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The faith community of Holy Family Parish in Florham Park welcomed Bishop Serratelli on July 6 as he made a pastoral visit and served as main celebrant and homilist of the 5:30 p.m. vigil Mass for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Clare Parish in Clifton where he celebrated the vigil Mass marking the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 13. During the Mass, the Bishop consecrated the new altar during which the rites of anointing, incensing, covering and lighting the altar take place.

Bishop Serratelli served as main celebrant of the annual Serra Club Mass to honor seminarians, newly ordained priests and retiring priests, held at St. Gerard Majella Church in Paterson recently. The 6:30 p.m. liturgy was followed by a dinner at the Brownstone, also in Paterson.

Four people — two priests and two laypersons — all members of the Red Rose Rescue movement, were arrested and charged with trespassing at Garden State Gynecology in Morristown after entering and then refusing to leave the abortion clinic July 13. They had entered the facility to offer red roses to the pregnant women inside, who were scheduled to have abortions that day. They also encouraged and counseled the women to choose life instead.

With summer now in full swing and children enjoying playtime outside, families, who are served by Catholic Charities, have one less worry thanks to the generosity of parishioners across the Paterson Diocese. Last month, Catholic Charities hosted its diocesan-wide food drive on the Feast of Corpus Christi June 23 to fill its food pantry shelves for the summer months ensuring clients have the needed food items to feed their families. Parishes in Passaic, Morris and Sussex counties joined together to make this year’s collection the most successful to date.

A ruling late last month by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on new Title X rules is a boon to the pro-life movement in America. The new rules prohibit funds from going to clinics that perform abortions or provide abortion referrals, and with the court ruling, it means that they can now go into effect.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Anthony Parish in Passaic where he celebrated the vigil Mass for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time June 29 in the parish center. During the Mass, the Bishop administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to young people of the parish, mostly high school sophomores, who had been preparing to receive the sacrament in the parish’s Confirmation program for the last two years.

Bishop Serratelli installed Father Edgar Rivera as pastor of St. Ann Parish in Parsippany during a Mass marking the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 7. Father Rivera previously served as diocesan Vocations Director and director of Domus Bartimaeus House of Discernment in Boonton before being named as pastor of St. Ann’s by the Bishop in June.

At the noon Mass on Sunday, June 30 in St. Joseph Church, Lincoln Park, parishioners and friends gathered to celebrate and express their appreciation to Father Tom Mangieri, who served the faithful here for more than four years as administrator and then pastor until his retirement in June for health reasons. The farewell Mass was celebrated by Father Mangieri, with Father Dominik Bakowski and Father David Pickens concelebrating, assisted by Deacons Steve Marabeti and Joe Parlapiano.

On June 15, 1974, 28 men were ordained as permanent deacons by Bishop Lawrence Casey in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here. This was the first time in the history of the Paterson Diocese that men, both single and married, were called to be ordained to the permanent diaconate. Today one of those men, Deacon Mario Munoz, now 81, is looking back at his life and how he got to where he is today.

Bishop Serratelli helped the local community of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Elizabeth celebrate an “exciting” national milestone for the religious order: the 100th anniversary of sisters in the U.S. and the establishment of their first convent in Newark in 1919. The Bishop served as main celebrant and homilist of the anniversary Mass June 22 in St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Parsippany.

An important part of our state’s heritage is the historic buildings that dot the landscape of our state. Among them are many that mark the long history of our faith. Indeed, many of our churches are listed on the state and national historic registries.

The Knights of Columbus Council No. 17254, also known as the “Cathedral Council,” wrote a part of its history this past Sunday with the installation of its first council officers. The council based at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here is the newest Knights of Columbus council in the Diocese. During Mass marking the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time on June 30, Msgr. Geno Sylva, rector of the Cathedral and diocesan vicar for special projects and the cathedral, blessed these new officers and all the Knights present at the Mass.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Immaculate Conception Parish in Franklin June 30 where he celebrated Mass for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Father Boguslaw Kobus, pastor, concelebrated the Mass.

Faith prompts Catholics into action, according to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Learning more about Jesus through our intellect motivates us — or gives us more motivation — to evangelize: to lead other people to the truth of Jesus as Savior of all, which the Benedict calls an “act of love” in his prolific writings.

Many of the seminarians and priests at this year’s Quo Vadis Days diocesan discernment retreat, June 26-28, came loaded with poignant, funny and insightful stories — about their vocations, seminary days and ministries — right from the very pages of their own lives. A group of seven high-school- and collegeaged young men from around the Diocese listened intently to the personal vocations stories of seminarians and priests, who spoke to them, including one by seminarian Diego Monsalve, during Quo Vadis, held in the retreat center of St. Mary’s Abbey in Morristown.

Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Paterson has announced the Caritas award-winners to be honored at the annual Caritas Gala in November. Late last month, Catholic Charities brought the award-winners together for a luncheon in the Diocesan Pastoral Center to kick off its plans for its annual Caritas Gala.

As we celebrate the 243rd birthday of our nation today on July 4, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how our Founding Fathers placed their full trust in God. Their strong moral and spiritual convictions helped them to form the foundation of our great nation.

The parish community of Our Lady of the Lake in Mount Arlington welcomed Bishop Serratelli who celebrated Mass marking the Feast of Corpus Christi on June 23. The feast celebrates the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Paul Parish in Prospect Park and celebrated Mass for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity on June 16. The solemnity, also known as Trinity Sunday, celebrates the doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God — the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.