Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

It certainly has felt good to be back celebrating Mass and interacting with the staff of the parish in person. I have, as yet, been reluctant to interact with too many people, but I should be feeling more confident as I get stronger. I do get tired easily and I did start cardio rehab this past week.

This weekend after all of the Masses we will offer the Saint Blaise throat blessing. Also, as we lost the opening Mass for Catholic School’s Week last week we are celebrating that this weekend. The students in our school were treated to a wonderful line-up of speakers this past week. Congressman Chris Smith was here on Monday to address the students as the kick-off to the week. The Congressman delivered a passionate speech on the importance of Catholic School in his life and that of his family. He also spoke to the students of the ways in which his faith stands as the guide for his commitment to public service. Regardless of your political leanings, the Congressmen left our students with an excellent reflection on how faith can and should animate our lives. The students were afforded time to ask Congressman Smith questions, which proved to be insightful and very positive. We are grateful that he took the time from his schedule to speak with our students, none of whom can vote!

Each day this past week highlighted other keynote speakers as well, coming from various walks of life and backgrounds. Some of the speaker addressed the students over Zoom while others were here in person. Tuesday brought State Senator Declan O’Scanlon; Wednesday brought Dr. Anna Piotrowski, M.D. and SBS alumnus Mechanical Engineer, Conrad Laskowski; Thursday the students heard from Jerry Recco, sports anchor on WFAN (660 AM) and Friday brought chef and restauranteur David Burke to our campus. It was a great week to be an SBS student for sure. I am grateful to Kevin Donahue, principal, and Patti Dickens, stewardship director, for securing the speakers.

This is National Marriage Week. This observance began as World Marriage Day in 1983. The goal of World Marriage Day was to highlight the beauty of marriage and to honor all husbands and wives for their faithfulness and sacrifices. The intention of this day was to help couples make good marriages even better. National Marriage Week was launched in 2010 as part of an international event aiming to bring together individuals, organizations, and businesses for strengthening marriage in communities and influencing the culture. This week also plays host to World Marriage Day, which is celebrated every second Sunday of February. Next Sunday Lori McCahill, Director of Marriage Ministry, and her husband, Mike, will address the parish. The number of marriages and convalidations celebrated here each year continues to increase, bucking the trend in most churches. This is due in large measure to our commitment to work with couples in being able to receive the grace and blessings of a Sacramental marriage.

As tax season is underway, if you are in need of a letter accounting for your donations to the church or school, please make contact with the parish office as soon as possible. This will give us ample time to prepare the letters so that you can file in a timely fashion.

Otherwise, it looks like all is going pretty well here at the parish.

Let us continue to pray for one another!
Father Garry