Worship Office

Eucharistic Minister Workshop (Spring 2024)

Workshops (in both English and Spanish) to train (or renew) Eucharistic Ministers on Saturday, April 13, 2023, 9:00am-12:30pm. Topics include the spirituality of ministry, Communion of the sick and the… Read More

Words on Worship

Official Podcast of the Worship Office

For a full list on episodes, please visit https://wordsonworship.libsyn.com/.

Liturgy

Here you will find information and resources regarding all aspects of the Liturgy. Information is provided as to increase your knowledge and understanding of such an integral part of our faith.

The Mass

Policy on Sunday Mass Scheduling

Five Questions on the Distribution of Holy Communion from the Tabernacle

Celebrating the Extraordinary Form of the Mass

Sacred Vessels for use in the Liturgy 2009

The Name of St. Joseph in the Eucharistic Prayers

Misal Romano Chants:

The Order of Mass

These recordings of the liturgical texts in Misal Romano were prepared by OCP and are offered to help priests, deacons, music ministers, and others to sing these chants: https://www.ocp.org/en-us/chants-del-misal-romano-order-of-the-mass

Música para el Misal Romano, Tercera Edición

http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/la-santa-misa/musica-para-el-mis…

Liturgical Ministers

Deacons

The Deacon at Mass – USCCB
General Instruction of the Roman Missal – For Deacons – 3rd Edition
Guidelines for a Deacon’s Funeral

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion

Policy for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
Guidelines for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
High School Mandate Form
About Mandates

Formation of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
April 13, 2024 – 9:00am-12:30pm
Archdiocesan Pastoral Center
171 Clifton Avenue – Newark
Registration | Inscripción

Lectors

Guidelines for Lectors

Formation of Lectors
March 9, 2024 – 9:00am-12:30pm
Archdiocesan Pastoral Center
171 Clifton Avenue – Newark
Registration Information

Funerals

Words of Remembrance

Effective March 1, 2021
Policy on Words of Remembrance – English | Spanish
Guidelines for Words of Remembrance – English | Spanish

National Flag

Use of National Flag in the Order of Christian Funerals

Liturgical Year

Here you will find information and resources regarding the Liturgical Year. Each section provides information about the specific part of the year. We hope that this information will further your knowledge and understanding of our calendar year and the importance of each season.

Liturgical Year

Holy Days of Obligation 2024

Monday, January 1, 2024 – Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God*
*NOT a Holy Day of Obligation in 2024

Thursday, August 15, 2024 – The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Friday, November 1, 2024 – All Saints

Monday, December 9, 2024 – The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary*
*NOT a Holy Day of Obligation in 2024

Wednesday, December 25, 2024 – The Nativity of the Lord [Christmas]

**The Latin-rite Diocesan Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Newark (i.e. the State of New Jersey) have joined most of the country in permanently assigning the observance of the Ascension of the Lord to the Seventh Sunday of Easter. In 2024, it is therefore transferred to Sunday, May 12, 2024. Thursday, May 9, 2024 is the Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter.

If you have any questions, please contact the Worship Office.

Calendar Updates

Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich

Memorial – May 8
Mass Prayers

The Ascension of the Lord

Solemnity – Seventh Sunday of Easter (May 12, 2024)

The Latin-rite Diocesan Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Newark (i.e. the State of New Jersey) have joined most of the country in permanently assigning the observance of the Ascension of the Lord to the Seventh Sunday of Easter. In 2023, it is therefore transferred to Sunday, May 12, 2024. Thursday, May 9, 2024 is the Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter.
Reflection on the Ascension of the Lord

The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

Memorial – Monday after Pentecost (May 20, 2024)
Readings

Saint Mary Magdalene

Feast – July 22
On June 3, 2016, the Holy See raised the liturgical rank of the Memorial of Saint Mary Magdalene to a Feast, with the date remaining on July 22. A new Preface before the Eucharistic Prayer for the Feast was also promulgated in Latin. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments confirmed the English translation of the Preface for the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene on September 21, 2019.

The Directives and Preface of Saint Mary Magdalene (Apostle to the Apostles) are available here.

Saint Martha, Mary and Lazarus

Memorial – July 29
On January 26, 2021, Pope Francis ordered the inscription of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus into the General Roman Calendar, to replace the existing celebration of Saint Martha alone.

Additional information, including the interim texts, is available from the USCCB here.

Our Lady of Loretto

Optional Memorial – December 10
Word Document

Services of Prayer, Recognition and Hope

Behold the Wood of the Cross – A Service of Prayer, Recognition and Hope (participation aid)
Behold the Wood of the Cross – A Service of Prayer, Recognition and Hope (presider’s text)

Longing for Light – We Wait in Darkness (participation aid)
Longing for Light – We Wait in Darkness (presider’s text)

Create In Me A Clean Heart, O God (participation aid)
Create in Me A Clean Heart, O God (presider’s text)

Liturgical Principles and the Roman Calendar
Advent and Christmas

Advent Calendar English or Spanish

Finding Christ in Advent

Christmas and Children’s Liturgy of the Word

Excerpt on Popular Piety and the Christmas Feasts from the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments)

Christmas Beyond Children
Christmas is not a feast about a child primarily for children. It is the feast of the child “destined for the rise and fall of many” (Luke 2:34), the redemption of Israel.

Advent Wreath

Christmas Crèche

Advent Communal Penance Service (pages 5-23)
English | Spanish

Easter Triduum

Time of the Easter Vigil

Regarding the time of The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night, the entirety of the celebration of this Mass “must take place during the night (noctu), so that it begins after nightfall and ends before daybreak on the Sunday.” In its 1988 Circular Letter Concerning Preparation and Celebration of Easter Feasts, the Congregation for Divine Worship made clear that “this rule is to be taken according to its strictest sense. Reprehensible are those abuses and practices which have crept in in many places in violation of this ruling, whereby the Easter Vigil is celebrated at the time of day that it is customary to celebrate anticipated Sunday Masses.” Within the Archdiocese of Newark, the Easter Vigil should not begin before 8:15pm. There is to be only one celebration of the Easter Vigil, and no Masses are permitted prior to the Easter Vigil.

If you have any questions, please contact the Worship Office.

About the Triduum

Holy Thursday

Good Friday

Easter Vigil

Easter

RCIA

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a process for men and women to become baptized members of the Catholic Church. Candidates are gradually introduced to Catholic beliefs and practices.

Catechumens

Adults who are not baptized and wish to become members of the Roman Catholic Church should follow the complete process of initiation as outlined in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. 

They are to:

  • Participate in the pre-catechumenate.
  • Be chosen for entrance into the catechumenate in the Rite of Acceptance.
  • Participate in the catechumenate for a suitable period of time, a least one calendar year.
  • Participate in the Rite of Election celebrated in the Cathedral on the First Sunday of Lent.
  • Observe Lent as a time of purification and enlightenment.
  • Participate in the Scrutinies and the Presentations.
  • Receive the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist) at the Easter Vigil.
  • Observe the season of Easter as a time of post-baptismal catechesis (i.e. mystagogy).
Christians Baptized in a non-Catholic Church
  • Reception into Full Communion
  • Christians baptized in a non-Catholic church who wish to become members of the Roman Catholic Church should follow a process that leads to the celebration of Confirmation and Eucharist according to the norms of the “Reception of Baptized Christians into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church.”
  • See Part II, #5 of the RCIA.
  • They are to:
  • Receive suitable catechesis and spiritual formation.
  • Participate in the “Call to Continuing Conversion” in the Cathedral on First Sunday of Lent.
  • Celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Lent prior to reception into the Full Communion.
  • Be received into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church ordinarily at a Sunday Mass celebrated during the Easter Season.
  • Observe the season of Easter as a time of post-baptismal catechesis (i.e. mystagogy)
Christians Baptized in an Eastern Orthodox Church

Reception into Full Communion

In the case of Christians baptized in an Eastern Orthodox Church who wish to enter into the fullness of Catholic communion, no liturgical rite is required, but simply a profession of Catholic faith.

N.B. After a period of appropriate pastoral formation, members of these Churches simply make a Profession of Faith through which they are incorporated into the corresponding Catholic Rite (e.g. Greek Orthodox become Greek Catholic) unless permission to transfer to the Latin Rite has been procured from the Vatican prior to their making a Profession of Faith.

They are to:

  • Receive suitable catechesis and spiritual formation.
  • Participate in the “Call to Continuing Conversion” in the Cathedral on the First Sunday of Lent.
  • Celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation during the Lenten season.
  • No Rite of Reception into Full Communion
  • No Confirmation since the Catholic Church accepts the validity of Confirmation (administered at Baptism) in the Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Adult Catholics Completing Initiation

Adult (18+) Baptized Catholic Seeking to Complete Christian Initiation

Adult Catholics, baptized as infants in the Roman Catholic Church who have not received the sacrament of Confirmation should participate in a period of catechesis leading to the celebration of Confirmation on a Sunday of the Easter season or on Pentecost Sunday.

They are to:

  • Participate regularly in Sunday Mass.
  • Receive suitable catechesis and spiritual formation during the seasons of Lent and Easter.
  • Participate in the “Call to Continuing Conversion” in the Cathedral on the First Sunday of Lent.
  • Celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation prior to the celebration of the sacrament, preferably during Lent.
  • Receive Confirmation on a Sunday of the Easter season or on Pentecost Sunday.

Ritual: Confirmation of Adult (18+) Baptized Catholics
Delegation Request: Pastor Request for Delegation to Confirm Baptized Catholics (18+)

N.B. It may be the case that an adult Catholic baptized as an infant needs both Confirmation and Eucharist to complete Christian initiation. If this is the situation, the adult receives first communion at the Mass in which the Rite of Confirmation is celebrated.

Children of Catechetical Age

Concerning Children

An unbaptized child who has reached catechetical age (viz. about the age of 7) and wishes to become a member of the Roman Catholic Church, should follow the complete process of initiation as outlined in the RCIA, Part II, #1.

A Christian child baptized in a non-Catholic Church who has reached catechetical age should follow a process that leads to the celebration of Confirmation and Eucharist according to the norms of the “Reception of Baptized Christians into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church.” See Part II, #5 of the RCIA.

A Christian child baptized in an Eastern Orthodox Church who has reached catechetical age who wishes to enter into the fullness of Catholic communion, no liturgical rite is required, but simply a profession of Catholic faith. N.B. Members of these Churches are incorporated into the corresponding Catholic Rite (e.g. Greek Orthodox become Greek Catholic) unless permission to transfer to the Latin Rite has been procured from the Vatican prior to their making a Profession of Faith.

A child baptized as an infant in the Catholic Church who has reached catechetical age and has not received the sacrament of Eucharist with his/her peer group follows a process that will lead to the celebration of the Eucharist at a time designated by the parish, preferably a Sunday of the Easter season.

A child baptized as an infant in the Catholic Church who has reached catechetical age and has not received the sacrament of Confirmation with his/her peer group follows a process that will lead to the celebration of the sacrament at the time that Confirmation is administered in the parish by the bishop.

RCIA Registration Database

NPM NEWARK CHAPTER

Staff

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Contact us

Main Office Phone
973-497-4345
Office Fax
973-497-4314
Book Orders
973-497-4361