MyMonitor

The unique joy of the season jumps right off the cover page of The Monitor Magazine’s latest issue. The faces of our two second graders from St. Raphael School in Hamilton, wearing their First Communion best, tell us how special the Blessed Mother is to them as they participate in their school’s May Crowning ceremony, a tradition that is playing out in parishes and schools across the Diocese.

Featured content for this Month of Mary offers readers an opportunity to reflect on the special place that she holds in our faith and how she has expressed her messages of love and peace over the years. 

We also find ourselves in Ordination Season and the May issue introduces the men who will be ordained priests and those who will be ordained deacons by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., in the coming weeks. 

There is much more to look for in this month’s issue of your diocesan magazine.

ON HUMAN DIGNITY:  An overview from Bishop O’Connell on the Vatican’s new declaration “Dignitas Infinita” and stories across the pages that remind us of the need to honor the human dignity possessed by everyone we encounter.  Read about Dr. Carolyn Woo, former president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, who spoke locally on migration and refugee resettlement; former NFL star Caleb Campbell who told his young audience in Toms River that mental health challenges need to be destigmatized, and the Justice and Peace group in St. Rose Parish, Belmar, who are taking on the subject of human trafficking.

BE INSPIRED: This month we sat down with Bishop O’Connell, who shared personal insight into what drives him each day to ‘serve and not be served’.

LOCAL MILESTONES: Oratory in Red Bank receives special status from Rome; Spotlight on Marianne Hartman who just marked 40 years of service to the Diocese’s work in Catholic communications and media.

FAITH AND CULTURE: Viewpoints on ‘Creating vs. Consuming’; Faith at Home’s installment explores ‘Having a Mary heart in a Martha world’; Mary Morrell writes on changing ‘our ruts into life-giving furrows’; and national reports on Catholic ‘must-sees’ while at the Paris Olympics and newly-released images of St. Pio of Pietrelcina.

The May issue has been sent to the mailboxes and inboxes of our subscribers.  Not yet a subscriber? Sign up today safely and conveniently by clicking HERE or writing to [email protected].

We hope that you all experience some of the beautiful joy of this sacramental season!

Rayanne Bennett
Associate Publisher
And The Monitor team