Bishop O’Connell’s message for May · May issue of The Monitor Magazine

BISHOP DAVID M. O’CONNELL, C.M. HAS SHARED THIS MESSAGE for the month of May.

Love for and devotion to Mary, the Blessed Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, is as natural to the Christian as love for one’s own mother. Mary is, after all, the Mother of the Lord and he is, at once, our Savior and our Brother. “We never give more honor to Jesus than when we give honor to his Mother and we honor Her simply and solely to honor Him all the more perfectly. We go to Her only as a way leading to the goal we seek, Jesus Her Son (St. Louis Marie de Montfort).” We worship him as God. We love and venerate her as his Mother.
 
 In our own time, Pope St. Paul VI encouraged us, writing: “Mary remains ever the path that leads to Christ. Every encounter with her can only result in an encounter with Christ himself.” This is so natural an experience because it is so true.
 
 Christianity has loved Mary since the Lord Jesus’ final moments on the Cross when he said to John the Beloved Disciple, “’Behold your Mother.’ From that hour onward, the disciple took her into his care (John 19: 27).” And so he did. And so have we. Mary was God’s most precious, most perfect gift to Jesus, and Jesus’ most precious, most perfect gift to the Church.

Read Bishop’s full message HERE.

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As we put the May issue of The Monitor Magazine “to bed,” we realize that we are not breaking any Pope Francis news. Instead, we curated stories to provide our readers with a keepsake of sorts, featuring some of the essential information and broad-range perspective about this historic pope and how he changed the world.  We wanted something that could be tucked away once read, and brought out again when the online frenzy of Pope Francis stories had long quieted down – which will probably happen all too soon.

At the same time, we wanted to tell a unique story of how the faithful of the Diocese of Trenton connected with the Pope and how they remembered him.  We encourage you to read the 10 personal reflections shared by people from all walks of life – some of whom have met the Pope and others who have been profoundly inspired by his presence, his teachings and his ministry.

Learn more about this month’s special issue HERE.