Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

Happy Advent!I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends, and we are now all ready to hit the ground running as we prepare for the coming Christmas Season! We cannot, however, forget the Advent Season which is now upon us.

This weekend we are privileged and excited to welcome into the Catholic faith our brother Paul Gottlieb who is receiving the Sacraments of Initiation this weekend. Nathaniel Rivera and Paul Carbone will be Confirmed as well, and Nathaniel also receives his First Holy Communion. We welcome them to our community with great joy, and I ask everyone to pray for them on their journey in faith.

Anyone who is in need of completion of the Sacraments ofInitiation, or knows of someone interested in becoming a Catholic should make contact with Nancy Arkin in the Faith Formation office.

Please join us next weekend after the 5:00 pm Mass for the lighting of the parish Christmas Tree. As always we will have some refreshments, caroling, and a visit from a well-known seasonal guest who loves to visit Holmdel this time of the year.

There is still time to bring in the gifts selected from the giving trees in the narthex and on-line. Thank you for your generosity in these efforts.

The food collection before Thanksgiving was enhanced by the contributions of the students from Christian Brothers Academy to their annual food drive. We are grateful for their support as well as the many food items that filled the Gathering Space over the past few weeks. The need is great; the response is even greater!

There are some opportunities for celebration this Advent Season. Join Nancy and the Faith Formation team for an Advent reflection on December 17th. The first session follows the 9:00 am Mass and the second session takes place at7:00 pm in the evening. You will find more information on this in upcoming bulletins.

We will celebrate the Simbang Gabi Mass on December 19that 7:00 pm.

The school pageants are scheduled for December 10th andDecember 12th at 7:00 pm.

Please join us when and where you can.
Fr. Garry