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Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish here where he was the principal celebrant of Mass for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time on Aug. 27.

The 70-foot-high stone tower topped by a red roof in front of Villa Walsh Academy has long stood as a prominent and enduring landmark of the distinguished Catholic preparatory school for young women to passersby on Western Avenue in Morristown. Maybe the iconic structure, which predates the school, also symbolizes the prominence that its students take on in the classroom and around campus as well-rounded and confident young women, growing in faith, intellect and social skills, during their years of study.

True to his instincts as a longtime Pater­son firefighter, the late Kerry Rivera jumped in right away to answer the call on a autumn day four years ago at Our Lady of Consolation Parish (OLC) in Wayne. Thankfully, it was not a serious fire call, but instead the Lord’s urgent call for Rivera to become a religious education teacher for his daughter Eden’s fourth-grade class at the Passaic County parish.

The Holy Spirit was definitely at work on the campus of Morris Catholic High School and Assumption College for Sisters in Denville. There, two people from two different continents and very different backgrounds forged a friendship from a chance meeting at Mass that has led to helping orphans and the blind in Catholic schools in Uganda.

Teachers will be welcoming students back to class next week in schools around the Diocese, making this edition of The Beacon with its annual Back-to-School section, a good time to reflect on the dedication of these Catholic educators.

More than 3,600 miles separate the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey from Lima, Peru, but two religious sisters — Sister Jessica Wong of Hong Kong and Sister Ximena Perez of Ecuador — made the long journey from South America to speak to the faithful about their order’s mission. Members of the Servants of the Plan of God, the two sisters visited the Diocese earlier this month speaking at weekend Masses at St. James of the Marches Church in Totowa and Holy Spirit Church in Pequannock.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Michael the Archangel Church in Paterson Aug. 19 where he was the principal celebrant of the vigil Mass in Spanish for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

St. Mary Help of Christians Parish in Paterson welcomed Bishop Serratelli during his pastoral visit to the parish where he celebrated Mass in Spanish for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time on Aug. 20.

Home is where the heart is. So when the youth ministry of Annunciation Parish in Wayne was deciding where to serve for its summer mission with Catholic Heart Workcamp (CHWC) — the youth group decided to follow its heart and serve closer to home.

Decades ago, the Rosary Altar Society was a prominent group at every Catholic parish. They consisted of women parishioners would meet regularly to pray the rosary and take care of altar linens and other areas of the church building. They would prepare the church for the liturgical seasons and decorate for holy days. Members of the Rosary Altar Society were an active part of parish life.

With great haste, Katie Cannilla mobilizes a group of young children of Assumption Parish in Morristown to undertake an important, faith-filled mission in a darkened classroom in the parish center — inspiring them by uttering an unusual rallying cry: “Let’s destroy those false gods!”

As technology continues to advance at breakneck speed in the field of communications, how can the Church keep up with its flock and reach out to them? With more than 90 percent of New Jersey households owning a computer — desktop, laptop, tablet or smart phone — it seems only natural for the Diocese of Paterson to use technology to reach people in the pews and in their homes.

The release of the 2016 International Religious Freedom report last week confirmed the well-known fact among religious freedom advocates that the genocide of Christians by the Islamic State goes on unabated.

An enthusiastic group of concerned citizens at St. Vincent Martyr Parish in Madison on Aug. 6 were reminded to put a human face on the controversial issue of refugee migration around the world. They were told to look at it from three distinct perspectives: the challenges of caring for 65 million displaced people around the globe; the hopeful personal story of a family from war-torn Syria resettling in Morris County; and Catholic social teaching, which directs Christians to serve their most vulnerable brothers and sisters.

Sergio Burani of Assumption Parish in Morristown felt a tug on the back of his shirt while leaving Mass on his last morning in the Ngara District, a desperately poor region of northwest Tanzania. He turned around on the front steps of the church to see an elderly woman in traditional dress smile at him and say words in her native Swahili that warmed his heart: “Asante sana,” or “Thank you.”

Remember David Daleiden? Those of us who are pro-life certainly do. He is an undercover journalist and the project lead at the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), a citizen journalist group that has worked to document the role of Planned Parenthood, other abortion providers, and tissue procurement companies in the trade of body parts of aborted babies.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Christopher Church in Parsippany Aug. 6 where he celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Joseph Parish in Newton Aug. 5 where he celebrated the vigil Mass marking the Feast of the Transfiguration.

The bright notes of a trumpet ring out over the deep chords of an organ on “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,” before a male baritone voice intones the Christmas hymn’s signature verse, “Oh, come let us adore him.” The simple, yet elegant, performance lets the message of hope — and the artistry — of the song shine through its equally unadorned arrangement.

When Julissa Espinal was 23, she started on a journey to follow God’s plan for her life. She moved to Casa Guadalupe, the Diocese’s house of discernment for women, in 2012 and at the time, she told The Beacon that “Living here has allowed me to spend time in the quiet and pray about my life. Casa Guadalupe has also taught me about living in community life.”