Bishop Sweeney made a pastoral visit to St. Therese Parish in Paterson Jan. 10. During his visit, he celebrated Mass marking the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

When the first man and woman disobeyed God’s command not to eat the apple from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden, it touched off a cycle of environmental devastation of earth, our common home, by the human race that continues to this day. It started when they “decided to do things their way, not God’s way,” which disturbed forever God’s perfect order for the world, Bishop Emeritus Arthur Serratelli said in two talks he gave during Advent about our duty to be faithful stewards of God’s creation at St. Joseph Church in Mendham.

Msgr. Geno Sylva, rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, wears a dramatic expression on his face as he holds up a wooden starfish during his homily. He points to the object, asking the faithful, especially the young people, to identify it by completing the sentence, “This is …” “A starfish!” shouts Mia Campagna, 14, who has mild learning and developmental challenges due to Williams Syndrome, a rare neurodevelopment genetic disorder. She waves her hands in excitement from her pew during that 5 p.m. vigil Mass on Jan. 2 for the Feast of the Epiphany, which also marks St. John’s third Special Needs Mass that began last October.