 15:16
CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION
SUNDAY, JUNE 22, 2025 3:00 PM
FATHER JAMES, FATHER RANDY & MSGR. COLEMAN
One Godhead exists as a loving community of three persons
The month of June is a time when we celebrate many wonderful feasts in the Church, among them being certain solemn feasts, including Pentecost and the Most Holy Trinity.
On the great Solemn Feast of Pentecost we celebrate God sending the fullness of His Holy Spirit to abide with us. The Holy Spirit not only inspired the Sacred Scriptures, but is present throughout the sacred texts.
In the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament we read: “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth – and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss … a mighty wind swept over the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2). We discern from this passage that the “ruah” (wind, breath or spirit of God) swept over the waters making them the wellspring of all holiness.
Later, in the New Testament, Jesus tells us: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
Who is the Holy Spirit? In the creed we say: “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life.” The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Most Holy Trinity. He is not some vague, impersonal force. He is equal in every way with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is fully God. He is not in some reality less than God or other than God, but moving always in the direction of life.
We get a sense of this movement of the Holy Spirit in Sacred Scripture and in the prayers of the Church. Examples include when Our Lord speaks, especially in Saint John’s Gospel, of “sending the Holy Spirit” (John 16:7) or when the priest at the epiclesis of the Mass calls upon God the Father to “Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down Your Spirit upon these gifts like the dewfall, so that they may become the Body and Blood of Our Lord, Jesus Christ...”
The Holy Spirit always moves in the direction of life, not only breathing life into the elements of bread and wine at Holy Mass, (transforming them into the real Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ), but by breathing natural life into our souls (at the moment of conception); by giving us new and independent life when we take our first breath at birth; by breathing new, supernatural life,
into our souls when we are born again through the waters of Baptism; and by breathing life constantly and sustaining us throughout our natural lives. AND, later, when we take our last breath on earth, it is the Holy Spirit who breathes new life and raises us up unto eternal life.
In short, the Holy Spirit is not given to us so that we might have a great emotional experience, but that we might live a holy life and be fruitful witnesses for Christ.
What else do we believe in terms of the Holy Spirit? Catholics, the Orthodox and mainline Protestants believe that the Holy Spirit is the Lord and Giver of Life. We believe that...
The Father is God.
The Son is God.
The Holy Spirit is God.
The Father is not the Son.
The Father is not the Holy Spirit.
The Son is not the Holy Spirit.
Yet, for Catholics and the majority of other Christian denominations, we also believe that there is precisely one perfect and indivisible God, not three Gods, but rather three persons in One God!
There are several other views as well. For example, groups such as the Jehovah Witnesses believe the heresy that
the Father (called Jehovah) is the only true God, while the Son and the Holy Spirit are not God, but rather creatures, albeit very good and holy creatures created by the Father. They have privileged positions, agreeing in all things with the Father, but they are not God. Jesus is inferior to God, a first born Son. The Holy Spirit is God’s active force, but not a person.
The Mormons (and certain New Age groups) falsely assert that God the Father is a resurrected, exalted being who once lived as a mortal human being on another planet. They assert that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of humanity, but distinct from God the Father.
Regarding the Holy Spirit, they say that He is a third, different member of the Godhead, distinct from the Father and the Son. There is also the belief in Mormonism that in addition to the three different Gods (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), there are also other Gods, some of whom lived previously as human beings. These other “gods” are people who were obedient to God’s laws and ordinances.
It is clear that the Bible teaches that there is One and only One God, but this One Godhead reveals Himself to exist as a loving community of three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Continued on page 48
Law Enforcement, Catholic Church unite to combat human trafficking
By Christina Leslie Contributing Editor
They may be male or female, young or old, toiling in a field, on the garment factory floor or in a nail salon. Many may not speak English, or seem reluctant to speak at all to authority figures or others offering assistance. Individuals who are victims of human trafficking are hidden in plain sight, but the Catholic Church and law enforcement are ready to help.
In their ongoing mission to educate and inspire those intent on fighting the scourge of human trafficking, faith-based and civil agencies presented “The Dangers of Human Trafficking” webinar May 20. Cohosted by the Catholic Conferences of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pa., and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the webinar offered a wealth of information on how to defeat the pervasive plague which Pope Francis called a “horrific crime against the basic dignity and rights of the human person, and a deep wound that also affects each one of us.”
Felicitas Brugo Onetti, the USCCB’s Anti-trafficking Coordinator/
Educator, defined human trafficking as the use of force, fraud or coercion to induce someone into labor or sexual exploitation. “It is a form of modern-day slavery, a violation of human rights, and a federal crime in the United States,” she said. Moreover, she added, Catholic Social Teaching upholds the dignity of the person, of work, of the sanctity of life at all stages, and gives a preferential option for the poor.
An estimated 49.6 million victims live in trafficking situations, about one million of them in the United States. Industries in this country where labor exploitation may be found include agricultural, food processing, construction, landscaping, garment workers, hospitality, domestic work, nursing homes and nail salons; commercial sexual exploitation may occur in massage parlors, online chat services and internet cafes.
Warning signs of potential human trafficking victims include compromised/ untreated health problems, psychological challenges, scripted or incomplete answers to those in authority during interviews, never allowing them to speak with others unsupervised, fear, disorientation,
working long hours to pay off a large debt owed to their employers, withholding of wages or drug or alcohol abuse.
To address this situation, legislation known as the TVPA (Trafficking Victims Protective Act) of 2000 was enacted as the first comprehensive federal law to address human trafficking. Also known as H.R. 1144, (and up for renewal in this Congressional term) the legislation takes a three-pronged approach – prevention, protection, prosecution – and is being tracked by Catholic Charities USA, noted that organization’s Director of Social Policies and Staff Attorney, Christy Williams. “Over 90 CCUSA agencies serve survivors nationwide, offering shelter and rebuilding lives, with a range of services including case management, food, immigration and legal services, trauma
counselling, employment and other support they need to regain confidence,” Williams said.
David W. Sunday, Jr., Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, labelled human trafficking as a “multi-headed beast” which takes the whole community – legal and the Church – to defeat. Attorneys General across the nation are requesting access to tips to the National Human Trafficking Hotline to coordinate prosecution. “Everyone has access to devices which connect to the internet,” he said. “You now have a highway of information which traffickers can exploit.
Sunday concluded, “We have our work cut out for us, for the bad guys are moving faster than us. This is a worthy battle.”
Resources
For further information from the New Jersey Catholic Conference, including brochures, handouts for parishes, link to the webinar, and links to other agencies involved in the fight against human trafficking, see njcatholic.org/human-trafficking
The Department of Homeland Security’s “Blue Campaign” against human trafficking is at dhs.gov/blue-campaign/
Information is available about efforts by the Catholic Church at USCCB.org/offices/migration-refugee-services/human-trafficking
The National Human Trafficking Hotline operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week in more than 200 languages. It can be reached at 888-373-7888 or via text to BeFree (233733) or via email at help@humantraffickinghotline.org.
July
For formation in discernment
Let us pray that we might again learn how to discern, to know how to choose paths of life, and reject everything that leads us away from Christ and the Gospel.
A group including students from Sacred Heart Academy and Presentation Academy in Louisville, Ky., listens to a speaker during the seventh annual prayer service for the victims of human trafficking on April 30, 2019, at Jefferson Square Park in downtown Louisville. —OSV News photo/CNS file, Ruby Thomas
Two ordained to transitional diaconate
By Deacon Patrick Cline Correspondent
“You are configured to Christ the servant,” declared Bishop James F. Checchio to two seminarians before him May 24 in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen. “Disciples love the Lord present in others and loves and serves Jesus in them.”
That message of love was evident on the faces of the two men – Thomas Pluhar and James Prumos – as they celebrated the day of their ordination to the transitional diaconate before the Bishop and scores of priests, deacons, family, friends and faithful. Their new roles will allow them to assist the bishop and his priests to distribute Holy Communion; preside over baptisms, marriages and funerals, and preside over prayer while completing their final year of study in Immaculate Conception Seminary for the priesthood.
Remarking at the recent selection of Pope Leo XIV the Bishop continued, “Thomas and James, you are certainly being ordained at a historic time in the life of our Church. … Pope Leo has impressed us as he begins his Petrine ministry. And his ministry of course will very much shape your diaconate and future priestly ministry.”
“As we thank you for the gift you are making our prayer is that you will be more and more confirmed to the Gospel whose heralds you become today. … May the Blessed Mother be your constant support and an intercessor as you turn to her each day.
Deacon Thomas Alexander Pluhar is from Whitehouse where he and his family are members of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. One of two children of Dr. Thomas and the late Gale Pluhar, he attended Hunterdon Central High School specifically because they offered a course in the Russian language. Along with his high school education Deacon Pluhar had the opportunity to study in a program in Moscow and St. Petersburg. He received a BA in Russian Area Studies, Psychology and Linguistics from Yale University.
Proficient in seven languages, Deacon Pluhar’s facility with languages
will prove very helpful in his diaconate assignment at the Parish of the Visitation, New Brunswick, where he will be part of an intensive language immersion program.
Before discerning a call to the priesthood, Deacon Pluhar was a teaching brother in the Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception where he served two parishes in California. In addition to teaching in the RCIA programs he served in ministries to the homeless poor and mentally ill, providing spiritual and material support.
Deacon James Francis Prumos was born in Edison the fourth child of James and Mary Margaret Prumos. His family worships at Our Lady of Peace in Fords where he attended elementary school before graduating from St. Joseph High School, Metuchen. He attended Seton Hall University where he received a BS degree in Computer Science.
While there, Deacon Prumos was encouraged by the Brothers and Sisters of the Community of St. John to become involved in ministry, recommending a two-week retreat in Colorado. As a result of that experience he was inspired to join Christ in the City, an organization dedicated to forming lifelong missionaries who serve the poor. Deacon Prumos spent two years involved in outreach, counseling and walking with the poor.
Deacon Prumos was accepted by Immaculate Conception Seminary in 2020 at the height of the COVID crisis. He will serve at St. Joseph Parish in Carteret for his diaconate year.
The gift of the Holy Spirit was conferred on them in silence, as the Bishop lay his hands upon their heads. The diocesan choir sang “Veni Creator Spiritus,” the ancient hymn invoking the aid of the Holy Spirit, as the two new deacons were invested with their stole and dalmatic. Bishop Checchio then handed on the Book of the Gospels, charging them to “believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach.”
At the conclusion of the rite, the bishop extended a sign of peace, while fellow deacons came forward to embrace those men who had just been added to their brotherhood.
1. Candidates Thomas Pluhar, left, and James Prumos, are presented to Bishop James F. Checchio, not pictured, for Ordination.
2. During the invitation to pray, candidates prostrate themselves before the altar as a sign of humility.
3. The gift of the Holy Spirit is conferred on Candidate Pluhar through the laying on of hands.
4. Franciscan Friar of the Renewal Mariusz Koch, spiritual director, Immaculate Conception Seminary, South Orange, embraces now Deacon Pluhar following his investiture with stole and chausable.
5. Deacon James Prumos offers the Blood of Christ to Deacon Steven Kern, diocesan director of the Office of the Diaconate.
The Parish Family of
Our Lady of the Mount Church, Warren, NJ
Rev. Jerome Ocampo
ON HIS ORDINATION TO THE HOLY PRIESTHOOD
Deacon Thomas Pluhar,
On behalf of the parish community of Our Lady of Lourdes, we wish you all thanksgiving and blessings on your ordination to the Diaconate. Know of our continued prayers as you prepare for the priesthood.
In gratitude,
The People of Our Lady of Lourdes Whitehouse Station
Film recounts faith of imprisoned priest during WWII
By Robert Christie Correspondent
Some 200 moviegoers filled the Immaculata High School theatre in Somerville May 17 to learn about a 20th century priest whose selfless ministry and self-sacrifice saved the life of a fellow concentration camp prisoner.
“Triumph of the Heart: The Untold Story of St. Maximilian Kolbe’s Passion” related the final days of Maximilian Kolbe, a Roman Catholic priest and member of the Conventual Franciscan friar order who voluntarily offered his life to save a fellow prisoner in the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp in 1941. Father Kolbe was beatified in 1971 by Pope Paul VI and canonized in 1982 by Pope John Paul II, who declared him a martyr of charity.
The film’s focus was a cell where 10 prisoners were sentenced to starve to death in retaliation for an escaped pris-
oner. When one of the prisoners begged for his life as a husband and father, Kolbe offered to replace the prisoner. The Nazi commander accepted Kolbe’s offer and he spent the final fourteen days of his life with these nine other men.
The film is interspersed with flashbacks to the pre-war days of the prisoners, underscoring the inexplicable horror of Nazi governmental evil. It shows the lives of the prisoners who were comforted by the priest until his own execution
Following the screening, one attendee, a ninety-year-old woman, said that she lived through the Nazi atrocities in Poland. Carole McKeever of Immaculate Conception Parish, Somerville, and Bonnie Simpf of Our Lady of Mount Virgin Parish, Middlesex, also found the film deeply moving. Simpf admitted she was moved to tears by its conclusion, adding, “It’s a movie I’ll remember and talk about for a very long time.” McKeever said, “It was very powerful, what they
were doing to people, the hatred.”
A post-screening Q&A session featured Anthony D’Ambrosio, the film’s writer and director, and major force behind the project, and film critic Deacon Steven Greydanus. D’Ambrosio recounted that, during a critical illness which caused him to become deeply depressed, he was saved by the story of Maximilian Kolbe. As he developed the film project –which has been in the works since 2018 –he travelled to Poland to finish the script and visited the very cell where Kolbe died. D’Ambrosio’s voice trembled as he recounted, “God took suffering and turned it into a pearl. Kolbe turned the prison cell into a cathedral.”
The filmmaker considers the film to be pro-life since “one can only suffer like this if there is a belief and hope in heaven.” He has great aspirations for the film as a major step in changing Catholic culture, “by a whole new movement in art. It’s up to us if we want to see a change
‘Recount the beauty of Christ’s love that unites and makes us one people’
An excerpt from Pope Leo XIV’s address to representatives of the media, May 12
“In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaimed: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ (Mt 5:9). This is a Beatitude that challenges all of us, but it is particularly relevant to you, calling each one of you to strive for a different kind of communication, one that does not seek consensus at all costs, does not use aggressive words, does not follow the culture of competi-
tion and never separates the search for truth from the love with which we must humbly seek it. Peace begins with each one of us: in the way we look at others, listen to others and speak about others. In this sense, the way we communicate is of fundamental importance: we must say “no” to the war of words and images, we must reject the paradigm of war. …
“Thank you, dear friends, for your service to the truth. You have been in Rome these past few weeks to report on
the Church, its diversity and, at the same time, its unity. You were present during the liturgies of Holy Week and then reported on the sorrow felt over the death of Pope Francis, which nevertheless took place in the light of Easter. That same Easter faith drew us into the spirit of the Conclave, during which you worked long and tir ing days. Yet, even on this occasion, you managed to recount the beauty of Christ’s love that unites and makes us one people, guided by the Good Shepherd …”
Far left, Msgr. Joseph Celano holds the poster for “Triumph of the Heart,” a film on the life of St. Maximilian Kolbe, shown May 17 at the Somerville high school. At left, Deacon Steven Graydanus interviews the film’s writer/director, Anthony D’Ambrosio. —Patrick Knob photos
in the industry.”
Msgr. Joseph G. Celano, who was instrumental in securing the film for screening, closed the Q&A with a prayer, citing Kolbe, who mirrored Christ, saying, “There is no love without sacrifice.”
Msgr. Celano serves as pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, Somerville, and director of Immaculata High School and Immaculate Conception School.
Peter Knob, event organizer, attorney and parishioner at Immaculate Conception Parish, reflected, “The event was an incredible success – sellout crowd, standing ovation, and overwhelmingly positive feedback about the film and the deep spiritual impact it had on people. This event was a unique opportunity to get a sneak peek at arguably the greatest Catholic film ever made.”
For information on ways to further support the making of the film, visit www. triumphoftheheart.com.
Film of St. Maximilian Kolbe’s sacrifice a true ‘story of triumph, not tragedy’
By Deacon Steven D. Greydanus
While the story of St. Maximilian Kolbe’s life spans almost five decades and several locations in three countries on two continents, at the very mention of his name most people think immediately of the last two weeks of his life—above all, of his fateful decision, in a lineup of prisoners in an Auschwitz courtyard, to offer to exchange places with one of the 10 prisoners chosen at random to die by starvation and dehydration in a concrete bunker.
The fate of the ten men was retribution for the disappearance of a prisoner who was presumed to have escaped; one of the condemned men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, begged for his life for the sake of his wife and children. Thanks to Kolbe’s intervention, Gajowniczek lived to attend his savior’s beatification and canonization. Exactly how Kolbe’s last two weeks were spent, though, none of the nine witnesses lived to tell—and very little is known even about who they were.
Those last two weeks of the life of the “martyr of Auschwitz” are the focus of writer-director Anthony D’Ambrosio’s “Triumph of the Heart.” Researched and filmed in Poland with a substantially Polish cast, the film is set largely in the bunker, though with windows of various kinds into the world outside, from flashbacks and dreams to sequences focusing on external characters, notably deputy camp commander Karl Fritzsch (Christopher Sherwood) and his family.
D’Ambrosio’s most important decision is to tell the story largely from the perspective of one of Kolbe’s fellow doomed men, a group the film imagines as a representative mix of Auschwitz prisoners: young and old, of varying levels of education; Catholic, Jewish, non-religious. In particular, the film focuses on a member of the communist Workers’ Party, a soldier and atheist named Albert (Rowan Polonski), who acts as Kolbe’s foil within the bunker.
While necessarily largely imagined, the film’s account of the two weeks in the bunker is partly based on reports from guards and survivors, for example, of singing and prayers heard from the bunker. It also draws, of course, from the whole of Kolbe’s life and thought.
Did Kolbe really inspire his fellow dead men with the notion of forming themselves into a militia of resistance, notwithstanding their hopeless circumstances? It seems fitting to imagine the founder of the Militia Immaculatae (or Knights of the Immaculata) dying in this respect as he lived. Since, however, Kolbe’s fellow prisoners are not all Catholic, this new militia draws upon a broader solidarity. “Our differences are forgotten here,” Kolbe (Marcin Kwasny) tells Albert when the latter rebuffs him based on their religious and political differences. “We are just Poles.”
Then there is Fritzsch, whose enigmatic decision to acquiesce to Kolbe’s request–instead of just shooting him on the spot for daring to think that he was in a position to negotiate for anything–is a riddle that the film doesn’t try to solve. The program of executing 10 men for any one escapee is meant to be a demoralizing power move against the whole population of prisoners; what Fritzsch belatedly learns is that with certainty of death can come a certain freedom. It is hard to threaten dead men, and the effect on morale of the strains of singing coming from the bunker is the opposite of what Fritzsch intends.
Between Albert and Fritzsch, Kolbe’s actions are cross-examined both from outside the bunker and within it. At times the cross-examination is piercing, never more so than when the notion is floated that, if the missing prisoner were found, Fritzsch might have reprieved the condemned men–but not after their defiant singing.
It is in moments like these, in which the rightness and prudence of Kolbe’s actions appears in a genuinely unclear light, that the saint is at his most human: a fallible, limited man struggling to maintain his hold on human dignity for the sake of others around him as well as for himself.
Though largely downbeat, “Triumph of the Heart” is not without moments of humor and serenity, and certainly it is not depressing. It is, as the title implies, a story of triumph, not a tragedy.
Steven D. Greydanus, a deacon for the Archdiocese of Newark, has been writing about film since 2000, when he created Decent Films, for film appreciation and criticism informed by Catholic faith. For 10 years he co-hosted the Gabriel Award–winning cable TV show “Reel Faith” for New Evangelization Television, has appeared frequently on Catholic radio and written for a number of Catholic outlets.
—Bottom left, Sherwood Fellows photo/Lauren Levi
Eucharist and Social Impact
Putting common good before private good and taking up the cause of community
In the encyclical letter of Paul VI entitled Mysterium Fidei, we are told that the Eucharist is “the font of life that cleanses us, strengthens us to live not for ourselves but for God and to be united to each other by the closest ties of love.” This is an important point because the pontiff is pointing toward the social dimension of the Eucharist.
Think about it, if Christ dwells in the Eucharist, “he raises the level of morals, fosters virtue, comforts the sorrowful, strengthens the weak and stirs up all those who draw near to him, to imitate him, so that they may learn from his example to be meek and humble of heart and to seek not their own interests but those of God with eager and unselfish love.”
Devotion to the Eucharist elicits a “social love,” in which we put the common good ahead of our private good, we take up the cause of the community, the parish, the universal Church and extend
our charity to the whole world. We know that there are members of Christ everywhere. In a word, the sacrament is in service of the community. The concrete situation of the community requires that each person revise his life.
Some of those who advocate the social impact of the Eucharist, such as one of my former Jesuit professors from Rome, Jesuit Father Phil Rosato, would accentuate the practical and social dimension of the Eucharist through the term “orthopraxis.” In other words, it’s not enough to be “orthodox” about what we believe concerning the Eucharist – we have to be concerned about putting our orthodoxy into practice by helping the poor and disenfranchised, those who feel alienated from the Church or marginalized.
The Church exists to give good to others and this food is both material and spiritual. The effect of the Eucharist is to create those human attitudes which make for brotherhood in the social order and in all the spheres of the worldly life.
Last month, following the nine days of mourning prescribed for Pope Francis, the conclave of eligible cardinals assembled and, on May 8, elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who took the name, Leo XIV. It is thought by many that the new Pontiff took this name after Pope Leo XIII, who, throughout his pontificate, wrote prolifically on the topic of the Church’s social teaching.
Without a doubt, Pope Leo XIV will make the social teaching of the Church a hallmark of his pontificate. He has already spoken about the need to help the destitute in Gaza, to end the wars in both Gaza and Ukraine. And while his roots are in the United States, his upbringing in Chicago does not impede this pope from addressing world leaders, including
President Trump about the plight of immigrants who came here, as did our ancestors, in quest of a better life. Yet many of these immigrants have been deported, and not all of these are criminal.
Just one month into his pontificate, the Holy Father will certainly accentuate the Eucharist and its social impact. Let us heed his words in concert with the Ordinary Magisterium, as faithful, obedient children of the Church propelled by the authority of the Gospel and the grace of the Eucharist.
On this solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, also known as “Corpus Christi,” let us commit ourselves to orthopraxis whenever we receive the Eucharist so that we might become more and more that community whose primary mission of evangelization will transcend words through an active sharing of our goods both material and spiritual.
This teleology will be continually challenged and created anew in the Eucharist until justice will be on a par with charity. Christ will propel us beyond our “selves,” beyond a passive reception of the Eucharist, in such a way that the Bread of Life and Cup of Salvation will fortify our resolve to liberate those deprived of freedom, justice and peace. Indeed, after endless human attempts, trials and suffering, the social impact of the Eucharist will manifest itself in the final judgment of this world.
At that time, rapture for the righteous, and the Eucharist will cease to exist. Why? There will be no need for it, insofar as we will be in the presence of the glorified person of Jesus, himself, who, upon our arrival, will invite us to take a seat at his table in Heaven. Imagine the joy, the glory, the ecstasy!
Father Comandini serves as diocesan coordinator of the Office for Ongoing Faith Formation.
Realization provides the answer: Is the faith for real?
My articles appear on a couple of websites and from time to time I receive comments from various readers. Some people like what I write and tell me of their appreciation. Other readers disagree with me, sometimes even vehemently, and write to me to say so. A few people apparently read only every other word of the articles because their comments seem to completely miss the point.
My favorite comment occurred when I referred online to something I had written elsewhere, and my interlocutor connected the two writers for the first time: “Oh my goodness! You’re THAT Sister Gabriela of the Incarnation!” Two facts had come together. The penny had dropped. An unimportant bit of information had suddenly come alive. Realization had exploded!
He is one of the people who like my articles, so a friendship was born from that exchange. Two bits of knowledge came together in his mind, and a real person appeared. For him, I was no longer just a name on a webpage. I was a living, breathing, thinking human being with thoughts and ideas that are worth sharing.
Realization does that. It connects you with reality in a way beyond all that you can achieve through thinking. Your mind ceases to be a screen where you read your thoughts and ideas, and it becomes a window opening onto a reality that an instant before was only an image. A person is no longer a flat, two-dimensional concept but he is now a vibrant being in his own right. I may have no more knowledge about him than I had before, but now I perceive him in a totally new light. My mind was a screen and is now a window that can even become a door. I encounter someone who calls me out into a new world that opens onto an endless horizon.
St. Thomas, whose feast we celebrate on July 3, experienced this in the upper room a week after the Resurrection. He looked at a man whom he had known for three years, then suddenly the light of faith burst into his mind and Thomas knew that he was seeing God.
We talk about faith, which we define as “the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us” (CCC #1814). In
everyday life, we use the word in a variety of ways, sometimes meaning the articles of faith, sometimes meaning an attitude of faithfulness to the teaching of the Church. We know from catechism that faith is an infused virtue that we receive at Baptism, along with hope and charity. As believing Catholics, we try to live our faith by going to Mass, receiving the sacraments and trying to love our neighbor as ourselves.
We say that “familiarity breeds contempt.” It far more commonly breeds numbness. Not necessarily indifference, because that is an attitude of the will, but familiarity does breed numbness. I get too used to something and my reactions are deadened. We see this very obviously with the news. Horrors cease to be horrible. Even heroic actions no longer cause enthusiasm. Like the village where the boy cried “Wolf!” too often, I reach the point where I automatically turn off an over-familiar alarm bell that used to alert me to action. Words of tenderness and affection end by running off a spouse or a friend like water off a raincoat. I cease to be aware of my own reactions.
This happens too easily with the faith. We become so used to what we believe that it ceases to surprise us. We believe, but we don’t realize what it is that we believe. Our beliefs remain as thoughts on the screen of our mind. We accept them, but they don’t galvanize us.
May we, like Thomas, find that the faith comes alive for us. When the priest lifts up the Host at Mass, may we find ourselves exclaiming as we gaze on that small white circle, “Oh my goodness! You’re God!”
Sister Gabriela of the Incarnation is a member of the Discalced Carmelites order in Flemington. Learn more at www. flemingtoncarmel.org.
As another school year draws to a close, the Office of Schools of the Diocese of Metuchen proudly offers heartfelt congratulations to the graduating Class of 2025 from our four high schools: Saint Thomas Aquinas High School, Immaculata High School, Mount Saint Mary Academy, and Saint Joseph High School. The accomplishments of our students mark the culmination of years of dedication, personal growth, and unwavering faith, and we celebrate all that they have achieved.
The seniors have walked hallways filled with tradition, studied under the guidance of devoted educators, and served in communities where their presence has made a lasting impact. They have grown intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually during their time at our Catholic high schools, and they now leave as young men and women of character, ready to meet the future with courage, compassion, and conviction.
Throughout their journey, they have embraced the values that lie at the heart of Catholic education: love of God, service to others, integrity, and a deep commitment to learning. These values will continue to guide our graduates as they step into a world that is both filled with opportunity and in need of hope. As they pursue higher education, careers, and personal vocations, we encourage them to lead lives that reflect the light of Christ and the gifts they have been given.
We are deeply grateful to the parents, guardians, teachers, school leaders, pastors and staff who have supported our students throughout their time in our schools. Their steadfast commitment and tireless efforts have helped shape the people they are today. The strength of our Catholic school community lies in the deep partnerships we build between home, school, parish, and diocese and this graduating class is a beautiful reflection of that unity.
To the graduates, carry forward the lessons learned, the friendships made, and the faith that has been nurtured within you. The world awaits your voice, your ideas, and your goodness. Trust in your foundation and continue to grow in wisdom, kindness, and grace. May your journey ahead be marked not only by success, but also by meaning and service to others.
On behalf of the entire Office of Schools of the Diocese of Metuchen, we celebrate your achievements and pray that God continues to bless and guide you. Congratulations to the Class of 2025, you make us very proud.
B ar B ara S teven S - Secretary, Secretariat of Catholic Education J o S eph D i S kin - Superintendent of Schools S i S ter M
Curriculum
Immaculata
High School
Somerville, Baccalaureate Mass, June 3.
—Hal Brown photo
18
Immaculata valedictorian urges graduates:
‘Go out into the world, be the light, bring God’s truth’
By Susan Odenthal, Correspondent
At the conclusion of an animated speech during which she encouraged her 127 fellow graduates to “take a moment, center yourselves, straighten your back, and take a deep breath in and out,” Immaculata valedictorian Susan Polito, a self-described “choir kid,” invoked the words of St. Catherine of Siena: “Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire!”
Immaculata High School celebrated its Baccalaureate Mass on June 3 and its Commencement Exercises the next evening at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Somerville. Immaculata is the unique parish high school in the Diocese of Metuchen.
Salutatorian Ashley Petlick recalled that as the graduates entered Immaculata as freshmen in 2021, they were emerging from the scare of the COVID pandemic. “Despite the after-effects of COVID, each of us took the first step in this new chapter of our lives,” she said. “And look at us now!”
Before he joined parish pastor and director of schools Msgr. Joseph Celano and Principal Edward Webber in handing
hard-earned diplomas to the graduates, Bishop James F. Checchio, who distributed diplomas to the graduates, encouraged the students: “We are proud of you, we love you, we look forward to great things throughout your lives. Stay close to Our Lord in all sorts of new situations. Remember Jesus’ love for you, and His desire to accompany you through life’s ups and downs.”
The Immaculata Class of 2025 heads out into the world with an impressive record of achievements. Collectively, the class earned over $40 million in college scholarships, or an average of $360,000 per student, with nearly nine in 10 students being offered an award. Some of the prestigious institutions they head to in September include Rensselaer Polytechnic University, Howard University, New York University, Boston College and Villanova University. More than a quarter will attend a Catholic college or university.
The grads were attractive to leading universities. More than six in 10 had taken at least one Advanced Placement class. Collectively, they had dedicated nearly 18,000 hours of service while at the school, with 95 percent of the class
participating. Over 60 percent participated in athletics, with 23 going on to compete at the collegiate level. Greater than 40 percent of the students participated in the arts, with several, including Polito, receiving regional recognitions this year.
The inclusion of “legacy families,” or families where both parents and children graduated from Immaculata, gave witness to a familiar school slogan – “once a Spartan, always a Spartan.” The class included 17 second-generation Immaculata graduates and five who are children of current faculty and staff members.
The night before at the Baccalaureate Mass, Msgr. Celano told the story of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions, a group of 22 young Ugandan men executed on the same date in 1886 for defying a king by refusing to abandon their faith in Jesus Christ.
“This may seem like a strange event to memorialize on what should be a joyful celebration of the Eucharist before tomorrrow’s Commencement,” he said. “But if we take another look, this memorial of the Ugandan martyrs has something important to teach us about Christian discipleship today and for the days to come.”
Msgr. Celano explained that the word ‘martyr’ derives from the Greek word for ‘witness,’ or someone who offers evidence. “What renders our witness credible
is not what we say,” he continued, “but it’s in what we do.” The Ugandan martyrs did not choose death, he reasoned, but chose Jesus Christ.
“Tonight, as we celebrate the Eucharist for the last time together,” Msgr. Celano encouraged the graduates, “choose Jesus Christ today and in the days before you. Be a credible witness by producing the evidence of your faith, strive for excellence but remember the true weight of your worth is not measured by your successes, but by love – God’s love for you and the love you show to others. Make good choices. Choose faith over fear, hope over despair, love over indifference. Choose Christ in all things and above all things, for He is worth it.”
Principal Webber read a long list of awards before the graduates finally shifted their tassels from right to left and processed out to the courtyard, where in a time-honored school tradition, they counted down and jubilantly tossed their caps into the air as the sun set.
—Hal Brown photos
“We have been so fortunate at Immaculata to have one very special guest teacher grace the presence of every class we have taken: Jesus Christ. … Christ has served as our model and teacher of stewardship, friendship, and behavior as children of God. We have now been given the incredible opportunity to go out into the world and be the light of Christ to others.”
Susan Polito, Valedictorian
“Whether you knew it at the time or not, your parents’ decision to send you here was going to change your life. … What Immaculata provided to us is special and not something that can be easily replicated. God has brought all of us together so we can be a part of something much bigger than we can dream of, and it only starts now.” Ashley Petlick, Salutatorian
Immaculata High School Awards
ACADEMIC AWARDS
Highest General Average (Valedictorian)
Gift of the Spartan Parent Club, Susan Josephine Polito
Highest General Average (Salutatorian)
Gift of the Spartan Parent Club, Ashley Morgan Petlick
The Bishop James F. Checchio Award for Excellence in Theology Gift of the Diocese of Metuchen, Fraternal Order of Eagles 2137, and Our Lady of the Hills Martinsville Knights of Columbus Council 5959
Susan Josephine Polito
Excellence in Biology
Gift of the IHS Administration, Mollie Anna Ferreira
Excellence in Business Education
Gifts of the Vossen Family and Murray Family, Sienna Marie Armenti
Excellence in Chemistry
Gift of the Liedl Family, Ashley Morgan Petlick
Excellence in Computer Science
Gift of the Vossen Family, Kathryn Maria Sorrentino
The Van Doren Award for Excellence in Dramatics
Gift of the Van Doren Family, Charles David Alexis
Excellence in English Gift of the Fraternal Order of Eagles 2137, Tyler Douglas Pollock
Excellence in French Gift of the Kline Family, Isabella Reina Florencia Dora Hayling
Excellence in Journalism Gift of the Journalism Program, Abigail Elizabeth HooFatt
Excellence in Mathematics
Gift of the IHS Administration, Connor Thomas Stevens
Excellence in Performing Arts Gift of the Performing Arts Department, Joseph Mariano DeVito IV
Excellence in Physics
Gift of the IHS Administration, Aidan Joseph English
Excellence in Social Studies Gift of the Fraternal Order of Eagles 2137 and Somerville Knights of Columbus Council 1432, Anne Kathleen Johnson
Excellence in Spanish
Gift of the IHS Administration, Daniel Adrian Brea
Excellence in Latin
Gift of IHS Administration, Ashley Morgan Petlick
PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS AWARDS
The John Philip Sousa Award Gift of the Performing Arts Department, Tyler Douglas Pollock
The Susan Bruns ’75 Award Gift of the Performing Arts Department, Susan Josephine Polito
Excellence in Illustration Gift of the Visual Arts Department, Maximilian Olof Wadehn
The Marie E. Laggini Memorial Award for Vocal Excellence Gift of the friends of the late Marie Laggini, Charlotte Marie Redmond
Excellence in Animation Gift of the Visual Arts Department, Katelyn Alissandra Meek
Excellence in Music; Service to School, Church, and Community Gift of the Performing Arts Department, Isabella Reina Florencia Dora Hayling
Excellence in Graphic Design
Gift of the Visual Arts Department, Jaylen Chirag Patel
“Semper Fidelis” Award Gift of the Performing Arts Department, Tyler Douglas Pollock
Excellence in Photography
Gift of Mariano Films, LLC, Valentina Agostino
The Edward “Ted” Gaughan Memorial Award
Gift of the Gaughan Family, Lauren Riley Hurley Zarzycki
Excellence in Videography
Gift of Mariano Films, LLC, Gabriella Helene Rubis
The Louis Armstrong Jazz Award Gift of the Performing Arts Department, Joshua Tyler Reeves
Excellence in Broadcasting
Gift of Mariano Films, LLC, Thomas Howard Frazzetto
The Sister Dolores Margaret Scholarship for Excellence Gift of the Sister Dolores Margaret Scholarship Fund, Susan Josephine Polito
SERVICE AWARDS
President of Student Council
Gift of Monsignor Joseph G. Celano, Dyson James Adams
President of Senior Class
Gift of the Student Council, Belen Martinez
National Honor Society President
Gift of the National Honor Society, Helena Jennifer Centolanza
President of the Spanish Honor Society
Gift of the Spanish Honor Society, Susan Josephine Polito
President of the French Honor Society
Gift of the French Honor Society, Ella Elisabeth Burke
President of Latin Honor Society
Gift of the Latin Honor Society, Kylie Saba Balish
President of Tri-M Music Honor Society
Gift of the Sister Dolores Margaret Scholarship Fund, Susan Josephine Polito
2024-2025 Presidential Volunteer Service Award
The Presidential Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) is a national honor offered in recognition of sustained volunteer service. The Presidential Volunteer Service Award recognizes hours served over a 12-month period.
(Gold: 250+hrs) Madeline Paige Babula, Helena Jennifer Centolanza, Anne Kathleen Johnson, Colin Kassai, Christopher Anthony Kwiatkowski, Kathryn Maria Sorrentino, Connor Thomas Stevens, Arianna Rose Sviderskis-Carroll
(Silver: 175-249hrs) Aidan Joseph English, Thomas Howard Frazzetto, Charlotte Marie Redmond, Sara Maria Riedler
(Bronze: 100-174hrs) Valentina Agostino, Kylie Saba Balish, Ariana Sofia Brea, Jordan Therese Coellar, Isabella Reina Florencia Dora Hayling, Isabella Rose Hermann, Alicia Grace Krauser, Jayson Anthony Labrador, Caden Alexandra Ludlow, Belen Martinez, Ashley Morgan Petlick, Susan Josephine Polito, Tyler Douglas Pollock, Courtney Evelyn Rivenbark, Alexandra Nicole Robas, Gabriella Helene Rubis, Lauren Riley Hurley Zarzycki
Christian Spirit Award Gift of the Spartan Parent Club, Helena Jennifer Centolanza
Campus Ministry Award
Gift in honor of Deacon David Lang ’83, Arianna Rose Sviderskis-Carroll, Colin Kassai
Service to Magnificat Yearbook
Gift of the Journalism Program, Evelyn Rose McGoldrick
ATHLETIC AWARDS
Scholar Athlete - Skyland Conference
Aidan Timothy Harkins, Caden Alexandra Ludlow
Scholar Athlete - Somerset County
Anne Kathleen Johnson, Connor Thomas Stevens
Scholar Athlete - NJSIAA Devin Marie Reeves
The Michael Vecchio Memorial Award Gift of Irene Vecchio, Luke Richard Laub
Spartan Athletic Award Gift of the Athletics Department, Colleen Elizabeth Bull, Cole James Hayden
RECOGNITION AWARDS
The Robert Briski Citizenship Award Gift of Mrs. Carol Briski, Jordan Therese Coellar
The John Collins ’76 Memorial Award Gift of the Somerville Knights of Columbus Council 1432 and AOH Somerset County, Saint Patrick Division 1 Christopher Anthony Kwiatkowski
The Robert Colucci ’08 Award for Leadership Gift of the friends of Rob Colucci ’08, Dyson James Adams
The Kristin A. Culley ’96 Memorial Award Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Culley, Anne Kathleen Johnson
The Christine Fox Frauenheim ’83 Memorial Scholarship Gift of the friends and family of Christine Fox Frauenheim ’83, Madeline Paige Babula
The Kenneth G. Herrmann ’81 Memorial Award Gift of the Unitas Caritas Foundation and the Susan Kelly ’80 Golf Outing Benefactors, Connor Thomas Stevens
The Thomas M. Jubak, Jr. ’80 Memorial Award Gift of the Unitas Caritas Foundation and the Susan Kelly ’80 Golf Outing Benefactors, Matthew Paul Stevens
The Susan Kelly ’80 Memorial Award Gift of the Unitas Caritas Foundation and the Susan Kelly ’80 Golf Outing Benefactors, Maeve Sweeney Runyon
The J. Brandon (Mackie) Maxwell Award for Merit Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ribbans, Madeline Theresa Tavaglione
The Alice McIntyre, RN Memorial Award Gift of David Boyda, Andrew James Dalessio
The Richard D. Tyler Memorial Award Gift of Mrs. Mary Jane Tyler, Kyle John Holtby
The Sheila M. White Memorial Award Gift of the Office of School Counseling, Emma Claire Frain, Jaylen Chirag Patel
Italian American Club at Canal Walk Scholarship Gift of Italian American Club at Canal Walk, Helena Jennifer Centolanza, Christopher Anthony Kwiatkowski, Madison Debra Marzulli, Ashley Morgan Petlick, Susan Josephine Polito, Kathryn Maria Sorrentino
Law Enforcement
Gift of the Somerville Police Benevolent Association, Local 147, Brigid Fallon Kennedy
The Rotary Club of Branchburg Scholarship
Gift of the Rotary Club of Branchburg, Ariana Sofia Brea, Kathryn Maria Sorrentino
The Rotary Club of Somerville and Bridgewater Scholarship Gift of the Rotary Club of Somerville and Bridgewater, Maeve Sweeney Runyon
The Rotary Club of Somerville and Bridgewater
- Von Stade Music Scholarship
Gift of the Rotary Club of Somerville and Bridgewater, Susan Josephine Polito
The Rotary Club of Somerville and Bridgewater
- Paul F. Davis Scholarship
Gift of the Rotary Club of Somerville and Bridgewater, Christopher Anthony Kwiatkowski
The Rotary Club of Hillsborough
Gift of the Rotary Club of Hillsborough, Thomas Howard Frazzetto, Maia Jean Minakas
The Somerville Civic League Scholarship
Gift of the Somerville Civic League, Brigid Fallon Kennedy, Maeve Sweeney Runyon
The Somerville Elks Lodge 1068 Scholarship
Gift of Somerville Elks Lodge 1068, Arianna Rose Sviderskis-Carroll
The Van Doren Scholarship Gift of the Peter Ellis
Van Doren Scholarship Fund, Madeline Paige Babula
Spartan Alumni Award
Gift of the Spartan Alumni Association, Aidan Joseph English, Gillian Alexandria Roethke
U.S. Army Green Beret Staff Sergeant Andrew T. Lobosco ’98 Scholarship Award
Gift of James Boyda ’12, Ariana Sofia Brea
The Monsignor Eugene B. Kelly Award
For the student who best exemplifies the Spirit and ideals of Immaculata High School
Gift of the IHS Administration, Jayson Anthony Labrador
Valedictorian: Susan Polito Salutatorian: Ashley Petlick
Mount Saint Mary Academy
Congratulates the Class of 2025
By Robert Christie Correspondent
On the overcast Saturday morning of May 31, the 74 graduates of Mount Saint Mary Academy’s Class of 2025 and hundreds of family and friends filled the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception atop the grounds of the all-girls Catholic high school in Watchung for the 2025 commencement exercises.
The academic rigor of the Mount, a sponsored work of the Sisters of Mercy, is evident in an examination of the graduating class’ noteworthy statistics. In addition to the valedictorian and salutatorian, 19 students graduated with High Honors with a 4.0 average or higher; two students were National Merit finalists; six were National Merit Commended students, 15 became members of the Cum Laude Society, and 44 earned membership in the National Honors Society. Graduates received offers of admission from 169 colleges and universities, 26 of them Catholic. The class received over $23 million in scholarships, and 96% received some form of financial award.
Assistant Directress Jacqueline C. Muratore, ‘01, introduced salutatorian, Megan Quraishi. “I am honored and humbled,” she began, noting “this special moment together before our paths divide.” She thanked everyone from faculty to coaches to peers and family, with a special thanks to Mercy Sister Lisa Gambacorto, Directress of the Academy.
Speaking metaphorically, Quraishi observed, “It’s ok if you haven’t learned to drive: just ride a bike. If one road closes, take another. Meet the future not with a map of where to go, but rather a compass to point out the direction.”
The Presentation of Students followed, and Sister Lisa hugged every graduate. Each student waited for another and then faced each other to turn one another’s tassel from right to left, signifying their passage from student to graduate. The announcement of student awards was made, followed by the faculty and staff poignantly singing “Find Your Wings.”
Madison DeFrancisco delivered the valedictory address, starting with memories of her middle school days when the opinions of others mattered so much to her, but the Mount changed that. It was a sad to contemplate leaving, she said, “but we are not starting from scratch. We are stronger than ever. We have been provided with a foundation and values, and we’ve come to trust ourselves better.”
In closing, DeFrancisco urged her peers to remember the words of Henry David Thoreau that, “Not till we are lost, in other words not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves.”
Barbara Stevens, diocesan Secretary for Catholic Schools, then read a letter from Bishop James F. Checchio, expressing his regret that he could not attend, since he was scheduled at the same time to ordain two new priests for the diocese.
Mount Saint Mary Academy grads urged to ‘find your wings’
“What a milestone you have achieved,” the Bishop wrote. “Remember that Jesus accompanies you. May the Holy Spirit be with you. You are children of God called to greatness and holiness.” Stevens added, “You have grown in wisdom, character, and faith within your Catholic community. You have received an excellent education through the unwavering love of God.”
Maria Mauti Sblendorio, from Basking Ridge and an alum of the Mount class of ‘89, was witnessing the graduation of her daughter, Marion. Her daughter was so impressed that her mother had maintained friendships with her friends from the Mount over the years that she said, “I want that.” Maria responded with a smile, “Once a Mountie, always a Mountie,”
Jennifer Milelli of Morristown was there to see her daughter, Sofia, graduate. The family chose the Mount because of its wonderful academics, but also because the school is dedicated to making good people, Jennifer declared, adding, “And Sister Lisa, who said that your children are like my children to me.”
“There’s also a sense of fun here,” Mr. Milelli added. “It’s the great education here, and it’s also current with the times.”
When questioned if religion played a role in their decisions to send their daughters to the Mount, both the Milellis and the Sblendorios answered in concert, “Yes.”
“While who we are now and the decisions we made in high school certainly do not define the rest of our lives, our time and experiences here do have value. They have provided us a foundation, a sense of self and system of support that we can build off of and fall back on when needed.”
Madison DeFrancisco, Valedictorian
“Today might feel like an ending, but it’s actually a beginning in disguise. And I hope–truly–that we carry with us the grace that lets us fail without shame, grow without fear, and embrace the unexpected. … Let’s meet the future not with a map telling us where to go, but with a compass, pointing us in the right direction.”
Megan Quraishi, Salutatorian
MSMA Awards
General Excellence – Four Years – Valedictorian
Gift of the Mercy Guild, Madison DeFrancisco
General Excellence - Four Years – Salutatorian
Gift of the Fathers Club, Megan Quraishi
High Honors - Four Years
Gift of Mount Saint Mary Academy Administration, 4.0 GPA or higher each year for all four years at Mount Saint Mary Academy: Elizabeth Baglien, Katherine Byrne, Chloe Capuano, Antonia Cirillo, Elizabeth Corrigan, Jessica Curran, Madison DeFrancisco, Emma Grillon, Sarah Hobbie, Lila Keller, Kayla Marion, Grace Prayias, Grace Puglisi, Megan Quraishi, Catherine Ritter, Zoe Tseng, Sonya Velkov, Jenny Zhu, Ann Zwally
Bishop James F. Checchio Religion Medal 2024
Gift of the Diocese of Metuchen, Sarah Hobbie
School Leadership Award
Gift of the Alumnae, Shelby Carmant, Lauren O’Connell, Grace Puglisi, Ella Reed, Ann Zwally
School Spirit Award Gift of the Fathers Club, Mary Catherine King, Sarah Mooney
Christian Leadership Award Gift of Campus Ministry, Mary Agugliaro, Devon Kochanski
Catherine McAuley Award
Gift of the Sisters of Mercy, The student who made the most of her potential while at Mount Saint Mary Academy: Bianca Barreto, Gianna Sangillo, Livia Varga
Sister Mary Eloise Claire Kays, RSM
Memorial Award
Former Directress of Mount Saint Mary Academy
The student who best exemplifies grace and Mercy hospitality: Sarah Hobbie, Ryan Oden, Grace Prayias
Sister Mary Kerwin ‘45, RSM Memorial Award
Former Directress of Mount Saint Mary Academy
The student who best exemplifies school loyalty and compassionate service: Brigid Cogan, Elizabeth Corrigan, Sonya Velkov
Sister Diane Szubrowski, RSM Humanitarian Service Memorial Award Former New Jersey
Regional Community President of the Sisters of Mercy, The student who has performed an extraordinary amount of service: Katherine Byrne, Jessica Curran
Outstanding Leadership Award
Gift of the Directress, Given at the discretion of the Directress - not an annual award: Shelby Carmant
The young women of the Mount Saint Mary Academy Class of 2025 turned their tassels May 31 at the Watchung school’s Baccalaureate Mass. Far left, Sister Lisa Gambacorto, directress, joyfully greets one of the 74 graduates who collectively earned more than $23 million in scholarships. —Mark Lee photos
Valedictorian: Madison DeFrancisco
Salutatorian: Megan Quraishi
St. John Vianney School, 420 Inman Avenue, Colonia, NJ 732-388-1662
Congratulations to the Class of 2025! May God bless you throughout your academic and spiritual journeys! With love and best wishes, Your St. Stanislaus Kostka School Family
St. Joseph graduates encouraged to face challenges
By Robert Christie, Correspondent
The 130 graduates of St. Joseph High School, Metuchen, may have absorbed tens of thousands of crucial facts on their way to earning their treasured diplomas, but, as Father Timothy A. Christy reminded them, one fact surpasses everything else they had learned.
Calling Christ’s Resurrection “the most important fact in the history of the world,” Father Christy, rector of Metuchen’s Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, addressed the green-gowned graduates and their proud and joyful family and friends filling the pews of Sacred Heart Church, South Plainfield, the afternoon of May 18 at the Catholic high school’s 60th graduation. Serving as principal celebrant and homilist, Father Christy continued, “Without this, our faith is in vain. Your Christian life will be filled with challenges … He sees you, and he is calling you forth.”
Following Mass, Principal Anne Rivera addressed the gathering with a tinge of humor. “You’ve taken a thousand tests, put in 14,800 hours in service projects and now you’ve earned $29 million in college scholarships. Yet when asked what you did in school today, you said ‘Nothing.’ But here you experienced values. Think big. Call home. Do your homework. Don’t be late. Be prepared. Above all, remember that it is what you give, not what you get. Faith, hope, and love will get you through anything. These are our gifts to you and remember that you are always in our prayers.”
Bishop James F. Checchio then invoked a prayer, asking that God guide and protect the graduates from harm.
Salutatorian Gurkeerat Singh addressed the group. “We shared a lot. What is your memory? Reflect on that and live in the moment,” Singh, who will study at the University of Maryland in the fall, said, “We’ve changed so much during our time here and will continue to do so as the river of time takes us forward.”
The presentation of graduates followed, their many accomplishments reflected in their academic achievements: 24 students graduated summa cum laude; 27 magna cum laude, and 11 cum laude, some 48 percent graduating with honors. Twenty-three percent will attend Catholic colleges.
Ronan Pell then gave the valedictory address, detailing how he entered St. Joe’s wanting to be valedictorian and go to an Ivy league school. Pell’s dreams were realized, for he plans to study at Harvard University following a gap year in the business arena. But in the process, he admitted, he began to think he was a hot shot and started to treat others differently. He had allowed success to change him. However, the biggest lesson he learned was inspired by his girlfriend who called this behavior to his attention. He realized that the greatest success was the strength of the relationships developed with others. “There are no achievements without others who helped you achieve them,” Pell concluded.
President John Nolan then spoke and thanked Bishop Checchio for attending, as, “This affirms the status of our education.” He also thanked the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, who operate the prep school, and who have been in Metuchen since 1901. “As Principal Rivera said, our goal is simple: to prepare your sons for life. St. Joe’s has provided you with the tools to succeed in college and in life. Besides believing in yourself, believe in God. Work hard, focus on your studies, and remember that your first semester is the most important,” Nolan concluded.
Bishop Checchio closed the ceremony noting this is a great time for the Church. Remarking about the recent election of Pope Leo XIV, whom he had known during his time in Rome, the Bishop continued, “Remember to stay close to the Lord. He named you in the womb and breathed life into you at birth. Lord, protect these graduates until they enter into your kingdom.”
—Hal Brown photos
“The most important thing I’ve learned at St. Joe’s is the most fundamental. The greatest success can’t be measured in numbers. It’s not money, not college acceptances, not the number of goals you score, and not the number of followers you have. True success is measured by the strength of the relationships we build with others, the kindness we show to not just those close to us but complete strangers, and the human connections which we must work tirelessly to maintain.” Ronan Pell, Valedictorian
‘As you hear the names of 130 of your brothers in a few moments, live in this moment. Because even as you start that next chapter, this one will always be here to turn back to. We have changed so much since that first day and we will continue to change as the river of time flows on, carrying us with it. But no matter how much we and the world around us change, our memories of these four years spent together will always remain.”
Gurkeerat Singh, Salutatorian
SACRÉ COEUR AWARD AND FALCON AWARDS
Art National Honor Society
Sacré Coeur Award: Matthew Balke
Chess Team
Sacré Coeur Award: Alejandro Tellez College Bowl
Sacré Coeur Award: Yuande Liao
German National Honor Society
Sacré Coeur Award: Ta-Ji Umukoro
Falcon Award: Richard Zangara
International Thespian Honor Society
Sacré Coeur Award: Brennan Magee Investment Club
Sacré Coeur Award: Ronan Pell
Falcon Award: Alejandro Tellez Latin National Honor Society
Sacré Coeur Award: Bennett Magliochetti
Falcon Award: James Hoebich II Math League
Sacré Coeur Award: Yuande Liao
Falcon Award: Brandon Trivino Mock Trial
Sacré Coeur Award: Stephen Horan, Arthur Yuen
Falcon Award: Elikem Amenuvor
Model United Nations
Sacré Coeur Award: Gurkeerat Singh
Falcon Award: Ronan Pell
National Honor Society
Sacré Coeur Award: Rohan John
Falcon Award: Brandon Trivino Robotics Team
Sacré Coeur Award: Michael Armao
Falcon Award: Yuande Liao
Science National Honor Society
Sacré Coeur Award: Gavin Rivera
Falcon Award: Bennett Magliochetti
S.J. Broadcasting
Sacré Coeur Award: Giacomo Imperiale
Falcon Award: Isaiah Louison
Saint Joseph HS Awards
Spanish National Honor Society
Sacré Coeur Award: Brandon Trivino
Theatre Company: Actors
Sacré Coeur Award: Elikem Amenuvor
Falcon Award: Rohan John
Theatre Company: Tech
Sacré Coeur Award: Stephen Horan
Falcon Award: Arthur Yuen
Tri
M Music National Honor Society
Sacré Coeur Award: Brennan Magee
Falcon Award: Brandon Trivino
Yearbook: Evergreen
Sacré Coeur Award: Rohan John
Falcon Award: Nico Caruso
Campus Ministry
Sacré Coeur Award: Stephen Horan
Falcon Award: Zachary Penley
Falcons and Friends
Sacré Coeur Award: Giacomo Imperiale
Falcon Award: Enrique Mercado
Falcons for Safety
Sacré Coeur Award: Enrique Mercado
Falcon Award: Owen Crum
S.J. Outreach
Sacré Coeur Award: Owen Crum
Falcon Award: Sean Hohmann
Student Council
Sacré Coeur Award: Nickolas Faria
Falcon Award : Rohan John
ACADEMIC AWARDS
Cum Laude
Four-year (seven semester) cumulative GPA > 3.8
Matthew Balke, Avery Cambero, Ryan DiGraci, Stefan Gruskiewicz, Matthew Herban, Bryce Hollyer
Tyler Huseth, Tamas Nagy, William Phillips, Matthew Robertson, Jonathan Zayle Jr.
Upon Graduation …
As your classes and grading are now complete, may you strive toward excellence in all you do.
As the speeches conclude, may your voices rise up to pronounce justice and peace in the world.
As the fanfares cease, may you sing of joy, even in the dark and lonely places.
As the applause quiets, may you celebrate and lift up those around you.
As you graduate today, may your achievements grow and cause growth in your communities. And may we all know of the overwhelming blessings of the One who created all things.
~ jesuitresource.org at www.xavier.edu
Magna Cum Laude
Four-year (seven semester) cumulative GPA > 4.0
Ruggiero Abbatemarco, Jacob Alexander, Robert Canada, Christopher Coppa, Owen Crum, Jake Dayton, Clark Dias Jr., Christopher Espiritu, Giacomo Imperiale, Peter Kotowski, Tyler LeBrocq, Dylan Mackie, Brennan Magee, William Makowski, Michael Marcassoli, Jack Murphy, Tyler Neville, Daniel O’Connor Jr., Savion Parish, Zachary Penley, Ethan Roache, Ryan Rodrigues, Walter Scott Jr., Jacob Sockolof, Steven Szabo, Alejandro Tellez, Arthur Yuen
Summa Cum Laude
Four-year (seven semester) cumulative GPA > 4.40
Elikem Amenuvor, Michael Armao, Troy Boucher, Hao Chen, Zachary Dosch, Matthew Ferber, Aaron Guempel, Andrew Hartong, James Hoebich II, Stephen Horan, Rohan John, Mihir Joseph
Alumni Award: Owen Crum and Rohan John Bishop Checchio Medal: Ethan St. Louis Capt. Walter C. Callari “Lead By Example” Scholarship: Troy Boucher and Brandon Trivino
Damon Ferber ’88 Memorial Scholarship: Richard Zangara
Dino Galiano ’79 Memorial Scholarship: Christopher Coppa
Gavin Macdonald ’81 Memorial Scholarship: Elikem Amenuvor
Joseph Mangiapane ’98 Memorial Scholarship: Yuande Liao
Cpl. Kevin Reinhard ’05 Memorial Scholarship: Brandon Trivino
Ryan Terracciano ’09 Memorial Scholarship: Aaron Guempel
DEPARTMENT AWARDS
Computer Science and Applied Technology
For Excellence: Zachary Dosch
Department Award: Christopher Coppa English
For Excellence: Stephen Horan
Department Award: Hao Chen Fine and Performing Arts
For Excellence: Sebastian Blumberg
Department Award: William Green Health and Physical Education
For Excellence: Steven Szabo Department Award: Enrique Mercado Mathematics
For Excellence: Yuande Liao
Department Award: Zachary Penley Science
For Excellence: Brandon Trivino
Department Award: Yuande Liao Social Studies
For Excellence: Ryan Muce
Department Award: Marcus Justiniani
Theology
For Excellence: Brandon Trivino
Department Award: Bennett Magliochetti
World Languages
German
For Excellence: Ta-Ji Umukoro
Department Award: Tamas Nagy
Latin
For Excellence: Bennett Magliochetti
Department Award: James Hoebich II
HONORS DIPLOMA
Elikem Amenuvor
Michael Armao
Tim Kou Ronan Pell Gurkeerat Singh Brandon Trivino
Scholar-Athlete Award: James Hoebich II
Salutatorian Award: Gurkeerat Singh
Valedictorian Award: Ronan Pell
HONORS PREVIOUSLY AWARDED
National Merit, Commended Students
Michael Armao, Stephen Horan, Devraj Patel, Gurkeerat Singh
Semi Finalist: Elikem Amenuvor, Ronan Pell
Finalist: Elikem Amenuvor, Ronan Pell
National Hispanic Recognition Program
Scholars: Gavin Rivera
National First-Generation Recognition Award: Tim Kou, Peter Kotowski
Saint Joseph High School 50th Annual
Robert Frost Literary Contest 2025
Senior Division (first, second, and third place)
Fiction:
Ta-Ji Umukoro – “And the King Yawned” Clark Dias Jr. – “The Dust of a Kingdom” Avery Cambero – “Mystery at Night”
Nonfiction:
Aaron Guempel – “Golf”
Hao Chen – “The Wonders of Aviation”
Gurkeerat Singh – “A Flight”
Poetry:
Bennett Magliochetti – “Warm Summer Day in August”
Mihir Joseph – “Late Night Drives”
Christopher Coppa – “The Arctic’s Silent Night”
Edison Rotary Seniors of the Month
Elikem Amenuvor, Michael Armao, Owen Crum, Jake Dayton, Andrew Hartong, Bryce Hollyer, Stephen Horan, Rohan John, Yuande Liao, Brennan Magee, Enrique Mercado, Ryan Muce, Jack Murphy, Tyler Neville, Gavin Rivera, Gurkeerat Singh, Jacob Sockolof, Ethan St. Louis, Brandon Trivino, Jonathan Zayle Jr.
Athletics:
NJSIAA Scholar Athlete Award: Nicholas Hengerer
GMC Scholar Athlete Award: Tyler Huseth
GMC Sportsmanship Award: Gavin Rivera
Math League
New Jersey Math League Fourth Place Overall: Yuande Liao
National German Exam
Level IV – Leistungsurkunde: Tamas Nagy, Ta-Ji Umukoro
Level III – Silberurkunde: Yuande Liao
Seal of Biliteracy – German
Functional Fluency: Yuande Liao
Seal of Biliteracy – Chinese Functional Fluency: Yuande Liao
St. Thomas Aquinas High School celebrates Class of 2025 with faith, gratitude, hope
By Mike Kowalczyk Special Contributor
On a beautiful June day, the St. Thomas Aquinas High School Class of 2025 was sent forth with blessings, prayers, and proud hearts during the Baccalaureate Mass and Commencement Ceremony held at the Church of the Sacred Heart in South Plainfield. The event marked a pivotal moment in the lives of the graduates, one of reflection, thanksgiving, and hopeful anticipation for the journeys ahead.
The day began with the tradition of the Baccalaureate Mass, a time to honor God’s guiding presence throughout the
takes time, but it is essential,” Father Keyes said. “You have been formed here academically, artistically, spiritually, and morally. Remember all who helped form you, especially your parents, who invested time, energy, and love even when you didn’t notice. Honor them with your life and legacy.”
The music for the Mass, led by the liturgical choir under the direction of Joseph Cullinan ‘02, created a reverent and joyful atmosphere with hymns that included City of God, Pilgrims of Hope, and We Are One Body.
Following Mass, the Commencement ceremony honored each graduate individually. As their names were read
an Averie Branche inspired her classmates by affirming their limitless potential. “I know that every single one of you has an endless amount of potential and is capable of so much more than you may think,” she said. “Surround yourselves with people who help you grow and make you strive to be a better person every day.”
Salutatorian Mahiya Sundar reflected on the collective achievements of the class: “Together, our class has accomplished a great deal throughout our high school years. We’ve won Battle of the Classes twice through teamwork and determination. Many of us have shone in theater productions and music performances, and others have flourished as tal-
honor the past: your teachers and counselors, your parents, and God who will always be there for you.”
The ceremony concluded with some thoughts and a moving rendition of the song The Prayer by senior class officers Elizabeth Bera and William Owens: “The story of the class of 2025 has been truly a beautiful one and our way of expressing our gratitude to God and our classmates is this song.”
As the graduates turned their tassels and processed out of the church, they moved forward as Trojans united, illuminated by the values of truth, faith, love and friendship, ready to serve the world with wisdom and courage.
TOP 10%
Gianna Arduini, Kazimer Begonja, Elizabeth Bera, Averie Branche, Gianna-Marie D’Astoli, Bianca Rose Enriquez, Olivia Locandro, Elizabeth Negron, Stephanie Nguyen, William Owens, Julianne Perez, Emily Pittari, Gabriella Politi, Sahib Singh, Edward Smietana, Antonio Strazzulla, Mahiya Sundar, Sophia Tran, Isabelle Tria
Mrs. Anacelis Diaz, principal, the teachers and the staff of Perth Amboy Catholic School congratulate the graduating class of 2025.
May each step you take lead you closer to your dreams. Congratulations!
500 State Street, Perth Amboy, NJ 08861 732-442-9533 pacatholicschool.org
By Christina Leslie
Contributing Editor
Young faithful from throughout the state proved God’s bountiful love can be found anywhere – even atop a roller coaster – at the annual New Jersey Catholic Youth Rally held May 18 at Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson. More than 1,300 youth and young adult ministers hailing from the dioceses of Metuchen, Trenton, Camden and Paterson and the Archdiocese of Newark enjoyed a day of thrill rides, carnival games, fried foods and sweet treats as well as prayer and reflection led by clergy and laity.
The day began with prayer in the Showcase Arena, led by John Cammarata, director of Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Paterson. During the morning session, the teens were invited to write down their fears and place them in a box, symbolically handing them over to God.
As pilgrims of hope, the young Church of New Jersey brought these fears with them to the concluding Mass celebrated in the Batman Stunt Arena, where Jay Donofrio, Metuchen diocesan director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, welcomed the crowd gathered for the celebration of the Eucharist.
Father Jonathan S. Toborowsky, vicar general and moderator of the curia in Metuchen, served as principal celebrant of the outdoor Mass, and was assisted by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney of the Diocese of Paterson and several priests from around the state. Father Thomas W. Lanza, vocations director for the Diocese of Metuchen and Rutgers University, New Brunswick, and chaplain at St. Joseph High School, Metuchen, served as the homilist.
In his homily, Father Lanza urged the young people to begin to view the world differently. “My challenge and what I think the readings today call us to
do,” he said, “is to start to see the world as God does.”
Father Lanza emphasized that, regardless of age or background, each person is a beloved child of God. He added, “Jesus, in our Gospel today, tells us that we’re children. And that’s the way God views us. However old you are, you are a beloved child of God. We are all brothers and sisters in God’s eyes.”
He invited the youth to apply this divine perspective to their daily lives, saying, “My call for you today is to strive in everything you look at, in every conversation you have, every relationship that you have and every experience that you have – to ask yourself, ‘How does God see this? How does God see this beautiful creation?’ If you start to view the world as God does, you’re naturally going to be better at love.”
The annual event held in the Ocean County theme park aims to inspire the
Father Jonathan Toborowsky, diocesan vicar general, (top left) was principal celebrant at the Mass celebrated during the N.J. Youth Rally May 18 in Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson. Top right, Father Thomas W. Lanza, vocations director, inspired the teens from throughout the state to remember “you are a beloved child of God.”
—Top row: Rose O’Connor photos; bottom: courtesy photos.
Catholic youth to return to their communities with a renewed commitment to living out their faith. Donofrio noted, “This fun and faith-filled day was an excellent opportunity to bring Catholic youths together for a common goal: celebrating Jesus Christ and His Church. Although we may have many backgrounds with a wide range of experiences, this event was a great example of the unity that exists within the Catholic Church.”
He continued, “I was deeply moved at the Holy Mass, looking out and seeing [the youth] praying together. The young people from the Diocese of Metuchen continue to be a bright and optimistic example of what the future of our parishes looks like. From arcade games and roller coasters to kneeling on the bleachers during Mass, these teens continue to inspire me.”
Rose O’Connor, digital and social media manager, The Monitor, Diocese of Trenton, contributed to this story.
Most Holy Name of Jesus and Our Lady of Fatima, Perth Amboy
Sacred Heart Parish, South Amboy
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Three Bridges
New Jersey Chinese Catholics celebrate 22th API Marian Pilgrimage
Sponsored by the Asian and Pacific Catholic Network in collaboration with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the 22nd Annual Asian and Pacific Island Catholics Marian Pilgrimage was held on May 3 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C.
A group of Chinese Catholics and friends from both the Metuchen Diocese and Newark Archdiocese joined the pilgrimage. Franciscan Sister Dong Hong Marie Zhang, liaison to the Chinese
By Christina Leslie Contributing Editor
—Courtesy photo
Community of Newark Archdiocese, organized this event for the New Jersey Chinese group.
An opening procession started at 1 p.m. with a welcoming drum by St. Andrew Kim Korean Catholic Church of Maryland. Led by the Knights of Columbus, some 30 various groups from archdioceses /dioceses, parishes, and communities which were from different Asian countries marched towards the front altar with their statues and portraits of Mary, flower arches and banners.
The Diocese of Metuchen joyfully expressed its wide diversity and spiritual unity May 20 at a multicultural fair held in Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish, South Plainfield. Some 150 attendees shared food, dance, music, culture, prayer and fellowship in the parish hall at the event held in honor of Asian Pacific Islander month.
Representatives from numerous diocesan apostolates joined together to both educate and celebrate their unique faith traditions, reported Sister Miriam Perez, Coordinator, Office of Multicultural Ministry. “It was wonderful to see the beauty of the different countries, hear their music, and learn more about each culture,” she said.
The parish’s Vietnamese community, and its pastor, Father Peter Tran, served as hosts to the inaugural event. The Vietnamese choir opened the prayer service led by Father Jonathan Toborowsky, Vicar General. The first reading was proclaimed in Chinese by Sister Dong Hong Marie Zhang, liaison to the Chinese community for the Archdiocese of Newark; Deacon James Ohe, who ministers in Our Lady of Mercy Parish, South Bound Brook, proclaimed the Gospel in Korean, and Father Alphonsus Kariuki,
After the procession, “A Call to Prayer” featuring sacred songs and movements was performed by four different cultural groups wearing their own traditional dresses. The liturgical dancing group were Indian American Catholic Community Maryland, Montagnard Catholic Community from North Carolina, Chinese Catholic community from New Jersey, and Our Lady of LaVang Mission - Daughters of Mary Organization (Vietnamese) from Virginia. The representatives of the Burmese Catholic Communities crowned a statue of Mary. Before the pilgrimage Mass, the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary were led by five different languages from different Asian communities.
Msgr. Walter Rossi, the basilica’s rector, welcomed the pilgrims. He mentioned, “This year is the Jubilee Year of Hope for our Catholic Church and Mary is our mother of hope.”
Bishop Efren V. Esmilla, an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, presided over the Mass. In his homily he encouraged people to imitate the Virgin Mary by opening their hearts to follow God’s will. He said, “My fellow Asian and Pacific Island Catholics, we have a mission. We have a lot to share in this beautiful country.”
This was the third year that the N.J.
Chinese faithful group performed the “Call to Prayer” before the altar at the Basilica of the National Shrine. Sister Dong Hong mentioned that the group of 12 dancers had practiced with choreographer and dance teacher Sherry Chen weekends for two months and led up to the pilgrimage. “We danced like King David dancing before the Ark of the Covenant with joy and enthusiasm. The act of dancing is a form of worship, celebration and expression of faith,” said the sister. The lyrics of the song they performed in their liturgical dancing is “Your Faith is Great, O God my Father, your love is forever. Every morning you grant us blessings; you provide what we need … your mercy and love is forever.”
After the pilgrimage Mass, Sister Dong Hong was asked by the Catholic Standard, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington, about the meaning of this API pilgrimage. Sister said: “Our solidarity with other brothers and sisters in church reflects the Jubilee Year of Hope. We want to be a witness of God’s love and a witness of our faith. We also want to take this chance to share our culture and learn more about others.”
Contributed by Franciscan Sister Dong Hong Marie Zhang who serves as liaison to the Chinese Community of Newark Archdiocese.
Co-Coordinator, African American, African and Caribbean Apostolate, read an excerpt from the USCCB Pastoral Letter on Racism.
Members of the Korean, Vietnamese and Indonesian apostolates read aloud the service’s intercessions, then representatives from the Kenya and Hispanic apostolates led the assembly in praying the Rosary. The service ended joyfully with the Kenya community singing the recessional song.
Attendees enjoyed the plentiful and delicious bounty of ethnic food as PowerPoint presentations highlighting some aspects of the specific apostolates shared the many similarities and differences in the ways the various groups worshipped God. Bishop James F. Checchio was in attendance to share some words of gratitude and love to everyone present.
For Catholic Spirit photographer Mark Lee, the fair was more than just another assignment. The first generation American related how his paternal grandparents left Korea during the Japanese occupation, and how his father had been born in Shanghai. Lee said, “I was very happy to listen to the Chinese Catholic presenter at the fair as she focused on the Catholic community of Shanghai. That was very interesting. Also,” Lee joked, “after tasting all the delicious food, I may want to be Indonesian now.”
The faith-filled diversity of the Diocese was in full view May 20 at the Multicultural Fair held at Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish, South Plainfield. Members of the Kenyan, right; Chinese, bottom left; Hispanic, bottom right; Vietnamese, Korean, and Indonesian apostolates led prayer, dance, song and provided culinary offerings from their varied heritages. —Mark Lee photos
traditions
a time of sharing, celebrating faith and unique
Bishop, faithful, join for Holy Hour for vocations, sanctification of priests
By Deacon Patrick Cline Correspondent
It is a tradition in the Diocese of Metuchen that on the Friday evening before Ordinations to the Priesthood the faithful gather with their Bishop in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi to join in a Holy Hour for Vocations and the Sanctification of Priests. On the afternoon of May 30, priests, deacons, the other seminarians of the Diocese, consecrated women and men and parishioners from throughout the Diocese joined with Deacon Jan Magcawas and Deacon Jerome Ocampo, the men to be ordained the following morning, to offer their prayers for them and an increase in all vocations.
Christ. He is God with us.
“Before his Ascension into Heaven Jesus promised to be with us always and he still does especially in the Holy Eucharist and in the continuing procession of new priests like Deacons Jan and Jerome who he sends to earth for his harvest of souls.”
Bishop James F. Checchio was the principal celebrant of the sung service of Evening Prayer for Friday the Sixth Week of Easter which began with the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.
The homilist for the prayer service was Father Gilbert Starcher, parochial vicar of St. Joseph and St. Luke Parish,
Father Starcher said, “What a great witness it is for the world to see the joyful testimony on the part of these two men who chose to offer their whole life to Christ, trusting in the promise of the reward for being good and faithful stewards of the Divine Mystery.
“This evening we pray in thanksgiving for the gift of the holy priesthood. We pray in a special way for Deacon Jan and Deacon Jerome with whom Christ will soon share his priestly heart.
“We pray that they may be sustained in their service and faithful in their min-
Father Starcher added, “We also ask Jesus to send many more priests to our Diocese who will not be afraid to offer themselves completely and joyfully for souls so that the love of the heart of Jesus might continue to touch, sanctify and lead us all to eternal life.” He ended the homily by leading the congregation in reciting the prayer of St. Thérèse of Lisieux for priests.
After the homily there was time for those gathered to silently pray and reflect before the Blessed Sacrament. The service ended with solemn Benediction.
At the end of the prayer service the chalices of the two ordinandi were blessed by Bishop Checchio. These are the sacred vessels that the newly ordained priests used to hold the precious Blood of Christ as they each celebrated their first Mass on Saturday or Sunday afternoon after their Ordination.
Father Jan Magcawas, left, and Father Jerome Ocampo stand behind their newly blessed chalices May 30 at the diocesan Holy Hour for Vocations in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. The vessels, blessed by Bishop Checchio, were used at the two priests’ first Masses following their May 31 ordination. —John Batkowski photos
Jacky Démézîer, a diocesan seminarian originally from Haiti and currently serving at Visitation Parish, New Brunswick, said that he found the whole service to be wonderful. He said, “This would never happen in my country. Only the Bishop and priests would be involved. That parishioners would come to pray for their priests and for vocations was wonderful to experience.”
Luz Escobar from the parish of St. Joseph and St. Luke, North Plainfield, explained why she was at the service; “Because I wanted to support Deacon Magcawas who has been such a presence and a blessing to our parish.”
This Sunday, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), highlights the hope of our late Holy Father, Pope Francis, when he convoked the current Year of Jubilee. Pope Francis desired that the Jubilee would be “a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the ‘door’ (cf. Jn 10:7.9) of our salvation …” (Francis, Spes non confundit, 1). This feast focuses our attention on the supreme human opportunity for this encounter –the Sacrament of the Eucharist which is the living presence of Jesus Christ – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity – among us. In fact, it was to foster reverence for the Eucharist and revitalize Catholic belief in the Real Presence of Jesus, that Pope Urban IV originally instituted the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1264. Each year this feast affords us the privileged opportunity to revere and give thanks for the Eucharist, “the source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen Gentium, 11).
Our second reading this Sunday, excerpted from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, is one of the most ancient and important statements of the early church concerning the Eucharist. St. Paul begins “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you …” (1 Cor. 11:23a). With this statement Paul emphasizes that the Eucharistic doctrine he espouses is not his own creation, but rather something he has authentically received from the Lord. Tying the institution of the Eucharist to the Last Supper, Paul states that the event of which he speaks occurred on “the night [Jesus] was handed over” (1 Cor 11:23b). Taking the bread, Jesus said, “This is my body that is for you …” (1 Cor 11:24b). After identifying the bread really and substantially with his body, Jesus reveals the purpose of this sacrifice – it is for us. Just like the cross, Jesus emphasizes that this eternal memorial of Calvary is dedicated to our good, to the redemption of all people.
Jesus then lays a commission upon his hearers, “Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Cor 11:24c). The Eucharistic sacrifice is always a remembrance of Jesus and his saving action in the world. These words speak in a particular way to those ordained to the priesthood, but are also delivered to all Christians who are called
to bring their whole lives in conformity with the Lord every time they celebrate the Eucharist. Paul prophetically reminds all Jesus’ followers that they must actually practice the faith that they celebrate in their liturgy; the memory of Jesus should set aside all laxity, conflict, and division within the Christian community.
Taking the cup of wine, Jesus then continued, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (1 Cor 11:25b). In this passage Jesus identifies the contents of cup with his own blood that would be poured out for the world on Calvary. Just as the Hebrews had ritually entered into the Old Covenant by sprinkling themselves with the blood of holocausts which were offered again and again in sacrifice, so now the followers of Jesus unite themselves to the New and Eternal Covenant by partaking of the cup of the blood of Jesus, the sacrificial victim offered once and for all on the altar of the cross.
Finally, Paul exhorts his readers, “as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). Paul’s words here tie together the past, the present, and the future in the ambient of the Eucharistic celebration. Each Eucharist is truly a remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, a remembrance in which we gain access once again to past events. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “When the Church celebrates the Eucharist, she commemorates Christ’s Passover, and it is made present: the sacrifice Christ offered once for all on the cross remains forever present” (para. 1364). The Eucharist is also oriented to the future; as the Catechism further teaches, “the Eucharist is also an anticipation of the heavenly glory … Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with [Jesus’] heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints” (para. 1402, 1419).
The Eucharistic pledge of eternal glory is foreshadowed in this Sunday’s Gospel reading. In this text, St. Luke’s presentation of Jesus miraculously feeding the five thousand, we learn of the assembled masses that “all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets” (Luke 9:17). The point is that Jesus provides not simply sufficiently but in super-abundance, prefiguring the eternal banquet in heaven. God’s amazing, overabundant love for his people is the theme of our Eucharistic celebration every Sunday and particularly of our feast today. Again, this special feast provides the opportunity to praise and thank Jesus
SCRIPTURE SEARCH®
Gospel for June 22, 2025 1 Corinthians 11: 23 -26 / Luke 9: 11b-17
Following is a word search based on the Second and Gospel readings for the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, Cycle C. The words can be found in all directions in the puzzle.
NIGHT THANKS MY BODY REMEMBRANCE SUPPER COVENANT OFTEN DRINK IT PROCLAIM DEATH HEALED CROWD PROVISIONS DESERTED FIVE TWO FISH FOOD PEOPLE FIFTY HEAVEN BASKETS
ETERNAL FOOD
C R O W D P E O P L E D
H O D E T R E S E
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Christ present in the Eucharist. May this special time of adoration make us more Christ-centered, so that, having witnessed faithfully to him in this life, we may one day share in the glory of his eternal banquet in heaven. Together with the Church throughout the world, we pray that we may “so revere the sacred mysteries of [Christ’s] body and blood that we may always experience in ourselves the fruits of [his] redemption” (From the Collect, Mass of Corpus Christi).
Msgr. John N. Fell serves as Episcopal Vicar for the Vicariate for Clergy.
Corpus Christi (C)
Stepping forward in charity
Pregnant mothers thrive through programs of Unity Square
By Tiffany Workman Special Contributor
The staff and volunteers in New Brunswick’s Unity Square, a social justice effort and community organizing initiative of Catholic Charities Diocese of Metuchen, realize that pregnancy may be a personal journey, but it thrives on collective support. Though as the African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” may be true, the “village” of Unity Square is active long before those children are born.
In support of expectant mothers in the New Brunswick community, Unity Square held a “Brunch, Paint & Parenting” Mother’s Day workshop which brought together expecting moms and those with little ones. With the focus on maternal mental health, two students from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School – Namarata Battula and Shushumitha Priadeep – led a powerful session on mental wellness during and after pregnancy, including an open and honest conversation about postpartum depression. Attendees shared deeply personal stories, painted together in community, and left with essential items for their motherhood journeys, as well as and the reminder that they are not alone.
Battula and Priadeep became involved with Unity Square through Rutgers University and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “There are several programs,” said Battula. “When you see a need in the community, you research it and fill out an application and proposal.” They reached out to Michele Gil, director of Community Outreach at Unity Square, and the program was approved.
Priadeep added, “Our long-term goal for this program would be to get a website going and possibly teach the program to others. We’d like to see it last beyond when we graduate.” Both Battula and Priadeep felt that med students need to get out of the classroom, step into the community and learn to talk to people.
“At Unity Square, we’ve been proud to partner with Rutgers University and medical students from the OBGYN department on their school project, where they lead workshops for expecting individuals and parents of babies and young children at the center,” said Gil. “The program covers a range of important topics like pregnancy health, nutrition, exercise, and overall wellness, delivered in a way that’s approachable and community-centered.”
“Catholic Charities is proud of the
impact we have made in the community of New Brunswick through the offerings at Unity Square Community Center,” said Krista Glynn, Service Area Director of Unity Square. “We continue to bring new partnerships such as this one to residents in an effort to expand on their knowledge and provide them with the tools to im prove their health and well-being.”
Unity Square Community Center is located at 81 Remsen Avenue in New Brunswick. In addition to addressing food insecurities, center personnel also focuses on other social concerns in the community and will assist with housing resources for both tenants and landlords. Call 732545-0329 or visit the center Monday through Friday from 10am-5pm. Assis tance is available for non-English speak ing persons.
For more information about Cath olic Charities Diocese of Metuchen, please visit ccdom.org. LIKE & Fol low on Facebook, Instagram, and X @ ccdom1 to stay updated on upcoming events and ways we they help clients get the services and assistance they need.
Tiffany Workman is the Communi cations Specialist in the Office of Com munications and Public Relations.
moms at Unity Square created artwork before and after the presentation. Below left,
Battula (pink shirt) Shushumitha Priadeep (white shirt), RWJMS medical students, led a presentation on Mental health during pregnancy. Below right, moms and staff members listen to the demonstration. —Tiffany Workman photos
Top,
Namarata
Saint Peter’s earns an ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group
Saint Peter’s University Hospital has one again earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit watchdog focused on patient safety. Leapfrog assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 measures of errors, accidents, injuries and infections
as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent them.
“To make informed decisions about where to seek care, those we serve benefit from having information about hospitals that demonstrate excellence in preventing harm and medical errors,” said Leslie D. Hirsch, FACHE, president and CEO of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System. “We
recognize that patients and families have choices regarding where they are treated. With patient safety being one of the most important factors impacting clinical outcomes, I am extremely proud of the team at Saint Peter’s for once again achieving the highest hospital safety grade (A) from The Leapfrog Group. Our patients can be confident that choosing Saint Peter’s for our high quality and compassionate care ensures making the best choice for themselves and their families.”
“Achieving an ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade reflects enormous dedication to patient safety,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “I extend my congratulations to Saint Peter’s University Hospital, its leadership,
clinicians, staff and volunteers for creating a culture where patients come first.”
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade stands as the only hospital ratings program focused solely on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries that kill more than 500 patients a day in the United States. This program is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.
To explore Saint Peter’s full grade details and to find valuable tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org. Connect with The Leapfrog Group on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram and stay informed through The Leapfrog Group newsletter.
Saint Peter’s University Hospital’s ICU and PICU Nurses earn Beacon Award
The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Saint Peter’s University Hospital and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital have earned the Silver Beacon Award for Excellence by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). This is the seventh Beacon Award for the ICU and the second for the PICU.
The Beacon Award for Excellence, a significant milestone on the path to exceptional patient care and healthy work environments, recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve unit outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards: skilled communication, true collaboration, effective decision making, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition, and authentic leadership. Units that earn this annual award with a gold, silver or bronze designation meet specific criteria established by AACN that represent the characteristics and components of the unit environment that nurses can influence to achieve nursing excellence. Saint Peter’s Cardiac Progressive Care Unit has earned the Beacon Award twice in the past. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital has received the Beacon Award four times in the past and was the first NICU in New Jersey to earn this distinction.
Many units provide exceptional patient care; however, units recognized with the Beacon award distinguish themselves by excelling in many areas demonstrated in their application. Through participation in the Beacon Award Program, units can compare and reflect on their perfor-
Nurses in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Saint Peter’s University Hospital, top photo, and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital, bottom photo, have earned the Silver Beacon Award for Excellence by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN). This is the seventh Beacon Award for the ICU and the second for the PICU. —Courtesy photos
About Saint Peter’s University Hospital Saint Peter’s University Hospital, a member of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System, is a 478-bed acute-care teaching hospital sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen. Saint Peter’s, which received its sixth consecutive designation as a Magnet® hospital for nursing excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2020, is also state-designated children’s hospital and a regional perinatal center, and is a regional specialist in diabetes, gastroenterology, head and neck surgery, oncology, orthopedics, and women’s services. Saint Peter’s is the recipient of the Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses for the adult intensive care unit, neonatal intensive care
mance compared to global applicants. All awardees demonstrate dynamic and outstanding performance in the areas of patient outcomes through safe medication practices and reduced unit-acquired infections, nursing workforce through competency and mentorship, and work environment through nurse well-being and retention, among other areas.
“This dual recognition of our ICU and PICU with the Silver Beacon Award highlights the extraordinary dedication, skill, and compassion of our critical care nursing teams. It’s a proud moment that reflects their commitment to excellence in delivering high-quality patient care in the most complex environments,” said Linda Carroll, vice president of Patient Care Services and chief nursing officer at Saint Peter’s Healthcare System.
AACN President Jennifer Adamski, applauds the commitment of the caregivers at Saint Peter’s ICU and PICU for working together to meet and exceed the high standards set forth by the Beacon Award for Excellence to achieve a silver-level designation. These dedicated healthcare professionals join other members of our exceptional community of nurses, who set the standard for optimal patient care.
“The Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes caregivers in outstanding units whose consistent and systematic approach to evidence-based care optimizes patient outcomes. Units that receive this national recognition serve as role models to others on their journey to excellent patient and family care,” she explained.
To learn more about Saint Peter’s recognitions, visit saintpetershcs.com/ awards.
unit, cardiac progressive care unit and the pediatric intensive care unit. The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital provides families with access to a full range of pediatric specialties, including a nationally recognized Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, pediatric surgery and orthopedic surgery featuring innovative anterior scoliosis correction. The hospital has the state’s only hospital-based, midwifery-led birth center – the Mary V. O’Shea Birth Center, accredited by the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers. Saint Peter’s is a sponsor of residency programs in obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and internal medicine, and is a major clinical affiliate of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. Visit saintpetershcs.com or call 732.745.8600.
The parish of Our Lady of Mount Virgin in Middlesex recently celebrated a novena of prayer in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in connection with the visitation of an icon of the Sacred Heart sponsored by Knights of Columbus Council 12700 as part of the Knights’ Pilgrim Icon Program.
In his homily at a Holy Hour celebrated on May 28, Father David Skoblow, pastor of OLMV, offered a brief history of the Church’s devotion to the Sacred Heart. He noted that the first liturgical celebration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was in 1670, through the efforts of St. John Eudes, but that it was the visions of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque that brought devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus into fuller prominence.
St. Margaret Mary received a number of visions of Jesus over a period of 18 months starting in 1673. It was during one of those visions that she received a message promising the grace of final repentance to those who receive Communion on the First Fridays of the month for nine consecutive months. Thus began the devotion of attending Mass on the First Friday of the month. In 1856 Pope Pius IX extended the Feast of the Sacred Heart to the Universal Church. The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is now celebrated on the second Friday following Trinity Sunday. June is traditionally recognized as the month of the Sacred Heart.
During the novena, parishioners were encouraged to make both an Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart for the world’s indifference and ingratitude, and an Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart acknowledging our dependence on
God as our Creator and Redeemer. To close the novena, on June 6 the parish celebrated a special votive Mass of the Sacred Heart. Father David pointed out that the Sacred Heart is a powerful symbol of the Trinitarian God’s infinite love and Jesus’ own generous self-sacrificing love. Jesus is in a unique position to manifest this love by sharing with us his own human heart.
As Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly points out, “When we think of the human heart, we call to mind the admirable qualities of love and devotion, as well as courage, faithfulness and sacrifice. When we think of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we see all these virtues and many others raised to perfection.” There is a strong connection between the Knights and devotion to the Sacred Heart beginning with the Knights’ founder, Blessed Father Michael McGivney, who had a personal devotion to the Sacred Heart. Father McGivney was buried with a depiction of the Sacred Heart.
The icon image chosen by the Knights is the famous depiction of the Sacred Heart painted in 1767 by Pompeo Batoni, which is now venerated in the Church of the Gesù in Rome, the mother church of the Society of Jesus.
The Knights of Columbus regularly select a Catholic icon featuring an image that they feel will be particularly edifying to the Knights and their parish communities. For more than 45 years the Pilgrim Icon Program has brought these images to Catholic parishes around the world.
Contributed by Father David Skoblow, pastor, Our Lady of Mount Virgin, Middlesex.
SAN ALFONSO RETREAT HOUSE 755 Ocean Avenue, Long Branch NJ 07740 732-222-2731 • info@sanalfonsoretreats.org www.sanalfonsoretreats.org
A Redemptorist Spiritual Center overlooking the Atlantic Ocean offering preached retreats, days of prayer and use of the facility for outside groups.
LOYOLA JESUIT CENTER
161 James Street • Morristown, NJ 07960 973-539-0740 • Fax: 973-898-9839 www.loyola.org • retreathouse@loyola.org Retreats for lay men, women, priests, religious; days/evenings of prayer. Groups planning their own programs are welcome.
THE SHRINE OF ST. JOSEPH
1050 Long Hill Road, Stirling, NJ 07980 908-647-0208 • www.stshrine.org Day & Overnight Retreats Gift & Book Shop - open daily
ST. JOSEPH BY THE SEA 400 Route 35 North, S. Mantoloking, NJ 08738 732-892-8494 • sjbsea@comcast.net • sjbsea.org
A Retreat House Sponsored by the Religious Teachers Filippini overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay. Offering days of prayer, retreat weekends, spiritual programs, meetings and staff days.
The center offers an atmosphere of silence, solitude and space for those seeking to develop and deepen their relationship with God, others and the world we live in. We have day and weekend programs throughout the year. Also available: Spiritual Direction, 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises. Please check out our website for more information or email srjspring@gmail.com.
352 Bernardsville Road Mendham, NJ 07945
973-919-9874 www.sccus.org/villa The Catholic Spirit, Retreat Guide, this month featured retreat house, 4.91 x 3.17”, Oct 24, 2024
VILLA PAULINE RETREAT AND SPIRITUAL CENTER
352 Bernardsville Road, Mendham, NJ 07945
Sr. Joseph Spring • 973-919-9874 • srjspring@gmail.com sccus.org • Preached/Directed/Guided & Private Retreats, Spiritual Direction, day & weekend programs
To join this retreat guide, email mgregory@diometuchen.org
This image of the Sacred Heart chosen for the Knights’ Pilgrim Icon Program was painted in 1767 by Pompeo Batoni and venerated in the Church of the Gesù in Rome. —Courtesy Photo
Saint Joe’s baseball reclaims glory with ninth GMC title
I hit it. I knew it was gone off the bat, but everything after that is a blur. I felt like I just woke up jumping on home plate.”
Despite a rough start and playing at less than full strength nursing a lingering hamstring injury, Zayle never wavered in his approach.
“Honestly, I didn’t change anything,” the senior said. “I stuck with my approach. Just trusting my hips, my hands, and letting it fly.”
Zayle’s walk-off grand slam goes down as one of the defining moments of the Falcons’ county tournament run, but it was far from the only clutch swing that got them there. Throughout their improbable run as the No. 5 seed, different players rose to the occasion when it mattered most.
gram history. After coach Mike Murray stepped away due to personal reasons, the team found itself in need of a reset. McCaffery brought just that.
His emphasis on hard work both on and off the field, and his demand for discipline in every aspect of the game and life, quickly began to shape the team’s identity. The Falcons bought in, cleaned up the little mistakes that haunted them the year before, and turned their fortunes around.
Carrying resiliency into the state playoffs, fourth-seeded St. Joe’s once again faced a tense one-run situation in the final inning of an NJSIAA South Non-Public A quarterfinal against fifth-seeded Immaculata.
By Will Kwiatkowski, Correspondent
Bases loaded. One out. Trailing by a run in the bottom of the seventh inning of the Greater Middlesex County Tournament championship game.
It’s that rare opportunity ballplayers dream about their whole career. To step up to the plate, title on the line, crush a fastball into the stands, and deliver glory for their team. That’s exactly where Saint Joseph High School slugger JP Zayle stood after Edison’s coach made the decision to intentionally walk shortstop and Babson commit Bobby Christiansen.
On the first pitch, Zayle made them pay.
“I understood their decision to walk
Bob, honestly,” Zayle said. “I was 0-for-3 with three pretty non-competitive at-bats before that. But I also know the kind of hitter I am. I kept telling myself, if I get one more chance off the same guy, it was going to go my way.”
Facing Edison ace Connor Murphy, who was keeping hitters off balance all game, Zayle finally found his pitch.
He turned on a fastball and launched it over the left-field fence for a walk-off grand slam, flipping a 4-3 deficit into a 7-4 championship victory and sending the Falcons’ dugout into a frenzy on May 24 at East Brunswick Magnet High School.
“It still doesn’t feel real,” Zayle said. “I think I kind of blacked out when
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“It hasn’t just been JP,” head coach Dennis McCaffery said. “Walter Christian came through against Sayreville, Luke Palermo had the walk-off against Metuchen, and Bobby had one, too. Different guys have stepped up every time. That’s what makes this team special. They’re gritty. Pick any word you want: grit, toughness, heart. It all fits. It’s rare to have even one walk-off in a tournament. To have four? That doesn’t happen unless you’re working hard and doing all the little things right.”
McCaffery, a legendary figure in New Jersey high school baseball, built his identity at Cranford, where he led his teams to multiple county and state championships. His coaching philosophy is rooted in discipline, fundamentals and accountability. That mindset proved to be exactly what St. Joe’s needed.
The Falcons were coming off a difficult 7-20 season, one of the worst in pro-
Leading 5-4, St. Joe’s turned to ace Richie Zangara with two outs and a runner just 90 feet from home. Typically a starter, Zangara came on in relief of closer Domenic Erbafina and delivered. Zangara froze the final batter with a called third strike to secure the win.
The Falcons rallied from a deficit in the fifth inning. With two outs, Zayle singled, Joseph Barca walked, and Palermo ripped a bases-clearing double to center, putting the Falcons back in front for good.
St. Joe’s saw its 10-game win streak come to an end in the sectional semifinals on June 4 against top-seeded Christian Brothers Academy. But with a 16-7 record, a ninth GMC title and one of the most dramatic tournament runs in program history, St. Joe’s left little doubt that its identity had been restored, and its high standard reestablished.
Will Kwiatkowski is a student at Indiana University and serves as an intern with The Catholic Spirit.
St. Joe’s celebrates after defeating Edison to capture its ninth GMC baseball championship on May 24 at East Brunswick Magnet High School. —Will Kwiatkowski photo
By David Karas, Correspondent
For students attending Holy Savior Academy, South Plainfield, each day is filled with rigorous academics, enriching extracurriculars and a focus on faith – all in a close-knit, family environment.
“We are a family here at Holy Savior Academy,” said principal Lisa Dell’Aquila. “Our goal is to provide our students with a strong academic foundation and foster a lifelong relationship with God.”
Each day begins with prayer, before students and teachers get to work in the classroom. The school’s curriculum includes group collaboration to build teamwork, and technology integrated effectively across disciplines. Students enjoy a physical education program and dedicated art and music teachers – as well as a new STEM program implemented this past school year. Many students were introduced to laboratory work and given the chance to put the scientific method into practice, and a science fair was a highlight for the entire community.
“As a Catholic school, the fundamental goal at Holy Savior Academy is the education of the whole child, encompassing the academic, social, spiritual, and emotional needs of each student,” said Dell’Aquila, who added that weekly Mass and prayer services throughout the year help engage the school community
Holy Savior Academy offers close-knit, supportive environment for students
in their faith. “As Disciples of Christ, the development of a sense of justice, peace, compassion, and respect for all people, and the motivation to strive for academic excellence, is achieved through a collaboration with school, family and community.”
Students, teachers and parents also participate in outreach projects to help those in need, support their local community and honor members of the military.
Eva Tripodi, who teaches second grade, noted that the size of the school helps to ensure individualized attention for students – and a close-knit feel.
“Since we are a small school, the teachers know all of the students. The teachers are supportive of all the students, not just the children in their class,” she said. “The teachers, staff and administration work together with parents to support students’ academic, social, and emotional needs, all while teaching and modeling Catholic teachings and values. They also work together to support each other during difficult days and celebrate each other.”
She added that the school’s basketball teams have won multiple championships, and that the drama club puts on mini-Broadway productions each spring. There are also clubs like chess, Pokémon, and crocheting and knitting.
“Parents should consider sending
their child to Holy Savior Academy if they are looking for a culturally diverse school family,” said Tripodi. “Holy Savior is where parents can be assured their child is getting a strong and challenging academic program combined with strong Catholic teachings and values.”
For seventh-grader Valerie, the sense of family at the school is real.
“My favorite thing about Holy Savior Academy is that the students and teachers are all very kind and welcoming,” she said. “I also appreciate the patience that teachers have when they are teaching you.”
Valerie noted that she is excited to come to school each day, and enjoys extracurricular clubs and activities like drama, chess and performing arts – not to mention attending weekly Mass with younger students.
Fourth-grade student Guiliana also enjoys each day at Holy Savior, and noted how she is challenged by her teachers to do her best.
“They always let me know that they believe in me,” she said, adding that she enjoys religious class. “I also love learning about religion and what Jesus did for us, and I try to do my best to live my life like Jesus did.”
Parent Stephanie Ubungen is active in the school’s Board of Limited Jurisdiction, through which she works with fellow
volunteers to support the school and its mission. She is also on the board of the parent-teacher organization, and speaks highly of the school’s experienced and caring teachers, as well as the vibrancy of the school community and its programs.
“At Holy Savior Academy, we strive to raise both scholars and saints by offering a rich variety of opportunities for students to grow academically, spiritually, and personally,” she said. “Our commitment to academic excellence ensures that graduates enter high school well-prepared – and many do so with academic scholarships.”
She noted that teachers work alongside parents to meet the educational needs of each student and praised the wide range of curricular and extracurricular activities available to each student – including in STEM, sports, drama and the arts.
“HSA is more than just a school –students genuinely feel at home here, embraced by a close-knit, spirited and supportive community,” said Ubungen. “Holy Savior Academy is a true gem in today’s fast-paced world, empowering students with academic strength, spiritual foundation, and the confidence to thrive well beyond the classroom.”
To learn more, visit www.holysavioracademy.com.
—Holy Savior Academy Facebook photos
Our Mission Statement
As a Catholic school, the fundamental goal at Holy Savior Academy is the education of the whole child, encompassing the academic, social, spiritual, and emotional needs of each student. As Disciples of Christ, the development of a sense of justice, peace, compassion, and respect for all people, and the motivation to strive for academic excellence, is achieved through a collaboration with school, family and community.
BUILDING STRONG FOUNDATIONS FOR FUTURE SCHOLARS AND SAINTS
Negron sisters forge everlasting bond as pitcher, catcher with St. Thomas Aquinas softball
By Greg Johnson Correspondent
Liz Negron can still remember the days when her Pop Pop cultivated a love for softball with her and her twin sister, Gwen, in the backyard of their Carteret home.
He would always lob whiffle balls for them to hit with a bat until they were old enough to play tee-ball in the local Ponytail Division. The sport ran deep in their family as their biological father played baseball and their older sister played softball, so Liz and Gwen were next in line.
“We realized that we wanted to really do this, really keep getting competitive,” Liz said. “I think it was mainly from family influence, but as I got older and Gwen as well, it grew more than just family influence. It grew from passion.”
It’s grown so much that the Negron sisters, who graduated this June from St. Thomas Aquinas High School, left an indelible legacy over four years with the Trojans and will soon play college softball.
In leading St. Thomas Aquinas to 79 wins and three Greater Middlesex Conference titles, Liz collected 116 hits and struck out 289 batters as a shortstop and pitcher; Gwen played both catcher and outfielder while posting a .307 batting average.
This spring was special with Liz being primarily a pitcher and Gwen primarily a catcher, which deepened their bond and translated into success for the team.
“We’re always with each other, so we understand each other more,” Liz said. “I think being on that field, playing together, being a pitcher and a catcher, we have some type of connection where we work really well together because we kind of know what we’re thinking at the same time. During innings on and off the field, we’ll talk about a game plan before we
start, or between innings, what we see.”
The twins both wanted to be pitchers at first, but by the time they were age 10, their mom encouraged one of them to try a different position to save them money on pitching lessons. Gwen enjoyed playing catcher because it came naturally, and the twins started throwing together on various teams while growing up in the Kraze Fastpitch club.
“I know how she pitches like no other person. That’s why I think that it was just important that we were on the same team all the time, because we just work really well together,” Gwen said. “I know that Liz is very good and if she’s missing her spots sometimes, I know she can do better than that. It’s a lot of love really because it’s my sister. That’s why it is easier to get mad at her, because I really wouldn’t do it to anyone else. But I know Liz’s potential when she’s pitching.”
Liz throws about seven different pitches, so there were many ways for them to challenge batters this spring. Gwen used various signals with her hands and was an extension of the coaching staff on the field, with helping Liz stay on track.
“We know the game pretty well because of all the coaches we’ve learned things from,” Gwen said. “It’s all about where the batter is standing. Our communication is very on the same level because we’re always focusing on where the batter is.”
Some of their high school mentors have been St. Thomas Aquinas softball coach, Missy Collazo, and assistant, Mark Fiore.
Collazo, who also coached their older sister and eclipsed 300 career wins this spring, instills hard work, never tolerates bad behavior, and shapes the student-athletes into better people by fostering a
family environment.
“It meant a lot for us these last four years to play with her,” Liz said. “She knew about us since we were little babies, rolling around the hill by the field waiting for our sister to be done with practice. Ever since we got into that school, she knew that there was something about us and she cared about us more than just players. She tried her best to understand everyone else on that team. She held everyone to a high standard. She knows that the people that come into her school have so much potential.”
St. Thomas Aquinas was also a great place for the Negrons to grow within their Catholic faith. Liz has “All Glory to God” inscribed on her cleats and repeats that saying throughout her time on the softball field.
“The success that I’ve had, and the journey that I will be going to has all been because of God, and he also definitely helped me with the future of my softball career,” said Liz, who will study and play softball at Ave Maria University.
Gwen considers playing softball at St. Thomas Aquinas one of the best decisions she has made. She didn’t play much on the varsity team as a freshman, and she initially had doubts as to whether she was
St. Thomas Aquinas senior Liz Negron prepares to deliver a pitch to South Plainfield during the GMC championship game on May 23 at Woodbridge High School.
Far left, St. Thomas Aquinas seniors Liz Negron, left, and Gwen Negron, right, pose with head coach Missy Collazo at the GMC championship game against South Plainfield. —Hal Brown photos
good enough. She then underwent surgery for a torn ligament in her thumb after her sophomore year, but she kept persevering.
“We all have the biggest connection with each other, which this year really made me love softball a lot more because of the people I was around,” Gwen said. “Me and Liz pitching together this year was the best thing that could have happened because it was our first year pitching and catching together for high school. It was amazing.”
The irony is that after playing on the same teams all throughout their youth, the twins will face each other in the Sun Conference with Gwen set to attend St. Thomas University.
But the relationships they built at St. Thomas Aquinas will carry on forever. Beach trips and house hangouts with the other girls strengthened their bonds as teammates.
“You can make a team feel like a family if you really get to know each other and understand everyone,” Liz said. “I think us being together for the last four years helped trickle down that idea that working together more as a family is better than a team, because having team chemistry is great, but having family chemistry is better.”
Lacrosse coach Tony Calandra spurs St. Joe’s team to states
By Greg Johnson Correspondent
As far as athletics go, Nick Hengerer initially enrolled at St. Joe’s to play hockey. But then he heard about the school’s new lacrosse coach, so he began researching a man who had already been inducted into the N.J. Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Tony Calandra was coming to Metuchen to guide the Falcons back to their glory days, and Hengerer, a freshman at the time, was eager to hop on board.
“He’s really changed the culture and atmosphere of the team,” Hengerer said. “For me, going into freshman year, I started at X as an attackman, and like he tells me all the time, I was not fit to play varsity. But he needed someone who could catch and throw, so he put trust in me, and I’m forever grateful for that.”
Calandra became synonymous with winning in his previous 12 years coaching at Chatham High, where he steered the team to four state championships. Before that he coached for 10 years at his alma mater, A.L. Johnson High, Clark. He had also been a star player at Kean University.
St. Joe’s had mostly struggled in lacrosse since capturing the Non-Public A state championship in 2010, so hiring an experienced leader in July of 2021 was imperative.
“My goal when I first took over was just to get the program back to solid ground and give them a foundation and give them a vision,” Calandra said. “Luckily, my staff from Chatham came with me,
so I knew I had quality coaches coming in with me and that we worked well together before. I just felt that as long as we were progressing as a team, and I felt we were getting better as a program, doing it the right way, that we’d be OK.”
They have progressed even faster than Calandra anticipated. St. Joe’s recently finished its stellar spring season with a 17-5 record — the program’s most wins in 15 years. The Falcons also captured the Greater Middlesex Conference championship for the second straight year after going nine years without doing so.
St. Joe’s was ranked as a top-20 team in New Jersey when it hosted a state playoff game for the first time in 11 years on May 28, defeating St. Joe’s of Hammonton before falling in the second round of the new tournament which features every non-public team.
“There was a lot of talent and lot of young guys, and throughout the season, Coach called on players to step up,” Hengerer said. “They definitely did a good job in handling pressure throughout the whole season. Every game we had pretty much a different player step up every time, and they exceeded their expectations.”
Calandra praised Hengerer and senior defenseman Walter Scott for their leadership as captains of a youthful, deep team that featured seven sophomores and two freshmen in the starting lineup.
Naturally the challenge of coaching a non-public team is that kids hail from different counties, as opposed to public schools where kids already have
chemistry because they grew up playing lacrosse together. But Calandra has fostered a smooth transition as the Falcons have a brotherhood mentality.
“Our kids have been extremely coachable,” Calandra said. “They really have — from day one, from the first class I’ve had here. They’ve been sponges and want to learn, and they try to take what you’re teaching them, and put it on the field and execute it. That’s really been the difference.”
Several St. Joe’s students also play club lacrosse for Upper Level, which was founded by Calandra, so that helps them develop and build camaraderie.
Hengerer is a shining example of what can happen in four years. Despite playing both lacrosse and hockey since kindergarten, he never played club lacrosse until he was a freshman because he was more focused on hockey.
An Asbury native who comes from a big hockey family, Hengerer talked with Calandra and his parents after his freshman year and decided it was time to focus on lacrosse because he was too undersized as a hockey goalie to play that sport collegiately.
With motivation and guidance from Calandra, Hengerer emerged in his junior year as a different player, switching from starting attack to starting midfield and becoming both a top scorer and facilitator for the team. He finished his career with 146 goals and 70 assists.
Hengerer says that Calandra’s system is all about hard work and simplicity
as the offense runs only about a handful of plays throughout the season, going off script only when necessary.
“He’s one of, I feel like, the best coaches in the state, and his knowledge of the game that he’s been around for so long, kind of translates, and he puts it on to us,” Hengerer said. “Our play style is we try to keep it as simple as possible, just moving the ball consistently. We focus on fundamentals. A lot of practice is working on our fundamentals, just running the plays over and over, just getting everything through our head.”
Calandra is assisted by defensive coordinator Eric Tripp, Steve Barry Sr., Stephen Barry and John Eppensteiner.
Hengerer said that Barry Sr. really pushed the team two years ago with conditioning workouts to become a top team, and the Falcons responded by winning 31 games over the last two years compared to 19 from 2021-22.
Their signature win this year came against Christian Brothers, Lincroft, which was ranked No. 13 at the time, as Hengerer netted six goals, Wayde Smith had two and Tyler DiGraci added one.
“I’m excited to see what Coach Calandra does to this program in the next few years,” said Hengerer, who will study at Ursinus College while playing lacrosse next school year. “I think it was definitely a good ending point for us. I’m very proud of each and every guy on the team, and I couldn’t ask for better coaches, better place and better school, better team. It’s been an amazing four years.”
Above left, St. Joe’s head coach Tony Calandra, left, speaks to the team during a home game against Oratory on May 20. Above right, St. Joe’s senior midfielder Nick Hengerer, right, carries the ball. —Hal Brown photos
When
is it appropriate to say the St. Michael Prayer following the Mass?
QI’m curious as to the appropriate practice of saying the St. Michael prayer either before the final blessing or after Mass. Is there a suggested practice to this powerful prayer as to when it should be said before the entire congregation?
AI assume by “St. Michael prayer,” you mean the prayer that usually begins: “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle…”
My own thought is that, since this is technically a devotional prayer and not part of the liturgy strictly speaking, if the St. Michael prayer is prayed in connection with a Mass, then it is most appropriate to do so after the final blessing. But depending on the cus-
toms of the local parish or community, there might potentially be a bit of “wiggle room” on this.
For some background, when we speak of the Church’s liturgical prayer, we mean the public and official prayers of the Church. Liturgical prayer includes not only the Mass, but also the celebration of the other sacraments as well as the Liturgy of the Hours. Liturgical prayer by its very nature follows set written prayers and directions. This is in contrast with what we often call “mental prayer,” where we privately speak to God in our own words.
Devotional prayers, like the rosary or the Divine Mercy chaplet, are a bit of a middle ground between private personal prayer and the liturgy. Devotional prayers usually do have their own specific words and structure, but they are not considered the public and official prayers of the Church in a technical sense.
But the Church still encourages devotional prayer! As we read in the Vatican II document Sacrosanctum Concilium: “Popular devotions of the Christian people are to be highly commended, provided they accord with the laws and norms of the Church, above all when they are ordered by the Apostolic See.”
Since liturgical prayer is the public and official prayer of the Church, it can only be created, adapted or changed with
Jenna Marie Cooper, who holds a licentiate in canon law, is a consecrated virgin and a canonist whose column appears weekly at OSV News. Send your questions to CatholicQA@osv.com.
the express approval of the Holy See in Rome. That is, the liturgy cannot be embellished or added to on a local level, even for pious motives. Because of this, it is generally considered illicit to incorporate devotional prayers – even beautiful and well-established devotions – into the actual celebration of Mass itself.
Saying the St. Michael prayer right after the final blessing neatly sidesteps the issue of mixing devotional prayer and liturgy, since after the final blessing any prayers being said are no longer in the context of the Mass.
But there are a few parts of the Mass where a limited degree of “improvisation” is expressly allowed. For example, the priest or deacon writes their own homily; the local community usually drafts or chooses their own words for the intercessions at the Prayer of the Faithful; and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) allows for “brief announcements” following the prayer after Communion (GIRM 90, 166, and 184). So I think including a devotional prayer during one of these more “free form” parts of the Mass could be acceptable.
Regarding the St. Michael prayer specifically, this prayer has an interesting history. It is said that Pope Leo XIII had a terrible vision where he saw Satan telling God he only needed a hundred years to destroy the Church. Some versions of the story say that, in a scenario reminiscent of the Book of Job in the Old Testament, God permitted Satan to act, and the consequence was the horrors of the 20th century.
After he had this vision, Pope Leo XIII composed the St. Michael prayer for the sake of the Church’s spiritual protection. In 1886, he required that this prayer be said after every “low Mass” in the older ritual. Though the St. Michael prayer is no longer mandated in our post-Vatican II Mass, it can still be a beautiful and spiritually beneficial custom to pray it after the final blessing as a community.
The Holy Trinity’s divine nature
We need only go to the first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis, to discern this. God does not say, “Let me make man in my image” but rather “Let US make man in OUR image” (Genesis 1:26). Also, we recall the words of Jesus: “... go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the NAME OF the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Notice He uses the singular form “name of” and not the
plural form “names of”.
To put it plainly, the three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are not only eternal and omnipotent, but also have the Divine nature or, as we say in the Creed, they are consubstantial.
Father Hillier serves as diocesan director, Office of Pontifical Mission Societies, the Office for Persons with Disabilities and Censor Luborum.
A statue of St. Michael the Archangel is seen at the Church of St. Michael in New York City in this file photo from October 2017. —OSV News Photo/ Gregory A. Shemitz
Book of the Month
By Christina Leslie Contributing Editor
What do you get when you mix a soupçon of humor with a generous dollop of faith, then blend in a treasure trove of family stories, pictures and recipes designed to nourish both body and soul?
“The focus of this book is to meld cooking and spirituality together, speaking to not only what we prepare and eat but how that process shapes our lives,” writes Funk in the book’s introduction. “It is meditative. Washing cutting, preparing, seasoning and presenting the food is, in a sense, readying for a journey.”
Cooks of all levels may accompany the author on that spiritual journey; they are advised to take as much care in amassing and utilization of basic, fresh ingredients as prayerfully considering the spiritual aspect of service to others/ meals. The author draws upon her maternal Italian roots as well as introducing the reader to traditions from around the world. Lest inexperienced cooks worry about potential pitfalls, the author adds that, “Near-misses and total messes are part of the fun.”
The chapter on bread asserts, “Rich or poor, bread cuts across social, cultural and economic lines.” Recipes for sourdough, shortbread, popovers and pizza are accompanied by instructions on how to bake Jewish Challah, Serbian Kubaneh and Italian Panettone breads, as well as the procedure to prepare the altar bread used at her parish (St. Cecilia, Monmouth Junction) during their yearly Seder service.
The chapter on soup is, in addition to offering recipes, “an object lesson in Divine Providence,” Funk said. “Making soup is an exercise in discovering that much can be made from little. It can be thought of as an affirmation that God really does provide.” The discussion on salads is treated with the same care and creativity with the goal of quenching hunger in body and souls: photographs, stories and a listing of both tasty and medicinal herbs stand alongside prayer and Scripture passages to assure the reader does indeed “taste” and “see” food’s power to praise the Almighty while nourishing His people.
“When food is made with intention to nurture, comfort, and care for a person in an honest way,” Funk concludes, “food certainly can be an expression of love… Ask God to bless you and your food, allowing the life-giving energy to come through the food to your body and spirit. To paraphrase St. Catherine of Siena, ‘As the fish is in the sea and the sea is in the fish, God is in you, and you are in God.’”
“Come, Taste and See” is available at Amazon.com. For further information on the author, visit authorcarolfunk.com.
Knights Award Student Scholarships
The Knights of Columbus Council 6930, Whitehouse Station, awarded $1,000 college scholarships to five Our Lady of Lourdes parishioners. The awards were presented to the students May 18, at the end of 10:30 Mass in Our Lady of Lourdes Church by Grand Knight Gary Drzewiecki. Scholarships were awarded based on their involvement in OLL ministries, community service and academics. Pictured, left to right, are Paul Galioto, Luke Galioto, Grand Knight Gary Drzewiecki, Kathryn Sorrentino and Anne Johnson. Not pictured Joseph Galioto. —Courtesy photo
Peter’s Pence serves the mission of the Holy Father
Through the Peter’s Pence Collection, held every year on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, this year in parishes June 28/29, we are all invited to pray in a special way for the Pope and to offer our contribution in the Church where we attend Mass. Peter’s Pence supports the Holy Father’s mission, which extends throughout the entire world, from the proclamation of the Gospel to the promotion of integral human development, education, peace, and brotherhood among peoples.
It also supports the numerous charitable works in aid of people and families in difficulty, populations afflicted by natural disasters and wars, or who are in need of humanitarian assistance or support for development.
The Peter’s Pence collection is a gesture of solidarity through which every member of the faithful can participate in the activity of the Pope as Pastor of the universal Church. For more information visit https://www.obolodisanpietro.va/ en.html. —CNS photo/Lola Gomez
“The Peter’s Pence Collection is a true and proper participation in the work of evangelization, especially if one considers the meaning and importance of concretely sharing in the concerns of the universal Church.”
Ballpark Performance!
St. Helena School choristers, comprised of students in grades 4 through 8, had the privilege of singing “God Bless America” at the Somerset Patriots game at TD Bank Stadium May 27. St. Helena’s in Edison, known as the “School That Sings,” demonstrated that moniker with a polished, impressive performance. The group, led by music teacher Phillip Steffani, included both seasoned singers and volunteers who wanted to sing at the event. To hear the performance, scan the QR Code. —Courtesy photo
On the eve of Pentecost, Pope Leo XIV prayed that the Holy Spirit would help Catholic lay associations, movements and communities live the Gospel before trying to preach it and would be a force for unity in the Church and in the world. “In a divided and troubled world, the Holy Spirit teaches us to walk together in unity,” the Pope said as he joined an estimated 70,000 people for an evening prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Square June 7. At Pentecost, Mary and the disciples “received a Spirit of unity, which forever grounded in the one Lord Jesus Christ all their diversity. Theirs were not multiple missions, but a single mission. They were no longer introverted and quarrelling with one another, but outgoing and radiant with joy,” the Pope said.
“Evangelization, dear brothers and sisters, is not our attempt to conquer the world, but the infinite grace that radiates from lives transformed by the Kingdom of God,” he said. Evangelization requires walking together on “the way of the Beatitudes,” being people who are “hungering and thirsting for justice, poor in spirit, merciful, meek, pure of heart, men and women of peace.”
Pope Leo XIV waves from the popemobile as he prepares to lead a Pentecost prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican June 7, 2025, with participants in the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations and New Communities. —CNS photo/Lola Gomez
Diocesan Events
Diocesan Bilingual Mass with Hispanic Youth and Young Adults. For more information about dates, times and locations email lescobar@diometuchen.org
Celebrate Life: A Morning for Grandparents and Seniors (55+), 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway. The morning will include breakfast, fellowship and a guest speaker followed by Eucharistic Adoration and Mass. There is no fee to attend but registration is required. Register online at https://diometuchen.org/humanlifeanddignity-seniorday2025. For questions or more information email amarshall@diometuchen.org, or call 732-562-1543.
The Catechetical Accompaniment Process, with Dr. Joseph White, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, 146 Metlars Lane, Piscataway. Join fellow PCLs and catechists as Dr. White from OSV explains the latest catechetical standards promulgated by the Institute on the Catechism of the USCCB. Coffee/light breakfast/lunch provided. Mass at 11:45. To register: https:// diometuchen.org/homeschool-ministry.
Catechist Training: Alive in Christ from Our Sunday Visitor, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., doors open at 9:30 a.m. Join Fellow PCLs and catechists as Norma Rothschadl, OSV senior account executive leads practical nuts and bolts training sessions. Coffee/light breakfast/lunch provided. Alive in Christ, 1-8, 10 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.; Alive in Christ Young Adolescents and Faith Fusion, 12:15 p.m. – 2 p.m. To register: https://diometuchen.org/resources.
Diocesan pilgrimage, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in celebration of Jubilee 2025. The faithful will join Bishop James F. Checchio as they travel to Washington, D.C., to celebrate the 2,025th anniversary of the Incarnation of Our Lord. For parish bus trips please email Angela Marshall at amarshall@diometuchen.org or call 732-562-1643.
Women’s Cursillo Weekend. The Metuchen Cursillo Movement will conduct the Women’s Cursillo Weekend at the Blue Army Shrine in Asbury. For information about the Cursillo experience please visit metcursillo.org.
DIOCESAN PROGRAMS
Adoration at Pastoral Center – The faithful are invited to Eucharistic Adoration at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Monday through Friday, from 9 -11:45 a.m. As Pope St. John Paul II noted. “The Church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic adoration.” Anyone interested in signing up should contact Angela Marshall at amarshall@diometuchen.org.
Perpetual Adoration - Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament The Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, Raritan, is looking for adorers to sit with the Blessed Sacrament Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is also being offered the first Saturday of each Month (Night Vigil) from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Anyone interested in signing up should visit https://blessedsacramentshrine.com.
That’s what’s missing from The Catholic Spirit!
Send your ideas for stories about your parish or school to mmorrell@diometuchen.org.
We’ll be glad you did!
SELLING YOUR HOME?
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Cathedral of Saint 2025 Summer Choir Camp
The Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi is pleased to announce its 3rd Annual Summer Choir Camp for all rising 3rd-8th grade students. Students from any parishes within or outside of the Diocese are welcome to attend. Every day, students will participate in choir rehearsals, music theory classes with the Camp’s outstanding music faculty, work on composer projects, and sing for the Cathedral’s daily 12:10 Mass. There will also be fun outdoor activities (weather permitting), games, and snacks. Plus, each chorister will have an opportunity to play the Cathedral’s pipe organ. Additionally, the choristers will reconvene on Sunday, August 17, to sing for the 12 Noon Mass at the Cathedral, and will have a BBQ after Mass.
General information:
Dates: August 11-15, 2025; also Sunday, August 17 for Noon Mass and BBQ Times: Mon-Thurs 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.; Fri 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.; Sunday, 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. (pre-Mass rehearsal, Noon Mass, BBQ) Tuition: $250 per chorister
Food: All choristers are required to bring a bag lunch (including drink) Monday through Thursday. Friday will conclude with an Ice Cream Party after the 12:10 Mass. Dismissal is at 1:30 pm on Friday, Aug 15.
A mid-morning snack will be provided each day by the Cathedral.
Contact: Christopher Deibert, Director of Sacred Music –Music@StFrancisCathedral.org
Registration deadline: July 1, 2025 To register, use the QR code or contact the music office at email above for registration information. If using a check to accompany a registration form, check should be made out to Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi. Memo line: 2025 Summer Choir Camp. Contact the music office for information regarding partial need-based scholarships, which are available.
