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You might have heard me share this before, but we are entering one of my favorite times of year. Even though I prefer the warmer weather, I always love the time of year around Thanksgiving Day, as it is a wonderful time of gratitude for our country but also a time to catch up with family and friends more often.

$7.3 Million Goal, $8.1 Million Raised, 18,000 Donors

At the end of September into October, I had the blessing of going to Rome for a visit. I always enjoy going back to visit Rome. I stay at the North American College (NAC) where I studied as a seminarian and a young priest and then, later, served as Rector. So Rome has many beautiful memories for me. During my time as Rector, 500 seminarians were ordained priests for service here in the United States and work throughout the country in parishes, but some are back in Rome doing graduate studies, working for the Holy See or at the seminary forming new priests. It is always great to have an opportunity to catch up with them and hear about their priestly ministry.

"In a sense we can become too familiar with our Eucharistic Lord, but the Congress and surrounding events, have certainly helped us all to recall the extraordinary event that takes place at each Mass, nothing less than the representation of Jesus’ saving acts for us and God’s coming to us Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity."

Bishop Checchio would like you to participate in the ‘Walk With One Initiative.’ This initiative revolves around four simple steps.

If you are able, make time to go to a daily Mass and perhaps afterwards even go out for breakfast with family or friends. Extending such an invitation to family or friends is something that no doubt will be appreciated as they get to spend time with you and the Lord!

May is such a wonderful month!  The days are getting longer and warmer. I welcome this, especially for my morning walks. Flowers and lawns are renewed, adding beauty to our neighborhoods, too. We are getting ready for graduations of all kinds. Ordinations take place and so many of our children receive their first Holy Communion this month.

Blessed Easter graces to all! I hope that you enjoyed Holy Week and Easter as much as I did. Gratefully, we are still in the Easter Season until Pentecost Sunday, so we get to relish in Easter graces for a longer time. The readings at our Masses about the resurrected appearances of Jesus lift our spirits and deepen our faith as Jesus continues to share Himself with the disciples and us, even after His crucifixion.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Around the world we join with our brother and sister Christians proclaiming with joy Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. We exult in the Resurrection because, as St. Peter tells us, Jesus “gave us a new birth to a living hope … to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).

It feels like we just finished Christmas and here we are in Lent already! Ash Wednesday began our Lenten season, and we heard the Lord beckoning us to return to Him with our whole hearts! How do we do that? The Church provides us with a new opportunity to focus ourselves anew on Christ through the three Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Stay with us, Lord: Renew our Hearts and Send Us on Mission

It never seems like I am ready to say goodbye to the Christmas season. The joyful days of Christmas always pass by so quickly. Our churches look so beautiful during Christmas with the Nativity scenes, the trees and poinsettias but it is only a couple of weeks long.

Recently, I had to go to Washington D.C. for two days of meetings for the Board of the Business School at Catholic University of America and the Papal Foundation. I try not to take on too many responsibilities outside the Diocese since much of my time is taken up just trying to tend to the needs of our wonderful Diocese.

November is a wonderful month, despite the arrival of winter, of which I am not a huge fan. The colder weather makes my morning walks tougher, especially when the winds pick up or snow comes. Sometimes I am forced to use the treadmill instead! I enjoy being outside and in our neighborhoods as the day’s activities start, but the treadmill gets me moving, too and I can still pray the Rosary and organize my day during that time. 

This year during the month of October we celebrate the 50th Respect Life Month! Here in our Diocese, we opened the month with seven life chains in different towns where many lined the streets giving witness to the sanctity of life. I was able to participate in the life chain in Somerville. There I met and gave witness to life with wonderful parishioners from Somerville, Raritan, Bridgewater, Hillsborough and other towns in the area. There were students from Immaculata High School, too. The dedication of all the good people in life chains was certainly inspiring.

When this edition of The Catholic Spirit is published, I will be with my mother and others in my family down the shore. Joining us will be friends who are flying in from the Midwest. For one couple, it will be their first visit to the Jersey shore!

It is hard to believe that this month marks the first anniversary of the historic Supreme Court decision in the case of Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which overturned Roe vs. Wade and returned the abortion issue back to the states. This goal had been in the works for so long that it seemed at times like the day would never come, but here we are a year later.

This edition of “The Catholic Spirit” highlights our permanent deacons celebrating anniversaries of their ordination. For my column, I thought I would share my homily from our ordination of transitional deacons, which was held at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, May 13. We certainly are blessed by the service of our deacons who are configured to Christ the Servant and serve our parishes and institutions in so many ways. I ask you to join me in petitioning our loving Lord to bless our new transitional deacons and all our permanent deacons, as well as those now in formation for ordination. It is always a joy to serve with them at the altar on my parish visits. It is only one aspect of the many ways they serve, but one I am happy to share with them. A bishop and priest is still a deacon and called to make Christ the Servant present, so may we all make Christ the Servant present through our ministries! May God bless you all, and may Mary our Mother, during this her special month, give us her maternal protection. Know of my love, prayers and gratitude for you all!