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Abortion is big business to N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy (D). He is not content with our home state already being the largest provider of abortions in Ameri­ca. He wants even more of them performed here because he sees abortion as providing an economic boon to the state. Being the No. 1 salesman for the culture of death in New Jersey, Murphy used his zealous pro-abortion message as a reason why businesses should relocate to New Jersey.

On Saturday, Aug. 13, Bishop Kevin Sweeney made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Fatima Parish in the Highland Lakes section of Vernon where he celebrated Mass to mark the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917. The parish’s Rosary Society coordinated the event. Father Julio Barrios, pastor, concelebrated the Mass and Deacons Jerzy Chciuk and Bill Aquino assisted at the Mass.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated a Mass for the Feast of the Assumption on Aug. 13, two days early, in St. Michael Church in Netcong. At the end of Mass the Bishop blessed a statue of Our Lady of the Assumption which led a procession through the streets of Netcong — part of St. Michael’s celebration of Feast of the Assumption, which is observed on Aug. 15.

The Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of North Haledon, also known at the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco, received the perpetual vows of three religious sisters, during a Mass on Aug. 5 at St. Anthony Church in Hawthorne, presided at by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney. The Salesian Sisters are: Sister April Cabaccang, Sister Katie Flanagan, and Sister April Hoffman.

A helmet and vest can save a life, and Father Oleksii Holchuk is grateful for his community’s ongoing support that makes saving Ukrainian lives possible. Father Holchuk emigrated from his home country to the United States six years ago. Once he arrived, he began to serve at Ukrainian Orthodox Holy Ascension Cathedral here. The parish, he said, has collected donations to send overseas for years, but not in as significant a way as they do today.

Pat Convey of Our Lady of the Lake (OLL) Parish in Sparta puts the finishing touches on cooking one of her signature dishes, shrimp scampi, for her and her husband. This particular evening, she makes and packages up two extra helpings for dinner later — not for members of her large family but for the two priests, who serve the Sussex County parish.

The words from the 12th chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews, which we heard at Mass on this past Sunday, lead me to reflect again on the gift of the “communion of the saints.” That beautiful phrase and image, “… Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses …” invites us to recall that from the very beginning of the church there has been an awareness that Christians are assisted in their earthly pilgrimage by those who have “gone before us in faith”. Christians have always believed that the saints are with us, to encourage and inspire us as we “run the race.”

Ben Weiss, 16, of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Flanders witnessed something while volunteering at the Mount Olive Food Pantry last week that touched his heart. A young boy, who was helping pick out food with his family, got so excited the pantry had his favorite cereal, that he hugged the box.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined newly ordained diocesan priests, seminarians, and young men, who are discerning their vocation, on Aug. 5 for a Mass and barbecue, sponsored by the diocesan Vocations Office and held at St. Lawrence the Martyr Church in Chester. The event included evening prayer and Mass, a barbecue cooked and served by members of the Paterson Federation of the Knights of Columbus, and a game of soccer. At the Mass, the Bishop preached about his devotion to St. John Vianney, whose feast day the Church celebrated the day before.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney made a pastoral visit to the Shrine of St. Joseph in Stirling on Aug. 7 to celebrate the 11:45 a.m. Mass in Spanish in its main chapel. St. Joseph Shrine is one of the many mission sites of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, also known as the Trinitarians — a Catholic order of priests and brothers, established by Father Thomas Judge.

Priests and brothers of the Society of Divine Voca­tions have been introducing the growing faith community at the Sanctuary of Mary, Our Lady of the Holy Spirit here to the spirituality of St. Justin M. Russolillo since the order reopened the sanctuary in 2019. St. Justin, founder of the order, also known as the Vocationists, said that everyone is called to be a saint.

Priests and brothers of the Society of Divine Voca­tions have been introducing the growing faith community at the Sanctuary of Mary, Our Lady of the Holy Spirit in Branchville, to the spirituality of St. Justin M. Russolillo since the order reopened the sanctuary in 2019. St. Justin, founder of the order, also known as the Vocationists, said that everyone is called to be a saint.

As a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, you will not hear many words of praise from me for the University of Michigan, our longtime archrival on the football field. However, news reports out of Michi­gan in the past few weeks have led me to stand up and applaud the actions of the university’s medical school and its head football coach for having the courage of their convictions.

“I say, ‘Father Justin,’ because that is what I always called him. He was my ‘Father Justin’ when I lived with him and got to know him. And now he is St. Justin.”
The above is not a direct quote, but those are the words I recall hearing on this past Tuesday, Aug. 2 at the (newly named) Sanctuary of Mary, Our Lady of the Holy Spirit and Shrine of St. Justin, when Father Louis Caputo recalled having known St. Justin Russolillo. St. Justin is the founder of the Society of Divine Vocations, commonly known as the Vocationists. He can be called a “new saint” because he was canonized less than three months ago by Pope Francis at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on May 15. There were nine other “new saints” canonized on that day.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney commemorated a century of faith of St. Joseph Parish in Lincoln Park — a “small parish with a big heart” — during a noon Mass on July 31 in the church. In recent years, the evangelizing spirit of this parish has grown — from welcoming different ethnic groups to expanding its spiritual devotions and social-justice outreaches to enable the faithful to minister in different and creative ways.

In the coming days, the U.S. Senate will take up a vote on the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act,” which would codify same-sex marriage into federal law. On the surface, the name of the bill (H.R. 8404), which has already been passed in the U.S. House of Representa­tives, seems innocuous enough, but it is far from that.

Most Catholics long for Jesus and care for the Church. This is the key message in a new report published by the Diocese of Paterson, said Father Paul Manning, the Vicar for Evangeli­zation for the diocese. “If there were unanimity expressed in our diocesan input for the Synod of Bishops 2023,” said Father Manning, “it was an expression of spiritual hunger and a desire for Jesus and a concern for the Church.”

Most of us either saw or heard at least some coverage of Pope Francis’ recent visit to Canada. Many also heard the media coverage of his press conference on the plane during his trip home from Canada, in which he discussed the question of his potential retirement, “I haven’t felt like thinking about that possibility (of his retiring). But maybe that doesn’t mean the day after tomorrow I will start thinking,” he added. He also spoke about discernment of God’s will: “discernment is key in a Jesuit’s vocation” and that means that “he must be open to whatever the Lord asks of him.”

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated a Mass in honor of St. Cesario, an Italian martyr, on July 23 in St. Michael Church marking the 120th anniversary of the annual Feast of St. Cesario celebrations. Father Michael Lee, pastor, concelebrated the Mass with the Bishop.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney recently appointed Jai Agnish as the new Director of Communications for the Diocese of Paterson. Agnish, an award-­winning multi-media journalist with broad experience across the communications and public relations field, also will serve as editor of The Beacon, the Diocese’s weekly newspaper.