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Pastoral Care retreat scheduled ·Jubilee Blue Mass ·Hope in our Hearts ·ecumenical prayer gathering
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April 1, 2025
PERSONS WHO MINISTER TO INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES in pastoral settings will have an opportunity to develop their awareness of mental health issues during the 2025 Pastoral Care Retreat set for May 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in San Alfonso Retreat House, Long Branch.
With the theme “Holding Onto Hope: Supporting Mental Health with Pastoral Care,” the retreat will assist clergy and pastoral ministers in recognizing the signs of persons with mental health challenges and learning how to support them and their families. The event is especially designed for parish priests; deacons; chaplains; campus ministers; those who make visits to the sick or homebound, and those involved in bereavement and consolation ministry, youth and young adult ministry and faith formation.
Learn more HERE.
BISHOP O’CONNELL SERVED AS PRINCIPAL CELEBRANT AND HOMILIST of the Mass and was joined at the altar by some 15 concelebrating priests. Representatives of the law enforcement community participated before and during the Mass, leading honor guard processions, singing the National Anthem, proclaiming the Readings and Prayers of the Faithful. Family members of fallen officers presented the Offertory Gifts. Following the Mass, Bishop O’Connell blessed the motorcycle and mounted units, and a military flyover was held.
“Today we gather to honor the brave men and women in law enforcement – those who have answered the call to protect and serve,” Bishop O’Connell said in his homily. “We come together in gratitude, in prayer and in remembrance, asking for God’s continued strength and protection upon them.”
To view the photo gallery, visit HERE.
To read Bishop O’Connell’s homily click HERE.
To view the Mass on YouTube click HERE.
BISHOP DAVID M. O’CONNELL, C.M., RECOGNIZED PARISH MINISTERS AS BEARERS OF HOPE for the faithful of the diocese, and he urged the 550 women and men gathered for the March 29 bilingual Faith Formation & Parish Ministry Conference to remember that their role “has never been more important.”“Christian hope is not just wishful thinking or blind optimism,” Bishop O’Connell said. “It is rooted in the promises of God and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“Every lesson you teach, every child you prepare for First Communion, every young adult you guide on the path to Confirmation, every prayer you offer – all of this is a testament to the hope that Christ has entrusted to you. Your ministries are acts of profound faith that plant seeds of hope in others, even when you do not see the immediate fruit,” the Bishop said.
The daylong conference in St. John Vianney High School, Holmdel, was inspired by the Jubilee Year 2025 and had “Hope in Our Hearts” for the theme. A collaborative effort between the diocesan Office of Pastoral Life and Mission and the Annual Catholic Appeal, the conference’s goal was to provide support for all people involved in handing on the Catholic faith to others. The day included Mass with Bishop O’Connell, two keynote presenters – Chris Padgett and Father Agustino Torres, a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal – as well as dozens of breakout sessions.
To read more, click HERE.
To view the photo gallery, click HERE.
TO MARK THE 1700TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA, a statewide ecumenical prayer gathering has been planned May 3 at 11 a.m. to gather members of the Western and Eastern rite Churches on common purpose: to pray together the Creed establishing the beliefs of Christianity.
Hosted in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold, the “We Believe in One God” gathering will include Morning Prayer and two homilies – one each from the Western and Eastern Rite – and the praying of the Nicene Creed in both Greek and English by the assembly. A reception will follow in the St. Robert’s spiritual center.
To learn more, visit HERE.