Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

One of the beautiful and long-standing traditions in the church is the annual May crowning celebrations. The school students held their May crowning on Friday after the school Mass, and this weekend after the 11am Sunday Mass we will, hopefully, process outside for the parish event. Please join us in praying and celebrating. Certainly this month our private devotions to the Blessed Mother should highlight prayers for peace throughout the world.

Next weekend is Mother’s Day. This is my way of reminding everyone to get their cards and to order the flowers. As with each May our Mother’s Day prayer intentions are before our altar.

In school news, our Camp is growing in numbers and should prove to be both educational and entertaining for the students enrolled. Our focus is for children aged 4 - 7. Registration can be for one week or all six weeks. Please check the bulletin or the school website for more details.

On Sunday, May 21 Professor Robert George of Princeton University will make a presentation entitled “The Dobbs Decision and the Past, Present, and Future of the Pro-Life Cause: A Conversation Between Harold Cassidy and Robert George.” The presentation is at St. Agnes Church in Atlantic Highlands at 1:30 pm. This should prove to be enlightening on the course of the pro-life movement.

The diocese is sponsoring a Catholic school job fair at St. John Vianney High School on Tuesday night, May 9. There are many opportunities for jobs in the schools in our diocese, and this will certainly highlight those positions. Here at SBS we are in search of a STEM teacher (full or part time) if you are interested please make contact with the school office.

Of course we are in the wedding season now and this is a time to remind those who are celebrating significant milestones this year of ways to celebrate. First, on or close to your wedding anniversary we will offer an anniversary blessing to you at either a daily or Sunday Mass. A renewal of vows can also be celebrated in either a simple ceremony or at a Mass as well. Likewise, this October the bishop celebrates an anniversary blessing Mass at the Co Cathedral in Freehold and another at the Cathedral in Trenton, for all couples celebrating their 1st, 25th or 50th anniversary. Please make contact with the parish office to schedule a blessing here or a vow renewal. Registration for the bishop’s Mass is on the Diocese of Trenton website.

Hopefully some good May-like Spring weather breaks soon for us. These dreary March-ish days are getting old and tiring!

Have a blessed week,
Father Garry