News - January 2017 RSS Feed

A quick glance at St. Patrick School in Chatham today — its rigorous academic courses, faith-filled religious practices, engaging extracurricular activities and numerous accolades — points to many successes in preparing its students for the challenges of the 21st century. But it also harkens back to many of the significant touchstones in the school’s 145-year history, which it celebrates this year.

First-graders at St. Mary’s Prep here dunk a quarter in a bucket of water that sinks to the bottom and follow it by dropping in several pennies, one at a time, in attempts to cover up the 25-cent piece. Students were asked to consider not any scientific principle of motion or the monetary value of the coins, but something that the eye cannot see: the Catholic value of honesty that the experiment was imparting.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Consolation Parish (OLC) in Wayne Jan. 21 where he celebrated the 5 p.m. vigil Mass for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

As the Diocese continues its mission to evangelize, technology is providing new ways of spreading the Gospel message. And the new evangelization is embracing technology in all its forms. There are a growing number of parishes in the Diocese that have embraced the technology for evangelization offered by FORMED, a web library with movies, audio, books and programs with leader guides and videos.

Bishop Serratelli was the main celebrant and homilist on Sunday, Jan. 22 during a Mass for the Young Adult Group of St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard in Madison. He reminded the young people that “to be disciples of Jesus means that we are connected other people.”

Across the nation, as people of goodwill prepare to head to Washington, D.C. tomorrow for the 44th annual March for Life to protect life in the womb, Catholics here in New Jersey are rallying support to protect the unborn by urging state lawmakers to pass the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (A3452/S2026).

"Catholic schools provide hugely consequential oases of impact and hope. Their value is — literally and figuratively — beyond measure.” Those words did not come from the Vatican or the National Catholic Educational Association. They came from the late Malcolm Forbes, one of America’s greatest entrepreneurs. Based on its source, it speaks volumes about a Catholic school education — a success story in which new chapters are being written every day.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne Jan. 15 where he celebrated the 10 a.m. Mass for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time begins on the day after the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and will continue through the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, which this year falls on March 1.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Ann Church in Parsippany Jan. 14 where he was the principal celebrant and homilist for the vigil Mass for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Young people, who are preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation and were taking part in the ALPHA retreat hosted that weekend at the parish, were present at Mass and brought the Offertory gifts to the Bishop.

Over roughly 18 months, St. Mary’s Parish in Pompton Lakes learned more about how not only to give young people of the millennial generation — from 18- to 34-years-old — a warmer welcome and develop ministries that meet their needs, but also how to integrate them more fully into the life of the parish.

Do you want to help build a better world for the poor — one founded on Catholic social teaching? Last week, members of the Young Adult Ministry of Our Lady of Consolation (OLC) Parish in Wayne learned several life-affirming ways to bring the Gospel to the least among us, including swinging a hammer to build a house for Habitat for Humanity. That suggestion felt familiar to some of the young people, including Amanda Sweetman.

When a group of parishioners at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Haskell prayed the rosary recently, they recited each of the 50 states in the United States of America. From Alabama to Wyoming, each rosary bead was a Hail Mary said for the state. Their intentions focused on praying for the United States as the country prepares for the inauguration of its newly-elected president, Donald Trump, who will be sworn in tomorrow, Jan. 20, as the nation’s 45th president.

In our endless news cycle of stories about hatred and vindictiveness, the life of Police Officer Steven McDonald stands out as a shining beacon, teaching us all how to forgive those who have trespassed against us.

The following is a list of parish groups with buses heading to Washington, D.C., for the 43nd annual March for Life Jan. 27. Some parishes will be combining together on buses. Mass and prayer services will be offered at some departure points. Please call location for complete information, which includes cost and departure times.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin was installed as archbishop of the Newark Archdiocese on Jan. 6 — the first ever cardinal for New Jersey — in the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart here, during a joyful Mass attended by faithful from the Garden State and beyond, including Bishop Serratelli and others from the Paterson Diocese.

If there’s anything the Jubilee Year of Mercy made Catholics worldwide realize, it is that God’s love and mercy is unconditional and always there for anyone who wants to receive it. In November, Pope Francis reiterated this message especially to those women and men affected by an abortion allowing priests to absolve the sin of abortion in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

January is Poverty Awareness Month, a month long initiative to bring forth the ongoing issue facing more than 43 million people living in poverty in the United States. Poverty affects people of all races, backgrounds and ages. In the state of New Jersey almost one million people live in poverty.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Christ the King Parish here where he celebrated Mass for the Feast of the Epiphany, also known as Three Kings’ Day Jan. 8.

If you made a New Year’s resolution for 2017 to make a difference in the pro-life cause, one way to do that is through our prayers and sacrifices. As the infamous anniversary of the Roe vs Wade decision, which legalized abortion in our nation in 1973, takes place on Jan. 22, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is asking all Catholics to take part in its “9 Days for Life,” a period of prayer and action for life Jan. 21-29.

Bishop Serratelli, along with several diocesan priests, gathered with diocesan seminarians Dec. 19 at Holy Family Parish in Florham Park for Evening Prayer followed by the annual Christmas dinner for diocesan seminarians.