Essays and Messages

Today, Friday April 16, is Pope Benedict XVI’s 94th birthday, making him the oldest Successor to St. Peter in history.

In addition to the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses as found in the Old Testament (Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21) that oblige Jews and Christians to this very day, the Catholic Church has established its own set of particular commandments or “precepts” that bind the baptized Catholic faithful.  

Is there any more powerful expression of love on earth than showing mercy to others? Such love reflects the ultimate love shown by our Divine Lord during the days of his Passion, Death and Resurrection which we just celebrated in the Church.

The three days before Easter Sunday are, indeed, instructive.  They speak of commitment to something great, of sharing our very selves with one another, of the sacrifice that comes with love, of the precious yet limited time we have on this earth, of the hope that beyond this life, there is even more, even better — in fact, an eternity of joy for those who have faith in God and live their lives in love! 

As the Holy Season of Lent draws to a close and Holy Week begins, it is time for all Catholics to prepare deeply for the Church’s annual commemoration of the Lord Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection.

If it were not for the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, and her “yes” to God, the world would have never heard of Joseph, the “carpenter of Nazareth.” And, yet, this man of whom the Holy Scriptures say so very little is the Universal Patron of the Catholic Church.

On this first anniversary of the World Health Organization’s March 11, 2020, declaration of COVID-19 as a world-wide pandemic, we continue to confront the challenges it has imposed.   I ask the clergy, religious and faithful of the Diocese of Trenton to pray for all those who have died from COVID-19 this past year and their families and loved ones; to pray for all those who still suffer from the pandemic and those caring for them; to pray for all health care professionals, support staff and first responders who have been and continue to be truly heroic throughout this difficult time; to pray for all those who are working to prevent COVID-19 from spreading further.  May God help us all remain healthy and safe.

Here we are at the midpoint of our Lenten journey with the finish line now in sight.  How has it been going? Living our Catholic faith takes practice all the time, even more so with the challenges imposed upon us by the COVID-19 pandemic.  But when we trip or fall, the true believer picks himself/herself up, dusts himself/herself off and carries on where he/she left off. 

Our experience of the pandemic this past and current year has introduced a new phrase into our everyday vocabulary: “social distancing.” As it is commonly understood, social distancing is the practice of increasing the physical space between individuals and decreasing the frequency of physical contact to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. Social distancing is being promoted, advocated and even required at virtually every place people are accustomed to gathering together, including churches.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that influenza in the United States was associated with over 35.5 million confirmed illnesses and more than 34,200 deaths during the 2018–2019 influenza season. Data for the 2019-2020 influenza season have not yet been finalized; estimates for confirmed illnesses, however, are between 39 and 56 million; estimates for deaths are between 24,000 and 62,000.