Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

Happy Feast Day! Although the actual feast is Wednesday (11th) we are celebrating it here today as we have the right to transfer the feast of our patron to the preceding or closest Sunday. I know we have not done this in years past, but our liturgical committee felt that since we could we should. It is good way to learn more about and appreciate the intercession of our patron.

Born in 480 AD in Norcia, which is in the province of Perugia in southern Umbria, Benedict is the twin to Saint Scholastica, who is an important figure in the history of the church in her own right. Although they were born into a minor noble family, they each desired to lead an eremitic life, and so embarked on a monastic journey. While there were some communities of monks and nuns at the time, there was little direction and almost no rule for them to follow. Saint Augustine had composed a rudimentary rule over a century earlier, but it was not in wide use.

Benedict’s holiness of life attracted others to him and he was asked by a group of monks to lead them and, although he declined at first, he finally accepted the post. He warned them that they did not know what it was that they were asking, as his way of life would be too strict for them. They shortly learned that he was right and, believe it or not, they actually tried to poison him on more than one occasion. All of that notwithstanding Benedict continued to attract followers and it became necessary for him to establish a dozen monasteries at Subiaco to accommodate all of the monks, but that too fell to the envy of other monks. It is at Monte Cassino where the first monastery that we would now consider “Benedictine” was established. Benedict then composed a comprehensive, though relatively brief, Rule for Monks, commonly known now as the Rule of St. Benedict. Benedict died on March 21, 547.

Scholastica, herself a follower of her brother, adapted his rule for women, and organized the cloister of nuns in a common life of prayer. Over the past 1500 years there have been several reforms of the Benedictine tradition and additions to the rule. Yet, the Benedictines remain largely intact and stand as the premier order within the church. Because the head of each Benedictine Abbey is an Abbot (hence Abbey) he wears the vesture of a bishop (mitre, croiser, pectoral cross) yet with a black zucchetto and no purple bunting.

In New Jersey there are two Benedictine abbeys of men: The Benedictine Abbey of Newark (founded 1857) and St. Mary’s Abbey in Morristown (1927). The former is the home to the famous St. Benedict’s Prep, which I am sure is the alma mater of more than one of our parishioners, and the latter is home to the Delbarton School.

Over the years Benedictine monks have assisted at our parish on weekends. Those include Fathers Benet Caffery, David Conway, Aquinas Fay, Beatus Lucey, and Germain Fritz. I am certain that the parishioners here who knew them are grateful for their service and their mission as Benedictine monks.

While we continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood, we are also mindful of the need to increase and strengthen vocations to religious life. Not all Benedictine monks are priests, many of them are brothers. There are also many convents of Benedictine nuns including at St. Wallburga Monastery in Elizabeth.

St. Benedict (and St. Scholastica) pray for us!
Fr. Garry