On Monday, July 4th only one Mass will be scheduled in our parish. Holy Mass will be celebrated at the parish cemetery at 9 o’clock in the morning. Do bring a lawn chair with you! In the event of rain the Mass will take place in the church. The regular morning Mass schedule resumes on Tuesday, July 5th.

Recognizing the dwindling supply at the local food pantries, you are asked to bring 1 non perishable food item to the parish picnic on Sunday, June 12th at the Fireman’s Field located on Beach Street in the Borough. Your donation can be placed in the “clearly marked vehicle” located at the entrance of the park. Your support is appreciated by those who are struggling to buy food for their families! God bless you!

The month of June is dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. We will pray the Litany to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus every day, Monday through Friday, following the 8 o’clock morning Mass.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has chosen June 22nd to June 29th as RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WEEK. Religious freedom allows the Church, and all religious communities, to live out their faith in public and to serve the good of all. We are invited to pray, reflect and act to promote religious freedom which is guaranteed under our county’s constitution but which is being threatened in our secular society.

We will resume the outdoor Mass at the parish cemetery on Saturday evening at 7 o’clock beginning June 4th. The Saturday 7 o’clock vigil Mass will be celebrated in the church in the event of rain. A FLOCKNOTE will be sent our every Saturday near the noon hour as a reminder or to indicate Mass in the church due to weather. Please remember to bring your lawn chair! The 12:15 p.m. Sunday Mass will continue to be celebrated in the church.

Holy Hour will not take place on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30th. Holy Hour will resume the following week on June 6th. Also, Holy Hour will conclude on Monday, June 27th for the summer. The Monday evening Holy Hour will resume following Labor Day.

The Feast of Corpus Christi will be celebrated on Sunday, June 19th with a combined parish event at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church on East Main Street. The outdoor procession with the Most Blessed Sacrament will begin at 2 o’clock. Young people are invited to serve as acolytes, baldachino bearers, and those who strew flower petals. Please see Father Zig or Father Matt for details. The young people of the Catacombs Group will also participate by bearing the image of Blessed Carlo Acutis during the ceremony.

The Bishops of the Metropolitan Province of Newark have moved the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord (the 40th day of Easter) from its traditional day of Thursday to the following Sunday, which this year is May 29th. Therefore, this Thursday, May 26th, IS NOT A HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION.

The 10th Annual CORPUS CHRISTI FOOD DRIVE will take place in the Diocese of Paterson to replenish the dwindling food supplies at the 3 diocesan food pantries operated by Catholic Charities. Saint Cecilia Parish has been asked to donate the following items: PANCAKE MIX, PANCAKE SYRUP, SHAMPOO. These items can be brought to Hayes Hall and placed on the designated tables prior to June 18th-19th (Feast of Corpus Christi). Should you like to make a monetary donation for this purpose please go to: https://www.ccpaterson.org/corpus. You may also write a check payable to St. Cecilia Church with the memo: food drive.

MEMORIAL DAY MASS – Holy Mass on Monday, May 30th, MEMORIAL DAY, will be celebrated at the parish cemetery at 9 o’clock in the morning. In the event of rain the mass will take place in the church. Don’t forget to bring your lawn chair or blanket for the ground. The 6:30 and 8 am Masses will not be celebrated on this day.

We will commemorate the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Saint Elizabeth on Tuesday, May 31st and the close of the month of May with the praying of the Holy Rosary at 7 o’clock in the evening. Please join us in prayer.

In Catholic tradition the month of May is dedicated to the Mother of God and Ever Virgin Mary. During this month the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary will be prayed at the conclusion of the 8 o’clock morning Mass Monday through Friday. A Rosary devotion to close the month will take place on Tuesday, May 31st at 7 o’clock in the evening.

I have received some inquiries as to when we will be returning to the cemetery for outdoor Mass. I am planning to resume Mass at the cemetery BUT not until June. Our parish April and May calendar has too many important events scheduled which make it difficult to return outdoors any sooner. I am planning to have our first Mass at the cemetery the first weekend of June, 4-5. In addition, we are planning to have a PARISH PICNIC on Sunday, June 12th at the Firemen’s Field located at 144 Beach Street in the borough. We will begin with the 12:15 p.m. Mass at the field followed by food and fellowship. Additional information will be forthcoming but for now you can circle the date on your calendar. – Father Zig

A penance service will take place on Tuesday evening of Holy Week, April 12th beginning at 7 o’clock. I have invited 8 priests to be with us to hear confessions on this night for both adults and children. This will be the final opportunity to go to confession prior to Easter so I ask you to adjust your schedule so as to attend if you have not yet gone to confession. – Father Zig

This will be the third year now that the annual ECUMENICAL LENTEN LUNCHES held at the First Presbyterian Church (our neighbors across the street) have been cancelled due to COVID 19. In lieu of this cancelled ecumenical event the Methodist Church of the Rockaways located on Hoagland Avenue invites residents to join them each Friday at Noon for a musical program of reflection. We pray that next Lent will allow us to return to our Lenten lunches for ecumenical fellowship.

“Helping Others Encounter Jesus in the Eucharist” is the title of a free on line event which will take place on Wednesday, March 23rd from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm. The speaker is Dr. James C. Pauley, Professor of Theology and Catechesis at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. For additional information please visit: www.insidethewalls.org/zoom.

The Holy Rosary will be prayed for the Ukraine every Friday evening following the Stations of the Cross which begins at 7 o’clock. Join us as we pray for an end of war, the protection of the Ukrainian people, democracy in Ukraine and for the eternal rest of those who have perished as a result of this aggression.

Several drives are taking place in our local area to help the people of Ukraine. Your support is greatly appreciated: St. Cecilia Church will have a second collection (cash or check made out to St. Cecilia Church with “Ukraine” in the memo) during Masses this weekend to benefit Caritas in Ukraine. Morris Catholic High School’s medical supply drive will run from now until March 18th. Items may be dropped off at the main entrance of Morris Catholic High School. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church humanitarian aid drive items can be brought to 635 Broad Street, Clifton daily from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm.

The holy season of Lent begins on Wednesday, March 2nd. The signing with ashes will take place at the morning Masses at 6:30 and 8 o’clock and the evening Mass at 7 o’clock. A service of Liturgy of the Word will take place at 4:30 in the afternoon with the signing of ashes. This day is one of strict fast and abstinence, no meat and only one full meal on this first of Lent.

Every Monday evening during Lent, March 7 to April 4, every parish in the Diocese of Paterson will be open from 7 to 8:30 p.m. for confession. All of us are directed to the sacrament of penance during this holy season as per our venerable tradition prior to the great feast of Our Lord’s Holy Resurrection.