Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

A blessed holiday weekend to everyone. It is nice to take a respite once in a while from our busy schedules. Certainly the students and teachers in all of the schools need a little break to regroup and catch-up.

As we prepare for the celebration of the Forty Hours here (November 5-6-7) it is important to reflect on the meaning of the Eucharist in our own lives. Each one of us has our own specific memory about our First Holy Communion day. Whether it was with your Catholic school classmates, the other students in the religious education (CCD) program, or you were on your own, some part of that day stands out. For me, it was a late May Sunday and I and my classmates (St. John the Baptist School, Stiles, PA) had been preparing since school began. We went to Mass every day before school, so we were well-acquainted with the rhythm of the Mass, and saw all of the older students in the school receive Communion each morning. Yet, when it was our time (there were over fifty of us) it still became a unique and awesome event. We had received Confirmation just a few weeks before, and made our First Confessions on the Saturday afternoon, with First Holy Communion at the 10:15 Mass the next day. All dressed up in the White Suit, I was ready to go, but a little nervous. As they lined us up according to height, I was in the front of the line and would be the first of the class to receive Communion. Everyone else followed me, so I had to get everything right. Still, all of that pressure aside, it was a life-changing experience for me. I already thought that I wanted to be a priest, so this made me feel like I was making a step in that
direction. Later in the afternoon we returned to Church for the May Procession and investiture with the brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. I invite each of you to remember and reflect on that day, and perhaps to share your memories with the rest of
your family.

As for the celebration of Forty hours itself, the skeletal schedule looks like this: The opening Mass will be celebrated at 5 pm on Sunday, November 5 with Father Mariusz Koch, C.F.R., as the celebrant and homilist; on Monday at 7pm we will have a Liturgy of the Word celebration with Father Daniel Kirk as the homilist; on Tuesday the closing Mass will be celebrated by Bishop David O’Connell, C.M. at 7pm. Please mark your calendars and begin to think about when you might be able to spend time in Adoration.

We will have sign-up sheets in the Narthex for hours of adoration. There is also a schedule of devotions (Rosary, Lauds, Vespers, and Compline) placed throughout the three days.
I am most grateful to Deacon Paul and to Nancy Arkin for their leadership in the parish Eucharisic Revival celebrations.

Have a most blessed week!
Fr. Garry