Spirit atholic C See our special section on the Season of Creation, pp 10-11.
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SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 • VOL. 31 NO. 8
9/II Finding God
More than 100 commemorative American flags on display at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Whitehouse Station, create a meaningful salute to God, country, victims and heroes – keeping 9/11 and 250 years of American history in our minds and hearts. See our special feature on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, pp.2, 4-7. —Peter Nguyen photo
Welcome, Bishop Saporito! On the morning of Sept. 15, Auxiliary Bishop Michael A. Saporito, Archdiocese of Newark, replied to an announcement by Pope Leo XIV, saying, “I am deeply grateful and humbled that Pope Leo XIV has called me to serve as the Bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen. While it is not easy to leave the people and places that have formed and sustained me, I welcome this mission with trust in the Holy Spirit.” More about Bishop Saporito will appear in a supplement to the October issue.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
UP FRONT
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Remembering: Looking for God in the pain, devastation and loss of 9/11 Dear brothers and sisters, I hope your September has been going well. Though the slower pace of summer is nice, I find that fall gives me a new optimism in the cooler air and beauty of the changing colors. Schools come back to life along with parish activities. I hope you’re able to take advantage of the events happening in the parishes around our Diocese. After the upbeat joys of the summer in celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of America, now we’ve experienced the somber ceremonies remembering the 25th anniversary of those horrible days in September of 2001. Those were tough days. I had been ordained just over three years, and I was the parochial vicar (a.k.a. - “the other priest”) at St. James Parish in Basking Ridge, a parish of about 3,000 families, a significant number of which commuted into Manhattan by car and bus and train every day. On Tuesday, September 11, I had the 8 a.m. daily Mass. Opining about the world, I remember saying something in the homily like, “What will it take for people to come to God? What has to happen in a person’s life to get them to think about God?” I came back from the Mass and had something to eat with a priest and seminarian who stayed over the night before. Together we watched the smoke coming from the World Trade Center. Once we realized it wasn’t a replay of the 1993 WTC bombing, we watched with the rest of the world in shock. Soon, the telephone rang. The parish secretary said there was some unease among the staff at the parish school. One teacher had a brother who worked in the Trade Center, and parents were calling the school asking about whether they should come and take their children home. Then news of the crash into the Pentagon hit. I spent the day over at the school, where the decision was made not to tell the students. Can you imagine the fright of small children who only knew Mommy or Daddy work in New York? All day long a small TV was on in the school
The Tribute in Light installation illuminated over the lower Manhattan skyline is seen from Bayonne, N.J., Sept. 9, 2025, during the testing process before the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. —OSV News photo/Eduardo Munoz, Reuters
library, and faculty peeked in to get the latest information, all the while trying to keep their emotions from showing in the hallways and classrooms. Cell phones weren’t working. Rumors were that even Camp David was attacked. The White House was evacuated and the president and leaders of Congress were in secret locations. The TV replayed the plane crashes on a constant loop. Even taking the school kids out for recess was tricky (and it just figured that that day was unseasonably pleasant - you couldn’t NOT let them go outside) because the smoke from the towers was visible on the eastern horizon. One school family had a husband who worked at the Trade Center, and the wife insisted on coming in and taking her children home (in her heart she already knew something had happened to her husband). We made it through the day, the pastor in the parish office handling the phone calls and organizing an evening
Mass, and me in the school, trying my best to keep teachers calm so they could keep the students anesthetized from the world around them. I went from school bus to bus, making sure the drivers knew the students were not told and asking them not to speak of it on the ride home. I knew, like everyone else, that life as we knew it ended on 9/10/01. That evening we had a Mass at the parish; I don’t remember what time it was, maybe about 7p.m. Now St. James Parish had just completed an addition to the church in 1999. The new church had seating for 900 people. That night the church was the fullest I’ve ever seen. Full pews. Standing in every available space. Standing in the narthex and spilling down the stairs leading from the parking lot. People hugging, crying, praying. People scared, grieving, unsure about the world. We ran out of Communion Hosts, but no one seemed to care (they understood the crowd was just too big). That night I
watched in awe as Msgr. William Capik, the pastor, gave them something to hold on to: God. I had spent that morning opining from the pulpit in the daily Mass chapel, “What would it take for people to find God in their lives?”, and by the end of the night he was in the main church pulpit telling them, “You’ve come looking, and God is here.” That night in church after the Mass, no one was in any hurry to leave. Names were floating around. “Has anyone heard from ___?” “Yeah, he called his wife a few hours ago. He’s fine.”, or, “No, no one’s seen or heard anything about _____.”, or, “Have you heard? _______ called his answering machine and left a goodbye message for his wife and kids.” An eerie sight were the cars still parked in the lot at the nearby Lyons train station. I wondered how many people who went to work that day are dead? That night was, and still is, the only time in our 24-hour cable TV world that I’ve ever seen TV channels (sports, food, etc.) stop all programming and go dark. Eventually Msgr. Capik spoke to a parishioner who had been a grief counselor if she would begin a bereavement group for the families. Eventually that group swelled and gained national fame. On her advice, we asked families of those who died to give us a photograph of their loved one. They were put in a display in front of the altar, along with a row of vigil candles, one per person. A woman, a parishioner, shyly asked if we’d put a photo of her grandson up there. He wasn’t from the town, but he was missing, too, and could we light a candle for him? Of course we did. It gave the people of the parish a place to come and grieve and pray. Some we knew better than others, but their families and friends and even strangers were here now, trying to make sense out of it all and looking to us priests to do so (and all the while we’re trying to make sense of it, too!). Two weeks of death. As a priest, you’re prepared for a sad death, a tragic death: a young child, a battle with cancer or something like a heart attack. But even if you, as a priest, deal with that sort of death, as bad as it is, the funeral is over in an hour and you can “escape it” and get busy with some other aspect of parish life. That wasn’t possible in this case. These were all the same: a historic, infamous event on the world stage which saw the murder of innocent people who had young families. 9/11 was not abstract to these people; Continues on page 4
How to report abuse If you were sexually abused by a member of the clergy or anyone representing the Catholic Church, or you know of someone who was, you are encouraged to report that abuse to local law enforcement, the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency at 1-877-NJ ABUSE (652-2873) or 1-800-835-5510 (TTY/TDD for the deaf), and also the Diocesan Response Officer at (908) 930-4558 (24 hours/7 days a week).
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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Sixty years of compassion and Christ-centered care were celebrated at McAuley Hall Health Care Center in Watchung Aug. 28, 2026 – precisely 60 years to the day after the facility opened its doors. A special Mass was celebrated by Bishop Emeritus Paul G. Bootkoski and concelebrated by Father Anthony Sirianni, pastor of St. Helena Parish in Edison, and attended by residents, staff and members of the Sisters of Mercy, who sponsor the facility. Bishop Bootkoski’s homily reflected on the mission of McAuley, a 74-bed skilled nursing facility, and the generations of sisters who devoted their lives to serving others. It also included heartfelt gratitude for the time he spent at the center recovering after breaking his ankle. “You took me in,” he told the sisters. “And you nursed me back to health here in this building. I lived with you for eight months, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you for sharing your home with me.” His words repeatedly returned to the sisters and the lives of service their vocations had called them to, especially as nurses and educators. “You were there for the people. You did so many wonderful things for them, not only in the classroom or in the nursing field. You gave so much,” he said. “Sisters, pray hard. Know your worth even now. Your vocation is going from one field to another, as it has for me.” Following the Mass, Father Sirianni reflected on his connection to McAuley, recalling that as a young priest he gave his first retreat to the sisters there. “There’s never a time when I’m at the altar that I don’t close my eyes and I remember all the sisters that were here and that really shared so much with me,” he said. Later, offering a blessing before the anniversary meal, Father Sirianni added a simple hope: “We pray that we’re here another 60 years.” McAuley Hall Administrator Margaret Davis described her 20 years at the facility as more than a career. “This truly is a mission for me. It’s not a job. I believe wholeheartedly in
this building and our staff, and I honestly love every one of you,” she said, praising a staff that goes “above and beyond every single day.” Among that staff is Gladys Ocasio, activities director, who described McAuley as a family. “It’s beyond a regular nursing home. This is peaceful. This is love. This is caring,” said Ocasio, who, like Davis, has served at McAuley for 20 years. “When I come here, I feel the support, the faith, the love of these nuns who pray all the time. It gives me peace.” Her connection to McAuley has become particularly meaningful following the recent death of her husband, Angel, who often helped with projects for resident activities. “This place gives me the strength to continue to smile,” she said. McAuley Hall’s roots extend to Sisters of Mercy foundress Catherine McAuley, who dedicated herself to serving poor women and children in 19th-century Ireland. Located on the campus of Mount Saint Mary Academy, the facility itself was realized through the vision of Mother Mary Patrick McCallion, who served as major superior of the Sisters of Mercy at the time of McAuley’s founding. When it first opened, the center provided care for the Sisters of Mercy who had become ill or had retired from active ministry. The facility initially housed 23 residents, served by 10 staff members. Among those who remember McAuley’s earliest days is Mercy Sister Michael Mary Roberts, one of the facility’s first nurses. “It was a momentous occasion the day we brought the sisters down from the top of the hill to this building,” she recalled. “It was the foresight of our leadership sisters, and most especially, Mother Mary Patrick.” More than 25 years after opening, McAuley underwent renovations and other changes necessary to become a state-licensed skilled nursing facility, receiving its license and Medicare and Medicaid certification in 1993. It has since expanded its mission to serve members of other religious communities and laypeople.
OUR DIOCESE
By James McAvoy, Correspondent
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Six decades of faithful care and community celebrated at McAuley anniversary Mass
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
4 SPECIAL FEATURE
A Look Back
easy part of the pilgrimage. In these early days of the crisis, people have sought solace in the old and the familiar comforts of God and country, in candles, flags and words proclaimed and preached from the Scriptures. Now comes the hard part, the gnawing awareness that this new and haunting moment of world history will be crossed with more terror, devastation and powerlessness. Even though I’m still a long way from Gethsemani, Thomas Merton’s words seem to ring truer than ever, resonant as a collective world prayer: “My Lord God, I have no idea where I’m going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end … I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”
In 2001 Msgr. Joseph Kerrigan, pastor, St. Joseph Parish, Bound Brook, was Father Kerrigan and a staff writer for The Catholic Spirit. His guest commentary for the September 2001 issue offers a retrospective on the devastating tragedy of 9/11. ————
A sobering pilgrimage that has only begun By Father Joseph J. Kerrigan Staff Writer
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
“At 1:30 p.m., there will be exposition of the Blessed Sacrament to pray for all those involved in the catastrophes in New York City and Washington.” For retreatants who gathered for noontime prayer Sept. 11 at the Abbey of Gethsemani, Trappist, Ky., the neatly printed announcement, taped onto the chapel wall, was our first clue into the awful gapping reality that had already absorbed the attention of millions of people world-wide. The abbey’s vaunted silence, a silence that has guided Thomas Merton and hundreds of other Trappist monks at Gethsemani over the past 153 years, became the next casualty of the terrorist attacks. As the three dozen or so retreatants made our way to the dining hall following prayer, we sought out any abbey employee – a kitchen worker, electrician or maintenance helper – for word about New York or Washington. And then we began to share, with animation and emotion, what we were hearing. As lunch concluded, Trappist Father Damien Thompson, the abbot, addressed us with a summary of the morning’s events, and invited us to join the monks in all-day adoration in the chapel. With the end of his talk, silence was restored, but the silence was now much different, a stunning, solemn silence. Immediately, Gethsemani became both the best and the worst place in the world for me. The best place, because as
Remembering: Looking for God in the pain, devastation and loss of 9/11 Continues from page 2
it was personal. It had a face, a name, a voice, a smile. The terrorists didn’t kill “people” on 9/11, they killed Steve, or Tim, or Kevin, or Stacey. Death hung in the air like mist on a humid morning, right at your eye level, and for a while it seemed like there was never going to be that moment during the day when the mist would burn off. In those two weeks we had one funeral (with the one body that was recovered), and the rest were memorial Masses.
Elizabeth Adams reacts at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum reflecting pool in the Manhattan borough of New York City, Sept. 10, 2025, ahead of the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. Twenty-five years after the 9/11 terrorism attacks that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people, Catholic family members who lost loved ones that day have credited their faith with getting through the losses.
Postscript By Rev. Msgr. Joseph J. Kerrigan
many people of faith soon determined, going to church to pray was the instinctive thing to do if you couldn’t directly lend a hand to the rescue operation. And where better to pray than a Trappist monastery? But as a priest in a bedroom suburb parish of New York City, it was the worst place to try and comfort grieving parishioners. So, after an hour of prayer, I left the abbey with a retreatant from Memphis, Tenn., a reservist in the military, who was expecting to be activated. My hope was that by driving to Memphis I would have better luck getting a flight back to Newark than by going to nearby but non-hub airports in Louisville or Nashville. For 300 miles and seven hours, my vantage point to the urban terror was not a television screen, but the sun-drenched roads of Kentucky and Tennessee. They proved to be an interstate Stations of the Cross, a highspeed path to introspection and prayer. I passed Abraham Lincoln’s restored boyhood log cabin several miles from the monastery. I saw my first Amer-
ican flag at half-mast in the town square of Hodgenville, Ky., alongside a statue of Lincoln. At a fueling stop, I noticed a hastily-drawn invitation for a prayer service that evening at a local Baptist church. Just down the road, the Quakers were already gathered in good numbers at a meeting house. Practically every church from that point onward had a sign for a prayer service. As the sun set picturesquely over west Tennessee farmlands, I gratefully realized that the Bible Belt was not going to be unbuckled by terrorism. With air travel suspended, I took to the road again a few days later, now hitching an 11-mile ride with a FedEx executive who needed to return to Morristown as urgently as I needed to get back to St. Bartholomew Parish in East Brunswick. “Slow Down/Road Work Ahead/God Bless America,” a message programmed into an electronic road sign somewhere in Pennsylvania, seemed to reflect the most wisdom, even if unintended. I realize that I’ve only completed the
Following the Sept. 11 catastrophe, as opposed to the fiery and explosive events of unspeakable horror that day, there was kind of a drip-drip-drip of grief and remembrance at my parish for many months afterwards. Parishioners would want the name of a deceased victim either added to the universal prayer at Mass or made the intention for the liturgy. Notably, one couple, for their wedding, asked for a “memorial candle” instead of a “unity candle” to be visible near the altar, where names of several Sept. 11 victims were listed. Firefighters and other first responders also took on new appreciation in the intercessions and among parishioners for those professions. Mass attendance and participation in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was markedly increased. Nearly twenty years later, the dripdrip-drip returned with the Covid-19 pandemic, as the scope of that disaster was likewise expressed over months, with additions of newly deceased or infected parishioners sprinkled into the prayer life of the parish, along with appreciative prayers for medical professionals and, again, first responders. Our private and public sorrows make themselves known in worship, even in subtle ways.
Every day we dealt with large, sad crowds mourning the loss of a loved one or a friend. Every night everyone went home and watched it replayed and analyzed all over again on TV. Then the next day we’d all come back and do it all again with another memorial Mass for another tragic death and another devastated family. Having a parish school ended up being part of my coping with the constant sadness. When the grief would hit me and I was about to “lose it,” I’d go in to visit the kindergartners for a laugh and some smiling faces. As I think about it now, those children are now 30 years old! How can that be? On September 11 in Basking Ridge, six of the surviving widows were pregnant (some knew and some did not yet know). All six gave birth to boys.
But there was another side to those weeks after 9/11. For the next two weeks, it was amazing: lines of people for Confessions, some who had been away from the Sacrament for years! Weekend Masses had the crowds we normally only see on Christmas Eve or Easter Sunday. God had answered my question: I now knew precisely what it would take for people to think about their relationship with God. I also saw amazing generosity as friends, neighbors, and even strangers from literally around the country found ways to bring comfort and joy to the grieving families. Twenty-five years later, we’ve all, as the Brits are fond of saying, “carried on.” The children have grown. The smoky, gnarled mess of steel in lower Manhattan is now a dignified park where peo-
ple come to remember the dead. We’ve gotten used to airports having levels of security we never would have imagined before the attacks. Each year, the names are read at countless ceremonies, but less and less people take the time out of their lives. Each year I listen for the ones I helped to mourn and remember them at Mass: Tim Soulas, Kevin Hannaford, Lou Fersini, Ludwig Piccaro, Tom Reinig, Chris Forsythe, Stacey McGowan, Steve Genovese, David Campbell, Stephen Dimino, and John Farrell. May their souls, and the souls of all who departed on September 11, rest in peace. I know it’s unrelated, but please remember to thank the Holy Spirit for our new Bishop of Metuchen, Michael A. Saporito.
—OSV News photo/Jeenah Moon, Reuters
Thousands of brightly-colored origami hearts, folded and displayed by parishioners of the Catholic Community of St. Charles Borromeo, Skillman, served as a meaningful focus for the parish’s observation of the 25th anniversary of 9/11. In the aftermath of that horrific day a quarter of a century ago, parishioner Bonnie Likely felt powerless. That feeling quickly developed into a desire to create a physical memorial of those who died. An avid origami artist, Bonnie recalled how she had helped to make origami doves for a peace exhibit at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. She noted that, “While still having no idea how many people perished, I started folding hearts … to connect me to the community and somehow reflect the magnitude of the tragedy.” She then suggested to St. Charles pastor Monsignor Gregory E.S. Malovetz that the parish could come together to fold more than 3000 hearts, one
for each person who died, which could then be displayed in the church. He enthusiastically endorsed her plan. With the work of many hands, belonging to parishioners of all ages, the folding was completed, the hearts were strung, and carpentry work was finalized to hang the hearts in the gathering space of the church for two weeks in December 2001. Called “We Lift Up Our Hearts,” the project honored those lost and reminded the parish community of the sacrifice of lives that affected us all. Bonnie preserved the hearts and they were re-installed for the first anniversary of 9/11 in September 2002 and displayed again in 2011 for the 10th anniversary. Then, in 2020, many of the hearts were used in a new way during the Covid-19 lockdown: parish staff sent hundreds of hearts to emergency workers and the homebound to show the recipients that they were remembered and cherished. As the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approached this year, Bonnie hoped to revisit the project again, believing the shared act
of remembrance and healing that had been so meaningful following the tragedy might have something vital to offer our divided country today. Likely contacted Monsignor Malovetz who embraced the effort to once again utilize the hearts to honor those lost in 2001. Together they decided to figure out a way to display the hearts in the church sanctuary this September. Since several hundred of the original hearts had been sent out during the Covid lockdown to first responders and the homebound, Bonnie invited fellow parishioners to attend origami workshops this past summer to fold replacement pieces. A small, enthusiastic group gathered once or twice weekly for more than a month to complete the task. Having folded hearts for the original project, parishioner Bonnie Giacobbe reflected that she “leapt at the opportunity to participate” in bringing the hearts back so that everyone who saw them would be able to “stand face-to-face with the overwhelming scale of the loss.” She further observed that the large number of hearts
would bring history to life, especially for those born after 2001, by communicating the enormity of the lives cut short and how those lost have not been forgotten. Parishioner Rosanne Boyle was struck by the use of the original hearts in the anniversary project, wanting to “refresh” her own heart and those of others who may have forgotten the impact of “the collective urge to minister to strangers and friends” following 9/11. Some of the volunteers viewed making the hearts as an act of prayer and others expressed gratitude for being part of a significant church community endeavor commemorating 9/11. The hearts were displayed in the sanctuary at St. Charles during the first two weeks of September. Bonnie hopes they inspire all who see them to carry forward their message of hope and remembrance. Mary Carol Jacobson has been a parishioner of St. Charles Borromeo Parish since 1989.
SPECIAL FEATURE
By Mary Carol Jacobson Special Contributor
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Twenty-five years later, we still ‘lift up our hearts’
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
—Hal Brown photos —Courtesy photo (bottom right)
Scan to see origami heart instruction video
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
Photo, top center, Msgr. Gregory E. S. Malovetz, St. Charles Borromeo pastor, left, and Father Douglas Haefner, celebrate Mass on 9/11 with a full church, surrounded by some 3,000 origami hearts carefully crafted by a small but mighty group of parishioners, bottom right, who brought the original “We Lift Up Our Hearts” project back to the parish 25 years after the tragedy of 9/11.
6 SPECIAL FEATURE THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
After 9/11: Dealing with forgiveness, service and ‘Why?’ By Deacon Stephen Kern Special Contributor Regular readers may recall that I am a survivor of the 9/11/01 attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City. Immediately after the jet struck, once the building stopped wobbling, the nine employees who worked with me on the 62nd floor of the North Tower proceeded down the stairs in a 50-minute evacuation. (That occurred after my detour back into our offices to look for my secretary who had hidden under her desk on her knees, paralyzed in fear.) When we reached ground level, I continued down one level below ground to the police headquarters for the WTC, midway between the two towers. I was only there for five minutes when the South Tower collapsed above our heads, necessitating my second escape of that morning. There were many emotional, mental and physical issues to deal with in the aftermath of the attacks, but I want to briefly focus on three faith-related issues I needed to face. The first issue is basically unresolvable in this life. That is the question: “Why?” For the families who lost loved ones that day, it is: “why did our loved one have to be one of the 2,753 people killed at the WTC?” For a survivor, one might ask why did that person survive? On 9/11, I clearly saw the hand of God through the courageous and self-giving actions of so many people. But there are times when God’s plans and actions are harder to discern. Over 25 years, so many people, having heard my story of survival, have said to me: “God must have had other plans for you.” It is easy to agree with them, but I wonder to myself whether I have discerned God’s plan for me correctly for these last 25 years,
St. Magdalen de Pazzi Parish, Flemington, prayerfully marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, bombing of the World Trade Center with a display featuring a cross made from steel from the New York City skyscrapers and donated to the parish years before by Deacon Stephen F. Kern, a survivor of the event. —Deacon Kern
photo.
and if so, have I carried out His plan to the best of my ability? The second issue is forgiveness. How do I forgive bin Laden, his organization and henchmen, for slaughtering so many people…for wiping out so many colleagues and friends at work… for planning and carrying out actions that almost made my wife a widow? I know so many people even today who have never - and never will - forgive those responsible. For some of them, the hatred is so deep it curdles into bias and bigotry against the Muslim religion or people. That is not Jesus’ way. In the Gospel for the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Jesus instructs that we are to forgive, not just seven times, but 77 times. Elsewhere in the Gospels, He tells us to love our enemies. I knew this is how I should react, but I wrestled with it for a good year or so after the attacks. It was a slow process. I was helped on the way by a book I read entitled “Left To Tell” written by
Immaculee Iligabiza – the story of how the author survived the Rwandan genocide of 1994. She and seven other women hid in silence in a pastor’s bathroom for 91 days, while killers hunted them. Some 800,000 from the Tutsi ethnic group were killed, including the author’s family. Yet through the power of prayer, she was able to seek out and forgive her family’s killers. It is an amazing story, one which left me to ponder how I could justify not forgiving the 9/11 terrorists. I eventually did. Forgiveness is actually tied in with the third issue I faced: service. God’s plans for all of us include service to our fellow humans. If we cannot forgive, we are stuck in our own egos, and this will prevent us from continuing Christ’s mission. Unconditional love and the “gift of self” (as Pope St. John Paul II called it) are crucial to living God’s plan. How this played out in my life has to do with the nine-month recovery
Phones were out so I couldn’t let me in. We didn’t speak, we just hugged On 9/11, faith in God schedule. reach my husband or the kids’ school. Fi- and I cried. nally, my sister in New Jersey called our My boys were fine. They were playswitchboard and got through. I told her I ing basketball in the high school gym. A got us through – couldn’t reach the kids’ school. She told few weeks later, they were trying to make me they would be okay because the nuns sense of what had happened – my youngthen and now were with them. The Salesian Sisters of er son, Gregory, in particular. He was in
By Mary Gregory Business Manager, The Catholic Spirit
My kids had just started at a new grade school, Mary Help of Christians on 11th St. and Ave A. We drove from Brooklyn into the city and passed the towers at about 7:45 a.m. I got to my office just as the first plane hit. Their school was locked down. My husband’s school, Xavier High School, was locked down. Masses of people walked uptown. A sea of people. It was our first Tuesday deadline day as a monthly newspaper at Catholic New York, the paper of the Archdiocese of New York. Cardinal Egan had just changed our
Don Bosco were on staff. She was able to call the school and relay to me that the kids were safe and would be released to a parent when they got there. The nuns – and God – were there. When I finally left the office, the subways were running again but I was afraid to go down, so I walked from 55th St. and 1st Ave. to 16th St. and 6th Ave. where my husband worked. He had been able to get the kids. There were no buses running, no cabs, no cars. The streets were deserted except for a few people walking and military vehicles with mounted machine guns. It was truly like a war zone. When I finally got to Xavier, Father Gatti, who at the time was the school president,
kindergarten. He asked me what I would do if Osama bin Laden showed up at our door on Halloween. Would I know it was him? And did Osama bin Laden live near my brother Francis, who lived in Connecticut? To Gregory, Connecticut was the furthest place he’d ever been from home, so Osama bin Laden must be there. My older son John is now a lieutenant with the New York City Fire Department, FDNY. He’d always wanted to be a fireman, and this sealed the deal. My faith in the sisters to protect my children that day was and continued to be absolute. It had to be. My faith in God carried us through the weeks ahead. It still does. —Josh Miller photo/Unsplash
period after 9/11. During that time, we witnessed over half a million people – more than 500,000! – volunteer at the WTC site. Those volunteers came from all 50 states and over 70 countries. Their actions ranged from simply handing out water bottles to working on “the pile” (the huge multi-story pile of debris that burned for four months), endangering their health for people they did not know and families they would never meet. This was service par excellence, and it moves me deeply even today to think about it. Though I had given brief thought to becoming a deacon before 9/11, what happened in the aftermath of 9/11 crystallized my desire to be of greater service to the Church. I entered diaconate formation in 2005 and was ordained in 2010. Being a deacon is all about making visible the Church’s mission of service. In fact, the word “deacon” comes from the Greek diakonia which means service or ministry. Pope Benedict XVI visited the WTC site in 2008. A portion of what he prayed at the site rings in my ears and guides me 25 years after that catastrophe: God of understanding, overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy, we seek your light and guidance as we confront such terrible events. Grant that those whose lives were spared may live so that the lives lost here may not have been lost in vain. Comfort and console us, strengthen us in hope, and give us the wisdom and courage to work tirelessly for a world where true peace and love reign among nations and in the hearts of all. Deacon Kern serves in St. Magdalen de Pazzi Parish, Flemington.
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Twenty-five years later, Kendall Park parish creates a visual reminder of 9/11
— Barbara Corio photos.
SPECIAL FEATURE
By Mary Morrell, Editor-in-Chief For many people, the images of the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001, are indelible memories of shock, horror and grief, followed in the days and months afterward with images of compassion, resilience and service. Today, there are millions of people who are too young to remember that day or to have experienced the aftermath. For them, and for those who do remember, images are a gateway for both learning about this pivotal moment in American history, and tools for ensuring that we never forget. For the parish community of St. Augustine of Canterbury, Kendall Park, images from the past, specifically chosen by Father Robert Lynam, pastor, for
their poignant and historic meaning, now grace the sanctuary of the church affording the parish community an opportunity to remember, pray and teach their children. At the suggestion of parish facility manager, Bobby Beaton, who served as a Westfield police officer, the images were arranged in the shape of a cross on custom made banners. A 9/11 prayer service, led by Principal Edward Modezelewski, was held for students in grades 5-8, before a student procession, led by an 8th grader carrying a replica of St. Lucy Filippini’s cross, left the church and gathered around a memorial stone which reads “In God We Remember, In God We Trust, In God We Forgive. 9-11-01.” Students placed 25 red roses in front of the memorial stone and were led
in “God Bless America” before processing back into the church where Father Lynam explained the images on the memorial banners and answered questions. Among the images included are: President George W. Bush being informed of the airplane bombing of the World Trade Center while he is visiting Emma Booker Elementary School, Sarasota, Fl., reading to a classroom of young children; Father Mychal Judge, chaplain to the New York City Fire Department, who, having followed firefighters into the World Trade Center to offer aid and prayers for the rescuers, the injured, and the dead, was killed and was carried out of the North Tower by firefighters and police officers. He was the first certified death of 9/11.
Additional images portray St. Augustine of Canterbury parishioner and Port Authority Police Officer Frank Accardi, who was present at the towers on 9/11 and buried more than once under rubble from the attack, shaking hands with President Bush; Sunset at the towers on Sept.10, in stark contrast to the next day, which would be a day that America would never forget; a New York fireman, at the annual 9/11 remembrance ceremonies, ringing the symbolic “death bell” for each name read of those who died in the attacks. The bell is part of the Bells of Remembrance Project, initiated by Father Dave Schlatter, fire chaplain and friend of FDNY chaplain Father Judge. The banners will hang in the church through September.
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
8 PERSPECTIVES
Flemington deacon assumes leadership role in diocesan diaconate office “At a time of great instability, all ordained ministers are called to live in communion by returning to what is essential and being close to people, in order to preserve the hope that takes shape in humble and concrete service. In this context, the ministry of the permanent deacon, configured to Christ the Servant, is a living sign not of a superficial love but one that bends down, listens and gives generously. The beauty of a Church made up of priests and deacons who cooperate, united by the same passion for the Gospel and attentiveness to those most in need, becomes a shining witness of communion. ~ Pope Leo XIV, Apostolic Letter, “A fidelity that generates the future,” 2025. ———— By David Karas Correspondent
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Deacon David Urcinas. —Tiffany Workman photo
In the time since he was ordained in 2017, Deacon David Urcinas has experienced the joys of serving his fellow Catholics through the permanent diaconate. “Deacons are there to help people in their faith journey,” said Deacon Urcinas, who serves in his home parish of St. Magdalen de Pazzi, Flemington. “Personally, I’ve been blessed to have been part of teams offering new programs like ChristLife and Children’s Liturgy. I’ve also been blessed to witness a friend’s marriage, and to baptize some of my grandchildren.” Now, following his own time as a deacon, as well as associate director of formation for the diocesan Diaconate Class of 2027, Deacon Urcinas is assuming a new role to support deacons throughout the Diocese of Metuchen. Following the retirement of Deacon Stephen Kern – who is also a member of the Flemington parish – Deacon Urcinas will be taking on the role of acting director of the diocesan Office of the Diaconate. “I would like to personally thank Deacon Stephen Kern for his ten years as director, and for his guidance, patience, and friendship,” said Deacon Urcinas. “I look forward to serving the deacons and their families, and the Diocese.” Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Deacon Urcinas and his siblings attended St. Joseph’s in the Brooklyn section of town, where he also attended the parish grammar school. He went on to earn a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Connecticut, and in 1981 married his wife, Barbara. After short stints living in Puerto Rico and Colorado, the couple relocated to Flemington in 1997 – the same year they joined St. Magdalen de Pazzi Parish. Deacon Urcinas and his wife have three adult children who live in New Jersey and Connecticut, and he worked for Merck & Co. until his retirement. Throughout his nearly three decades
as a member of his parish, Deacon Urcinas has been involved in various ministries, including youth group, Bible study and the evangelization commission. He has also served in the Knights of Columbus and as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist. With the support of his wife and Father Jack O’Kane, Deacon Urcinas entered diaconate formation in 2013, and four years later at the time of his Ordination, he was vested by his wife and Father Timothy Christy. In a recent interview about his new diocesan position, Deacon Urcinas reflected on how deacons are called to be servant leaders. “On the wall behind my desk, there is a picture of Jesus washing the feet of the Apostles. It was there when Deacon Stephen was the director, and it will remain there,” he said. “It’s a guide and reminder of my role, serving both at the Diocese and at St. Magdalen de Pazzi.” After he accepted the position, Deacon Urcinas received a list from his predecessor, including the name of each deacon, his contact information and details about where he serves. “At that point it was just a list,” he said. “Since then, and with Deacon Stephen’s help, that list of 196 names is becoming a dynamic story of men and their families.” In the months and years to come, Deacon Urcinas looks forward to seeing more names added to that list, in part through two diaconate classes that are currently in formation for the Diocese of Metuchen. One class includes 13 men on track to be ordained in May, 2027, and the other includes 14 men in a Spanish-language formation program with a 2029 Ordination in sight. Deacon Urcinas noted that parish leaders play a big part in encouraging men to consider the diaconate. “Very often, it’s the pastor who encourages men of the parish to consider discerning the diaconate,” he said. “These pastors see the need and value of good deacons in their parish communities.”
St. Brigid Church, Peapack —Peter Nguyen photo Jean Charlot. The artist finished these works in situ from August 29 through September 1, 1939. The mosaic Stations of the Cross and the altar frontal, depicting events in the life of St Brigid of Ireland, were constructed by Elsa Schmid of Rye, New York. The altar frontal itself was on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, from January 1938 until its installation in the church.
Traveling Eucharistic Rosary Congress October 3-9, 2026 “My Spirit Rejoices in God My Savior”
Saturday, October 3, 2026 National Blue Army Shrine (Morris Canal) 674 Mountain View Road E., Asbury (908) 689-1700 12:15 p.m. Opening Mass Followed by Adoration Sunday, October 4, 2026 Our Lady of Fatima (Middlebrook) 501 New Market Road, Piscataway (732) 968-5555 1:00 p.m. Opening Mass Followed by Adoration Monday, October 5, 2026 Our Lady of Peace (Forsgate) 1730 US Highway Rt. 130, North Brunswick (732) 297-9680 8:00 a.m. Opening Mass Followed by Adoration Tuesday, October 6, 2026 St. Jude (Morris Canal) 7 Eisenhower Road, Columbia (908) 362-6444 9:00 a.m. Opening Mass Followed by Adoration Immaculate Conception (Forsgate) 18 South Street, Spotswood (732) 251-3110 9:30 a.m. Opening Mass Followed by Adoration Wednesday, October 7, 2026 St. John Vianney (Cathedral) 420 Inman Avenue, Colonia (732) 574-0150 7:00 p.m. Opening Mass Followed by Adoration
Friday, October 9, 2026 Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament (County Seat) 52 West Somerset Street, Raritan (908) 722-1489 For more information, please contact 9:30 a.m. Opening Mass Adam Carlisle, Secretary for Evangelization and Communication Followed by Adoration
at acarlisle@diometuchen.org or 732-529-7936
Please scan the QR code to access the Eucharistic Rosary Congresses’ website, and/or to find a complete listing of participating parishes and their Adoration schedules.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
Thursday, October 8, 2026 St. John the Evangelist (Middlebrook) 317 First Street, Dunellen (732) 968-2621 8:00 a.m. Opening Mass Followed by Adoration
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta in Aquileia, Italy, the sculpture was given to the pastor of St. Brigid Church in memory of businessman and financier Grant Barney Schley (1881–1936). Living most of his life in his country estate in Far Hills, New Jersey, Mr. Schley died in France at 56 years old, having moved there with his family after he became ill with arthritis. His wife, Mrs. Jeanne Marie Schley, presented this masterpiece to the pastor of St. Brigid Parish in Peapack, New Jersey, in memory of her husband. Curiously, this gift was made, not to the Church, but to the pastor and was meant to be handed down perpetually from one pastor to the next. To the right of the altar is the classic late 17th-century Hispano-Flemish polychrome wood sculpture of Saint Anthony the Abbot, identifiable by his hermit’s attire, tau staff, book, and the pig at his side, representing healing and the Antonine Order’s charitable work. Also known as Anthony of Egypt or Anthony of the Desert, St. Anthony the Abbot is the patron saint of animals, monks, and those with skin diseases (St. Anthony’s Fire). Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Falcó, 17th Duke of Alba, Spain had presented this to Mrs. James Brady Cutting who donated it to St. Brigid Church in memory of her late husband, James Brady. St. Brigid Church received many beautiful works of art as gifts from Mrs. Brady and her friends. The rare 13th century Byzantine crucifix over the high altar and tabernacle dates back to the Crusades, (the altar itself having been designed to suit the rare 13th century Byzantine crucifix). And, the 16th century bronze candlesticks donated made it necessary to create additional candlesticks. A 14th century Italian copper gilt and enameled plaque of God the Father Enthroned was likewise applied to the Tabernacle to complete the historical setting. The frescoes on either side of the rare altar depict important events in the life of St. Brigid by artist and sculptor
In the vestibule, the wooden carved 17th century figure of the Madonna was a gift of parishioner Marjorie Dalmien, while an old polychrome figure, also in the vestibule, was a gift of Angela Pery, the Dowager Countess of Limerick, Ireland (1897-1981). The exterior statues at St. Brigid Church include a white-stone statue of our Blessed Mother, a statue of Saint Brigid in memory of Msgr. Edward Puleo, a statue of St. Pope John Paul II and a statue of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Additionally, a 72-inch limestone statue of St. Anthony of Padua, crafted by the Polish sculptor, Maryla Lednicka in 1940, overlooks the brook behind St. Brigid Church. A Florentine nobleman, Ruspoli, is believed to have posed for this likeness of Saint Anthony. At St. Elizabeth Church, the outside statues include Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, a statue inside a Shrine dedicated to Jesus and the Little Children, as well as St. Teresa of Avila and even St. Jude. And, we are so very grateful to our parish Knights of Columbus for helping to refresh all of these statues during their recent repair and repaint project. Father Hillier serves as diocesan director, Office of Pontifical Mission Societies, the Office for Persons with Disabilities and Censor Librorum.
OUR FAITH
Do you know what the best and greatest treasure is that exists within every parish church? It is, of course, the Eucharist – placed carefully and reverently behind the locked door of the tabernacle within your parish church. No wonder why most, if not all parishes, have the tabernacle placed front and center in the Church sanctuary, since the Eucharist IS Jesus who IS the center of our Church and the center of our lives! There are also other treasures that may be unique to your parish church, among them perhaps being one or more precious and irreplaceable stained-glass windows, statues, or crucifixes. At my parish, St. Elizabeth-St. Brigid Parish in Far Hills and Peapack, we have two beautiful churches in one parish that have several of these treasures. St. Elizabeth is 120 years old and the stained-glass windows with their vibrant colors depicting Jesus, Mary and the saints, as well as, the seven Sacraments, are absolutely gorgeous. St. Brigid Church is a 90-year-old church built in memory of businessman and horse breeder, James Cox Brady (1882-1927) by his wife, Helen. At the time of his death, he was on the Board of Directors for the New York Title and Mortgage Company. One of his grandsons, Nicholas Frederick Brady (a current parishioner at St. Elizabeth-St. Brigid Parish), was the U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Ronald Reagan. The actual building of St. Brigid Church in Peapack was copied from a 16th century stone church in Ireland, and although it is 30 years younger than St. Elizabeth Church in Far Hills, the appointments in St. Brigid Church are significantly older. Who would ever imagine that the Diocese of Metuchen (created in 1981), still only 45 years old, would have so many antique works of art hidden within one of its parish churches, including stained-glass windows that were copied from one of the famous stained-glass windows in the Cathedral of Chartres, France. Or consider, for example, a rare 16th century marble sculpture, the Madonna of the Rosary (Madonna del Rosario) by Taddeo Carlone (1543-1613), at the left of St. Brigid’s main altar. Crafted in the 16th century, this sculpture of the Madonna has a complex history. Like many statues of Mary from Italy and other major European countries, this statue was stolen by Napoleon from the border town of Ventimiglia, Italy and later returned to Genoa by French troops following the fall of Napoleon in 1815. Previously displayed in the 11th-century
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Uncovering treasures in your parish church
By Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News The social and ecological devastation wrought by war represents not just a political failure, but a moral crisis rooted in a divided heart in need of conversion, Pope Leo XIV said. Violence, injustice and environmental damage are not just “the result of flawed systems or structures; it is ‘a symptom of the deeper dichotomy that is rooted in humanity itself,’” the Pope said in his message for the 2026 World Day of Prayer for Creation, celebrated Sept. 1, marking the opening of the ecumenical Season of Creation which concludes Oct.
4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology. “The wounds of war and the degradation of the earth, then, are profoundly linked to the condition of the human heart,” Pope Leo wrote. “The conflicts that torment humanity are in many ways the outward expression of interior discord
destruction that endures for generations.” Armed conflicts, coupled with environmental degradation, he added, create a “vicious cycle” that “destroys ecosystems, contaminates essential resources, such as air and water, and undermines food security,” thus creating further conflicts. The Pope noted that war not only creates wounds that damage individual people and communities, but also the bonds of the human family, revealing “a deeper failure to live in God’s image and likeness, to respect life and to care for the earth entrusted to us.” “This is not only a political failure, but also a moral and spiritual one,” Pope Leo wrote. “Rooted in distorted desires and the misuse of human freedom and power, war stands as a counter-witness to the Gospel of peace.” The building of a peaceful society, he continued, requires not just a reform of structures but also a renewal of hearts that are facing “an ethical and cultural crisis,” evidenced by the desire “for domination, the pursuit of immediate profit, and the inability to recognize the God-given dignity of each human person.” Isaiah’s prophetic call to “beat swords into plowshares” is a call for both individuals and nations to “transform harm into life,” not just through external changes, but through a return to God “who will reorder our desires, heal our wounds and help us grow in virtue,” he wrote. Pope Leo warned that without an “inner transformation, peace will remain fragile and short-lived.”
State chapter of Laudato Sí Movement to sponsor Oct. 17 event in Lakewood
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
By David Karas, Correspondent Motivated by the landmark encyclical of Pope Francis and driven by statewide collaborations, the New Jersey chapter of the Laudato Sí Movement (LSM-NJ) is inviting faithful throughout New Jersey to come together for a special gathering featuring fellowship and talks related to the care for creation. Open to all, the Oct. 17 program in Georgian Court University, Lakewood, will include talks on ecological conversion, the theory of creation and ethics for a changing planet. Attendees will hear from faith leaders and share ideas with one another about how to advocate for the values outlined by Pope Francis in his 2015 encyclical – “Laudato Sí: On Care for Our Common Home.” Terrence Thompson, coordinator of the state’s chapter and a member of St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Hightstown (Diocese of Trenton) authored a letter along with Dr. Elizabeth Cerceo, a member of Christ Our Light Parish, Cherry Hill (Diocese of Camden), to share more about their chapter and encourage participation from other faithful throughout the Garden State. “New Jersey Catholics have a particular opportunity,” Thompson and Dr. Cerceo wrote. “We live in a small, densely populated state with serious environmental challenges and rich networks of
parishes, schools, health systems and community organizations.” The state’s chapter of the Laudato Sí Movement was launched in October 2025 through a partnership among parishioners from the Dioceses of Trenton and Camden and the Archdiocese of Newark. According to Thompson and Dr. Cerceo, the chapter aims to advance the tenets of Catholic social teaching as they apply to climate science and public health by engaging with the faithful and encouraging action. “It connects Sunday liturgy with weekday choices about energy, transportation, food and advocacy, so that what we profess at Mass shapes how we live the rest of the week,” the pair wrote about the encyclical. “It [links] well-resourced communities with frontline neighborhoods that bear the heaviest environmental burdens.” In their letter, Thompson and Dr. Cerceo also reflected on the encyclical and the invitation it offers to Catholics. “Laudato Sí is a vision of hope, inviting people of faith to see the natural world as God’s gift, to live more simply and sustainably, and to work together in building communities that are healthier, more just, and more resilient,” they wrote. “Since its publication, Laudato Sí has inspired a movement of individuals, parish ministries, schools, health systems, religious communities, and grass-
A damaged home is seen in Menasha, Wis., Aug. 4, 2026, after a tornado swept through the town July 27. Climate change has contributed to the rising frequency and intensity of storms. —OSV News
photo/Deacon Don Schultz, courtesy St. John and St. Mary Parishes
roots organizations around the world to integrate care for creation into worship, education, service, and advocacy.” The goal of the state’s chapter, they explained, is to engage with parishes and diocesan ministries through study groups, retreats, preaching and youth programs. Organizers hope to work with parish communities and families to find ways to reduce emissions, improve energy efficiency, cut waste and protect vulnerable communities through everyday actions – all while amplifying voices supporting environmental justice. They also hope to involve young Catholics. “The ecological crisis can feel overwhelming, but ‘Laudato Sí calls us to
a hope that is honest about the damage and yet refuses to give up on conversion and renewal,” Thompson and Dr. Cerceo wrote. “LSM-NJ seeks to connect and support these local efforts, creating a statewide network of parishes, schools, health ministries, and community partners committed to caring for our common home and advancing environmental justice throughout the Garden State.” All are welcome to attend the October 17 gathering. For more information and to register, contact newjersey@lsmchapter.org. This article first appeared in Diocese of Trenton’s The Monitor, and is used with permission.
—Greg Rakozy photo/Unsplash
10 SEASON OF CREATION
Holy Father stresses conversion of heart needed to end wars, heal Earth
and division. When the heart is distorted, relationships suffer, and the structures we build begin to reflect that disorder.” ‘The World Day of Prayer’ theme for 2026 is “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks,” based on the verse from the book of Isaiah. The Vatican said June 2 that the celebration’s theme “highlights the connection between armed conflict and environmental degradation.” “The title – a passage in which Isaiah prophesies the transformation of weapons into agricultural tools – is an explicit invitation to prioritize development and sustainability over violence and destruction,” the Vatican said. In his message, Pope Leo said the world is “witnessing many crises and much human suffering” as well as the accelerating “disruption to the harmonious balance of creation.” “These phenomena are not unrelated; they are a single plea for healing and peace arising from a wounded world,” he said. Reflecting on the day’s theme, the Pope said that although Isaiah spoke of a time when nations transform “what destroys life into what sustains it,” in today’s world, “we too often witness the very opposite, as efforts continue to be directed toward violence and war.” “War leaves wounds that extend far beyond the battlefield. It claims lives, tears families apart and forces millions to flee their homes, thereby deepening fear, injustice and division,” he wrote. “War also leaves behind social and ecological
—Mark Lee photos
SEASON OF CREATION
Scenes and thoughts from the Sept. 1 Lectio Terra (reading of the earth) prayer experience hosted at Mount St. Mary House of Prayer, Watchung, and led by Rev. Msgr. Joseph Kerrigan, pastor, St. Joseph Parish, Bound Brook. Movement has a daily, if often overlooked, role in the prayer life of the Church. Liturgical processions of all sorts can be viewed as prayer-on-the-go. There is solemn movement in the beginning and ending of Eucharistic liturgies, deep solemnity in a Corpus Christi procession, and a celebratory tone in a Palm Sunday procession, among other examples of prayerful movement. The devotion of the Stations of the Cross combines movement with focus on each individual station, where there is a specific pause and prayer in the overall context of the Passion of the Lord. Lectio Terra is a contemplative movement prayer adapted from Lectio Divina. In Lectio Terra, the “book” is not the Bible, but the book of nature. Practitioners of this prayer wander attentively through a given parcel of nature, until their awareness falls on one subject, perhaps a tree or a branch or even a leaf of that tree. As with Lectio Divina, the focus then centers on that subject, as the person silently reflects on
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Lectio Terra: Contemplative Prayer-on-the-(Slow)-Go
why this caught their eye, and what God perhaps has in mind in lifting this object up to our devotion. Lectio Terra is an invitation to experience nature, and all of creation, in a new way –prayerful, grateful and contemplative. Mark Lee, photographer and participant in the prayer experience, described it as “a simple but meaningful exercise in slowing down, being mindful of our surroundings, and appreciating God’s creation. As we walked, our attention was drawn to the trees, birds, butterflies, mushrooms and so many of the little things we normally pass without noticing. It was a beautiful reminder to slow down, quiet our minds, and really listen for God.”
What’s Next? Franciscan month is a celebration of St. Francis of Assisi
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
http://www.kmska.be, Public Domain, https://commons. wikimedia.org/ w/index.php? curid=31323512
“Franciscan Month is a time to experience living life in a simple way, while caring for the world and for each other, and we hope that these experiences carry beyond this month,” said Brother Gregory Cellini, O.S.F, director of the Office of Mission, Ministry and Interfaith Dialogue at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. “The inspiration for this month comes from the life of St. Francis, someone who chose to live with less so he could live more freely.” Brother Gregory took the lead in organizing the month of St. Francis and expanding it beyond the college to the national collaboration and recognition it has today among Franciscans and Franciscan-hearted communities. Some of the organizations that have participated this year include the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities, Franciscan Action Network, Franciscan Federation, Franciscan Friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Order of Friars Minor, Capuchins, Order of Friars Minor, Conventuals, Poor Clares, the Secular Franciscan Order and many others. To learn more about Franciscan Month, read wonderfully reflective blog posts, find prayers, resources, as well as event information, and discover why the example of St. Francis is timeless and relevant in today’s world, visit Franciscanmonth.org.
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
—Painting by Philip Fruytiers -
The Season of Creation ends on Oct. 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. The coming month of October is the perfect time to consider what it means to live life with the joy, humility and purpose of St. Francis. For those who would like to step away from the noise of the world, Franciscan Month in October provides those seeking a deeper sense of peace, purpose, and spiritual renewal with an invitation to journey with St. Francis of Assisi. Rooted in the teachings and example of St. Francis and St. Clare, this month-long initiative encourages people to pause from the noise of everyday life and discover the simplicity, gratitude, and joy at the heart of the Franciscan way. This year, the invitation also points to a special celebration – the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’ Transitus. To honor this special feast, Franciscan organizations from across the country collaborated to enhance Franciscan Month’s website and offer a host of resources for people to enter more deeply into the spirituality and transitus of St. Francis. Some of these resources include reflections, events, prayers, and other devotional content that span topics from how to care for the earth to living the Gospel and embracing a life of purpose and service.
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mands of the ego: selfishness, ambition, status, desire and more. The true self, on the other hand, “is who you are because of the divine indwelling, the Holy Spirit within you (Rom. 8:9),” as described by Franciscan Father Richard Rohr. Thomas Merton adds the element of self-giving to the true self: “Love is my true identity. Selflessness is my true self. Love is my true character. Love is my name.” Pope Leo echoes that self-surrendering sentiment in Magnifica Humanitas, stating that humans can discover their true selves “only in sincere self-giving,” following the example of Jesus, who was “committed to the total gift of self.”
—Eduardo Ramos photo/Unsplash
PERSPECTIVES
A contemplative take on Magnifica Humanitas
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
One of the hopes I have for my remaining years on this planet is for a new contemplative revolution to break out, at least in our Catholic world, if not the world at large. I would love for someone in the mold of, for example, St. Anthony of the Desert or St. Benedict or St. Bernard of Clairvaux or St. Teresa of Avila to burst onto the scene with fresh contemplative expression, leadership and followers. While I’d be very unlikely to formally
Save the Date!
New start time!
Our Lady of Fatima
Candlelight Procession Sunday, October 11, 2026, 7:00 pm 501 New Market Road • Piscataway • 732-968-5555
Commemorating the 109th Anniversary of the “Miracle of the Sun” and the apparition of Our Blessed Lady and Saint Joseph in Fatima, Portugal on October 13, 1917
join whatever team my hoped-for contemplative superstars create, I am already poised to do my best to apply their revolution in the setting I find myself ministering. In the meantime, we must all make do with the various revolutions we currently have in our midst. Among these, the decades-long but ongoing digital revolution may be the most prominent, especially now that artificial intelligence has encroached upon more and more aspects of our everyday lives. As most Catholics know, the emergence of artificial intelligence is part of what prompted Pope Leo XIV to compose his recent encyclical letter Magnifica Humanitas. In these pages of The Catholic Spirit and elsewhere, the Pope’s letter has generated ample reflection and analysis over the last few months. Knowing that Leo’s subject matter – so vast, complex, worldly and social – was a far cry from something to be heard in a monastery discussion, I nevertheless read the encyclical with an eye toward any contemplative nuggets of wisdom that may have been part of the message. I didn’t come away disappointed. In my take, the Pope’s contemplative references fall into the following categories: 1.True Identity: In his opening paragraph, Pope Leo writes, with reference to the Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes: “Whenever humanity is in danger of marring its true identity, we Christians lift our eyes to the Incarnate God, knowing that it is ‘only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear.’” American Trappist monk Thomas Merton (1915-68) was among many contemplatives who have reflected about true and false identities. Merton wrote in his New Seeds of Contemplation: “Every one of us is shadowed by an illusory person: a false self. This is the man that I want myself to be but who cannot exist, because God does not know anything about him”. The false self is governed by de-
2. Social Doctrine & Shared Discernment: In his reflection on Catholic Social Doctrine in general, the Pope dismisses this doctrine as simply a handbook of applied principles and norms. Instead, Leo XVI says, “It is necessary to begin a shared discernment process for identifying the spiritual and cultural roots of ongoing transformation,” a process that is “born from the encounter between the eternal truth of the Gospel and the questions of history.” Discernment is a wonderful tool and fruit of contemplative practice, helping us to determine if something is of God or of ourselves. As contemplatives, our receptivity and surrender have to be accompanied by the filter of discernment to most fully and rightly live in the Spirit. 3. St. Benedict and Work: Many Catholics are familiar with St. Benedict’s famous motto, “Ora et Labora” (Pray and Work). Even though Catholic Social Doctrine over recent decades has itself eloquently articulated the dignity of work, Leo XIV went back many centuries to “the great intuition of Saint Benedict of Nursia, who united prayer and work, showing daily activity to be a part of the human response to God’s call. Created in the image of the Creator, our own work in some way continues his.” Benedictine spirituality looks at work as a kind of spiritual practice, containing its own transformative potential. It’s heartening that Leo saw fit to invoke the sixth-century abbot in his vision of work for these digital times. Elsewhere in the encyclical, Pope Leo makes references to other touchstones of contemplative practice. Among these: the need to incorporate rhythms of silence in daily life, the importance of not reducing complex issues to false binaries, and the call to “disarm” words. It’s still much too early to know what fruits will be harvested from Magnifica Humanitas. But the document shows that the contemplative side of the Church is along for the journey, and has its role to play, through the digital revolution. Msgr. Kerrigan is pastor of St. Joseph Church, Bound Brook, and an instructor in the Institute of Contemplative Leadership at Mepkin Abbey, SC.
—Lucas photo/Unsplash
meaningful in life, I find encouragement in the life and words of Servant of God Dorothy Day, the social activist, writer and Catholic convert whose Catholic Worker Movement and “houses of hospitality” served the poor and hungry in communities across the country. Dorothy, whose cause for canonization continues to move forward, once wrote: “One of the greatest evils of the day is the sense of futility. Young people say, ‘What can one person do? What is the sense of our small effort?’ They cannot see that we can only lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time; we can be responsible only for the one action of the present moment. But we can beg for an increase of love in our hearts that will vitalize and transform these actions and know that God will take them and multiply them, as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes” (Catholic Worker, September 1957). There is something profoundly hopeful in that image: one brick, one step, one action in the present moment. We don’t have to see the finished structure before we begin building it. A child doesn’t have to master fractions in one afternoon. A 10-year-old doesn’t have to dig a bunker in one day. And we don’t have to solve every problem in our families, our parishes, our communities or our world all at once. We can begin with what is in front of us. A shovelful of dirt. A brick. A small gift of time. A kind word. A prayer. An act of personal presence. When we understand the power of a single step, both children and adults can find the courage to keep moving forward. And with faith, hope and charity guiding those steps, even our smallest efforts can become part of something meaningful. Perhaps that is the lesson my grandson was teaching me all those years ago, one shovelful at a time.
By OSV News
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is seen in an undated photo posing with women who worked at the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in New York City. —OSV News photo/Pontifical Mission Societies USA Archives
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
When Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is beatified Sept. 24 in St. Louis, attention will rightly fall on the celebrated television preacher whose broadcasts brought Catholic teaching into millions of American homes. But for almost two decades, behind Archbishop Sheen’s extraordinary reach stood a largely unknown group of women who opened thousands of letters, recorded donations, thanked contributors, and helped transform his words into material support for missionaries and young churches around the world. Archbishop Sheen served from 1950 to 1966 as the national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies.
The society coordinates World Mission Sunday, the annual worldwide day of giving that supports the Church’s work in more than 1,100 mission territories. During those years, the office began producing donor acknowledgments inhouse, an operation substantial enough to resemble a small print shop. A sign at its entrance captured the staff’s spirit: “The impossible, we do immediately. Miracles might take a little longer.” Dozens of women helped sustain the Society for the Propagation of the Faith during Archbishop Sheen’s 16 years as national director. Some of the women married and raised families. Others entered religious life. Most are no longer living, and their contributions were often known only to their colleagues and families.
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Ahead of beatification, the women behind Archbishop Sheen’s missionary work remember hidden labor
PERSPECTIVES
dig a hole – removing one small shovelful of dirt after another – had eventually become a decision to create a bunker. I mean, what 10-year-old wouldn’t love to have his own bunker? And he was willing to work for it. He enlisted the help of a younger brother and a few neighborhood kids. When the hole was deep enough for two children his age to stand inside, chest deep, he sought help from his Pop to shore up the sides for safety. I admired his enthusiasm for the project and his determination to finish it. When he was done talking, I smiled at him, and he smiled back – completely unaware that he had just given me another child-inspired parable that I would share with the world and use to embarrass him at every family gathering. After all, I have a responsibility to the other nine grandchildren who might benefit from the lesson. Whether it’s learning fractions, mastering a talent, developing a skill or overcoming a fear, the idea that something is possible – one small step at a time – can go a long way toward dispelling the discouragement children often feel when they struggle. And let’s be honest. Discouragement is an adult issue, too. Not only do we feel the pressure to be the best we can be at whatever we are doing, but our hearts and our faith compel us to make a positive difference wherever there is a need. Yet year after year, it can become easier to feel overwhelmed by the needs of the world, our communities, our parishes and those who are poor. Sometimes there are so many needs that we are not sure how to move forward. But every journey begins with a first step. As an adult still trying to figure out how I might accomplish something
13
Making a difference, one shovelful at a time
My oldest grandchild recently celebrated his 16th birthday. He’s learning to drive. Life will never be the same. His birthday celebration, though, was also a time to recall many memorable moments from his younger years. One, in particular, stands out because it has served as a reminder that building something meaningful is possible if we are willing to take one small step at a time. When he was a determined 10-yearold, he was digging what he envisioned as a very large hole in the backyard. The subject came up one day as we sat at the kitchen table trying to unravel the mystery of fractions. Noticing the dark clouds gathering outside, he said, “I hope the storm doesn’t fill up my hole.” I asked why he was so concerned about a hole in the ground. He seemed genuinely surprised that I would have to ask such a question. “You know it took me three years to dig!” he said. I didn’t know that little bit of history, so he explained that his decision to
14 OUR DIOCESE
St. Juan Diego statue installed in Kendall Park church
Members of St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, Kendall Park, welcome a statue of St. Juan Diego Aug. 15 during a Mass of installation. The humble peasant revealed the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531, prompting an upswelling of faith in Mexico City and conversion of about three million to Catholicism. Admiring the new statue, which had been blessed by Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican in June were, top, members of the Bello-Haaz family and, right, Patricia Villegas and her son, David Lievano. —Courtesy photos By Christina Leslie, Contributing Editor A hand-carved wooden statue, depicting a Mexican peasant whose fervor fanned the flames of faith throughout his country, was installed in St. Augustine
of Canterbury Church Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary. The statue, which had been blessed by Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican this past June, now stands in a place of honor near the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe which
had been blessed by Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, Archbishop of Mexico. Father Robert G. Lynam, pastor of the Kendall Park parish, served as principal celebrant of the installation Mass where parishioners of Mexican descent, clad in their ethnic garb, processed up the aisle during the “Gloria.” Flowers were presented to the statue of St. Juan Diego, stationed close to a framed image portraying Our Lady of Guadalupe, as incense wafted up to the ceiling. The simple, humble Mexican saint is forever linked to the Blessed Mother; in 2019, the Metuchen Diocese was consecrated to Jesus through Mary under her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Born in 1474 in Mexico City, Juan Diego was baptized to the Catholic faith at the age of 50. On Dec. 9, 1531, on his trek to morning Mass, he encountered the Blessed Mother on Tepeyac Hill where she requested the local Bishop build a shrine in her honor. “She spoke in his dialect,” Father Lynam said of the encounter between Mary and the future saint. “Her theme was of conversion and evangelization. Mary came as a loving mother to Earth with a message of forgiveness and faith, and the saints are our companions on the journey.” The local bishop, skeptical of Juan Diego’s recounting of his meetings with Mary, asked for a sign of proof before he would proceed. On Dec. 12, the Blessed Mother prompted Juan Diego return to the hill to gather the roses which were miraculously flowering there despite the snow. Carrying the flowers in his cloak, he returned to the Bishop and found an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe imprinted there. The apparition was credited with the conversion of some three million indigenous people to Catholicism, one of the
largest and fastest religious conversions in history. St. Juan Diego died in 1548 and was buried in the first chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe. He was beatified in 1990 by Pope St. John Paul II in the Basilica in Mexico City and proclaimed a saint there 12 years later. His feast day is Dec. 9. Following the Mass, parishioner Patricia Haaz shared the reasons she, her husband Alex Bello-Haaz, and their children, Axel and Michelle, prayed before the Virgin Mother and her saintly messenger at the Aug. 15 Mass. “I was raised a devout Catholic and had a devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe while I was growing up,” said Haaz. “That is my middle name, it was my mother’s name, and it is my daughter’s middle name also.” She admired the saint’s humility and fervor, saying, “Juan Diego called himself ‘the little one’ and didn’t think he was important, but the Virgin told him ‘you are valuable.’ I like that message even if I sometimes don’t feel important.” A combination of the family’s postponed vacation, together with the early release of Alex from a hospital stay, allowed the family to rearrange their schedule to attend the installation Mass after all. Patricia presented the statue with flowers, recalling, “It was an honor to be involved, and it was very meaningful to me. Everything happens for a reason, and it looks like Our Lady of Guadalupe really wanted us there.” Seeing the statue installed at her parish “brings me back to my roots,” said parishioner Ariadne Brindisi. “It is very touching, very special. I was born in Mexico City; that is where the hill [Tepeyac] is, and it is a connection to me, a home away from home, through my faith.”
The Our Lady of Victories Parish youth band and choir, comprised of young people ranging from fourth grade through college, visited the Veterans Nursing Home in Edison Aug. 9 to share an afternoon of music with the residents. This was the second time this year that the youth choir and band has had the privilege of visiting the home to sing and play for the veterans. Playing a variety of instruments, including their voices, the young people put their hearts into every song, bringing smiles to the residents and having them clapping and singing along. The veterans were very appreciative of the visit, and the young people were grateful for the opportunity to give back to those who gave so much in service to our country. Visits such as these are especially important for our veteran residents. Beyond the music itself, having young people come to spend time with them reminds them that their service and sacrifices have not been forgotten. A visit, a song, or sim-
ply the opportunity to share a smile and a few moments together can bring encouragement and companionship to those who may not always have frequent visitors. Our young people receive just as much from these encounters as they give, learning firsthand the importance of gratitude, compassion and service to others. The youth band and choir have also shared their talents at many parish events including the Christmas Show, Living Stations and Summer Concert. Through each of these experiences, they continue to inspire others while sharing the joy of music and uplifting the message of God with all who hear them. Older members – particularly high school seniors and college students – also play an important role in inspiring the younger members of the group. Through their example, they show younger children that faith and an active, joyful life can go hand in hand. They demonstrate that it is possible to grow into independent young
—Courtesy photo
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Youth choir brings music, faith and presence to local veterans
adults, enjoy friendships and activities, serve others, and still keep God at the center of your life. Their example reminds the younger generation that with faith, commitment and trust in God, anything is possible. We are proud of all of our young
people and grateful for the joy, faith and compassion they bring to our parish and to those they are privileged to serve. Contributed by Melissa Murano, Our Lady of Victories Parish catechist, as well as director of the youth band and choir.
FIRST SATURDAY DEVOTION Extraordinary Marian Jubilee Year 100TH ANNIVERSARY — DECEMBER 10, 2025 - 2026
BLUEARMYSHRINE.COM/MARIAN-JUBILEE
TUESDAY OCTOBER 13 109TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIXTH APPARITION OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA
SCHEDULE 10:30 AM - Confessions 11:45 AM - Rosary Procession 12:30 PM - Speaker 1:15 PM - Holy Mass
OUR DIOCESE
OF OU R L ADY O F FATI M A
15
NATIONAL BLUE ARMY SHRINE
Join us at the shrine and connect with us online to confirm our schedule of events. Daily Mass & events are livestreamed on our social media.
Celebrant: His Eminence Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan Speaker: Rev. Mr. James V. Coffey NATIONAL BLUE ARMY SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA 674 MOUNTAIN VIEW RD. E., ASBURY, NJ 08802 908-689-1700 BLUEARMYSHRINE.COM
Do you or a loved one experience Same-Sex Attraction? Support is available from the Courage/EnCourage ministry.
EnCourage is for loved ones of those who experience Same-Sex Attraction. 732-562-2476 couragecnj@gmail.com
EnCourage Hotline:
732-562-2476 All Calls are Strictly Confidential
Visit www.courageRC.org
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
Courage Contact:
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Courage is for Catholic men and women who desire to live chaste lives following the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
sin, the effects of Baptism, and how what distinguishes Christians from many other faith is our emphasis on faith as a communitarian endeavor. What are the effects of Baptism? First and foremost, the remission of original sin. The baptized child becomes a tabernacle of the Holy Spirit, He/she receives grace, which is a participation in the life of God. The child also becomes a bona fide member of the Church, this assembly of believers, who strive to grow in holiness by word and deed, not only by attending Mass regularly where we are nurtured
through the proclamation of the Gospel and the reception of the Eucharist. All of the sacraments are contained embryonically in Baptism. It is the key to salvation. For those of us who are afraid to confront our Pelagian children and grandchildren, siblings, nieces and nephews, let us at least pray that the Holy Spirit may touch their hearts and open their minds to teaching of the Church on original sin and necessity of Baptism. Father Comandini serves as diocesan coordinator of the Office for Ongoing Faith Formation.
Sometime ago, I read an article by Bishop Robert Barron that I found very encouraging. I can’t remember what the article was about, but I found it encouraging because he gave an example to illustrate his point that he has used elsewhere, in another article or homily. This may not sound like anything worth remembering, but for me as a writer, seeing a well-known writer and speaker repeating himself was quite a relief! I am not a professional writer. I am certainly not in the same league as Bishop Barron, or indeed, as even the lowliest parish priest, who has to produce a homily on a weekly or daily basis. I have this regular column in The Spirit, and a monthly meditation, “Thoughts From God’s Garden,” that I share with various parishes. I post some articles and videos on the spiritual life on my website, Called to Contemplation. I publish on Substack and a couple of other platforms as the Spirit takes me (which means that I type out something from time to time in order to get it down on paper and out of
my head). I certainly don’t want to plagiarize myself by posting the same texts in various places and I don’t want to bore anyone by repeating myself like Little Miss Echo. But it is reassuring to know that, from time to time, prudently and judiciously, I can use the same example or the same illustration to emphasize a point that I am trying to make. The reason that I am writing about is that somewhere I heard of a French wit of the 18th century salons who was known for his stories and who prided himself on only telling a story once and never repeating it “lest some member of his audience may have already heard it and be bored.” That last sentence stuck in my mind and gave me a tremendous inferiority complex! I agree that no writer or speaker wants his readers or audience to be bored. Yes, telling the same story over and over will definitely bore people. But to go so far as to only tell a good story once in your lifetime is setting the bar much too high! I don’t remember the man’s name, which is probably just as well. He already haunts me quite enough. This will explain why I found it so reassuring to see Bishop Barron repeat himself. Reflecting on the good Bishop’s literary solecism gave me the space to consider the matter more objectively. Repeating oneself need not be boring. It can even be enlightening. One of our Nuns tells of the time in school when she
took part in a play about the apparition at Knock, Ireland. That took place in August 1879, when 15 people saw the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist, and an altar with a cross and a lamb bathed in a bright light on the side of the church. Our Sister played one of the parishioners and she had one sentence to say: “The pastor didn’t tell me about those new statues.” Nine words, yet she showed us that they can be expressed in a variety of ways: “The pastor DIDN’T tell me about those new statues.” “The pastor didn’t TELL me about those new statues.” “The pastor didn’t tell ME about those new statues.” A simple statement but with a surprising variety of expressions. Thinking about this, I remember the time I plowed through a bit of St. Augustine’s “Confessions” in the original Latin. Working in a language that I don’t really know, I was forced to consider every sentence word for word. As I did so, I realized that Augustine was studying each thought from a variety of angles. He would walk around a thought and look at it from different points of view, and in doing so, he forced me to do the same. Learning to read in this way, I understood that even the simplest thought can have unsuspected facets to explore. Sister Gabriela of the Incarnation is a member of the Discalced Carmelites order in Flemington. Learn more at www. flemingtoncarmel.org.
—Julia Michelle photo/Unsplash
16 SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
A jewel has many facets
state of life. Basically, this fifth century theologian taught that humans are born with a clean slate. By denying original sin, Pelagius emphasized how humans possess free will and the moral power to achieve justification on their own without the aid of divine grace. Pope Zosimus officially condemned the teaching of Pelagius and excommunicated him following the Council of Carthage in May of 418 AD. What is all this doing in my column? Because this priest believes that Pelagianism is alive and well in the 21st century. Many of us, including in my own family, have adult children or grandchildren, siblings, nieces and nephews who have decided not to baptize their babies. Either we hear “we’ll let him/her decide when he/ she is older,” or they simply do not believe in original sin. The notion of this beautiful child harboring a deadly sin is rejected outright. They refuse to accept that Baptism is the first major step toward salvation. These new parents insist: “My baby is perfect.” This subtle Pelagianism is so rampant, that many of the grandparents of the baby opt to be quiet and respect their adult child’s wishes rather than argue and chance estrangement. Sadly, many of these same parents who deny original sin and choose not to baptize are not active Catholics. “What difference should this make?” They do not get to hear homilies about the nature and meaning of original
—Mohamed Nohassi photo/Unsplash
In the fifth century, there was a British monk and theologian by the name of Pelagius, who denied the existence of original sin. While St. Augustine argued that humans are born with a corrupt nature and depend entirely on God’s grace to be saved, Pelagius held that humans have absolute moral freedom and the uncorrupted ability to choose good or evil on their own. While St. Augustine taught that humans inherit Adam’s sin, which can only be removed by Baptism, Pelagius felt that Adam’s sin only hurt Adam, not his descendants. In fact, he contended that every baby is born pure and innocent, just like Adam was before the fall from grace, possessing the total ability to live a sinless life. Augustine taught that grace is an unearned, absolute requirement. God must change a person’s heart before that person can even desire to do what is right. Pelagius, on the other hand, maintained that grace is helpful but is not strictly required to obey God. If God commands humans to be holy, they inherently have the complete, independent power to achieve this
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
PERSPECTIVES
Through Baptism, our children become tabernacles of the Holy Spirit
Wartime and Beyond: Bishop William Griffin 1940-50 Bishop William Griffin led the Diocese of Trenton through the years of World War II and saw the beginnings of
Birth of New Parishes New parishes included Our Lady of Czestochowa in South Plainfield; Corpus Christi in South River; Holy Spirit, Perth Amboy; Immaculate Conception in Spotswood; Christ the King, Manville; Our Lady of Fatima, Piscataway; Holy Trinity, Bridgewater, and St. Jude, Blairstown. Missions raised to parish status included St. Edward, Milford; Our Lady of Mount Virgin, Middlesex; St. Lawrence, Laurence Harbor; Immaculate Conception, Annandale; Mary, Mother of God, Hillsborough, and Our Lady of Mercy, South Bound Brook. New missions (most of which would become independent parishes in the future) included Annunciation, Bloomsbury; Our Lady of Victories, Baptistown; Our Lady of Peace, North Brunswick, and St. Frances Cabrini, Piscataway, which had the honor of being the first
—Archdiocese of Milwaukee photo
church in the United States dedicated in her honor after her canonization in 1946. Urban areas, especially with the growth of African American and Hispanic communities were also served. In 1941, Bishop Griffin brought Divine Word Missionaries to serve African American Catholics in Trenton and Asbury Park as well as establishing a preparatory seminary in Bordentown, and in 1947, Claretian priests began serving Hispanic Catholics in Perth Amboy at the mission of Our Lady of Fatima. In 1949, at the invitation of Bishop Griffin, Discalced Carmelite nuns established the Carmel of Mary Immaculate and St. Mary Magdalen on a tract of land in New Brunswick adjoining Buccleuch Park, where they remained until moving to Flemington in 1956. In addition to these, 14 parish catechetical centers and eight regional catechetical centers were established around the diocese; summer Vacation Catechetical Schools would often become the precursors of Catholic schools in the years ahead, and Newman Centers were established for Catholic students at Rider College and Trenton State Colleges. During World War II, Bishop Griffin established USO-NCCS clubs in cities near military bases such as Camp Kilmer in Edison Township. Using the radio effectively in his evangelization efforts, a quiz show, “The Catechism Comes To Life,” was broadcast on radio stations in Trenton and New Brunswick on Sundays, and Christmas Midnight Mass was broadcast for many years from different local churches on WCTC in New Brunswick. The End of a Chapter On December 26, 1949, while visiting his sister in Elizabeth, Bishop Griffin was stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage as he prepared to celebrate Mass at St. Walburga Benedictine convent in Elizabeth. Too critical to be moved, he passed away shortly after midnight on January 1, 1950. His last letter – dated December 29 – was in regard to the celebration of a Midnight Mass on January 1st to mark the beginning of the Holy Year of 1950. Archbishop Walsh officiated at Bishop Griffin’s funeral Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral on January 5, 1950. It was at that Mass at Bishop Griffin’s predecessor, Archbishop Kiley, lost his miter going out the door of the cathedral. When Bishop John McMahon passed away in 1932, the Diocese of Trenton waited a little over a year before Bishop Kiley was named as his successor. Exactly 23 days after Bishop Griffin’s funeral Mass, the Diocese of Trenton learned who its new shepherd would be. Father Krull serves as chair of the diocesan Commission for Historical Records and is pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish, North Brunswick.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
— Source - Upon This Rock: A New History of the Trenton Diocese , 1993, Diocese of Trenton and Cardinal Pub. Co.
New Dioceses Created A capable administrator, Bishop Kiley directed all priests to take a cut in salary during the Depression years, while he himself worked without a salary during his episcopate. Although the diocese saw an increase in vocations during this time, the continued growth of New Jersey became a burden for just two dioceses. In December 1937, Pope Pius XI divided both the Newark and Trenton Dioceses, creating the Diocese of Paterson in the northwestern part of the state, and the Diocese of Camden was created out of the six southernmost counties of the Trenton Diocese. At that time, Newark was raised to the level of an Archdiocese, becoming the metropolitan see of the new Province of New Jersey. For the next 44 years, the Diocese of Trenton would consist of the eight remaining counties. Due to the hardships of the Depression, only three parishes were established during Bishop Kiley’s episcopate, with St. Brigid in Peapack being the only one established in central New Jersey. On January 1, 1940, Bishop Kiley was appointed Archbishop of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was honored at a farewell dinner in Trenton, and a large delegation from the Trenton Diocese attended his installation on Marh 28, 1940. After completing a number of major building projects, including the rebuilding of St. John the Evangelist Cathedral in Milwaukee, Bishop Kiley died on April 15, 1953 and was laid to rest in the crypt of the cathedral.
the postwar “boom” that would transform the face of New Jersey in general, and the Catholic Church in particular. William Griffin was born in November, 1885 in Elizabeth, N.J., where he grew up in the parish of St. Patrick in “the Port,” where Dean Martin Gessner had already served as pastor for 12 years when William was born, and who would serve there until his death two years after Father Griffin was ordained. Griffin attended St. Patrick’s High School, following which he attended Seton Hall College and Immaculate Conception Seminary, then still located in South Orange. Ordained to the priesthood on August 15, 1910, by Bishop John J. O’Connor in Newark, Father Griffin first served as a professor at the college and then at Seton Hall High School (now Seton Hall Prep.) In 1924, Bishop O’Connor appointed Father Griffin the first director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in the Diocese of Newark, eventually being named pastor of St. Michael’s Church in Jersey City. On May 1, 1938, Griffin was consecrated as Auxiliary Bishop of the newly created Archdiocese of Newark, and was named Rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary, where he replaced Bishop Thomas McLaughlin, the newly appointed bishop of the new Diocese of Paterson. His tenure as seminary rector was short: On July 23, 1940, he was installed as the bishop of Trenton by Archbishop Walsh in St. Mary’s Cathedral. Despite the entry of the United States into World War II in late 1941, with more than 300,000 Catholics in the Trenton Diocese (even after the Camden Diocese was created), and with wartime restrictions making it difficult for Catholics to attend Mass conveniently, Bishop Griffin oversaw a substantial development of parishes and missions throughout the Diocese, both in rural and urban areas.
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
A Big Man with a Big Task: Bishop Moses Kiley, 1934-40 Both in name and in stature, the fifth bishop of Trenton was an impressive figure. Moses Elias Kiley stood 6 ‘ 6” and possessed a low, deep voice. Returning to Trenton years later, his mitre fell off his head while exiting the main doors of St. Mary’s Cathedral, and one of the first orders of business on his arrival in Trenton was ordering him a longer bed. His six years in Trenton saw the harshness of the Great Depression lessening but also heard the first drumbeats of World War II. Born in Nova Scotia in 1876, Moses Kiley received his early education in Canada. At age 18, his family moved to Massachusetts where he was employed as an errand boy and a department store floorwalker. At the then advanced age of 27, he began his studies for the priesthood at St Laurent College in Montreal, where he met the future Saint Andre Bessette, CSC, the founder of the famous Oratory of St. Joseph in Montreal. In 1906, Moses transferred to St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, completing his studies at the North American College in Rome. Although a resident of the priestrich Archdiocese of Boston, Archbishop James Quigley invited him to study for the Archdiocese of Chicago, and Father Kiley was ordained a priest in June 1911, in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. He first ministered in a South Side parish before establishing a mission for homeless men in 1916. Two years later, he was appointed the director of Associated Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago. In 1926, at the recommendation of his seminary classmate, Msgr. Eugene S. Burke (a priest of the then Diocese of Newark), rector of the North American College. Msgr. Kiley was appointed spiritual director of the seminary as well as the American member of the Supreme Council of the society for the Propagation of the Faith. On February 10, 1934, Pope Pius XI personally called Msgr. Kiley to inform
him of his appointment as Bishop of Trenton. He was consecrated a bishop at the Church of Santa Susanna in Rome on March 17, and on May 8 was installed in St. Mary’s Cathedral by Patrick Cardinal Hayes of New York.
250 YEARS
By Father Michael Krull Special Contributor
17
A Brief History of the Catholic Church in Central New Jersey Part V: Depression and Wartime Bishops
18 250 YEARS
Did the Jesuits Really Sink the Titanic? Anti-Catholicism from the Early Republic to the Present As the Catholic Church grew in size and influence in the United States in the eighteenth century, anti-Catholic attitudes grew proportionally. It is impossible to provide in a single article an in-depth analysis of every mode of anti-Catholicism and the crackpot conspiracy theories they spawned, so we can only briefly review the highlights.
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Escaped Nuns and Resigned Priests One persistent misunderstanding about Catholics involves priests and religious. Celibacy and the Church’s strict hierarchy often fueled wild speculation about what went on behind convent walls. In 1832 a woman named Rebecca Reed entered the Ursuline convent in Charlestown, Massachusetts. She left after six months and wrote a book entitled “Six Months in a Convent” in which she described forced conversions and women unwillingly imprisoned there. These rumors led to a crowd gathering outside the convent to liberate the women supposedly incarcerated within. The mob ransacked the convent, destroyed the garden and fences, and burned parts of the building. The most famous book in this genre was “Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk” published in 1836 which details similar atrocities. Monk claimed she became pregnant at the convent and fled to avoid a forced abortion. Her book gained attention when it was serialized in the New York Sun. Similar to the escaped nun tropes were resigned priests, the most famous of whom was Charles Chiniquy. Ordained in 1833 and excommunicated by the Bishop of Chicago, Chiniquy abandoned the Catholic Faith in 1858 to become a Presbyterian minister. He claimed that the Jesuits sent John Wilkes Booth to assassinate Abraham Lincoln and that the South went to war with the North as the Pope promised Church support for the Confederacy.
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uled to rise up and “exterminate all heretics found within the jurisdiction of the United States of America.” This would explain why Catholic church steeples are so tall, so they can more easily rake the streets below with gun fire.
By Carl Ganz, Special Contributor
Know-Nothings Anti-Catholic sentiment soared in the 1840s with the increase in Catholic immigration, initially from Ireland. This demographic surge upset the electoral balance of power that previously favored native-born Protestants with Catholics rising from one percent of the population during the colonial period to 37 percent by the outbreak of the Civil War. The Know-Nothings, formally the American Party, were founded in 1852 as a response to this rising number of Catholic immigrants. Theirs was a short-lived episode in American history and the group was mostly obsolete by the beginning of the Civil War, though the attitudes they advanced lingered. The Know-Nothings obtained their nickname from their secretive practices. When a member was
A notable 1875 editorial cartoon by Thomas Nast, a German immigrant to the United States who had been raised as a Catholic. It portrays bishops as crocodiles who are attacking public schools, with the connivance of Irish Catholic politicians. Published in Harper’s Weekly, May 8, 1875
asked about the organization’s activity, the standard response was “I know nothing.” The Know-Nothings were fiercely, and often violently, anti-Catholic. Its members were required to swear an oath never to vote for a Catholic. The American Protective Association The APA was founded by Henry Bowers in 1887 in Iowa. Bowers himself hailed from Maryland where he believed that Catholic pressure forced the closing of the public schools there, thus depriving him of a formal education as a child. Baltimore’s school system actually grew during his childhood but since perception is reality this belief fed much of his anti-Catholic animosity. In the 1870s, Bowers joined the Masons, quickly rising to the 32nd degree. He was convinced that the Masons founded the United States to limit the power of the Catholic Church. He also believed that every signer of the Declaration of Independence was a Mason, except for the only Catholic, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who was supposedly kept drunk for three weeks in order to obtain his signature. The APA flourished mainly in the Midwest, where there were very few Catholics to hate anyway, and thus it was easier to channel anger at this disembodied “other.” By 1893, the APA was a national organization with one million members and had become a powerful force in American politics. The group was dedicated to limiting the influence of Roman Catholicism in American life. Members were required to take the following oath which read, in part: “I hereby denounce Roman Catholicism. I hereby denounce the Pope, sitting
at Rome or elsewhere. I denounce his priests and emissaries, and the diabolical work of the Roman Catholic Church, and hereby pledge myself to the cause of Protestantism.” Their chief complaint was a common one for anti-Catholic nativists. Catholics could not possibly be loyal Americans as they owed their allegiance to a foreign power over their allegiance to the United States. Bowers’ successor as President of the APA, William Traynor, wrote: “The Papal hierarchy declares its complete sovereignty over the state, and, in utter disregard of the constitution and the laws of the land, decrees that the Papal fiat is superior to the voice of the people; and that the Papists of the United States yield … obedience to this assumption of authority.” Traynor also claimed that some priests refused to admit deceased Civil War veterans to their churches unless the American flag was removed from the coffins. The old canard that Catholics were secretly storing arms in church basements in anticipation of a Papal revolution was a popular one for the APA. The APA would occasionally release documents, purportedly from Rome, instructing Catholics on exactly how to participate in the American political process. In 1892, they released one called “Instructions to True Catholics,” supposedly a letter from Rome to American Catholics instructing them to oppose the public schools. The APA’s most successful propaganda piece was a phony letter from the American bishops absolving all Catholics from any allegiance to the government of the United States. This dispensation was necessary because on the feast of St. Ignatius Loyola (July 31) in 1893 American Catholics were sched-
The Jesuits sink the Titanic According to this story, JP Morgan (an allegedly secret Jesuit) wished to consolidate banking in a government backed central institution. First, he needed to eliminate some of the wealthiest men in America who could stand in his way, specifically Benjamin Guggenheim, Isidor Straus, and John Jacob Astor. Therefore, he financed the construction of the Titanic, knowing that these men would certainly sail on the maiden voyage. Then, a presumably suicidal Captain Edward Smith (another allegedly secret Jesuit) would steer the vessel into an iceberg to assure the deaths of all three. With them out of the way, the US banking system could be consolidated into the Federal Reserve which the Jesuits then used to start World War One. The Ku Klux Klan The resurgence of the KKK in the early twentieth century also witnessed a resurgence of anti-Catholic conspiracies. The Klan opposed Catholics primarily because their leader was not an American, an objection illustrated by this piece of Klan poetry: “I would rather be a Klansman in robes of snowy white than to be a Roman Catholic in robes as black as night, for a Klansman’s an American and America’s his home. But a Catholic owes allegiance to the dago pope in Rome.” The 1928 candidacy of Catholic candidate Al Smith for president ramped up truly extreme Klan-sponsored anti-Catholic rhetoric, in particular how the Knights of Columbus (working three shifts) were digging a tunnel from Norfolk, Virginia to the White House anticipating a Smith victory so the Pope could sail up to the entrance and slip into the executive mansion to control how Smith would run the country. In a more extreme version of the story, it was a tunnel from Rome to Washington D.C. Other rumors had the Pope simultaneously living under an assumed name in Cincinnati while awaiting completion of the tunnel. The claim was so ludicrous that shortly before John Kennedy ran in 1960, he jokingly promised to open negotiations with the Vatican for a transatlantic tunnel. Other insanity, specifically from the Indiana Klan, claimed that when a male child was born the Knights of Columbus donated a rifle to the Catholic Church and that the sewer system underneath the University of Notre Dame served as Continues on page 47
19 SCHOOLS
‘Alladin Jr.’
shines at Perth Amboy Catholic Middle School
Disney’s “Aladdin Jr.” came to life before sold out audiences when Perth Amboy Catholic School Summer Theater Camp offered two stellar performances Aug. 1 and Aug. 2. An encore was performed Aug. 13. Under the direction of Michelle Diaz, Middle School ELA teacher, and assisted by Altza Diaz, eighth grade homeroom and religion teacher; Janice Hernandez, third grade teacher, and
Aprille Reynolds, art teacher, students in grades four to eight unveiled the story of Aladdin with song, dance, and spectacular special effects that included a flying carpet. The cast also visited the Spring Creek Healthcare Center in Perth Amboy for an encore rendition of songs from the show. Perth Amboy Catholic School is committed to sharing the gifts and talents of its students to reach out and serve the
Incoming students had the opportunity to get to know their fellow students while showcasing their talents. The result was enjoyed by the entire community and has become a PACS tradition. Aladdin was the fifth PACS summer theater camp production. Contributed by Karen Ninehan, Middle School Administrator. —Courtesy photo
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!
community in any capacity. Students, faculty, alumni, and parents took four weeks this summer to make this performance possible. New skills were developed while building teamwork and creating memories. Parents were invaluable in creating sets, perfecting the sound system, and decorating the auditorium as well as the stage, to make Aladdin’s city of Agrabah come to life for the audience.
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Music has always been an integral and necessary part of Roman Catholic liturgy. From ancient times pre-dating the foundation of our Church on the first Pentecost, the Jewish people sang psalms and other music in the Temple and Synagogues as part of their daily prayer. These melodies were mostly uncomplicated, and there was tremendous beauty in that simplicity. The Jews and early Christians understood that singing their prayers both elevated their individual and communal worship and also impacted themselves and others in a way that the spoken word and prayer did not. St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Colossians, “… Let the peace of Christ control your hearts … the word of Christ dwell in you richly… singing
psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your heart” (Col 3:15-16). St. Paul knew that singing was a tremendous aid in bringing the peace and love of Jesus Christ both to ourselves and to our fellow man, and he also knew that because of the nature of music, that the texts of the psalms and prayers would be more readily remembered in the hearts of the faithful. For the next few months, we are going to take a look at the history of Roman Catholic Sacred Liturgical Music, where it came from and how it came into existence. We will also examine how it fit, historically, in our Masses and other liturgies of the past, and how it fits our Masses and other liturgies in our present time. We will also study why we sing what we sing for each part of the Mass, and the
history of how the different sung-parts of the Mass came into existence. We’ll go deeply into the musical traditions of the Church and examine the how and why of those traditions. And we’ll have some fun along the way! The nature of the beauty of music is such that it is not only experienced externally (we hear it, we like it, we think it’s pretty), but it also reaches us internally and edifies us in ways that other forms of art do not. Music impacts nearly all of our senses simultaneously: We hear the sounds that come from instruments and voices, we see the musicians playing their instruments, we feel the vibrations of the beats of the music, and the sound waves that travel through the air. If we are in church, we may also smell incense and beeswax candles. At Mass, we experience our Lord, physically, in the reception of the Eucharist, as we become Living Tabernacles for a brief period of time, all the while being surrounded by music. What a powerful experience of beauty this is that leads us to the truth that lies behind all of it! As human beings who are capable of producing sounds with our voices and bodies, we can and should participate in the creation of music, particularly in our worship. St. Augustine of Hippo, in a commentary on the Psalms, said: bis orat qui bene cantat. “He who sings well, prays/praises twice.”
This is not an exhortation for us to become opera singers, nor is it a scolding for those with weaker voices that they aren’t praying/praising God well. This phrase is meant to convey to us that he or she who sings with joy, with enthusiasm, with earnestness of heart – that is what is meant by singing well. So then, a number of questions are immediately raised: What is Sacred Music? What is its purpose? Why is it necessary as part of our worship? Who should be doing it? How should it be done? Goodness sakes - so many questions! As we travel forward in time through the next few months, these are some of the very topics that we will cover. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write me at: cdeibert@diometuchen.org. I look forward to hearing from you and taking this musical journey with you. Christopher Deibert serves as diocesan director of liturgical music and director of sacred music at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen.
Join Us for STA’s Fall Open House: Discover Where You Belong.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Experience the Energy. Excellence. One Trojan Family Spirit.
What to Expect: Meet dedicated faculty
Pre-register today.
Connect with championship athletic teams
Sunday, October 18, 2026
Hear from student leaders
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Tour STEM labs, new learning spaces & more
St. Thomas Aquinas HS 1 Tingley Lane, Edison, NJ
See live demos & performances Learn about career-driven pathways & academics
Open to Grades 6-11. Future Class of 2031, don’t miss your chance to secure your spot!
Learn More at www.stahs.net If you can’t attend, schedule a Trojan for a Day experience: admissions@stahs.net
—Painting by Hans Memling /Wikimedia Commons
20 OUR DIOCESE
Singing well means to sing with joy, enthusiasm, earnestness of heart
21 SNAPSHOT
St. Ambrose School emphasizes faith-based education, family atmosphere By David Karas, Correspondent
saint
Ambr ose School Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow!
Michelle Trevelise-Vitali is wrapping up two years of teaching first grade before moving to the fifth-grade classroom – one of her favorite grades to teach. The long-time educator has found her perfect fit at St. Ambrose. “I have been teaching for over 36 years, mostly in public school, but I felt like I belonged the minute I walked in for my interview,” she said. “I was willing to take a substantial pay cut to be here and I was so glad I did it. We are a family here and those are not just words – from the staff, to the parents, to the cafeteria, we all have each other.” Trevelise-Vitali noted that she enjoys the chance to supplement the curriculum by finding ways to engage students while challenging them at the same time. During her stint teaching first grade, it been their “farm era,” as she calls it. “Along with our regular work, we adopted a cow, which led us to researching the farm, and publishing a book about it,” she said. “We used our 7th and 8th graders to help with the writing.” That also involved a class trip to a farm, and incubating eggs to hatch chickens
with the help of one of the students’ fathers. Middle school teacher Tom Delaney also reflected on the family atmosphere that permeates St. Ambrose School, and the drive to ensure everyone succeeds. “Everyone in the community is working for the good of the school and the success of our students,” he said. “Academically our students are more than prepared for high school and beyond. It’s very satisfying when they come back to visit and tell us how ready they were for high school.” Delaney added, “most importantly, they are instilled with the values of the Catholic Church. They are exposed to the word of God on a daily basis and are taught from a young age to make Gospel-based decisions.” Jones said that St. Ambrose is a special community, and one that continues to grow. “We are a growing school with a healthy enrollment and bright future,” she said. “I think that the loving environment, small class sizes, and focus on literacy and critical thinking skills make us appealing to new families. Families stay because of the sense of community.”
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
When four-year-old Matteo Raffaele arrives each day at St. Ambrose School, Old Bridge, he is excited about more than learning new things in his Pre-K4 classroom. “My favorite thing about my school is all of my friends,” he said. On the other end of the age spectrum at the school is Jemma Percodani – an eighth-grade student who similarly enjoys learning and spending time with her close friends. In addition to her teachers, who make classes fun and organize engaging projects, another aspect of her experience at St. Ambrose stands out to her. “My favorite thing about my school is how we go to Mass every Friday to listen to God’s word,” said Percodani, “and also that we have religion classes.” Comments like this speak to the experience that the St. Ambrose faculty and staff work to foster for each of their students, said principal Kate Jones. “Our students and faculty enjoy coming to school because they know they are loved here,” said Jones, who is in her first year as principal. “I like to think that our students know that on good days and not so good days, they are loved and they are safe. They have the freedom to be themselves – to learn, to struggle, to succeed.” Each day, students at the Old Bridge school take part in a daily Bible reading and prayer, reflecting on the saint of the day and reciting the school’s mission: “Guided by Jesus. Growing in Knowl-
edge. Enjoying Learning. Developing Socially and Spiritually. Loving God and Each Other. We are St. Ambrose!” As they hit the books, students enjoy project-based learning and group-based collaborations, with an emphasis on promoting critical thinking and communication skills. Many students stick around after the end of the school day, taking part in extracurricular activities like the school’s award-winning cheerleading team, track team and Model UN program. School leaders are in the process of rolling out a new social studies curriculum, the Nystrom Young Citizens program, which centers on community and connects well with the school’s Catholic faith. The community is also working to increase family and community involvement through service opportunities; integrating spiritual and retreat days for all students; and they are looking forward to the HSA’s events in the year to come, not to mention the school’s Annual Carnival each summer. “Through all of this, we remember that God is the reason for all things that we do,” said Jones. “All classes are imbued with our Catholic identity.” Catholic education is indeed something that is near and dear to Jones, who attended Catholic schools through college and has worked at Catholic as well as public schools. “There is just something about a Catholic education,” she said. “I see the tremendous value in an education that prioritizes spirituality and faithfulness.”
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22 WORLD MISSION SUNDAY
Diocesan Administrator’s Letter to the Faithful of His Diocese World Mission Sunday 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
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2026
OCTOBER 18
THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
A PONTIFICAL MISSION SOCIET Y
oday, we celebrate World Mission Sunday, a powerful reminder of our shared responsibility to proclaim the Gospel to all nations. It is a day when Catholics around the world unite in prayer and solidarity to support the missionary work of the Church. We in the Diocese of Metuchen are called to be a part of this mission work. In his last words before ascending to heaven, Jesus told us, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28: 19), and for 2,000 years the Church has been at work in this task. And we are far from finished! Two-thirds of the people alive – 5.5 out of 8.1 billion – still have no relationship with Christ or his Church. Bringing people to Jesus is the work of the Church, and all of us together have a part to play. Today, we have a singular means to do so: World Mission Sunday. The second collection we take up on World Mission Sunday helps extend the Church’s missionary work to places where the Church barely exists, where the Gospel has never been heard before, and where the Church is too young, too persecuted, or too poor to sustain herself. On World Mission Sunday, we stand in solidarity with the missionaries, priests, religious sisters and brothers, and lay leaders serving in the 1,130 mission dioceses – spanning Asia, Africa, Latin America, Oceania, and the Middle East – that depend on our prayers and financial support to continue proclaiming Christ and building His Church. The year’s World Mission Sunday celebration is unlike any other in our lifetime for two reasons. First, this World Mission Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of its establishment by Pope Pius XI in 1926. This centenary is an opportunity to mark it with renewed missionary zeal. This year’s theme, “One in Christ, United in Mission,” chosen by Pope Leo XIV, invites us to rediscover the profound unity we share in Christ through baptism and how our baptismal identity overflows into the mission to bring others into communion with God and us. Secondly, the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen on September 24 reminds us of the importance of the missions. While many know him best for his TV presence, books, and charismatic eloquence, he repeatedly said, “My greatest love has always been for the missions of the Church.” For 16 years, as National Director of The Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States, he poured his talents into World Mission Sunday and distributed the proceeds diligently to the missions. We can surely count on his intercession for World Mission Sunday 2026. Pope Leo XIV recognizes how important World Mission Sunday is for the Church. He spent a large part of his priestly ministry as a missionary in Peru, serving communities in the Andean highlands and rural villages, and has noted how dependent he was on the support of the Church universal through World Mission Sunday. Last year, he became the first pope in history to record a short video that could be played before Mass, in which he appealed, “Please help me help missionaries everywhere.” That’s what World Mission Sunday does: to help Pope Leo care for the 1,130 missionary dioceses and territories under his supervision through the Dicastery for Evangelization. Please respond to his appeal as generously as you can. I hope and pray that World Mission Sunday will foster awareness and increased zeal for the Church’s missions in the parishes of our Diocese of Metuchen and within our hearts. Let us pray together that the Holy Spirit will renew in us the fire of the early Church, that we might truly be One in Christ, United in Mission, and that we will grow in missionary awareness, solidarity, and responsibility. In Hope, united in Christ’s mission, I am Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Very Reverend Jonathan S. Toborowsky Diocesan Administrator of Metuchen
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23 WORLD MISSION SUNDAY
World Mission Sunday October 18th, 2026 C
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“Let us be charitable about the missions, remembering that the Lord who said: ‘Go teach all nations’ is the same Lord who bewailed: ‘I have mercy on the multitudes.‘”
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— Blessed Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen National Director The Pontifical Mission Societies USA (1950 – 1966)
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© Vatican Media
GIVE BY TEXT “MISSIONS26” TO 53555 Last year your gift helped:
Form 41% of seminarians worldwide
Build 751 new churches
Sustain 1,130 mission dioceses
Train 843,785 missionary catechists
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https://diometuchen.org /pontifical-mission-societies
Support 50% of all religious sisters worldwide
Dear Friends in Christ, “
Scan the QR code to learn more about the Pontifical Mission Societies and their missionary work.
On behalf of the missionaries spreading the faith across the globe, thank you for helping to make World Mission Sunday extra special. May God bless all your efforts in your missionary discipleship, In Christ’s Mission,
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
Reverend John G. Hillier, PhD Diocesan Director
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
ne in Christ, United in Mission” is our 2026 theme for October’s World Mission Month with October 18 being World Mission Sunday. Below are a few important matters I asked your pastors and parochial vicars to consider for this year’s celebration. Paramount is Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s Beatification on September 24, highlighting the man who was the voice of World Mission Sunday, serving as the National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies from 1950 to 1966. The four mission societies, while not well known among all Catholics, are the Pope’s principle means to raise awareness and support for the Church’s missionary efforts. 2026 also marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of World Mission Sunday by Pope Pius XI in 1926. Over these past 100 years World Mission Sunday has helped the Church spread the Gospel in many missionary lands for the first time, as well as to places where the Church is sadly persecuted. A few easy tasks to make World Mission Sunday special: 1. Remember to give to the World Mission Sunday collection! It’s the only collection that has a deeper theological meaning and is mandated in canon law (c. 791) because of its importance to the universal Church, and the fulfillment of Jesus’ Great Commission: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:18). Pray for the missions and offer sacrifice and support as a way to fulfill the missionary dimension of your baptism.
2. Like last year, the Holy Father may provide a video for World Mission Sunday. If so, this video will be shared at the World Mission Sunday Mass or sent to you from your parish via email, social media, or on the parish website. Whether you see the video or hear the audio of Pope Leo, please respond generously. 3. Pray for missionaries and the missions they serve. The World Mission Rosary, designed by Archbishop Sheen 75 years ago, is an inspiring way to do so. October is not just Mission Month, but also the month of Our Lady of the Rosary. 4. Priests throughout the Diocese of Metuchen will be preaching about the missions on World Mission Sunday. Please be especially mindful that many Catholics in other parts of the world are persecuted greatly for doing what we so often take for granted: blessing ourselves, praying the rosary, going to Holy Mass!
WORLD MISSION SUNDAY
24
Town Parishes
Annual Report Your Gifts to the Pontifical Mission Societies
Your prayers and sacrificial gifts on World Mission Sunday will support Priests, Consecrated Sisters & Brothers and Lay Pastoral Leaders who proclaim the Gospel, serve the poor and support persecuted Christians throughout the world.
Summary of Gifts from Donors Society for the Propagation of the Faith 251,561 Missionary Childhood Association (includes Christmas Appeal) 42,393 The Society of St. Peter the Apostle 19,290 Catholic Near East Welfare Association 20,058
Diocesan Mission Commitments Mass Stipends sent to missionaries Financial Assistance given to visiting foreign missionaries Diocesan Sharing (local missionaries working abroad) Participating Missionaries in the Missionary Cooperation Plan (M.C.P.)
8,800 32,880 12,000 210,798
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
* The final MCP collections have not been tallied as of the issue date.
Last year your gift helped:
Build 751 new churches
Train 843,785 missionary catechists
Alpha St. Mary Church Annandale Immaculate Conception Avenel St. Andrew Baptistown Our Lady of Victories Basking Ridge St. James Belvidere St. Patrick Bernardsville Our Lady of Perpetual Help Blairstown St. Jude Church Bloomsbury Annunciation Bound Brook St. Joseph Bound Brook St. Mary of Czestochowa Bridgewater Holy Trinity Bridgewater St. Bernard of Clairvaux Califon St. John Neumann Carteret Divine Mercy Carteret St. Joseph Colonia St. John Vianney Dunellen St. John the Evangelist East Brunswick St. Bartholomew Edison St. Helena Edison St. Matthew the Apostle Flemington St. Magdalen de Pazzi Fords Our Lady of Peace Great Meadows Ss. Peter & Paul Hackettstown Assumption of the BVM Hampton St. Ann Helmetta Holy Trinity Church High Bridge St. Joseph Highland Park Transfiguration of the Lord Hillsborough Mary, Mother of God Hillsborough St. Joseph Hopelawn Good Shepherd Iselin St. Cecelia Jamesburg St. James the Less Kendall Park St. Augustine of Canterbury Lambertville St. John the Evangelist Laurence Harbor St. Lawrence Manville Christ the Redeemer Martinsville Blessed Sacrament Matawan Most Holy Redeemer Metuchen Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi Middlesex Our Lady of Mt. Virgin Milford St. Edward the Confessor Milltown Our Lady of Lourdes Monmouth Junction St. Cecilia Monroe Twp. Nativity of Our Lord New Brunswick Holy Family Parish New Brunswick Our Lady of Mt. Carmel New Brunswick Parish of the Visitation
Message of his holiness Pope Leo XIV for the 100th World Mission Day 2026: One in Christ, united in mission Form 41% of seminarians worldwide
Sustain 1,130 mission dioceses
Support 50% of all religious sisters worldwide
Dear brothers and sisters, For World Mission Day 2026, which marks the centenary of a celebration established by Pius XI that is very dear to the Church, I have chosen the theme “One in Christ, united in mission.” Following the Jubilee Year, I wish to encourage the whole Church to continue its missionary journey with joy and zeal in the Holy Spirit. This requires hearts united in Christ, reconciled communities and, in everyone, a willingness to cooperate with generosity and trust. As we reflect on being one in Christ and united in mission, let us allow ourselves
to be guided and inspired by divine grace, “to renew in ourselves the fire of our missionary vocation” and advance together in the commitment to evangelization, in this “new missionary age” in the history of the Church. (Homily, Jubilee of the Missionary World and of Migrants, 5 October 2025).
Society for the Missionary Propagation of the Faith Childhood Assn. World Mission M.C.P. Schools Religious Sunday 2025 2026* Education 1,449 3,823 1,963 617 6,622 873 5,942 1,896 510 1,060 2,283 970 3,253 919 615 1,362 3,059 1,572 3,329 1,841 2,791 3,120 1,267 1,700 1,745 3,326 749 840 2,309 1,667 2,622 1,409 1,894 1,547 3,347 1,182 1,081 2,095 4,904 1,885 15,753 3,247 431 1,439 5,410 2,934 813 3,252 330
3,121 TBD 1,829 3,128 TBD 1,929 1,760 1,932 TBD 2,434 992 590 2,942 2,465 1,629 TBD 2,566 846 TBD 3,842 TBD TBD 2,963 5,010 5,720 3,802 1,025 TBD TBD TBD 2,269 4,189 1,570 1,404 5,551 2,900 791 TBD 3,671 2,950 2,746 450 20,000 5,572 TBD 1,884 5,689 2,475 1,358 TBD TBD 1,774 2,791 2,198 TBD 10,102 2,913 TBD 3,471
Society for the Missionary Propagation of the Faith Childhood Assn. World Mission M.C.P. Schools Religious Sunday 2025 2026* Education
Schools / Institutes / Other Perth Amboy Perth Amboy Catholic School Edison St. Thomas Aquinas High School Metuchen Saint Joseph High School Somerville Immaculata High School Watchung Mount Saint Mary Academy
World Mission Sunday is the moment each year when the entire Church–across every parish, in every country–comes together as one Body in Christ, united in prayer, sacrifice, and charity for the Church in the mission territories.
Instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1926, it is always celebrated on the second-to-last Sunday of October.
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World Mission Sunday is an opportunity to gather in solidarity and respond to our vocation to share the joy of the Gospel with our brothers and sisters in need. We all can be participants of Christ’s message of salvation through prayer, charity and celebration.
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Four Pontifical Societies Working Together
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The Voice of World Mission Sunday Archbishop Fulton Sheen Soon-to-Be-Blessed Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is known for his TV presence, preaching, and charismatic personality. He said his “greatest love,” however, had “always been the missions of the Church.” He is the greatest National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the history of the Church, helping to raise $200 million (in today’s money $2.1 billion) for the growth of the Church. Under his leadership (1950–1966), World Mission Sunday became a defining moment in the life of the Church in the United States. He is doubtless praying for all U.S. priests to share his passion for the mission ad gentes.
The Pontifical Mission Societies were gathered together by Pope Pius XI and his successors to facilitate more missionary support from the global church. Each society has a specific role to play: The Missionary Union forms clergy, religious, and lay faithful for missionary discipleship The Society for the Propagation of the Faith provides pastoral support, catechesis, church construction, healthcare, and education The Society of St. Peter the Apostle supports vocations to the priesthood and religious life in the missions The Missionary Childhood Association supports faith formation and care for the needs of children
The Generosity of U.S. Catholics “Whenever money is needed, or a new hospital, or a new jeep, it is always to the Church of the United States that the missionaries look. There is something right and meet and just about this, for the Lord has blessed the United States as no other country in the world has been blessed. The superfluities of the United States are the necessities of the poor.” – Blessed Fulton Sheen
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
It is a visible expression of the Church’s call to be missionary by her very nature (Ad Gentes, 2), and a reminder that no parish stands alone.
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What Is World Mission Sunday?
1,538 2,272 3,281 2,404 3,430 498 1,763 2,821 4,298 1,764 245 2,389 10,185 842 974 3,208 361 1,431 3,772 1,487 2,718 2,888 1,965 6,477 5,553 2,977 1,189 1,205 3,737 1,094 2,288 947 422 2,045 5,398 1,601 1,727 3,485 2,280 3,536
WORLD MISSION SUNDAY
New Brunswick St. Peter the Apostle North Brunswick Our Lady of Peace North Plainfield St. Joseph & St. Luke Old Bridge St. Ambrose Old Bridge St. Thomas the Apostle Oxford St. Rose of Lima Parlin St. Bernadette Peapack St. Elizabeth-St. Brigid Perth Amboy Most Holy Name of Jesus Perth Amboy Our Lady of Fatima Perth Amboy St. John Paul II Phillipsburg St. Philip & St. James Piscataway Our Lady of Fatima Piscataway St. Frances Cabrini Pittstown St. Catherine of Siena Plainsboro Queenship of Mary Port Murray St. Theodore Port Reading St. Anthony of Padua Raritan St. Ann Raritan St. Joseph Sayreville Our Lady of Victories Sayreville St. Stanislaus Kostka Skillman St. Charles Borromeo Somerset St. Matthias Somerville Immaculate Conception South Amboy Sacred Heart South Amboy St. Mary South Bound Brook Our Lady of Mercy South Plainfield Church of the Sacred Heart South Plainfield Our Lady of Czestochowa South River Corpus Christi South River St. Mary of Ostrabrama Church South River St. Stephen Protomartyr Spotswood Immaculate Conception Three Bridges St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Warren Our Lady of the Mount Washington St. Joseph Watchung St. Mary-Stony Hill Whitehouse Station Our Lady of Lourdes Woodbridge St. James
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In memory of Monsignor Edward C. Puleo, a faithful benefactor friend to the Missions.
Metuchen’s own missionaries doing work abroad Deacon Enock Berluche Source de Vie, Beraud, Haiti Mr. William Mosca Franciscans In Action, Beraud, Haiti Father Daniel Healy and Ms. R. Carol Vaccariello Anawim Community, Metro Manila, Philippines Manny & Arlene Mangalonzo Bukas Loob Sa Diyos, Philippines
How you can help
Diocesan Mission Office
Prayer
Reverend John G. Hillier, Ph.D. Director
Pray for the success and safety of missionaries and the communities they serve.
Mila Dionisio Assistant Director
Donations Your financial contributions make a tangible impact on the lives of people in mission territories. Every dollar counts!
Spread awareness Share our mission with your friends, family, and community. Together, we can make a difference.
Volunteer
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Explore opportunities to actively engage in missionary activities and support projects for needy people.
Tess Kint Administrative Assistant (Part-Time) Volunteers Patricia Murphy , Shannon White, Charlie Zammit, Barbara Peterson, Deborah Alexander, and Jeanmarie Arculeo
For more information about Catholic Missionaries, or how to help the Mission Church, call or write us: Pontifical Mission Societies, P.O. Box 191, Metuchen, N.J. 08840 (732) 243-4580 pontifical.mission.societies@diometuchen.org
Society for the Propagation of the Faith By enrolling your loved ones in the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, they will enjoy the spiritual benefits of Missionary Masses, which are offered daily, including daily Mass at the Vatican. They also share in the good works of Missionaries worldwide. How to Enroll: Please call 732-243-4580, or E-mail: pontifical.mission.societies@diometuchen.org.
The suggested offering is as follows:
PLEASE REMEMBER US ...
in your prayers and in your generous gifts of charity
AND CONSIDER US ...
“Heralds of the Gospel” who minister to the poor, the disadvantaged and persecuted Catholics
IN YOUR ESTATE PLANNING
Mass Offering For the living or deceased ($10)
Get Well/Birthday /Healing Mass ($10)
The Catholic Spirit, 7.083 x 3.9”, September 22, 2023
Perpetual Enrollment Mass ($50)
Added birthday card
Gregorian Mass
30 consecutive Masses for deceased ($300)
Pontifical Mission Societies Diocese of Metuchen Attention: Father Hillier, Director P.O. Box 191 Metuchen, NJ 08840 • 732-243-4580 pontifical.mission.societies@diometuchen.org
I’ll never forget the four words Franciscan Father Peter Fiore wrote on my first writing assignment in college, my first short story: “You are a writer!” I think it was the exclamation point that cemented the idea that he meant what he wrote. Those four words instilled the faith in my adult self that was needed to embrace writing as more than a dream. I never forgot him, his continued mentoring or the few sheets of paper that propelled me forward. I still have them. Reflecting back to my younger years, I realized that Father Peter was not the first teacher to encourage me. There was the extraordinary Miss Bickford. Sixth grade was my favorite year in elementary school because Miss Bickford was my teacher, and my closest
cousin, Lynn, was in my class. There was something special about Miss Bickford. We adored her. She encouraged us, challenged us, heard us and, in her quiet way, made sure no one was invisible in her class. She let us design her bulletin boards. No other teacher allowed such a thing. She was a blessing, in that no one in her class was ever “not enough.” If you had a dream, she made sure you knew that dreams are possible as long as you don’t give up. As I matured, I came to realize that a teacher’s influence extends far beyond the classroom. A teacher may never know which seemingly small interaction becomes an important part of a student’s story, rarely seeing the full harvest of what they plant. Certainly, Miss Bickford never knew
to the tune of “Me and My Shadow,” impacted our lives – Lynn’s as a teacher, and mine as a writer and sort-of singer. Teachers do so much more than prepare lessons and grade papers. They know the ones who need to write and sing and dance. They come to know which of their students is struggling. They notice the one who is unusually quiet. They celebrate small victories and make accommodations. They listen, and they worry about students after they leave the building. They call parents (5th grade, Miss Thompson!). They encourage. They turn things around for the good. A Catholic school teacher has the extraordinary responsibility of teaching both the subject and the person. Faith isn’t merely another item in the curriculum. A teacher’s example can communicate something about Christian life: mercy, perseverance, humility, service, hope, joy and the belief that every child, created by God, has inherent worth. I graduated from high school in 1970. I may not remember the lessons on the board, the textbooks we used or the tests I took. But I remember the teachers who applauded my accomplishments, who pushed me to continue to do better and have faith in myself. As another school year begins, remember that the people standing at the front of those classrooms are doing something extraordinary – investing their
fully know. That’s an investment in the future – an investment of love.
A Prayer for Teachers Dear Lord, rant our teachers an abundance of Your wisdom. Prepare their hearts to welcome and love our loved ones, and may we make sure to show them love and respect in return. Give them grace as they help students who aren’t thriving, courage to say what needs to be said, tools and knowledge on how and when to speak love, and strength when they feel weak. When they feel unseen, remind them that no moment goes unnoticed. They are shaping the future in one million small - yet incredibly important - ways every day. We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the gift of learning they share with our children. Bless them, Lord, and may they see even just a glimpse of how their faithfulness will forever impact generations to come. Amen.
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OUR DIOCESE
By Mary Morrell Editor-in-Chief
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preparing a skit with my cousin for time, talent, energy, knowledge, investRemembering the life-changing gift of teachers how a presentation on Hawaii, complete with ing themselves, and helping shape young singing and dancing in front of the class people whose stories they may never
(Unknown author)
St. Helena School 930 Grove Avenue, Edison, NJ 732-549-6234
Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year! Mrs. Jurcsek
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
Challenge for Self, Charity for Others
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Students learn the faith from people who live it every day.
We are building communities where children encounter Christ.
28 BACK TO SCHOOL
Forming
A Y E A R O F V I R T U E A N D S A I N T H O O D I N O U R C AT H O L I C S C H O O L S
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s the doors of our Diocese of Metuchen schools open once again, they open onto something more than a new academic calendar. There is a real sense of hope and anticipation in the air, the kind that comes with knowing a wonderful year lies ahead for our students, families, and staff. This year, our school community is invited into a journey of the heart. The Church has designated this the Year of the Sacred Heart, and our Catholic schools are embracing that invitation fully, weaving devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus into the daily rhythm of classroom life. It is a theme that speaks directly to what our schools have always tried to do: form not only capable minds, but generous, faithful, and compassionate hearts.
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SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
Hearts Like His
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Throughout the year, students in every grade will come to know a saint each month, and alongside that saint, a virtue that shaped their life and continues to shape ours. From courage to humility, from perseverance to charity, these are not abstract lessons confined to a workbook. They are living examples of what it looks like to love as Christ loved, offered to our children by men and women who walked a path of faith before them. Our youngest learners will meet these saints through story and simple prayer, while our older students will be challenged to reflect more deeply on how these same virtues can guide their choices, their friendships, and their growth into young disciples. This effort does not stand alone. It builds on the extraordinary dedication our principals, teachers, and staff bring to their vocations every single day. Across our schools, educators do far more than teach a curriculum. They nurture the whole child, they model patience and kindness in ways both large and small, and they create classrooms where faith is not a subject on a schedule, but a presence woven through every subject. Families entrust us with something precious, and our schools continue to prove worthy of that trust through the steady, faithful work happening in classrooms across Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren counties. Families, too, have an essential part to play in this journey. A monthly family newsletter will accompany the saint and virtue focus, offering a short reflection, a Scripture passage, a simple conversation starter, and a small challenge that families can live out together at home. Faith formation flourishes when it is shared between school and home, and this year offers families a gentle, accessible way to walk alongside their children as they grow in virtue, one month and one saint at a time. There is something deeply hopeful about beginning a school year this way. In a world that often moves quickly and asks little of the heart, our schools are choosing to slow down and ask a great deal of it. We are asking our students to look to the saints not as distant figures from another time, but as companions for their own lives, people who struggled, who trusted, who loved, and who ultimately became who God created them to be. That is the invitation extended to every child in our Catholic schools this year. As we look ahead to the months to come, we do so with genuine excitement and gratitude: gratitude for the families who choose Catholic education and partner with us so generously, and excitement for what this Year of the Sacred Heart will bring to the life of our schools. May our students come to know, in ways both large and small, what it means to have a heart like His.
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Barbara Stevens - Secretary, Secretariat for Education Joseph Diskin - Superintendent of Schools Sister Mary Louise Shulas, MPF - Director of Curriculum and Instruction Diocese of Metuchen - Office of Schools
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1. St. Augustine of Canterbury, Kendall Park 2. St. Helena School, Edison 3. St. Thomas the Apostle School, Old Bridge 4. St. Thomas Aquinas HS, Edison 5. Immaculate Conception, Spotswood 6. St. James School, Basking Ridge 7. Sts. Philip and James, Phillipsburg 8. St. Matthias, Somerset —Facebook courtesy photos
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By Christina Leslie, Contributing Editor Don’t allow modern electronics to distract you from sharing God’s message of love, Father Jonathan S. Toborowsky advised the hundreds of Metuchen Diocese educators, staff and administrators assembled in St. Augustine of Canterbury Church, Kendall Park, for the annual Back to School Mass Sept. 1. “Some of you may have technology and gadgets in your classroom that you
couldn’t have imagined when you began teaching years ago,” he continued. “Don’t get lost in all that stuff; you are doing the Lord’s work. Prayers are part of the tools in your tool chest. You are one of God’s gadgets… trust in him and don’t be afraid. You have strength and power, and He wants to work for you.” Father Toborowsky, diocesan administrator, served as principal celebrant of the Mass, and was accompanied by Father Robert G. Lynam, St. Augustine’s
pastor, as well as pastors of the elementary and secondary Catholic schools of the Diocese. Also present from the diocesan Office of Schools were Barbara Stevens, Secretary, Secretariat for Education; Joseph Diskin, Superintendent of Schools, and Sister Mary Louise Shulas, MPF, Director of Curriculum and Instruction. The Catholic Church marks Sept. 1 as the World Day of Prayer for Creation, Father Toborowsky reminded the congregation, and added, “The beauty of creation is you and I, all of us.” He concluded his homily with the request for prayers, both from school families and from each parish which supports these integral houses of faith and education for our youth. With hands over their hearts, the educators shared their goals for the upcoming year: With God’s grace, I will teach with faith. I will witness with integrity. I will evangelize with joy. I will lead with hope. I will serve with humility. I will welcome every child as Christ. I place this school year in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. May all that I do bring others closer to Him, Amen. Barbara Stevens addressed the teachers, asserting their labor is a minis-
try “… with Christ as the foundation of all they do. It is much more than a job; it is a response to God’s call to participate in the Church’s mission to form young people in faith, wisdom and love,” she said. “Christ is not simply a part of religion classes, not just a portion of our day. He is the reason for our day.” Joseph Diskin, diocesan superintendent of schools, explained the significance of this annual tradition, saying, “Beginning each school year with our Opening School Mass and luncheon at St. Augustine of Canterbury School is one of the most meaningful traditions in our Diocese. Gathering our educators at the altar to ask God’s blessing and recommit ourselves to the mission of Catholic education sets exactly the right tone for the year ahead. “There is something powerful about seeing teachers and administrators from every one of our schools come together as one diocesan family, united in purpose before the work of the year even begins. We are deeply grateful to Father Robert Lynam and Principal Ed Modzelewski for their generous hospitality and for helping our teachers begin the year feeling valued, welcomed, and renewed in spirit.”
BACK TO SCHOOL
‘do the Lord’s work’ at annual Mass
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Father Jonathan S. Toborowsky, diocesan administrator, 1, and Barbara Stevens, diocesan Secretary for Catholic Schools, 2, address hundreds of diocesan educators gathered for the annual Back to School Mass held Sept. 1 in St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, Kendall Park. They were joined by diocesan Superintendent of Schools Joseph Diskin, 3- center, and Sister Mary Louise Schulas, diocesan director of curriculum, not pictured. Eighth grade students bring up the gifts clad in new school blazers, 5. Father Robert Lynam, pastor, and host, 6, stands with altar servers while Religious Teachers Filippini Sisters, integral to the school community, 7, and teachers, 8, gather for fellowship. —Hal Brown photos
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30 BACK TO SCHOOL
Mount Saint Mary
ACADEMY
YourJourney Starts Now!
Open House SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2026 12:30 to 3:30 pm
• 12:30 pm: Speech by Sister Lisa Gambacorto, RSM, Ed.S.,
Mount Saint Mary Academy Directress
• 12:50-1:30 pm: Student Panel in the SLG Theater • 1:30-3:30 pm: Expo and Tours featuring academics, athletics,
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
and extracurricular clubs and activities
Student/Faculty Ratio - 8:1 Students can choose from 13 sports and over 50 extra-curricular Activities
Mounties reside in
8 counties and 68 different New Jersey communities
The Class of 2026 received over $35 million in grants/scholarships
23 AP Courses and 33 Honors Courses Offered Grade-Level Spiritual Retreats 2 Kairos Retreats and Our Annual Service Day
REGISTRATION BEGINS ON SEPTEMBER 1, 2026 AT WWW.MOUNTSAINTMARY.ORG
1645 US Highway 22 W, Watchung, NJ (908) 912.2231 • enrollment@mountsaintmary.org
BACK TO SCHOOL
at saint joe’s
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Envision your son
Take the next steps towards your son’s future by attending Open House. Explore our campus on a student-guided tour, meet teachers and coaches, and see why attending Saint Joe’s is a life-changing opportunity.
Metuchen, NJ | admissions@stjoes.org
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SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
Pre-Register online at:
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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
32 BACK TO SCHOOL
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A few spots are still open in grades PreK-4 through 8. Inquire now: www.icsschool.org
Open House Wed., Oct. 14 6 PM
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
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WATERTOWN, Tenn. (OSV News) – Joined by Father Luke Wilgenbusch, Nashville’s diocesan director of vocations, and Father David Lee, associate director of vocations, a group of Diocese of Nashville seminarians stepped away from smartphones, fast food and the daily comforts of urban living to work on a farm and live in tents during two of Middle Tennessee’s hottest months. The seminarians, all of whom are in the propaedeutic stage of formation, spent their summer assignment under the guidance of Deacon Chris Simpson and his wife, Suellen Simpson, owners of Field of Dreams Farm in Watertown, which is about 40 miles east of Nashville. The 115-acre farm produces pastured eggs and non-genetically modified poultry and livestock, including chickens, ducks, turkeys, pigs and grass-fed cattle. For seminarians, the propaedeutic year emphasizes human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral development. Most days, the seminarians began with morning prayer, followed by four hours of farm work. Afterward, they would prepare and eat lunch in silence while Father Wilgenbusch read a book aloud. Later in the afternoon, the seminarians prayed a Holy Hour before Eucharistic adoration and attended Mass in the chapel. “The farm is peaceful and has allowed me to deepen my prayer life by spending time in nature and among God’s creation,” said seminarian Jason Koenemann.
A man mourns next to the covered body of a person in Kenscoff, Haiti, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Aug. 24, 2026, killed after a fatal overnight raid by an armed gang. A powerful gang coalition attacked a once peaceful farming community nestled in the hills above Haiti’s capital late Aug. 23, killing at least 47 and kidnapping 50. —OSV News photo/Patrice Noel, Reuters
MIAMI (OSV News) – A deadly gang attack near Haiti’s capital that saw dozens killed and kidnapped should cause the U.S. to “rethink” its ending of deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami told OSV News. The Aug. 23 massacre, which took place in the village of Kenscoff – located outside the capital of Port-au-Prince – left more than 47 dead, with at least 50 kidnapped. “This shows that the country is not safe, that Haiti is still a house on fire,” Archbishop Wenski said. He added that “this should cause our administration to rethink its decision to send back into Haiti over 300,000 Haitians” currently in the U.S. under now-revoked Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. Haiti, which has been plagued by long-running social, political, health and environmental crises, “is a tragedy, and what we’re doing is compounding it by trying to send these people back,” he said. “The idea is to make it miserable for them so that they go back to Haiti. But there’s really nothing there right now to go back to, except chaos and more pain and more suffering.”
JERUSALEM (OSV News) – The school at Holy Family Parish in Gaza is reopening its doors for the first time since the war began, bringing a vital sense of routine to about 1,000 students this fall. Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali, patriarchal vicar for Jerusalem and Palestine, told OSV News that resuming classes offers children something dependable to hold onto amid ongoing conflict and severe trauma. The church’s pastor, Father Gabriel Romanelli, as well as parish staff, worked to repair damaged classrooms while continuing to shelter displaced families on the parish grounds. In an Aug. 26 pastoral letter, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, emphasized that Christian schools remain cornerstones of coexistence across the Holy Land. The milestone comes as U.N. officials report that an estimated 637,475 school-age children lack sustained access to formal education and that roughly 1.98 million people – about 94% of the population – are displaced Despite persistent security concerns, Bishop Shomali views the reopening as an act of faith and a powerful sign of hope for the region’s Christian community. “Through this school,” he said, “the Church is telling local Christian families that they are not forgotten and will not be abandoned.”
A teacher at Holy Family Parish’s school in Gaza City is seen July 22, 2024, in a classroom with children set up as part of the St. Joseph educational project for the 150 Christian youth sheltering at the parish compound and at the nearby Greek Orthodox church compound. In fall 2026, the parish school reopens for the first time since the start of Israel’s military campaign. —OSV News photo/
courtesy Father Gabriel Romanelli
Jordan prepares for 2,000th anniversary of Christ’s Baptism in 2030 AMMAN, Jordan (OSV News) – Jordan is officially preparing for a major milestone in Christian history: the 2,000th anniversary of the Baptism of Jesus Christ at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, also known as Al-Maghtas. A $120 million development project is underway adjacent to the UNESCO World Heritage site along the Jordan River. The initiative features a new Baptism museum, a dedicated pilgrim and visitor village, and ecological walking trails designed to support environmental conservation. The sacred site marks the beginning of Christ’s public ministry and holds a unique place in modern Church history as the only location visited by four popes: St. Paul VI, St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. With preparations now in motion, millions of Christian pilgrims are expected to journey to Jordan by 2030 for this historic commemoration of faith, unity, and Christian heritage.
Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, processes along with church leaders from the Maronite, Chaldean, Syriac, and Catholic Churches in Jordan outside the Catholic Church of the Baptism of Christ in Bethany Beyond the Jordan near Amman Jan. 13, 2023. Jordanian Prime Minister Jafar Hassan signed agreements Aug. 12, 2026, to begin work on the development of the lands adjacent to the Baptism Site to commemorate the second millennium of Christ’s baptism in 2030 at the direction of Jordan’s King Abdullah II. —OSV News photo/courtesy
Catholic Center for Studies and Media, Amman, Jordan
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
News photo/Preston Thompson, Diocese of Nashville
Archbishop urges Gaza school reopening US to ‘rethink’ Haiti is a reminder that deportations after mass ‘hope is stronger than kidnapping, massacre fear,’ bishop says
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Father Luke Wilgenbusch, director of vocations for the Diocese of Nashville, Tenn., feeds sheep June 29, 2026, at Field of Dreams Farm in Watertown, Tenn. As part of their formation, nine seminarians in the Nashville Diocese spent the summer assigned to the farm, working with livestock and agriculture while living in community and spending time in prayer. —OSV
Compiled from Our Sunday Visitor
WORLD & NATION
Nashville seminarians grow in community and agrarian knowhow during summer farm experience
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SCRIPTURE SEARCH® Gospel for September 27, 2026 Ezekiel 18: 25-28 / Matthew 21:28-32
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Pope’s
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Monthly Prayer Intentions
For Mental Health Ministry Let us pray that the mental health ministry be established throughout the Church, helping to overcome the stigma and discrimination of persons with mental illnesses.
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True discipleship requires a true conversion of heart “Entry of Christ into Jerusalem,” Pietro Lorenzetti, Public Domain, Source- Wikimedia Commons. 26th Sunday of the Year (A) In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus warns against a danger that has always threatened religious people: the temptation to display the externals of faith without living the interior conversion that true discipleship requires. He condemns the hypocrisy of those who feign acts of piety but do not allow God’s word to shape their lives. This section of Matthew’s Gospel comes immediately after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem– one of Scripture’s most striking scenes of mass contradiction. The crowds who joyfully acclaimed Jesus as Messiah would abandon Him only days later. Their enthusiasm was loud but shallow. Yet Jesus’ message in today’s reading is directed not to the crowds but to the chief priests and elders – those who considered themselves models of holiness. This parable is the first of three in which Jesus reveals who is truly just and who merely appears to be, who genuinely serves the Lord and who simply puts on a religious show. Jesus asks a simple question: Which son did his father’s will – the one who said the right words but failed to act, or the one who initially refused but ultimately obeyed? The father had asked both sons to work in his vineyard. The vineyard, a familiar biblical image for God’s Kingdom, is a place of labor: planting seeds, cultivating soil, pruning vines, enduring the elements, persevering through setbacks, and finally producing a fruitful harvest. It is not a stage for religious performance but a field for real, active effort. When the religious leaders answer that the son who actually went into the vineyard was the faithful one, Jesus exposes their own inconsistency. He declares that “tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you” (Mt 21:31b). These sinners publicly known for violating the Law had heard God’s call and repented. Their “no” became a “yes.” The religious leaders, outwardly pious, were more concerned with status and authority than with conversion of heart. Their polished “yes” had become a “no.” The parable makes Jesus’ point unmistakably: Entry into the Kingdom
of God is a matter of the heart. Eternal life begins when one turns away from sin and focuses intently on living for Christ. Traditional markers of piety– or impiety – do not always reliably indicate who has truly turned toward the Lord. Blessedness comes from wholeheartedly entering into a loving relationship with Jesus: inviting Him more deeply into daily life, accepting His teaching, and living by it. St. Paul offers the perfect example in this Sunday’s second reading from Philippians. Jesus, though supremely above all creation, practiced profound humility. Rather than relying on His exalted status, He “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness” (Phil 2:7). He did not rest on religious words or divine prerogatives. Instead, “he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8). Jesus lived the full meaning of His dedication to the Father. His entire life was devoted to the service of God and others, and because of this, “God greatly exalted him” (Phil 2:9a). The chief priests and elders must have recoiled at the thought of tax collectors and prostitutes sharing in such exaltation. Yet Jesus promises that they do – because they heard His words, repented, and conformed their lives to the Gospel. This is the only path to salvation. St. Paul even provides criteria by which we can discern whether we are walking that path: “complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others” (Phil 2:2b–4). Ultimately, he exhorts us: “have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5). Msgr. John N. Fell serves as diocesan director of Priest Personnel.
one is experiencing a stroke because brain cells begin to die within minutes of losing blood flow,” said Dr. Anita K. Mehta, medical director of the Stroke Program at Saint Peter’s University Hospital. “Receiving the Get With The Guidelines - Stroke Gold Plus award reflects Saint Peter’s commitment to providing rapid diagnosis, timely treatment, and coordinated, evidence-based care from the moment a patient arrives through recovery. By following nationally recognized best practices, we
HEALTH
Saint Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick, has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring people experiencing stroke receive timely, appropriate treatment based on nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately helping to save lives and reduce disability. Stroke is the fourth cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S, according to the American Heart Association’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Report. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel supplying the brain is blocked by a clot or ruptures, preventing blood and oxygen from reaching brain tissue. When this happens, brain cells begin to die. Early detection and rapid treatment are critical to improving survival, minimizing disability and supporting faster recovery. Get With The Guidelines brings the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association into hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines. The in-hospital protocols are designed to improve stroke care through consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize long-term effects of stroke and help prevent death. “Every minute matters when some-
qualify for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality stroke care. In addition to following clinical treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also provide education to help people manage their recovery and ongoing health at home. “We are proud to recognize Saint Peter’s for its commitment to caring for people experiencing stroke,” said Dr. Steven Messe, volunteer chair of the American Heart Association Stroke System of Care Advisory Group. “Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, including greater likelihood of being discharged home, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a meaningful benefit for healthcare systems, families and communities.”
35
Saint Peter’s nationally recognized for commitment to excellence in stroke care
are helping improve outcomes, reduce disability, and give more patients the opportunity to return to their families and their daily lives.” Saint Peter’s University Hospital is recognized as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission, which confirms it demonstrates adherence to clinical practice guidelines for stroke patients, use of data to guide practice/program planning, and promulgation of guidelines throughout hospital policies and practices. Saint Peter’s has also received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke. Each year, participating hospitals
Know the Signs of Stroke: BE FAST Recognizing the warning signs of a stroke and calling 911 immediately can save a life. The acronym BE FAST can help to remember the symptoms:
B E
Balance: Eyes:
F A S T
Face: Arms: Speech: Terrible headache:
Sudden loss of balance or coordination Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes One side of the face droops or feels numb; ask the person to smile Weakness or numbness in one arm; ask the person to raise both arms Slurred speech or difficulty speaking or understanding others A sudden, severe headache with no known cause
If you or someone around you experiences any of these symptoms, call 911 immediately. Prompt treatment is critical and can significantly improve outcomes. To learn more about Saint Peter’s stroke program, visit saintpetershcs.com/stroke.
Saint Peter’s Children’s Hospital expands services with developmental pediatrics specialist New York Hospital Early Intervention Program and an instructor in pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical School. “We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Clemente to our team,” said Siva Prasad Jonna, MD, chair, Department of Pediatrics, and physician-in-chief of Saint Peter’s Children’s Hospital. “Her depth of experience in evaluating and treating children with autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental disorders, combined with her passion for medical education and her ability to serve Spanish-speaking families, makes her an invaluable addition to our pediatric program.” “I am excited to join Saint Peter’s Children’s Hospital and to complement the comprehensive, compassionate care offered to children and their families in this community,” said Dr. Clemente. “Children who need developmental support thrive when they receive it early and consistently.”
Saint Peter’s Children’s Hospital is a Certified Autism Center™ (CAC) by The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), a designation awarded to organizations whose staff have undergone autism-specific training to equip them with the supportive skills and resources to provide the best experience possible to every child that visits the hospital. Dr. Clemente earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico, and her medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. She completed her residency in pediatrics at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and her fellowship in neurodevelopmental disabilities at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, both in Bronx, New York. To schedule an appointment for your child with Dr. Clemente, call 732.339.7045.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
management which has been shown to help children and adolescents with behavioral, emotional, or developmental conditions function better in their daily lives. Dr. Clemente is fluent in both English and Spanish, with familiarity in Portuguese, enabling her to serve a broad and diverse patient population. Prior to joining Saint Peter’s, Dr. Clemente served as an attending physician in Developmental Pediatrics at Goryeb Children’s Hospital at Atlantic Health in Morristown, New Jersey, where she was part of a multidisciplinary team and led medical education for pediatric residents. Before that, Dr. Clemente founded and directed the Developmental Pediatrics Division at Cohen Children’s Hospital at Staten Island University Hospital. Earlier in her career, Dr. Clemente was an attending physician at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey and had served as medical director of the Weill Cornell–
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Saint Peter’s Children’s Hospital, part of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System, is proud to welcome Saidi Clemente, MD, to its growing team of pediatric specialists. A board-certified developmental pediatrician, Dr. Clemente brings more than 20 years of experience evaluating and treating children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and a wide range of neurodevelopmental conditions. She is also board certified in general pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics and in neurodevelopmental disabilities by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Clemente has experience with a host of diagnostic tools including the ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, second edition) which is used to assess and diagnose ASD in children and adults. In addition, she has expertise in psychotropic medication
36 STEPPING FORWARD IN CHARITY
Back to School!
Stepping forward in charity
The phrase “Back to school” is often measured in new supplies, updated schedules, and drop-off lanes. Yet for school leaders, the turn of the season carries a deeper significance. It marks a moment to step back, calibrate vision, and welcome a fresh chapter of growth. In the following reflections, school directors share their perspectives on entering a new academic year – offering insight into the triumphs, challenges, and core values guiding their institutions into the months ahead.
Are there any new programs, curriculum updates, or facility improvements students and parents should look forward to this year? “We are continuing to strengthen our Before and Aftercare Programs with an intentional focus on supporting children’s academic, social, and emotional growth beyond the school day. Families can look forward to the return of our free academic tutoring program for children enrolled in aftercare. We continue to enhance programming so that children have opportunities to learn, build relationships, develop new skills, and, of course, have fun.” – Dawn Rannie- White, program director, Child Care Services, Hillsborough
– Tara Mack, Center director, YES Early Learning Center at St. Ladislaus
“The CCDOM Child Care Programs in Phillipsburg, Hackettstown, and Long Valley schools bring new enrichment activities and experiences to the children and families in our program every year. Our site supervisors and program staff are planning so many fun and exciting activities for the 2026/2027 school year!” – Kassandra Radabaugh, program director, Child Care Services, Phillipsburg
“We are so excited to announce that we will have rubber surfacing on our playground. This will greatly enhance the range of gross motor activities we can offer! Most importantly, students of varying physical abilities can play closely together without geographic barriers.” – Kawanna Anderson, Center director, YES Early Learning Center at Holy Family
Looking at the year ahead, what are you most excited about for your school community? “I am most excited to see our children return and our program communities come back to life. We have returning staff who already have strong
relationships with our children and families, along with new team members who bring fresh energy and ideas. I am also excited about continuing to build programs where children feel safe, welcomed, supported, and genuinely enjoy being there.” – Dawn Rannie- White, program director, Child Care Services, Hillsborough
“Seeing our students grow, learn, and reach new milestones throughout the school year. Each child comes to us with their own unique strengths, personality, and potential, and I look forward to watching them develop academically, socially, emotionally, and personally. I am also excited about continuing to strengthen our relationships with our families and creating opportunities for our entire school community to come together throughout the year.” – Tara Mack, Center director, YES Early Learning Center at St. Ladislaus
“The engaging experiences throughout the school year that bring children, families, and staff together. From special events and enrichment activities, to everyday moments of connection and belonging, there are so many opportunities to make a positive impact. I am also looking forward to watching my staff continue learning throughout the year. Their dedication to professional development helps make our programs even stronger and creates the best possible experience for the children and families we serve.”
“I am most excited to see our returning students and meet our new students. I am also looking forward to reconnecting with my staff. I am pleased that my complete team is returning. This will be an amazing school year!” – Kawanna Anderson, Center director, YES Early Learning Center at Holy Family
If you could sum up your main message to families this fall, what would it be? In full agreement, the center and program directors for the CCDOM Child Care programs offered a shared message to families: We look forward to partnering with our families throughout the 20262027 school year to provide a safe, nurturing, inclusive and engaging learning environment where every child feels valued and supported; where every child has the opportunity to learn, grow, build meaningful relationships, reach their fullest potential and create wonderful memories. We hope our program gives your child a safe place to try new things, make new friends and gives you the peace of mind that your child is cared for and safe. Our commitment to you is that we will care for your child’s heart and mind equally, ensuring they are deeply valued. Thank you for trusting us to care for the most precious people in your lives.
– Kassandra Radabaugh, program director, Child Care Services, Phillipsburg
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
“We are excited to introduce new materials for our teachers to implement this school year. The Fundations Pre-K Activity Set has been refreshed with an updated look and feel [and] continues to provide an engaging introduction to foundational literacy skill. Several improvements to our building and learning environment were made. Our entire building has been freshly painted, giving our classrooms and common areas a bright, welcoming, and refreshed look. Our playground was also updated … with new equipment … providing them with an inviting space to play, explore and develop important social and physical skills.
Also, our new camera security system provides an additional layer of safety and security for our students, families, and staff. Creating a safe, welcoming, and nurturing environment is one of our top priorities.”
Child Care Services, Hillsborough
YES Early Learning Center at St. Ladislaus
Child Care Services, Phillipsburg
YES Early Learning Center at Holy Family
If you have questions regarding enrollment, please reach out to billing staff in your specific county. For Warren & Morris Counties, please call 908-454-2074. For Somerset & Middlesex Counties, please
call 732-934-2800. For more information on the childcare services offered at Catholic Charities visit ccdom.org/child-care. For more information about Catholic Charities Diocese of Metuchen, please visit
ccdom.org. LIKE & follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X @ccdom1 to stay updated on upcoming events and ways we help clients get the services and assistance they need.
Compiled by Tiffany Workman. Tiffany Workman serves as diocesan communications specialist in the Office of Communications and Public Relation.
—Tiffany Workman photo
—Courtesy photo
—Courtesy photo
—Courtesy photo
Veronica worked as a registered nurse at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, a night supervisor at Roslindale General Hospital, and, later, at Frank Wood Nursing Home. She loved being a nurse and approached her work with dedication, patience, and grace. Her career was more than a profession to her, it was an expression of her generous spirit and her commitment to serving others with dignity and kindness. Family was the center of Veronica’s life. Together with Frank, she raised their 10 children in a home filled with faith and love. Her children were her proudest legacy, and she supported each one with steadfast devotion through every stage of their lives. She was a source of strength, comfort, and encouragement to them. Her presence will be immensely missed, but she will forever be remembered with love at every gathering and in every memory shared by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A Funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Mary of the Hills Church, Milton, Sept. 10 with burial following at Milton Cemetery.
Stephen W. Stawiarz, age 84, of Rome, passed away on August 31, 2026, at the Wynn Hospital. Stephen was born in Lwow, Poland on December 25, 1941, to the late Zygmunt and Wanda Thiel Stawiarz. He proudly served in the U.S. Air Force for over 21 years, with assignments all over the world. On August 14, 1965, he was united in marriage to the former Gloria J. Kiker at the Griffiss AFB Chapel; a blessed union of nearly 46 years until her passing on July 7, 2011. Upon his retirement from the military as a SMSGT in 1984, he worked at SUNY IT/Polytechnic as an instructional support professional. Stephen was an avid collector of coins and stamps and belonged to many clubs in Rome. He was also an avid gardener and enjoyed tending to his backyard. Stephen is survived by his son, Stephen Stawiarz Jr. and daughter in law, Lisa Stawiarz of Land O’ Lakes, Fla.; his grandchildren, Jake Morgan, and Christian and Trey Stawiarz; his siblings, John and Walter Stawiarz, and Michael and Art Cichy; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his son, Mark C. Stawiarz, in 2001. A service in his memory was held Sept. 11 in Rome, and burial with military honors was held in Evergreen Cemetery, Lee. Please offer online condolences at: www.barryfuneralhome.com.
OBITUARY
Taylor, Veronica V. (Fronckus) of Milton, passed away peacefully at the age of 94 on Sept. 3, surrounded by her children. Born in Boston and raised in Medford, Veronica was the beloved wife of 65 years to the late Francis M. Taylor and the devoted daughter of the late Alek and Edith Fronckus. She was a cherished mother to her 10 children: Karen Keenan and her husband Paul, Joseph Taylor, Anne Taylor, Therese Spencer and her husband Eric, Elizabeth Cadigan and her husband Kevin, Michelle Schoonmaker and her husband Scott, Mark Taylor and his wife Sheila, Maryanne Taylor, Paula Kearns and her husband Anthony, and Christopher Taylor and his wife Natali. She was also the loving sister of Helen Mandile of Waltham, the late Alice Blevins of Arlington and the lifelong friend of the late Janice Barrett. Veronica leaves behind 23 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, each of whom brought her great joy and pride. Veronica’s unwavering devotion to her Catholic faith provided her with strong values and a deep sense of responsibility that guided her throughout her life. She attended Medford High School and, later, pursued her calling in nursing at Lawrence Memorial Nursing School. Her education prepared her for a career that reflected her compassionate nature and her desire to care for others. She was proud to serve as a nurse and found great meaning in helping those in need.
Stephen Stawiarz, brother of Arthur Cichy, diocesan Mailroom Coordinator
37
Veronica Taylor, mother-in-law of Anthony Kearns, diocesan Chancellor and General Counsel
Thoughtful, Personal Dignified Service
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Serving your community for 90 years Prearrangement price guaranteed Raymond J. & Thomas E. Sheenan, CFSP Founder
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Flynn and Son/Koyen Funeral Home Flynn and Son Funeral Homes 319 Amboy Ave., Metuchen, NJ 08840 420-424 East Ave., Perth Amboy, NJ 08861 Brendan J. Flynn, Jr., Mgr. - NJ Lic. # 4105 James J. Flynn IV, Mgr. - NJ Lic. # 4152 (732) 548-2134 (732) 826-0358
Thomas J. DeMarco, Manager, N.J. LIC. NO. 4651 Peter S. Winther, Director, N.J. LIC. NO. 4763 Jennifer L. Burry, Director, N.J. LIC. NO. 5172
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SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
568 Middlesex Ave. (Rt 27)
Family owned and operated since 1900 Four generations of caring www.flynnfuneral.com
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Christine A. CuoCo, owner/MAnAger nJ LiC. no. 4538 gregory s. Lester, DireCtor eMeritus
St. John of the Cross once said, “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.” His prophetic words convey that when we die, wealth, fame and earthly achievements will not be of consequence. Only how deeply we loved God and loved others will matter. On Aug. 28, St. Augustine’s feast day, we heard about the wise virgins bearing oil in the Gospel of Matthew (25:1-13) also known as the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids: “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps (vs. 1-4).” After Mass, I read a beautiful exegesis of this passage written by St. Augustine, who explained that the oil signifies charity, or love. Caritas, the Latin word for charity, comes from the root word carus, which means dear, precious or costly. When the Bible was translated from Greek to Latin caritas was used to translate the Greek word agape, which is selfless, unconditional love and what St. Thomas describes as the highest theological virtue. In the parable, the wise maidens refuse to share their oil with the foolish maidens, which some find disconcerting,
“The choices we make will either put oil in our lamps or leave them empty. Doing good works without love means nothing; we become lamp carriers without oil.” but this particular oil cannot be shared. When we arrive at the wedding banquet, which is heaven, where Jesus, our Bridegroom will meet us, we will not be able to borrow personal interior love for God from others. To put it in an earthly way, we cannot borrow another person’s good works, life choices or lived experiences. Spiritually speaking, we cannot borrow another person’s purity of heart, inner virtue or interior grace. How may we become truly loving persons? St. John of the Cross says, “Learn to love as God desires to be loved and abandon your own ways of acting.” God pours his Divine Love into our hearts
through the sacraments. After his death and resurrection, Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit so we may share in this Divine Love – the love between the Father and the Son. “Few people have virginity of the body; everyone ought to have virginity of the heart,” said St. Augustine, the Doctor of Grace, who exhorts us, “beware of the spoiler of this virginity, the devil.” The choices we make will either put oil in our lamps or leave them empty. Doing good works without love means nothing (cf. 1 Cor 13:1-3); we become lamp carriers without oil. Cultivating a relationship with Jesus through prayer and the Sacraments transforms us into
“living tabernacles.” Truly loving God and others will inevitably entail suffering, but will form us into suitable bridesmaids for our Bridegroom and bring us eternal joy. We may think that if we feel discomfort or unhappiness we are not experiencing love. Mother Teresa said, “Love to be real, it must cost – it must hurt – it must empty us of self.” When it is hardest to love, and we choose to anyway, is when we are the most loving. When Jesus was crucified Mary stood at the Cross and never left him. As his side was pierced a sword pierced her heart (cf. Luke 2:35). Their love for God, for each other and for mankind was brought to fulfillment in that moment. When a family member is gravely ill and we stay by their side tending to their needs even to the point of self-neglect; when marriage seems too burdensome but we stand by our promise to love even when it hurts; when a dear friend refuses forgiveness, but we forgive them anyway with all our heart. This is loving as God loves. This is caritas. This is agape. The wise maidens went into the marriage feast with the bridegroom and the door was shut. The other maidens said, “’Lord, lord open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matt 25:11-13). The further we are from God the less lightfilled, the less loving, the less wise and more foolish we become. Intellect means nothing without the Spirit of Love. Christ, be our light. Help us to be carriers of oil fueled by the Holy Spirit. Help us to be like the wise maidens so you will know us by our love. Anna M. Githens, who holds an MA in Theology, is a freelance writer with a career background in finance, teaching and journalism.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
This month’s featured retreat house:
BLUE ARMY OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA SHRINE 674 Mountain View Road E., Asbury, NJ 08802 908-689-7330 • retreat@bluearmy.com
LOYOLA JESUIT CENTER 161 James Street • Morristown, NJ 07960 973-539-0740 • Fax: 973-898-9839 www.loyola.org • retreathouse@loyola.org
Lift Up Your Soul at the tranquil 150-acre Fatima Shrine. Host Your Retreat for Youth, Couples, Parish or Vocational Group.
Retreats for lay men, women, priests, religious; days/evenings of prayer. Groups planning their own programs are welcome.
MOUNT ST. MARY HOUSE OF PRAYER 1651 U.S. Highway 22, Watchung, NJ 07069 908-753-2091 • www.msmhope.org e-mail: msmhope@msmhope.org
THE SHRINE OF ST. JOSEPH 1050 Long Hill Road, Stirling, NJ 07980 908-647-0208 • www.stshrine.org
SAN ALFONSO RETREAT HOUSE 755 Ocean Avenue, Long Branch NJ 07740 732-222-2731 • info@sanalfonsoretreats.org www.sanalfonsoretreats.org
ST. JOSEPH BY THE SEA 400 Route 35 North, S. Mantoloking, NJ 08738 732-892-8494 • sjbsea@comcast.net • sjbsea.org
Retreats, Spiritual Direction, Programs
A Redemptorist Spiritual Center overlooking the Atlantic Ocean offering preached retreats, days of prayer and use of the facility for outside groups.
The mission of Mount Saint Mary House of Prayer, rooted in the Gospel and the charism of the Sisters of Mercy, is to provide a sacred space, prayer experiences, and spirituality programs that help adults of any faith to encounter the God of Mercy and share that mercy with others. The mission moves beyond the House of Prayer to any place where we share our ministry. We offer day and overnight retreats, individual spiritual direction, weekly Eucharistic Hour of Prayer, and a variety of spiritual programs.
Day & Overnight Retreats Gift & Book Shop - open daily
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.
We invite you to experience the Peace, Contemplation, and Hospitality of this Oasis off Route 22.
1651 U.S. Highway 22, Watchung, NJ 07069-6587 908-753-2091 msmhope.org VILLA PAULINE RETREAT AND SPIRITUAL CENTER 352 Bernardsville Road, Mendham, NJ 07945 Sister Francis Tran, SCC 973-543-9058 • villapauline@scceast.org sccus.org • Preached/Directed/Guided & Private Retreats, Spiritual Direction, day & weekend programs
To join this retreat guide, email mgregory@diometuchen.org
—Dipu Chandran photo/Unsplash
38 PERSPECTIVES
Filling our lanterns with the oil of Divine Love
La devastación social y ecológica causada por la guerra representa no solo un fracaso político, sino una crisis moral arraigada en un corazón dividido que necesita una profunda conversión, afirmó el Papa León XIV. La violencia, la injusticia y el daño ambiental no son solo el resultado “de estructuras o sistemas imperfectos; son el ‘síntoma de una profunda dicotomía arraigada en la misma humanidad’”, señaló el Papa en su mensaje para la Jornada Mundial de Oración por el Cuidado de la Creación, que se celebrará el 1 de septiembre. “Los daños de la guerra y el deterioro de la tierra están entonces profundamente vinculados con la condición del corazón humano”, escribió el Papa León. “Los conflictos que atormentan a la humanidad, de diversos modos, son la expresión exterior de la discordia y división interiores. Cuando el corazón está distorsionado, las relaciones sufren y las estructuras que construimos comienzan a reflejar ese desorden”. La Jornada Mundial de Oración por el Cuidado de la Creación marca el inicio de la “Tiempo de la Creación” ecuménica, que concluye el 4 de octubre, fiesta de San Francisco de Asís, santo patrón de la ecología. El tema para 2026 es “Con sus espadas forjarán arados y podaderas con sus lanzas”, basado en un versículo del libro de Isaías. El Vaticano declaró el 2 de junio que el tema de la celebración subrayaba “la conexión entre el conflicto armado y el deterioro ambiental”. “El título –una visión de Isaías que profetiza la transformación de las armas en herramientas agrícolas– exige explícitamente priorizar el desarrollo y la sostenibilidad sobre la violencia y la
destrucción”, afirmó el Vaticano. En su mensaje, el Papa León señaló que el mundo está siendo testigo “de múltiples crisis y de un gran sufrimiento humano”, así como de la aceleración de la “alteración del equilibrio armónico de la creación”. “Estos fenómenos no están disociados; son una única apelación por la sanación y la paz que brota de un mundo herido”, afirmó. Al reflexionar sobre el tema del día, el Papa señaló que, aunque Isaías hablaba de una época en la que las naciones transformarían “lo que destruye la vida en aquello que la sostiene”, en el mundo actual “frecuentemente somos testigos de lo contrario, mientras los esfuerzos se siguen centrando en la violencia y la guerra”. “La guerra deja heridas que se extienden mucho más allá del campo de batalla. Cobra vidas, desintegra a las familias y fuerza a millones de personas a abandonar sus hogares, aumentando el miedo, la injusticia y la división”, escribió. “La guerra además deja una destrucción social y ecológica que perdura por generaciones”. Los conflictos armados, sumados a la degradación ambiental, agregó, crean “círculos viciosos” que “destruyen ecosistemas, contaminan recursos esenciales, como el aire y el agua, y merman la seguridad de los alimentos”, generando así “pobreza, desigualdad y nuevos conflictos sociales que pueden contribuir al resurgimiento de conflictos futuros”. El Papa señaló que la guerra no solo causa heridas que perjudican a las personas y a las comunidades, sino también a los lazos de la familia humana, revelando “un fracaso más profundo cuando se trata de vivir a imagen y semejanza de Dios, de respetar la vida y de cuidar la tierra que se nos ha confiado”. “No se trata solo de un fracaso político, sino también moral y espiritu-
El papa León XIV pronuncia su homilía durante un servicio de oración en un invernadero que forma parte del Borgo Laudato Si’, en Castel Gandolfo, Italia, el 5 de septiembre de 2025. El Vaticano publicó el mensaje del papa León para la Jornada Mundial de Oración por el Cuidado de la Creación, que se celebrará el 1 de septiembre. —Foto de CNS/Lola Gomez al”, escribió el Papa León. “La guerra, arraigada en deseos distorsionados y en el mal uso de la libertad y el poder humanos, constituye un antitestimonio del Evangelio de la paz”. La construcción de una sociedad pacífica, continuó el Santo Padre, requiere no solo una reforma de las estructuras, sino también una renovación de los corazones que enfrentan “una crisis ética y cultural”, evidenciada por “una pérdida del sentido de los límites” y el “deseo de dominación, de la búsqueda del beneficio inmediato y de la incapacidad de reconocer la dignidad dada por Dios a cada persona humana”. El llamado profético de Isaías a convertir las espadas en arados es un llamado tanto a las personas como a las naciones “a transformar la herida en vida”, no solo a través de cambios externos, sino mediante un retorno a Dios, para que Él “reordene nuestros deseos, sane nuestras heridas y nos ayude a crecer en la virtud”, escribió. El Papa León advirtió que, sin una
“transformación interior, la paz permanecerá frágil y será efímera”. “Pero donde los corazones se renuevan, comienzan a abrirse nuevas posibilidades. Lo que ha sido utilizado para la destrucción puede ser redirigido hacia la vida: al cuidado de los pobres, al sustento alimentario de los hambrientos y al cuidado de la creación”, escribió. “Los auténticos instrumentos para la construcción de la paz no son las armas destructivas, al contrario, lo son la verdad, el diálogo, la paciencia, la bondad, la justicia, la misericordia, la comprensión, el cuidado y el amor”, escribió el Papa. “Estos instrumentos brotan de los corazones formados por el Evangelio y sostenidos por la gracia de Dios. Sólo estas cualidades poseen el poder de transformar individuos, renovar comunidades y sanar las heridas de nuestro mundo”. Junno Arocho Esteves es corresponsal internacional de OSV News. Síguelo en Twitter: @jae_journalist.
Reuters
el Santo Padre. “Manifiesto mi gratitud a cuantos trabajan en las labores de rescate y de asistencia a los damnificados”. Los líderes de la Iglesia local en Colombia agradecieron la rápida entrega de los fondos de emergencia y dijeron: “Para la Iglesia, esta respuesta expresa una dimensión esencial de su misión: estar cerca de quienes sufren y convertir la solidaridad en acciones concretas de fraternidad y servicio”. “La oración del Papa, el acompañamiento de la Iglesia y la ayuda concreta se unen así en una misma respuesta: estar cerca de Colombia en esta hora de dolor y contribuir a que las comunidades puedan afrontar la emergencia con esperanza y solidaridad”, expresaron.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
El 12 de agosto de 2026, varias personas se congregaron en una vigilia en un refugio improvisado en el barrio de Chiminangos, en Cali, Colombia, para orar por quienes perdieron la vida en el terremoto de magnitud 7.4 del 10 de agosto y por las personas que aún permanecen atrapadas bajo los escombros. —Foto OSV News/Raquel Cunha,
los escombros de edificios derrumbados. Aunque el gobierno estimó que el número de desaparecidos era de 500, las bases de datos gestionadas por civiles calculaban que había más de 4.000 desaparecidos, según informó Associated Press. La ayuda internacional está llegando a la zona del desastre junto con las operaciones de la Iglesia, proporcionando suministros médicos de emergencia, alimentos y personal de rescate. El Papa León rezó por los fallecidos y los trabajadores de emergencia el 12 de agosto, durante su audiencia semanal en el Vaticano. “Mientras ruego al Señor por el eterno descanso de los fallecidos, aseguro mis plegarias por sus familias y todos los que han sido golpeados por esta tragedia”, dijo
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
El Papa León XIV envía ayuda económica a Colombia para apoyar a las zonas más afectadas por el terremoto CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (OSV News) – El Papa León XIV ha enviado una primera ayuda de emergencia de 100.000 euros (más de 115.000 dólares) a Colombia tras el terremoto de magnitud 7,4 que golpeó el país el 10 de agosto. Canalizados a través de la oficina de caridad del Vaticano, los fondos se destinarán de inmediato a ayudar a las diócesis más afectadas, proporcionando socorro de primera línea. Los líderes de la Iglesia están preparando recursos adicionales a medida que las evaluaciones de los daños permitan conocer mejor las necesidades de recuperación a largo plazo. El fuerte sismo causó la muerte de al menos 280 personas, dejó miles de heridos y cientos de desaparecidos bajo
HISPANIC MINISTRY
Por Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News
39
Papa León: Se necesita una conversión del corazón para poner fin a las guerras y sanar la Tierra
40 HISPANIC MINISTRY
Estatua de San Juan Diego instalada en la Iglesia de Kendall Park Por Christina Leslie, Editor colaborador Una estatua de madera tallada a mano, que representa a un indígena mexicano cuyo fervor avivó las llamas de la fe a lo largo del país; fue instalada en la Iglesia de St. Augustine of Canterbury el pasado 15 de agosto, día de la solemnidad de la Asunción de la Virgen María. La estatua, que fue bendecida por el Papa León XIV en el vaticano el pasado mes de junio, ahora reposa en un sitio de honor cerca a la imagen de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, la cual fue bendecida por el Cardenal Norberto Rivera Carrera, Arzobispo de México. El padre Robert G. Lynam, párroco de la parroquia de Kendall Park, ofició la Misa de instalación como celebrante principal, donde parroquianos descendientes de mexicanos, utilizando sus trajes típicos caminaron en procesión por la nave central durante el “Gloria”. Se ofrecieron flores a la estatua de San Juan Diego, ubicada cerca a la imagen enmarcada de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, mientras el incienso ascendía hacia el techo. El simple, humilde santo mexicano es siempre vinculado a la Santísima Madre. En 2019, la Diócesis de Metuchen fue consagrada a Jesús a través de María bajo la advocación de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Nacido en 1474 en la Ciudad de México, Juan Diego fue bautizado en la
Entre los miembros de la Parroquia de San Agustín de Canterbury, en Kendall Park, que dieron la bienvenida a una estatua de San Juan Diego el 15 de agosto durante una Misa de entronización se encontraba Ariadne Brindisi, originaria de México. —Foto cortesía ————
fe católica a la edad de 50 años. El 9 de diciembre de 1531, en su camino a la Misa de la mañana, él tuvo un encuentro con la Santísima Madre en el cerro de Tepeyac,
donde Ella solicitaba que el Obispo local construyera un Santuario en su honor. “Ella le habló en su dialecto,” dijo el padre Lynam acerca del encuentro entre María y el futuro santo. “Su tema fue la conversión y la evangelización. María vino a la tierra como una madre cariñosa con un mensaje de perdón y fe, y los santos son nuestros compañeros de viaje.” El obispo local, escéptico del relato de Juan Diego acerca de su encuentro con María, le pregunto por un signo como prueba antes de proceder. El 12 de diciembre, la Santísima Madre incitó a Juan Diego que regresara al cerro a recoger las rosas que milagrosamente florecían a pesar de la nieve. Cargando las flores en su tilma él regresó donde el obispo, y allí descubrió, impresa en ella, la imagen de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. A la aparición se le atribuyó la conversión de por lo menos tres millones de indígenas al catolicismo, una de la más grandes y rápidas conversiones en la historia. San Juan Diego murió en 1548 y fue enterrado en la primera capilla dedicada a la Virgen de Guadalupe. Él fue beatificado en 1990 por el Papa San Juan Pablo II en la Basílica de la Ciudad de México, y proclamado como santo 12 años después. Su fiesta es el 9 de diciembre. Después de la Misa, Patricia Haaz, feligrés de la parroquia, compartió las razones por las que ella, su esposo Alex Bello-Haaz, y sus niños, Axel y Michelle,
rezaron ante la Virgen Madre y su santo mensajero en la Misa del 15 de agosto. “Me crie como católica devota y he profesado una devoción a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe mientras crecía,” dijo Haaz. “Ese es mi segundo nombre, y fue el nombre de mi madre, y es el segundo nombre de mi hija también.” Ella exaltó la humildad del santo y su fervor, diciendo, “Juan Diego se llamó a si mismo ‘el más pequeño’ y nunca pensó que él fuera importante, pero la Virgen le dijo a él ‘tú eres valioso.’ Me gusta ese mensaje, aunque a veces no me sienta importante.” Una mezcla de las vacaciones familiares aplazadas, junto con la salida anticipada de Alex del hospital donde estaba internado, permitió que la familia pudiera organizarse para asistir a la Misa de instalación después de todo. Patricia presentó la estatua con flores, recalcando, “fue un honor estar involucrada, y esto es muy significativo para mí. Todo pasó por una razón, y esto es como si Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe realmente nos quisiera acá.” Ver la estatua instalada en su parroquia “me hace volver a mis raíces”, dijo la feligresa Ariadne Brindisi. “Es algo muy conmovedor, muy especial. Nací en la Ciudad de México; allí es donde se encuentra el cerro [del Tepeyac], y para mí representa un vínculo, un hogar lejos del hogar, a través de mi fe.”
‘No permitamos que el mal desfigure nuestra humanidad y nos corrompa el corazón’, dice el Papa León
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Por Catholic News Service No recurran al odio ni a la violencia, sea cual sea la injusticia o el daño sufrido, dijo el Papa León XIV, porque solo el amor, la esperanza, el perdón y el respeto protegerán y promoverán la dignidad humana. “Tenemos tanta necesidad de vida, de esperanza, de serenidad, de paz, en nosotros mismos, en nuestras ciºudades, entre los pueblos y las naciones. Por eso, cualquiera que sea la herida, cualquiera que sea la ofensa, ¡no permitamos que el mal desfigure nuestra humanidad y nos corrompa el corazón!”, afirmó en su homilía durante la Misa del 29 de agosto, con motivo de la fiesta de Nuestra Señora del Lago en la localidad de Castel Gandolfo. “No nos conformemos con la mentalidad del mundo” y no nos desanimemos, añadió el Santo Padre. “Sigamos amando, dando y perdonando, ofreciéndonos ‘como sacrificio vivo, santo y agradable a Dios’, para que podamos preservar y cultivar, en nosotros y en los demás, la dignidad infinita de la imagen divina que llevamos en nuestras almas”. El Papa León fue el tercer pontífice, tras los santos Pablo VI y Juan Pablo II,
en celebrar la festividad del 29 de agosto en Castel Gandolfo, con vistas al lago Albano, y participar en una procesión mariana desde la iglesia de María Santísima del Lago –donde se celebró la Misa– hasta el lago de origen volcánico. Rodeada de flores amarillas y blancas sobre una pequeña plataforma, una estatua de Nuestra Señora del Lago fue llevada por las calles hasta el lago, donde esperaban más de una docena de embarcaciones –entre ellas kayaks y motos acuáticas. El Papa León, sin embargo, fue el primer pontífice en subir a la embarcación principal para dar un paseo por el lago, simbolizando la Barca de Pedro y destacando la llamada evangélica a adentrarse en lo profundo y aferrarse a Cristo bajo la mirada maternal de María, especialmente al navegar por aguas turbulentas o inciertas. La embarcación, adornada con flores, la estatua mariana y la bandera del Vaticano, se dirigió lentamente, bajo el sol poniente y las luces parpadeantes, hacia otra playa, donde el Papa León bendijo a la pequeña multitud y a quienes dependen del lago para su sustento. “Cuando los primeros discípulos
El papa León XIV mira hacia una estatua de Nuestra Señora del Lago mientras una embarcación comienza a desplazarse por el lago Albano durante una procesión mariana en Castel Gandolfo, Italia, el 29 de agosto de 2026, fiesta de Nuestra Señora del Lago. —Foto de CNS/Lola Gomez se asustaron ante la terrible tormenta en el mar de Galilea, Jesús les aseguró que ‘tuvieran fe y rezaran, para que pudieran recuperar la paz y, junto con él, siguieran navegando hacia su destino deseado’”, expresó el Papa León durante la Misa que precedió la bendición. Jesús revela “que solo el amor salva. El amor que Dios nos mostró haciéndose hombre, muriendo y resucitando por nosotros”, dijo. Quienes deseen seguir a Cristo deben responder también con amor, afirmó,
y “ofrecernos humildemente a Él y a los hermanos: en la fidelidad constante de la caridad cotidiana, en los gestos más extraordinarios, a veces, hasta el martirio –como, lamentablemente, sigue ocurriendo hoy a muchos cristianos en distintas partes del mundo”. “Con la ayuda de Dios, queremos esparcir por todas partes en el mundo las semillas de su caridad infinita, sin cansarnos, sin medida, para que hoy y siempre alguien pueda regocijarse al cosechar sus frutos”, afirmó el Papa.
41 SPORTS
ST. JOE’S JUNIOR JOE KETUS THRIVING KY CORNERB AS THROUGHACK ATTITUDE FEARLESS
By Greg Joh n
son, Corresp
ondent
St. Joe’s junio r
Joe Ketusky co vers a receiver
during a hom
e game again
st Bridgewater -Raritan on Se
r Joe’s junio . Right, St. photos rs e d n fe e d n ed by two —Hal Brow while swarm r-Raritan on Sept. 5. h tc a c a in ls ate st Bridgew ar Cruz hau senior Edg a home game again ’s e Jo t. S , g Above left pass durin r throws a Cole Seyle activity in the front yard with his cousins. He joined flag football in first grade and then developed in Pop Warner. While Ketusky was mostly a quarterback growing up and even quarterbacked the freshman team at St. Joe’s, the Falcons thought his speed was a better fit at cornerback long-term. He was a quick learner and ended up starting on defense in the team’s playoff game that year. Ketusky had some experience playing defense in his youth, but performing at the varsity level has required hard work for the past two years, especially throughout the spring and summer in 7-on-7s and other drills with teammates. St. Joe’s plays mostly man coverage, and Ketusky expects to routinely match up with the opposing team’s best receiver this season. He has become more of a student of the game under new
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
with three interceptions. That earned him a spot on the First Team for the BCC’s American Gold Division, as voted on by the conference’s coaches. “I feel like the way I read things, I think that helps me a lot,” Ketusky said. “I think my reaction is good.” Ketusky wants to become a more physical cornerback, though, which is why he dedicated himself to bulking up 25 pounds to 170 in five months after last season ended. Throughout the offseason, he attended college camps at Monmouth, Princeton, MIT and Indiana. “Last year I wasn’t as good in press (coverage) and as physical, and I’ve really worked on that,” Ketusky said. “I think that’s where my game is going to make a big jump this year.” The Hillsborough native began playing football in kindergarten as a bonding
defensive coordinator Don Sofilkanich, who was the Falcon’s inside linebackers coach last year. “Coach Sof has been a big help,” Ketusky said. “Learning from him, it’s great. He’s a great coach, and he makes everything really easy.” Now an upperclassman who aspires to play college football, Ketusky is one of four team captains. Teammates lean on him for help with understanding the defense and specific techniques. He is also playing some safety this season, so he assists the linebackers with blitzes as well. “I just really want to help out the guys as much as I can and lead the defense,” Ketusky said. “They think I’m a leader out there and they voted me for captain, so it means a lot. I’m going to live up to the role.” Within his own performance, his goal is to be as physical as possible with receivers, throw them off their route, and disrupt their timing. He is a crucial piece of a St. Joe’s team that went 8-2 last season and anticipates having another strong year. The Falcons began this season 1-0 with a 43-36 win against Bridgewater-Raritan. Quarterback Cole Seyler passed for 270 yards and four touchdowns in his first career start. Running back/linebacker Dominic Rodriguez rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown, and he also hauled in an interception. Edgar Cruz was one of four receivers with at least 40 yards. While he is undersized at times for his position, Ketusky continues to be successful with a simple mindset. “Just playing with no fear, you know what I mean?” Ketusky said. “They’re human. I’m human, too. I’m going to go out there and give it my best.”
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
F
ootball has long been viewed as the sport where generally the biggest kids perform the best. But one athlete at Saint Joseph High School, Metuchen, is an example of how size isn’t everything. Joe Ketusky was among the best defensive backs in the Big Central Conference last season despite standing only 5-foot-9 and weighing 145 pounds. He has typically been one of the smaller kids on his teams since middle school, so he uses his speed, anticipation and technique to gain an edge. “I didn’t let that get to my head – like size or anything,” Ketusky said recently. “I wasn’t afraid of any other kids because they were bigger.” Ketusky started every game at cornerback for St. Joe’s last season, recording 30 tackles and tying for the team lead
pt. 5.
42 SPORTS
KER LATA A T I H W ACU D M DALLAS M I O T S EA RETURNEAM JOB AS H FOR DRALL COACH spondent son, Corre n FOOTB h o J g By Gre Top, Dallas Whitaker, a 2011 Immaculata alum, is in his first season as the Spartans’ head football coach. Far left, Immaculata junior Jaime Marin throws a pass during a game on Sept. 4 at the Torpey Athletic Complex in Bridgewater. Left, Immaculata senior Micah Smith hauls in a pass during a game against St. Joseph-by-the-Sea on Sept. 4 at the Torpey Athletic Complex in Bridgewater. —Hal Brown photos
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
B
efore he even graduated from Immaculata High School, Somerville, in 2011, Dallas Whitaker knew that his dream job was to return one day and follow in the footsteps of a legendary coach. Pierce Fraunheim led the Spartans to the state championship game in three of Whitaker’s four seasons as a player. “Everybody in the school took it really seriously, and he was a great leader and set an example for me. We just had such positive experiences when we were there,” Whitaker said. “It just was really special being part of the team when he was the head coach, and that certainly was something that inspired me to want to do it.” Whitaker, now 33, admittedly thought for a long time that it would never happen. The Somerville native got into coaching early while enrolled at Rutgers, transitioning from a walk-on player to a student coach under Kyle Flood for his last two years. After graduating, Whitaker worked for a year as an assistant football coach at Delaware High. He then spent six years at Somerville – two as an assistant and four as the head coach – before stepping down in 2021 to pursue good opportunities in the private sector.
But then the opportunity of a lifetime arose last winter when Immaculata was interested in overhauling its football program with Whitaker as the head coach and Jeff Vanderbeek as the program director. “It was something I knew I had to do,” Whitaker said. “There were things I had to catch myself up to speed to, things I had to get organized, and then there were just things that I wanted to be done differently than the way the school had previously done them. It just basically was a reorganization of the way that the football program operates within the athletic department in the school. That’s certainly an ongoing process, but it’s one that I think has gone very well and there’s still a ton of work to do. But we’re making progress every day.” Whitaker hired an entirely new staff except for one holdover from the previous regime. Among the new coaches are offensive coordinator Brian Capriola and defensive coordinator Tommy McEntire, who both have Division I college coaching experience. Former Rutgers players Darius Hamilton (defensive line coach) and Steve Longa (linebackers coach) are also on staff. What ties it all together as an elite staff is the tandem of Whitaker and Vanderbeek. They worked together for
Whitaker’s six years at Somerville, with Vanderbeek as the head coach before stepping down into an assistant role. Vanderbeek is also the former owner of the New Jersey Devils. Whitaker considers him a close friend, mentor and second father in some ways. Immaculata is believed to be the only New Jersey high school team to have a dedicated program director. “He’s big-picture and long-term strategic strategy,” Whitaker said. “He is in a direct advisory role to me. We’re constantly talking big picture, things that need to get done … in order to get this to our long-term goal. It’s basically like having another leader of the organization, and someone with obviously incredible business and sports business experience.” While the steps to get there will take time, this new regime has a lofty longterm goal for Immaculata. “We want to be the best program in the state and nationally ranked,” Whitaker said. “Long term, that’s what we want to do. That’s the program we’re building. Short term, I think we could be a really, really good high school team and really competitive in Non-Public B.” After posting a 9-3 record last season, Immaculata is now running an Air Raid offense (pass-heavy) with Whitaker
calling the plays. Some of the key players are wide receiver Ben Terry, running back/safety Kenneth Sharperson, running back/linebacker Jaiden Drake-Murray, safety/running back Micah Smith and wide receiver/safety Quinn Hayden. Whitaker says the formula to building a top program starts with attracting talented players to the school and then developing them with an experienced staff. He previously ran one of the state’s top public school programs at Somerville with a 38-5 record. He is now eight years more experienced and more mature than when he was first a head coach. For example, he has become a father to a daughter in that time and can empathize with parents. With those ingredients, Whitaker believes he’s ready to elevate Immaculata to a premiere level. “I just try to run this as a professional organization as if it is a business,” Whitaker said. “That means engaging and motivating and inspiring the people that work with you – whether that’s in the business, or here it’s the assistant coaches, it’s the players. It’s creating an environment that is really intense where people want to work really, really hard, and then go home and show up the next day and do it all over again.”
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DIOCESE OF METUCHEN
ACROSS 1 Her tomb was the first thing bought in the Bible 6 On the double, initially 10 Offers a price 14 US government obligation 15 Catholic horror actor Lugosi 16 Jacob was afraid to meet him 17 Priestly 19 Shelter for honeybees 20 Second woman mentioned by name in the Bible 21 Prepared for publication 23 Trader 26 Unintelligent 27 Facial hair 28 Bound 30 Founder of the Discalced Carmelites 32 Diocese of Honolulu necklaces 33 Succeeded 36 Jars 37 Catholic Canadian Prime Minister Mulroney 39 “It ___ upon a midnight clear…” 40 Parisian possessive 41 Public disturbance 42 Lyric poems 44 “Paradise Lost” author 46 Property claims 47 Spicy sausages 50 Antelopes 52 Dry red table wine
53 Pertaining to the nonordained members of the Church 54 To him, to Pierre 55 The “I” in RCIA 61 Half of a Pacific paradise’s name 62 Literary Jane 63 “I will ___ up a righteous branch for David” (Jer 23:5) 64 Stately aquatic bird 65 Scrutinize 66 Supped DOWN 1 Holy ones (abbr.) 2 Collection of miscellaneous data 3 Bird that attacked Sinbad’s ship 4 Consumed 5 Messengers 6 “All ___!” 7 Fourth man 8 Pie-mode link 9 The Holy Land 10 At the rear of 11 Last Supper question 12 Recite the Jewish prayers 13 Kid leather 18 JFK predecessor 22 “None of us lives for oneself, and no one ___ for oneself.” (Rom 14:7) 23 Big name in farm equipment
24 “Whoever corrects the arrogant ___ insults” (Prov 9:7) 25 God of war 26 Space 27 A/C letters 29 Catholic United States Supreme Court justice 31 Talents 33 Got one’s feet wet 34 Auguries 35 Promontory 38 Decays 39 Parable of the ___ in the fish 41 “The ___ of the Ancient Mariner” 43 Poster 44 Pertaining to the Blessed Mother 45 Tidy up 47 Strikebreakers 48 Permit 49 Dern of “Rambling Rose” 51 Nero’s full deck? 53 Former monetary unit of Italy 56 St. Frances Cabrini is buried here (abbr.) 57 Mai ___ 58 “Am ___ your way?” 59 Sweet suffix 60 Actor Beatty
OUR DIOCESE
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Crossword Puzzle
Answers can be found on page 47
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44 LIVING FAITH
What is the Catholic Church’s teaching on the death penalty?
Q
I know officially the Catholic Church is against the death penalty, but what about Genesis 9:6?
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A
It looks like there are two dimensions to your question: the Church’s teaching on the death penalty, and how we are to read the Old Testament as Catholics. Starting with this latter aspect, it’s good to keep in mind that the Old Testament (and the Bible in general) is not so much a single book as it is a whole library of books. Different books of the Old Testament have different genres. For example, a book recounting historical events is going to have a different nature and purpose than a book of sacred poetry, and these are going to be different from a book meant to expound directly on the law or other moral principles. Furthermore, the Old Testament is filled with complicated, flawed characters who often sin grievously despite having been chosen by God for a special mission. Even in cases where a passage of the Old Testament was meant as a straightforward moral directive, there is often some significant cultural context to take into consideration when discerning what message we should be taking away today. In particular, the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament often add a new depth of meaning or a more layered obligation. For example, although divorce was permitted in the Old Testament law of Moses, Jesus forbids divorce for his followers on the basis that this was not the plan for marriage that God originally intended (Mt 19:1-12).
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A file photo shows protesters against the death penalty in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington. —OSV News photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters
The quotation you mention specifically is part of the story of Noah and the ark. This passage is found towards the end of that narrative. After the flood is over, and Noah and his family have disembarked, God is exhorting Noah on how to go forward in rebuilding life in the post-flood world. Echoing the story of the creation of Adam and Eve, Chapter 9 begins with God telling Noah and his children to “be fertile and multiply,” and God reminds them that they have dominion over all the animals. But while human beings are given the right to kill and eat animals for food, God forbids them from killing each other. Genesis 9:6 reads: “Anyone who sheds the blood of a human being, by a human being shall that one’s blood be shed; For in the image of God have human beings been made.” In context, clearly the “point” of this passage is that all human beings are made
in the image and likeness of God, and thus all human life has a special dignity. God is using the language of the time – that is, a language that often phrases transcendent values in terms of concrete consequences – to express this truth. This is not the same thing as God commanding Noah to execute offenders, and it certainly isn’t the same thing as God ordering all human societies to enact capital punishment for all time across all societies in history. This biblical emphasis on the dignity of human life actually supports our current Church teaching on the death penalty. Historically, the Church’s moral theology did tolerate the possibility of societies making use of capital punishment in certain circumstances, where this was the best or only option for the protection of innocent citizens. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes: “Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.” But as this same paragraph of the Catechism goes on to elaborate: “Today, however, ... more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens ... Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.’” 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.
Pope grants Jubilee Year for Guadalupe Basilica anniversary MEXICO CITY (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV has decreed a Jubilee Year to mark the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Archdiocese of Mexico City announced. Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico City will officially open the Jubilee on Oct. 12, coinciding with the 131st anniversary of the Virgin of Guadalupe’s pontifical coronation. The holy year will run through Oct. 12, 2027. Pilgrims visiting Catholicism’s most visited Marian shrine can obtain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions: sacramental confession, receiving communion, and praying for the Pope’s intentions. Dedicated in 1976 near Tepeyac Hill, the modern basilica houses St. Juan Diego’s tilma carrying the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The celebration also commemorates the transfer of the mantle to its dedicated chapel behind the main altar. The archdiocese plans several liturgical celebrations on the eve of the opening.
Pope Leo XIV prays before an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the conclusion of his Mass for her feast day in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Dec. 12, 2025.
—CNS photo/Lola Gomez
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Books of the Month
ARTS & MEDIA
You’re not just raising a child. You’re raising a future saint. That’s the whole job. And no saint in history ever reached heaven without learning to face the same seven dragons your child faces every day. Pride. Envy. Sloth. Greed. Wrath. Gluttony. Lust. They have names. They have weaknesses. And in this series, your child meets them face to face, with the weapons of virtue in hand. The 7 Deadly Dragons is a complete seven-book chapter book series that takes the oldest battle in the world, the soul against the seven deadly sins, and turns it into the kind of story kids beg to keep reading. When his father dies, young Rolland is sent to the hidden Woodshire Academy
of Dragon Slaying on the remote Viaticus Islands. There, under the guidance of Father Thomas, he discovers a shocking truth. The dragons he must face are not beasts of flesh. They are the seven deadly sins themselves, dragons that don’t kill the body, but devour the soul. Book by book, Rolland and his fellow squires are trained to face, fight, and defeat each one, learning the weapons of virtue that overcome them. What’s in the series: • 1,078 pages of faith-forward storytelling. Over 100 full-color illustrations. One unforgettable journey. • Built for Catholic families, endorsed by the Church.
• Every book in the series carries the ecclesiastical Permission to Publish from Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of the Diocese of Toledo, ensuring 100% fidelity to the teachings of the Catholic Church. • Perfect for ages 7 to 13, family read-aloud time, First Communion and Confirmation gifts, Lent and Advent reading, Catholic schools, and parish libraries. • The dragons are real. The training is real. Equip your child for the battle that matters most. About the Author Dr. John R. Wood is the author of ten books and the President of Extraordinary
To download a free sample, to obtain a free copy of The Red Dragon of Pride, or to purchase copies of the entire book series, please visit https://extraordinarymission.com/pages/7-deadly-dragons.
New Jersey Chinese Catholic Apostolate New Jersey Chinese Catholic Apostolate
Kenneth “Ken” Genco, SFR, ABR
Office: 908-874-8421, Cell: 908-229-5045 Kgenco48@gmail.com www.kengenco.com Call me anytime for a free market analysis!
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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
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Mission, a Catholic nonprofit dedicated to the Universal Call to Holiness. His first book, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Mission, has been distributed in over a quarter million copies, and he has spoken at hundreds of parishes and schools across the country. In 2024, John and his family released The 7 Deadly Dragons series, which has already placed over 100,000 books in the hands of families learning to slay the dragons of sin with the weapons of virtue.
46 ARTS & MEDIA
Movie Reviews
Spider-Man: Brand New Day By John Mulderig, OSV News
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
NEW YORK (OSV News) -- Peter Parker and his titular alter ego (Tom Holland) face challenges both emotional and physical in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” (Sony), an engaging extension of the long-lived franchise. While the film’s underlying values are sound, however, an excess of vulgar dialogue makes it questionable fare even for older teens. As viewers of the previous live-action installment, 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” will recall, circumstances have forced Peter to cause everyone around him to forget that they ever knew him. Thus, as this chapter opens, he’s living in lonely isolation from his true love, MJ (Zendaya) and his best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon). Peter also begins to experience mys-
The Odyssey By John Mulderig, OSV News As written and directed by Christopher Nolan, this lavish, absorbing adaptation of Homer’s epic poem blends spectacle with thematic substance. With his army and the forces of his Greek allies having triumphed over their Trojan foes, King Odysseus (Matt Damon) of Ithaca sets out for his homeland. But his ships lose their way and he and his men are delayed by a series of challenging, and costly, misadventures. In spite of his decades-long absence, Odysseus’ queen (Anne Hathaway) remains faithful to him and despises the unwanted attention of the suitors (the most prominent played by Robert Pattinson) who have besieged her court. Though equally steadfast
terious medical problems related to his hybrid nature as part human, part arachnid. These come at a bad time since, having brought down a host of ordinary criminals, he faces an unknown opponent who has the ability to inhabit other people’s bodies. Predictably slick action set pieces are paced by poignant moments in director Destin Daniel Cretton’s Marvel Comics-based adventure which carries lessons about the importance of empathy and the futility of vengeance. Those positive values are somewhat offset, though, by the salty vocabulary in returning screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers’ script. Many of these wayward words are put into the mouth of Frank Castle, aka The Punisher (Jon Bernthal). Having lost his loved ones in a tragic way only hinted at in the screenplay, Frank has tangled with Peter in the past but now becomes his off-and-on ally. Intended as a foil to Peter’s ever-polite and sensitive persona, Frank is a down-and-dirty fighter much given to referencing excrement. His actions
are sometimes as willfully wrongheaded as his speech. So, like the enigmatic adversary Peter and he eventually go up against – and, indeed, like Peter himself – Frank has some hard-won life lessons to acquire amid the dustups. The film contains much stylized violence with little gore, several instances each of profanity and milder swearing, brief sexual humor, considerable crude
talk and a couple of crass terms. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG13 – parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. John Mulderig is media reviewer for OSV News. Follow him on X @JohnMulderig1.
in his devotion to his father, Odysseus’ young son and heir (Tom Holland) grows impatient and steals away to gain information about the great warrior’s fate. Viewers formed by Judeo-Christian beliefs may find themselves somewhat adrift in a milieu in which the capricious, and often malevolent, gods of the ancient world hold sway. Yet they will easily identify with the screenplay’s emphasis on hospitality, especially as extended to those in need, its affirmation of a pagan version of the golden rule as well as its questioning of what constitutes a just war. Given this classic tale’s educational value, the film is probably acceptable for older teens. Much harsh but mostly bloodless violence, multiple disturbing images, a glimpse of rear nudity in a nonsexual context, a scene of marital sensuality, a couple of instances each of mild swearing and rough language, at least one crude term, about a half-dozen crass expressions. The
OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R – restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
—Courtesy image/Universal Studios
Top, this is a scene from the movie “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” —OSV
News photo/Sony Pictures.
Left, Peter Parker/ Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is pictured in a scene from the movie “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” — OSV News photo/Jay Maidment, Sony Pictures)
47
SELLING YOUR HOME?
OCT
Sung Mass in Latin, Saint Therese “The greatest saint of modern times,” 6 p.m., St. John Vianney Church, 420 Inman Ave., Colonia; Veneration of first-class relic; procession with helicopter rose petal drop at 6 p.m. Mass to follow. apostolati.org/for-healing.
Willing to buy your home or townhouse in as-is condition. Quick 30 day cash closing. I’m a Licensed realtor in the State of NJ. Call or text Eugene “George” Pantozzi 908-392-2677.
OCT
Candlelight Procession, 7 p.m., Our Lady of Fatima Parish, 501 New Market Rd., Piscataway; commemorating the 109th anniversary of the “Miracle of the Sun” and the apparition of Our Blessed Lady and St. Joseph in Fatima, Portugal on Oct. 13, 1917. Parish Office - 732-968-5555.
Did the Jesuits Really Sink the Titanic? Continues from page 18
OCT
Flea Market, St. Vincent de Paul Society of Corpus Christi Church, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 24. Rain date Oct. 31. All proceeds help South River residents in need. It will be held in the lower parking lot off Kamm Ave. Many private vendors will be participating. Spots are $20 each, paid in advance. Cash or checks made out to St. Vincent de Paul Society may be mailed or dropped off at the parish office, 100 James Street, South River, NJ 08882 during office hours. Bring your own table. Any questions may be sent to svdpcorpuschristisrnj@yahoo.com, or call 732-570-9362.
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Miraculous Medal Shrine Philadelphia Pilgrimage, Reading Terminal Market for lunch & shopping. Cost $60. Cash Rebate if bus is filled. Optional Tours: Basilica Shrine and Rosary Walk - $15; Marian Art Museum -$12 (Separate check for each tour). Sts. Philip and James School parking lot, 137 Roseberry St., Phillipsburg. 7 a.m. departure – 5:30 p.m. return. Bus will not wait for latecomers. Contact Camille Bates - 908-319-2719 DIOCESAN PROGRAMS
COURAGE is a ministry for persons who experience unwanted same-sex attraction. For more information please call 732-562-2476 or email couragecnj@gmail.com. Adoration at Pastoral Center – The faithful are invited to Eucharistic Adoration at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Tuesday mornings 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 Maria Agnese at magnese@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. Volunteers Needed – Catholic Charities Thrift Store and Food Pantry Catholic Charities needs volunteers for their thrift store and food pantry in Phillipsburg. Your time can directly help those in need. Contact Maria Hunter at 732-387-1315 or mhunter@ccdom.org to learn more about how you can contribute. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS OCT
3-4
OCT
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St. Bartholomew Knights of Columbus Council 11873 Annual Right to Life Baby Bottle Blessing Drive to support the Inspire Family Life Center in Warren. Pick up an empty baby bottle after Masses at St. Bartholomew Parish, 470 Ryders Lane, East Brunswick, October 17/18. On following weekends, Oct 24/25 or Oct31/Nov1, drop off bottles filled with your donation (cash, check or change). Please make checks payable to “Inspire Family Life Center.” For more information please contact Al at usnavy1970s@gmail .com.
Did you see
Sherlock hiding on a page in this issue?
S A R A H A S A P B I D S B E L A E S A U T N O T E S A C E R D O T A L H I V E A D A H E D I T E D D E A L E R A S I N I N E D A R T E D B E A R D T E R E S A L E I S W O N U R N S B R I A N C A M E R I O T E P O D E S S E S M I L T O N L I E N S E L A N D S S A L A M I S C L A R E T L A I C A L U I I N I T I A T I O N B O R A E Y R E R A I S E S W A N S C A N D I N E D www.wordgamesforcatholics.com
Be among the first five to contact Mary Gregory at mgregory@diometuchen.org or 732-529-7934 with correct page and receive a $5 Dunkin’ gift card. Include a suggestion for a parish/school/organization story we may use, receive a $10 Dunkin’ gift card. Please provide your name, address and parish.
In August’s issue, Sherlock was on page 11. And the winners were: • Christine Eddington, St. Cecelia Parish, Iselin • Patrick Connolly, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Whitehouse Station • Julia Ellsworth, St. Cecelia Parish, Iselin Going forward - one winner per household per month.
The October issue of The Catholic Spirit • goes to press October 26 • ad space reservation deadline -September 30 • ad artwork deadline - October 5 • late requests considered if space allows Due to the large number of congratulatory ads expected, our production department asks advertisers to reserve the ad space by Sept. 30 and send final digital, designed ad by Oct. 5. We only accept high-resolution PDF or JPEG files, 300 dpi, color, at the correct ad size. We DON’T accept Publisher or MS Word files. For questions or ad size specs, contact Mary Gregory at mgregory@diometuchen.org or call 732-529-7934.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
St Bart’s Athletics and Knights of Columbus Council 11873 Golf Classic, Meadows at Middlesex, 70 Hunters Glen Drive, Plainsboro. 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. registration, 9 a.m. start. Cost: Foursome registration - $600; individual golfer - $150. Includes green fees, golf cart, continental breakfast, light food at turn, buffet lunch reception, on-course contests, refreshments, and registration gift. Register online at: stbartssports.com. Various sponsorships are available. Contact Joe Monteleone at 908-421-9715 or jmonteleone@stbartseb.com.
John F Kennedy and the Religion Issues Kennedy’s Catholicism raised similar concerns that Al Smith’s did three decades earlier. To counter this, in September 1960, Kennedy spoke to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. He said “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference…” Still, religion was a factor in the campaign. The American Council of Christian Churches unanimously approved a resolution “as being opposed to a Roman Catholic for President.” In a similar vein, the National Association of Evangelicals expressed doubt that a Catholic President “could or would resist fully the pressures of the ecclesiastical hierarchy…. The real source of unrest in respect to church-state separation is the total
lack of any convincing commitment of the Roman Catholic Church to the principle of church-state separation….” Anti-Catholicism has certainly spawned some outlandish conspiracy theories. The insanity that followed in its wake is still with us to this day. Carl Ganz Jr. is a member of the New Jersey Catholic Historical Commission and the diocesan Commission for Historical Records. He is a parishioner of Immaculate Conception Parish, Somerville, and the author of several books on American Catholic history.
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
OCT
17-18
St. Batholomew Knights of Columbus Council 11873 Clothing Drive, 460 Ryders Lane, East Brunswick. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Donations of clean usable men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing for those in need. Clothing, coats, jackets, shoes, hats, belts, ties, bed and bath linens are needed. Donated items are provided to the needy and not resold. Please no stuffed animals. For more information contact Jack at jtm21365@hotmail.com or 732-331-4208.
a storage facility for weapons and heavy artillery for the upcoming war against the Protestants.
Crossword Puzzle Answers:
1
OUR DIOCESE
Diocesan Events
48 OUR DIOCESE
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Hunterdon County Immaculate Conception Annandale icsannandale.org 908-735-6334
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Middlesex County St. Joseph Carteret sjps.net 732-541-7111 St. John Vianney Colonia school.sjvianney.com 732-388-1662
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
St. Bartholomew East Brunswick school.stbartseb.com 732-254-7105 St. Helena Edison sthelenaedison.org 732-549-6234 St. Matthew Edison stmatthewtheapostle.com/school 732-985-6633 St. Augustine of Canterbury Kendall Park staugustinenj.org 732-297-6042
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St. James Basking Ridge sjsbr.org 908-766-4774
St. Thomas Aquinas Edison stahs.net 732-549-1108
School of St. Elizabeth Bernardsville steschool.org 908-766-0244
Immaculata Somerville immaculatahighschool.org 908-722-0200
St. Ann Raritan stannparish.com 908-725-7787
Mount Saint Mary Academy Watchung mountsaintmary.org 908-757-0108
Perth Amboy Catholic School pacatholicschool.org 732-442-9533
St. Matthias Somerset stmatthias.info 732-828-1402
Saint Joseph Metuchen stjoes.org 732-549-7600
St. Stanislaus Kostka Sayreville sskschool.org 732-254-5819
Immaculate Conception Somerville icsschool.org 908-725-6516
St. Francis Cathedral Metuchen stfranciscathedralschool.org 732-548-3107 St. Ambrose, Old Bridge stambroseschool.net 732-679-4700 St. Thomas the Apostle Old Bridge sttaob.com 732- 251-4000 Assumption Catholic Perth Amboy assumptioncatholicschool.net 732-826-8721
Holy Savior Academy South Plainfield holysavioracademy.com 908-822-5890 St. James, Woodbridge sj-school.org 732-634-2090
Somerset County
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Warren County
Saints Philip and James Phillipsburg sspjnj.org 908-859-1244
Independent, non-diocesan educational intitutions under the auspices and direction of a religious order or another diocese.
Office of Schools, Diocese of Metuchen, Full page ad, 9.6 x 11.875”, 2025-08 Back to School
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