As heavy rains pelted Rockaway and the rest of northern New Jersey last weekend, the love and mercy of God came pouring down on faithful in St. Cecilia Church, Rockaway, who had taken the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the message of and the devotion to Divine Mercy, during a “Mercy and Mary Retreat” here from Friday, Aug. 10 to Saturday, Aug. 11. The 380 Catholics from St. Cecilia’s and beyond gave a celebrity welcome to the leader of the retreat, Marian Father of the Immaculate Conception Michael E. Gaitley, a noted author, who encouraged them to spread the Divine Mercy message far and wide to a world filled with suffering and sin.

Bishop Serratelli has issued a decree that brings together and strengthens two distinct and dynamic parishes in Dover by canonically merging Sacred Heart Parish, an Anglo population, and Our Lady Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, a Spanish-speaking faith community, into one parish, which took effect yesterday, Aug. 15, on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The new unified parish is now called “Sacred Heart and Our Lady Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church,” although each individual church building will retain its original respective name.

Most of us know that the crime of human trafficking is rampant around the globe, but think it’s not so much of a problem in the United States. But that’s just not the case. A new global report has found much higher rates of modern-day slavery here than previously believed — with the report stating that as many as 1 in 800 Americans is currently a victim of human trafficking.

Teens from across the United States who were taking part in a Catholic Heart Workcamp (CHWC) and were housed at Mary Help of Christians Academy in North Haledon, immersed themselves in working at various agencies of Catholic Charities in the Diocese during their stay during the last week of July.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Mary Parish in Dover Aug. 5, where he served as main celebrant and homilist at the 11:30 a.m. Mass for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Concelebrating the liturgy were SOLT Father Derek Anderson, St. Mary’s pastor, and SOLT Father Patrick Prajzner, St. Mary’s parochial vicar.

Parenthood can be a noisy business, and for a group of Catholic dads in Morris County the pre-dawn hours offer the quiet needed for restoration and reflection on their vocation as fathers. The N.J. chapter of the Fathers of St. Joseph meets for silent prayer and discussion every other Saturday morning in the parish office at St. Cecelia’s Parish in Rockaway.

Delegates of diocesan Hispanic Ministry will carry their five pastoral priorities for serving the needs of the ever-growing Hispanic and Latino populations as previously proposed to the national gathering of V Encuentro from Thursday, Sept. 20 to Sunday, Sept. 23 in Grapevine, Texas.

At the recent Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom held at the State Department in Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a declaration encouraging the global community to stand up for religious freedom. Known as the Potomac Declaration, it is a statement of principles on the meaning and value of religious freedom.