Reaching out in unique ways

POMPTON LAKES  Residents of nine Passaic and Morris county towns might have felt surprised by an unusual sight passing through their streets on Palm Sunday: a priest holding up high a monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament, while sitting in the back seat of a blue Mustang convertible.

While most of these residents of these towns — from West Milford to Paterson — were surprised, many of them, associated with St. Mary Parish here, had expected the arrival of Franciscan Father Gonzalo de Jesus Torres-Acosta, pastor, who led a seven-hour procession of the Blessed Sacrament by car. Keith Orotosky, a St. Mary’s facilities and operations director, outreach ministry coordinator and Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults coordinator, drove the pastor and Franciscan Father John Aherne, parochial vicar, around so people who cannot attend Mass because of COVID-19 restrictions, could pray to Jesus before the Blessed Sacrament. This was one of many bold ideas that parishes and individuals of the Diocese have been implementing to bring Jesus and the sacraments closer to their isolated parishioners.

That day, Father Gonzalo rode through the following towns: Pompton Lakes, Pompton Plains, Pequannock, Riverdale, the Haskell section of Wanaque, Butler, West Milford, Kinnelon and Paterson. His travels included stopping outside Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains, three senior care facilities and lastly, Passaic County Jail across the street from the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. The priests also drove by the homes of 100 parishioners who signed up beforehand. About 400 families followed the priests during a live video stream of the procession on Facebook, Father Gonzalo said.

“To see Father Gonzalo and Father John driving around was a great feeling,” said Karen Murphy, who waited for the priests outside her home in Pompton Lakes. Like many others from St. Mary’s — and even from around the world, she watched portions of the procession that the parish posted in full on its Facebook page, which attracted 30,000 views. “It brings hope and faith to everyone that we’ll get through this together,” she said.

At senior facilities, residents came outside in wheelchairs and on balconies in an “emotional scene,” Father Gonzalo said.

“Like Christ, who came into Jerusalem for Palm Sunday, we went out into the streets to bring the Lord Jesus to them, especially to the most vulnerable in our midst. We showed that the Church is alive and stronger than ever, even though the churches are closed,” the pastor said.

Another St. Mary’s parishioner, Kathy Reul, drove from her home in Bloomingdale to Chilton to pray before the Blessed Sacrament.

“I shouted to the priests, ‘I love you and miss you.’ This has lifted my soul and fed me — spiritually nourishing in these times, when we can’t go to Mass,” Reul said.

In Randolph, it almost seems as if all eyes are on Father Brian Quinn, pastor of St. Matthew the Apostle Parish here, in the church, as he celebrates live-streamed Masses, even though the house of worship remains empty due to COVID-19 restrictions. That’s because the priest has taped more than 100 photo printouts of parishioners’ faces to the pews, so they can “join” him for Mass and make him feel less alone on the altar.

“It’s weird celebrating Mass in an empty church. The pews are usually creaky when people get up and sit down. Now, it’s silent. It’s bizarre. Having the photos here makes me feel like people are looking at me,” said Father Quinn, who prints out images of the parishioners — some taken on vacation, at sporting events or family weddings — that they email to him. He tries to place families in or near the pews where they usually would sit for Mass. The priest got the idea from other parishes around the world. “This is also for the parishioners, who cannot receive the Eucharist now but can still receive those fruits as a spiritual community. They are together with me,” he said.

One contributor was Courtney Spellman, who usually attends 5 p.m. vigil Mass on Saturdays. She sent in a photo of her family at her daughter’s wedding.

“I miss the connection of community at Mass — praying together at the same time and sharing the faith. Afterward, I enjoy finding out what’s new with people,” Spellman said. “I love this idea with the photos. We feel a connection with Father Brian in a material way. It’s also nice that he gets to look at our faces, while celebrating Mass,” she said.

In Rockaway, St. Cecilia Parish invites the faithful every day for the live-streaming of the Regina Caeli and the rosary at noon and Mass at 12:30 p.m. from the church on the parish’s website, https://st-cecilia.org.

Celebrants of the Mass are Father Zig Peplowski, pastor; Father Cerilo Javinez, parochial vicar; and Father Mateusz Darlak, parochial vicar, who operates the technology for live-streaming. Assisting them are seminarian Angel Torres and three Sisters of Christian Charity, who live at St. Cecilia Convent: Sister Diane Moughan, a theology teacher at Morris Catholic High School in Denville; Sister John Paul Thorley, a Morris Catholic math teacher; and Sister Paulina Navarro, a teacher’s aide at Divine Mercy Academy in Rockaway. For the Sunday Masses, St. Cecilia’s adds liturgical music, Father Peplowski said.

“We get a good response from the people watching. They say, ‘Father, it’s good to hear your voice’ or ‘The Church is decorated so beautifully for Easter,’ ” Father Peplowski said. “This keeps people in touch with what’s happening in their Rockaway parish. It keeps our parochial life intact,” he said.

In Mendham, Amy Castronovo brought the practice of a Walking Stations of the Cross to Catholic families in her neighborhood on Good Friday. A parishioner of Christ the King Parish in New Vernon and a volunteer at St. John’s Cathedral in Paterson, she printed out from the internet images of “child friendly” Stations, laminated them into 9-inch by 11-inch placards and attached a dowel to the back, so the signs could be placed in the ground.

On Good Friday, neighborhood families completed a mile-long route to several houses that displayed the Stations on their front yards. At each Station, they recited a prayer and read a child-appropriate reflection that they can relate to in their lives, such as “learning not to complain when they have to do hard things,” at the Station, “Jesus Carries the Cross.” Between Stations, they discussed the reflections as a family. On Easter morning, each of the neighbors who hosted the Stations, displayed the sign: “Jesus is Risen,” Castronovo said.

“I was feeling sad that our usual Holy Week traditions couldn’t happen this year. I wanted to turn sadness into something positive for the children. This is a creative way to communicate the faith to them,” said Castronovo, who with husband Paul, has a daughter Katie, a fifth-grader at Gill St. Bernard’s School in Gladstone.

A few parishes in the Diocese have picked up on the concept of drive-up confessions. At St. Joseph in West Milford, Father Jakub Grzybowski, St. Joseph’s administrator, offered “Drive Through Confessions” through an open classroom window at the back of the parish center from April 3 to 6. People lined up in their cars, waiting their turn with the priest. A few weeks ago, he started “Park and Adore Jesus” on Sundays, where parishioners can park at the rear of the parish center and pray in their automobiles that face the Blessed Sacrament behind the glass of a classroom window.

“We are here to serve you and bring you closer to God, even during this struggle that we are currently experiencing. Have hope and faith. God bless you all,” Father Grzybowski wrote on social media.