Can there ever be too much good news?

June 18, 2025 at 12:22 p.m.

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., joined the community of Mary, Mother of the Church Parish, Bordentown, where he celebrated a Mass for the parish feast day on June 9. During the Mass the Bishop presented papal blessings to four individuals, including Father Cesar Anson, shown here. The July issue of The Monitor Magazine will include a feature on happenings taking place in parishes such as feast day and anniversary celebrations. Look for the next issue set to come out around July 8. Mike Ehrmann photo (Michael Ehrmann)

I must confess that it has been more than a half-century since I first became interested – really interested – in the news.  From watching my dad read “his paper” every night and discussing the subject matter after dinner, to taking high school journalism and being part of the school newspaper, even writing sports copy for the local town paper … I have had a connection with the news for as long as I can remember.

It was during those early years of learning about and practicing journalism that I first heard a now-familiar criticism levied against newspaper outlets:  All they do is report bad news.  It is a criticism that survives to this day, though there is admittedly a lot of bad news to keep them busy.  Finding the resources to print or report the good news is rare indeed.

Fortunately, the Catholic media is the antithesis of this reality.  Of course, at times, we must report bad news.  With all that is going on in recent years, there is certainly no shortage of such content.  We strive to report this fairly and accurately.

But without question, the majority of what we report and feature in The Monitor Magazine and on TrentonMonitor.com is good news.  It is based on the Good News of the Gospel, for sure, but it is good news by any measure.  There is a seemingly endless supply of good news in the universal Church, the Diocese and its parishes and schools.

Is there such a thing as too much good news?  Rhetorically speaking, certainly not.  But on a practical level, it does leave us with the challenge of how much good news we can report on, write about, and accommodate in the pages of this magazine or even on TrentonMonitor.com. 

This issue of the magazine offers a perfect example. This year the June issue is a keepsake of both Ordination and Graduation, with dozens of other “good news” stories in between.  We hope that the 88 pages in front of you will motivate you to learn more about the many great things happening in the Diocese and the faithful who call it home.

Please note that because of size and breadth of this issue, we did have to hold back some of our regular content.  Rest assured that this holdover content will return next month, such as Mary Morrell’s “Things My Father Taught Me,” Viewpoints and Issues & Advocacy.

And mark your calendars for more good news that will come to you in late July with our annual LIVES OF FAITH issue, honoring the clergy and religious marking significant anniversaries of their vocation.  Watch for more information on that.

In the meantime, enjoy the good news!  And God bless!