The Monitor

MAGAZINE AND DIGITAL NEWS SITE 
OF THE DIOCESE OF TRENTON,
serving the Catholic community in
Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

With Christmastime upon us … The Monitor team, in consultation with parish leaders and community members across the Diocese, curated a collection of ideas, resources and reflections to support our readers’ pursuit of a truly spiritual experience of Christmas this year. Beginning with a message from Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., our IN FOCUS coverage includes: Ways to deal with sadness and loss at Christmas; Making room for the child at Christmas; Gifts for good, and an array of ideas to make the most of the coming season.  We believe that there is something here for everyone’s journey, even that of the busiest of folks, and we encourage you to try at least one of the ideas that are offered. 

This issue of The Monitor Magazine also brings our readers reporting on the Church’s work to assist asylum seekers at the Mexican border, including an interview with Missionaries of Jesus Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, during her recent visit to the Diocese. You will also find a report from one of our own, Matthew Greeley, who spent a week helping out at the border as part of a delegation from the Center for Faith Justice in Lawrenceville.

Other articles to check out:  

• Parish program aimed at building understanding of the Real Presence
• Recap of the U.S. bishops’ November meeting and its impact for the Church
• The rewarding experience of researching one’s ancestry
• Preserving Dignity: Lincroft parish supports work to restore Civil War-era gravesites
• Family, Church keys to helping kids ride out today’s stressors

There’s much more to see on Spiritual Life; Profiles in Ministry; Viewpoints; Arts & Media; Community coverage, and our Spanish-language section, El Anzuelo. We also encourage everyone to go to the website, TrentonMonitor.com, where you will find diocesan and other Church-based news, reported in real time.

The December issue has been sent to our print subscribers. Now is the time to order home delivery of the new magazine, along with access to the e-edition and unlimited access of www.TrentonMonitor.com.  You can subscribe online here or by contacting our Business Desk at (609) 403-7131; Monitor-Subscriptions@dioceseoftrenton.org.

A message from Rayanne Bennett, Associate Publisher of The Monitor

In the 65 years that the Diocese of Trenton has published The Monitor newspaper, there have been many variations and adaptations to accommodate the prevailing needs of the day.  Later decades have seen such changes as moving from all black and white to color, and from weekly to bi-weekly in order to continue our mission of keeping our community informed of local, national and international Catholic-based news. 

In the interest of engaging and inspiring our readers, we have undertaken numerous redesigns, produced special publications and continued to pursue high-quality content and images that have captured some breathtaking and historic moments in the life of this Church.

In recent years we have taken pride that The Monitor is “everywhere you are” – in print, online and on mobile.  We have worked to develop a news resource that tells the stories of our parishes, our people and our faith.  That will continue to be the mission of this next chapter. [...click here to read more]

• Bishop O’Connell traveling to Rome to deliver report on Diocese

• A message from Bishop for National Vocations Awareness Week

• Bishop celebrates Mass with Cursillo communities
   
• Bishop blesses anniversary couples with prayers for never-ending love, faith