Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

With the Christmas Season over and all of the lights and decorations stowed, the darkness and starkness of winter has finally set in. We are now on that road to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten Season in just a few weeks time. Ash Wednesday is, as you heard chanted in Epiphany Chant of Moveable Feasts, on February 14th. As there is a popular secular holiday celebrated that day (based on the legends around another saint of the church) you should consider making those Valentine plans on a date other than the 14th as it is a day of fasting and abstinence.

We continue to offer our prayers for Bishop O’Connell as he recovers from heart surgery after suffering a heart attack while on pilgrimage to Rome on January 4th. While he is doing well, the recovery is not easy and the trip back to the states will be arduous.

We delayed the return of passing the basket at Mass as we did not yet have enough people step forward to serve as ushers and Mass coordinators. If you are interested in this service, please let the main office know. While for some reason this service was done by the men of a parish, there is no reason for that to be the case. The Knights of Columbus will, however, coordinate this ministry.

Next Sunday we will be installing new Altar Servers at the 11am Mass. Over the past four years there has been a significant reduction in the number of students willing to serve in this capacity. If your son or daughter is in the fourth grade or above, please consider having the conversation with him or her about serving at Mass in this capacity. We are also always open to those who would like to serve as readers, screen operators and live stream operators. Please reach out to Eileen Cannarozzo in the Parish Office if you are interested in any of these opportunities.

The Novena for Life kicks off on January 19th at Holy Family Church. We will host the novena here on the evenings of January 23rd and 24th. Please see the bulletin for more details.

We are busy, but quiet here. I hope everyone is doing well after the nasty weather we have had. Hopefully the winter doesn’t get too bad going forward. Time to head to Florida!

The Parish Office will be closed on Monday, January 15th to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Have a blessed week,
Fr. Garry