Diocese to observe Respect Life Month with various events, commemorations
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
In the Trenton Diocese, Respect Life Month will be observed with a variety of activities that will shine the spotlight on this all-encompassing issue with Masses, prayer services, programs and signs of support for life including “Life Chains” and “40 Days for Life” campaigns.
The annual, nationwide commemoration during October to help bring Catholic Church teaching on the value and dignity of life to the Catholic community, and the public at large, was first designated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1972, early in the Respect Life Movement.
Since then, the country’s bishops have selected a theme for the month, which this year is “Open Your Hearts to Life!”
A schedule of Respect Life Month events that will take place in the Trenton Diocese follows:
From Sept. 25-Nov. 3, 40 Days for Life in the Diocese of Trenton will encourage the faithful of the diocese to join in this national campaign, which invites people to commit to prayer and fasting for an end to abortion in America. In addition, participants are also asked to consider volunteering to pray outside one of the 40 Days for Life campaign locations for one or more hours during the 40 days and to spread the word about other important life-saving efforts.
The locations and contact information are:
Burlington County: Cherry Hill Women’s Center, 502 Kings Highway North, Cherry Hill, [email protected]
Mercer County: Princeton Women’s Services, 1345 Kuser Rd., Hamilton, [email protected] or call 908-433-9002.
Monmouth County: Planned Parenthood, 69 E. Newman Springs Rd., Shrewsbury. Visit www.40daysforlife.com for additional information.
Ocean County: American Women’s Services, 651 Rte. 37 West, Toms River. Call 908-330-7861 or 732-557-6689 or visit www.40daysforlife.com
Life Chains
On Oct. 6, Respect Life Sunday, Life Chain events will take place across the diocese. Life Chains is an annual interfaith event during which pro-life supporters line roadways holding signs calling for an end to abortion and upholding the dignity of human life.
The following Life Chains are planned in the diocese:
Monmouth County
The St. Veronica Respect Life Committee, Howell, will hold its 23rd annual Life Chain from 2:30-3:30 p.m. along Route 9 in front of the parish. Uniform signs which state “Abortion Kills Children,” “Jesus Forgives and Heals,” “Abortion Hurts Women” and “Adoption: The Loving Option” will be distributed to all participants. For additional information, contact Hu Mador at 732-367-2565 or email [email protected]
Ocean County
A new location has been designated for this year’s Life Chain in Ocean County. Participants will gather near the American Women’s Services, 651 Rte. 37 West, Toms River, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Holy Hours/Vigils for Life/Rosary for Life:
A Rosary for Life will be held Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in Assumption Parish chapel at 76 Evergreen Rd., New Egypt.
St. Peter Parish, Point Pleasant Beach, will hold a Holy Hour for Life with prayer, Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament Oct. 6 starting at 1:30 p.m. For information, contact the parish at 732-892-0049 or Ellen Conaghan at 732-899-7322.
A Rosary Rally will take place Oct 12 in the chapel of St. Mary Parish, New Monmouth. Many of the parish ministries will participate.
St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Hightstown, will host Rebecca Purdy, New York/New Jersey Regional Coordinator of Students for Life of America who will speak at all weekend Masses Oct. 5-6.
In St. Joan of Arc Parish, Marlton, members of the Knights of Columbus will sell “tiny feet pins” after all weekend Masses Oct. 5-6. Proceeds will be used to provide bus transportation to the March for Life in Washington in January. During all Respect Life Sunday Masses special intercessions will be offered and pamphlets will be distributed. The parish also holds Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament every Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m.
St. William the Abbot Parish, Howell, will hold a Holy Hour Oct. 5 from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. (before the 5 p.m. Mass). The parish will also hold a “baby shower” celebrating the births of babies from the parish’s spiritual adoption program after all Masses. Donations are welcomed.
St. Gabriel Respect Life Committee, Marlboro, will hold recitation of the Divine Mercy Prayer and the Rosary at 3 p.m. in the adoration pavilion Oct. 6. The following Sunday, Oct. 13, a “spiritual adoption baby shower” will take place after the 11 a.m. Mass in the church hall.
Students in Holy Cross School, Rumson, and parish religious education program will participate in an age-appropriate respect life lesson in which they will create posters that illustrates their understanding of respect life issues. The posters will be on display in the gym in time for Respect Life Sunday Masses on Oct. 5-6. On Oct. 6, the parish will host Hospitality Sunday following the 10:30 a.m. Mass in the gym where refreshments will be served.
The Respect Life Ministry in St. Theresa Parish, Little Egg Harbor, will distribute Respect Life Month pamphlets after all weekend Masses. Parishioners will also be joining in the Life Chain in Toms River.
Keeping Memory
In observance of October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, people from throughout the world are encouraged to light a candle for one hour on Oct. 15 starting at 7 p.m. Lighting a candle will create a continuous wave of light over the entire world in memory of babies. The www.october15th.com website provides support and education for those who have suffered from or know someone who has suffered a miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy, a still birth or the loss of an infant.
In the Trenton Diocese, a Mass of Healing for Infant Pregnancy Loss will be celebrated Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. in St. Paul Parish, 214 Nassau St., Princeton. The Mass is open to women and their families who have lost babies through miscarriage, premature births and those who journeyed with their infants through a fatal illness. Following the Mass an optional informational gathering will be held in the auditorium from 8 to 10 p.m. For information, email Katy Theroux at [email protected].
End of Life Issues
The Respect Life Committee in St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish, Hamilton, and the diocesan Respect Life Ministry will host a presentation on end-of-life issues with Father Michael Manning, pastor of Holy Cross Parish, Rumson, a medical doctor and author of “Euthanasia and Physician=Assisted Suicide – Killing or Caring?” Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. in the parish center of St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish, 3500 South Broad St., Hamilton. No registration is required. For more information, call 609-403-7192 or e-mail: [email protected]
On Oct. 16, the Northern Burlington Regional Adult Faith Formation Ministry will host a session on end-of-life issues with Father Manning at 7 p.m. in Holy Cross High School, 5035 Route 130 South, Delran. Topics Father Manning will address include: planning for care near the end-of-life from the Catholic perspective; advance directives; hospice care; sedation; discontinuing life support; nutrition and hydration, and organ donation. For more information contact Pat Brooks at Resurrection Parish, Delran, at 856-461-6555 or e-mail: [email protected].
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Events
In the Trenton Diocese, Respect Life Month will be observed with a variety of activities that will shine the spotlight on this all-encompassing issue with Masses, prayer services, programs and signs of support for life including “Life Chains” and “40 Days for Life” campaigns.
The annual, nationwide commemoration during October to help bring Catholic Church teaching on the value and dignity of life to the Catholic community, and the public at large, was first designated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1972, early in the Respect Life Movement.
Since then, the country’s bishops have selected a theme for the month, which this year is “Open Your Hearts to Life!”
A schedule of Respect Life Month events that will take place in the Trenton Diocese follows:
From Sept. 25-Nov. 3, 40 Days for Life in the Diocese of Trenton will encourage the faithful of the diocese to join in this national campaign, which invites people to commit to prayer and fasting for an end to abortion in America. In addition, participants are also asked to consider volunteering to pray outside one of the 40 Days for Life campaign locations for one or more hours during the 40 days and to spread the word about other important life-saving efforts.
The locations and contact information are:
Burlington County: Cherry Hill Women’s Center, 502 Kings Highway North, Cherry Hill, [email protected]
Mercer County: Princeton Women’s Services, 1345 Kuser Rd., Hamilton, [email protected] or call 908-433-9002.
Monmouth County: Planned Parenthood, 69 E. Newman Springs Rd., Shrewsbury. Visit www.40daysforlife.com for additional information.
Ocean County: American Women’s Services, 651 Rte. 37 West, Toms River. Call 908-330-7861 or 732-557-6689 or visit www.40daysforlife.com
Life Chains
On Oct. 6, Respect Life Sunday, Life Chain events will take place across the diocese. Life Chains is an annual interfaith event during which pro-life supporters line roadways holding signs calling for an end to abortion and upholding the dignity of human life.
The following Life Chains are planned in the diocese:
Monmouth County
The St. Veronica Respect Life Committee, Howell, will hold its 23rd annual Life Chain from 2:30-3:30 p.m. along Route 9 in front of the parish. Uniform signs which state “Abortion Kills Children,” “Jesus Forgives and Heals,” “Abortion Hurts Women” and “Adoption: The Loving Option” will be distributed to all participants. For additional information, contact Hu Mador at 732-367-2565 or email [email protected]
Ocean County
A new location has been designated for this year’s Life Chain in Ocean County. Participants will gather near the American Women’s Services, 651 Rte. 37 West, Toms River, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Holy Hours/Vigils for Life/Rosary for Life:
A Rosary for Life will be held Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in Assumption Parish chapel at 76 Evergreen Rd., New Egypt.
St. Peter Parish, Point Pleasant Beach, will hold a Holy Hour for Life with prayer, Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament Oct. 6 starting at 1:30 p.m. For information, contact the parish at 732-892-0049 or Ellen Conaghan at 732-899-7322.
A Rosary Rally will take place Oct 12 in the chapel of St. Mary Parish, New Monmouth. Many of the parish ministries will participate.
St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Hightstown, will host Rebecca Purdy, New York/New Jersey Regional Coordinator of Students for Life of America who will speak at all weekend Masses Oct. 5-6.
In St. Joan of Arc Parish, Marlton, members of the Knights of Columbus will sell “tiny feet pins” after all weekend Masses Oct. 5-6. Proceeds will be used to provide bus transportation to the March for Life in Washington in January. During all Respect Life Sunday Masses special intercessions will be offered and pamphlets will be distributed. The parish also holds Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament every Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m.
St. William the Abbot Parish, Howell, will hold a Holy Hour Oct. 5 from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. (before the 5 p.m. Mass). The parish will also hold a “baby shower” celebrating the births of babies from the parish’s spiritual adoption program after all Masses. Donations are welcomed.
St. Gabriel Respect Life Committee, Marlboro, will hold recitation of the Divine Mercy Prayer and the Rosary at 3 p.m. in the adoration pavilion Oct. 6. The following Sunday, Oct. 13, a “spiritual adoption baby shower” will take place after the 11 a.m. Mass in the church hall.
Students in Holy Cross School, Rumson, and parish religious education program will participate in an age-appropriate respect life lesson in which they will create posters that illustrates their understanding of respect life issues. The posters will be on display in the gym in time for Respect Life Sunday Masses on Oct. 5-6. On Oct. 6, the parish will host Hospitality Sunday following the 10:30 a.m. Mass in the gym where refreshments will be served.
The Respect Life Ministry in St. Theresa Parish, Little Egg Harbor, will distribute Respect Life Month pamphlets after all weekend Masses. Parishioners will also be joining in the Life Chain in Toms River.
Keeping Memory
In observance of October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, people from throughout the world are encouraged to light a candle for one hour on Oct. 15 starting at 7 p.m. Lighting a candle will create a continuous wave of light over the entire world in memory of babies. The www.october15th.com website provides support and education for those who have suffered from or know someone who has suffered a miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy, a still birth or the loss of an infant.
In the Trenton Diocese, a Mass of Healing for Infant Pregnancy Loss will be celebrated Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. in St. Paul Parish, 214 Nassau St., Princeton. The Mass is open to women and their families who have lost babies through miscarriage, premature births and those who journeyed with their infants through a fatal illness. Following the Mass an optional informational gathering will be held in the auditorium from 8 to 10 p.m. For information, email Katy Theroux at [email protected].
End of Life Issues
The Respect Life Committee in St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish, Hamilton, and the diocesan Respect Life Ministry will host a presentation on end-of-life issues with Father Michael Manning, pastor of Holy Cross Parish, Rumson, a medical doctor and author of “Euthanasia and Physician=Assisted Suicide – Killing or Caring?” Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. in the parish center of St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish, 3500 South Broad St., Hamilton. No registration is required. For more information, call 609-403-7192 or e-mail: [email protected]
On Oct. 16, the Northern Burlington Regional Adult Faith Formation Ministry will host a session on end-of-life issues with Father Manning at 7 p.m. in Holy Cross High School, 5035 Route 130 South, Delran. Topics Father Manning will address include: planning for care near the end-of-life from the Catholic perspective; advance directives; hospice care; sedation; discontinuing life support; nutrition and hydration, and organ donation. For more information contact Pat Brooks at Resurrection Parish, Delran, at 856-461-6555 or e-mail: [email protected].
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