Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

Thank you for a blessed beginning to our Easter Season. As we enter week three of the season, and with the month of May upon us, you will note the celebration of First Holy Communion at many of the parish Masses. Today in a private ceremony the students from the school will receive First Holy Communion as well. In a sense the celebration of the Sacrament is a community celebration and should ideally take place at a regularly scheduled parish Mass. Next weekend we will observe the crowning of the Blessed Mother in commemoration of May as the Month of Mary. Of course, it is also Mother’s Day giving us all something else to celebrate as well.

May also sees an increase in weddings, the beginning of graduation season, and the winding down of the school year. There are so many things that we have to be grateful for this year, so I look forward to the many festivities that lie ahead. As this is wedding season, then it is also wedding anniversary season. If you are observing a milestone year (25, 40, 50, etc.) please make contact with the parish office and we will offer a special blessing at a Mass on the Sunday closest to your anniversary. This is a great way to share your joy with the parish community.

You may have noticed in your monthly envelopes that we have changed the monthly St. Vincent de Paul collection to a Stewardship collection. There are many reasons why we have done this, and there is a letter in the bulletin that explains the rationale behind that decision. As a parish we remain fully committed to the work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, but there are also other needs that are outside of their purview. The SVDP will remain fully funded and their work will continue in earnest.

Since 2020 the Food Pantry has been open only one day per week; Wednesday morning. This left many families underserved and caused them to look elsewhere. Likewise, due to various incentives from the state and federal governments, more food pantries opened to serve the needs during the pandemic. Now the reality is that we need to once again expand the hours that the pantry is open. Due to the commitment to the pantry from a few parishioners we have been able to secure new and in many cases experienced volunteers to coordinate expanded hours. I am happy to report that the Food Pantry is now also open on Monday evening, Wednesday afternoon and evening, and also on Saturday morning. If you are interested in volunteering at the pantry, please make contact with the parish office.

There are other volunteer opportunities, perhaps more appropriately service opportunities here as well. The long term health care centers served by our parish -- BayShore HCS, Anchor Care, and the Willows -- are in need of members of the faithful to serve as Ministers of Holy Communion in their facilities. Likewise, we are always open to those who would like to serve in a ministerial role within the parish: lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, altar servers, screen operators/live stream technicians, etc. Please make contact with Eileen Cannarozzo at the main office.

May the Lord bless our First Communicant’s and their families, and all of us as well,
Father Garry