Bishop, faithful stand together, give thanks for gift of all human life
January 27, 2025 at 1:41 p.m.
Bishop O'Connell is joined by more than a dozen priests who concelebrated the Standing Together for Life Mass. Mike Ehrmann photoUPDATED Jan. 27, 2025
“We’re here to pray for more babies.”
That is the simple and joyful reason that John Caliguire told his three-year-old daughter, Lydia, about why they were attending a Mass for Life Mass Jan. 24. Her bright smile affirmed she was happy to be there.
PHOTO GALLERY: Standing Together For Life Mass, Expo
“This is a big event,” one that is striving to create a culture of life and building up the pro-life movement, Caliguire said of the Diocese’s third annual Standing Together for Life Mass, an initiative that was inaugurated in 2023 following the June 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade.
“We’re blessed to be here today.”
The Caliguires were among the hundreds of Catholics and other pro-life advocates from around the Diocese who attended the Mass for Life celebrated in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold, by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., with more than a dozen priests concelebrating. Those unable to attend the Mass in-person were able to view a livestream on the diocesan Youtube channel.
“Today, as a Diocese, we celebrate a Mass of giving thanks to God for the gift of human life,” Bishop O’Connell said in his homily.
“One need not be a Catholic to express that intention of gratitude. But one cannot, however, be a Catholic without that sentiment rooted deep in our souls.”
Reflecting how, in the First Reading, the prophet Isaiah proclaimed, “before birth the Lord called me, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name,” Bishop O’Connell said, “That is truth. We should give thanks to God together for this truth, for this gift of life. Giving thanks to God for the gift of human life is the humble disposition, the truth that joins us together today in prayer. It should be our prayer every day.”
The Bishop said that while, as Catholics, “we stand together for life,” there are people who identify as being Catholic who not stand for life “but work against that conviction, who vigorously support a contrary position, who tragically seek to make even more restrictive legislation that enables the destruction of life at its most vulnerable stages in the womb the law of the land, the law of our state.”
“It is not simply one of many labels applied to us. It is, as the bishops of our country have reminded us, our ‘preeminent priority,’” he said.
Unwavering supporters of truth and life
Bishop O’Connell quoted an appeal for life made by then-Mother Teresa of Kolkata, saying that, “Any society that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. … If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other, that we need to stand together for the most vulnerable in society.”
To the congregation, Bishop O’Connell said: “Today, as we join together in the greatest gift of all prayers, the Eucharist, let us ask the Lord Jesus Christ who gave his life for all of us, born and unborn, to give us the grace to protect the innocent, most vulnerable child in the womb; to encourage their mothers and fathers to let them live; to work with renewed strength to stand together and build a culture of life and a civilization of love.
“Together, let us give thanks to God for the gift of human life and stand together to protect and promote life from the womb to the tomb as the Catholic Church in our state and Diocese, without hesitation or reservation,” the Bishop said. “Give thanks, yes, and stand together for life, now and forever. Amen.”
Help is at hand
After Mass, participants ventured into the parish hall for refreshments and a LIFE EXPO, where they met with representatives from an array of local organizations dedicated to upholding and promoting human dignity throughout all stages of life. Agencies included support for women in crisis pregnancies; shelters that care for pregnant women; pregnancy resource centers; infertility support services; support for adoption and foster care; and ministries that assist with healing following abortion.
Mary Ann Saville, who is relatively new to her Diocesan position as coordinator of the Jail and Prison Ministry, was happy to attend the Mass for Life for the first time. At the EXPO, she marveled at the scope of programs that “support life in all its forms,” then noted that while outreach to the imprisoned might not be readily viewed as being pro-life, she was pleased by the number of people who expressed interest in volunteering in prisons.
Peg Campbell, a member of St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Cinnaminson, manned the table for 1st Way of Burlington County, which helps mothers and their families with material goods and support they need to carry their babies to term. Campbell said she found the LIFE EXPO to be fruitful: there was a lot of information for clients, and it also served as a reminder “to pray for women who find themselves in a difficult situation and pregnant.”
In the trenches
While she is active in pro-life outreach in her parish, Dot Waski was happy to experience a pro-life effort on a wider scale at the Diocese-wide Mass and LIFE EXPO.
“I wanted to pray with the larger community and our Bishop,” said Waski, a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help-St. Agnes Parish, Atlantic Highlands.
Virginia Schlegel of St. Joseph Parish, Millstone Township, said she came away feeling renewed in her pro-life conviction.
While “I’m very disappointed in our state,” where abortion remains legal and “life is not cherished, I came today to pray for a change of mind and heart,” she said. “Today helped to reinforce my courage to stand up and not be afraid to continue my support for life.”
Schlegel added she plans to share the information she gathered at the LIFE EXPO with her parish youth group and hopes she can help teach the young people the difference between “the truth about life and what the Church teaches and the counter-cultural things” they might encounter in society.
Though relatively new to St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish, Spring Lake, and Mary’s Pro-Life Ministry, a deanery-wide effort in Monmouth County, being involved in the pro-life movement is nothing new for Steve Macri.
Having some 40 years of experience with the New York Archdiocese, including ministering with the Sisters of Life, Macri said he was happy to join other like-minded people in praying for the pro-life cause at the Standing Together for Life Mass. He said he appreciated the communal worship and was reminded that he was not alone in his pro-life thinking.
Macri added that it was his hope that such events would motivate people to “step forward and join in the pro-life movement.”
Attendees engage in conversation with the various exhibitors during the Expo that followed the Standing Together for Life Mass. Mike Ehrmann photo
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Bishop O'Connell is joined by more than a dozen priests who concelebrated the Standing Together for Life Mass. Mike Ehrmann photoUPDATED Jan. 27, 2025
“We’re here to pray for more babies.”
That is the simple and joyful reason that John Caliguire told his three-year-old daughter, Lydia, about why they were attending a Mass for Life Mass Jan. 24. Her bright smile affirmed she was happy to be there.
PHOTO GALLERY: Standing Together For Life Mass, Expo
“This is a big event,” one that is striving to create a culture of life and building up the pro-life movement, Caliguire said of the Diocese’s third annual Standing Together for Life Mass, an initiative that was inaugurated in 2023 following the June 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade.
“We’re blessed to be here today.”
The Caliguires were among the hundreds of Catholics and other pro-life advocates from around the Diocese who attended the Mass for Life celebrated in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold, by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., with more than a dozen priests concelebrating. Those unable to attend the Mass in-person were able to view a livestream on the diocesan Youtube channel.
“Today, as a Diocese, we celebrate a Mass of giving thanks to God for the gift of human life,” Bishop O’Connell said in his homily.
“One need not be a Catholic to express that intention of gratitude. But one cannot, however, be a Catholic without that sentiment rooted deep in our souls.”
Reflecting how, in the First Reading, the prophet Isaiah proclaimed, “before birth the Lord called me, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name,” Bishop O’Connell said, “That is truth. We should give thanks to God together for this truth, for this gift of life. Giving thanks to God for the gift of human life is the humble disposition, the truth that joins us together today in prayer. It should be our prayer every day.”
The Bishop said that while, as Catholics, “we stand together for life,” there are people who identify as being Catholic who not stand for life “but work against that conviction, who vigorously support a contrary position, who tragically seek to make even more restrictive legislation that enables the destruction of life at its most vulnerable stages in the womb the law of the land, the law of our state.”
“It is not simply one of many labels applied to us. It is, as the bishops of our country have reminded us, our ‘preeminent priority,’” he said.
Unwavering supporters of truth and life
Bishop O’Connell quoted an appeal for life made by then-Mother Teresa of Kolkata, saying that, “Any society that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. … If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other, that we need to stand together for the most vulnerable in society.”
To the congregation, Bishop O’Connell said: “Today, as we join together in the greatest gift of all prayers, the Eucharist, let us ask the Lord Jesus Christ who gave his life for all of us, born and unborn, to give us the grace to protect the innocent, most vulnerable child in the womb; to encourage their mothers and fathers to let them live; to work with renewed strength to stand together and build a culture of life and a civilization of love.
“Together, let us give thanks to God for the gift of human life and stand together to protect and promote life from the womb to the tomb as the Catholic Church in our state and Diocese, without hesitation or reservation,” the Bishop said. “Give thanks, yes, and stand together for life, now and forever. Amen.”
Help is at hand
After Mass, participants ventured into the parish hall for refreshments and a LIFE EXPO, where they met with representatives from an array of local organizations dedicated to upholding and promoting human dignity throughout all stages of life. Agencies included support for women in crisis pregnancies; shelters that care for pregnant women; pregnancy resource centers; infertility support services; support for adoption and foster care; and ministries that assist with healing following abortion.
Mary Ann Saville, who is relatively new to her Diocesan position as coordinator of the Jail and Prison Ministry, was happy to attend the Mass for Life for the first time. At the EXPO, she marveled at the scope of programs that “support life in all its forms,” then noted that while outreach to the imprisoned might not be readily viewed as being pro-life, she was pleased by the number of people who expressed interest in volunteering in prisons.
Peg Campbell, a member of St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Cinnaminson, manned the table for 1st Way of Burlington County, which helps mothers and their families with material goods and support they need to carry their babies to term. Campbell said she found the LIFE EXPO to be fruitful: there was a lot of information for clients, and it also served as a reminder “to pray for women who find themselves in a difficult situation and pregnant.”
In the trenches
While she is active in pro-life outreach in her parish, Dot Waski was happy to experience a pro-life effort on a wider scale at the Diocese-wide Mass and LIFE EXPO.
“I wanted to pray with the larger community and our Bishop,” said Waski, a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help-St. Agnes Parish, Atlantic Highlands.
Virginia Schlegel of St. Joseph Parish, Millstone Township, said she came away feeling renewed in her pro-life conviction.
While “I’m very disappointed in our state,” where abortion remains legal and “life is not cherished, I came today to pray for a change of mind and heart,” she said. “Today helped to reinforce my courage to stand up and not be afraid to continue my support for life.”
Schlegel added she plans to share the information she gathered at the LIFE EXPO with her parish youth group and hopes she can help teach the young people the difference between “the truth about life and what the Church teaches and the counter-cultural things” they might encounter in society.
Though relatively new to St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish, Spring Lake, and Mary’s Pro-Life Ministry, a deanery-wide effort in Monmouth County, being involved in the pro-life movement is nothing new for Steve Macri.
Having some 40 years of experience with the New York Archdiocese, including ministering with the Sisters of Life, Macri said he was happy to join other like-minded people in praying for the pro-life cause at the Standing Together for Life Mass. He said he appreciated the communal worship and was reminded that he was not alone in his pro-life thinking.
Macri added that it was his hope that such events would motivate people to “step forward and join in the pro-life movement.”
Attendees engage in conversation with the various exhibitors during the Expo that followed the Standing Together for Life Mass. Mike Ehrmann photo