News - January 2018 RSS Feed

When ground was broken for Pope John XXIII Middle School in the summer of 2016, it began an exciting new venture in Catholic School education in the Paterson Diocese. A part of the Catholic Academy of Sussex County, the two-story middle school opened its doors last March to students in grades 5, 6 and 7. Now as Catholic Schools Week begins on Sunday, the 18-month-old school will celebrate this weeklong celebration in its new building.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Rose of Lima Church in East Hanover Jan. 20 where he celebrated the 5:30 p.m. vigil Mass for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The Paterson Federation Knights of Columbus honored Bishop Serratelli at its annual Bishop’s Night held Jan. 19 at Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish in Little Falls. The event was hosted by Our Lady of the Highway Council 3835. Knights of Columbus Councils from around the Paterson Diocese and various assemblies attended the event.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Agnes Parish in Paterson Jan. 21 where he celebrated the 11:30 a.m. Mass for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Bishop’s visit also came on the feast day of the parish’s patron, St. Agnes, who is also the patron saint of girls. Girls at the Mass were encouraged to receive a special blessing of St. Agnes.

As Catholics well know, our lives as Christians are filled with our great joy in our salvation in the Risen Christ but are not immune to our great doubts, sufferings and trials as believers. So this Lent, Bishop Serratelli invites the faithful to become more strengthened in their own spiritual journeys by walking with the people who spent Jesus’ last hours with him on earth, as found in his new book, “From the Cross to the Empty Tomb.”

Above their heads, Pat Hardy, 15, and his brother, Mike, 17, of St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Stirling, hoisted up placards that display the same powerful declaration — “Pro-Life @ Every Stage of Life.” These two teens were joined by hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic pro-life people from around the U.S., who on Jan. 19 descended on the nation’s capital for the 45th annual March for Life.

As Catholic Schools Week begins Sunday in the Paterson Diocese and around the nation, it’s an opportunity to reflect on the excellent education our schools offer to students. Our Catholic schools have succeeded where others are failing because they produce students with a solid moral and spiritual foundation based on our Catholic faith and Christian values.

On Jan. 14, Bishop Serratelli spoke to an enthusiastic group of Confirmation candidates from parishes throughout the Diocese during a retreat at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard in Madison. The Bishop answered many of the teen-agers’ questions about life and faith and served as main celebrant and homilist of a Mass that concluded the retreat.

Bishop Serratelli was the main celebrant and homilist for the annual Mass with the Young Adult Ministry of St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard in Madison on Jan. 14 for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time in the chapel of the center.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Vincent Martyr Church in Madison where he was the principal celebrant of the 9 a.m. Mass for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time on Jan. 14.

A fire broke out in the early morning hours of Jan. 11 above a ceiling in one of the classroom hallways at St. Philip the Apostle Preparatory School in Clifton necessitating the closing of the school building for the foreseeable future for remediation and repairs. The school’s faculty has collaborated with the Diocesan Schools Office staff to develop a technological education plan for home use by students until they can return to classes.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Holy Family Church in Florham Park Jan. 13 where he celebrated the 5:30 p.m. vigil Mass for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

With the recent freezing temperatures covering the entire East Coast, many news outlets reported on the homeless or those living in poverty without working heat in their apartments. That points to the sad reality in the United States that some 46 million people live in poverty. Of that number 15 million are children, according to the U.S. Census Bureau report on Income and Poverty in the United States.

Marie Tracey of St. Virgil Parish in Morris Plains has dropped plenty of hints — some more subtle than others. While on vacation with her family, she placed a book, “Why We’re Catholic: Our Reasons for Faith, Hope and Love” by Trent Horn, on a coffee table for her grown son, Scott, to pick up and maybe read. In more direct approaches, Tracey has asked Scott, who no longer identifies himself as a Catholic, to attend Mass with her when she visits him and emails him probing questions about faith and life, such as “What do you believe?”

“3,000 die.” Seeing a headline like that glaring back at us would certainly grab our attention. Many of us would assume that such a great loss of human life was caused by a natural disaster, like an earthquake, or in some war-torn third world nation where a demented dictator’s lust for power and total disregard for the life of his fellow countrymen caused such a slaughter of innocent blood.

Last fall, several hurricanes, one after another in a short span, created destruction to several of the Caribbean islands, which were once considered idyllic and some of the most beautiful places in the world. Gone was paradise as these islands looked more like war zones. Father Thomas Rainforth, a retired priest of the Paterson Diocese, traveled there during Christmas to deliver toys to children in St. Thomas and St. John, both U.S. Virgin Islands.

Parishioners of Our Lady of Pompeii in Paterson welcomed Bishop Serratelli, who came there to celebrate the vigil Mass for the Feast of the Holy Family on Dec. 30.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Good Shepherd Church in Andover and celebrated the vigil Mass for the Feast of the Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day, on Jan. 6.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Joseph Parish in Paterson Dec. 31 where he celebrated the vigil Mass on New Year’s Eve, which marked the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Concelebrant of the Mass was Father Janusz Rzadca, pastor of St. Joseph Parish.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Vincent DePaul Church in Stirling and celebrated Mass to mark the Feast of the Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day.