Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

Our Lenten journey now reaches its climactic end as we today enter with Jesus in triumph to the Holy City, with us all knowing the starkness of the week ahead.

The liturgies for Holy Week are unique and each one of the muses a quick movement of the readings and intense and intentional actions to accentuate the journey. As the Triduum is itself conceived of as one continuous Liturgy the flow begins on Holy Thursday and ends with the final triumphant chants of the Easter Vigil.

For the church the week begins with the celebration of the Chrism Mass on Monday evening at 7:00 pm in the Co-Cathedral of St. Robert Bellarmine, Freehold, at 7:00 pm.This ancient liturgy draws our focus to the consecrating ofthe oils to be used in the Sacraments throughout the coming year. Each set of oils -- Catechumens, Sacred Chrism, and the Oil of the Sick -- has its own fragrance and is blessed by the bishop with the prayers essential to its use and role within the community. As the Mass presents the priests of the diocese assembled with the bishop, it is the commemoration of the institution of the priesthood, and the priests present commit themselves anew to the promises made -- the prayer of the church, chastity, and obedience -- on the day of priesthood ordination.

We will pray the Office of Morning Prayer -- Lauds -- on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings at 9:00 am. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper will be celebrated on Thursday at7:00 pm, recalling the last meal at which Jesus shared that First Eucharist with his disciples.

Friday afternoon takes us to Mount Calvary as Jesus commends his soul to the Father, dying for the sake of our sins and the salvation of the world. We venerate the Cross at 3:00 pm and we receive Eucharist as a share in his suffering and death. Friday evening at 7:00 pm. Mr. Frederick DiBrienza of the theology department at CBA, will share a reflection on the Seven Last Words of Jesus. We gather to pray, sing, and reflect, the great mysteries of our faith.

The Lighting of the Easter Fire and the celebration of the Holy Vigil of Easter commences at 8:00 pm on the plaza in front of the church. The mystery of Easter unfolds before us -- light returns in the midst of our darkness, and Holy Church rejoices and chants in praise of the risen One.

On Saturday at 10:30 am we will bless the Easter food -- a common practice for Catholics from Eastern Europe -- in the Narthex.

On Easter Sunday we will have the outdoor 6:30 am Mass, commemorating the sun rising and the shredding of the darkness. The morning Mass schedule remains the same, butthere is NO Mass on Easter Sunday evening.

Easter is our Season -- here we commemorate the great mysteries and celebrate anew each year the gift of our salvation.

We hope that you will be able to walk this journey from the Last Supper to the Resurrection with us.

Blessings and peace for this Palm Sunday and the Holy Days to come,
Father Garry