Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney made a pastoral visit to Sacred Heart Parish in Clifton where he was the principal celebrant of Mass for the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity on May 30.

As the Universal Church arrives at the “halfway” mark in this special year designated to St. Joseph, the Diocese of Paterson will celebrate the second half of the Year of St. Joseph with a diocesan-wide pilgrimage. This special pilgrimage will kick off on June 6, the Feast of Corpus Christi, and it will end on Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. With the Apostolic Letter Patris Corde (With a Father’s Heart), Pope Francis proclaimed a Year of St. Joseph, which began on the Feast of the Im­mac­ulate Conception on Dec. 8, 2020.

With great joy, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney ordained two men, Francis Hamilton Balfour Lennie IV and Joseph Anthony Aguila Mactal, as “priests of Jesus Christ” in the Diocese, on May 29 in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson during a Mass of the Rite of Ordination, steeped in the traditions of the early Church.

As we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, I would recommend spending some time in prayer with “John 6” (the 6th Chapter of the Gospel of John), which contains Jesus’ great “Bread of Life Discourse.” In verse 60, we hear, “Then many of his disciples who were listening said, ‘This saying is hard; who can accept it?’ ”

A strong rebuke at the state level to the deeply unpopular abortion agenda actively being pursued by President Biden is rippling across the nation this year. SinceJanuary, 536 pro-life bills have been introduced with more than 60 signed into law to date. Last week in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed legislation protecting unborn children as soon as a heartbeat is detected. The law sets the cutoff for legal abortions at about six weeks after conception.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney will be the principal celebrant of the annual Priests Jubilee Mass to honor diocesan and religious order priests who are celebrating milestone ordination anniversaries in 2021. The Mass will be held in Corpus Christi Church in Chatham Township at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 1. The priest jubilee Mass was postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic, so this year’s Mass will honor jubilarians from both 2020 and 2021.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney was main celebrant of the vigil Mass to mark the Feast of Pentecost with the Neocate­chumenal Way community at St. Michael Church in Paterson May 22.

Suddenly, seemingly from out of nowhere, thousands of red rose petals rained down on a group of young worshippers on Pentecost Sunday in Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Church in Cedar Knolls. They were caught by surprise while leading the recessional down the main aisle at the end of the Family Mass on May 23.

As the Church worldwide celebrates the Blessed Mother throughout the month of May, the latest youth gathering with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney was focused on Jesus’ mother, Mary. Appropriately held in Immacu­late Heart of Mary (IHM) Church in Wayne, high school and college-aged students came to meet with the Bishop for the diocese’s monthly youth Mass and Holy Hour in the evening on May 21.

Memorial Day, our nation’s most solemn holiday, will be marked next Monday, May 31. On that day, to honor all those men and women who, in service to our nation, have made the ultimate sacrifice, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney will celebrate the annual diocesan Memorial Day Mass in Calvary Cemetery, Paterson, at 10:30 a.m.

As I thought about writing a column for the weekend on which we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity, I asked a priest for some thoughts or suggestions. Here is his reply: I always think of the Holy Trinity as the feast of community. God teaches us how to love and live in relationships of marriage, family, community, and friendship, through complete self-giving. Signs of the Trinity are all around us. We see so many who are drawn into the life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — which is love — through their complete selfless giving.

The Catholic Bishops of New Jersey, are lifting the dispensation of the Sunday and Holy Days Mass obligation beginning on Saturday, June 5, 2021, and Sunday, June 6, 2021, Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney made a pastoral visit to St. Patrick Parish in Chatham May 16, marking the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. During the Mass, he administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to young people of the parish.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of the Mountain Parish in Long Valley where he celebrated the vigil Mass marking the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord on May 15. During the Mass, young people of the parish received the Sacrament of Confirmation administered by the Bishop.

Bishop Kevin J.Sweeney will be principal celebrant of the annual Priests Jubilee Mass to honor diocesan and religious order priests who celebrated milestone ordination anniversaries in 2020 and 2021. The Mass will be held in Corpus Christi Church in Chatham Township at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 1. The priest jubilee Mass was postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic, so this year’s Mass will honor jubilarians from 2020 and 2021.

There is no greater cause than giving back to those who have served in the military to defend the United States of America. To support the current needs of those brave men and women, the 11th annual Army Tank Pull Challenge will be held at 1100 Clifton Avenue in Clifton from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, June 13. For the past decade, this family-friendly event has raised $1.5 million to support combat-wounded warriors. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was cancelled in 2020. The Knights of Columbus, diocesan Catholic Charities, and the N.J. SOS Stakeholders Group are collaborating to bring back the Tank Pull challenge. In the past, the event presented a unique and fun experience while helping those who have made sacrifices while serving in the U.S. military.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney will ordain two men as priests of the Diocese on Saturday, May 29 at 10:30 a.m. in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson during the Mass of the Rite of Ordination. Taking the final step to the priesthood that day will be two transitional deacons: Rev. Mr. Francis Hamilton Balfour Lennie IV of St. Pius X Parish in Montville and Rev. Mr. Joseph Anthony Mactal, originally of the Philippines and now a parishioner of St. Thomas the Apostle in Oak Ridge/St. John Vianney in Stockholm.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney congratulated 127 religious sisters and priests marking milestone anniversaries in consecrated life — as if they were a new Hall of Fame class — thanking them for their service to the Diocese and Church at the annual diocesan Jubilee Mass for Religious and for World Day for Consecrated Life on May 15 in St. Ann Church in Parsippany.

When a nun, who is not only a skilled surgeon but also a retired U.S. Army colonel, tells Catholics they must be “battle ready” to defend the family and their faith in this age of growing secularism, we had better listen. Sister Deirdre Byrne, a member of the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, used those words in her recent address at the 50th annual conference of the pro-life group, Heartbeat International, an association of pro-life pregnancy resource centers, medical clinics, maternity homes, and nonprofit adoption agencies.

I think that as long as I live, I will remember the Feast of Pentecost in the Year 2020. I don’t particularly remember Mass that day — it was another “livestreamed” Mass, celebrated in front of an iPhone in an empty Church. I believe it was the beginning of the 11th week of the lockdown and the 70th consecutive day of livestreamed Masses. What I do remember so vividly is that afternoon, sitting outside on the porch of the rectory of St. Michael Parish in Brooklyn with the two other priests I lived with (one retired, one recently arrived from the Dominican Republic), there was an iPad on the table and we were having our first ever Zoom parish council meeting.