On February 11, our Holy Father Pope Francis took the unusual step to issue a public, open letter to the Catholic Bishops of the United States regarding what he called a “major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations.”
A message for World Day of the Sick 2025 from Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M.
St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) once told St. Louise de Marillac (1591-1660) and the Daughters of Charity they co-founded: “As for your conduct with the sick, may you never take the attitude of merely getting the task done. You must show them affection; serving them from the heart; inquiring of them what they might need; speaking to them gently and compassionately.”
Nursing services in New Jersey nonpublic schools are not guaranteed, thanks to budgetary language, lack of available candidates and underfunding. To that end, an Action Alert has been issued by the New Jersey Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the bishops of New Jersey, to encourage concerned residents to advocate for increased funding.
As Catholics, we celebrate marriage in the Church as “a sacrament.” The Baltimore Catechism states that a sacrament is one of the seven “outward signs instituted by Christ to give grace (Question 574).” The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) similarly defines a sacrament as an “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us (CCC 1131).” The 1983 Code of Canon Law (CCL) states that “the sacraments of the New Testament were instituted by Christ the Lord and entrusted to the Church” as “actions of Christ and the Church … “signs and means which express and strengthen the faith, render worship to God, and effect the sanctification of humanity and thus contribute in the greatest way to establish, strengthen, and manifest ecclesiastical communion (canon 840).”
People will occasionally ask me what the letters “CM” mean after my name. As a member of a religious community in the Church, I am identified as belonging to that religious community by its initials. “CM” designates membership in the Congregation of the Mission, more popularly known as “the Vincentians.”
The Catholic Church teaches that parents are the primary educators of their children and have both the right and responsibility to direct their child’s education,” said Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Catholic Education. Bishop O’Connell offered the following comments in response to the Executive Order signed by President Trump, “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families.”
IN A LETTER TO ALL CATHOLIC SCHOOL COMMUNITIES IN THE DIOCESE OF TRENTON, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., marked the opening of the Jubilee Year’s Catholic Schools Week, which runs from Jan. 26 through Feb. 1. The Bishop expressed a sense of gratitude for all involved in the essential ministry of Catholic education, and assured them that he continues to pray for them.
Every generation has the obligation and responsibility to educate the next generation. That involves the teaching of subjects like math and science, language and literature, history and health, among others.
Mindful of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) urgent declaration in 2023 that abortion would remain "a preeminent priority" for the Catholic Church in our country, I invite all the clergy and faithful of the Diocese of Trenton to join together prayerfully on this national "Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children."
ENCOURAGING CATHOLICS ACROSS THE NATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ANNUAL COLLECTION for the Church in Latin America the weekend of Jan. 25-26, Bishop Octavio Cisneros, auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y., and chair of the USCCB’s subcommittee for the Church in Latin America, said that “Catholics have always followed the teachings of Scripture and Tradition by recognizing Christ in the faces of our brothers and sisters. By helping those in need, we honor Christ and imitate him in teaching, preaching and living the Gospel.”
In Harper Lee’s 1960 novel “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Atticus Finch is appointed as defense lawyer for Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a young white girl in Depression-Era Alabama. Toward the end of Chapter Three, Finch shares his uncompromisingly noble moral philosophy regarding racism and its attendant stereotyping with his six-year-old daughter, Scout. “You never really understand a person,” Atticus tells her, “Until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
Since 2013, the U.S. Catholic bishops have also invited the faithful to join in the 9 Days for Life novena ahead of the day of prayer, with the goal of ending abortion. This year’s novena will take place Jan. 16-Jan. 24, surrounding the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children.
With the Christmas Season behind us, Catholics now enter into a period referred to as “Ordinary Time” in the Church’s liturgy. In our vernacular usage, the word "ordinary" describes what is commonplace, "everyday" or without uniqueness or special distinction.
The current wildfires devastating the Los Angeles region of California (Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Pasadena, San Fernando, Hollywood Hills, Lidia, etc.) have caused widespread evacuations and incomprehensible damage and destruction.
My heartfelt appreciation to all the clergy and faithful of the Diocese for their beautiful Christmas cards, greetings, prayers, and many kindnesses this Christmas.. I am so grateful for your thoughtfulness! May the Jubilee Year ahead bring you good health, much happiness, and the blessings of hope!
The Masses began with the Bishop standing near the doors leading into the churches where he read a section of the Jubilee Decree, Spes Non Confundit (Hope does not disappoint). Once inside, he went to the baptismal font where he said a prayer and led the congregation in the renewal of their baptismal promises. The congregation was then sprinkled with holy water.
THE WORD “ADVENT” COMES FROM THE LATIN TERM ADVENTUS, literally meaning “coming to.” The four weeks of the season of Advent before Christmas create a unique season of hope-filled preparation for all of us in the Catholic Christian community — although it can easily be missed by society at large as simply an extended, early celebration of Christmas. True enough, Christ has come, and we should rejoice in his Incarnation every day of our lives. But Advent gives us all time for a prayerful “retelling” of the story of the “Hope of Israel.” We prepare ourselves for the commemoration of Christ’s coming in history in Bethlehem, his coming in mystery each day in the Church and the sacraments, and his coming in majesty at the end of time.
Today, the Third Sunday of Advent, is traditionally called “Gaudete Sunday,” a Latin word from the ancient prayers that begin this day’s Mass telling us “To rejoice.” Advent is the doorway to the joys of Christmas when Jesus came to dwell with us, the joys of encounter with Christ!