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Parishioners of St. Therese in Succasunna welcomed Bishop Serratelli, who led a Lenten presentation at the parish on “The Divine Presence in the Holy Eucharist” March 12. About 50 people attended the reflection. Afterward, Bishop Serratelli greeted parishioners at a reception that followed his presentation.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit on Sunday, March 17 to Corpus Christi Parish in Chatham Township where he celebrated Mass for the Second Sunday of Lent. During the Mass, the Bishop officially installed Father T. Kevin Corcoran as Corpus Christi’s new pastor.

St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish in Chester has taken a big step in the past year to help its community of believers grow in spirituality toward a closer relationship with Christ and each other with help from a national initiative. The initiative takes its cue from Jesus’ personal style of ministry — calling together a small group of Twelve Apostles in “missionary friendship” to form them and ultimately to challenge them to spread the Gospel to the world.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Bonaventure Church in Paterson and celebrated Mass for the First Sunday of Lent March 10.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Good Shepherd Church in Andover where he celebrated the vigil Mass for the Second Sunday in Lent on March 16.

Last fall, a caravan of thousands of migrants from Central America heading to the Mexican border with the United States, made headlines in the United States bringing up conversations from both sides of the political spectrum about immigration reform, the border wall and homeland security. Looking beyond the politics to directly meeting with the people affected, Sister Janice Jolin, a Missionary Sister of the Immaculate Conception (SMIC) living here, joined 75 faith leaders on March 18 on a ‘reverse caravan’ to Honduras to discuss the plight of so many around the world who flee homelands riddled by violence, political corruption and other human rights offenses.

Afua Agyekum and Joseph Korab, both sophomores at diocesan Catholic high schools, took time from their studies last week to “dream big” about their future plans — she as a pediatrician and he as a Catholic priest. On March 13, Agyekum, 15, of Pope John XXIII Regional High School, Sparta, and Korab, 16, of Morris Catholic High School, Denville, along with 24 fellow students at their high schools, got to think more about that big question — “What do I want to do with the rest of my life?” — during the “Discovering Your Call” vocations-awareness event at Mallinckrodt Convent in Mendham.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) recently gave the movie, “Unplanned,” which will open in theaters March 29, an R-rating. According to the MPAA, “an R-rated film may depict adult activity, hard language, intense graphic or persistent violence, sexually oriented nudity, drug abuse or other elements. Parents are counseled to take this rating very seriously. Children under 17 are not allowed to attend R-rated films unaccompanied by a parent or adult guardian.”

Like many of the more than 400 Catholics, who traveled to St. Cecilia Church in Rockaway on the evening of March 7, Amy Welsch, a faith-filled married mother of six, came with a mission: to find a saint to become her new spiritual companion. A parishioner of St. Cecilia’s, she was looking for some help through a tough time — her 17-year-old daughter, Alexis, recently had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.

’Twas a grand day for Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish as parishioners marched through the streets of Morristown on March 9 in the 40th annual Morris County St. Patrick’s Day Parade, in which their pastor, Father Paddy O’Donovan, was honored as the parade’s grand marshal.

Bishop Serratelli celebrated Mass in the chapel of St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Paterson on Ash Wednesday morning, March 6, where he distributed ashes to employees of the hospital to begin the holy season of Lent. Following Mass, he visited patients at the hospital in their rooms and distributed ashes to them, blessed them and prayed with them.

Parishioners of St. Mark the Evangelist in Long Valley welcomed Bishop Serratelli, who made a pastoral visit to the parish March 9. There, he celebrated the vigil Mass for the First Sunday of Lent. During the Mass he also administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to the young people of the parish, who had been preparing for the last two years to be confirmed.

To better serve the pastoral and the spiritual needs of laity, it is important today that pastors, priests and lay leaders are equipped with also managing the parish on an administrative and organizational level. To facilitate this, the Paterson Diocese has entered into a unique partnership with the Villanova School of Business (VSB) Center for Church Management (CCM) to offer an innovative two-year, online Master of Science in Church Management degree designed to provide students with a high-level skill set in effective church management. In addition, a 50 percent scholarship is available to any new students from the Paterson Diocese.

They come from different vocations — priests, religious sisters and laity — and have taken on different roles at St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne — including lector, Catholic school principal and Bible-study participant. They use different approaches to make their points, drawing on personal experience, quoting Scripture or outlining with bullet points. Yet these people of faith, past and present members of St. Anthony’s, came together between the covers of the parish’s new booklet, “Repent & Believe in the Gospel,” offering short, individual spiritual reflections.

On March 10, the First Sunday of Lent, in dioceses around the world, the Rite of Election took place as catechumens journeyed closer to receiving the Sacraments of Initiation — Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation — at the Easter Vigil celebration on Holy Saturday evening, April 20. The 114 catechumens, who will be welcomed into the Church on Holy Saturday, came to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson on Sunday where Bishop Serratelli formerly selected — or elected — them.

On March 1, U.S. Sec­re­tary of Educa­tion Betsy DeVos, along with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.), unveiled Education Freedom Schol­arships (EFS), the Trump Administration’s key proposal to expand and improve the education options available to students across the country.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Sacred Heart Parish here on Friday, March 1, where he celebrated Mass followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish here where he celebrated Mass for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time on March 3. During the Mass, many children were present to participate in the Children’s Liturgy of the Word. This past weekend’s Masses marked the end of Ordinary Time as Lent began yesterday, March 6 on Ash Wednesday.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit on Saturday, March 2 to Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in the Hewitt section of West Milford Township where he served as main celebrant and homilist of the 5 p.m. vigil Mass for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time. At the Mass, the Bishop officially installed Father Kamil Stachowiak, as Queen of Peace’s pastor.

A trip to the land down under is a-once-in-a-lifetime adventure for many and for Deacon George Forshay and his wife, Mary, the couple’s recent trip on a cruise ship that traveled to New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia will be filled with memories that will last forever. One particular memory that stands out for Deacon Forshay was distributing ashes at an Ash Wednesday service to people from around the world traveling aboard the cruise ship Silversea Silver Muse.