Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

Is it just me, or does it seem like Advent is flying by?! Here we are, the Third Week of Advent, with the familiar rose colored vestments as a reminder to us of the great joy we celebrate as we anticipate the coming feasts and the end of our penitential period.

Considering Penance, of course, this afternoon is our Advent Penance Service. With over a dozen priests here between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m., this provides a great opportunity to truly prepare ourselves for Christmas, as we seek reconciliation with the Lord and the forgiveness of our sins. The students in the religious education program will also receive First Penance today, so let us keep them and their families in our prayers.

Allow me to express our deep gratitude to all who supported the Giving Tree this year. Your generosity is overwhelming. The RAINE Foundation is the beneficiary of our generosity. They support hundreds of families during this time of year, and we are most fortunate to be connected to their good works in our area. The Youth Group will be holding their annual coat drive in January. Look for details in the bulletin.

This weekend we are holding a special collection to support our seminarians. I will take each of them a Christmas gift from the parish when I attend the annual Seminarian Christmas Mass and Dinner next Saturday evening. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and support.

Please join me on Tuesday evening December 14th in the church at 7:00 p.m. for a presentation on “Mary in the Old Testament.” Here I will reflect on the key scriptural passages in the Old Testament that relate to the role of the Blessed Mother in Salvation History.

Thursday evening December 16th at 7:00 p.m. for our annual hosting of the Simbang Gabi Mass. We will be joined by the Filipino community and led in prayer by Father AL Gamalo. Please join us for Mass and great music as we anticipate the coming of Christ this Christmas.

We are well underway with our preparations as a parish to participate in the Diocesan phase of the Synod on Synodality to be held in Rome in 2023. Pope Francis has invited the entire church – each parish in the world – to address their concerns and hopes for the church in the world of the twenty-first century. I am grateful to Denise Contino, Carol DeMuria, and Diane Laskowski for their leadership in this process. They are assembling a team of facilitators to work through the various listening sessions. More will be announced when we are ready for the listening phase of this process.

It’s beginning to look like Christmas. As always, I wish to thank Bob Cognat and the facilities and grounds crew – Robert, Walter, Peter – for their hard work and creativity in preparing the church and grounds for the festivities.

You may also have noticed that the bells are ringing again. The system got burnt in a power surge and required repair. Fortunately the system was still under warranty! It’s nice to have the bells back for Christmas.

Prayers for a great week for everyone – I hope your preparations both religious and secular are going well. No stress – it’s only Christmas!

Come, Lord Jesus,
Father Garry