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In response to the catastrophic twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela June 24, 2026, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., asked the faithful of the Diocese of Trenton to pray for the victims and support the relief effort.

With school on break and the pace of daily responsibilities easing, we find more time for the people who matter most. Picnics and barbecues, trips to the shore or the mountains, long evenings of sunlight and star‑filled skies, games in the backyard, parish carnivals, outdoor concerts, leisurely walks, renewed exercise, gardening, and the taste of fresh strawberries, Jersey tomatoes and corn on the cob – all of these moments and things remind us in summertime how richly God blesses us through creation and through one another.

Outside my office window at the chancery, two flags rise and fall together in the same breeze—the “Stars and Stripes” of the United States of America and the yellow-and-white banner of the Holy See. Their colors catch the morning light in different ways, yet they move in a shared rhythm, reminding me that the story of this nation and the history of the Church --- although the Church is far more ancient --- have long unfolded side by side.

The month of June is traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart. On June 11, 2026, as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. bishops will consecrate the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Catholic faith communities around the country are encouraged to join the bishops in celebrating the consecration of our nation to the Sacred Heart through their own prayer and acts of devotion.

Editor’s note: In light of Pope Leo XIV’s new encyclical on artificial intelligence, we are re-posting a pastoral reflection on the topic written by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., from last December.

Papal encyclicals have long served as a privileged means by which the Successor of Peter offers guidance to the Church and the world. Addressed primarily to bishops but intended for all the faithful, they illuminate moral, theological and social questions that require thoughtful discernment. While not typically issued as infallible ex cathedra (from the chair) teachings, encyclicals carry significant doctrinal authority as expressions of the pope’s ordinary Magisterium and often set the pastoral priorities of a pontificate.

Memorial Day is observed throughout the United States on the last Monday in May. This national holiday is widely considered the beginning of summer, a few weeks shy of the actual calendar date. Many families celebrate by displaying the flag, attending parades and carnivals, opening swimming pools, having backyard barbecues and, for many, taking a day off from work or school. Another custom regularly followed is the traditional visit to cemeteries where members of the military who gave their lives for our country are buried.

The Sacred Scriptures remind us that “the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit dwelling with us” (Romans 5:5). As we come to the close of the Easter Season and celebrate the great Solemnity of Pentecost – the “birthday of the Church” – we rejoice in the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to remain with us always through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Since 2022, the dioceses of New Jersey have celebrated the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord on the Seventh Sunday of Easter, rather than on the traditional Thursday, 40 days after Easter. While some dioceses in the United States — including Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Hartford and Omaha — continue to observe Ascension Thursday, the Bishops of New Jersey, after consultation with pastors, discerned that celebrating the Ascension on Sunday allows far more of the faithful to participate in this important feast.

During National Police Week, the Diocese of Trenton joins communities across our nation in honoring the women and men who serve in law enforcement and remembering especially those who have given their lives in the line of duty. Their work often places them in difficult and dangerous situations, requiring courage, sacrifice and a deep commitment to the common good.

With this month's observance of Mothers Day, let us keep the gift of our mothers before us and remember them in our daily prayers.

May arrives each year like a gentle homily written in blossoms and light. The darkness of winter gives way to color, warmth and new life. The Easter season unfolds in hope; and the Church, in her wisdom, invites us to turn our hearts in a particular way to Mary, the Mother of God and Mother of the Church. It is not by accident that this month — so alive with beauty — is dedicated to the one through whom Life Himself came into the world.

I have been informed by a number of priests about several attempted celebrations of marriage within the Diocese of Trenton (Mercer, Burlington, Monmouth and Ocean Counties) by former priests or others posing as bishops or priests who are not authorized by the Roman Catholic Church and the Diocese of Trenton to witness or officiate at weddings, thus making any attempted marriages of Catholics performed by them invalid.

In recent days, many of the faithful in the Diocese have reached out to me as Bishop and Shepherd of the local Church with concern, confusion, sorrow, and, in some cases, even anger regarding public comments made by President Donald Trump about our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, as well as the Holy Father’s measured response. Moments like these can unsettle hearts, especially when the unity of the Church and the dignity of her mission appear to be drawn into the turbulence of political discourse.

That first Easter Sunday morning at the tomb was just such an occasion. All four Gospel accounts describe the women coming to the tomb but finding it empty. They arrived to mourn and to anoint Jesus’ body but it was not there. We can be sure a thousand thoughts raced through their confused and frightened minds in an instant as they peered into the burial space to see the funeral cloths lying there but no body.

The season that begins on Ash Wednesday, once marked by an unmistakably sober tone, has gradually taken on a more inviting character. The Church has never abandoned the penitential heart of Lent, but she now often expresses it in ways that accent the more life-giving and transformative rather than simply things burdensome. Sacrifice remains important – but it is no longer meant to stand alone.

In his 2026 message for the annual World Day of the Sick, our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV invites us to contemplate the Good Samaritan and to rediscover what true compassion really is. He reminds us that the Samaritan “does not remain at a distance, does not look away, does not pass by, but draws near, bends down, and takes upon himself the pain of the wounded man.”

As the Church in the United States joins together to celebrate National Marriage Week, I am grateful, as Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton, for the opportunity to reflect with you on the beauty, dignity, and mission of Christian marriage. This year, beginning with World Marriage Day on February 8 and continuing through February 14, the Catholic community of our nation pauses to honor the vocation that stands at the heart of family life and serves as one of the most powerful witnesses to God’s faithful love in our world.

The Diocese of Trenton stands in deep solidarity with our Haitian brothers and sisters here – approximately 2,000 – many of whom worship, serve and lead within our own parish communities. Their faith, resilience and cultural richness are a blessing to our local Church. In light of the ongoing crisis in Haiti – marked by widespread violence, political instability and life‑threatening conditions – I join my brother U.S. bishops in expressing grave concern for Haitian families in the United States who now face the loss of “Temporary Protected Status (TPS),” as of February 3, 2026 (officially announced in the Federal Register by the Department of Homeland Security on November 26, 2025).

Each year on the Feast of the “Presentation of the Lord (February 2),” the Church is invited to contemplate the beautiful mystery of “consecration.” We gaze upon Christ, offered to the Father in the temple; upon Mary and Joseph, faithful in their obedience; and upon Simeon and Anna, whose long years of prayerful waiting are finally fulfilled. It is fitting, then, that this feast is celebrated throughout the Church as the “World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life,” often observed in our parishes on the preceding weekend.