Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney helped 35 priests to celebrate significant anniversaries of their priesthood — from 25 to 65 years in priestly ministry — during the annual diocesan Priests Jubilee Mass on June 1 in Corpus Christi Church in Chatham Township. He thanked all the honored priests for saying, “yes” to God’s call to priesthood.

Dressed just like they did on the day of their First Holy Communion day, 44 children from parishes around the Diocese met with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney for the Diocese’s annual Eucharistic Catechesis held in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson June 6, the Feast of Corpus Christi. An event created by Bishop Emeritus Serratelli to remind children about the gift of receiving Jesus through the Eucharist, Bishop Sweeney continued the tradition as he presided at the celebration for the first time.

For nearly half a century, the Hyde Amendment and related provisions have protected taxpayers from funding abortions. These policies have had broad support from Democrats and Republicans. They have been enacted and signed into law by Congresses and Presidents of both political parties.

On May 6, I had the privilege of celebrating the Baccalaureate Mass for St. Elizabeth’s University, in Convent Station. In the past week, in the course of five days, I participated in the commencement exercises at four high schools: Mary, Help of Christians in North Haledon and our three diocesan high schools, DePaul Catholic, Morris Catholic, and Pope John XXIII. As I was asked to share some remarks on those occasions, I encouraged the students to be grateful, especially to their parents and family, to their teachers, coaches, school staff, and administrators. I also encouraged the students to continue to live a life of faith, guided and strengthened by prayer, weekly Mass, and an openness to their vocation, or God’s plan for their lives.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney was the principal celebrant of the annual Memorial Day Mass at 10:30 a.m. May 31 in the Calvary Mausoleum chapel in Paterson. Father Peter VB Wells, director of the diocesan Cemetery Office, and pastor of Our Lady of the Valley and Holy Cross parishes in Wayne, was one of the concelebrants of the Mass.

Being able to feed thousands at diocesan Catholic Charities’ three food pantries seems almost like the miracle of the loaves and fishes that Jesus performed. At times, the staff can find themselves overwhelmed by the historic numbers of families and individuals in need of the basic necessity of life — food. Most months, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Paterson gives out food to 5,000 to 7,000 people at their three food pantries. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this number has more than quadrupled, with its pantries assisting 20,000 children, women and men monthly.

On Pentecost Sunday, May 23, young people at St. Paul Church in Clifton received the Sacrament of Confirmation administered by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney. Father Leonardo Jaramillo, pastor, assisted the Bishop.

Dust off the golf clubs because after a one-year hiatus, the agencies of diocesan Catholic Charities will welcome back their many supporters with their first in-person event, the 47th annual Wiegand Farm Golf Classic on Monday, June 21 at the Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg. The funds raised at the event will benefit the three agencies of diocesan Catholic Charities — the Department for Persons with Disabilities (DPD), Straight and Narrow (SN), and Catholic Family and Community Services (CFCS).

It takes a proverbial village of government and non-profit agencies working together to give critical help to U.S. military veterans in crisis — who are homeless or threatened with eviction, unemployed, hungry, or in need of physical or mental health services. Nearly eight years ago, Catholic Charities Veteran Services (CCVS), part of diocesan Catholic Charities, helped develop that village for local veterans: the NJSOSVETS Veteran Stake Holder Group, a network of agencies that form a safety net for those who have fallen through the cracks of services available to them.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney made a pastoral visit to Sacred Heart Parish in Clifton where he was the principal celebrant of Mass for the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity on May 30.

As the Universal Church arrives at the “halfway” mark in this special year designated to St. Joseph, the Diocese of Paterson will celebrate the second half of the Year of St. Joseph with a diocesan-wide pilgrimage. This special pilgrimage will kick off on June 6, the Feast of Corpus Christi, and it will end on Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. With the Apostolic Letter Patris Corde (With a Father’s Heart), Pope Francis proclaimed a Year of St. Joseph, which began on the Feast of the Im­mac­ulate Conception on Dec. 8, 2020.

With great joy, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney ordained two men, Francis Hamilton Balfour Lennie IV and Joseph Anthony Aguila Mactal, as “priests of Jesus Christ” in the Diocese, on May 29 in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson during a Mass of the Rite of Ordination, steeped in the traditions of the early Church.

As we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, I would recommend spending some time in prayer with “John 6” (the 6th Chapter of the Gospel of John), which contains Jesus’ great “Bread of Life Discourse.” In verse 60, we hear, “Then many of his disciples who were listening said, ‘This saying is hard; who can accept it?’ ”

A strong rebuke at the state level to the deeply unpopular abortion agenda actively being pursued by President Biden is rippling across the nation this year. SinceJanuary, 536 pro-life bills have been introduced with more than 60 signed into law to date. Last week in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed legislation protecting unborn children as soon as a heartbeat is detected. The law sets the cutoff for legal abortions at about six weeks after conception.