2026 South Jersey Catholic Ministries Appeal

By supporting the 2026 South Jersey Catholic Ministries Appeal, you are supporting many programs and ministries of the Diocese of Camden and Saints Peter & Paul Parish. These ministries serve the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the hungry and challenged. When you support the South Jersey Catholic Ministries Appeal, you offer comfort to those in your parish, your community, and throughout the entire Diocese.

This year’s theme, “Missionaries of Mercy,” supports the social and spiritual needs of our 62 parishes and 29 schools, with social services, hospital chaplaincy, youth & teen campus ministries, Catholic education, pastoral care initiatives, vocations, and faith formation programs. 

Together we make a stronger community with faith, compassion, and mercy.

Quick, Easy and Secure Online Giving – Click on the link below to make a one-time gift or set up monthly installments, via credit, debit, or checking/savings transaction and to view video.

The 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time is basically a spiritual “reality check.” It usually hits right before Lent kicks in, acting like that friend who pulls you aside to tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear. The core theme of this Sunday is about moving past “going through the motions.”

We all do it sometimes, we treat our faith like a grocery list. I went to Mass? Check. I didn't steal anything? Check. I’m a "good" person? Check. But in the Gospel, Jesus basically takes that checklist and tosses it. He moves the goalposts from our actions to our intentions. He says it’s not enough to just avoid "big" sins like murder; he wants to know why you’re still holding a grudge against your coworker, or why you're letting  passive-aggressive comments fly at the dinner table. It’s a call to stop worrying about looking holy on the  outside and to start cleaning up the "basement" of your heart. The first reading from Sirach is a big wake-up call about free will. It’s like God puts fire and water in front of us and says, "Which one do you want?"

In ancient times, fire and water were the two most basic elements of life, but they were also opposites. Fire  consumes; water refreshes. By putting them side-by-side, the author is saying that morality isn't a gray area. Most of the time, we like to pretend we "fell" into a bad habit or "couldn't help" our reaction. Sirach argues the opposite: God has set the table, but you’re the one picking up the fork. You have the agency (free will) to choose the thing that sustains you (water) or the thing that burns you (fire).

It’s easy to blame our bad moods or our mistakes on stress, the kids, or the news. But this Sunday's readings remind us that we actually have the remote control. We get to choose life or death, kindness or bitterness, every single morning and with every single decision. It’s empowering, sure, but it’s also a little convicting  because it takes away our excuses.

One of the most practical (and toughest) parts of this liturgy is when Jesus says: If you’re standing at the altar and remember your friend is mad at you, leave your gift and go fix it. Think about how radical that is. He’s saying that human relationships matter just as much as religious rituals. God isn't impressed by our prayers if we’re intentionally ignoring someone we’ve hurt. He’d rather we be late to Mass because we were busy apologizing to someone than have us sit in the pew pretending everything is fine. The takeaway: Faith isn't a performance; it’s about how we treat people when no one is watching.

As we wrap up this "Ordinary" time and head toward the desert of Lent, the 6th Sunday asks us to be honest. It’s an invitation to stop playing "religion" and start living a life where our insides match our outsides. It’s about being a person of integrity—someone who chooses the "wise" path of love even when it looks like "foolishness" to everyone else.

It’s not about being perfect; it’s about being authentic. Something to think about as the cold wet ashes are placed on our foreheads and we hear "turn away from sin and return to the Gospel", in a few days. Will our thoughts this Lent be, "Got my Ashes", Check, or will they be "Does this outward symbol of repentance really authentically align with my life?"  Working on this, is my plan for Lent.



May God bless us as we enter into the desert of Lent, so we can be fully prepared to enter into the paradise of Easter.

Deacon Frank