Dear OLP Family,

Every month has its own particular feasts, events, anniversaries etc. I am fascinated by the variety of celebrations that the month of September has in store for us:

Dear OLP Family,

I am very happy to welcome Fr. Dawid Malik to our parish as a “Priest in Residence.” He is the full-time Catholic Chaplain at JFK Hospital, Edison. We are very happy to offer him residence here and he will be helping us as and when he can and as and when needed.

Dear OLP Family,

Last Sunday I had mentioned this about the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary: though it is usually a holy day of obligation, it is not a holy day of obligation this year. A couple of parishioners told me that they were a bit confused about it. So I thought of giving a longer explanation here so that it can benefit all of us.

Dear OLP Family,

Every day this week, we celebrate the feast of a saint – some better known than others. I thought it worthwhile to reflect briefly on each of them:

Tomorrow/Monday is the feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon (died 258). He was martyred four days after Pope Sixtus II and four deacons were killed. Deacon Lawrence cared for the temporal welfare of the Roman church. He gave a radical witness to service to the poor, joyful generosity and strong faith.

Dear OLP Family,

The feast of St. John Marie Vianney is on August 4. He is the patron of priests and parish clergy. Please pray for all the priests, especially the priests who serve us. I have included a brief sketch of his holy life in this bulletin. The feast of Transfiguration falls on August 6. “Listen to Him” was the instruction God gave to the three disciples who were privileged to witness this unique event on Mount Tabor. That is the instruction God gives us too: Listen to Him.

Dear OLP Family,

Today is World Day for Grandparents and Elderly. This is a day established by Pope Francis in 2021“to draw attention to a category all too often placed on the margins, remembering instead their value and encouraging actions in their favor.” Though the U.S. bishops decided to transfer this to the first weekend after Labor Day to coincide with National Grandparents and the Elderly Day in the United States, the rest of the world celebrates it today. Hence, it is good for us to reflect on the theme of this year’s celebration.

Dear OLP Family, Let me share with you two relevant reflections.

Disobedience to the Pope: Some parishioners asked me recently: what is the difference between regular Catholics and SSPX Catholics, and why are SSPX excommunicated by the Vatican?

Dear OLP Family,

There’s a nice story about a farmer who entered each year his corn in the state fair where it won a blue ribbon. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovering that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors, asked: "How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?”

Dear OLP Family,

Happy July Fourth! This 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is an opportune time to reflect upon the great privilege and responsibility of living in this “land of the free and home of the brave.” Our Bishops’ Conference consecrated our nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus last month. Here in our parish too, we prayed the Novena to the Sacred Heart, culminating in the prayer of consecration on June 11.

Dear OLP Family,

Last Sunday was a day of joyful celebration for our parish as we hosted the First Mass of the newly ordained priest Fr. James Prumos, our own parishioner. There was only one ordination to priesthood for our Diocese this year, and we are grateful to God that our parish is the recipient of that honor and grace. There were ten priests at the altar last Sunday for the First Mass of Fr. Prumos, including some who served our parish in the past.

Dear OLP Family,

Today we have two wonderful celebrations – a parish feast and a national feast. As a parish of Our Lady of Peace, we have the joy of celebrating the First Mass of the newly ordained priest, Reverend James Prumos. Yesterday he was raised to the Order of Priests, by Most Reverend Paul Bootkoski, the Bishop Emeritus of our Diocese at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi.

Dear OLP Family, Greetings!

I wish to reflect with you a changed scenario in our parish. Fr. Sebastian Kaithackal, CMI, is retiring after his meritorious ministry as Chaplain at JFK Hospital. We are very grateful to him for graciously helping our parish with Masses, Confessions, etc., despite his full time chaplaincy work. His farewell Mass and reception will be at 12:00pm on Sun, Jul 12. All are welcome.

Whether we will have another chaplain in residence or not, we need to realize the challenges I have in this ‘single-priest-parish’ to do the daily 8:00am Mass, the four weekend Masses, Confessions, Funerals, Anointing of the sick, etc. Hence it is necessary to make some adjustments. The latest official headcount averages only 708 for the four weekend Masses combined. I propose to you two changes that I communicated with the different ministries of our parish, and they were all very supportive.

Dear OLP Family,

Next Sunday is a very important day in the annals of the history of our parish Community of Our Lady of Peace. You have been reading about the good news of Deacon James Prumos, a son of our parish, being raised to the Order of Priests this coming Saturday June 20, 2026, in our Cathedral Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Metuchen.

Dear OLP Family,

You must have heard about ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ (Magnificent Humanity) - the first Encyclical of Pope Leo XIV. This teaching document on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and human dignity has deeply polarized, sparking intense debate across both secular and religious spheres. Sad to say, some media headlines have been very misleading: