An Invitation by Bishop Checchio Live Streamed Recitation of the Holy Rosary
Followed by Live Streamed Mass The Cathedral of St. Francis, Metuchen
Friday, May 1st Beginning With Recitation of the Holy Rosary at 3:30pm,

Mass at 4:00pm

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I write to you with great hope and confidence that God is close to us in these very difficult days. We must never doubt that our daily concerns are His concerns too. And no one knows our needs better than Jesus’ own
mother, Mary. 

Indeed Mary, who is the Mother of the Church and of each one of us, has a deeply intimate concern for us. In her motherly care, we will invoke her to look with tender mercy and compassion on the struggles, sickness, suffering and death that many have experienced in these past weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, we know that only God can bring us the miracle of healing, peace and new life. Our Lady understands the mystery of God’s will more than anyone.

Therefore, with confidence again in turning to Mary, I invite our whole diocese to join me in prayer this Friday, May 1 at 4 p.m. for a live streamed Mass from the Cathedral of St. Francis. I ask too that you tune in earlier at 3:30 p.m. when a live streamed recitation of the Holy Rosary will be led by some of our good
religious sisters of our diocese. As we join in prayer across our diocese, we will be supernaturally joined to the Body of Christ spread throughout the United States and Canada, all seeking the protection and help of Mary, the Mother of the Church. May is our Blessed Mother’s month in particular, so how appropriate we will join together on this day to implore her help and remind us of her closeness to us!

In these days, Mary sees and supports us as we work to defeat this terrible scourge on our land and world. She joins with us in reaching out to our faithful parishioners, the sick, dying, mourning. She guides the work of our
dedicated medical and scientific community as they labor so heroically in caring for the sick and finding cures. She comforts us as we bury the dead, assisting our cemetery workers and funeral directors. She guides our teachers and parents and all those carrying on the work of educating our young, especially in the knowledge of truth and our faith. Finally, she assists us as we care for the poor too during these days, who are so often the ones who suffer most from the economic downturn that afflicts us too. Yes, we need to turn again
to ask her to lift us up at this time and bring us closer to her beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

I carry you all in my prayers and thoughts each day, even as we are socially distanced, you are close to me. I ask you to continue to pray for me and the good works of our diocese too. Please join in prayer on May 1 as we begin Mary’s month!

AWESOME EASTER NEWS!!! TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!!
Do you miss Fr. Chester? Do you miss Mass at St. Catherine’s?
You’re in luck! On Easter Sunday, we will push the bounds of the internet and broadcast Sunday Mass via Facebook Live!
All you need to do is have a Facebook account and ‘like’ the St. Catherine of Siena Church Facebook page.
At 11 AM on Easter Sunday (or a little before), go onto Facebook and you should see a notice of the Facebook Live broadcast in your news feed.
See Fr. Chester, see the church, partake in Mass, AND worship virtually with your friends and neighbors!

The church office will be closed during the week.  Fr. Chester will be available for emergencies only and can be contacted at 908-735-4024.

As many of you realize, we are dealing with a fluid and unpredictable environment where every day we tread on new ground.  Although our prayer life at home is vital to our faith, many parishioners have asked if there will be the opportunity to visit the church to pray.

We are pleased to announce that, with certain restrictions, the church will be open as follows:

–        Saturdays from 4-5 PM

–        Sundays from 8-11:30 AM

As per the CDC and state guidelines, a maximum of 10 people will be allowed in the church at one time and please position yourself at least 6 feet away from others.  PLEASE refrain from visiting church if you have been exposed to COVID-19 or have any symptoms that may lead you to believe you might be infected.

We thank you for continued flexibility and understanding during these trying times.  May God continue to bless and guide us.

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?

1 Corinthians 3:16