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The time has finally arrived – this week Father JM and I, along with Deacon Steve, Sister Margaret Tierney, SC from St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish (Spring Lake) and some 40 other pilgrims embark on our pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This is always an awesome experience, and I am happy to share it with a whole new set of pilgrims. Many of the pilgrims are parishioners at St. Benedict. Read more.

It was certainly a very pleasant week, a great respite from the arctic cold of the week before. We got our taste of Spring, and certainly we can sense the increasing sunlight every day. Read more.

I wish to thank everyone who participated in and supported SBS during Catholic Schools Week. The students had a great week of celebration, including a surprise and welcome visit from SBS alumnus and St. Benedict parishioner Jim Yacabonis. Jim is a pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles and a proud SBS (and CBA) graduate. He offered the students some inspiring words of wisdom and insight into the life of a professional athlete. Read more.

January affords several opportunities for making statements about our faith. As this is Pro-Life Month, we focus on the rights of all people to a life with dignity and respect from conception to natural death. This covers a wide range of issues over the protection of life, health care, education, immigration, basic civil rights, equal justice before the law, housing, employment, and a host of other issues. Let us all be attentive to the short-comings in our own lives that make us silent – or maybe not so silent – agents of injustice and inequality instead of advocates for the rights of all. Certainly responding to Deacon Rich’s appeal for baby bottles is one way we can help. Read more.

Things get back to normal here this week. Ordinary Time begins after Vespers on Sunday, and we begin the journey to Lent. In the meantime, we are planning a few programs to get us ready for the Lenten Season. Read more.

A blessed 2019 to everyone! Today is the great feast – as you know in some areas of the world even bigger than Christmas – Epiphany – the celebration that God is made manifest among us. The great mystery and miracle of the Incarnation is now fully realized for us. As we celebrate this feast – and by an accident of the calendar this year we celebrate it on the traditional date January 6 – let us be aware of the presence of God in our midst, and as we reflect on the gold, frankincense, and myrrh, we are called and challenged to think of the ways in which we offer our gifts to the Lord. Read more.

I trust that everyone had a pleasant Christmas and is enjoying some relaxing family time this week. Father JM, the parish and school staff, and I are grateful for your thoughtfulness and generosity this season. Words are inadequate, really, to express our gratitude. Please be assured of our prayers, and the intention of our Masses, for all of you. Read more.

Happy Fourth Sunday of Advent and as Christmas is Tuesday, we would be hard pressed to call this a week of Advent. I hope that everyone is ready – or at least feels ready – for the Holy Days and holidays that commence this week. Read more.

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict: To seek forgiveness of sins in preparation for the coming of the Lord was a key element of the proclamation of St. John the Baptist. Through the great gift of the Sacrament of Confession, we are able to realize that forgiveness through sacramental absolution. During this time of the year, then, we await the coming of the Lord: in celebration at Christmas and in hope at his Second Coming. Today, beginning at 4:00 p.m., we will celebrate Confession for all members of the parish. Some members of the parish, second grade students in the religious education programs, will receive First Penance, and all members of the parish – and certainly all Catholics – are invited to be here to receive the Sacrament. There will be an ample number of priests here to hear confessions. The afternoon is also progressive – while the service begins at 4:00 p.m., we expect to be here for over an hour, so you do not have to be here right at 4:00 p.m. to receive the Sacrament. Read more.

Advent goes really fast. This is the Second Sunday, but I hope you aren’t expecting two more full weeks before Christmas! I hope you like the little tree we decorated next to Father JM’s residence. That tree just screamed, “Decorate me for Christmas” and so we did. We still have the school tree lit as well, hoping to make the property festive as we approach the Holy Days. We are grateful to Eagle Scout-candidate Conor Morris for his construction of a proper crèche to house the beautiful Nativity figures we purchased last year. Read more.

This week we begin the Advent Season in the hope that as we celebrate the coming of the Lord into our hearts and lives this coming Christmas Season, he might take deeper root in us and draw us all closer to him. Read more.

I trust that everyone had a safe and pleasant Thanksgiving holiday. It is always good to get together with our families and friends to celebrate the holidays. For some reason they seem to get busier each year, I am not sure why that is. Still, my Mother at 85 insists on preparing the dinner, not only for Thanksgiving, but Christmas and New Year as well. Read more.

November seems to be on a fast pace to get over with! All of a sudden we are hitting the middle of the month and I feel as though it just started. Hopefully everyone is setting a focus towards the celebration of Thanksgiving next week. Read more.

As previously discussed, we are hoping to expand the presentation of Icons in the Hall of the Saints. Perhaps a brief understanding of the meaning of an icon as such is in order. To the contemporary reader an “icon” is a shortcut on your computer or smartphone that enables you to access a program or an app. This is, sadly, an unfortunate usurpation of a word that has been used in the church from the very beginning, appearing even in the New Testament. The word “icon” is derived from the Greek word for an image. Saint Paul tells us that “Jesus is the icon of the Father.”

This is Vocation Awareness Week. As I mentioned in a prior missive, it is a good time to reflect on the meaning and role of our own “religious vocations” – be it married, preparing for marriage, deacon, or priest. It is also time to reflect on how we encourage and strengthen the vocations of others. We will engage in our annual Adopt-a-Seminarian appeal this weekend. Read more.

Next week – November 4-10, is National Vocation Awareness Week. Parishioner Roe Abbato will speak to the parish regarding the Adopt-a-Seminarian initiative that began with her inspiration through the Faith Formation Committee. This is a great way to support the men who are presently studying for our diocese. Read more.

We are quickly approaching the busiest time of the year – and I thought we were busy already! Read more.

With Bay Shore Hospital and several long and short-term treatment facilities in our parish, there are many parishioners who are medical professionals. The work that they do – whether they be physicians, nurses, technicians, or aides – is invaluable in our society. Read more.

October is pro-life month. During this very challenging time in our country and our church, it is always essential for us to get back to the very essence of who we are: human persons, created in the image and likeness of God, called to a personal relationship with him, and called to eternal life. Read more.

People are often looking for Holy Water to take to their homes for a variety of reasons. Getting water out of the Baptismal Font is not always a good option as it drips water all over the place. Through the generosity of a parishioner we have purchased a more traditional Holy Water dispenser (one with a tap) to make it easier. It is located in the Hall of Saints near the Crucifix. Read more.