News - October 2019 RSS Feed

Recently, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reported that suicide rates among American teenagers increased by an alarming 56 percent in the last 10 years. Sadly, suicide is now the second-leading cause of death among Americans ages 10 to 24 and is considered a public health crisis.

I recently heard a marketing expert explain how Halloween is one of the biggest consumer holidays of the calendar year. Many people love this day and decorate for it a month or more in advance of Oct. 31. In fact, it seems that, apart from Christmas, Americans spend more money on Halloween, tricks and treats, decorations and costumes, than any other holiday. Why this fascination with zombies (bodies without souls), ghosts (souls without bodies), tombstones, witches, wizards, monsters, animated pumpkins and scarecrows? Some sociologists allege that the reason for America’s growing fascination with the macabre, the occult and the dead is rooted in the erroneous notion that Halloween is a secular holiday. It is divorced from anything to do with family life, race, creed or sexual orientation. Nothing could be further from the truth, at least the part that asserts Halloween is a purely secular holiday. Perhaps in some circles, this is true but not the origins of Halloween, which takes us back more than 2,000 years ago to a tribe called the “Celts” that inhabited all of Ireland, most of the British Isles and part of France. The Celts celebrated the beginning of the new year on Nov. 1. This day symbolized the end of summer and the onset of winter. It was the time of the harvest. Celts believed that on New Year’s Eve, Oct. 31, the ghosts of the dead could roam the land from sundown on Oct. 31 until sunrise on Nov. 1. On Samhain, as this night was called, it was believed that the ghosts of the dead would rise from their graves, cause pranks and possibly ruin the harvest. To ward off these annoying spirits, the Celts wore costumes, usually made of animal heads and skins. They built a bonfire and paraded around the cemeteries of their dead until sunrise on Nov. 1.

Article 127 - Catechism of the Catholic Church Series Paragraphs 1667-1676 For most Catholic families, the grueling task of cleaning out the family home following the death of one’s parents or grandparents includes years of accumulated paperwork, some collectables, bric-a-brac and, of course, sacrament certificates, medals, rosary beads, crucifixes, statues of countless saints (including every possible variation of Mary), relics, water from Lourdes, Fatima, etc., and blessed oil in honor of St. Anne, St. Joseph, St. Jude, and St. Peregrine.

While shepherding a diocese calls for the commitment of bishop, clergy, religious and the lay faithful, Church theology and the law of the Church teaches that the priests of the diocese are the primary collaborators of the bishop in his role as Chief Shepherd. So, during my past three and a half years here in Metuchen, I have come to know our priests and have grown to love and admire them.

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal . . .” (Sir 35:17). These words from the Book of Sirach serve as an apt summary of our Gospel reading this Sunday. This week St. Luke’s Gospel, the Gospel of Prayer, provides yet another lesson on how to pray. Before the Lord God, Luke stresses, all must bow their heads and hearts as humble sinners.

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

Have you ever considered the fact that all priests, bishops and consecrated religious men and women first lived as members of the lay faithful, often as teenagers seeking to discern the vocation in life to which God was calling them, before they were ordained or consecrated to God?

Whoever thought that when we were saving our coins to help the missionaries in far-off lands, 30 or 40 or 50 years later, these missionaries would be working in our parishes? Yes, we, the wealthiest, most powerful country in the world, have become one of those “missions” that we envisioned only in third world nations of Africa, Asia and South America. How did this happen?

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

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