By Christina Leslie | Correspondent

“For a thousand years, our order, the Order of Malta has lived and labored and loved the destiny of John the Baptist in its ministry of pointing to the Lamb of God,” said Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., to the dozens of Knights and Dames of Malta seated before him June 24 in St. Catharine Church, Spring Lake.

As celebrant of a Mass on the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the order’s patron saint, the Bishop charged his fellow members to fulfill their own destinies and follow the saint’s way by “announcing and witnessing the Good News, strengthening the Church, performing the Corporal Works of Mercy, protecting the faith and serving the sick and the poor.”  

Photo Gallery: Bishop celebrates Mass for Knights of Malta

Black-robed Knights and Dames, their guests and member priests from around the state, including Father Douglas Freer, chaplain of the Order of Malta for the Trenton Diocese and pastor of St. Pio of Pietrelcina Parish, Lavallette, heard Bishop O’Connell deliver his homily on the Gospel from Luke (1:57-66, 80) which described the birth and naming of John the Baptist.

“The Church has chosen these readings to show us the destiny of the one who would introduce the world to Jesus Christ,” the Bishop said. “His destiny is of great significance to the Order of Malta throughout the world, because John the Baptist is our universal spiritual patron, [and] is a model for our own destinies as Knights and Dames of the Order, a destiny that reaches back to the womb of Elizabeth, kinswoman to the Mother of the Lord.”

The congregation venerated a relic of their patron, St. John the Baptist, and publicly proclaimed the Order of Malta’s daily prayer.

Knights and Dames of the Order may serve in varied ways, but share a common sense of spiritual fulfillment in their work. Bob and Karen Tanzola, co-hospitallers (area facilitators) for the Diocese of Trenton, are members of St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish, and were eager to share their fervor in service and faith.

“I am involved in prison ministry and Catholic Charities,” said Bob Tanzola. “Together with my wife, we teach English as a Second Language to Latino adults at El Centro, Trenton.”

The Knight described the annual days of recollection at San Alfonso Retreat Center, Long Branch, and healing Mass for wounded veterans on Long Beach Island as spiritually fulfilling. He and his wife spiritually and financially sponsor a young parishioner in nearby St. Michael Parish, West End.

“Our signature event is the annual pilgrimage to Lourdes,” he said. “This past May [the Order] chartered a plane and took 50 sick [individuals] and their caregivers, including the boy we sponsor and his mother.”

Susan Moran has been a Dame of the order for 12 years. The Mantoloking resident, who named Sacred Heart Church, Bay Head, as her spiritual home, serves on the boards of numerous faith-based preparatory schools.

“We had scheduled a trip to Guatemala to bring supplies to the St. Joseph Clinic and Cambiando Vidas [Changing Lives] school [the Order] built, but had to postpone it due to the earthquake,” she said. “The Order of Malta is aiding the evacuees and we will make a couple trips with clothes and medicine.”

Freehold-based Marianne Earle said, “I am a nurse, and I like the spiritual aspect of the Order. It is personally rewarding.” A member of the town’s St. Rose of Lima Parish, Earle also serves on the board for Collier Youth Services, Wickatunk.

“We went to Louisiana with the Federal Association [Malta] and Catholic Charities to rebuild from the flood of 2016. Many people still do not have houses,” she said. “[The rebuild] was so rewarding.”