ASBURY – Seated before Bishop James F. Checchio in the open-air National Blue Army Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima on the eve of Father’s Day, five men – four newly ordained priests and one newly ordained deacon, all for the Diocese of Metuchen – were called to emulate the love of St. Joseph for his Son, Jesus, with all God’s people.
More than a now nationally recognized holiday, Juneteenth is a heartening celebration of emancipation, a sobering remembrance of the horrors of slavery, and a call for each of us to embrace our shared humanity and recognize the fundamental truth that we are all equally made in the image and likeness of God.
The recent string of mass shootings over these past few months, the latest of which occurred earlier today in Austin, Texas, has been a tragic reminder of the many lives lost to gun violence over the years and a jarring reminder of the long road ahead as we work towards peace.
As you may be aware, just a couple of weeks ago, my brother New Jersey bishops and I released a statement reinstating the general obligation to attend Mass, beginning on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, the weekend of June 5 and June 6. Gratefully, we will together come home to our parishes, gathering as a Eucharistic assembly around the table of the Lord to receive Him in the Eucharist, the source and summit of our faith.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations has shared the results of the study A Portrait of the Permanent Diaconate: A Study for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 2020-2021. This annual survey, conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University, provides an illustration of the state of the permanent diaconate in the United States, including the number of those ordained and retired in the past year, percentages of those involved in various Church ministries, and other demographic information.