Three Catholic women of different walks of life promise to inspire and affirm the faith and lives of women from the Diocese, as featured speakers of the 2018 Women’s Conference on Saturday, April 28, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard in Madison.

 In communion with Pope Francis, Bishop Serratelli invites the faithful of the Diocese to join with the universal Church around the world in observing “24 Hours for the Lord” — a way to encounter God and his mercy this Lent through Reconciliation and Eucharistic Adoration. Six parishes in the Diocese will host observances of “24 Hours for the Lord” this weekend on Friday, March 9 and Satur­day, March 10.

Spring break. Those two words often bring dread to parents of the college students who will be heading south. Within the next few days, warm spots like Florida will be inundated with thousands of college kids looking to have a good time with not a care in the world.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of the Valley (OLV) Parish in Wayne where he served as the main celebrant and homilist of the 5 p.m. vigil Mass on Feb. 24 for the Second Sunday of Lent.

It all started with a $1 cookbook. More than 100,000 cannoli later, the Rosary Society at Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish here is once again continuing its 46-year-old tradition of the St. Joseph’s Table. It will be held this year on the weekend of March 17-18. Each cannoli will cost $3 and many other sweets and baked goods will also be sold. All proceeds will benefit the parish.

Throughout the Diocese, almost 525 women religious live and serve the faithful sharing their lives, prayers and ministry with the people of God. The presence of these women expresses the reality of a lifelong commitment to the Gospel and the Church’s mission of evangelization. During the week of March 8 to 14, religious sisters across the country will be celebrating in observance of National Catholic Sisters Week, which was created to honor women religious.

Christ the King Parish in New Vernon welcomed Bishop Serratelli, who served as main celebrant and homilist of the 11 a.m. Mass in the church for the Second Sunday of Lent on Feb. 25. Concelebrants of the Mass were: Father Brian Sullivan, pastor; Father Artur Zaba, parochial vicar; and Father Kevin Corcoran, diocesan vice chancellor and the Bishop’s priest-secretary.

The life, ministry and death of Blessed Oscar Romeo of El Salvador — who was gunned down with a single bullet to the heart on March 24, 1980 while celebrating Mass — imitated the Eucharistic sacrifice of Christ in the liturgy that he was presiding over. The late Archbishop of San Salvador poured out his life for God’s people, especially as the champion of the poor in his native Central American country — to the point of allowing himself to be offered up as a martyr. So declared Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Vincent Martyr Parish in Madison, who led the Stations of the Cross based on the teachings of Pope Francis on Feb. 23 in the church, followed by a reflection on Blessed Romero.

Too numb to grieve yet, Raimundo Rivera could not cry. Instead, the high school student stayed focused on a grim task at hand — helping to lower bodies of seven members of his family into a mass grave. Shortly before, rebel extremists gunned down his family, including his mother and father, at their home in northern El Salvador on March 26, 1981. They were victims of the Central American nation’s long and bloody civil war raging at that time.

With the U.S. Supreme Court declining the Trump Administration’s appeal that sought to end the DACA program and the U.S. Senate’s failure to pass a bipartisan bill that would offer protections for immigrants, the clock is still ticking to find a solution for DACA recipients so that they have a pathway for citizenship.

No buzzers. No lightening rounds. No need to “phone a friend” — and no prizes behind Door No. 3. Friends of Father Jhon Madrid on Facebook only need to read his daily posts on the social-networking website to play his quiz game, “Today’s Question.” He tests his audience’s knowledge of all things Catholic — from the saints and Church history to Scripture and the Sacraments.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Ss. Cyril and Methodius Parish in Clifton on Feb. 17 where he served as main celebrant and homilist of the Vigil Mass for the First Sunday in Lent. It also marked the Feast of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order.

Bishop Serratelli celebrated Mass in the chapel of St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Paterson on Ash Wednesday morning Feb. 14. He distributed ashes to staff members of St. Joseph’s.

Bishop Serratelli helped lead 42 Catholics of the Diocese and beyond, including 20 priests and a deacon, on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in Israel — often called the “Fifth Gospel” — Jan. 23 to 30. For eight days, they toured sites important to the history of ancient Israel in the Old Testament, such as the Western Wall and a recently discovered synagogue at Magdala, and of Jesus’ ministry in the New Testament, such as the Sea of Galilee, the Temple Mount and the Upper Room.

The community of St. Ann Parish in Parsippany welcomed Bishop Serratelli on Sunday, Feb. 18, as he served as main celebrant and homilist of the 10:30 a.m. Mass for the First Sunday of Lent. Concelebrating the Mass was Father David Pickens, St. Ann’s pastor.

Texting in church is never a good idea. But on Easter, it will be a great tool for parishes to use to reach out to the many Catholics filling the pews to overflowing for Mass that day. And parishes using Flocknote will be able to reach out to those in the pews so that they can stay connected with the parish going forward after Easter and throughout the year.

This Lent, some Catholics in the Diocese have decided to go beyond the tradition of “giving up” something — a bad habit or favorite activity or snack, such as chocolate. These local faithful have been participating Best Lent Ever: an online program by Dynamic Catholic that promises them a sweeter experience of preparing for Easter by helping to deepen their spirituality and to encourage them to become the best person — and Christian — possible. At least three parishes in the Diocese have been promoting Best Lent Ever, which bears the provocative tagline “Don’t Give Up Chocolate for Lent.”

The Diocese of Paterson welcomed 119 catechumens in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson where Bishop Serratelli formerly selected — or elected — them Feb. 18. The Rite of Election formally sets the catechumen on the path toward full Sacramental unity with the Church. These catechumens are now known as the elect.

As Lent began on Ash Wednesday, so did Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) Rice Bowl, the agency’s flagship Lenten program now in its fifth decade — giving Catholics throughout the country an opportunity to help people in need around the world.

Bishop Serratelli celebrated Mass for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Feb. 11 on the campus of William Paterson University (WPU) in the Jesus Christ Prince of Peace Chapel in Haledon.