To be at peace means for people to be in a right relationship with the Creator,” Bishop O’Connell said to the congregation gathered in St. Joseph Church, Keyport, and those who viewed the Mass that was livestreamed on the diocesan Youtube channel. “That is our ‘right relationship’ and that ‘right relationship’ with God influences the way we should treat one another in this world as God’s children. It establishes and, in a sense, is both the sign and guarantee of our ‘right relationship’ with one another, a sign and guarantee of peace.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Mass for Peace in St. Joseph Church, Keyport

The Mass for Peace was the second event held in the Diocese where faithful had an opportunity to join Bishop O’Connell and prayerfully remember the people in Ukraine. On March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, the Bishop celebrated a Mass in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, during which he joined the Holy Father and bishops and priests from around the world to consecrate the people of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

“Since prayer is one of the most powerful ways in which we can help Ukraine and her people, I decided to share the idea with Bishop about hosting a Mass for peace to which the Bishop immediately proposed a date and time for this Mass,” said Father Rene Pulgarin, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Keyport, of which St. Joseph Church is a part.

“The Bishop, as the shepherd of this Diocese, decided to unite the Diocese and all of our people in prayer for peace during the war, and he did so by leading us into this spiritual and touching celebration of the Eucharist, as we all lifted our prayers and petitions to our heavenly Father and to our Lady, the Queen of Peace,” said Father Pulgarin. He also expressed encouragement when seeing people from other area parishes in attendance as well as representatives from the Ukrainian community “who held onto their Ukrainian flag during the entire Mass as a sign of supplication to God and as a petition for the gift of peace.”

Looking out to the hundreds of prayerful, somber congregants, Bishop O’Connell observed that the history of the world reveals how often the “right relationship” with God has been compromised, diminished, fractured and even prevented due to the choices that are made.
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“Those choices are concessions to evil and to sin: hatred, selfishness, greed, preference for power and domination over others,” Bishop O’Connell said. “They stand in opposition to God’s will. Those choices, as they steadily increase and overtake people and communities and nations, are what make war possible.

“As war prevails, peace becomes elusive and slips from human grasp,” he said. “Evil begets evil. War begets war. Rationalizations and justifications for war beget more rationalizations, more excuses for the absence of peace.

“Human history has witnessed this dynamic too many times to count,” he said, adding that the world “sees that dynamic at work once more, this time in Ukraine.”

Pointing to the toll that Russia’s attack on its peaceful neighbor has had, Bishop O’Connell said, “Atrocities and destruction, carnage and death, separation of families and displacement from homes, these are realities that are all too familiar throughout the ages. Once again, lessons have gone unlearned.”

Though they face the devastation and terror brought by the war, Bishop O’Connell urged the faithful to take Jesus’ words to heart: “Peace, I leave you. Peace is my gift to you but not as the world gives. So do not let your heart be troubled or afraid.”

As Bishop O’Connell left the sanctuary at the end of Mass, he approached the three representatives of the Ukrainian community and lifted the flag they carried to reverently kiss it.

Father Thomas Vala, pastor of St. Clement Parish, Matawan, said it was important for him to be present and concelebrate the Mass as a way to show solidarity with the Bishop, the other priests and the parishioners. 

“When praying for the situation in the Ukraine, I think about what Jesus said in Matthew’s Gospel, ‘where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them,’” he said. Father Vala shared that he was moved to hear the Bishop reference a quote from St. Teresa of Kolkata about using love and compassion to overcome the world and that “if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

“I believe these are very important messages to convey in today’s world,” said Father Vala.

To view the video from the Mass for Peace, go to Youtube.com/trentondiocese.