Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

This year, it seems like every Sunday is something special instead of being able to celebrate Ordinary Time, and this Sunday is no exception. The only real difference is that this is a local celebration as today, we transfer the Solemnity of St. Benedict from its set date (July 11) to the nearest Sunday, as he is our patron saint.

Saint Benedict, and his twin sister, Saint Scholastica, were born in 480 and contributed greatly to the rise of the monastic traditions of the Church. The rule that Benedict wrote stands today as the foundational rule for most of the religious orders in the church. Over the centuries the monks and nuns who follow the Benedictine rule and are members of the various communities affiliated with them, have been instrumental in forming western society. The Benedictine monasteries, particularly in Germany,Ireland, and England, forged the development of the cities, contributed to growth in agriculture and animal husbandry, and laid the foundations for general democratic principles, and standards for justice.

Today there are about 400 Benedictine abbeys in the world, with about 7500 monks and 13,000 nuns. New Jersey is home to two abbeys for men and one convent for nuns. For a time in the 1970’s and 1980’s monks from St. Mary’s Abbey in Delbarton assisted at weekend Masses here at St. Benedict parish. Many of our parishioners are graduates of St. Benedict’s High School inNewark; some from the former St. Elizabeth’s Academy in Newark, and others from the Delbarton School, all of which are part of the Benedictine tradition.

Recently, with the election of Pope Leo, a member of the Augustinian community (as Pope Francis was a Jesuit) some more attention has been drawn to the religious orders. While the Rule of St. Augustine pre-dates the Benedictine rule by roughly one hundred years; the Benedictine rule has had a more significant influence on the development of religious life. Nonetheless the Augustinians were not founded by Augustine, dating rather from the thirteenth century, therefore more contemporaneous to the Franciscans and the Dominicans.

Pope Leo is the first Augustinian pope. There have been seventeen popes from the Benedictine tradition, accounting for half ofall the popes who have come from religious orders. St. Gregory the Great (who is the third window in the Hall of Saints); Boniface IV;  Adeodatus II; St. Leo IV; John IX; Leo VII; Stephen IX; St. Gregory VII; Bl. Victor III; Bl. Urban II; Paschal II; Gelasius II; Celestine V; Clement VI; Bl. Urban V; Pius VII; and most recently Gregory XVI who died in 1846.

Week Two of the Religious Education Academy kicks off this week. And the Summer Camp-Out also continues. There are still spaces available on a week-by-week basis for the Camp-Out.

Other summer projects are underway, and all seems to be happening on a timely basis, so far. There are many moving parts around here, even in the summer, so support and timelines are very important to the process. Fortunately, the staff manages all things well.

Have a blessed summer week!
Fr. Garry