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As state-mandated COVID-19 restrictions are being eased, Masses at parishes across the Diocese are coming fully back to life. Many of the traditional rituals of Mass are returning, such as choirs and congregations singing hymns, which had been prohibited earlier, and shaking hands at the Sign of Peace, which was replaced with a socially distant wave of the hand, Father Jared Brogan, director of the diocesan Office of Worship, said.

Nearly 80 alumni and staff of the former St. John Cathedral High School in Paterson came together for a memorial Mass to honor and remember deceased alumni on Oct. 3 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, the Mother Church of the Diocese, in Paterson.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined with the Peruvian community from across the Diocese at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson to celebrate the feast of Señor de los Milagros (Lord of Miracles) Oct. 10.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney delivered the invocation for a “Coast to Coast” Rosary Rally for Our Nation held on the afternoon of Oct. 10. The event included his leading an outdoor rosary procession that started at the hall of the Knights of Columbus Bishop Navagh Council 5943 in Pequannock and concluded with Adoration of the Blessed Sacra­ment and rosary in Holy Spirit Church in Pequannock. The N.J. Area Order of Malta sponsored the event.

Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Sparta hosted this month’s prayer meeting for the youth of the Diocese with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney on Friday, Oct. 8. The theme of the event was “Holiness.” The event included Mass, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and witness talks by young people, Hannah Peterson and Quinn Muli.

Carmelite Sister Ishah Ahot of Jesus made her final profession of vows at the Monastery of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel in Morristown Oct. 7 before Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney. Family, friends, and the faithful attended the profession.

The Gospels often record Jesus referring to God as “Abba” — in much the way that a child would refer with love to his or her own father back then — in his teachings. That was unusual for that time, when Jews often referred to God as the Father of the nation of Israel as a whole, not as an individual. No doubt, Jesus learned about God’s love for us in a personal way in part through the love that St. Joseph, his earthly foster father, had shown him growing up, Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli told faithful on Sept. 29 at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Sparta.

Ten men in formation in the permanent diaconate program of the Diocese of Paterson took the next formal step in their journey to ordination as deacons as they were instituted as readers/lectors in St. Peter the Apostle Church in Parsippany by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney on Oct. 4.

With so many ministries supported by the Diocesan Ministries Appeal (DMA), Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and the diocesan Development Office invite all of the faithful to watch a series of video modules with a new one premiering each week to get a firsthand look of the work of the DMA.

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, which concludes Oct. 15, the Diocese of Paterson has recognized the rich culture, tradition, and influence that Hispanic Americans have had in the Catholic Church, especially in the Diocese of Paterson, as their numbers continue to grow.

Nicholas MacDonald, 6, listened with rapt attention, as his mother, Theresa, read a story on a placard in front of them more thrilling than any tale of fantasy or suspense: one about a miracle that involved the Eucharist. On Sunday, they walked around the gym of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (OLMC) School in Boonton, reading many of the 76 placards set up to tell about Eucharistic miracles around the world — from it turning to actual flesh and blood to being thrown into a fire and coming out unscathed.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated Mass in St. Michael the Archangel Church in Paterson on Oct. 3 to mark the feast day of the parish’s patron, which is marked on Sept. 29. St. Michael is known as the guardian of the Catholic Church and he is com­mon­ly associated with being the patron of police officers and those in the military.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney made a pastoral visit to Assumption Parish in Morristown where he celebrated the vigil Mass marking the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Oct. 2.

Today, Oct. 7, marks the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and each year, the Church dedicates the month of October to the Most Holy Rosary. To mark this special month, throughout the Diocese rosary events will be held, many with the intention to pray for the current state of the country.

St. Therese School in Succasunna welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who visited the school and celebrated Mass for the community Oct. 1 to mark the feast day of the parish and school’s patron, St. Therese of Lisieux.

When Father English Food Pantry in Paterson first opened decades ago, it served 70 people per month. In the mid 2000s, it served more than 2,000 people a month. Today, the food pantry serves more than 20,000 people a month. A consistent narrative for many who seek food from the Father English Center, an agency of Catholic Charities, is of the working poor. After working low wage jobs and paying for rent and utilities, many individuals and families have no money left for food. With the COVID-19 pandemic, more people than ever needed assistance. At the peak, around Christmas of 2020 nearly 27,000 people were being helped.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney recognized the past six recipients of the diocesan Advocati Christi Award, which honored them for their commitment to the legal profession and their Catholic faith, during the sixth annual Red Mass on Oct. 3 in the auditorium of St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison. The Bishop thanked the past awardees, all lawyers, for demonstrating “integrity, professionalism, and collegiality” in the field of the law as people of faith.

Father David Monteleone was installed as pastor of St. Philip the Apostle Church in Clifton by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney on Sept. 26 at Mass marking the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Filipinos from around the Diocese honored two martyr saints from their homeland in the Philippines — St. Lorenzo Ruiz and St. Pedro Calungsod — at the annual diocesan celebration of the Filipino Martyr Mass. The Mass was held at the Cathe­­dral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson on Sept. 25 with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney as the main celebrant and priests from around the Diocese, many who came from the Philippines, concelebrating the Mass. The Diocesan Commission for Catholic Filipino Ministries (DCCFM) coordinated the annual Mass.

Just in time as ministries in local parishes continue to reopen after a year and a half in the COVID-19 lockdown, the diocesan Office of Worship will present “Winding through Worship,” a series of five workshops on various topics related to worship and liturgy. The workshops are scheduled on Tuesdays, from Oct. 5 to Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization in Madison.