BISHOP DAVID M. O'CONNELL, C.M., HAS SHARED THIS MESSAGE FOR FATHER'S DAY A father is neither an anchor to hold us back nor a sail to take us there but a guiding light whose love shows us the way.
THE U.S. CATHOLIC BISHOPS ARE INVITING THE FAITHFUL to pray for challenges to religious liberty both within the United States and abroad during the upcoming Religious Freedom Week. The theme for this year's annual June 22 - 29 event is "Embracing the Divine Gift of Freedom." "Religious freedom allows the Church, and all religious communities, to live out their faith in public and to serve the good of all," the event's website stated. "Beginning June 22, the feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, the USCCB invites Catholics to pray, reflect, and act to promote religious freedom."
BISHOP DAVID M. O’CONNELL, C.M., HAS SHARED THIS MESSAGE for the “World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.” Return to the ‘Upper Room’: World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests One of the greatest privileges and most humbling graces in the life and ministry of a bishop is the opportunity to ordain priests, to hand on to them a share in the very priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ, which he first gave to his own apostles in the Upper Room on the night before he died for us. And, consequently, one of the most important responsibilities the bishop has is to care for them, as a father cares for his sons. That, too, is a privilege and a grace.
Adapted from a homily for the Feast of Corpus Christi, by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M. During his last year as pope, our late Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that the feast we will celebrate today in Catholic churches throughout the United States – the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi – “is inseparable from the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper, in which the institution of the Eucharist is also celebrated” (June 24, 2011). A profound and beautiful thought, important for us to keep in mind.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus can be traced back to the 12th and 13th centuries in the Catholic Church. Inspired by over 500 years of tradition, this devotion became part of the Church’s liturgy in 1670, with Mass and prayers composed by French priest St. John Eudes (1601-1680). Three years later, the Lord Jesus appeared multiple times to a 26-year-old French nun of the Visitation Order, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), revealing the love and mercy for which the popular image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus has become a universal symbol. Pope Pius IX placed the feast in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar in 1856, 19 days after Pentecost. This year it is celebrated on Friday, June 16, 2023.
This coming Sunday, the Church throughout the world celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the central mystery of our Catholic Faith, that honors God as Father-Creator, Son-Redeemer and Holy Spirit, Sanctifier. We speak of God as a communion of persons: one God in three distinct persons. It is a central mystery of our faith because it deals with the mystery of God himself in whom we place our faith. God as Trinity is the source of all other mysteries of faith and it gives light to them, the Catechism reminds us.
Memorial Day is the national holiday that is widely regarded as the “unofficial beginning of summer.” Originally known as “Decoration Day,” the holiday dates back to a commemoration of U.S. military personnel who lost their lives in the Civil War.
SHARING A CALL FROM POPE FRANCIS REGARDING THE SYNOD ON SYNODALITY, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., issued a letter May 24 inviting the faithful throughout the Diocese of Trenton to take part in a special day of prayer for the Synod on the Feast of the Visitation, May 31. He especially encouraged all those whose parishes are named in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary under any of her titles, to pray for this special intention. The Bishop’s message follows
BISHOP DAVID M. O’CONNELL, C.M., WILL ORDAIN 12 new deacons this Saturday (10 permanent deacons and 2 transitional deacons). Please consider sharing these two articles written by The Monitor about the men who will be ordained May 20 at 10 a.m. Read more about the men who will be ordained transitional deacons HERE and permanent deacons HERE.
Although the liturgical celebration of the Solemnity of the Ascension has been officially transferred to the Seventh Sunday of Easter in the Dioceses of New Jersey – this year, May 21 – I can’t help but reflect about its meaning 40 days after Easter.
Mother’s Day Weekend is a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate the unconditional love of the women who, with the grace of God, first brought us to life. Whether they are living or have gone home to be with the Lord, mothers still have a profound influence on their children – and a profound responsibility for them.
Most Catholics have learned and recited this prayer from their earliest days. It is a beautiful prayer that affirms the nature of our relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church. It saddens me greatly when I visit with young school children – and even some adults –and they don’t know that prayer or, worse, don’t seem to understand “why” Catholics say it.
IT SEEMS TO GO IN CYCLES, but recently I have been asked questions about “exorcisms” – no doubt, because of current films dealing with demonic possession like, “The Pope’s Exorcist,” (which I saw) and, “Nefarious,” (which I have not seen) – and the possibility of performing this ritual for people who believe they “might be possessed by the devil or demonic spirits.” I did some research into the topic and here is what I found:
The most supreme act of love and mercy that the world has ever known was the Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ celebrated by the Church throughout the world little more than a week ago on Good Friday. The consequence of that greatest love and mercy was the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. The proof of that greatest love and mercy was the empty tomb which the women found when they came that Easter morning to anoint his body.
People of all faiths throughout Central New Jersey are invited to pray for law enforcement personnel who work to keep their communities safe when the Diocese of Trenton hosts the 21st Annual Blue Mass April 13 in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
All that we believe comes from Easter! St. Paul wrote, “If there is no Resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:13-14).
THE CHRISM MASS, THE ANNUAL COMMEMORATION OF SACRAMENTAL UNITY AND PRIESTLY COMMITMENT that unfolds across the universal Church each Holy Week, will take place locally April 3, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold.
On the afternoon of March 29, Pope Francis was taken to Gemelli Hospital in Rome. Reports followed that Pope Francis has a respiratory infection and will remain in the hospital for several days.