On Ash Wednesday, communities hear Bishop’s message of conversion
March 7, 2025 at 9:20 a.m.
As Christians throughout the world marked the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, March 5, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., urged the three communities where he celebrated Masses to remember that Lent is a time for heartfelt repentance, change of heart and conversion.
“Lent unites us in a common recognition, as brothers, that we all have sinned; we all have failed, and we all are in need of the mercy of God rooted as we are in a community founded by Jesus Christ: the Church,” the Bishop said to the congregation gathered in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, and the Catholic campus ministries in Monmouth University, West Long Branch, and The College of New Jersey, Ewing.
Bishop O'Connell administers the Eucharist to the students during Ash Wednesday Mass in Monmouth University. Courtesy photo
In his homily, the Bishop encouraged the faithful to consider making Lent not only a time of giving up or doing something, but to incorporate both practices in their faith journeys.
“We know that from the time we were little children, the season of Lent was a time for giving something up as a sign of penance: candy, TV and other things,” he said. “In more recent years, the emphasis has been on ‘doing something’ rather than doing without, as a sign of penance: going to church during the week, visiting the sick, contributing resources to a special cause.
“But giving up and giving to are not mutually exclusive, not an either/or but an indication of a whole heart seeking to be reconciled with God,” the Bishop said. “Both of these gestures are good signs of this penitential time, but they are hollow if they don’t lead us to be reconciled to God.”
Josephine Abraham, a junior education major at Monmouth University, was happy to be among the nearly 300 students to attend the Ash Wednesday Mass with Bishop O’Connell.
“It was awesome to see so many students there,” said Abraham, who attends Mass regularly on campus. “We ran out of seats; they had to keep adding chairs. The Catholic community here at Monmouth is really strong and supportive.”
Abraham appreciated Bishop O’Connell’s emphasizing that Lent isn’t only about giving something up, but also about “adding things” like prayer and service.
“I will try to implement some of his suggestions into my Lenten journey,” she noted, noting that her Lenten sacrifice is social media.
With the extra time, she plans to focus more on prayer and revisit a former, favorite hobby – painting.
“I brought my paints from home, and I am going to start painting again,” she shared.
On the campus of The College of New Jersey, between 175-200 students attended the Mass with Bishop O’Connell that was held in a campus ministry building that normally holds a little more than 100 people.
Father Colavito imposes ashes on a student during the Ash Wednesday Mass celebrated by Bishop O'Connell at The College of New Jersey. Mike Ehrmann photo“I was really happy to see so many students … and the Bishop stayed for photos afterwards; we had to take several because we couldn’t fit everyone in one shot,” said Father Christopher Colavito, TCNJ’s Catholic chaplain.
Serving also as diocesan director of vocations, Father Colavito shared how pleased he is that as many as five vocations have come out of TCNJ in the past two and a half years, and that Bishop O’Connell was able to meet many of the young men currently discerning the priesthood after Ash Wednesday Mass.
“A lot of our students will go home for the weekend and belong to local parishes,” he said of the typical Catholic presence at Sunday Masses. But Ash Wednesday “is one of our biggest Mass days [and] for Catholic campus ministry recruitment.”
Father Colavito noted that the campus ministry will provide mid-week opportunities for Mass, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Confession throughout Lent, and hosts a “Living Our Faith Together (LOFT)” gathering on Wednesdays throughout the school year.
Following the Mass in the Cathedral, Marlene Lao-Collins, executive director of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton, reflected on how she “was really looking forward to this Ash Wednesday Mass to guide me into the purpose of Lent.”
“The Bishop’s comment about going deeper within ourselves left me reflecting on how I can create the space for Jesus to grow within me,” Lao-Collins said. “Fasting, prayer and almsgiving have become commonplace for us Catholics during Lent. However, I believe Bishop O’Connell was calling us to be very intentional about these practices. He emphasized that when we fast we allow Jesus to fill us, when we pray to listen, and to give generously to those in need.”
Congregants pray during Mass in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. Mike Ehrmann photoBishop O’Connell exhorted his Ash Wednesday congregants to remember that Lent is Jesus’ invitation to us to penance and conversion.
“Let us invite the cross that is placed in ash upon our heads, the cross that is the very symbol of our Christianity to burn deep into our souls a mark of renewed effort to be reconciled to God,” Bishop O’Connell said.
“We should give something up to create emptiness for God to fill. We should also do something positive that shows we belong to Christ.”
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As Christians throughout the world marked the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, March 5, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., urged the three communities where he celebrated Masses to remember that Lent is a time for heartfelt repentance, change of heart and conversion.
“Lent unites us in a common recognition, as brothers, that we all have sinned; we all have failed, and we all are in need of the mercy of God rooted as we are in a community founded by Jesus Christ: the Church,” the Bishop said to the congregation gathered in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, and the Catholic campus ministries in Monmouth University, West Long Branch, and The College of New Jersey, Ewing.
Bishop O'Connell administers the Eucharist to the students during Ash Wednesday Mass in Monmouth University. Courtesy photo
In his homily, the Bishop encouraged the faithful to consider making Lent not only a time of giving up or doing something, but to incorporate both practices in their faith journeys.
“We know that from the time we were little children, the season of Lent was a time for giving something up as a sign of penance: candy, TV and other things,” he said. “In more recent years, the emphasis has been on ‘doing something’ rather than doing without, as a sign of penance: going to church during the week, visiting the sick, contributing resources to a special cause.
“But giving up and giving to are not mutually exclusive, not an either/or but an indication of a whole heart seeking to be reconciled with God,” the Bishop said. “Both of these gestures are good signs of this penitential time, but they are hollow if they don’t lead us to be reconciled to God.”
Josephine Abraham, a junior education major at Monmouth University, was happy to be among the nearly 300 students to attend the Ash Wednesday Mass with Bishop O’Connell.
“It was awesome to see so many students there,” said Abraham, who attends Mass regularly on campus. “We ran out of seats; they had to keep adding chairs. The Catholic community here at Monmouth is really strong and supportive.”
Abraham appreciated Bishop O’Connell’s emphasizing that Lent isn’t only about giving something up, but also about “adding things” like prayer and service.
“I will try to implement some of his suggestions into my Lenten journey,” she noted, noting that her Lenten sacrifice is social media.
With the extra time, she plans to focus more on prayer and revisit a former, favorite hobby – painting.
“I brought my paints from home, and I am going to start painting again,” she shared.
On the campus of The College of New Jersey, between 175-200 students attended the Mass with Bishop O’Connell that was held in a campus ministry building that normally holds a little more than 100 people.
Father Colavito imposes ashes on a student during the Ash Wednesday Mass celebrated by Bishop O'Connell at The College of New Jersey. Mike Ehrmann photo“I was really happy to see so many students … and the Bishop stayed for photos afterwards; we had to take several because we couldn’t fit everyone in one shot,” said Father Christopher Colavito, TCNJ’s Catholic chaplain.
Serving also as diocesan director of vocations, Father Colavito shared how pleased he is that as many as five vocations have come out of TCNJ in the past two and a half years, and that Bishop O’Connell was able to meet many of the young men currently discerning the priesthood after Ash Wednesday Mass.
“A lot of our students will go home for the weekend and belong to local parishes,” he said of the typical Catholic presence at Sunday Masses. But Ash Wednesday “is one of our biggest Mass days [and] for Catholic campus ministry recruitment.”
Father Colavito noted that the campus ministry will provide mid-week opportunities for Mass, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Confession throughout Lent, and hosts a “Living Our Faith Together (LOFT)” gathering on Wednesdays throughout the school year.
Following the Mass in the Cathedral, Marlene Lao-Collins, executive director of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton, reflected on how she “was really looking forward to this Ash Wednesday Mass to guide me into the purpose of Lent.”
“The Bishop’s comment about going deeper within ourselves left me reflecting on how I can create the space for Jesus to grow within me,” Lao-Collins said. “Fasting, prayer and almsgiving have become commonplace for us Catholics during Lent. However, I believe Bishop O’Connell was calling us to be very intentional about these practices. He emphasized that when we fast we allow Jesus to fill us, when we pray to listen, and to give generously to those in need.”
Congregants pray during Mass in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. Mike Ehrmann photoBishop O’Connell exhorted his Ash Wednesday congregants to remember that Lent is Jesus’ invitation to us to penance and conversion.
“Let us invite the cross that is placed in ash upon our heads, the cross that is the very symbol of our Christianity to burn deep into our souls a mark of renewed effort to be reconciled to God,” Bishop O’Connell said.
“We should give something up to create emptiness for God to fill. We should also do something positive that shows we belong to Christ.”