Essays and Messages

It was a beautiful summer evening Thursday July 22 as the priests of the Diocese of Trenton gathered together in St. Robert’s Co-Cathedral Parish for dinner!  Over 100 priests from the four counties joined together in wonderful priestly fraternity as the mid-point of summer (FYI, August 7!) quickly approaches.

As Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton, I encourage all our Catholic clergy, religious and lay faithful to sign a petition to protect congressional legislative provisions in support of life...

At the recent virtual meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States His Excellency Archbishop Christophe Pierre addressed the bishops assembled online.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus can be traced back to the 12th and 13th centuries in the Catholic Church. Inspired by more than 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).

This weekend, when the Catholic Church in our Diocese celebrates the Solemn Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, seems like the perfect occasion to welcome all the faithful of the four counties to return to full participation in the Holy Eucharist by lifting the dispensation from the Sunday/Holy Day Mass...

The Easter Season for 2021, like 2020 before it, is unlike any others in our memory due to the impact of the worldwide pandemic. This season comes to an end on May 23 as the Church celebrates the Solemn Feast of Pentecost, traditionally called the “birthday of the Church.”

Although the liturgical celebration of the Solemnity of the Ascension has been transferred to this coming Sunday in the Dioceses of New Jersey this year, I can’t help but reflect about its meaning on Thursday, May 13, 40 days after Easter. 

“The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the love of a mother.” St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) was a French Cistercian monk, theologian, preacher and reformer in the early Middle Ages who was well known – among many things – for his great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

I do not consider myself to be a Scripture “scholar” but, rather, a Scripture “reader.”  I do enjoy reading the Bible, especially the Gospels, and coming to know the Lord Jesus through the sacred texts.  I encourage you to do the same.  As often as I have read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, I always seem to pick up something new, something different, something I didn’t notice before.