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Parishioners of St. Thomas the Apostle in Sandyston welcomed Bishop Sweeney during his visit to the Sussex County parish on Jan. 17. During the visit, the Bishop marked the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. He also celebrated his birthday at the parish Sunday after Mass.

Bishop Sweeney made a pastoral visit to St. James the Greater Church in Montague Jan. 17 where he celebrated Mass marking the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. On that day, the Bishop also marked his birthday and received birthday wishes from the parishioners.

Bishop Sweeney made a pastoral visit to Bethlehem Hermitage in Chester last week where he celebrated Mass for the hermits and visitors in the chapel.

The Paterson Diocese announced plans for an observance of the Year of St. Joseph — part of celebrations of the saint that are taking place throughout the Universal Church by decree of Pope Francis — with a wide array of devotions and activities until the conclusion of world-wide celebrations in December. These activities and events — to take place on the diocesan, parish, and personal levels — will give local Catholics numerous opportunities to honor and become inspired by the faithful example of St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus.

After looking back at its rich legacy made of faith, stone, and heart that predates the Civil War for its 175th anniversary last year, St. Mary Parish here began 2021 looking toward its next era. It began with two events on Jan. 16: the installation Mass for Father Lemmuel Camacho as its pastor and the dedication of a shrine to St. Joseph and Blessed Carlo Acutis, the first millennial to be beatified in the Church.

In many states across the nation, pro-life advocates are seeing some light in their ongoing efforts to curb abortion. In South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem (R), in her 2021 State of the State address, asked state lawmakers to introduce a bill banning abortions based on a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. “The Declaration of Independence summarizes what we all know in our hearts to be true — that God created each of us and endowed all of us with the right to life. This is true for everyone, including those with an extra chromosome,” she said to a standing ovation from legislators.

In recent days, my thoughts have turned to the words of the Pledge of Allegiance: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I would encourage you to Google “Pledge of Allegiance.” I was surprised to learn that its history is traced back to 1892 and that, “The last change in language came on Flag Day 1954, when Congress passed a law which added the words “under God” after “one Nation.”

Bishop Sweeney made a pastoral visit to St. Therese Parish in Paterson Jan. 10. During his visit, he celebrated Mass marking the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

When the first man and woman disobeyed God’s command not to eat the apple from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden, it touched off a cycle of environmental devastation of earth, our common home, by the human race that continues to this day. It started when they “decided to do things their way, not God’s way,” which disturbed forever God’s perfect order for the world, Bishop Emeritus Arthur Serratelli said in two talks he gave during Advent about our duty to be faithful stewards of God’s creation at St. Joseph Church in Mendham.

Msgr. Geno Sylva, rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, wears a dramatic expression on his face as he holds up a wooden starfish during his homily. He points to the object, asking the faithful, especially the young people, to identify it by completing the sentence, “This is …” “A starfish!” shouts Mia Campagna, 14, who has mild learning and developmental challenges due to Williams Syndrome, a rare neurodevelopment genetic disorder. She waves her hands in excitement from her pew during that 5 p.m. vigil Mass on Jan. 2 for the Feast of the Epiphany, which also marks St. John’s third Special Needs Mass that began last October.

The Bishops of New Jersey have designated Friday, Jan. 22 as a day of fasting and prayer to mark the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision, which made abortion legal. To mark the grim anniversary, Bishop Kevin Sweeney is inviting all in the Diocese to join him in prayer during a livestreamed event at 7 p.m. on Jan. 22 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson with a limited number of young people from the city of Paterson joining in person.

After gains were made in the pro-life movement in 2020 to protect life, the outlook for further gains in 2021 is certainly not as promising at both the federal and state levels. With Democrats now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, a key focus of pro-lifers at the federal level is the preservation of certain pro-life “riders,” or amendments, enacted by Congress that are attached to spending bills.

Bishop Sweeney celebrated the vigil Mass marking the Feast of the Epiphany or Three Kings Day at St. Francis of Assisi Church in the Haskell section of Wanaque Jan. 2.

Christmas 2020 may be over and the Church will soon be back to Ordinary Time on its liturgical calendar, but the generosity of so many around the Diocese and beyond has left a smile on the faces of the many in need served by Diocesan Catholic Charities during the holiday season.

The parish community of St. Gerard Majella in Paterson welcomed Bishop Sweeney during his pastoral visit Jan. 3. The Bishop celebrated two Masses — one in English and one in Spanish — marking the Feast of the Epiphany.

Bishop Kevin Sweeney celebrated Mass on New Year’s Day marking the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God in St. Francis DeSales Church in the McAfee section of Vernon Jan. 1.

As a young boy, Father Joemin (Jayke) Parinas, parochial vicar of Our Lady of the Mountain (OLM) and St. Mark the Evangelist parishes in Long Valley, couldn’t hear a call to the priesthood from God over the din of his many pets that included dogs, cats, parrots and hamsters. Instead, this self-described “animal lover” wanted to become a veterinarian in his native Philippines.

COVID-19 has reshaped the world. Life has changed yet there has been one constant source of help and hope that has remained the same. Catholic Charities agencies in the Diocese of Paterson have persevered thanks in part to its employees, volunteers and benefactors and have continuously served the most vulnerable in the Diocese, who have been impacted significantly by the pandemic.

Without realizing it, clients of the Consumer Choice Food Pantry at the Father English Community Center in Paterson, have been enjoying some organic farm-to-table produce — thanks to the Secular Franciscans of the Most Holy Name Fraternity of the Third Order in Little Falls. Over the last year, the food pantry, part of diocesan Catholic Charities, has accepted small shipments of organically grown vegetables, fruit and eggs from farms in New Jersey, donated and delivered by Secular Franciscans.

This Jan. 22 will be the 48th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion on demand in our country. As we speak about and experience political and other divisions, I am not sure if there has been any issue that has been more divisive on the national and many other levels of society over these past 50 (plus) years.