News - June 2020 RSS Feed

Every man’s journey in becoming a priest is unique and inspiring in its own way. But few men have followed the extraordinary path that Deacon Stephen Sansevere has taken on the way to his priestly ordination.

WASHINGTON — Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, the acting chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee for Religious Liberty has encouraged Catholics to pray and uphold religious liberty at home and abroad during Religious Freedom Week 2020. Commencing on June 22, the Feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, Religious Freedom Week runs through June 29, the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. The theme chosen for this year is “For the Good of All.”

It’s summertime again, although the look and feel of it is quite different this year.  Most of us have been working at home or home schooling so, despite the change of seasons, it seems just “more of the same.”  But it is different. 

Semejante al Día de la Madre en los Estados Unidos, las celebraciones del Día del Padre empezaron temprano en el siglo XX. Sin embargo, se encuentra sus raíces verdaderas en las devociones católicas religiosas a San José en la Edad Media. Mayormente la observancia del Día del Padre en este país es algo secular.

Like “Mother’s Day” in the United States, “Father’s Day” celebrations began here in the early 20th century. Their true origins, however, are rooted in Catholic religious devotions to St. Joseph in the Middle Ages. For the most part, the national observance of “Father’s Day” is a secular holiday.

Se puede trazar la devoción al “Sagrado Corazón de Jesús” en la Iglesia Católica a los siglos 12 y 13. Inspirada por más de 500 años de tradición, esta devoción se hizo parte de la liturgia de la Iglesia en el 1670 por una Misa y oraciones compuestas por el sacerdote francés San Juan Eudes (1601-1680). Tres años después, el Señor Jesús apareció varias veces a Santa Margarita María Alacoque (1647-1690) quien tenía 26 años y era una monja francesa de la Orden de la Visitación.

Devotion to the “Sacred Heart of Jesus” can be traced back to the twelfth and thirteenth 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 19.

Some of the precautions put in place in March to protect the public from the spread of the coronavirus meant that individuals who died – whether from the virus or another cause – could not be remembered and mourned in the customary manner.

En junio del 2011, nuestro Santo Padre Papa Benedicto XVI nos recordó que la fiesta que celebramos hoy en las iglesias católicas de los Estados Unidos – la Solemnidad del Cuerpo y Sangre de Cristo, conocida como “Corpus Cristi” – “es inseparable de la Misa del Jueves Santo de la Cena del Señor en la cual se celebra la institución de la Eucaristía” (Homilía, 24 de junio, 2011). Un pensamiento profundo y hermoso y algo que debemos contemplar.

In June 2011, our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that the feast we celebrate today in Catholic Churches throughout the United States – the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ often referred to as “Corpus Christi” –  “is inseparable from the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper in which the institution of the Eucharist is also celebrated (Homily, June 24, 2011).” A profound and beautiful thought that we should keep in mind.

Los medios han reportado incrementos significantes de casos del coronavirus en 21 estados que se reabrieron o relajaron restricciones. Para evitar cualquier confusión mientras el primer fin de semana de Misas dentro de la Iglesia se acerca, el obispo David M. O’Connell, C.M., recuerda a los fieles de las directrices establecidas:

Media reports have indicated significant spikes in coronavirus cases in 21 states that have re-opened or relaxed restrictions.  To avoid any confusion as the Diocese approaches the first weekend of public in-church Masses, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., reminds the faithful of the established directives:

Después de la muerte el 25 de mayo de George Floyd por un policía de Minneapolis y las manifestaciones y agitaciones que han ocurrido. Los líderes católicos de por todo el país, incluyéndole al obispo David M. O’Connell, C.M., aquí en la Diócesis de Trenton, han declarado la condenación clara del racismo sistémico que a veces ha alcanzado la injusticia en las manos de autoridades policiales en contra miembros de la comunidad negra.

After the May 25 killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and the widespread protest and unrest that have followed, Catholic leaders throughout the nation, including Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., here in the Diocese of Trenton, have issued clear condemnation of the systemic racism that has sometimes led to injustice at the hands of law enforcement against members of the black community.  In many cases, these statements have echoed the teaching that was expressed in the 2018 document of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, A Pastoral Letter Against Racism." The U.S. bishops overwhelmingly approved a pastoral letter against racism Nov. 14 during their fall general meeting at Baltimore.

Todos nosotros en nuestra Diócesis de Trenton, en el país, de hecho, por el mundo, nos horrorizamos ver la grabación de la muerte de George Floyd el 25 de mayo, un ciudadano afroamericano de Minneapolis, Minnesota. Se ha compartido ese video por todos lados. La imagen horrible de este hombre en esposas, sin poder respirar bajo la rodilla de un policía mientras otros se quedaron mirando, engendra una reacción visceral.

All of us in our Diocese, in our nation, indeed, throughout the world looked with horror at the video depicting the May 25 death of George Floyd, an African American citizen of the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota.