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“La Eucaristía es la fuente y la cumbre de la vida cristiana” (Lumen Gentium 11). En la última cena, Jesús compartiendo con sus apóstoles tomó el pan y luego el vino y diciendo las palabras, que también el sacerdote usa hoy para consagrar el vino y el pan, les compartió su amor y se quedó con ellos hasta el fin de los tiempos en este sacramento de la caridad. Por eso, cuando la Iglesia proclama que la Eucaristía es la fuente y cumbre de la vida cristiana, está anunciando que la Eucaristía es el modelo de entrega que los cristianos deben de tener los unos a los otros. En otras palabras, la Iglesia nos invita a vivir en una “Coher­encia Eucarística,” en la cual no solo proclamamos lo que creemos, sino que también debemos vivir lo que comulgamos en la Eucaristía, en donde se nos da el mismo Cristo hijo de Dios vivo, quien nos ha amado tanto que ha decidido permanecer con nosotros en las especies del pan y del vino.

The ancient Greek philosopher Plato observed, “There is nothing so delightful as the hearing, or the speaking of truth. For this reason, there is no conversation so agreeable as that of the man of integrity, who hears without any intention to betray, and speaks without any intention to deceive.” Plato points out what we know by experience: integrity is beautiful. Encountering persons of integrity is refreshing and attempting to live a life of integrity, though challenging, is rewarding.

On May 9, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated a special Nurses’ Week Mass in the chapel of St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson. National Nurses Week is an annual celebration in May.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney made a pastoral visit to St. Monica Parish in Sussex May 21 where he celebrated the vigil Mass for the Sixth Sunday of Easter. During the Mass, the Bishop administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to young people of the parish.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney made a pastoral visit to St. Thomas of Aquin Parish in Ogdensburg May 22 and celebrated the noon Mass for the Sixth Sunday of Easter. During the Mass, teenagers of the parish received the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Msgr. John Hart, pastor of Assumption Parish in Morristown, marked the 40th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood with a Mass he celebrated, which was attended by parishioners, brother priests, family, and friends on May 15.

Harry Flaherty thought that he stumbled on a winning formula early in his pro football career. The Middletown native was living a life most people can only dream of having. He was making lots of money, enjoying great popularity, and playing in the NFL and the USFL. But for part of that career, Flaherty was reading from his own playbook of life — chasing his own earthly desires — and not from God’s playbook, which eventually would transform his life and make it even more fulfilling as a man living for Christ.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney ordained Rev. Mr. Starli J. Castaños Rodríguez, a diocesan seminarian of Dominican heritage, as a transitional deacon on May 21 in his home parish, St. Anthony of Padua Church here. The Bishop urged Rev. Mr. Castaños to imitate Christ by “serving the people of God with love and joy,” while he presided over the traditional rite, which brought the seminarian a step closer to being called to ordination as a priest of the Diocese next year.

Answering Pope Francis’ call to participate in Laudato si’ Week 2022, the Sisters of Chris­tian Charity (SCC) hosted a planting day on the grounds of the religious order’s Motherhouse here May 21. Many Sisters of Christian Charity serving around the Diocese and beyond rolled up her sleeves to help beautify many of the outdoor spaces on the campus. Volunteers from local youth groups, lay associates of the order, and other close friends came out to help the sisters plant trees and flowers.

As the summer season nears, the food pantries of Catholic Charities in the Diocese historically have had empty shelves during these months. Nine years ago after a diocesan-wide appeal, the Corpus Christi Food Drive was created in which parishes in the Diocese are asked to collect specific grocery items to stock the shelves. The last two years have seen many challenges for diocesan Catholic Charities. Many have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most months, the food pantries gave out food to 5,000 to 7,000 people. That number has since quadrupled, with Catholic Charities giving out food to more than 20,000 children, women and men monthly.

The news Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco announced May 19 that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) should not be admitted to Holy Communion in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, nor should she present herself to receive the Eucharist until she publicly repudiates her support for abortion, ricocheted off church bell towers nationwide.

On this past Friday, May 20, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone issued a letter by which he communicated his decision that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not to be admitted to Holy Communion. Since the news story broke, I have received a number of emails and messages, mostly encouraging me to support the Arch­bishop’s decision. Two of the emails that I received directed me to (separate) articles referencing nine Bishops who have made public statements in support of Arch­bishop Cordileone’s decision. Here are the links to those two articles:

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney will ordain seven transitional deacons of diverse eth­nicities and backgrounds as priests of the Paterson Diocese at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, May 28 in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson.

El amor de Dios es tan grande que a través de la sagrada Eucaristía Él nos da el regalo de compartir el Sagrado misterio del Cuerpo y la Sangre de Jesús, como una forma de empezar desde ahora mismo a vivir el gozo de estar en plena Comunión con Él y en Él. San Nicolás Cabasilas afirmó: “En la Eucaristía Dios mismo se une a nosotros de la manera más perfecta, Él vive en nosotros.” Allí estamos en comunión con la Santísima Trinidad, que será lo que experimentaremos para siempre en la vida eterna. Al recibir la sagrada Eucaristía entramos en una Comunión que tiene dos dimensiones: una dimensión vertical en la cual entramos en comunión Trinitaria, pero también una dimensión horizontal en la cual entramos en comunión con nuestros hermanos.

Communion with Christ and the Church begins with the Domestic Church, the family. The faith that was nurtured in me, as one of nine in a loving, fun and devout Catholic family, has certainly inspired the passion and joy I have as Director of Family Faith at St. Vincent dePaul Parish in Stirling.

On May 13, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated Mass at the National Blue Army Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Ashbury to mark the Blessed Mother’s apparition in Fatima, Portugal on May 13, 1917 before three shepherd children. From around the Diocese and the state, many attended the Mass. The shrine is operated by the World Apostolate of Fatima.

As the Diocese of Paterson marks the Year of the Eucharist, a yearlong celebration, which kicked off in January to focus on Jesus’ Real Presence in the Eucharist and to inspire a Eucharistic revival, the diocesan catechetical office will host a Eucharistic Retreat at St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison in English from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and at the St. John Paul II Center in Clifton in Spanish from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., both on Saturday, June 11.

The popular Pentecost Project faith-formation series at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson will wind down on the weekend of June 3–5, closing with a retreat. The event will feature two powerhouse speakers, one in English and another in Spanish, who will drive home the purpose of the Pentecost Project: to fire up participating Catholics with the passion to become “missionary disciples” as part of the New Evangelization.

Young people at St. Bonaventure Parish in Paterson received the Sacrament of Confirmation administered by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney during his pastoral visit May 5, which also marked the Fifth Sunday of Easter.

Young people of Our Lady of the Mountain Parish in Long Valley received the Sacrament of Confirmation administered by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney May 14 during the vigil Mass marking the Fifth Sunday of Easter.