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During the beginning of February, I had the opportunity to join with my brother bishops of New Jersey and Pennsylvania for our annual retreat. It is always encouraging to be with other bishops in a week of prayer and fellowship. This year’s director for our retreat was Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport who gave us wonderful input for our prayer reminding us of Jesus’ love for us and His desire for us to share that love with those we minister to.

Happy New Year! Our Holy Father has proclaimed a Jubilee Year for 2025, marking the 2,025th anniversary of the Birth of Jesus. Generally, Jubilee years are held each 25 years to mark the important milestone related to our Savior’s birth. Jubilee years are meant to be a time of grace, a time to deepen our friendship with Jesus.

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!