IN FOCUS

Lenten missions set the tone for the holy season

Parishes throughout the Diocese are prayerfully ushering in the Lenten season with special programs designed to educate and rejuvenate their members by hosting  mission retreats.

Operation Rice Bowl program seeking parish volunteers

The Diocese of Trenton is looking for volunteers to serve as parish liaisons for the annual Operation Rice Bowl program, designed by Catholic Relief Services to aid poor and hungry both worldwide and close to home.

Online and in print, Catholic press reports on a very active Church

Catholic Press Month reminds us of our mission – to deliver authentic Catholic-based news and perspective to our diocesan community.

A guide to diocesan structure

With an estimated 1.5 billion Catholics worldwide, the Catholic Church relies on a unique organizational structure to serve the very diverse Body of Christ. As members of that Body and through their Baptism, the faithful are united with Jesus, the Holy Father and their bishop, and share a call to …

Reconfigured Cohorts to improve collaboration between parishes

With the many profound changes that have confronted the Catholic Church in recent decades, one constant that remains is its mission to evangelize and advance the Kingdom of God.

Local pilgrim reflects on life-changing trip to U.S.-Mexico border

Borders are a necessary part of keeping order in this complicated world of humans.

A look back at the Bishop’s ‘Ad Limina’ visit

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., recently sat down with Rayanne Bennett, executive director of communications and media, for a Q and A interview on the “Ad Limina” visit that he took to Rome Nov. 25-29.

Suggestions on how to have a joyous, spiritual Advent season

The Church gives us the blessed season of Advent to allow us to pause, breathe deeply and dive into prayerful anticipation of the arrival of the most precious child the world has ever known.

Christmas giving that conveys God’s love for us

Many people know the short story by O. Henry titled “The Gift of the Magi.” The story is a classic piece of comic irony, but more importantly, it underscores the moral dimension of gift-giving.

A baby! Making room for the child at Christmas

Dec. 28 – that date will be engraved on my heart until I die. Advent had always been a special time of awe and anticipation, until the year 2007, when that holy season of preparation and lights became all too real.

Keeping your heart on Christ can lessen the strain of sadness, loss during holiday season

Mittened hands clutch cups of hot cocoa, Christmas carols are on every dial and the smell of gingerbread is in the air. But instead of excited happiness at every turn, you see only your difficulties and losses. 

Advent activities can bring families closer together

Crafts during Advent not only encourage service and faith learning, but family bonding, too.

Lay Catholics have their own part to play in the mission of the Church

A recent blog post on the vocation of the laity drew a flurry of comments from readers including one who was frustrated by the idea that a Catholic blogger was trying to make a vocation into something more than the reader believed it actually was – a career choice by …

Parents supportive of their sons’ priestly calling

When Dora M. Blanchett learned her son, Edward, was considering the priesthood, she asked, “Are you sure?” She and her husband, Donald “Eddie” Blanchett, then encouraged him to pursue his priestly vocation.

Women religious: a call to ‘live in caring for one another’

While today’s communities of religious men and women face the same decrease in numbers as many other aspects in Church life, their mission remains just as strong and vibrant as it was generations ago.


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