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A Message from Bishop O'Connell ∙Special collection ∙December issue of The Monitor ∙Chancery Hours
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December 7, 2023BISHOP O’CONNELL HAS SHARED THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE for The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
We have heard St. Luke’s narrative of the Annunciation so often in the Church’s celebrations of Mary, the Mother of God. Today that Word is proclaimed once more as the Church throughout the world celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a holy day of obligation for all Catholics.
The Blessed Virgin Mary, as our opening prayer mentions, "sinless from the first moment of her conception," accepts the Word of God spoken by Gabriel – and the salvation Christ would bring by his death was then conceived in her. “The Word was made Flesh (John 1:14).”
What a beautiful relationship between her destiny at the time of her own “immaculate” conception in the womb of her mother St. Anne and the destiny of the Church at the time of her own conception.
Read the entire message HERE.
SPONSORED BY THE WASHINGTON-BASED NATIONAL RELIGIOUS RETIREMENT OFFICE, the annual collection is taken up to both honor and financially support the thousands of retired Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests who have selflessly served for decades without significant financial compensation.
Men and women religious are feeling the impact of escalating health-care costs, and numerous U.S. religious communities face a substantial gap between their elderly members’ needs and the financial resources available for their care. Many religious orders currently experience insufficient retirement savings.
In 2022, Trenton faithful contributed $258,017.80 to the collection. The 2022 appeal demonstrated Catholics’ tremendous generosity by raising $27.6 million. These funds from the Retirement Fund for Religious collection provided financial assistance for retirement needs for 297 U.S. religious communities.
More information can be found at www.retiredreligious.org.
IN HIS ANNUAL CHRISTMAS MESSAGE, Bishop David O’Connell writes:
“The dawn of light and of day is an
excellent metaphor for the coming of Jesus Christ into our world . . A waiting world looked for the coming of the Messiah the same way it waits for the coming of the dawn and the daylight it brings.”
Look for the Bishop’s reflection in the new issue of The Monitor Magazine.
Also, Pope John Paul II, once told the children of the world that Christmas is not only the feast day of the Christ child; it is the feast day of all children. But as we find ourselves preparing for Christmas, we know that far too many children face threats to their safety and well-being. The new issue looks at the plight of today’s children in our IN FOCUS report: God Bless the Child.
Look for page after page of stories about the parishes, schools and people of the Diocese of Trenton, as well as a special section on celebrating a faith-based Christmas.
Not yet a subscriber? Sign up today at dioceseoftrenton.org/monitor-subscriptions.
THE CHANCERY OFFICES WILL BE CLOSED Dec. 8 in observance of the Solemn Feast of the Immaculate Conception. They will re-open 9 a.m. Monday, Dec. 11.