Here are the news stories I wrote for The Monitor, the newspaper of the Diocese of Trenton, in 2018.
Just as Jesus had retreated to the mountain to spend 40 days in prayer and fasting, the Lenten season is a time for all the faithful to follow his example by spending time preparing for what is regarded as the holiest time in the liturgical year – the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus....
God never tires of showing mercy, more than 600 men were reminded at the 21st annual Catholic Men for Jesus Christ Conference held Feb. 24 in St. Gregory the Great Church, Hamilton Square....
In his continuing effort to strengthen marriages, Father Jim Grogan, pastor of Nativity Parish, Fair Haven, has introduced a “Year of Marriage” for the 2018 liturgical year that is being celebrated with events that embrace the fullness of God in marriage.
“We are looking to transform our parish to be a place where the celebration of marriage as a Sacrament is something that excites families – long before anyone is actually getting a ring, and long after you have said ‘I do!’” he explained.
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Joey Hagan is no stranger to service, which is why when temperatures across the state plummeted to dangerous levels earlier this month, the Red Bank Catholic High School graduate’s first thought was to help others.
“My parents have raised me to keep those less fortunate in mind and to give back when I can; it just feels like the right thing to do,” he said.
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Honoring the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child, young people took center stage during parish observances of the Feast of the Epiphany Jan. 7.
“We are very blessed here,” Deacon Luis Ramos said as children prepared to receive gifts from three young parishioners dressed as the Magi after Mass in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. “People are very good to our parishioners.”
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Kerry Bates supports life from conception to natural death wherever she can.
A student in Red Bank Catholic High School, Bates recently represented her generation’s dedication to the pro-life cause through the creation of lapel pins using a winning logo design she created for the Diocese of Trenton’s 2015 Loving Life Logo contest....