News - April 2016 RSS Feed

Bishop Serratelli ordained Arokiaraj Varnabas, and Dieudonne Nsom Kindong to the priesthood April 16 within the order of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity. The ordination was held in St. Vincent dePaul Church in Stirling — the first time the parish had hosted an ordination.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Jude Church in Hopatcong April 23 where he celebrated the vigil Mass for the Fifth Sunday of Easter. During the Mass, young people of St. Jude’s received the Sacrament of Confirmation, which was administered by the Bishop, assisted by Father Vidal Gonzalez, pastor.

After more than a century of service to troubled youth, Catholic Family and Community Services (CFCS) has announced that it will close Mount St. Joseph Children’s Center in Totowa at the end of the school year in June.

Parishioners of Our Lady of Mercy (OLM) here learned to prepare for the end of their lives spiritually, medically, practically and liturgically, so they and their loved ones can more fully experience peace from God and others and welcome from the Church, throughout the dying process — a critical message that was imparted during this Jubilee of Mercy.

When the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women in Passaic marked National Volunteer Week recently, it gave them the opportunity to thank the many people that give with their whole hearts through their time and talents.

After more than 50 years of providing a Catholic education to students in Long Hill Township, St. Vincent dePaul School in the Stirling section of the township, will close in June. In a letter to parishioners, parents and students posted April 21 on the parish’s website, Father A. Richard Carton, pastor, wrote: “This decision comes after much prayer and careful reflection. The low enrollment for next year would not create a strong educational environment and the financial strain would be too great for the parish to bear.”

St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown — home to a large community of active and faithful immigrants from Ecuador — invites all people of good will to join them in helping provide critical relief to their beleaguered South American homeland. Ecua­dor was hit April 16 by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake — the worst disaster it has faced in decades — that has killed more than 570 people and injured more 5,000 so far.

The mission of the Church is to evangelize and in today’s society, that means communicating with the faithful not just in the pews but also through their computers, tablets and mobile phones. Last June, the Diocese launched an initiative to have every parish in the Diocese develop a new website through eCatholic, a faith-based website and design company in College Station, Texas, that the Diocese used to launch its new diocesan website on Dec. 8, 2014.

As every Catholic should be aware by now, the Little Sisters of the Poor have fought all the way to the Supreme Court against the Obama administration’s mandate that requires most employers, including religious employers, to offer employee health insurance that covers contraceptives, sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs — even if the employer is morally opposed.

Bishop Serratelli rededicated St. Joseph’s Chapel at Mary Help of Christians Academy in North Haledon on April 17, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, also Good Shepherd Sunday. During the rededication, the Bishop consecrated the chapel’s new altar.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Thomas of Aquin Parish in Ogdensburg April 17 where he celebrated the noon Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. During his visit, the Bishop administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to young people of the parish.

Doctors handed the parents of Mary Oswald a gloomy prognosis about their child’s future after she was born as a congenital amputee with many significant physical challenges. Among other things, the physicians predicted that Oswald — who was born with short legs, one short arm and no hands — would not be able to sit up or walk and would not live beyond 30.

What St. Athanasius wrote in his treatise on the Incarnation in 4th century Greece still rings true today — many people reject Christianity and Christ as their Lord and Savior because they think that Christianity is impossible. Christian disciples need to address this misperception in modern times by first being converted to Christ in our hearts, so that we can answer God’s call to spread his Word that he is present and that is it possible to live holy, pure and chaste lives and live the teachings of the Church.

The message was clear, even in American Sign Language (ASL) that “God loves everyone, no matter what challenges they have in life.” More than 100 deaf persons were inspired by that message at the 2016 Catholic Deafest held at the St. Pope John Paul II Center in Clifton April 16.

Extensive renovations continue at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist — the Mother Church of the Diocese of Paterson that has remained integral to the spiritual life of the city since it opened in 1870 and the Diocese since it was formed in 1937. This Gothic Revival structure — which holds the seat of the diocesan bishop — also has the distinction of housing an active parish community, composed mostly of Hispanics.

A statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at 396 Straight Street in Paterson had been in need of repair for some time. The paint was peeling on the 62-year-old statue and it was looking more and more like a piece of urban decay prevalent in the city.

With the Spring sports schedule in full swing, SportsLeader (www.­sportsleader.org), a Catholic sports ministry, has as its goal to equip and inspire every diocese and every school to have a person who will help coaches integrate virtue, mentoring, ceremony and Catholic identity more intentionally into their team. And how can coaches go about that?

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Mary Church in Dover April 9 and celebrated the vigil Mass for the Third Sunday of Easter.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Pompeii Church in Paterson April 10 and celebrated Mass for the Third Sunday of Easter. During the visit, he administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to young people of the parish.

Perhaps most Catholics identify more with faults of the brothers in the Parable of the Prodigal Son — either the reckless younger brother, who squanders his part of his inheritance or the dutiful older brother, who condemns him and demands that their father reprimand him. Yet Jesus is really urging us to become like the father in his story — the person, who opens his heart fully to bestow mercy on other people, just as God the Father bestows His mercy on us.