Year-End Celebration

On Sunday, we held our annual Mass for Confirmation and sending forth. It was a time to celebrate and gather together, honoring the hard work and faithfulness of a great deal of students. And of course, here at the Newman Center, we show our appreciation through lots and lots of good food.

Bishop Cruz consecrating the bread and wine
into the Body and Blood of Christ

Firstly, we were graced by the presence of Bishop Manuel Cruz, the auxiliary Bishop of the archdiocese of Newark, who came to celebrate Mass for us that fine evening. After Bishop Cruz gave a simultaneously humorous and enlightening homily that left the churchgoers with a profound message of the immeasurable love we should have for God, he asks the confirmandi (those who are candidates for the sacrament of Confirmation) a series of questions to renew their Baptismal Promises. Then, the church was sprinkled with holy water, and the sacrament was given.

The sacrament of Confirmation is the fulfillment of Baptism, where the recipient is now able to fully accept their faith. It is administered when a person is at an age where they are old enough to make their own decisions regarding whether or not they wholeheartedly believe in God and what the Church teaches; this point is called the age of reason. For some people, they choose to receive Confirmation at an earlier age, but for others, like the two who received the sacrament on Sunday, they go through a program called RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults), which basically means that they prepare for their sacraments when they're older and feel more prepared. The really cool thing about Confirmation though is the awesome stuff that you get when you become confirmed. Once you say "yes" to your faith - once you confirm your beliefs - the Holy Spirit gives you all of these cool gifts that are totally useful. Now, they're not physical gifts but the spiritual kind, the type that we really need to get through the difficult times. We get some courage and wisdom, understanding and right judgment...just to name a few. So you can get why this sacrament is so awesome.

Bishop Cruz anointing a confirmand with Chrism oil

the graduates awaiting their gifts

After the confirmandi were confirmed, the Mass proceeded and then concluded with the distribution of gifts (physical ones this time) to the students that are graduating this year. Each received a lovely engraved Bible and a nice, personal piece of advice from Bishop Cruz. Special recognition and prayers were said for Joe Furnaguera, who is entering seminary in the fall.

Finally, after all the religious celebrations, it was time to feast. We had a huge buffet that included roast pig and jambalaya. Conversations were abound and laughs were heard everywhere as everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. It was a great evening and an amazing time spent with friends, family, and the entire community.

Newman Night: Cake Creations

This past Tuesday Night, we had our last Newman Night of the semester.
What's a Newman Night, you ask? It's a fun evening where we gather together and develop our spirituality through various social events.

students' representation of  the Visitation, created from
the combination of five cupcakes

On this particular night, we had the joy of decorating cupcakes using as many or as few toppings that we wanted; the delicious choices included sprinkles, marshmallows, m&ms, and basically anything really yummy you could think of. To make things more interesting though, our creations had to meet certain criteria: they had to represent a theme or event from the bible. And boy, did this spark the creativity!




The final designs for the cupcakes were as varied as the temperatures on the moon. Some groups chose to combine their cupcakes to create a scene or to represent multiple persons in a story. Others incorporated utensils into their design or elected to expand it outside of the scope of the cupcake and onto the plate. Some even took a more metaphysical approach when decorating their cupcakes, turning what didn't look like much into a conceptual work of art.

Sr. Monika handing out the award for "Most Methodical"

After everyone completed their masterpieces, their creations were shown off to the group and they had the chance to explain their scene and design choices. Awards were handed out for "The Most Delicious," which went to a beautiful representation of the Visitation, and for "The Most Methodical," which went to a depiction of David and Goliath made from a pair of cupcakes delicately decorated. Finally, "The Most Original" was awarded to an up-and-coming artist whose appetite had gotten the best of him, leaving a vacant cupcake wrapper to represent the empty tomb of Jesus.

All in all, the event was a blast, and everyone had an incredible time expressing their creativity. The cake was also a plus. Cake is always a plus, especially when it's absolutely delicious.

Greetings!

It seems that you've happened upon the blog of the Newman Club to the universities of Newark, NJ. If this was the site you were looking for, then welcome! And if it just so happens that you came across us by sheer dumb luck, then welcome anyway!

Come. Stay for a while.

We're just some pretty awesome people who happen to follow an even awesomer God and want others to know about His awesomeness. Is that too much awesome to handle? Okay, I'll take it down a notch.

Let's keep it simple.

Who are we?

We're the Newman Center.

Our objective?

To love God and help to bring His love to others by being active in our campus communities.

What does this mean to you?

Well, if you're Catholic, that means that the Newman Center can be a place to help you grow in holiness and strengthen your relationship with God. If you're not Catholic, you'll still be welcome and get to hang out with some pretty great people.

Why are we writing all this instead of just saying it to you? 

We feel that this blog will serve as a bridge between the mediums. It's kind of like where faith and culture collide. We hope to communicate as much as we can about the events of our club, homilies of Sunday readings, and awesome tidbits about our faith.

We hope you enjoy it!