Today's saint, St. Bruno, founded the Carthusian order.  They're the most contemplative of all religious orders.  One thing we can learn from them is to put Jesus first in our lives.  It makes such a big difference when we recognize that God is all powerful and eager to shower his merciful love upon us.  When we then recognize all the terribly sinful things going on in the world, in our community, and in our own lives, it doesn't have to be so overwhelming.  Rather, we know we can rely on Jesus who saves us.

     I just got back from a Respect Life meeting with Rachel Hendricks and the county chaplains.  (I'm the chaplain for Ocean County.)  We talked about some of those really terrible things going on in the world.  We talked about relying on God.  And we talked about what we can do to make a difference in our diocese.

     This meeting serves as a turning point for me.  We've been focusing so much on the pandemic and how to navigate it.  We still need to do that.  But I think we've been pivoting toward a kind of normalcy with a large dose of new life that we didn't have before the pandemic.  I think we're ready for more new growth even as we continue to address the pandemic and the variety of repercussions.

     Rachel asked us chaplains if we'd be interested in focusing on a particular area of "Respect Life".  I was first attracted to bioethics.  I'm no expert, but I studied it in seminary and for my M.A. paper.  And I have a lot of personal experience in caring for my brother and parents.  I was the one who talked with the doctors about end-of-life issues.

     When I don't know something about bioethics, I go to the National Catholic Bioethics Center at https://www.ncbcenter.org/.  I find them very helpful and even surprising.  My instincts are not always on target.  For example, the Church does not teach that DNA reprogramming (gene therapy) is intrinsically evil.  It can be done for evil reasons or in an evil way, but it could be possible in the future to cure genetic disorders with gene therapy in a morally good way.

     Regarding COVID-19, vaccines, and mandates, I recommend doing research at the National Catholic Bioethics Center website.  Go to there website and click on COVID-19.

God love you,

Fr. Jim