The Catholic School Advantage

Dear Parishioners,

I can’t remember a time in my life when I was not associated with a Catholic school.

I began in kindergarten at St. John Cantius School in the Bridesburg section of Philadelphia.  The parish school was staffed by the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.  When our family moved to Wildwood in the 1960’s, I had as teachers the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chestnut Hill, PA at both St. Ann’s Regional School and Wildwood Catholic High School.  I was off to the seminary at age 18, first to St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia and then to Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg MD.

As a deacon, I lived at Transfiguration Parish in W. Collingswood, NJ.  The sisters who staffed the parish school were all from Ireland, belonging to the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.  After my ordination to the priesthood, I was assigned to St. Matthew’s Church in National Park, NJ, where the parish school was staffed by the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, a Polish congregation.

I was then assigned to teach at St. Joseph High School in Hammonton, NJ and remained there for six years.  After moving to Vineland, I became principal of Sacred Heart High School and was assigned there for 14 years.  When I became pastor of Queen of Angels Parish in Buena Borough, we had an elementary school—Notre Dame Regional School.  Now I am here as pastor of St. Joseph Church, Somers Point and we have one of the largest elementary schools in the Diocese of Camden—just shy of 500 students.

As you can see from my personal history, the Catholic school tradition is ingrained into my very being.  I cannot imagine what it would be like without a local Catholic school forming students to know, love and serve Jesus Christ while preparing them mentally, physically and spiritually for the challenges of life.

We begin our celebration of Catholic Schools Week and I thank the dedicated faculty, administration and staff of St. Joseph Regional Catholic School for their hard work and dedication.  Our Principal, Mr. Ted Pugliese strives to make the school a beacon of Christ’s light for our community.

Every Catholic parish in the diocese has an obligation to support our Catholic schools which is newly designated as 13% of all parish budgets.  Bishop Sullivan had also inaugurated a special second collection to be taken up this weekend to support all the Catholic schools throughout the diocese.

I personally thank all parents who make the personal sacrifice and choose to send their children to St. Joseph Regional Catholic School.  I ask parents of school-aged children to be open to and to investigate the possibility of sending your child/children to our Catholic school, if you do not already do so.  While I understand that everyone may not be able to afford the full tuition, I know there is some limited financial aid for those who qualify.  Why not investigate the possibility?

While no school is perfect and can always meet the needs of every child, Catholic schools that proclaim the Gospel message of Jesus Christ clearly and encourage families to live it faithfully give students a firm foundation for the challenges of life and offer them hope in an often confusing and troublesome world.

I am a proud product of Catholic schools.  I can truly see the benefits and the advantage that it has given me in so many dimensions of my life.  I believe that my vocation as a priest was fostered first in the home and then cultivated in the many years of a Catholic school environment.  I am grateful for the priests and sisters that had a great influence on my life and thinking.  I hope that I have been able to give back to Catholic education some of what I have received over the years.  

Please join me in promoting St. Joseph Regional Catholic School and all our Catholic schools.

.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor               

Seeking the Divine Physician

Dear Parishioners,

Next week our Parish Nursing Ministry, assisted by the Knights of Columbus Council 10220, will be sponsoring a “Healing Mass.”  To be more precise, it will be a Mass with the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick incorporated within.

Perhaps some still have recollections of the term Extreme Unction (last anointing) when a priest anointed people prior to their death.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church sheds some light on the matter:

The Anointing of the Sick “is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death.  Hence, as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived.” (#1514)

 If a sick person who received this anointing recovers his health, he can in the case of another grave illness receive this sacrament again.  If during the same illness the person's condition becomes more serious, the sacrament may be repeated.  It is fitting to receive the Anointing of the Sick just prior to a serious operation.  The same holds for the elderly whose frailty becomes more pronounced. (#1515)

Many times I have had to convince people in the hospital or the homebound that they should be anointed, while alleviating the fear that they were not actively dying. I remind people that the sacraments are for the living and not to wait until the moment of death or until after a person has died to call for a priest.  When a priest is called in advance, he is able to give a gravely ill or elderly person the Last Rites which consist of the Anointing of the Sick, the opportunity for the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (confession) and Holy Communion (Viaticum).  Priests cannot hear a person’s confession or give them Holy Communion after they have died. Additionally, even though someone may conceivably have been anointed after death, this is not the intention of the sacrament.

Also, to prevent an abuse of the sacrament, a person should not be requesting it because he or she has a sore throat or a headache, but there should actually be a “serious illness or the frailty of old age.” (Catechism, #1520)  Moreover, the sacrament should not be confused with those times when some liturgical or paraliturgical ceremony takes place where everyone in church is invited to be anointed with “blessed oil.”  This type of anointing ceremony is not the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and can cause uncertainty and confusion in laity and clergy alike.

Finally, the Catechism (#1532) tells us what the sacrament does for the sick person: 

 The special grace of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick has as its effects: 

- the uniting of the sick person to the passion of Christ, for his own good and that of the whole Church;
- the strengthening, peace, and courage to endure in a Christian manner the sufferings of illness or old age;
- the forgiveness of sins, if the sick person was not able to obtain it through the sacrament of Penance;
- the restoration of health, if it is conducive to the salvation of his soul;
- the preparation for passing over to eternal life.

Jesus is the Divine Physician and He can heal in mind, body and soul.  The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is meant to help those seriously ill or elderly who are in need of the strength and healing that Jesus can provide through the instrument of the priest.  Please consider joining us to pray for and to support our sick and elderly.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

57,762,169

Dear Parishioners,

They say that we can ask the computer any question.  Whether it’s Siri, Google, Galaxy, Cortana or some other voice recognition device or system, we can now ask, and the answer will be given to us.  Sounds almost biblical, doesn’t it?

So I asked Google: “How many abortions have been performed in the United States since 1973?”  I chose this year since it was the date of the historic United States Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade (January 22, 1973) which legalized abortion.  The answer I was given was 57,762,169—referencing a 2015 article from www.LifeNews.com.  The number would actually be greater if we bring the statistics to our current 2016 date.  Sounds like a lottery jackpot.

Just how many people is that?  It is more than the entire population of the following countries:  South Korea, Ukraine, South Africa, Spain, Colombia, Sudan, Argentina, Poland and many others that have a total population of less than 50 million people.  We have literally aborted the population of a fairly large country—just in the United States alone.  Imagine what the worldwide number of abortions is!

This statistic tells me a couple of things.  First, I believe that many people have no Idea how tragic this situation truly is.  As a nation we have become complacent with slogans like: The Right to Choose! or Keep Abortion Safe and Legal! The right to choose what?  Death . . . extermination . . . murder . . . infanticide?  Maybe we should label it differently.  Is abortion ever safe and legal for the unborn child?  Is it not, rather, a death sentence for him or her?  And how about the physical, psychological, and spiritual damage that is done to the woman herself?  One cannot just expect to rip a developing baby from the womb and then anticipate there to be no consequences whatsoever.

Next, it is unbelievably tragic that a moral evil (abortion, the taking of an innocent, human life) can be seen and touted as something good for women, for civilized society, or for humanity itself.   As if we have some moral right to kill innocent human life?  When a society abandons God’s moral law, distorts its meaning to suit its own selfish purposes and/or replaces it with a deception advocating and glorifying the means by which a large portion of humanity is exterminated, we are in grave danger.

 

We, as a nation, have drunk the Kool-Aid.  The Rev.Jim Jones was not the only one leading a mass amount of people astray and to the ultimate consequence of death.  I am continually hearing politicians advocate the choice for an abortion as a right, as something good, as something that must be defended.  And Americans will continue to drink the Kool-Aid.  And babies will continue to die, in numbers too great to even imagine.

Just think of the loss of potential human life.  Did we already abort the one who would cure cancer or Alzheimer’s?  How about the next great composer or inventor?  Has he or she already been poisoned or ripped apart?  Did the next great political or church leader already wind up as medical waste?

 

I know that I have been pretty blunt.  Yet, somehow I don’t think what I say is going to change things dramatically.  I fear that we have become too stiffed-neck (see Dt. 9:13) or hardened of heart (see Heb. 3:15), as those previously condemned in the Bible.

January 22, 2016.

Almost 60 million babies.

Does it matter?

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

The Face of an Ever-Changing Church

Dear Parishioners,

Last month when I celebrated Mass on the memorial of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (Memorial: November 13), I read how she was responsible for establishing some sixty-seven Institutions—schools, hospitals and orphanages.  She also founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart.  When Pope Francis canonized St. Junipero Serra (Memorial: July 1) during his recent visit, he mentioned how Fr. Serra was responsible for the founding of twenty-one missions along the coast of California.  St. Katherine Drexel (Memorial: March 3) established a religious community (Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament) and some forty-nine foundations including Xavier University in New Orleans.  Six separate religious congregations trace their beginnings to the Sisters of Charity founded by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (Memorial: January 4).  I could go on with the accomplishments of these and other American saints.

My point in drawing your attention to these formidable accomplishments is to contrast how we live in very different times, especially in our part of the country.  Catholic Churches and schools are closing and merging.  Significantly more baptized Catholics don’t attend weekly Mass than those who actually do. Young people are questioning and abandoning their Catholic faith all too frequently.

As a pastor, I worry about the future.  I am concerned with the spiritual life and eternal salvation of all the parishioners—whether I encounter them or not each week.  From a practical perspective, I also try to figure out how to pay the ever-escalating bills and maintain our facilities by means of a hand to mouth method each week.  How could these past saints manage to do all that they did while I am having a difficult time with one medium-sized parish?  So much was established in the not-too-distant past (cathedrals and churches, schools, hospitals, orphanages, etc.) with the cooperation and meager offerings of the poor immigrants who valued their faith and their Church.  It gets frustrating today, more often than not.

I asked all of you, our parishioners, to help me plan for the future by participation in the feasibility study whose deadline recently passed.  I hope that you took the time to participate.  I will let you know the results of the study once I receive them (more than likely, after I figure out how to pay the bill for the completed study.)

When I was ordained, I envisioned things would be a bit different than I am experiencing now.  Rectories with multiple priests are getting fewer and far between.  I studied philosophy and theology (concentrating in Sacred Scripture) and I wind up running a small business.  I make myself available in the confessional each week with perhaps a half dozen people, at best, seeking the forgiveness and mercy of God regularly.  Weddings and funerals are increasingly occurring with no connection to the Church.  Some people even look at priests with disdain for various reasons.

Surprising to many people, if I had to do it all over again, I would—without a doubt.  I remain interiorly happy and at peace each day as a priest.  I want more people to share this joy and happiness.  I want people to know and love the Lord Jesus.  

What will eventually turn the tide in the other direction?  I am sure God knows.

However, I am currently clueless.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

The Jubilee Year of Mercy

Dear Parishioners,

Pope Francis has declared a Jubilee Year of Mercy beginning on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 2015 and ending on the Solemnity of Christ the King, November 20, 2016.

While we will be hearing more about this Year of Mercy and the various spiritual events connected to it within the Diocese of Camden and throughout the world subsequently, let me give a brief introduction to some concepts here.

A Jubilee Year has roots in both Jewish and Christian traditions.  According to the Book of Leviticus (see Lev. 25: 8-13), a jubilee year was a time for the Jews when slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven, and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest.  It would typically occur every fifty years.  In our Catholic tradition, it was in the year 1300 A.D. when we can document that Pope Boniface VIII first declared a holy year.  Since then ordinary jubilees have generally been celebrated every 25 or 50 years.  Extraordinary jubilees also occurred whenever a particular Pope saw a special need.  Many jubilees involve pilgrimages to a Church or sacred site, frequently within the city of Rome.  The forgiveness of sin and God’s mercy are especially emphasized during this holy year.

Allow me to use some thoughts from Dr. Robert Stackpole, STD to elucidate the concept of the Mercy of God.  “Divine Mercy is God's love reaching down to meet the needs and overcome the miseries of His creatures.”  It is much more than an act of pardon or a cancellation of punishment.  Perhaps, it can be seen God’s willingness to experience and share our suffering and to take measures to remedy it.  After all, Jesus and His entire life, including his willingness to suffer and die for us, reveal the “face of the Father’s mercy” as Pope Francis has so beautifully described.

    

We should be familiar with the Greek Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy) as part of our liturgy.  This is a request for God’s mercy to be poured out on us “like holy oil from above.”

In the Latin tradition, the principal word for mercy is misericordia, which means, literally "miserable heart." Father George Kosicki, CSB, the great Divine Mercy evangelist, once summed up the meaning of this Latin word as follows:  misericordia means "having a pain in your heart for the pains of others, and taking pains to do something about their pain."

The most comprehensive statement by the Magisterium on the meaning of Divine Mercy can be found in Pope John Paul II's encyclical letter Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy, 1981).  In that encyclical, the Holy Father made two very important statements about mercy.   First, he wrote, "Mercy is love's second name." Secondly, he taught that mercy is "the greatest attribute of God."

I encourage you to read Pope Francis’ Miseracordiae Vultus and Pope Saint John Paul II’s Dives in Misericordia to prepare for the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

The Submarine Catholic and the "New Evangelization"

Dear Parishioners,

Last month I was at a wedding and someone described herself to me as a submarine Catholic.  Not quite sure of what she meant—probably because of the perplexed look on my face—she continued to explain:  “Yeh, I surface at Christmas and Easter.”

While I had to chuckle at the remark, I later thought to myself:  Is this what our Catholic faith has come down to?

Pope Saint John Paul II called for a type of new evangelization in his encyclical Redemptoris Missio.  He spoke of those situations in the Church “where entire groups of the baptized have lost a living sense of the faith, or even no longer consider themselves members of the Church, and live a life far removed from Christ and his Gospel.  In this case what is needed is a ‘new evangelization’ or a ‘re-evangelization.’" (#33)

How common it is for baptized Catholic people today to be only loosely connected to their Church or to be alienated from it entirely.   Mass attendance here on any given Saturday/Sunday is less than 25% of the registered Catholics of the parish.  During weddings and funerals, when we often see Catholics re-surface for the particular occasion, I can usually sense when people haven’t been to Mass in a while.  For example, I frequently hear the former response “And also with you” when I greet the people “The Lord be with you.”  The response changed a number of years ago when the new translation of the liturgy was implemented (Advent, 2011).

We continually see Catholic couples cohabitating before marriage, Catholics not properly married in the Church (usually without any required dispensation), pro-choice Catholics, Catholics supportive of gay marriage, Catholics who practice artificial birth control, sparse confessional lines, and the vast majority of Catholics either unknowingly or shamelessly coming up to receive Holy Communion—especially at Christmas and Easter.  Do we need a "new evangelization?"

In addition, according to the Pew Research Center, the number of those “unaffiliated” with a church or religion in the U.S. is up to about 23 percent.  Catholicism is still the largest denomination in America, but the second largest group of people, above and beyond any other Christian or Protestant denomination, is former or ex-Catholics.

Whenever I offer Mass and I repeat the words of consecration—the words that Jesus spoke when He gave us His Body and Blood in the Eucharist—I am reminded of THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT.  Jesus sealed this covenant in His own blood.  The sacrifice was a total self-giving.  Jesus gave everything for us and took our sins upon Himself.  He unquestionably did His part.

I think He deserves more of a commitment from us than perhaps surfacing once or twice a year.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

I Must Be Crazy

Newly Renovated Chapel at the Abbey of the Genesee

Dear Parishioners,

I certainly must be crazy getting up at this time of the day.  2 AM!  Everyone, who is still sane, is probably in bed comfortably rolling over.

Yes, It's around 2 AM.  I am getting ready to join the Trappist Monks for their first office of daily prayer--Vigils.  Here at the Abbey of the Genesee the official schedule begins at 2:25 AM. People elsewhere have just gotten into bed or have recently fallen asleep at this hour.  Most of the college students down the road at SUNY Geneseo are probably still frolicking out and about as are many of the nocturnal creatures that lurk throughout various college and university campuses. 

Not the monks, however.  They are just starting their day at the monastery.  Pretty early for most of us?  Absolutely!  Yet, they do this each and every day as a matter of routine--freely chosen routine.

Not only are we encouraged to get up early to pray with the monks, but the retreat I am on is silent.  No frivolous talking or conversations are allowed.  No TV or radio in the retreat house.  Obviously, I brought my laptop so that I could write a few reflections such as this throughout the week.  Finding a Wi-Fi connection to post them to the internet is another story.  Mobile hotspot?

Granted, the monastic life is certainly not for everyone.  However, it can teach us many valuable lessons.  The monks' radical lifestyle is a profound witness to something beyond this world.  They search for God in silence.  Their serious, intense, deliberate prayer reminds me of how little time I actually give to prayer each day.  Material things that I/we may cling to are just not that important here.  A basic white habit with a black scapular and belt on top of some work clothes is pretty much the norm.  No fashion statement.  Prayer, work, reading, study, self-denial, a personal relationship with God, are apparently what matters.  Simplicity to the extreme.  My room has a chair, desk and bed.  No private bath.  Certainly not some luxury hotel or spa.  Pope Francis would be proud. 

I have found that the spiritual life is filled with paradoxes and mysteries.  Why would anyone deny oneself?  Why give up having a family and home?  Why pick up the cross and be a disciple?  Why bother? 

. . . To learn to love deeply, to open the heart for God, to find peace and joy, to answer the call to discipleship, to know and love Jesus . . . .

My past experiences at the monastery have been some of the most profound, life-changing, rejuvenating times throughout my life.  I keep coming back, since I was 19 years old.  The monks are getting older, as am I.  Some faces change.  Much remains the same.  The chapel here was recently renovated and is brighter and more inviting.

What God has in store for me this visit is beyond my limited knowledge or foresight. 

Yet, I keep searching.  I keep getting up at 2 AM.  I keep following that mysterious "call" that has led me here once again to seek the Lord in monastic solitude.  Come. Lord Jesus!

Fr. Ed Namiotka

 Pastor

PS, You are remembered in my thoughts and prayers! 

Room at Bethlehem Retreat House

I Am Spiritual, Not Religious

Bishop Frank J. Caggiano

Dear Parishioners,

As I write today, I am in the midst of our annual Presbyteral Convocation, which is fancy terminology for a meeting or gathering of priests.  We are in Avalon for three days enjoying some priestly fraternity, listening to and absorbing a few talks, sharing some meals and discussions, praying and being encouraged to minister with more dedication and love for you, the People of God.

This year’s guest speaker is Bishop Frank Caggiano of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut.  He is originally from Brooklyn, NY.  His manner of speaking and overall demeanor bespeaks the son of Italian immigrants from Sicily.  He presented the Camden priests with many insights and challenges in his three talks to us.  The standing ovation at the completion of his presentations told me that his observations were right on target.

I had been thinking about one of the points he made to us for some time now.  I take it as a confirmation for me that I should write something briefly about it.  Has anyone ever said to you: “I am spiritual, but not necessarily religious?”  I have heard statements like this on many occasions.  Most likely, the person does not have an active affiliation with a church or with organized religion while still believing in God or sensing the need for a higher power in their lives. 

What has happened that there is this disconnect from organized religion or the church?

For some reason the church is seen as less relevant or insignificant in many people’s lives today.  An average weekly church attendance of about 25% of registered Catholics in our area reveals this to us pretty clearly.  When I use the word church, I mean all that is associated with the community of believers gathered together, with going to Mass to pray and worship, with being a moral compass, guide and teacher in people’s lives, with the theological concept of the Body of Christ, etc.  In a word, it’s not just about me, and what I think and believe, but it is about us, and what we stand for, think and believe.  It’s about community and belonging to something greater that any one person, while still maintaining the inestimable value of each and every individual within the group.

Pope Francis' recent trip to the east coast brought this somewhat to the forefront.  People came from far and wide to be part of something bigger than oneself and to connect with others in the process.  People seem attracted to someone who has the ability to connect with people, to take time for the individual and to show people that they are loved, valued and wanted.

The way that we are going to change the trend in society to be more of a separate individual is for all Christians to have a similar welcoming and accepting spirit as Pope Francis, in conjunction with a clear mission and purpose for believers and non-believers to see.  We, as a church, need to be witnesses in the world, to the world of the importance of Jesus Christ and his cross.  As Bishop Caggiano reminded us, we can never separate the cross from our mission as Christians, since the cross signifies for us the suffering, and death of Jesus, leading us to eternal life.

I will speak more on the cross of Jesus subsequently.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor       

A Difference in Approach

Dear Parishioners,

When giving various homilies or talks over the years, I presented a number of examples of how Pope Saint John Paul II fearlessly preached the gospel “in season and out of season,” (2 Tim. 4:2) to quote St. Paul.  The Pope was the most travelled Pope ever, undertaking more pastoral trips than all of his predecessors combined.

His often bold and direct approach to various situations is a matter of record.  Let me give a few specifics.  In Africa, he preached the value of monogamy to a continent that has various areas and cultures that practiced polygamy. Noteworthy is his homily in Swaziland where he preached about monogamy in the presence of King Mswati III and his four wives.  I am sure that all advisors would have cautioned him about such an approach, but this is what the Pope said:  “Christians find that a monogamous marital union provides the foundation upon which to build a stable family, in accordance with the original plan of God for marriage.”

Then there was the Pope’s 4^th trip to Sicily where he condemned the mafia publicly.  He urged the people of Catania to “rise up and cloak yourself in light and justice” against the abuses of the mafia.  To the youth in a soccer stadium, after he referenced the fruits of the Holy Spirit, (see Gal. 5:22) he said “When the new generations bring these fruits, corruption is defeated, violence is defeated, the Mafia is defeated.”  (At that time the mafia dumped a lamb with its throat slit on the doorstep of a Catholic prison chaplain as a warning to the priest.)

We also saw how Pope Saint John Paul II stood up against communism by inspiring and encouraging the Solidarity movement in his native Poland, was an outspoken opponent of apartheid in South Africa, and when in America exhorted us all to “defend life.” I quote him regarding our responsibility toward the sanctity of human life:

Respect for life requires that science and technology should always be at the service of man and his integral development.  Society as a whole must respect, defend and promote the dignity of every human person, at every moment and in every condition of that person's life.

For this reason, America, your deepest identity and truest character as a nation is revealed in the position you take towards the human person.  The ultimate test of your greatness in the way you treat every human being, but especially the weakest and most defenseless ones.

The best traditions of your land presume respect for those who cannot defend themselves.  If you want equal justice for all, and true freedom and lasting peace, then, America, defend life!  All the great causes that are yours today will have meaning only to the extent that you guarantee the right to life and protect the human person:

- feeding the poor and welcoming refugees;
- reinforcing the social fabric of this nation;
- promoting the true advancement of women;
- securing the rights of minorities;
- pursuing disarmament, while guaranteeing legitimate defense;

all this will succeed only if respect for life and its protection by the law is granted to every human being from conception until natural death.

Every human person--no matter how vulnerable or helpless, no matter how young or how old, no matter how healthy, handicapped or sick, no matter how useful or productive for society--is a being of inestimable worth created in the image and likeness of God.  This is the dignity of America, the reason she exists, the condition for her survival-yes, the ultimate test of her greatness: to respect every human person, especially the weakest and most defenseless ones, those as yet unborn.

(Detroit Airport, 19 Sept. 1987)

When Pope Francis visited the USA recently, his approach seemed non-confrontational with his emphasis and priorities differing at times from his Polish predecessor.  Still, the message of the Gospel continues to be preached and taught, perhaps in a different manner, with a different approach.  I can sense the love and compassion both men have for the Church and for all humanity.  They show us, as the Vicar of Christ, in their own unique ways, an expression of the human face of Jesus still present in this world.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

  

Something about Our New Deacon

Dear Parishioners,

Recently I was informed by Bishop Sullivan that we will have another permanent deacon assigned to our parish, beginning October 1, 2015.  Deacon Steven Theis and his wife Mary will be a wonderful addition to our St. Joseph family and I feel blessed now to have two deacons on our staff.

I asked Deacon Steve to write something for this bulletin to that I may introduce him and his family to our parish:

Mary and I are married 20 years.  We have 2 boys, Christopher (17) and Nicholas (16).  They attend St. Augustine Prep where Chris is a Senior and Nick is a Junior.

I was ordained on May 21, 2011 by Bishop Galante and assigned to the Catholic Community of the Holy Spirit in Mullica Hill, NJ.  In 2012, I took a job in Kansas City, MO and we moved in June.  I was assigned to the largest Parish in the Kansas City-St Joseph Diocese.  St. Therese located in Parkville, MO is a vibrant and exciting Parish with just over 3,400 families.  We returned to Ocean City in June of this year and I work for Public Service Electric & Gas as a health and safety professional specializing in occupational psychology.

I am a two time cancer survivor.  My first battle was Stage IV head and neck cancer and my second diagnosis was less severe as Stage II thyroid cancer.  I understand all too well what it means to be bloodied and beaten at the foot of the Cross, scared and praying for mercy.  Since that time of dealing with the treatments and recovery of cancer, I have been actively involved with many people affected by this disease. I am extremely humbled to walk with those on their journey fighting this horrible disease while they try to save their life.

I look forward to getting acquainted.  Please know that you are in my prayers. Please keep my family and me in yours. God Bless.

Peace,

Deacon Steve

Needless to say, Deacon Steve desires to spend some of the time of his deaconate ministry helping at the local hospital.  He will also be able to preach and assist at Mass (primarily during our weekend Masses), baptize, visit the sick, and perform any of the other tasks that a deacon is able to do within a parish.  I know that you will welcome him as you have already welcomed Deacon Bob Oliver and his wife Shirley.

As the Church continues to face the varied challenges that lie ahead of us, I am glad to have the assistance of another permanent deacon to assist at our parish.  My sincere thanks go to Bishop Sullivan for giving me this opportunity to work with both Deacon Steve and Deacon Bob.

Please pray for all of us that we may continue to bring Christ to all the people that we serve.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor