Bishop Serratelli celebrated the noon Mass and distributed ashes at St. Therese Church here on Ash Wednesday, March 1. Attending and taking part in the Mass were students from St. Therese School.

Bishop Serratelli celebrated Mass in the chapel of St. Joseph’s Medical Center here on Ash Wednesday morning March 1. He then distributed ashes and prayed and visited with patients. Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent.

A driving electronic beat pushes the strumming of mid-tempo acoustic guitars. Over top, Dan Ferrari, minister to young adults, ages 23-39 at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard here, sings with a powerful voice a song about the simple, everyday experiences that demonstrate God’s loving presence in our lives — even if we do not recognize it.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Pompeii Church here March 5 and celebrated Mass for the First Sunday of Lent. During the visit, he administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to the young people of the parish.

On the First Sunday of Lent in dioceses around the world, the annual Rite of Election took place. During the Rite of Election, catechumens moved a step closer to receiving Sacraments of Initiation — Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist — at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, April 15. The Rite of Election is led by a diocese’s bishop, who, in the presence of the community, declares the Church’s approval of the catechumens so they may receive the Sacraments of Initiation and be welcomed into full communion in the Roman Catholic Church.

Faith Rose of Sacred Heart Parish here enjoys holding court for several hours each weekday around her dining-room table — the center of her ad-hoc classroom where she teaches her children, Michael, 8, Jeremy, 6, and Caeli, 4, academic subjects, as well as about their Catholic faith. All the while, she tries to fill them with a sense of wonder about God and the goodness of his creation in the warmth, comfort and love of what St. John Paul II has called “the domestic Church.”

During his campaign, Donald Trump said he would make school choice a priority in his administration. So it was significant that when President Trump chose to make his first visit to a school as our nation’s leader, it was to a Catholic school — St. Andrew School in Florida. There March 3, he and Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education who is a proponent of school choice, visited classrooms, and meet with parents, teachers and administrators.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Church here Feb. 25 where he was the principal celebrant of the 5 p.m. vigil Mass for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The weekend Masses marked the end Ordinary Time as Lent began yesterday, March 1 on Ash Wednesday.

Bishop Serratelli was the main celebrant and homilist at the noon Mass Feb. 26 at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in the Hewitt section of West Milford. During the Mass, the Bishop blessed the new interior doors at the front of the church and a new saints’ chapel.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Bernard Church in Mount Hope where he celebrated the vigil Mass for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Feb. 18.

Evangelization takes on many forms — even a box of crayons can help spread the faith to children. In a new coloring book created by Francine Calabrese, many of the pages require the color brown because it is based on the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

It would be a while before the Paterson Diocesan Choir begins to sing for the 5 p.m. Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Soprano Lizette Urena spends time looking around and taking in the overwhelming majesty, spirituality and history of the Mother Church of the world’s Catholics — a powerful experience that gives her “goose bumps.”

Christopher Bell said he felt terrified when he opened the first location of Good Counsel Homes for homeless pregnant woman and single mothers with babies in a former convent in Hoboken in 1985. He jokes that, back then, a particular nightmare haunted him — “I would imagine having to change mountains of diapers — because at that time, I hadn’t changed many diapers.”

As Catholics begin the holy season of Lent, many reflect on how they can come closer to Jesus during this solemn time. Others reflect on finding their way back to the Church. Whether one is an active member of the Church or has been away from the Church and is seeking to return to it, the Paterson Diocese is welcoming all Catholics to experience God’s healing love through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

As Lent begins, so does Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) annual rice bowl initiative, whose theme this Lent is to promote a “culture of encounter.” Catholics who participate in it during Lent pray, fast, and give alms to CRS in solidarity with each other and with other needy families throughout the world.