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.

Plans to erect a small adoration chapel in honor of St. Padre Pio on a 40-acre wooded site in rural Michigan has gotten serious pushback from local residents and the town, sadly necessitating a lawsuit focusing on religious land use and religious liberty rights.