Monitor Magazine April 2024: Holy Week | Easter

Guiding the flock through Holy Week, Easter

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., celebrated Masses and presided at services in a number of different parish churches of the Diocese throughout Holy Week. Beginning with Palm Sunday and continuing through Easter Sunday, the Bishop shared his spiritual insight and love for his flock in the series of homilies he preached during these solemn liturgies.  Excerpts of his homilies follow:

PALM SUNDAY  ST. MARY PARISH, COLTS NECK:

Palm Sunday is, liturgically speaking, the doorway to Holy Week. … Jesus enters the “house of Holy Week” through “the door” that is Jerusalem …

Speaking to the congregation in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, Bishop O’Connell talks about the symbol of the crucifix on Good Friday March 29.

Hal Brown photo

What we see from this door may be a bit deceiving: crowds cheering Jesus the King, palms and olive branches thrown before his feet, sung hosannas to the Son of David. … Soon, in the story of Holy Week, the crowd will turn ugly. … The supporters abandon their palms and thin out. Even the apostles scatter as Jesus walks the path to Calvary.

“I gave my back to those who beat me,” Isaiah prophesied in today’s first reading, “My cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The Lord GOD is my help; therefore I am not disgraced.”

From the door where we stand in the liturgy today and through which we pass into Holy Week … We see the King enter. We witness his passion. … In Jesus Christ, ours is a God who is willing to suffer not only for us but with us. There is no place in our humanity where God is not present … We may not get that on Palm Sunday, but it is only “the door” and the beginning of the week that will follow.

HOLY THURSDAY MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER  ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH, ALLENTOWN:

In the ancient world of Jesus’ time, the custom of washing someone’s feet was a gesture of hospitality. … It was a practical thing to do as well as a sign of respect for the guest.

But in tonight’s Gospel, the gesture of foot washing has special significance. As with so many other practices, Jesus used what was common to create a holy moment … The symbolism of respect for another person by humbling oneself, showing that humility and care by washing feet, and the sharing one’s life by giving one’s life totally to another – which is what the Eucharist is, Jesus’ gift of his own Body and Blood – is the essence of what we celebrate together on this Holy Thursday evening. …

My sisters and brothers, this night is Holy, not because of the things we do but, rather, because of the things He did – the Lord Jesus Christ. It is He who gathers us. It is he who gives us himself as food and drink. It is he who drops to his knees to wash the feet of his disciples. He, the Lord Jesus Christ, makes this night Holy. And what we do, we do in His memory.

GOOD FRIDAY  ST. MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION CATHEDRAL, TRENTON:

Acrucifix or cross … is the central and most widely known symbol of Christianity … The fact that a symbol has endured for so long everywhere should convey something to everyone who sees it. …

The crucifix … has endured because it depicts and represents the turning point of humanity. … The Lord Jesus Christ

Holy Week around the Globe

The universality of the Catholic Church was exemplified from Rome to all the ends of the earth as millions worldwide marked Holy Week. Celebrations were perhaps even more poignant in countries experiencing religious persecution, with faithful celebrating in spite of government prohibitions.

Pope Francis greets the crowd after delivering his Easter message and blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican March 31, 2024. CNS photo/Vatican Media

An aide hands Pope Francis his candle, lighted from the Paschal candle, at the beginning of the Easter Vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican March 30, 2024. CNS photo/Lola Gomez

Pope Francis baptizes a man during the Easter Vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican March 30, 2024. CNS photo/Vatican Media

Pope Francis kisses the foot of an inmate after washing it during the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the Rebibbia women’s prison on the outskirts of Rome March 28, 2024. CNS photo/Vatican Media

Men carry a statue of Christ as they take part in a Good Friday procession March 29, 2024, in the courtyards of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua. OSV News photo/Maynor Valenzuela, Reuters

Holy week Easter

Pakistani Bishop Frederick John of Karachi and Balochistan arrives to celebrate the Easter Vigil at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Karachi, March 31, 2024. The cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Church of Pakistan. OSV News photo/Akhtar Soomro, Reuters

Nuns pray at the Stone of Unction, where tradition holds that Jesus was laid out after his death, in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Good Friday in the Old City of Jerusalem, March 29, 2024. OSV News photo/Debbie Hill

Worshippers light the Paschal candle during the Easter Vigil at the St. Joanes, Legio Maria of African Church Mission within Fort Jesus in Kibera district of Nairobi, Kenya, March 30, 2024. OSV News photo/Monicah Mwangi, Reuters

Members of Our Lady of Peace Parish in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, participate in an outdoor procession around the church on Palm Sunday, March 24, 2024. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. OSV News photo/Sam Lucero

Chrism Mass celebrates the Church’s

Some 150 priests from the Diocese concelebrate the Chrism Mass with Bishop O’Connell. Here they are shown renewing their priestly commitment, which is part of the Chrism Mass each year.

Bishop O’Connell preaches his homily to the estimated 1,000 people who attended the Chrism Mass on Monday of Holy Week. Mike Ehrmann photos

rich traditions and sacramental life

BY MARY STADNYK  Associate Editor, and ANGELICA CHICAIZA  Correspondent

Catholics from throughout the Diocese gathered to witness a Holy Week tradition: the blessing of sacred oils used in Sacraments and the priestly renewal of vows.

About 1,000 parishioners from Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties filled the 1,100-seat St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold, nearly to capacity March 25 for the annual Chrism Mass that Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., said “belongs to the entire community of faithful in the Diocese – clergy, religious and laity – all united by their common Baptism and the sacramental life that use the oils consecrated and blessed by the Bishop.”

During the Chrism Mass, the holy oils were presented to the Bishop by representatives of various parishes. After the Mass, parish delegates then carried their supply of blessed oils and chrism back to their faith communities to be used in sacramental rites throughout the year.

“The gathering itself, usually in the Cathedral or another large diocesan church, is a celebration of unity meant to strengthen the ties of the diocesan community of faith in the parishes with their local shepherd, the Bishop, in his role as ‘Successor to the Apostles,’” Bishop O’Connell said to the congregation that included 160 priests and 50 deacons. “It is one of the most solemn, symbolic and significant Masses of the Church year.”

HISTORICAL ROOTS

In his homily, Bishop O’Connell explained that the Chrism Mass takes its name from the ancient Church practice of the clergy and faithful gathering around their bishop each year for the consecration of the sacred chrism used for Baptism, Confirmation, the Ordina-

tion of priests and bishops and the consecration of churches and altars. The Bishop also blesses the Oil of Catechumens and Oil of the Sick used in rites and Sacraments throughout the local Church.

Bishop O’Connell said the earliest description of the Chrism Mass is found in a third-century text called the “Apostolic Tradition.”

“At that time,” he said, “these oils were consecrated and blessed by the bishop during the Easter Vigil at a ceremony only to be moved later to the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday.”

However, that Mass became such a crowded event that tickets had to be distributed, he continued, so last century, Pope Pius XII established a separate Mass earlier on the same day; dioceses then were permitted to celebrate the “Chrism Mass” on another day and time during Holy Week.

“Although many dioceses, including Rome, still hold the Mass on Holy Thursday morning, here in our Diocese, we chose Monday evening,” Bishop O’Connell said.

BONDS OF BROTHERHOOD

As the Chrism Mass highlights the role and responsibilities of ordained priests in relationship to their bishop –amid all the clergy, religious and faithful of the Diocese – Bishop O’Connell took the opportunity to focus on the relationships that priests have with the Bishop, the people they serve and each other by reflecting on three words – fraternity, fidelity and fruitfulness – and how “they have a unique and compelling meaning for your ministry as priests.”

Speaking about fraternity, Bishop O’Connell said, “In and through your priestly ordination, you become true brothers, you belong to one another under the fatherhood of the bishop.

“No priest is alone,” he added. “No priest should seek to be alone. No priest should allow himself or another priest to be alone.

 Parishioners from St. Paul Parish, Princeton, carry the Oil of the Catechumens to be blessed by the Bishop.

Bishop O’Connell breathes over the vessel containing the Sacred Chrism.

HOLY WEEK: Easter Sunday

He is Risen

As Easter morning dawned, churches of the Diocese bedecked with blooms saw pews filled to overflowing with worshippers. The proclamation of Christ’s Resurrection rang out with pealing church bells and choirs singing Alleluias, ushering in the Church’s 50-day Easter season.

Congregants in St. Paul Church, Princeton, are blessed with holy water by Father Christopher Dayton, parish administrator, during the Easter Sunday sprinkling rite. Hal Brown photo

Father Garry Koch, pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel, leads his parishioners in a sunrise Easter Sunday Mass March 31. Facebook photo

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., greets parishioners of St. Paul Parish, Princeton, where he celebrated two Masses on Easter Sunday morning March 31. Hal Brown photo

Father Jerome Guld, pastor of St. Katharine Drexel Parish, greets children at the Presentation of the Gifts during Easter Sunday Mass in the parish worship site of St. Paul Church, Burlington. Mike Ehrmann photo

Eric Kim directs the St. Paul Children’s Choir, Princeton, in the Easter Sunday liturgical music. Hal Brown photo

Congregants fill the pews of St. Paul Church, Burlington, for Easter Sunday Mass March 31. Mike Ehrmann photo

The Resurrection stained glass of St. Maximilian Kolbe Church, Toms River, is complemented with a variety of Easter flowers. Facebook photo

Father Jerome Guld prays the Eucharistic Prayer during Easter Sunday Mass in St. Paul Church, Burlington. Mike Ehrmann photo

‘Christ Our Light’

HOLY WEEK: The Great Vigil

Churches from around the Diocese were filled March 30 as their faithful eagerly awaited the moment when the dark hours of Jesus’ Death would give way to the Light of his return during the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night.

The Vigil began outdoors with the blessing of the Easter Fire and Paschal Candle. It continued with a procession into the church where that flame was passed from person to person by way of small taper candles. Other movements of the Vigil that followed included the proclamation of seven Readings from the Old Testament that tell the Salvation History of God’s people and the Liturgy of Baptism, when new members are welcomed into the Church through the Sacraments of Initiation.

In the Trenton Diocese, nearly 250 women and men were fully initiated into the Catholic Church through the reception of the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Another 519 men and women completed their Sacraments. receiving Confirmation and Eucharist.

Rosemarie Constable, the RCIA coordinator in St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Hightstown, participates in the Presentation of the Gifts with two newly initiated parishioners. Hal Brown photo

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Bishop O’Connell shares the light of the Easter candle with parishioners in Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, West Trenton, where he celebrated the Easter Vigil. Mike Ehrmann photo

Two Religious Filippini Sisters participate in the Easter Vigil in Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, West Trenton. Mike Ehrmann photo

In all, Father Oscar Sumanga, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Hightstown, baptized, confirmed and administered the Eucharist to 22 elect during the Vigil. Hal Brown

Father Arian Wharff, parochial vicar of St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Hightstown, lights the taper candle of a parishioner at the start of the Easter Vigil. Hal Brown photo

Father Jeffrey Kegley, pastor of St. Mary Parish, Middletown, baptizes Colin Capaci during the Easter Vigil. Facebook

During the Easter Vigil in Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, West Trenton, parishioners and RCIA candidates Giovanni and Gianna Gourgue and TCNJ freshman Ashlee Juarez were confirmed and received First Communion from Bishop O’Connell. At right is Father Ariel Robles. Mike Ehrmann photo

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Msgr. Kenard Tuzeneu, pastor of St. Mary Parish, Barnegat, baptizes Jamie Landron during the Easter Vigil. Facebook photo

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Son of David

CHOLY WEEK: Palm Sunday

atholics in the four counties of the Diocese joined their brothers and sisters throughout the world during Holy Week in experiencing the solemnities of Jesus’ Passion and Death and the joys of his Resurrection. Palm Sunday marked the beginning of Holy Week during which palms were blessed and distributed.

A parishioner leads the Palm Sunday entrance procession in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Whiting, with a covered crucifix adorned with palms and flowers. Hal Brown photo

The choir leads the congregation in song during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Whiting. Hal Brown photo

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Father Evarist Kabagambe, pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Whiting, blesses parishioners’ palms during Mass March 24. Hal Brown photo

Bishop O’Connell celebrates Mass for Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord in St. Mary Parish, Colts Neck. Here he blesses the palms before the start of Mass. At left is Father Jeffrey Lee, parish pastor. John Batkowski photo

‘Blessed

be God’

Singing praises as the sacred oils entered the sanctuary and the Gloria rang out for the final time before Easter, worship communities of St. John the Baptist, Allentown, and St. Joan

HOLY WEEK: Holy Thursday

Arc, Marlton, joined parishes across the Diocese on Holy Thursday March 28 in re-presenting the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist.

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The Oil of Catechumens is brought into St. Joan of Arc Church at the beginning of Holy Thursday liturgy. Hal Brown photo

Bishop O’Connell fills the thurible with incense to be used throughout the Mass in St. John the Baptist Church. Mike Ehrmann photo

Following Jesus’ example, Msgr. Richard LaVerghetta, pastor of St. Joan of Arc Parish, washes the feet of parishioners. Hal Brown photo

Msgr. Richard LaVerghetta, pastor, and Father John Michael Patilla, parochial vicar, join altar servers and congregants in praying before the Eucharistic altar of repose at the close of Holy Thursday Mass in St. Joan of Arc Church. Hal Brown photo

Cross of Love

With sorrow and quiet reverence, Catholic faithful gathered Good Friday March 29 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, and Christ the King Parish, Long Branch, to re-present the Lord’s Passion through both the Gospel reading and tableaus of Living Stations

the Cross.

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People dressed as mourners and Roman soldiers take part in Living Stations of the Cross in Holy Trinity Church, worship site of Christ the King Parish. Mike Ehrmann photo

Representing the Sixth Station, “Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus,” a woman holds up Jesus’ face imprinted on a depiction of Veronica’s veil. Mike Ehrmann photo

A man kisses the feet of Jesus on a crucifix during the Good Friday Veneration of the Cross in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral. Hal Brown photo

During the Good Friday service in the Cathedral, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., reverences the crucifix. Hal Brown photo

Palm Sunday sees Immaculate Conception Church, worship site of Our Lady of the Angels Parish, Trenton, filling with participants for its re-presentation of the Passion in the Gospels.

Across the Diocese

Catholics of the Diocese embraced the rituals of Holy Week and Easter and all the meaningful experiences therein. From the reading of Passion Gospels to applauding the newest members entering the Church, parishes shared photos of their occasions with The Monitor and the wider community through social media posts.

Families collaborate to fold palm crosses out of blessed palms in St. Mary Parish, Colts Neck. John Batkowski photo

Parishioners of St. Ann Parish, Browns Mills, carry their blessed palms as the Palm Sunday liturgy begins outside the church. Facebook photo

Easter baskets, filled with food blessed for Easter feasts, line the sanctuary of St. Denis Church, Manasquan. Facebook photo

Facebook photo

A tiny member of St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral Parish, Freehold, has her foot washed by Msgr. Sam Sirianni, rector. Facebook photo

We Believe

CHRISM MASS

Continued from 13

Reflecting on fruitfulness, Bishop O’Connell said, “Who we are and what we are as priests must bear fruit in the Church, for the people of God.

“My dear priests, be true brothers to one another because of the priesthood we share.”

Bishop O’Connell defined fidelity as “faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ, who called and gave you a share in his priesthood; a fidelity which is faithfulness to the Church in which, through which, for which you are a priest in this fraternity here; a fidelity which is faithfulness to the truth of the Gospel as proclaimed in the Church’s teachings.”

“We don’t make truth up. We don’t adapt truth to society and culture and their whims. We evangelize the world through preaching and teaching truth. We don’t vote on truth as though it depended on majority rule or opinion or acceptance,” he said. Reminding the priests that it was Jesus who said, “I am the way and the truth and the life,” Bishop O’Connell said that, as priests: “We look to him. Our fidelity as priests is to him and to his truth. That is what we embrace. That is what we teach. That is what we live.”

“In our preaching and teaching, my brothers, bear fruit. In our sacramental ministry and presiding at Eucharist and worship, bear fruit. In our outreach and presence to the sick and those in need, bear fruit. For the young and the old and those in between, bear fruit. Through our administration and leadership and oversight, bear fruit. In all these activities and more, we must make a difference in the lives of those we are called to serve, a difference that people can see,” the Bishop said.

FROM THE FAITHFUL

Many agreed that the Chrism Mass had a profound impact on their Holy Week observances.

For Sanjay Jethani of St. Paul Parish, Princeton, it was a double blessing to attend the Chrism Mass for the first time and to participate in the Procession of Oils.

“I felt blessed and a lot of spirituality during the Mass,” said Jethani, who carried the Oil of

At left, the Oil of the Sick, Sacred Chrism and Oil of Catechumens await blessing by Bishop O’Connell before Mass. Below, deacons of the Diocese participate in the Chrism Mass. Mike Ehrmann photos

Catechumens. “I have never seen so many priests in one setting at the same time. It was truly a good feeling.”

While Vickie Robles of St. Ann Parish, Browns Mills, has previously attended the Chrism Mass several times, this year marked the first time for her husband, Pete.

“It was a wonderful celebration,” Pete Robles said, noting that he had “never seen so many priests together” at one time. He added that he was trying to determine the average number of years of priesthood times the number of priests in attendance and figured that “there was probably about 4,000, years’ worth of service in this church today.”

Noting that she was inspired by both the Procession of Oils and when the priests renewed their vows, Vickie Robles said that the Chrism Mass is “an overall beautiful celebration, especially knowing that the oils will be used in [the celebration of the] Sacraments.”

Maria Marin Uvera of St. Joseph Parish, Toms River, sees her participation at the Chrism Mass as a way to show her support for priests of the Diocese.

“Because of them, we all have true conversions and, thanks to them, they give us Jesus alive in the Eucharist,” she said. Two priests who are close friends, she noted, were Father Javier Diaz, pastor of Christ the King Parish, Long Branch, and Father Carlos Aguirre, pastor of Our Lady of the Angels Parish, Trenton.

“We are all so happy to be here for them,” she said.

Father Jeff Kegley, pastor of St. Mary Parish, Middletown, reflected on the significance of standing before Bishop O’Connell and joining his brothers in the renewal of priestly vows.

“It was so impactful to see so many priests together ... it’s amazing,” he said, noting that the annual Priests Convocation is another occasion that draws a large number of priests.

But the Chrism Mass “is a very formal Mass, and it’s beautiful,” Father Kegley said.

Father Kegley added how heartened he was to hear the Bishop speak about priestly fraternity in his homily.

“We all came together as brothers around our spiritual father, our Bishop, and it was a really great blessing,” he said. “He just affirmed everything that we’re all about.”

Contined from first page

… was put to death by us, by those He came to save. … But, by contrast, the most hopeful admission we have to make is that He died for us and in His death, He did save us. Nothing more important has ever happened in the history of the world than the moment of His death, which we remember in a dramatic way today. …

The crucifix is the most powerful reminder of the greatest love the world has ever known: one wooden beam pointing from the earth to the sky, pointing our attention to God; another wooden beam pointing from east to west, pointing our attention to our fellow human beings. And what brings those two wooden beams, those two directions together, is a single body, His body, Jesus Christ, whose life of suffering and transforming love … turns the wood of the tree of defeat and death into a tree of life and victory.

EASTER VIGIL  OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL PARISH, WEST TRENTON:

Tonight, we celebrate the first official commemoration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is a ceremony steeped in symbol and tradition … We can become overwhelmed … precisely because no event in human history is as overwhelming as the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. …

In tonight’s Gospel from St. Mark, the women go to his tomb … Instead of the dead body of Jesus they encounter what St. Mark describes as “a young man clothed in white” who tells them … “He is not here. He is Risen.” … Two simple sentences that changed the world. …

Easter is about glory and triumph, first Christ’s

and in our faith, ours as well. … And the source of our joy tonight is that the Risen Lord offers the same triumph and glory to us who believe in him. Our Sacraments celebrate our personal experience of Easter! That is the meaning of our Baptism when we say we die in Christ only to rise in him …. That is the meaning of our Confirmation, which strengthens the grace of Baptism. That is what receiving Holy Communion offers every time we receive it. “When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.”

EASTER SUNDAY  ST. PAUL PARISH, PRINCETON:

Today, we read from John’s Gospel, but 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. … They had to be reminded by an angel or two of what Jesus himself had foretold before his death on Good Friday. “And they remembered his words (Luke 24: 8).”

For over 2,000 years, the story of Jesus’ death and Resurrection has been remembered and retold, sung and proclaimed every day … “He is not here. He has been raised up just as he said (Matthew 28: 6).” And we “remember his words.” …

Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh, risen from the dead, speaks his word to us once more this Easter: a word of triumph, a word of victory, a word of life. “And we remember his words” each year, each Spring. The truth and the power of his word shatter the darkness of death and give rise to the bright promise of eternal life. That promise is offered to us. That offer is simply an invitation to believe. And that belief, that Easter faith changes our lives forever.

Bishop O’Connell receives the gift of bread from confirmand Gianna Gourgue during the Easter Vigil Mass he celebrated in Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, West Trenton. Mike Ehrmann photo