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Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney made a pastoral visit on Saturday, Nov. 26 to St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Sparta where he celebrated the 5 p.m. vigil Mass for the first Sunday of Advent.

The faith community of St. Simon the Apostle Parish in the Green Pond section of Rockaway Township welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated 9 a.m. Mass there on Nov. 24 for Thanksgiving Day.

Millennials are a tough generation to reach with the Gospel. They are educated, tech-savvy and opinionated — and increasingly identify as either secular or “spiritual but not religious.” Evangelizing them means meeting them where they are, engaging them intellectually, inviting them to “be Church” — and using clever marketing strategies.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited the Jesus Christ Prince of Peace Chapel in Haledon on Nov. 20 to celebrate a Mass for the Solemnity of Christ the King with the Catholic Campus Ministry (CCM) of William Paterson University in Wayne and Corazon Puro, a chastity ministry.

The practice of Lectio Divina can help deepen our relationship with God and “root our lives in the Scriptures — the living word of God — and his revelation to the world,” Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli told catechists and other local faithful on Nov. 9 at the Evangelization Center at St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison.

The evangelization and transmission of the faith in the Americas have always been united to a singular love for the Virgin Mary. There is not a single corner of our geography that is not crowned by an advocation to our Blessed Mother. Pope St. John Paul II made mention of this at the beginning of his pontificate: “Your Marian love has been a ferment of catholicity in your history.”

La evangelización y la transmisión de la fe en las Américas, han ido siempre unidas a un amor singular a la Virgen María. No hay un rincón de nuestra geografía que no se encuentre coronado por una advocación de nuestra Madre. Así lo recordó Juan Pablo II en los comienzos mismos de su pontificado: «El amor mariano ha sido en vuestra historia fermento de catolicidad”

Sundays, Oct. 2022–May 2023 • The Corpus Christi Chargers Meetings Corpus Christi Parish, Chatham; 6–8 p.m. Monthly program for special needs teens to young adults with a wide range of cognitive abilities, to help form meaningful relationships in an atmosphere of friendly acceptance. Program includes arts and crafts, movies, games, family sing-alongs, and barbeques. Seeking new members. Contact Ron for information: killian.r@verizon.net. 1st Mondays • Patriotic Rosary St. Joseph Church, Lincoln Park; after 7 p.m. Mass. Rosary prayers for our country through the intercession of Our Lady. Info: Camille (201) 396-3798.

Thanks to a new water-tight tin roof, the hut’s dirt floor no longer turns to mud when it rains. And the beds don’t get soaked at night. That’s what a father reported, delighted with a roof on his family’s shack in Batey Lecheria in the southern Domini­can Republic. Helping install the roof were missioners of Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC) Parish in Pequannock, who visited the impoverished village Nov. 6–13.

A history major in college, Father John Calabro didn’t like one career option after graduation: teaching. He laughs when he considers his life today: as a diocesan priest, serving as chaplain and a teacher at Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta. “God works in mysterious ways,” said Father Calabro, ordained a diocesan priest in 2019 — different from his previous life plans of a career and marriage. He spoke as part of a vocations talk and discussion with young adults on Nov. 9 at the Evangelization Center at St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison. He told them, “God is with you on the journey. Trust that he will lead you and build you up.”

In an inspired homily at the 22nd annual Respect Life Mass Satur­day, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney said pro-life advocacy is about changing one heart at a time with love and compassion. “We are here because our hearts have been converted to believe and witness to the dignity and value of every human life from the moment of conception,” the leader of the Diocese of Pater­son said to those gathered at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. “But we must ask ourselves what are we doing — as St. Pope John Paul II inspires us — to build a culture of life, to change not only laws but hearts. One heart at a time if necessary.”

The Disciples of Christ Mission ministry group meets every Saturday at 10 a.m. in the parish center of St. Joseph Parish, 454 Germantown Road, in West Milford. The purpose and mission are clear and succinct: The Disciples of Christ is a non-profit Catholic ministry that seeks to help and lead all people to Jesus Christ, who gives us salvation.

The 2022 Caritas Gala of Catholic Chari­ties of the Diocese of Paterson was held on Nov. 10 at The Meadow Wood in Randolph. The gala highlights organizations which are recipients of Catholic Charities’ three agency awards, and then there is an additional Bishop’s Award which Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney presents.

St. Jude the Apostle Church in Hardy­ston now has its own smaller “communion of saints” of sorts — across from the church’s main altar. Already, St. Jude’s parishioners, like Stephen Rozak, have been praying before the new Shrine of Saints — featuring statues of eight prominent saints and one of the Holy Family — calling it a “peaceful, sacred place.”

The party was jumping to the rhythm of Cuban music. Before long, Modesto “Al” Alonso noticed a beautiful young lady sitting next to him in the Knights of Columbus hall in Havana. He figured he had three minutes — the length of a pop song and a dance with her — to ask for her phone number. He got the dance and her number.

Love was in the air at the annual Silver and Gold Mass held at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson on Nov. 6, where about 70 couples celebrated anniversaries and renewed their marriage vows before Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney concelebrated the Blue Mass with Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., and other clergy at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark on Nov. 3. The Mass honored law enforcement personnel who died in the past year, including officers from Paterson, Clifton, and other departments in the geographic area of the Diocese of Paterson.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney presided over a memorial Mass to celebrate the life of Father John T. Catoir on Nov. 4 at St. Philip the Apostle Church in Clifton. Father Catoir, known fondly as the media’s ‘messenger of joy,’ died at the age of 90. He was a retired priest of the Diocese of Paterson, was ordained in 1960, and faithfully served in priestly ministry for 62 years.

St. Mary’s Parish of Pompton Lakes recently formed a new ministry called Holy Bones. The ministry's mission is to employ people with intellectual disabilities in baking and packaging all-natural dog biscuits. Sept. 19 was the first baking date, and the launch happened on Oct. 8 at the Paws in the Park Festival in Hawthorne, where 170 Holy Bones packages were sold.

All are encouraged to attend the annual Respect Life Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson on Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney is the principal celebrant of the Mass.