January 15, 2023
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This weekend I have invited a team of parishioners who will be giving their witness of faith, and how the Church has helped them in their sufferings.
Indeed, this Sunday the Gospel is fulfilled in our midst because these brethren will say like John the Baptist, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.:
In fact, together with them we will preach the good news of the gospel for several weeks, powerful talks will be given by these catechists and myself to help this parish live our Catholic faith.
All are invited to attend, including youth from 12 year and older.
There are no fees, no sign up, and no commitment.
Come and Listen.
Fr. Mauro
December 25, 2022
November 27, 2022
November 6, 2022
October 16, 2022
September 11, 2022
June 12, 2002
June 5, 2022
Dear Parish Family,
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost marking the end of our Easter season. Pentecost is the birthday of our Church and is when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Apostles did, we become more knowing and understanding of the mysteries of the Gospel and of our mission to spread the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
I am very pleased to announce that Cardinal Tobin has graciously granted us a newly ordained priest, Rev. Peter J. Volz, who will start his assignment here on June 18th. We are grateful to the Archdiocese for being attentive to the needs of our large, vibrant parish. To this end, I want to especially thank all who joined me in supporting the Annual Appeal, which I, too, personally support. Indeed, there are many needs beyond our Parish boundaries that deserve our support, which we cannot accomplish ourselves, such as the formation of new priests. There is no better way to offer our financial support than through the ministries by which others know that Jesus is alive and working in and through our Archdiocese of Newark.
The Annual Appeal is also a great way to provide financial benefits to our own parish of Saint John the Apostle. While we already surpassed our pledged and received amount from last year we are thankfully in a position to receive two financial incentives. All Pledges made by June 30, 2022, that exceed our goal of $71,902 will make our parish eligible for a 100% rebate. For example, if Saint John raises $74,902 in pledges by June 30, 2022, then we are eligible for a rebate of $3,000. We would use our rebate amount to repair windows, update air conditioning, and offset potential snow plow costs next year, etc. The actual rebate amount will be based on the funds collected by December 31, 2022.
Also, if we meet or exceed our parish goal of $71,902 goal in pledges by June 30, 2022, our parish will receive a 1% assessment rate reduction in our parish assessment for Fiscal Year 2023. This is a potential savings of $1,128 for our parish! We currently have received $47,000 in pledges. We must reach our goal in pledges by June 30, and we must collect these funds by December in order to receive this incentive.
Next Sunday we will have seminarians speak at all the Masses regarding their call to the priesthood. They can continue their priestly formation thanks to your support, in fact, one of the most important areas of the Annual Appeal is the formation of new priests. I have made my own personal gift to this year’s Appeal. I invite you to join us and many of our fellow parishioners to consider making a pledge as well. You may fill out the pledge card available in the pews, mail it back to the Office of Development and Stewardship, place it in our collection basket, or bring it to our parish office. You can also respond to the recent Annual Appeal mailings or make a gift online.
To make a gift online, visit www.rcan.org/sharing. Please remember to select our parish name when making an online gift. You are also invited to submit a prayer intention by going to www.rcan.org/submit-prayer-request. Thank you for all that you do for our parish and for the ministries of our Archdiocese. You are in my prayers. I ask you to keep me, our parish, and the success of this year’s Annual Appeal in yours as well.
God bless you on this Pentecost Sunday,
Father Mauro
April 17, 2022
Dear Parishioners,
It goes without saying that this year’s Easter celebrations, although with the utmost respect and observance of the spirit of joy and light which the feast always intrinsically brings with it, will be marked by a veil of sadness and pain because of the excessive number of victims who were lost to this tragic pandemic. Let us also not forget the people of Ukraine who are currently struggling this new scourge between life and death.
How can we rejoice in all its fullness, seeing our brothers and sisters killed and massacred by such hatred? Yet, as Christians, we cannot let ourselves be drowned into discouragement, depression, and anguish — the antechamber of the loss of faith, that for believers can be an evil no worse than any other physical evil or misfortune.
Let us then open our hearts with hope that “all goes well.” That Ukraine and the entire world may “rise” and return much stronger and more beautiful than before, while preparing to celebrate the Lord’s Easter, the most beautiful, most significant moment of the liturgical year. But for a Feast to be joyous, a reasonable amount of preparation is required. Thus, we have prepared for Easter with prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We confessed our sins in the sacrament of confession and celebrated the Triduum with great devotion.
Now is the day… the most IMPORTANT day of the year for Christians. Easter is the Victory of Our Lord Jesus Christ who has conquered death.
May the song of the Alleluia open us to the Easter joy, and give us in this time of grace, the possibility of experiencing the love of the Risen Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He guides every one of us to those fertile pastures where He is the good shepherd.
With these sentiments of faith, hope and charity, I sincerely wish each of you a Holy Easter.
Courage,
Fr. Mauro Primavera
Pastor
February 20, 2022
Dear Parishioners,
Pope Francis announced the Sixteenth Ordinary Synod of Bishops, which will take place in 2023 in Rome. His theme for the Synod is for a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission. The term Synodality means walking the same road together. We journey as a Church together, all of us –Pope, bishops, clergy religious, and those on the margins. The mission of Christ can only be accomplished by all of us collaborating together to make the Gospel heard in our time. Every age in Church history has had to figure out the best way to proclaim the Gospel and this is our time.
Pope Francis has asked for an extraordinary task to be done – that is, he wants to hear from every part of the Church throughout the world, those committed to the church, those who have left the Church, never been a part of the church, or who are poor, marginalized and don’t feel welcome in the Church. Some say that this is the largest single consultation in the world! We are all asked to join in and be a part in the ways best for us and to be as inclusive as possible. In this consultation, Pope Francis asks us to consider this question of proclaiming the Gospel and continuing his mission through prayer and discernment together. His overarching question is: What does the Holy Spirit expect of the Church of the 21st Century?
Two subsequent questions to be used at the listening sessions to expound on this question are:
1. How is this “journeying together” happening today in your parish community, campus ministry, university, school, youth group, religious congregation or other areas of Church life?
2. How are we “walking together” as a Church, and what steps does the Holy Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our journeying together?
The Synod 2023 will have three phases:
Phase One: The Diocesan phase in which we will all be able to reflect and give feedback to the Archdiocese – December 2021-March 2022
Phase Two: The Continental Phase in which all dioceses will synthesize feedback and send a report to the bishops’ conference in Washington, DC (USCCB) by April 1, 2022. In turn, the USCCB will then synthesize feedback and send a report to the Vatican Synod Committee by April 2022.
Phase Three: The Universal phase, which will be the actual Synod of bishops in Rome on October 2023
Therefore, we will be having a Lenten Parish Retreat on Saturday March 5, beginning with an 8:30 am Mass followed by a discussion on Synodality, talks, and a moment of fellowship. The retreat will then conclude with the possibility of Confessions for those who are interested. EVERYONE IS INVITED and I hope to see you all as we continue to pray for one another.
Your pastor,
Fr. Mauro
November 19, 2021
Dear Parishioners:
Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration started at St. John the Apostle Church 25 years ago. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament “offers the opportunity to the people of God for prayerful reflection on their call to a deeper devotion to the Holy Eucharist and a more faithful living of the Christian life. It provides them with an opportunity to become more aware of Christ’s presence with His people and invites them to a spiritual communion with Him” (Order for the Solemn Exposition of the Holy Eucharist). Over these 25 years, thousands of the faithful have come to adore Jesus Christ, present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Blessed Sacrament…24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
I am writing to call your attention to a new guideline from the Office of Divine Worship of the Archdiocese of Newark, which says: “There should be at least two people present during the period of Eucharistic exposition. This will ensure the safety of both the Blessed Sacrament and those present for adoration.” Currently, we have many hours with only one adorer present.As a result, in order to continue perpetual Eucharistic Adoration, we must have at least two adorers for each hour 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I ask you to consider coming to pray an hour with Jesus Christ. The need is urgent and the future of our Perpetual Adoration depends on your response. Contact the rectory (908-486- 6363) or email adoration@sjanj.net, if you will spend an hour with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Thank you and may God continue to bless you for your generosity in giving the gift of time in prayer at our Perpetual Adoration Chapel!
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Mauro