Local Catholics embody Easter joy ‘on front lines’ to serve physical, spiritual needs

PISCATAWAY – For many in the Diocese of Metuchen, Easter was different this year, but for some, the day was business as usual.

Staff of the Ozanam Inn, a men’s shelter in New Brunswick, operated by Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, served dinner to their 40 residents who would otherwise be homeless, much like they do every day.

While much of the state remains at a standstill because of the coronavirus, the work of Catholic Charities cannot be halted, according to Julio Coto, acting executive director of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen.

“If anything, we have seen an increase in requests for basic services,” said Coto. “Our staff members, as they always have, but with even greater sacrifice now, leave behind families of their own on holidays to come to work because they recognize that if they don’t, there will be many, many people without access to the food, shelter and help they need.”

The Corporal Works of Mercy – among them feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless – unfold every day through the outreach of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen. But the Catholic agency, which last year provided 117,967 meals and shelter for 585 people who otherwise would have been homeless, like many other agencies, has been drastically impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

As of April 9, 10% of the U.S. labor force was out of work because of the closure of most essential businesses and their timeline for reopening remains uncertain. As a result, the need for basic services is even greater now, according to Coto.

“We are still providing remote services and face-to-face essential services, though some have been modified in order to accommodate the additional safety measures needed to protect our clients and staff,” said Coto. “Considering the widespread impact the coronavirus has had on the state of New Jersey, providing the services we regularly offer under normal circumstances has become somewhat of a monumental task, but through the selfless service of our staff, we have been able to maintain our standard of service.”

According to Coto, “so much is changing during these trying times, but the mission of Catholic Charities and the Church lives on in each encounter.”

With funding from the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, Catholic Charities serves the community with compassion, dignity and respect, and continually adapts to the growing and changing needs in the Diocese of Metuchen. More information about Catholic Charities’ programs and services can be found on the agency’s website, www.ccdom.org.

“On Holy Thursday, this year especially, I was struck by the words of the Gospel reading, in which Jesus says, ‘I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do,’” said Coto. “His is the model we follow in our work – we love one another as He loves us and we live with a spirit of Easter joy year-round, offering that to our clients too, because we know that His suffering is transformed through faith and with this faith, we are able to experience joy even in the midst of challenges and trials like those we’re facing now,” he said.

As a result of the generosity of donors and the dedication of its staff, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen has been able to keep their services operational.

The agency is still providing help to clients in need of rental assistance to keep a roof over their head. Their permanent and supportive housing programs continue to provide case management to their tenants and their shelters remain fully staffed and equipped to provide lodging, meals, crisis counseling and case management services to their residents who would otherwise be homeless.

The Catholic Charities’ food pantry, one of the largest food pantries in Warren County, is providing curbside food delivery to its clients and is making home food deliveries to seniors, who are categorized at high-risk of contagion for the coronavirus.

The mobile response and stabilization services program, which dispatches crisis staff to homes, schools or other safe locations where youth between the ages of 5-21 are experiencing a behavioral or mental health crisis that jeopardizes their immediate and overall safety and well-being, is still engaging in face-to-face outreach to families in crisis.

Outpatient counseling services are still being provided. The independent living program continues to provide coverage and comfort to youth and the immigration program continues to take on new cases.

Children in New Jersey's child protection and child welfare agency programs are still monitored through telephonic case management. The Catholic Charities’ program of assertive community treatment teams is still providing psychiatric services and delivering food and medication to their clients with serious and persistent mental illness.

“I am so grateful for the work by our staff and the personal sacrifices they make to come to work in these challenging times,” said Coto. “They are the true heroes for our clients and we could not be doing all that we are without them.”

Unlike Catholic Charities, priests in the Diocese of Metuchen are completely remaking how they minister to their people.

“Just like our brothers and sisters who work in Catholic Charities are attending to the physical needs of people in our communities, our priests are still attending to the spiritual needs of our people,” said Fr. Timothy A. Christy, vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Diocese of Metuchen. “Though our methods of reaching people may have changed, it is important that we remain spiritually present for the faithful, and physically present from a safe distance when needed.”

Like many, they face a new normal this year because of social distancing due to the coronavirus. Many priests took to livestreaming Easter Sunday liturgies in empty churches, hearing scant responses from the lay faithful to which they are accustomed.

“Our good and gracious God is keenly sentient of the struggles and suffering of His children, as is our Church,” said Fr. Christy. “Together, the priests and personnel who minister to the physical and spiritual needs of our people are stepping forward in faith, putting faith into action. We remain available to assist the sick and suffering, to reach out to the scared, the anxious, the disturbed, and the lonely, as well as tending to the marginalized and disenfranchised throughout our Diocese.”

According to Fr. Christy, priests of the Diocese of Metuchen continue to remain available to the faithful by phone or by mutual arrangement with their parish priest to meet for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, while exercising social distancing. In a time of imminent death, they will also respond to administer the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

“I am so proud of the work Catholic Charities does, as well as the work of all our religious and clergy, and our lay faithful, who provide funding for their important ministries by supporting our Bishop’s Annual Appeal,” said the Most Rev. James F. Checchio, Bishop of Metuchen. “What a difference they make and what a blessing they are for the people in need in our diocese!”

For more information about Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, visit: www.ccdom.org. For information on how you can support their ministry, visit: https://diometuchen.org/baa.

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