Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

ALLELUIA! It has been a while since we have been able to chant that glorious Hebrew word meaning “Praise God!” and so here we are, Easter Sunday.

We have come through Lent -- one that has been cold and gloomy, so appropriate for the mood of the season, perhaps -- and now the Easter Season of fifty days is upon us.

We had a spiritually enriched Lent, strengthened by the many speakers, programs, and opportunities for prayer and reflection, and now we come to the Easter Season, ready and hungry for more.

Deacon Steve will lead us in Stations of the Cross on Wednesday evenings at 5:30 pm for the Easter Season. In this way we keep the connection between Lent and Easter present within our liturgical focus.

The next few weeks are also celebrations of First Holy Communion for the children of the parish. We pray for them on their journey, and we pray for their families. We deeply hope that the Eucharist will be a sustaining presence in their lives.

This week I am embarking on a pilgrimage with our Bishop and eighteen other priests, to Paris. It is the four-hundredth anniversary of the foundation of the Vincentian community -- the Congregation of the Mission -- the religious order of which the bishop was a member prior to his election as bishop. He is still deeply committed to the Vincentian mission, and continues to use the designation of the order -- C.M. -- after his name. As I studied at a seminary conducted by the Vincentians and have some old friends in the order, I am happy to join in this celebration. I will remember you all at the various Masses we are holding at different churches during the sojourn.

I wish to thank everyone here for your generosity to the parish and to the staff during the Easter season. It is a blessing to all of us. Thank you also to the staff of the parish who worked diligently to make sure that all of our services were well-planned and executed, and that the church was in its best form for the holy days.

This week, as we are replacing the air conditioning unit in the church, the church will be unavailable for use. We will have daily Masses this week in the gym at 9am. You can continue to use the back parking lot, and enter through the main FAL door (8B) for access to the Gym for Mass. Thank you.

I pray that each of you has a blessed Easter -- He is Risen -- Alleluia!
Fr. Garry