Am I Not Here

This week, Tara and Jerry open up about the week that was, highlighting the celebration of Ordinations to the Priesthood and Transitional Diaconate, 'Quo Vadis' Days, and what really took place at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop's June General Assembly Meeting. 

-

Link mentioned in this episode: Information about the discussion around the eucharist at the USCCB Meeting can be found at https://www.usccb.org/meaning-eucharist-life-church

This week Tara and Jerry join around the table with Allan Caballero and Cristina D'Averso Collins to talk about the Lighting Hearts on Fire Pastoral Movement's 'The Joy of Love and Family' Conference Series. 

More information about the conference series is available at www.lightingheartsonfire.org/joylovefamily 

This week Tara and Jerry share the table with our own Seminarian Ronal Vega-Pastrana as he enlightens us once again the life of a seminarian and his hopes as he takes one of the final steps towards the priesthood. Ronal will be ordained By Bishop Checchio to the transitional diaconate on June 19th at the National Blue Army Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Asbury, NJ.

-

Four men are scheduled to be ordained to the priesthood and one to the transitional diaconate – all for the diocese June 19, 11 a.m., at the National Blue Army Shrine, Washington, N.J.

The event will be livestreamed. Access to the livestream and updates about the ordinations can be found at the diocese’s website: https://diometuchen.org/ The men who are scheduled to be ordained by Bishop James F. Checchio are: Rev. Mr. Jun Joseph Querubin Alquiros, Rev. Mr. Ariel Robles Bautista Jr., Rev. Mr. Timothy M. Eck II, and Rev. Mr. Gregory J. Zannetti. 

Seminarian Ronal Vega-Postrana is scheduled to be ordained to the transitional diaconate.

This week Tara and Jerrys sit down with Rev. Timothy Christy, VG the Vicar General and Vicar for Evangelization and Communications for the Diocese of Metuchen. 

Rev. Timothy Christy shares through his own experience how the spirit continued to move him to say yes to new adventures and work in evangelization. 

Learn more about the role of the Vicar General at https://diometuchen.org/vicar-general

In light of the announcement of the New Jersey Bishops Reinstating the General Obligation to Attend Mass, Tara and Jerry sit down to discuss what this all means, as well as diving into some spiritual encouragement, to get back to mass on Sunday. 

---

Read the Full Statement from the NJ Catholic Conference at https://njcatholic.org/news/httpnjcatholicorgnews-8

Do you think you can evangelize? Did you know you do not have to be an expert to evangelize in your own home? 

This week Tara and Jerry sit down with Allan Wright, Principal of Koinonia Academy in Plainfield, NJ. As a local resident of the diocese, Allan has taught, traveled, and spent much of his life proclaiming the gospel. He joins around the table to share some practical ways that may just light new hearts on fire. 

This week, Tara and Jerry discuss the work of evangelization through the life of a communicator as they celebrate the 2021 World Communications Day. 

-

Read the message from Pope Francis for the 2021 World Communications Day at www.diometuchen.org/communications 

As we honor the gift of our Religious Brothers within the diocese, Tara and Jerry sit down with Br. Patrick Reilly, BH of the Brotherhood of Hope to discuss the life of a brother and how this particular call supports the mission of building the kingdom right in our own backyard. 

-

The Brotherhood of Hope is a community of Catholic Brothers who live together, pray together and serve together, under the inspiration of our founding charism that Jesus Christ is All-Sufficient. 

More information on the brotherhood could be found at https://brotherhoodofhope.org/

This week, Tara and Jerry, honor the fifth anniversary of the ordination and installation of the Most Rev. James F. Checchio as the Fifth Bishop of Metuchen. Journey with them as they share their favorite moments and how Bishop Checchio has brought renewal and new life to each of us.

- 

The Most Rev. James F. Checchio was named the Bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen by Pope Francis on March 8, 2016. He was ordained and installed as the Fifth Bishop of Metuchen on May 3, 2016. 

More information can be found at www.diometuchen.org/our-bishop 

This week Tara and Jerry sit down with Lindsay Schlegel, Mother, Author, and fellow Podcast Host to discuss the reality of family life in the Year of the Family.

--

Lindsay is the author of Don't Forget to Say Thank You: And Other Parenting Lessons That Brought Me Closer to God and the host of the weekly podcast, Quote Me with Lindsay Schlegel.

More information about Lindsay can be found at https://lindsayschlegel.com