Do you remember the name “Todd Beamer,” his phrase, “Let’s Roll” and the story of “Flight 93”? Have you heard the name “Welles Crowther” and the story of his “Red Bandana”? Maybe you have your own, more personal story that you remember and share? I remember FDNY Captain Timothy Stackpole. Do our children and young people know those names and stories? The three names I mention are three of the “Heroes of September 11th.” Each, like so many others on that day, put the words of Jesus into action and laid down their lives to save others.

Immediately, Collette O’Shaughnessy, a second-grader, recognized “Mrs. Scandariato” right through the silly costume that she wore in a video for the first day of virtual Vacation Bible School (VBS) at Resurrection Parish in Randolph. Wearing a light-blue wig and a white lab coat, Lorraine Scandariato, director of Children’s Ministry (K–5) at Resurrection, and two other VBS co-directors held up and showed the camera an example of Links of Love, a prayer chain that “campers” make out of loops of construction paper each summer for the program.

Gentle notes of a piano cascade like rain as Derek Nelson, music director of Sacred Heart Parish here, sings, giving voice to a question posed by Jesus, “Will you suffer with me as I suffer for you?” Nelson, along with his wife, Jennifer, who helped develop the CD, are offering the entire “A Divine Mercy Encounter” release for free on the music-sharing website, Bandcamp.com.

Bishop Kevin Sweeney made a pastoral visit to St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Passaic where he celebrated the vigil Mass marking the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Aug. 29. During the visit, the Bishop administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 24 high school teenagers, who prepared to receive the Sacrament for two years through the parish’s Confirmation program.

There are times Holly Wright will find herself having a casual conversation that can lead to saving a life. She recalled waiting on a line to checkout at a local supermarket while being on the phone. On her cell phone is a sticker with baby feet and the message “Equal Rights for Babies in the Womb.” She was asked what the sticker is all about and the person asking about it learns with some shock that in the state of New Jersey late term abortion is legal.

Located in the Sandy Hill section of Paterson, the Governor Paterson Towers has been serving the elderly population with housing for decades. The apartments there provide safe and affordable housing for low-income seniors living on fixed incomes. Three buildings make up the Governor Paterson Towers campus with 518 housing units, including the Murray M. Bisgaier Residence, also known as the North Tower, which is the tallest building in the city.

Catholic schools across the country are welcoming back students for in-person instruction this month that will involve stringent safety protocols while also offering continued options for virtual learning that Catholic schools across the nation so adeptly adopted in March as COVID-19 spread.