Teaching by example
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
The 2011 Bishop’s Appeal video presents just a sprinkling of folks from around the diocese whose mission is to teach the faith by example.
From the elementary school teacher who introduces Catholic tradition to first graders; to advocates for social justice and charitable causes around the four counties; to clergy, coaches and parents, the video opens a window into the many reasons for supporting the appeal.
Their views, captured in expanded snapshots by Monitor correspondent Dorothy La Mantia, appear below.
Grace Magee: 'I teach by charity'
When asked to expand on her statement in the video for the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, Grace Ortiz Magee, human resources coordinator for St. James Parish in Red Bank, responded, “I don’t know why they chose me for the video. I just help in a quiet way, have a smile and try to be positive. I don’t like negativity. There are other people at St. James who give really good example.”
Yet giving a charitable and faithful example is in her blood. “I try to follow in my parents’ footsteps. They are loving and honest people,” said Magee, whose family migrated to the United States from Argentina in 1967. Her memories of her father, an accountant in Buenos Aires, settling for a job in construction and sacrificing for his family, provided a model for Magee when she faced the loss of her husband, Kenneth, to cancer in 1996. Her son Derrick had just graduated eighth grade; daughter Lauren was eight.
“Living by example is to have faith. I asked, ‘Why me?’ But faith kept me going, and my parents were my rock,” she said. Her parents cared for the children every day, enabling her to work fulltime. Now that the children have reached adulthood, Magee attributes their devotion to family and sense of responsibility to her parents’ influence and unwavering love, which undoubtedly fuel her smile and charge her words in the video: “Everything we do matters.
Working together, we can make a difference in the lives of our children and in our community.”
For 12 years, Magee, a widow with two children, has supported her family through her position in payroll and accounts payable for the parish, as well serving as corresponding secretary for the annual Blue Mass for fallen law enforcement officers.
Katy & Todd Theroux: 'We teach in the home'
“When I think about my teaching in the home, I think about passing on my faith to my children; what I’ve learned from my parents, my pastor and Christ,” said Todd Theroux. He and his wife Katy, residents of Princeton and members of St. Paul Parish, are parents of six: Mary Kate, Claire, Dana, John Paul, Billy and Jean-Luc. While their four school-age children attend Catholic schools, their education in the faith is nurtured at home.
Meals begin with grace, then “We talk about our day, thank God for the good things, talk about how we can pray about the bad things and whom we can pray for,” said Todd.
During the half-hour rides from home to Villa Victoria Academy in Ewing, Theroux and his daughters discuss diverse subjects in the light of their relationship with God.
Katy reinforces the meaning of school events. Recently, when Villa Victoria was preparing to celebrate Vocations Awareness Week, Katy discussed the concept of a vocation with her daughters.
The couple avidly support Catholic education. Katy, now an executive with GS1 US Corporate Center in Princeton, credits her days at Nazareth Academy, a Catholic all-girls high school in Rochester, N.Y., as a defining experience, which gave her not only a strong foundation of faith but also the “opportunity to lead and to spread my wings.”
She has worked to keep Catholic schools open and hopes that “all Catholic kids can get a Catholic education, regardless of whether they can afford it.”
Todd, a chemist-turned-stay-at-home dad, is a catechist and works with the school’s Catholic Identity Committee, which distributes information about service, prayer and liturgical participation to the families in the school. He expects to earn a master’s degree in theology in May 2012.
Chris Ott: 'I teach through sports'
Through his passion for athletics, Chris Ott, a coach and physical education teacher in St. Raphael School, Trenton, teaches to the body, soul and mind.
Ott explained, “I am passionate about sports and being physically fit. I want to pass it on to the next generation.”
Ott, formerly a radio talk show host and sports announcer for Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado, weaves Catholic teaching into his health and PE classes and addresses issues of sportsmanship and instilling love of sports as a lifelong practice for physical health. He thrills when a child who never played a sport develops a passion for one.
“Sports provide them with lessons that they will use through their entire lives,” said Ott. “When I coach, I say, ‘I don’t care how many baskets you’ve made, it’s how you interact with kids who didn’t make any.’ “In sports radio, I travelled a lot, but I started thinking, ‘This is not what God has in mind.’ Broadcasting did not allow me to give back,” he said.
“As a teacher, I’ll never make a million bucks, but I make an impact. That’s more important.”
His students have taught him as well. Ott’s friends marvel at his abundant patience, a fringe benefit of his vocation. “You’ll learn patience quickly teaching younger children,” he said. “They enhance my faith life. Not a day passes when I do not feel blessed.”
Kristin Castaldo & Jennifer Armiger: 'We teach in the classroom'
It is often said that a Catholic education shapes the lives of students well into the future. No doubt that is true of Kristin Castaldo and Jennifer Armiger, graduates of St. Gregory the Great School in Hamilton Square, and now members of its faculty.
Castaldo, a newly-minted teacher assigned to the first grade, said, “Faith is the foundation of learning in our classroom, the basis of everything we do. And it is an integral part of my classroom mission, which is to create a strong and safe community of active learners. I hope to provide my students with the solid foundation of faith that St. Gregory’s instilled in me.”
Her colleague, Jennifer Armiger, science teacher in the seventh and eighth grades, said, “Teaching at a Catholic school allows you to teach with God as your guide, and that is important to me. My students allow me to enhance my own faith through my being able to be a role model for them, guiding them to live faith-filled lives.”
Armiger graduated from Neumann University, Aston, Pa., a Catholic institution where it is mandatory to study religion all four years. She attributes her formation as a Catholic teacher and her strong understanding of the faith to her alma mater.
These women base their professional day on a foundation of prayer. “Our day begins with prayer in our morning meeting and it concludes with it,” said Castaldo, a graduate of The College of New Jersey, Ewing. “It is comforting to know I can refer back to prayer, no matter what the subject is.”
Peter Inverso: 'I teach in the boardroom'
“In the boardroom,” said Peter Inverso, chief executive officer for Roma Bank and former N.J. State Senator, “it is paramount that we look at needs to address them on a broad scale. It means the conjunctive effort of many people. Each of us can reach many more than we can possibly imagine.”When asked to reflect on how to apply principles of faith to the business of banking, Inverso stated, “A business has a social obligation to the community where it applies its wares. In our company, we abide by a strong ethical and moral code. We view ourselves as an entity, a safe place for people to store money and find credit.”
As a state senator representing Mercer and Middlesex Counties between 1992 and 2008, Inverso learned that remaining true to the tenets of faith does no favors for a state senator. His days in the senate provided him with “the toughest test to abide by my Catholic principles,” he said. “I did not go in with the popular agenda. I never shied away from my being pro-life.”
During his terms in the senate, Inverso became acquainted with the Board of Catholic Charities when it came to the legislature to advocate for the poor. “Its people were always professional and honest. I was impressed with the results they achieve. They deliver on their mission in Trenton.”
His admiration for the board led him to join it after he decided against seeking a fifth term of office. He currently heads the board’s social policy committee.
Eleanor Ojinnaka: 'I teach through service'
“My faith teaches me to count my blessings, but also to share them,” said Eleanor Ojinnaka, a freshman at Rider University. “Why should you keep your hands folded? Open your hands. You receive and you give, and you are able to do something for someone else.”
When Ojinnaka attended her orientation for new students at Rider, she made sure to find Father Joseph Jakub, chaplain of the Catholic Campus Ministry. “I knew I had to be in touch with my religion,” she said, “so I glued myself to Emmaus House.”
“Eleanor has become a key player in our ministry,” said Father Jakub, “and has shown a deep desire to learn about her faith and to put that faith into action by serving those around her.”
The chemistry major from Irvington serves as a reader at Mass, studies Scripture and participates in projects that benefit a soup kitchen and an after-school program in Trenton.
“I love service,” said Eleanor, who was president for the youth group in her home parish, St. Charles Borromeo in Newark, for the last two years. The group worked in a Newark soup kitchen and sponsored toy and book drives, including one that donated textbooks to colleges in Nigeria and Ghana.
Her family, which includes three brothers and one sister, migrated to the United States from Nigeria when Eleanor was nine. Her oldest brother died in 2005, an event that led her to question life’s meaning. Although she had balked at attending Mass, she made a spiritual connection at her parish youth group, where she experienced deep joy in communal praying of the rosary and in doing for others.
“I was happier within myself,” she said, “I said, ‘God, here I am!’ Now I will see what God has in store for me.”
Marlene Lao-Collins: 'I teach through advocacy'
For the past 11 years, Marlene Lao-Collins has served as director for social concerns with the New Jersey Catholic Conference, a position that comes with the responsibility of looking at public policy and issues such as homelessness, health care, affordable housing and education through the lens of Catholic social teaching.
“We come to the table and create a level of justice upholding human dignity and respect for human life,” said Lao–Collins, especially with regard to the treatment of the poor.
“I research what keeps people from moving ahead – themselves, their environment, or public policy,” she said. “I always had that curiosity which has lured me into what the problem is, to find a solution and to collaborate with other folks who have made a positive impact.”
Born in Hoboken, Lao-Collins attended both Catholic and public schools. In the video, she said, “I grew up around clergy and religious and my own family who were involved in the community. They instilled in me a caring for the dignity of life and of God’s creation.”
Drawn to advocacy for social justice during college and early adult life, Lao-Collins decided, “Instead of criticizing or complaining, I wished to work with people to change what was wrong – nationally or internationally.”
In 1979 she graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She married Michael Collins in 1982 and they have two sons, Eric and Abraham.
Since 1983, the family has lived in Trenton and has worshiped as members of St. Joseph Parish, a home for many immigrants. “I love the dynamic of our parish. It gives me and my husband more of a commitment to do something there,” she said.
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The 2011 Bishop’s Appeal video presents just a sprinkling of folks from around the diocese whose mission is to teach the faith by example.
From the elementary school teacher who introduces Catholic tradition to first graders; to advocates for social justice and charitable causes around the four counties; to clergy, coaches and parents, the video opens a window into the many reasons for supporting the appeal.
Their views, captured in expanded snapshots by Monitor correspondent Dorothy La Mantia, appear below.
Grace Magee: 'I teach by charity'
When asked to expand on her statement in the video for the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, Grace Ortiz Magee, human resources coordinator for St. James Parish in Red Bank, responded, “I don’t know why they chose me for the video. I just help in a quiet way, have a smile and try to be positive. I don’t like negativity. There are other people at St. James who give really good example.”
Yet giving a charitable and faithful example is in her blood. “I try to follow in my parents’ footsteps. They are loving and honest people,” said Magee, whose family migrated to the United States from Argentina in 1967. Her memories of her father, an accountant in Buenos Aires, settling for a job in construction and sacrificing for his family, provided a model for Magee when she faced the loss of her husband, Kenneth, to cancer in 1996. Her son Derrick had just graduated eighth grade; daughter Lauren was eight.
“Living by example is to have faith. I asked, ‘Why me?’ But faith kept me going, and my parents were my rock,” she said. Her parents cared for the children every day, enabling her to work fulltime. Now that the children have reached adulthood, Magee attributes their devotion to family and sense of responsibility to her parents’ influence and unwavering love, which undoubtedly fuel her smile and charge her words in the video: “Everything we do matters.
Working together, we can make a difference in the lives of our children and in our community.”
For 12 years, Magee, a widow with two children, has supported her family through her position in payroll and accounts payable for the parish, as well serving as corresponding secretary for the annual Blue Mass for fallen law enforcement officers.
Katy & Todd Theroux: 'We teach in the home'
“When I think about my teaching in the home, I think about passing on my faith to my children; what I’ve learned from my parents, my pastor and Christ,” said Todd Theroux. He and his wife Katy, residents of Princeton and members of St. Paul Parish, are parents of six: Mary Kate, Claire, Dana, John Paul, Billy and Jean-Luc. While their four school-age children attend Catholic schools, their education in the faith is nurtured at home.Meals begin with grace, then “We talk about our day, thank God for the good things, talk about how we can pray about the bad things and whom we can pray for,” said Todd.
During the half-hour rides from home to Villa Victoria Academy in Ewing, Theroux and his daughters discuss diverse subjects in the light of their relationship with God.
Katy reinforces the meaning of school events. Recently, when Villa Victoria was preparing to celebrate Vocations Awareness Week, Katy discussed the concept of a vocation with her daughters.
The couple avidly support Catholic education. Katy, now an executive with GS1 US Corporate Center in Princeton, credits her days at Nazareth Academy, a Catholic all-girls high school in Rochester, N.Y., as a defining experience, which gave her not only a strong foundation of faith but also the “opportunity to lead and to spread my wings.”
She has worked to keep Catholic schools open and hopes that “all Catholic kids can get a Catholic education, regardless of whether they can afford it.”
Todd, a chemist-turned-stay-at-home dad, is a catechist and works with the school’s Catholic Identity Committee, which distributes information about service, prayer and liturgical participation to the families in the school. He expects to earn a master’s degree in theology in May 2012.
Chris Ott: 'I teach through sports'
Through his passion for athletics, Chris Ott, a coach and physical education teacher in St. Raphael School, Trenton, teaches to the body, soul and mind.Ott explained, “I am passionate about sports and being physically fit. I want to pass it on to the next generation.”
Ott, formerly a radio talk show host and sports announcer for Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado, weaves Catholic teaching into his health and PE classes and addresses issues of sportsmanship and instilling love of sports as a lifelong practice for physical health. He thrills when a child who never played a sport develops a passion for one.
“Sports provide them with lessons that they will use through their entire lives,” said Ott. “When I coach, I say, ‘I don’t care how many baskets you’ve made, it’s how you interact with kids who didn’t make any.’ “In sports radio, I travelled a lot, but I started thinking, ‘This is not what God has in mind.’ Broadcasting did not allow me to give back,” he said.
“As a teacher, I’ll never make a million bucks, but I make an impact. That’s more important.”
His students have taught him as well. Ott’s friends marvel at his abundant patience, a fringe benefit of his vocation. “You’ll learn patience quickly teaching younger children,” he said. “They enhance my faith life. Not a day passes when I do not feel blessed.”
Kristin Castaldo & Jennifer Armiger: 'We teach in the classroom'
It is often said that a Catholic education shapes the lives of students well into the future. No doubt that is true of Kristin Castaldo and Jennifer Armiger, graduates of St. Gregory the Great School in Hamilton Square, and now members of its faculty.Castaldo, a newly-minted teacher assigned to the first grade, said, “Faith is the foundation of learning in our classroom, the basis of everything we do. And it is an integral part of my classroom mission, which is to create a strong and safe community of active learners. I hope to provide my students with the solid foundation of faith that St. Gregory’s instilled in me.”
Her colleague, Jennifer Armiger, science teacher in the seventh and eighth grades, said, “Teaching at a Catholic school allows you to teach with God as your guide, and that is important to me. My students allow me to enhance my own faith through my being able to be a role model for them, guiding them to live faith-filled lives.”
Armiger graduated from Neumann University, Aston, Pa., a Catholic institution where it is mandatory to study religion all four years. She attributes her formation as a Catholic teacher and her strong understanding of the faith to her alma mater.
These women base their professional day on a foundation of prayer. “Our day begins with prayer in our morning meeting and it concludes with it,” said Castaldo, a graduate of The College of New Jersey, Ewing. “It is comforting to know I can refer back to prayer, no matter what the subject is.”
Peter Inverso: 'I teach in the boardroom'
“In the boardroom,” said Peter Inverso, chief executive officer for Roma Bank and former N.J. State Senator, “it is paramount that we look at needs to address them on a broad scale. It means the conjunctive effort of many people. Each of us can reach many more than we can possibly imagine.”When asked to reflect on how to apply principles of faith to the business of banking, Inverso stated, “A business has a social obligation to the community where it applies its wares. In our company, we abide by a strong ethical and moral code. We view ourselves as an entity, a safe place for people to store money and find credit.”
As a state senator representing Mercer and Middlesex Counties between 1992 and 2008, Inverso learned that remaining true to the tenets of faith does no favors for a state senator. His days in the senate provided him with “the toughest test to abide by my Catholic principles,” he said. “I did not go in with the popular agenda. I never shied away from my being pro-life.”
During his terms in the senate, Inverso became acquainted with the Board of Catholic Charities when it came to the legislature to advocate for the poor. “Its people were always professional and honest. I was impressed with the results they achieve. They deliver on their mission in Trenton.”
His admiration for the board led him to join it after he decided against seeking a fifth term of office. He currently heads the board’s social policy committee.
Eleanor Ojinnaka: 'I teach through service'
“My faith teaches me to count my blessings, but also to share them,” said Eleanor Ojinnaka, a freshman at Rider University. “Why should you keep your hands folded? Open your hands. You receive and you give, and you are able to do something for someone else.”
When Ojinnaka attended her orientation for new students at Rider, she made sure to find Father Joseph Jakub, chaplain of the Catholic Campus Ministry. “I knew I had to be in touch with my religion,” she said, “so I glued myself to Emmaus House.”
“Eleanor has become a key player in our ministry,” said Father Jakub, “and has shown a deep desire to learn about her faith and to put that faith into action by serving those around her.”
The chemistry major from Irvington serves as a reader at Mass, studies Scripture and participates in projects that benefit a soup kitchen and an after-school program in Trenton.
“I love service,” said Eleanor, who was president for the youth group in her home parish, St. Charles Borromeo in Newark, for the last two years. The group worked in a Newark soup kitchen and sponsored toy and book drives, including one that donated textbooks to colleges in Nigeria and Ghana.
Her family, which includes three brothers and one sister, migrated to the United States from Nigeria when Eleanor was nine. Her oldest brother died in 2005, an event that led her to question life’s meaning. Although she had balked at attending Mass, she made a spiritual connection at her parish youth group, where she experienced deep joy in communal praying of the rosary and in doing for others.
“I was happier within myself,” she said, “I said, ‘God, here I am!’ Now I will see what God has in store for me.”
Marlene Lao-Collins: 'I teach through advocacy'
For the past 11 years, Marlene Lao-Collins has served as director for social concerns with the New Jersey Catholic Conference, a position that comes with the responsibility of looking at public policy and issues such as homelessness, health care, affordable housing and education through the lens of Catholic social teaching.
“We come to the table and create a level of justice upholding human dignity and respect for human life,” said Lao–Collins, especially with regard to the treatment of the poor.
“I research what keeps people from moving ahead – themselves, their environment, or public policy,” she said. “I always had that curiosity which has lured me into what the problem is, to find a solution and to collaborate with other folks who have made a positive impact.”
Born in Hoboken, Lao-Collins attended both Catholic and public schools. In the video, she said, “I grew up around clergy and religious and my own family who were involved in the community. They instilled in me a caring for the dignity of life and of God’s creation.”
Drawn to advocacy for social justice during college and early adult life, Lao-Collins decided, “Instead of criticizing or complaining, I wished to work with people to change what was wrong – nationally or internationally.”
In 1979 she graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She married Michael Collins in 1982 and they have two sons, Eric and Abraham.
Since 1983, the family has lived in Trenton and has worshiped as members of St. Joseph Parish, a home for many immigrants. “I love the dynamic of our parish. It gives me and my husband more of a commitment to do something there,” she said.