Columns By Bishop Sweeney Archives
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BEACON PHOTO | JOE GIGLICENTENNIAL SPIRIT Bishop Sweeney helped St. Paul Parish in Prospect Park, N.J., mark its 100th anniversary during a Mass celebrated on July 27. The bishop also blessed an image of St. Paul, the parish’s patron, displayed on the left side of the sanctuary. For the anniversary, the parish made improvements to the church, including the return of the tabernacle to the center of the altar. The Passaic County parish serves Prospect Park, North Haledon, Haledon, and Paterson. -
Bishop Sweeney’s Columns – 2025
07/21/25
The 5th World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly: Have you read Pope Leo’s message?07/15/25
Do you know Blessed (soon to be Saint) Pier Giorgio Frassati?06/10/25
The AMAZING, Inspiring Life of Father Bill Atkinson, the first quadriplegic priest06/03/25
Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship**05/27/25
Food Insecurity in New Jersey … And the Corpus Christi Food Drive05/20/25
A Jubilee of Teenagers – at Six Flags!!05/12/25
Pope Leo XIV: His first words, his first message, and first homily – What is he saying to us?05/06/25
St. Joseph the Worker, Gaudium et Spes, and the Church’s Prophetic Voice04/30/25
Remembering Pope Francis04/16/25
In solidarity with the suffering Church, especially with Christians in the Holy Land on Good Friday04/07/25
Pope Francis’ Angelus Messages: Lent as a time of Healing and ‘the finger of God’04/01/25
Do you know that Carlo Acutis is about to be Canonized? And have you heard from his Mom?03/26/25
‘That they all may be one …’03/18/25
Transfiguration moments: The pandemic, sports, and our spiritual lives03/13/25
Operation Rice Bowl: 50 Years of Feeding the Hungry and Uniting the Church in the Season of Lent03/3/25
Praying for Pope Francis … And for Vocations … Prayers for Catechumens, Candidates, and Catechistst02/18/25
A letter from our Holy Father and a statement from the Bishops of Minnesota02/11/25
Finding Hope01/31/25
The Immigrant Experience: A Personal Reflection
La experiencia del inmigrante: Una reflexión personal01/22/25
Catholic Schools Week 202501/13/25
The (sixth) Sunday of the Word of God01/07/25
‘All or Nothing’ – The Life and Witness of Sister Clare CrockettBishop Sweeney’s Columns – 2024
12/26/24
Gratitude and Hope12/19/24
A Beautiful and timeless Christmas Message ...12/12/24
Pilgrims of Hope12/05/24
Have you heard of Dietrich Bonhoeffer?11/28/2024
As we begin the Season of Advent, prayers for hope, healing, and peace11/21/2024
A sad day for The Beacon, but the light will continue to shine11/07/2024
A beautiful, inspiring homily … at the conclusion of the Synod on Synodality10/31/2024
UNITED IN FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE: The annual Diocesan Ministries Appeal10/24/2024
The Lives of the Saints and the ‘Hallow App’10/17/2024
Forming consciences for faithful citizenship10/03/2024
A Powerful and Inspiring Homily: ‘Our Duty to Protect’09/26/2024
In this Year of Prayer, Oct. 7 will be World Rosary Day09/19/2024
A Historic Opportunity … To Witness on Behalf of Life09/12/2024
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: A Request for Prayers … and Awareness09/05/2024
Back to School: Have You Heard the Conversations About ‘Phone Free’ Schools?08/22/2024
‘The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways … An opportunity to visit Guadalupe and ‘Villa de Las Ninas’08/15/2024
‘Spiritual Athletes And the Lives of the Saints08/08/2024
‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’ John, Chapter 6: The Bread of Life Discourse08/01/2024
A Reflection and a Homily: The Eucharistic Revival and the Funeral of Father John O’Connor07/25/2024
The 10th National Eucharistic Congress: The Beauty of the Church and the Power of the Eucharist07/04/2024
Two New Saints, Summer Reading, ***and: Beaconnj.org06/20/2024
A March for Life in New Jersey … And Religious Freedom Week06/06/2024
Beautiful Eucharist: Inspiring Testimonies of Faith and Encounters with Jesus in the Eucharist05/23/2024
May is Mental Health Awareness Month05/16/2024
Gratitude for a Pilgrimage to Lourdes05/02/2024
Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich … and Brother Marinus04/25/2024
Have You Heard About the Year of Prayer?
Are You Looking Forward to the Jubilee Year?04/18/2024
An Easter Homily: What Happens After We Die?**03/28/2024
The Sacred Paschal Triduum03/21/2024
The Beauty and Graces Of Holy Week03/14/2024
Two (More) Inspiring Interviews That Can Give Us Hope03/07/2024
You Are Invited: To Be Part of a Listening, Synodal Church02/29/2024
A Movie, a Retreat, and an Invitation: Three Upcoming Events and Opportunities02/22/2024
Sharing the Good News with Joy: Two interviews with bishops and … Father Mike Schmitz02/08/2024
Are We Ready … Or Getting Ready For LENT?02/01/2024
Celebrating Life And Celebrating Our Catholic Schools01/25/2024
Are you ready – and excited – for Catholic Schools Week?01/11/2024
A National Eucharistic Congress – An Opportunity to be part of History01/04/2024
Did you hear what Pope Francis said about Blessings?Bishop Sweeney’s Columns – 202312/21/2023
The Wonder of the Birth of Jesus12/14/2023
A Powerful and Inspiring Advent Day of Prayer12/7/2023
The Advent Journey11/30/2023
What is the Synod on Synodality asking of us?11/23/2023
Giving Thanks: God, Family, and Country11/9/2023
Building a Culture of Life: Our Respect Life Convocation11/2/2023
Have you ever heard of Father Aloysius Schwartz?10/26/2023
The Upcoming Election … and Our Responsibility to Vote10/19/2023
Sadness, Joy, Prayers for Peace, and World Mission Sunday10/12/2023
Judge Esther Salas: A Testimony of Faith and Forgiveness10/05/2023
Joan Andrews Bell09/28/2023
A Peaceful, Prayerful, Public Witness for Life09/21/2023
The 2023 Diocesan Ministries Appeal: ‘I Have Called You By Name’09/14/2023
Catechetical Sunday 202309/07/2023
Remembering September 11, 200108/31/2023
Back to School08/24/2023
The Message and Mission of Fatima08/17/2023
‘Mother Teresa’s Business Card' … at World Youth Day07/27/2023
Fatima and World Youth Day: Let us journey together, united in prayer07/20/2023
St. Gianna Beretta Molla, the Vocation of Marriage and Holy Families07/13/2023
A place called Hope06/29/2023
We are a Pilgrim People: Do you know about our upcoming diocesan pilgrimage to the National Shrine?06/22/2023
June 24th: Our Patronal Feast Day, Priesthood Ordinations, and a historic day for our Country06/8/2023
How should we respond to the Los Angeles Dodgers?06/1/2023
Our 10th Annual ‘Catholic Charities Corpus Christi Food Drive’05/25/2023
Our Pentecost, the Church, and Our New Deacons05/18/2023
Our ‘Road to Revival’05/04/2023
Why a podcast?04/27/2023
World Day of Prayer for Vocations04/13/2023
‘My Lord and my God’ – ‘Doubting’ Thomas and the Feast of Divine Mercy04/06/2023
Remembering and Living the Paschal Mystery03/30/2023
The People We Meet … A Catholic Charities / ‘Meals on Wheels’ Story03/23/2023
Opening Day, March Madness and the Rites of Spring03/16/2023
Remembering a ‘friend of Jesus’ on St. Patrick’s Day03/09/2023
Our Catechetical Conference, Blessed Miriam Teresa, and Brother Marinus03/02/2023
Welcoming and Praying for Our Newest Members02/23/2023
Welcome Home to Healing02/16/2023
Are you ready for Lent? Have you considered Daily Mass?02/09/2023
‘Come and See’02/02/2023
Celebrating Culture and Honoring Our History01/26/2023
The ‘great news’ about Catholic Schools01/19/2023
Giving Thanks for the Life and Ministry Of Pope Benedict XVI01/05/2023
The Feast of the Holy Family
Bishop Sweeney’s Columns – 202212/22/22
The Living Nativity12/15/22
The Bible in a Year
(Or, The Seasons of the Year and Listening to God’s Word … on Route 80)12/8/22
Praying with our Blessed Mother
(and with the Church) on the Advent journey12/1/22
Bishop Barron’s ‘Strategies for Growth’
(and a few questions for readers)11/24/22
Choosing Hope: The USCCB meetings, Thanksgiving, and Advent11/10/22
A Beautiful Morning for Life … and Vocations Awareness Week11/3/22
Faithful Citizenship … and our responsibility to vote10/27/22
The Diocesan Ministries Appeal … and the Inspiration of the Saints10/20/22
Vivere Christus … And the Universal Call to Holiness10/13/22
‘Choose life’: How can we work together to build a ‘Culture of Life’?10/6/22
A week filled with blessings:
The Eucharistic Congress and Priests’ Convocation9/22/22
A meeting with Pope Francis9/15/22
‘What is a ‘Diocesan Eucharistic Congress,’
and why is it so important?9/8/22
‘We are one Body, One Body in Christ
Celebrating the Eucharist and the Church in Rome9/1/22
Back to School… with Gratitude and Prayers for all our Catechists8/18/22
A Great Cloud of Witnesses and the Mystery of the Eucharist
in the Life of the Church8/11/22
A New Saint – And a New Name for a Shrine in Sussex8/4/22
The Synod on Synodality: What have we heard … and what comes next?7/28/22
God’s ‘All-Stars’ and our help and inspiration7/21/22
A visit to Ireland: Faith, Family, and Vocations7/7/22
The Corpus Christi Food Drive and Being the Body of Christ6/30/22
‘Walking with Moms in Need’ – One response to the ‘Dobbs’ decision6/23/22
The Holy Eucharist: Past, Present and Future6/9/22
Women in Leadership6/2/22
The Feast of Pentecost … and Seven New Priests5/26/22
Archbishop Cordileone, the Eucharist, and the Church5/19/22
From Ascension Thursday to Ascension Sunday?5/12/22
Can we change the tone?5/5/22
Vocations: Mother’s Day, World Day of Prayer, and Father Stu4/28/22
Thank God for Moms and Dads and all our Catechists4/21/22
St. Faustina, St. Pope John Paul II, and the Feast of Divine Mercy4/14/22
Encountering the Risen Lord:
On the Synodal Journey and in the Breaking of the Bread4/7/22
‘Opening Day’ – or ‘As we journey together during our most Holy Week’3/31/22
‘Opening Day’ – or ‘Hope Springs Eternal’3/24/22
Solidarity and Generosity, Prayer and Consecration3/17/22
Celebrating St. Patrick and St. Joseph, as we pray for peace3/10/22
The Synod: Have you heard that we are listening?3/3/22
Prayer and Fasting for Peace2/24/22
Welcome Home to Healing … and Reconciliation2/17/22
Are you ready for Lent? Have you considered Daily Mass?2/10/22
St. Valentine: Love, Marriage, and Vocations2/3/22
World Day for Consecrated Life … and the Synod1/27/22
Catholic Schools Week: Faith, Excellence, Service1/20/22
Laws: Just and Unjust – ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’1/13/22
January 22, 19731/6/22
What will you do for the Year of the Eucharist? -
Bishop Sweeney’s Columns – 2021
12/23/21
The Journey to Bethlehem12/16/21
Teaching our children at Christmastime and throughout the years12/09/21
We are One Body, One Body in Christ12/02/21
Walking with Moms in Need11/25/21
Thanksgiving and Advent11/18/21
On preparing to receive Christ worthily in the Eucharist11/11/2
God bless our veterans and all who serve our country11/04/21
Encounter, Listen, Discern10/21/21
Remembering and celebrating St. Pope John Paul II10/14/21
For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission10/07/21
Respect Life Month09/30/21
‘Let Your Light Shine’09/23/21
September is National Recovery Month09/16/21
A New Office of Hispanic Ministry09/09/21
9/11/2001 – 9/11/2021: ‘We Will Never Forget’09/02/21
‘Back to school’08/19/21
Discerning and Responding to God’s Call: In the beginning and to the end08/05/21
John, Chapter 6: The Bread of Life Discourse07/22/21
World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly07/15/21
Reasons for Hope – Our 7 New Deacons07/01/21
After a year: gratitude, looking forward, and a change in plans06/24/21
The USCCB Meeting and our Diocesan Feast Day06/17/21
Father’s Day in the Year of St. Joseph06/10/21
Graduation season and our Catholic schools06/03/21
Corpus Christi: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ05/27/21
The Holy Trinity: Love, Relationships, and Obligations05/20/21
The Feast of Pentecost05/13/21
From the Ascension to Pentecost05/06/21
A ‘Spiritual Bouquet’04/29/21
St. Joseph the Worker04/22/21
Blessed Carlo Acutis04/15/21
A ‘Great Comeback’? – By an ‘Easter People’04/01/21
The Paschal Triduum03/25/21
And the Word became Flesh…03/18/21
John 3:16 and the Equality Act03/11/21
The Feasts of St. Patrick & St. Joseph03/04/21
The Transfiguration and some ‘highlights’02/25/21
‘Pitchers and catchers’ and some lessons to be learned02/18/21
Welcome Home to Healing02/11/21
‘Now is the acceptable time…’02/04/21
World Day for Consecrated Life01/28/21
Catholic Schools Week01/21/21
‘One Nation under God’01/14/21
Living the Year of St. Joseph01/07/21
A Sad Anniversary