Monitor Mag Oct 2022: World Mission Sunday

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On October 23, World Mission Sunday, we join Catholics worldwide in this annual Eucharistic celebration for the Missions of the Church.

Pope Francis reflects on this year’s theme: “You shall be My witnesses” (Acts 1:8). He emphasizes the call to every Christian to bear witness to Christ, to participate in a mission of universal evangelization, and to seek strength and guidance from the Holy Spirit.

Beginning in 1822, the universal fund of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith provided some $7 million in help to the new and growing Churches in the United States. Your prayers and generous support today sustain priests, religious and lay pastoral leaders in more than 1,100 mission dioceses in Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands, and

parts of Latin America and Europe as they proclaim the Gospel, build the Church, and serve the poor.

Blessed Pauline Jaricot began this work 200 years ago. As Pope Francis reminds us, “She accepted God’s inspiration to establish a network of prayer and collection for missionaries so that the faithful could actively participate in the mission ‘to the ends of the earth.’”

Her vision would lead to World Mission Sunday, which helps the Pope support missionary activity.

When you contribute to the World Mission Sunday collection, you make it possible for the Holy Father to provide for the formation of our seminarians and religious men and women. You assist in building the schools and orphanages that care for children in places few visit. Missionaries can build churches in areas with scarce resources. Priests and

A Message from BISHOP DAVID M. O’CONNELL, C.M.

religious Brothers and Sisters can buy food and the bare essentials that make it possible to proclaim the Gospel and celebrate the Sacraments.

I encourage your generosity on World Mission Sunday, especially in this bicentennial anniversary year. Your prayers remain your greatest gift, and your financial support is life-giving to our brothers and sisters in the world’s most vulnerable communities.

Gratefully in the Lord,

Most Reverend David M. O’Connell, C.M. Bishop of Trenton

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

World Mission Sunday will be celebrated this year on the weekend of Oct. 22-23. Our Diocesan celebration will take place at the Church of St. Veronica in Howell on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 4:00 p.m.

Bishop David M. O’Connell is the main celebrant and preacher. Msgr. Kieran Harrington, the National Director of the Pontifical Mission societies and other invited missionary priests will be concelebrating.

Daniella Les, a student from St. Mary of the Lakes School, Medford, won the grand prize for her artwork in the National Christmas Card Making Contest of the Missionary Childhood Association. She will be presented the award during the celebration and certificates of recognition will be given to previous awardees. This is the fifth time in a row that our Diocese has been a recipient of this national award.

As Bishop O’Connell has shared, and reflected in this year’s theme by Pope Francis: “You shall be My witnesses” (Acts 1:8), the call to every Christian to bear witness to Christ, to participate in a mission of universal evangelization, and to seek strength and guidance from the Holy Spirit is widely emphasized.

The Society for the Propagation of the Faith provided some $7 million in help to the new and growing churches in the United States. Your prayers and generous support have sustained priests, religious and lay pastoral leaders in more than 1,100 mission dioceses in Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands, and parts of Latin America and Europe as they proclaim the Gospel, build the Church, and serve the poor.

When you contribute to the World Mission Sunday collection, you make it possible for the Holy Father to provide for the formation of our seminarians and religious men and women. You assist in building the schools and orphanages that care for children in places few visit. Missionaries can build churches in areas with scarce resources. Priests and religious Brothers and Sisters can buy food and the bare essentials that make it possible to proclaim the Gospel and celebrate the Sacraments.

May your help and love for the Church’s Mission, which is a passion for Jesus and a passion for his people, grow ever stronger. May your support and generosity be rewarded a hundredfold in this life and the next.

United with you in prayer,

Rev. Peter James Alindogan Diocesan Director of Missions

2022 OFFICE OF

Allentown • St. John the Baptist

$1,500 $2,644

A sbury Park • Mother of Mercy $2,117 $450 $970

Atlantic Highlands • Our Lady of Perpetual Help-St. Agnes $1,594 $4,745

B arnegat • St. Mary $2,060 $18,380

B ay Head • Sacred Heart $2,167 $6,158

B ayville • St. Barnabas $4,000 $4,828

B elmar • St. Rose $4,679 $10,654 $260 $985

B everly • Jesus, the Good Shepherd $1,350 $5,736 $498

B ordentown • Mary, Mother of the Church $1,371 $3,069 $696

B radley Beach • St. Teresa of Calcutta $3,368 $6,053

B rick Town • Epiphany $525 $1,831

B rick Town • Visitation $1,474 $5,128 $692

B rick Town • St. Dominic $3,783 $7,924 $1,201 $694

B rowns Mills • St. Ann $1,171 $1,590

B urlington • St. Katharine Drexel $768 $2,768 $397

Cinnaminson • St. Charles Borromeo $1,840 $3,777 $1,703

Colts Neck • St. Mary Catholic $2,500 $13,534 $181

D elran • Resurrection $827 $1,992

Eatontown • Immaculate Conception $860 $3,432

Eatontown • St. Dorothea Catholic $1,082 $3,266

Ewing • Incarnation-St. James $585 $1,736 $2,462

Fair Haven • Nativity $1,036 $8,711

Farmingdale • St. Catherine $967 $1,720

Forked River • St. Pius X $1,250 $7,229

Freehold • St. Robert Bellarmine, Co-Cathedral $1,759 $6,671

Freehold • St. Rose of Lima $2,168 $6,769 $789

Hainespor t • Our Lady Queen of Peace $1,335 $3,633 $145

Hamilton • Our Lady of SorrowsSt. Anthony $1,359 $5,000 $1,139 $429

Hamilton Square • St. Gregory the Great $4,455 $10,725 $250

Hamilton • St. Raphael-Holy Angels $2,886 $6,388

Hightstown • St. Anthony of Padua $1,336 $2,567

Holmdel • St. Benedict $152 $3,463 $514

Holmdel • St. Catharine $2,335 $10,400

Hopewell • St. Alphonsus Catholic $759 $2,598

Howell • St. Veronica $3,591 $4,157 $1,217

Howell • St. William the Abbot $583 $2,809

Jackson • St. Aloysius $1,951 $5,786

Jackson • St. Monica $225 $1,913 $445

Keansburg • St. Ann $846 $1,182

Keyport • Holy Family $2,173 $2,268 $409

Keyport • Our Lady of Fatima $959 $1,115

Lakehurst • St. John $1,500 $4,750

Lakewood • Our Lady of Guadalupe $7,061 $6,721

Lavallette • St. Pio of Pietrelcina $1,143 $5,000

Lawrenceville • St. Ann/St. Michael $2,245 $5,110 $1,110 $550

Lincroft • St. Leo the Great $1,400 $4,000

Little Egg Harbor • St. Theresa $2,182 $6,272 Long Beach Twp. • St. Francis of Assisi $5,086 NC Long Branch • Christ the King $1,562 $2,150 $705

CITY,

CITY, PARISH

MISSION

Manalapan • St. Thomas More $3,441 $11,243

Manasquan • St. Denis $2,089 $12,343

Maple Shade • O ur Lady of Perpetual Help $787 $6,717

Marlboro • St. Gabriel $548 $10,871 $835

Marlton • St. Isaac Jogues $1,600 $1,147

Marlton • St. Joan of Arc $5,312 $8,734

Matawan • St. Clement $1,455 $5,023

Medford • St. Mary of the Lakes $4,513 $9,313 $1,791 $1,469

M iddletown • St. Catherine Laboure $1,319 $2,700

M iddletown • St. Mary $2,358 $7,634 $1,937

M illstone Township • St. Joseph $445 NC

Monmouth B each • Precious Blood $685 $897

Moorestown • Our Lady of Good Counsel $2,577 $8,220

Mount Holly • Sacred Heart $1,114 $1,594 $365

Mount Laurel • St. John Neumann $1,451 $1,830

Neptune • Holy Innocents $927 $1,473 $549

New Egypt • St. Isidore the Farmer $1,886 $2,577

Pennington • St. James $1,998 $2,119 $304

Point Pleasant Beach • St. Peter $1,331 $4,488 $1,809

Point Pleasant • St. Martha $3,563 $8,812

Princeton Junction • St. David the King $4,107 $16,769

Princeton • St. Paul $4,384 $5,108 $740 $8,349

Red B ank • St. Anthony of Padua $921 $3,089

Red B ank • St. James $3,323 $4,363 $223

R iverton • Sacred Heart $718 $6,135 $1,157

Rumson • Holy Cross $1,045 $7,361 $1,311

S ea Girt • St. Mark Catholic $2,194 $5,624

S easide Park • St. Junipero Serra $1,403 $6,472 $302

S pring Lake • St. Catharine $7,217 $6,997

Tabernacle • Holy Eucharist $416 $3,101

Titusville • St. George $867 $1,866

Toms River • St. Joseph $5,889 $14,818 $2,267

Toms River • St. Justin $1,665 $5,800 $795

Toms River • St. Luke $4,765 $6,070

Toms River • St. Maximilian Kolbe $3,510 $7,857

Trenton • Korean Martyrs NC $1,750

Trenton • Our Lady of the Angels $764 $1,065 $1,400

Trenton • Sacred Heart $2,144 $2,428

Trenton • St. Hedwig $562 $543

Trenton • St. Joseph Catholic $1,957 NC

Trenton • St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral $1,462 $3,000

Wayside • St. Anselm $219 NC

West End • St. Michael $3,341 $10,040 $934

West Long Branch • Our Lady of Hope-St Jerome $3,732 $3,402 $5,777 $1,231

West Trenton • Our Lady of Good Counsel $866 $3,440

Whiting • St. Elizabeth Ann Seton $2,214 $3,873 $131

Willingboro • Corpus Christi $500 $2,180

Yardville • St. Vincent de Paul $1,281 $878

*Partial or total collection remitted after 12-31-2021

NC-No collection held

2022 AWARDS

Congratulations to the following parishes and schools who have the highest contributions to the missions this year. This is based on the amount they gave as reflected on the number of enrolled students. Thank you for your help and support.

Per Capita Contributions

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

First place: St. Jerome School, West Long Branch

Second Place: St. Peter School, Point Pleasant Beach Honorable Mention: Our Lady of Sorrows School, Hamilton

Total Contributions

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAMS

First Place: St. Paul Parish Religious Education Program, Princeton Second Place: Incarnation-St. James Parish Religious Education Program, Ewing

Honorable Mention: St. Charles Borromeo Parish Religious Education Program, Cinnaminson

DIOCESAN WORLD MISSION SUNDAY MASS

The diocesan observance of World Mission Sunday will take place Oct. 22 at the 4 p.m. Mass to be celebrated in St. Veronica Church, Howell.

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., will be principal celebrant of the Mass and homilist. Concelebrants will include Father Peter James Alindogan, pastor of St. Veronica Parish and diocesan director of missions; Msgr. Kieran Harrington, the National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, and other invited missionary priests.

2022 ANNUAL REPORT Year ending 12/31/21

RECIEPTS

Personal Donations $18,233

Legacies $73,111

Bination Stipends $79,360

Mass Stipends $10,735

Missionary Cooperation Plan $432,423

Interest $377

Mission Sunday Collection $145,641

DISBURSEMENTS

The Society of the Propagation of the Faith $270,947

Missionary Childhood Association $28,516

Mssionary Cooperation Plan $334,649

Mass Stipends $4,365

Society of St. Peter the Apostle $3,561

Near East Welfare Association $2,523

Quotes from the message of Pope Francis for the celebration of World Mission Sunday 2022

“YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES” (Acts 1:8): The call of every Christian to bear witness to Christ

“These words were spoken by the Risen Jesus to his disciples just before his Ascension into heaven, as we learn from the Acts of the Apostles: ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth’ (1:8). They are also the theme of World Mission (Sun)day, which, as always, reminds us that the Church is missionary by nature. This year World Mission (Sun)day offers us the opportunity to commemorate several important events in the Church’s life and mission: the fourth centenary of the founding of the Congregation de Propaganda Fide, now the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and

the second centenary of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith. A hundred years ago, the latter, together with the Society for the Holy Childhood and the Society of Saint Peter the Apostle, was granted the title ‘Pontifical.’”

“TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH”: The perennial relevance of a mission of universal evangelization

“More and more, we are seeing how the presence of faithful of various na tionalities enriches the face of parishes and makes them more universal, more Catholic. Consequently, the pastoral care of migrants should be valued as an important missionary activity that can also help the local faithful to rediscover the joy of the Chris tian faith they have received.... Christ’s Church will continue to ‘go forth’ towards new geographical, social, and existential horizons, towards ‘borderline’ places and human situations, in order to bear witness to Christ and his love to men and women of every people, cul ture,and social status. In this sense, the mission will always be a missio ad gentes.”

“YOU WILL RECEIVE POWER”

FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT: Let us always be strengthened and guided by the Spirit

“When the Risen Christ commissioned the disciples to be his witnesses, he also promised them the grace needed for this great responsibility: ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses’ (Acts 1:8) .... ‘Receiving the joy of the Spirit is a grace. Moreover, it is the only force that enables us to preach the Gospel and to confess our faith in the Lord’ (Message to the Pontifical Mission Societies, 21 May 2020). The Spirit, then, is the true protagonist of mission…. The same Spirit who guides the Universal Church also inspires ordinary men and women for extraordinary missions.”

PAULINE JARICOT AND THE POPE’S MISSIONS

“... a young French woman, Pauline Jaricot, founded the Society for the Propagation of the Faith exactly two hundred years ago. Her beatification... celebrated in this jubilee year. Albeit in poor health, she accepted God’s inspi ration to establish a network of prayer and collection for missionaries, so that the faithful could actively participate in the mission ‘to the ends of the earth.’

This brilliant idea gave rise to the annual celebration of World Mission (Sun)Day, in which the funds collected in local communities are applied to the univer sal fund with which the Pope supports missionary activi ty…. Dear brothers and sisters, I con tinue to dream of a completely missionary Church and a new era of missionary activity among Christian communities....

Blessed Pauline

PRAYER WRITTEN BY PAULINE JARICOT

Indeed, would that all of us in the Church were what we already are by virtue of baptism: prophets, witnesses, missionaries of the Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to the ends of the earth! Mary, Queen of Missions, pray for us!”

News > Church

“My hope is in Jesus, my only treasure is praise shall be always in my mouth. I adore beloved and loveable will of God, if Thou health, and life; what does it matter that What does it matter – if, I find the hidden could die for Thee and for my fellow creatures. my life and the cross I carry to Thy Blood expect

Medford student named grand prize winner in national Christmas artwork contest

BY MARY STADNYK  Associate Editor

Bringing

together her great attention to detail, a longtime passion for her favorite hobby and an unwavering spirit to persevere, even after making many mistakes, earned Daniella Les something very special in the way of national recognition.

Les, a seventh-grade student in St. Mary of the Lakes School, Medford, was named one of two grand prize winners from throughout the country in the Missionary Childhood Associ ation’s annual Christmas Artwork Contest. As a grand prize winner, Les’ entry will be turned into the Christmas card to be used by Msgr. Kieran E. Harrington, the national director of the New York-based Pontifical Mission Societies. Les will be honored for her vibrant, yet prayerful depiction scene of the Holy Family during the diocesan World Mission Sunday Mass to be celebrat ed by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., Oct. 22 at 4 p.m. in St. Veronica Church, Howell.

The MCA, one of four Pontifical Mission Societies, promotes mission and global awareness while encouraging children to share their faith through their prayers and generosity. Every year, the MCA invites children in Catholic schools and parishes throughout the nation to submit their Christmas-themed drawings for the contest.

Reflecting on the school’s tagline, “We Make Disciples,” St. Mary of the Lakes School principal, Maria Sobel, said, “We teach our students to remember that Jesus said, ‘Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.’

“This is the message that I want to convey to all of our students here at St. Mary of the Lakes, and by supporting the Missionary Childhood Association, we are helping to take care of those in need,” Sobel said, noting that every year the school holds two collections for the Missionary Childhood Association.

“We want our students at St. Mary of the Lakes to be disciples of Jesus, and Jesus wants us to take care of the poor and people in need.”

The history of the MCA Christmas Artwork Contest dates to 1916 when the MCA produced the first Catholic Christ mas seals in America to raise awareness of and support for the evangelizing work of the Church in the missions. MCA used children’s artwork on these seals since 1933. In 2005, MCA then introduced Christmas cards featuring the winning artwork in its annual contest. In all, 24 national winners are chosen.

Father Peter James Alindogan, diocesan mission director, regarded Les’ win as “quite a humbling feat” being that she is the fifth student in a row from the Diocese to be named a winner in the MCA Christmas Artwork Contest and the first-ever student from the Diocese to be designated a grand prize winner.

Daniella Les, a seventh grade student in St. Mary of the Lakes School, Medford, was one of 24 to be dubbed a winner for her drawing depict ing the Nativity for the Christmas Artwork Contest. Courtesy photo

“I love art,” Les said, noting that she’s been drawing since she was about four years old.

“Drawing is my favorite hobby and subject in school because it warms me up for bigger challenges in art,” she said, noting that she has made many pictures of the Holy Family using paint, crayons, pencils and even pastels. She noted that the star is in the sky rising in many different colors “to show the special moment when Jesus was born.”

“The honor goes also to our art teachers from various schools who were instrumental in shaping the minds and hearts of our student-winners,” he said, adding that it’s his hope that students who participated in the program “not only learn from the significance of Christmas as the turning point in our human history,” but also that the experience fosters support of the mission entrusted to us by Jesus Christ – to spread the Good News of love and peace.

“To talk about missions is to talk about the love of Christ,” Father Alindogan said. “Jesus Christ was and is the first missionary in the history of our existence. He was sent by his father on a mission. I hope that through Catholic education and religious education programs, our students will continually and constantly instill that spirit.”

Daniella Les