With November’s arrival of National Vocation Awareness Week (Nov. 3-9, 2019) and the annual coverage of the Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings for married couples, the latest issue of The Monitor Magazine takes an IN FOCUS look at the subject of Vocations, and its importance in the life of every believer. 

Inside this issue of the Monitor Magazine, you will find a special message from Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., for National Vocations Awareness week, as well as other articles and interviews on:

• An invitation to discern the Priesthood – A look into the ‘Called by Name’ program
• A call to ‘live in caring for one another’ – Religious life in the face of declining enrollment
• Lay Catholics have their own part to play in the Mission of the Church
• Parents supportive of their sons’ priestly calling
• Mount Carmel Guild prepares to mark 100 years of helping those in need
• Catholic school community gathers around Bishop O’Connell for annual Mass
• Month of Remembrance:  Catholic evangelist Jeff Cavins on coping with suffering

Also not to be missed is the recognition of the married couples who were celebrated this year at the Diocese’s two Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings are again in the spotlight with the magazine’s beautiful story and photo coverage. 

The November issue has been sent to our print subscribers. Now is the time to order home delivery of the new magazine, along with access to the e-edition and unlimited access of the newly redesigned www.TrentonMonitor.com.  You can subscribe online here or by contacting our Business Desk at (609) 403-7131; Monitor-Subscriptions@dioceseoftrenton.org.

Kicking off the month-long Diocesan celebration honoring Mary under title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “The Lighting of the Torches” took place Oct. 26 in St. Robert Bellarmine, CoCathedral Freehold during a Mass celebrated by Msgr. Thomas Gervasio, Diocesan Vicar General and Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows-St. Anthony Parish, Hamilton.

16 “Traveling Torches” were sprinkled with Holy Water and lit during a special blessing, sending forth each torch to a number of parishes, schools and other organizations throughout Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean Counties in order to raise awareness about Our Lady of Guadalupe. After the blessing of the torches, a reception and entertainment showcase took place in Dentici Hall on the Church’s campus.

Each torch has its own name and schedule of locations, where it will be stopping for a week at a time, until they are united again Dec. 7, during the annual Diocesan Pilgrimage and Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Trenton. To find out if a Traveling Torch is coming to your area, visit: https://www.dioceseoftrenton.org/guadalupe-torch-schedule

To learn more about the Dec. 7 pilgrimage through Trenton, click here.

The weekend of Oct. 25-26, 175 Deacons from throughout the Diocese and their wives gathered for the annual diaconate convocation held in Princeton.

The weekend focused on the theme, “Healthy Deacon/Healthy Ministry,” and on Saturday morning, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., celebrated Mass during which time he presided over the Rite of Candidacy for 10 men who are currently in the diocesan Diaconate Formation Program.

The Rite of Candidacy signaled the end of a period of aspirancy, which began last year, during which the men sought to discern whether they were being called to the diaconate, learned what to expect in the formation process and more about the life of a deacon.

To read more about the annual diaconate convocation, see this article from The Monitor.