Fr. Nes's Thoughts on St. Mary's

Seventy-five years ago, there was a dream with a mixture of prayers, to build a house of God and a community of faith. Today, we remember those who worked hard to achieve this dream and God who answered their prayers. As we move forward through the years with these blessings, may we never forget the learning of those who labored: “unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build”.

Let us continue working together, rejoicing in worship and living the blessings. Happy 75th Anniversary to St. Mary’s Community!

Fr. Nes Chavenia

Fr. Walter's Thoughts on St. Mary's

As a fairly young priest who is a parochial vicar here at St. Mary’s and St. Mary’s of the Pines, I feel truly blessed. I truly love my ministry. As a parochial vicar at St. Mary’s, one of my main responsibilities is a coordinator of the Hispanic ministry.

I felt really lucky, if not, blessed to be able to be able to meet Pope Francis, not once, not thrice, but four times. Meeting a Pope, who is a successor of the apostle, Peter, our first Pope, is a tremendous, special, and holy experience. Being able to see Pope Francis, who is the churches’ first Hispanic Pope, was a remarkable and blessed experience especially as I was born in Columbia a neighboring country of Argentina where Pope Francis is from.

The first time I visited Rome was in 2014 when I was newly ordained. I was stationed at St. Jerome’s in West Long Branch. Bishop David had a priestly diocesan pilgrimage and I had the privilege of visiting several important places and sacred sites.

Another opportunity came in 2015 when Pope Francis visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NY. It wasn’t easy to be able to go as you needed a ticket. My pastor, Msgr. Ed Arnister from St. Rose in Belmar, told me that a lady, an alumnus of St. Rose High School, wanted to gift tickets to St. Rose. My pastor was not too excited to go himself, but when he realized how thrilled I was he decided to go. We were the only two priests form the Diocese of Trenton there. We had the Pope’s blessing as we were there, but because the Cathedral was crowded we could not meet him personally.

A third opportunity occurred in 2017 when Pope Francis visited my native country, Columbia. My brother, Amador, also a priest working in the capital, Bogotá, got tickets for several audiences with the Pope and we had first row seats. I heard Pope Francis speak perfectly in my native language which was really joyful. However, I still did not have the chance to shake his hand.

This year, 2023, the fourth time was a charm. My brother again, who has a bishop friend, told me that he could bring both of us to Rome to see Pope Francis at an ‘Ad Limina’, a visit by the bishops to see the Pope every five years. For a priest to meet the Pope in such a private audience is nearly impossible as this meeting is for bishops. The reality of meeting Pope Francis personally went up and down not knowing until the last possible moment. We were in line to meet the Pope, passing several check points when it was announced that each bishop could only bring one priest with him. I was about to make my exit and to accept the fact that again I would not see Pope Francis personally until another bishop who was alone would ‘adopt me’ to go with him. Then the rest is history. Finally I got to meet Pope Francis personally and shake his hand. It was such a thrill to be so close to the Pope, and I felt truly blessed by the encounter.

It was such an honor to finally meet the Pope personally. It wasn’t until I was assigned to St. Mary’s that this actually occurred. Whether this was just the ‘luck of draw’, coincidence, or divine providence I’ll never know. I do truly believe that St. Mary’s here in Barnegat and Manahawkin is truly blessed and I also feel blessed and honored to be apart of this parish family of St. Mary’s and St. Mary’s of the Pines. Thank you St. Mary’s for helping to make my priestly ministry here so special and holy. As a side note, Bishop David has announced that I will be here for at least one more year.

Fr. Walter Quiceno

Fr. Vic Magdaraog's Recollections and Reflections on St. Mary's

I was appointed as the first parochial vicar to St. Mary’s in June 1997 by Bishop John Reese. In my tenure with St. Mary’s I have witnessed in the people a great faith in Jesus and of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This strong faith is really what endeared me to the people of St. Mary’s. Along with this great faith I, also, saw firsthand the dedication of the parishioners of St. Mary’s to volunteering from ministries like Ken’s Kitchen to the St. Vincent de Paul Society to a commitment of a holy hour in the Adoration Chapel. There is not one, but a host of ministries that are supported by the parishioners -- too many to mention.

The attendance at the daily Mass was about 200 people which is a tribute to the great faith of the parishioners of St. Mary’s. This amazingly strong and vibrant faith was seen in the relationship between the priests and the parishioners. They loved their priests, and this strong faith and bond was undoubtedly fostered by the energy and compassion of the pastor, Msgr. Ken.

The parish community grew tremendously, and it is now one of the biggest parishes in the Diocese of Trenton because of its strong faith. As a result, it is a very peaceful community both spiritually and in the context of the residential community. Even though the community still faces the daily pressures of the new millennium, there is a relative calm anpeacefulness in this community.

One final note, it is my fervent belief that it was the Adoration Chapel that brought about such a strong faith in the community not only with the fellow parishioners but in the community at large. While attending to the spirituality of the parishioners, I had noticed the tremendous amount of people who would stop by the Adoration Chapel to pray and not just with the fellow Catholics but with non-Catholics as well as. It is a very peaceful Chapel, and it has fostered this unity in family and faith

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Fr. Vic Magdaraog

Fr. Tom Kunnath's Thoughts on St. Mary's

Dear Friends of St. Mary's Parish Barnegat,

We are guided by the Light of the Holy Spirit, embrace His gifts, and seek to transform them for God’s glory. This Spirit that he lavished on us through Jesus Christ our Savior, that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs, in hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3: 7)

It was a great pleasure to be part of the parish community of St. Mary's. In my seven years in the parish, I truly witnessed that the people of the parish are living the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a blessing to be part of St. Mary's under the leadership and direction of Rev. Msgr. Kenard J. Tuzeneu.

May the Holy Spirit, through our Lord Jesus Christ, enlighten St. Mary’s Parishioners’ hearts to fervently continue to spread the Gospel. May God continue to bless you.

Rev. Thomas Kunnath
Parochial Vicar

Fr. Erin Brown

Fr. Brown was only stationed here at St. Mary's for three or four months. However, in that short time it was his fervent wish to celebrate as many funeral Masses as he could for as he noted the devotion and spirituality of the people at such a service was highly intensified. Whether this was the situation only at St. Mary's or just an occurrence of the situation, it is not a known fact, but it was just his kind of spiritual awareness.

 Mr. John Jakub
(Formally Fr. John Jakub)