godiscallingyou

Coadjutor Bishop-elect David M. O’Connell

The Diocese of Trenton is eagerly awaiting and preparing for the ordination to the episcopacy of Coadjutor Bishop-elect David O'Connell. The ordination Mass will take place on July 30 at 2 p.m. in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. Because of the large number of people attending, the Mass is by invitation only. However, it will be streamed live on the Diocese of Trenton's website - it will also be broadcast live by EWTN. To read more about this joyous event for the Diocese take a look at an article by TrentonMonitor.

Cloistered Religious

 
Unfortunately we do not hear much about the works of contemplation and prayer that cloistered religious do for the universal Church. Pope Benedict was recently with a group of cloistered Dominicans nuns in Rome and he spoke about their vital rolein the life of the Church. He spoke about how they are the heart of the Church which provides blood to the rest of the body. Read more about this event from Catholic News Agency.

Happy 75th Bishop Smith!

 
On June 23 the Pastoral Center was filled with joy and good-wishes as many gathered for a surprise party to say happy 75 years of life to Bishop John Smith - read more from TrentonMonitor. Pray for the head of our local Church each day!

Exorcisms

Fr. Thomas Euteneuer of Human Life International recently published a book titled “Exorcism and the Church Militant." In the book he lays out the ecclesial understanding and perspective on exorcisms in the life of the Church today. Fr. Euteneuer believes that the Church in the near future will be inundated with exorcisms due to the fact that young people have opened themselves up to the occult in such large numbers and this will have deep ramifications for their spiritual lives. Fr. Euteneuer believes this book is especially important for priests to read since they will have to deal with these issues in a much greater way. Read more about the book from Catholic News Agency - buy the book here.

Dominican Vocations

The Eastern Province of the Dominicans, St. Joseph Province, seems to have seen an increase in vocations and vocational inquiry for the last few years. Archbishop Augustine DiNoia, O.P., Secretary of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, gave a talk about this joyful news for the Dominican order - he speaks about this increase in vocational activity from a ecclesial, historical and cultural perspective. Read his talk to the Provincial Chapter. Watch one his talks below.

Healing for Priests

Sister Briege McKenna has spent a good deal of her consecrated life ministering to priests and speaking about the role of priests in the world today. She is very aware of the struggles priests face and the attack on the priesthood in today's society. She was in Rome to give a talk to priests at a retreat for the conclusion of the Year for Priests - take a look at the video below by Rome Reports.

Prayer for Priests

On June 19 priests throughout the world should be happy to know that for the 24 hours of that day people around the world will be praying the Rosary for them. Its called the Rosary Relay - read about it from the National Catholic Register. The Rosaries are being prayed in Marian shrines throughout the world - the 2 participating US shrines are the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in L.A..

Holiness and Priests

 

Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J., editor emeritus of Homiletic and Pastoral Review, had a great editorial on how a priests effectiveness comes from his personal holiness - you can't give what you don't have - read it here.

New Priests

 
TrentonMonitor did a story on the 5 men that were Ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Smith on June 5 at St. Mary's Cathedral in Trenton. It was a day of great joy and reward for these 5 men as they spent many years preparing for a life of service to Christ and the Church as a priest. Read more about the day - you can also see many great pics from the Ordination ceremony.

Year for Priests Closes

As the Year for Priests draws to an official close, the National Catholic Register has a section of their web-page devoted to the closing events of this monumental year - take a look here. You can see some good pics, read about the most concelebrates in Rome's history, the Pope's Q & A with priests, Benedict's defense of celibacy, to mention a few things on the page. Enjoy!

Also, as the Year for Priests closes and we are in the midst of the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus - read some thoughts by Francis Cardinal George on how these two aspects of Catholic life fit together.