Peace was going to be one of the main topics of the Monitor’s March issue long before the first missile dropped on Iran just a short time ago. It was just last month that the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, citing deepening global and domestic tensions, appealed for the Church throughout the country to hold Holy Hours for Peace.
That call was advanced by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., who encouraged local faith communities across the Diocese of Trenton to offer opportunities to pray for peace. We’ve reported on how some of the faithful have been responding (see page 14).
The calls for peace have taken on greater urgency since the United States and Israel began a campaign of military action against Iran. Pope Leo XIV has stridently condemned these hostilities and is calling the world to pray for peace. Special coverage of our Church’s witness to the toll that these military attacks are taking and what the Pope is asking of us begins on page 10.
In a series of talks, Bishop O’Connell has focused his attention on the “unshakable peace that only Christ can offer.” It offers a deep understanding of peace as a gift and the blessing that it can be for each of us personally. We have reprinted one of those talks beginning on page 7.
This March issue has a number of other reports we would like to call to your attention.
There is great news as reported in our coverage of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults process, which this year involves more than 1,000 individuals who will seek full communion in the Church. These numbers are more than twice the numbers recorded at different points in the last six years and represent a trend that has been recognized around the world. Our WE BELIEVE coverage begins on page 26.
Of course there is lots of LENTEN INSPIRATION in this issue, beginning 16.
In the BEREAVEMENT section beginning on page 44, look for the article, “Understanding and planning Catholic funerals,” designed to help you with one of the most difficult tasks we face for ourselves or our loved ones.
And finally, as we prepared to go to press with this issue, we received the very sad news that our former colleague here at The Monitor and good friend, Lois Rogers, has passed away following a series of health challenges. Many of our readers will remember Lois’ engaging personality and quirky sense of humor as she traveled around the Diocese covering different events and stories. She was a talented writer and valued member of our team before her retirement in 2013. We will have a full report on TrentonMonitor.com as information becomes available and we will have more for our readers in the April issue on Lois and the wonderful gift that she was to us.
We also received word today of the sudden death of Eileen Ziesmer, pastoral associate in St. Denis Parish, Manasquan. Eileen was known to many in ministry across the Diocese. She will be dearly missed. We will be posting more information on Eileen this week.
It seems a good time to remind our readers that we value your interest and support. We ask you to join us in praying for peace during these difficult days. May God bless you and your loved ones!