2026 South Jersey Catholic Ministries Appeal

By supporting the 2026 South Jersey Catholic Ministries Appeal, you are supporting many programs and ministries of the Diocese of Camden and Saints Peter & Paul Parish. These ministries serve the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the hungry and challenged. When you support the South Jersey Catholic Ministries Appeal, you offer comfort to those in your parish, your community, and throughout the entire Diocese.

This year’s theme, “Missionaries of Mercy,” supports the social and spiritual needs of our 62 parishes and 29 schools, with social services, hospital chaplaincy, youth & teen campus ministries, Catholic education, pastoral care initiatives, vocations, and faith formation programs. 

Together we make a stronger community with faith, compassion, and mercy.

Quick, Easy and Secure Online Giving – Click on the link below to make a one-time gift or set up monthly installments, via credit, debit, or checking/savings transaction and to view video.

The Master Has Need of You

On Palm Sunday, a Gospel passage is read from the back of the Church before Mass begins. It’s  commonly referred to as the Gospel at the  Procession, and it commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In the Gospel, we hear that as Jesus prepares to ride into Jerusalem, He sends two disciples to fetch a donkey and a colt. He tells them to untie them and bring them to Him and if the owner says anything they are to say that “the master has need of them.”

That line is so simple yet is also very important. Why? Because philosophically speaking, the Master does not need anything. He is all powerful and He created everything. But maybe the  message is deeper. What if we’re really being told that the master has need of you. He created you so that you can participate in His work. You are baptized in Christ, and He has need of you to share in His mission of helping others to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with him forever in heaven.

Everything we have, has been given to us by Christ. The gifts and talents He gave us are for a purpose. Which leads us to two important questions. “What are the gifts and talents that Our Lord has given to me, and am I using them in the way the Lord needs them to be used?” Maybe you’ve been given a well-trained tongue, that ability to speak clearly so that you can use your words to lead others to him. Or maybe he has given you the ability to be a teacher, or maybe the ability to use your hands to build things, or maybe he has given you the ability to be a great cook, or baker, or mechanic, or business leader, or engineer, or staff leader, or a doctor, or nurse, and so on. We  often believe that our gifts and talents are solely for us to enjoy, but, in reality, we are given them so that we can serve the Lord. Our gifts can help build His kingdom because the Master has need of us.

This coming week, Holy Week, the holiest week of the year, is filled with opportunities to draw closer to Our Lord. This week, experience the freedom to become the person that He created you to be. Untie yourself from the worldly distractions that bind you and spend time in prayer. Ask our heavenly father to show you the way as you pray:

Jesus, I am thankful for the gifts and talents you have given to me.

Please show me the path You have laid out for me and give me the courage to follow it.

Use my talents for Your glory and teach me to serve others with Your love.

Amen

Wishing you a Happy Palm Sunday, and a Peace Filled Holy Week.

Deacon Anthony Cioe