Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

I cannot express enough my joy and gratitude for the success of the St. Benedict School’s Anniversary Gala this past Friday night. Under the coordinating mastery of Patti Dickens and Lori Ulrich, the members of the various parents committees, other members of the school and parish staff, the event ran smoothly and was enjoyed by everyone. We were hoping for a sell-out, but never imagined that we would need to add tables in order to accommodate all who wanted to attend. A special thanks to our parish musician Tom O’Brien who, as a member of the premier local music group, Brian Kirk and the Jirks, provided entertainment for the evening. The band kept everyone going for the evening. Kevin Donahue, our principal, did an excellent job coordinating with all of the groups and team leaders to make sure that the evening ran smoothly and professionally.

As you know, we honored Mary Ellen Harris and the Golden Dome Foundation for their support of our school. The RAINE Foundation provided much background support and assistance for the event. The money we raised that evening will assist in new programming for the school, as well as add to the school reserves.

Election Day is this week. We all know that there is much at stake in these elections. Our parish encompasses two different Congressional districts and the actual church itself has been redistricted. The local school board elections for the many towns we serve here are struggling with many challenging issues. Who would have ever expected that school board elections could be so contentious?! Certainly vote your conscience, do so prayerfully and prudently. It is sad that no political party lines up well with Catholic social teaching. If you are like me you feelmore alienated than affiliated these days. Later on in the bulletin you will find a flier from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, that should hope to offer some assistance in working through all of the rhetoric.

On a very sad note, this past week we lost one of our buildings and grounds team members in Robert McGrogan. You would usually find him here on a Sunday morning doing some light work around the building, while making sure that things were running smoothly. He also responded to immediate needs in the church facilities. We remember to pray for his widow Rona and family. We will miss him here dearly.

This Friday is Veteran’s Day -- and Robert was a proud Veteran -- so we honor and pray for all of our Veterans. The school will have its annual celebration on Friday. All veterans are invited to join us for the parade beginning at 12:45 PM on Friday. Please
arrive in time to line up.

As we are preparing to embark in more detail on the observance of the Year of the Eucharist, l invite you all to consider becoming a regular adorer at the Adoration Chapel. The ability to spend an hour -- or whatever amount of time you can -- in the silent presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, is a tremendous blessing to our parish, and to each one of us as individuals.

Of course, anyone can stop in at any time. Many people prefer to sign-up for a specific block of time each week. Please check with the parish office to register if that is easier for you to do.

The Parish Mass book for the 2022-2023 Liturgical year opened this past Friday. You can now schedule Masses for any available time slot through next November.

As Thanksgiving approaches, please consider donations to the food pantry. There is an ever-increasing need for food assistance in the area, and resources do run low. Thank you for your generosity to the pantry and all of the works of the St. Vincent de Paul Society,

Enjoy the Fall weather and have a blessed week,
Fr. Garry