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Baptized Catholic citizens of the United States of America have a “dual citizenship,” one within the nation and one within the Catholic Church.  Although distinct, they exist jointly in each baptized American Catholic citizen. 

As we remember, in awesome silence, those who died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York, Washington and Shanksville, those who gave their lives trying to save them, and their beloved families, co-workers and friends, let us together join in the prayer of Pope Benedict XVI when visiting Ground Zero in New York on April 20, 2008:

September 9 is the feast of Jesuit priest and missionary St. Peter Claver (1581-1654) who traveled to Colombia where he ministered to slaves trafficked there from West Africa. He is the patron saint of interracial justice.  Along with Dioceses throughout our nation responding to the call of U.S. Bishops, please join me in prayer today for the elimination of racism wherever it exists.

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., issued this appeal to his flock Sept. 1:  Hurricane Laura has wreaked havoc in Louisiana and Texas, devastating families, and damaging and destroying homes and churches.  Here in New Jersey we are quite familiar with such experiences.  I invite you to consider contributing a gift to help rebuild and restore the lives of our affected sisters and brothers and their families through these dioceses or their Catholic Charities agencies.

I wish to express my deep personal gratitude to the faithful of the Diocese of Trenton for their characteristic generosity in contributing to the Diocese’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund during the past few months

For centuries, Catholics have turned to the Blessed Virgin Mary, asking for her intercession in times of need by praying the Rosary. This great prayer, whose origins date before the 12th century, uses a meditative repetition of prayers that invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary as she leads us to consider the mysteries in the life of her Divine Son, Jesus.  History has shown this to be a powerful, effective and calming prayer that has truly changed hearts and lives over the centuries of its use.

Although this year the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother into heaven is not a holy day of obligation because it falls on Saturday, it remains a pre-eminent Marian feast day that should be honored and remembered.  

The Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus is celebrated on August 6.  It lifts up for our prayerful consideration as Catholics a pivotal moment in the life of the Lord Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew (17: 1-8), Mark (9:2-8) and Luke (9:28-36) provide details of the event. This year, the Church uses the account of St. Matthew for the Gospel of the Mass for the feast...

We are all familiar with the tense moment of confrontation between Pontius Pilate and the Lord Jesus when Pilate demands “what is truth?” in response to the Lord Jesus’ revelation “I have come into this world to testify to the truth (John 18: 37-38).” 

On July 30, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., will mark the 10th anniversary of his ordination to the episcopacy, less than two months after being named Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton. The Bishop took some time with Rayanne Bennett, Associate Publisher of The Monitor, to look back on the day he first received the news of his appointment from Pope Benedict XVI, and the many highlights that have come in the decade that followed. 

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Sacred Scriptures remind us that “the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit dwelling with us (Romans 5: 5).”

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., has announced new liturgical and pastoral directives during the COVID-19 pandemic, including limited “in church” weekend Masses beginning June 13-14, with Mass schedules to be determined by pastors.

For Catholics, sacrifice and dying for others is very familiar to us since it is the foundation of our faith. 

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 today, Thursday, 40 days after Easter.  This great feast – whenever it’s placement of the Catholic Church calendar occurs – commemorates our belief that the Risen Lord Jesus, gathered with his disciples on Mt. Tabor near Jerusalem, ascended body and soul into heaven, returning to his Father. 

My fellow seminarians and I sat together shortly after noon on Monday, October 16, 1978, with our eyes fixed on the television set.  White smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel signifying to the world that a new Pope had been elected by the College of Cardinals assembled inside.  “Habemus Papam, we have a Pope” proclaimed Cardinal Perecle Felici, the senior Cardinal deacon.  It was the second time that year he made the same announcement, once before for Pope John Paul I on August 26 who served only 33 days, and now for Pope John Paul II.  At 59 years of age, Polish born Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was the first non-Italian elected Pope since 1523.