News - March 2015 RSS Feed

Bishop Serratelli presided at the annual Acies of the Legion of Mary in St. Mary Church, Passaic, March 22.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Bonaventure Parish here March 22 to celebrate Mass for the Fifth Sunday of Lent.

This Lent, 100 parishioners of Our Lady of Queen of Peace (OLQP) here have been getting ready for Easter by looking back at the spiritual and historical roots of the Eucharist and the Mass in the ancient traditions of the Jewish faith and in the early Christian Church.

Women of varying ages and backgrounds from parishes across the diocese came together at the diocesan Evangelization Center, St. Paul’s Inside the Walls, here March 21 for a daylong conference, “Today’s Catholic Woman: Feminine, Faithful and Fearless.”

Spanish-speaking immigrants, who open the doors to weekly English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes at Our Lady of Mount Carmel (OLMC) Parish here, are actually stepping into a larger and ever-expanding ministry — one that gives them some important life lessons: ways to get more acclimated to U.S. language and culture, building community, coming back to Mass and get more involved in the life of parish.

With Palm Sunday, March 29, Holy Week begins. It is a time that our focus turns to the Holy Land as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ from his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, to the Last Supper, to his crucifixion on Calvary ending with the glory of the Resurrection on Easter.

In our day, Christianity is disappearing from its birthplace in the Middle East. In countries from Lebanon to Sudan, Christians face persecution and martyrdom every day. Two hundred million Christians currently live under persecution.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Pompeii here where he celebrated Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, also known as Laetare Sun­day, on March 15.

Next month, St. Joseph Parish here — which already has the honor as the first Catholic faith community in the Paterson Diocese and New Jersey — will mark another historic distinction: as the location of the first Catholic Mass within the boundaries of what later would become the Diocese of Paterson.

This past Sat­ur­day, Bishop Serratelli concluded celebrations for a milestone of truly superlative proportions both historically and spiritually: the 250th anniversary of St. Joseph Parish here, which encouraged the faith community to explore its legacy as the “The Cradle of the Catholic Church in New Jersey.”

Faith-based organizations are continuing to have to battle in courtrooms around the country and prod legislators to pass laws to protect religious liberty in our nation, but in the court of public opinion, religious liberty wins easily.

On Feb. 6, the Canadian Supreme Court, in a unanimous 9-0 decision, made it legal nationwide for doctors to end the lives of terminally ill patients. No doubt this decision, taken by our close neighbors, will give added impetus to the movement in this country to legalize ending the lives of those in pain or suffering. At the present time, there are five states that allow physician-assisted suicide.

In 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as President. The film, “ The Sound of Music,” made its premiere. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 civil rights activists on a four-day march in Selma, Ala. The Vietnam War sparked protests worldwide. The Beatles performed their first stadium concert. Pope Paul VI addressed the United Nations. These events made history.

Bishop Serratelli issued a challenge to all Catholics — especially those who seem uncomfortable aligning themselves with the beliefs of the faith or witnessing to the Gospel in a world increasingly hostile to Christian values.

Digital technology, which includes email, websites, text messaging and social media, has been giving Catholics around the world the tools to get more involved in the mission of the New Evangelization. Learning how to properly use these tools of technology to reach out in new and innovative ways to evangelize was the focus of an all-day conference, “The Digital Church,” March 7 at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard here.

Faith formation starts with building relationships with families. That’s the important message that will be delivered when the Diocese of Paterson hosts a daylong Catechetical Conference on Saturday, April 11 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the St. John Paul II Center here.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a lower court to reconsider its ruling that denied a Catholic university the freedom to follow its faith — a decision that is a victory for religious liberty in our nation.

Bishop Serratelli was the main celebrant and homilist for the 11:30 a.m. Mass for the Third Sunday of Lent March 8 at St. Mary Parish in Denville.

Joe Duffy, Executive Director of Straight & Narrow, Inc. was interviewed, by the TV show “NEET USA”. Joe also serves as the President of Catholic Charities in the Diocese. Mr. Duffy talked about the great work that is taking place in the lives of men & women who recognize and acknowledge that they need help in the areas of alcohol & drug addiction, etc.