Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

Sometimes we have to take the bad with the good. The announcement from the Governor, then restated by the diocesan office of Catholic Schools, that students are required to wear masks in school again this fall, has had the expected mixed reaction. Nonetheless, due to the easing of other restrictions – e.g. social distancing – this coming school year will look more “normal” than last year. We will be able to have the students eat in the cafeteria instead of the classrooms, for example. Last year we utilized the outdoor spaces, and certainly the outdoor learning center, we will be doing that again this year. Overall, and masks aside, we are feeling fairly confident on the year ahead.

This past week Pope Francis issued an appeal for all people to get vaccinated. We all appreciate that there are some uncertainties around the vaccine, but certainly for those of us who are highly vulnerable, or deal with vulnerable people, the vaccine is a safeguard against contraction and transmission. Please be safe and careful.

We are at about the half-way point now in the Annual Catholic Appeal timeline and not that far off from goal. We continue to inch forward but are not there yet. Please consider making a gift to support the diocesan initiatives to assist the needs in our diocese.

Our regular fall religious education classes will be beginning shortly, if your children did not attend the summer academy or register for the Fall, please contact the Faith Formation Office as soon as possible. Due to concerns about the virus we do offer a variety of options to assist you in the faith formation of your children.

The parish will be hosting a Welcome Back Family Festival on September 18th, during the time when we would have held the parish carnival. This more scaled-down event will still be entertaining and an enjoyable time. It is now really about getting out and seeing people, visiting with old friends and neighbors, and engaging in the parish community. The annual 50/50 raffle will be drawn that evening. Please remember to get your tickets in. Hopefully we can break the record we set last year.

The sad and painful results of the withdraw of American forces from Afghanistan causes us to reflect deeply on the situation in our country, and our country in the world over the past twentyyears, and perhaps over the past seventy-six years since the end of WWII. We should remember the Afghani people in our prayers. While to some great extent our presence there offered them hope, that hope was never realized. Let us pray that Afghanistan does not again become the seedbed for international terrorism. In a special way we remember the women and children who are so despicably treated under the Taliban hegemony.

I also encourage you to think about a donation through Catholic relief Services for the people in Haiti who, devastated by an earthquake last week, were still recovering from the destruction caused by a hurricane last summer. Links can be found on the parish and diocesan websites.

Of course, we also need to be mindful of the people at the Texas-US border who are coming into our country. Catholic Relief Services and other Catholic and religious agencies are working to provide some semblance of shelter and medical care under very difficult conditions. Support and prayers are needed there as well.

These times are challenging – let us pray through the intercession of the Blessed Mother and the saints to seek healing and peace in a troubled world.

Fr. Garry