Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

It certainly has been a classic February so far, and it is good that we are entering into the last full week of the month! It is that time of the year when we need to pay close attention to the weather reports so we know how to dress. It just always feels odd to go from 60⁰ one day to snow the next! Still, the day light grows longer and the hope of Spring looms.

This weekend we launch the ACA (Annual Catholic Appeal). Our parish is not only a strong supporter of the appeal each year, but we also benefit much from the work of the appeal. Many parishioners are referred to services offered through Catholic Charities, and each summer we benefit from having a seminarian assigned to the parish. Certainly the retired priests of our diocese who assist us here – Fathers Tony and Ron – also benefit from the collection as well. Once we have achieved our goal -- $95,000 – then the parish also receives disbursements of funds over goal. Thank you in advance for your generous support to our diocese.

As March quickly approaches Lent comes in immediately. Ash Wednesday is observed on March 2. Please check the bulletin for details about times for services and Masses. Our Lenten parish Penance Service will be Sunday, March 13. As with Advent, we will have over a dozen priests here to hear Confessions. Please put this on your calendar.

Wednesday night saw the first of the Synodal Listening sessions and the second date is this Sunday. Thank you to all of the volunteers who are working as listeners and recorders. Our leadership team has done an excellent job in putting together the sessions and in assembling the teams. Please take advantage of this opportunity. More sessions are scheduled for March. One of the goals of the Synod is cessation of the divisions that plague not only our secular culture, but which are also infiltrating the church as well. Today divisions between clergy and laity are not as wide as they were in the past, but still can be disruptive to the life of the church. More significantly now there is a widening chasm between those who think of themselves as “traditionalists” against those who claim to live “the spirit of Vatican II.” This division has the potential to be very damaging to the church, and leading to a potential schism. We can also not understate the pain inflicted through the clergy and church worker sex abuse scandals that began to be exposed twenty years ago. Many people were hurt by the sinful actions of various priests, religious, and laity, and even more so by the handling of said scandals by the bishops and other church leaders. Hopefully these listening sessions will expose and heal old and new wounds, leading not only to dialogue but to healing.

In other news, the Open Houses for the School have been very successful. We have already registered over fifty new students for the coming school year. We have a few spots left in the PreK three year old program, and some of the grades already have a waiting list. Once the distancing protocols for the school are lifted we will be able to accommodate more students.

Overall, things seem to be going well. I think I feel a bit stronger each day, though it is a bit of a roller coaster.

Have a blessed week,
Fr. Garry