Last weekend was truly the most unusual weekend of my life. It truly broke my heart to offer Mass without all of you there. The weirdest part was how quiet it was around the Church and rectory last Saturday and Sunday! Fr. Wojciech and I both noticed it, and we assure all of you of our continued prayers and good wishes as we combat this dreadful pandemic.

On the bright side, some 863 people watched last Sunday’s Mass on our parish website. We will make sure that Mass is there every Sunday for everyone who wants to watch it. I am especially happy that some of you took the time to call and let me know it was helpful to you to hear and pray along with the Mass from our parish.

While our office must be closed at this time, please know that we are checking our phone messages and email several times a day. Fr. Wojciech and I are available for priestly emergencies such as Last Rites. You need only call 908-454- 0112 and follow the prompts to leave a message for either of us or the secretary. In an emergency, follow the directions to press 1 and it will forward your call to whichever priest is on call that day. We will be happy to do our best for you.

We are all well aware of the threat posed by the Coronavirus outbreak. In his concern for public health and the well-being of each of us, Bishop Checchio has temporarily suspended the public celebration of Holy Mass in the churches of our diocese. This means that Holy Mass will not be celebrated publicly in our church from Wednesday, March 18th until at least Friday, April 3rd. The Bishop will reconsider the situation, in consultation with public health officials, at that time.

During this time, all scheduled Masses will be celebrated privately by our priests. The intentions for each Mass will be honored and prayed for – as required by Canon Law.

I am excited to announce that our parish will host 24 Hours for the Lord. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed in our Church (rather than the chapel) from 8:30am Friday until 7:30am Saturday. People are invited to come and spend some quiet time with our Lord that day and night. You may come and stay for as long or as little as you like. It would be great if you could spend at least an hour with Jesus.

Confessions will be heard after the Stations of the Cross, Friday evening from 7:30-9:00pm and at 9am Saturday morning. Stations of the Cross will be prayed in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament at 3pm and 7pm Friday, and the Daily Masses will be offered as usual.

I want to start by thanking everyone who came to the Parish Meeting in Mercy Hall last Sunday. It was a pleasure for me to speak about our parish with everyone there. Our parish is blessed to have some very dedicated and supportive people who care deeply about it. They are an inspiration to me.

Remember that we will have fellowship in Mercy Hall following the 9 and 11am Masses next Sunday. It is good to share some time with other parishioners, and to enjoy a cup of coffee and some snacks with them. Such gatherings remind us that, as Catholics, we belong to a family of faith that extends beyond ourselves.

Today is the First Sunday of Lent. I personally think of Lent as Catholic Spring Training! Baseball players head to Spring Training around the same time Lent begins, and spend several weeks getting into shape for the coming season.

In the same way, Catholics use Lent as a time to get in ‘spiritual shape.’ The traditional ways to do this are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We are encouraged to do a little more praying, fast as a penance for our sins, and be generous to the poor. What follows are some suggestions for doing this.