Saint John the Apostle Church, Linden-A Catholic Community

Saint John the Apostle Church, Linden-A Catholic Community 1805 Penbrook Terrace, Linden, NJ 07036 We, The Church of St. He commanded us to love one another as He loved us. He confirmed what he said by what he did.

John the Apostle in Linden, NJ
are Catholic Christians who recognize and acknowledge in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, the expression of the Father’s gift of love for all people. Empowered by the Spirit of the risen Christ, we are called, as individuals and as a community, to be living witnesses of Christ’s presence and His ongoing mission in our society. (1 Joh

n 4:9:11)

As a Community,
obedient to the Spirit of God and under the leadership of the Pope, Archbishop and our Pastor, we are called in co-responsibility to be listening, worshiping, serving and loving people. We see our lives personally and collectively as a perpetual thanksgiving and celebration of God’s great love for humanity. As Church,
we confess to be preeminently a Eucharistic community and a sacrament, a living sign of Jesus Christ’s presence. The Eucharist which we celebrate together is both the sign and the means of our present unity, as well as of the still greater unity to be achieved in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. (Constitution of the Liturgy #2 Lumen Gentium #1)

Jesus .. has been sent by God the Father to redeem the human family through the power of the Holy Spirit. We, as a Church, are called by God to give living testimony and actualize the saving mission of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.
.. proclaimed the Kingdom by His words and deeds. We are called to do the same.
..came to offer His Father’s merciful and loving providence to all. We are called to search out the needs, not only of the Catholic community, but of the total community; and then to respond accordingly with open mind and generous heart, conscious of the Gospel demands of Jesus Christ. We are further called to help all people recognize the Kingdom of God, as the Spirit brings it to reality in the whole of creation, more particularly within the hearts of those who dare to call themselves
followers of Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:18-27)

We, The Church of St. John the Apostle,
find our unity, meaning and purpose through sharing in the saving mission of Jesus Christ. Faithfulness to His total mission calls us to sacrifice and risk. Our response to this call within St. John the Apostle takes on a threefold character:

- to teach and to witness the Word of God;
- to build community;
- to serve.

06/15/2026

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time - June 21, 2026

"Are not two small sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge...So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

In today’s gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples (and us) that we have a worth in the eyes of God that’s infinite. God is love. God loves us with an infinite love. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life. (Jn3:16) This should have a powerful effect on our self-image.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have been called to love God and love our neighbor. Love is a gift of one’s self to another. Knowing how valuable and loved we are by God, we try to treat others in the same way.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father. We are to bear witness to Jesus, to His love that we have experienced. In order to do so, we must know Jesus. We must know what Jesus taught. We must live out our beliefs as Catholics each day of our lives. Jesus’s presence in our heart and soul is meant for us to go out and transform the world in which we live.

Deacon Mike

06/08/2026

The 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time - June 14, 2026

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Where is the harvest? What probably comes to mind is a far way country, where the people have no or limited knowledge of Jesus Christ. While this is true, the harvest is also in our own community. It’s our next door neighbor. It’s those in the place we work. It might even be the person sitting next to you at Mass! Because the harvest is anyone searching for the truth, meaning in life. They are searching for Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life! St. Augustine wrote: “ Lord, You made our hearts for You, and they will not rest until they rest in You!”

What is the work of the harvest? The work of the laborer is that which Matthew describes at the end of his gospel. “Go therefore, make disciples of all nations” (Mt28:19) In Mt25…”For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me. I was ill and you comforted me, in prison and you came to visit me.”

Who are the laborers? At our Baptism, we became a laborer in the harvest. Pope St. Leo the Great said that He who took the form of a servant also has the form of God. We follow the example of Jesus Christ, the God-servant.

How do we do the labor? We need models. The best model is Jesus Christ. Followed by, Mary, the Mother of God. She was completely open to the action of the Holy Spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead her to whomever needed Jesus Christ.

We are all called to proclaim the Gospel. The Greek word for the proclaiming of the Gospel is kerygma. What is the kerygma? 1) God loves you and has an amazing plan of your life. 2) Sin has ruined this plan. 3) Jesus loves you so much that He died for your sins. 4) We respond to this Good News with repentance. We radically reorient our life to Jesus Christ. 5) We have been Baptized and received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Each one of us has been sent by Jesus Christ. and has something to share with the world!

Deacon Mike

06/01/2026

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
June 7, 2026

Today we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, thanking Jesus for the great gift of His Body and Blood. Each of today’s readings helps us to reflect on different aspects of this feast. The first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy provides us with a prefiguration of the Eucharist. God fed the Israelites in the desert with the miraculous food, manna. He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread along does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord. The manna teaches the Israelites that God’s Word is the source of life.
St. Paul tells us that the Church is the body of Christ, and our participation in receiving the Eucharist makes us into Christ’s body. The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
The gospel passage for St. John’s 6th chapter emphasizes eternal life, promised to us through the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him on the last day.
The Holy Eucharist has been described as, spiritual nourishment, “food for the journey” to eternal life. We nourish our souls, helping us in times of temptation and strengthening us as disciples of Jesus Christ to be Jesus to those in our community, family, workplace, school and parish.

Deacon Mike

05/25/2026

The Most Holy Trinity - May 31, 2026

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Sprit be with all of you. What does the Bible say about the Trinity? At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, we read: Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel of Mark, we find a powerful image of the Trinity. Following the Baptism of Jesus, the Holy Spirit descends in a dove-like form and we hear the voice of the Father: You are my dear son. St. Luke associates the Old Testament period to the Father, the gospel period to the Son and the period after the gospel to the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel of John, Jesus often speaks about the Father and the Holy Spirit that will come, after Jesus ascends into heaven.
What one word best describes the Trinity? Love – the reason God the Father created us, God the Son redeemed us and God the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts and sanctifies us! The Trinity is in an eternal exchange of love in which we are called to share in. How do we respond to this Love? We forgive as Jesus forgave. We love as Jesus loved. We serve as Jesus served. We walk in His presence!

Deacon Mike

05/19/2026

Solemnity of Pentecost - May 24, 2026

Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit…

Today we celebrate the birthday of the Church. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit inspired the disciples to see Jesus in an entirely different way. …he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when the saw the Lord. They saw Jesus’s wounds in His glorified body and rejoiced, realizing that He definitively conquered sin and death. The Holy Spirit enabled them to bring the love of Jesus Christ to the world of their time – they were on fire with the love of Jesus!
The Holy Spirit gives to us the same revelation. The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus’s mercy and love to us – when we pray, at Mass and when we read and reflect on the Scriptures. The people of our world in our time so much need Jesus revealed to them. The Holy Spirit inspires us to pray, to reach out to those in need, to share our faith, to win the battle against temptation and sin to glorify the Holy Trinity in our thoughts, words and actions. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love!

Deacon Mike

05/11/2026

The Ascension of the Lord - May 17, 2026

Each one of us is on the same journey. What journey is that you ask? The journey through life, on the way to our Father in heaven. On this journey, we have a sure guide and there is no other – Jesus Christ. Jesus has made the journey back to the Father in heaven. Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn8:12) Jesus is not only the “way” to the Father, but also the “truth” about the Father. “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (Jn14:9-10)
Jesus is also “the life”. He contains the “life” of the Father in Him. We first receive this life at our Baptism. We receive this life every time at Mass, in the Holy Eucharist. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks me blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. (Jn6:54)
When I was a small boy, my dad would drive the family in the ’57 Chrysler Imperial down the shore. I felt secure that my dad knew the way and would get us there safely. This worry free attitude I had as a child, is very much like the attitude that Jesus wants us to have on our journey to our Father in heaven.
Worry free attitude – is that possible? Each day seems to bring a new set of challenges, on top of the previous day(s). Jesus does not promise us a life full of no challenges or struggles. Jesus does promise us to be “the way, the truth and the life”. Jesus will steer us through the obstacles of everyday life. We do not want the busyness of life or life’s problems to rob us of the joy and peace that we alone find in Jesus Christ.
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Would people look at us and see Jesus? Can others get to know Jesus through us? Often children look like one or both of their parents. Children are likely to reflect their parents’ philosophies and behaviors. Did you every catch yourself saying the following? “I have become just like my father (or mother).” The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. We are made in the image and likeness of God. May the love of Jesus be found in our thoughts, words and actions.

Deacon Mike

05/04/2026

The Sixth Sunday of Easter - May 10, 2026

Jesus said to his disciples: If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth…
We have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that the apostles received on Pentecost. Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit…Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. We see that through the apostles’ prayers, others also received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit helps us in the battle with temptations. This is cause for great joy! Look at the joy brought to the city of Samaria as the people witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit working through the apostles. Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. The Holy Spirit enables Jesus Christ to be sanctified in our hearts. How can we “make holy” Jesus Christ who is infinitely holy? What does this mean? Does it mean setting apart Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour? It means more…You must know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is within – the Spirit you have received from God. You are not your own. You have been purchased, and at a price! So glorify God in your body! (1Cor6:19-20) We confess that our life is not our own… we belong to Christ! We are telling Jesus that we will love Him throughout each day, in our thoughts, words and actions. We must not hold back, but allow Jesus in every corner of our life, of our heart and our mind!
As we celebrate Mother’s Day, we give gratitude to God for the gift of a mother. Remember as the popular song goes… M is for the million things she gave me. O means that she is only growing old. T is for the tears she shed to save me. H is for her heart as pure as gold. E is for her eyes with love light shining. R is for right and right she will always be. Put them all together.. they spell mother – a word that means a world to me.

May the peace and joy of the risen Jesus be with us always!

Deacon Mike

Please support the Mother's Day 50/50 Raffle!
04/28/2026

Please support the Mother's Day 50/50 Raffle!

04/27/2026

Fifth Sunday of Easter - May 3, 2026

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

We will make many journeys in life. Life is a journey too. While each one of us will travel a different route, our destination is the same one – to our Father in heaven. A GPS won’t help us on this journey, as it would normally get us from one place to another by the best route. On this journey, we have a sure guide and there is no other – Jesus Christ! Jesus also made the journey back to the Father in heaven.
Whoever follows me, will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (Jn8:12) Jesus is not only the “way” to the Father, but also the “truth” about the Father. Jesus reveals a loving and merciful Father to us. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. (Jn6:54) I am the way, the truth and the life.
St. Leo the Great (Pope and Doctor of the Church), in reflecting on seeing the Father in Jesus said: He who took the “form of a servant” also has the “form of God”. Serving the Lord and eternal life are inseparable. In today’s first reading we hear about the call of the first deacons. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. These seven men selected to serve at table were also spiritual leaders. Jesus calls each one of us to service. Amen I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. Mt25:40 May we respond with the same enthusiasm and commitment as the first deacons! May the peace and joy of the risen Jesus be with us always!

Deacon Mike

04/20/2026

Fourth Sunday of Easter - April 26, 2026

Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep…Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.

Most of us probably don’t have a lot of experience with sheep. We probably know more about dogs and cats. I know that my dogs respond to the sound of my voice, recognizing especially certain words or phrases. If I say: “Let’s go in the car!”, they run to the door - knowing what this means. Perhaps these kind of experiences can help us better appreciate today’s gospel and how sheep only respond to their shepherd’s voice.
Today we reflect upon the title of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. We know that in the Old Testament, God chose shepherds to be some of the greatest leaders of the Jewish people, i.e. Moses and David. A shepherd must be a deeply caring person, committed and courageous. Jesus is dedicated to us in a deep and personal way. If we are lost (in sin or fallen away), He does not stop trying to lead us back to Him.
St. Gregory the Great wrote: “Ask yourself whether you belong to (Jesus’s) flock, whether you know him, whether the light of truth shines in your minds. I assure you that it is not by faith that you come to know him, but by love; not by conviction, but by action. John the evangelist is my authority for this statement. He tells us that anyone who claims to know God without keeping his commandments is a liar…So our Lord’s sheep will finally reach their grazing ground where all who follow him in simplicity of heart will feed on the green pastures of eternity…Let us stir up our hearts, rekindle our faith, and long eagerly for what heaven has in store for us. To love thus is to be already on our way.” May the peace and joy of the risen Jesus be with us always!

Deacon Mike

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1805 Penbrook Ter
Linden, NJ
07066

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