Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

Last weekend we had a very positive and exciting beginning to the faith formation year with the families of our Summer Academy students and our eighth grade Confirmation candidates. Thank you to the host of volunteers, our staff, and all of the families that make the commitment to the growth-in-faith of the students in our parish. May the Lord bless all of us with his bounteous love.

This weekend and next weekend Bishop O’Connell will be celebrating the annual Marriage Anniversary Masses; this weekend at the Cathedral and next weekend at the Co-Cathedral. Our readings this Sunday remind us of the sign of marriage as a covenantal relationship between Christ and the Church. We are overwhelmed here now with the number of couples who seek to get married in the church and those who, living in civil marriages, now seek to have their marriage convalidated, thereby becoming a sacramental union. Please make contact with Lori McCahill if you wish to get married or to have your marriage blessed by the church. It is typically an easy process, and one that is enriching and a great gift in our lives.

This weekend I am at St. Thomas More church in Manalapan and Our Lady of Mercy Church in Englishtown to preach on vocations. The past two weekends (St. Joseph/Toms River and St. Dominic/Brick Town) have been positive and hopeful. Let us continue in our prayers that the Lord will bless the church with priests to serve at the altar. We will be holding our annual Adopt-a-Seminarian in a few weeks. In the beginning of November we will once again hold the “Called-by-Name” initiative to help us identify prospective candidates for seminary.

As you have all no doubt noticed the painting of the pastor’s residence is complete. Thank you for your votes in choosing the color. The painting of the parochial vicar’s residence has been postponed until next year. The work was done through the generous donation of a parishioner, and it is easier on his schedule to do the other house then.

The work on the new Pre School modular classroom is almost complete. We will have an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony at some point later this month. It is amazing how quickly we were able to move from concept to completion. This has given us the opportunity to bring 26 three-year-old’s into the school, many of whom we hope will continue with us throughout their elementary and middle school years.

October is Pro-Life Awareness Month. We are grateful to Deacon Rich who spearheads our pro-life activities. Once again we are sponsoring the Baby Bottle Boomerang collection. Thank you for your generous support of this effort. For us to be truly pro-life we need to be proactive in assisting Mother’s and families through all stages of having and raising their children.

 So often the church and other pro-life groups are criticized for being anti-abortion, but then mute on programs to support families, immigrants, and health care. Unfortunately, in some instances this criticism is warranted. For us as Catholics we clearly support and advocate life from conception through natural death. And, as we also pray for the dead, we support all not just in this life but the life to come. May the Lord bless us in all of these efforts.

It looks like there is some beautiful autumnal weather ahead. Please have a blessed and safe week,
Fr. Garry