Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

Advent is off to a quick start here. Thank you to all who came to the Christmas tree lighting this past weekend, and a special thanks to those who supported the Knights of Columbus through the purchase and dedication of the Christmas trees along the property. This addition really makes the property feel warm and ready for Christmas!

Monday night the Bereavement Committee is hosting an evening of prayer for all those who have lost loved ones, especially over this past year. Please join us for an evening of prayer, fellowship, and refreshment.

This week we have the Patronal Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Please remember to join us for Mass either at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday evening, or at 9:00 a.m. or 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Next Sunday is our parish penance service. We have over a dozen priests who will be here between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. to hear Confessions. We have First Penance kicking off the afternoon, but everyone is welcome to come at any time during the afternoon. There is no formal penance service. The format, as we did a couple years ago, is just open for confession as you arrive.

You have probably heard that Pope Francis has challenged the church to open conversation through a new format of synod study. Each parish throughout the world has been invited to conduct listening sessions so that we can reflect on our experiences of and as church. The core team here who will be leading us through this process are: Denise Contino, Carol DeMuria, and Diane Laskowski. Each of them is a long time parishioner, and they are all very active members of our parish family. They, along with their select team, will lead us through this process in January, February, and March. If you are interested in being a part of the team, please make contact with the parish office. General participation will be open, and announced in future bulletins.

This past Giving Tuesday saw our school again place second in the diocese in number of dollars raised. As of this writing we raised $5,500. This is five-hundred dollars over goal. Thank you for your generous support to our school.

All gifts through the Giving Tree are due to the parish office by Friday this week. Once again, the support of the parish to this project is extremely generous. Our small sacrifices can have a significant impact in the life of a child, single parent, or homeless adult. Thank you!

Tuesday, December 7th, marks the 80th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. While only a few remain who fought in the world conflagration that ensued, we are ever mindful of all who served, and especially of those who died, or suffered the lingering effects – physical, emotional, spiritual – from that and, indeed, all wars. There are not sufficient words to express our gratitude. Let us be ever mindful of the benefit of their sacrifice.

As we face yet another variant of this pandemic – dubbed “Omicron” – let us continue our vigilance, but not allow ourselves to get swept up in fear and hysteria. There are certainly many cases around us these days – we have had to make some adjustments in school as have almost all of the other schools in the area. We continue to exercise prudent caution in the administration of the pandemic protocols here. Together we can beat this plight.

Let us continue our Advent journey, preparing ourselves for the coming of the Lord into our lives, and our hearts, through receiving the Sacraments, and by our generous love for one another.

Come, Lord Jesus,
Father Garry