Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of Saint Benedict:

Once again we here have stepped up and done the awesome. The bake sale last weekend to assist with expenses for the family of Danny C., a sixth grader here who has been diagnosed with cancer, raised $2,835. “Thank you” to all who provided baked goods, for the sixth grade parents who organized and coordinated the event, and all of you for your generous support. Of course it didn’t hurt that the baked goods we all so incredibly good! This happened while still hundreds of toys, clothing, and other gifts for Christmas were being dropped off in the Narthex. Last weekend was very busy and very positive here. It was a real “feel-good” day. Thank you again!

Bishop David O’Connell, C.M., will be here to celebrate the 5:00 p.m. Mass next Saturday (December 16th). All of the seminarians of the Diocese will be present and will assist at the Mass. A number of other priests will be here as well. Monsignor Thomas Gervasio, Vicar General of the Diocese; Monsignor Thomas Mullelley, Vicar for Clergy, Religious and Seminarians; Father Michael Wallack, Secretary to the Bishop and Director of Vocations; and Father Daniel Swift, who along with me is Assistant Director of Vocations. There may be some other priests here as well. We are excited to host this evening with the Bishop and seminarians. Hopefully we will inspire other men of our parish to consider a priestly vocation. Among the seminarians who will be with us are Deacon Michael DeSaye from our parish and Frank Flaherty who was assigned here this past summer. I am not sure if anyone noticed but new doors were installed in the Narthex on Monday, November 27th .

I had mentioned in the past that the doors really needed to be replaced. They were interior and not exterior doors, they were not fire-safety doors, they were difficult to lock, and they allowed for too much air exchange from the inside and the outside. The new doors were paid for through the rebate from the Faith to Move Mountains Campaign. The cost of replacing the old doors with new custom doors ran to slightly over $15,000. This was less than I was expecting, so a good thing.

You will also notice this weekend that we have installed the Icons of the Apostles in our Hall of Saints. There are also other smaller icons that came from the school restoration project that are also in the Hall. We are hoping to add to that collection to fill the room out a bit. I know that we all have our favorite saints, but I am looking to just honor those who are most universally celebrated. We will open up this conversation in the new year. It might seem that now we are rushing towards Christmas, but take your time and be patient. The Lord is coming!

Fr. Garry Koch