Father Jhon Madrid, chaplain at DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, remained calm and confident while facing the anxiety of having to ace one of the most important tests of his life — the test for citizenship at the U.S. Citizenship and Im­migration Services office in Newark on Jan. 26.

So how did Bishop Sweeney become the eighth Bishop of Paterson? Last week, students and staff at Assumption School here got the story right from the Bishop — because of “the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis and the George Washington Bridge.” On Thursday–Friday, Feb. 4–5, Bishop Sweeney stopped at All Saints Academy in Parsippany and Assumption during Catholic Schools Week, celebrated nationally Jan. 31–Feb. 6, visiting each classroom.

Is sitting at table for a family meal together sadly becoming outdated in our society? It certainly seems so, as over the past three decades family time at the dinner table and family conversation, in general, has declined by more than 30 percent.

We hear these words in the Second Reading at Mass every year on Ash Wednesday. Along with the First Reading from Joel (2:12–18), Psalm 51, and Matthew’s Gospel (6:1–16, 16–18), each and every year as we enter the season of Lent, we hear the same readings. Do we hear the same message every year? That may depend on our individual circumstances and also on the homilist or preacher.

Last year on the Feast of the Annunciation, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) encouraged the faithful to join a nationwide effort to “walk in the shoes” of pregnant women and those mothers with small children. Walking with Moms in Need program, under the USCCB’s Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities Office, was created to assist young mothers in difficult circumstances.

Msgr. Mark Giordani, a retired priest of the Diocese, who was rector of St. John’s Cathedral for 31 years, a longtime chaplain of many law enforcement agencies, and a biker who founded the Christian Riders Motorcycle Club, died Jan. 30. He was 78. Msgr. Giordani, ordained a priest in 1969, faithfully served in priestly ministry for 51 years.

Bishop Kevin Sweeney installed Father Mateusz Jasniewicz as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Wayne during his pastoral visit Jan. 31 where he was the main celebrant of Mass marking the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Polish-born Father Jasniewicz was ordained to the priesthood on May 23, 2015.

Just in time for the universal Church’s celebration of the Year of St. Joseph, Bishop Emeritus Arthur Serratelli paints a rich and multifaceted portrait of St. Joseph, the quiet and often-enigmatic earthly father of Jesus, in “Scriptural Novena to St. Joseph,” his new book of prayers to him and Scriptural reflections.

They are the voices of the pro-life generation — youth and young adults — who are leading the human rights battle of their lifetime that life in the womb is sacred. For the past two decades, the numbers of high school and college students attending the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. shows this young generation will not be silent and will be a strong voice for the voiceless in the womb. At DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, students gathered for an outdoor afternoon rally Jan. 29, the same day as the national March for Life, which was held virtually for the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bishop Kevin Sweeney was the keynote speaker at the DePaul March for Life.

With hearts warmed by God’s love and compassion, about 400 people braved freezing cold and whipping winds on Jan. 29 to take to the streets near Our Lady Queen of Peace (OLQP) Parish in Branchville to proclaim the message ‘All human life is sacred,” during a local March for Life in Sussex County. Bishop Kevin Sweeney visited Our Lady Queen of Peace Church that morning to encourage the pro-life advocates, who came from far and wide, during a Mass held before the March.

Not to be confused with a moment created by Hallmark to sell more cards was the announcement by Pope Francis Sunday of the establishment of a day to honor grandparents and the elderly to take place each year in July. World Day for the Grandparents and the Elderly will be celebrated annually on the fourth Sunday of July, most fittingly, close to the feast of the grandparents of Jesus, Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“Instituted by St. Pope John Paul II in 1997, World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life is celebrated in conjunction with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas Day, which commemorates through the blessing and lighting of candles that Christ is the light of the world. So too, those in consecrated life are called to reflect the light of Jesus Christ to all peoples.”