Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict’s,

We have already passed the mid-point of October, which means that the Fall Season quickly turns to winter and Christmas cannot be far away! This weekend is the Bishop’s Anniversary Blessing for those celebrating milestone marriage anniversaries this year. Congratulations to all who are celebrating! 

This Sunday is observed as World Mission Sunday. The late Pope Francis chose the theme: “Missionaries of Hope Among the Peoples” as the theme for this Sunday. It is sort of ironic that when many of us were children in the 1960’s (and earlier) the missions were among the poorest in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. There we were focused on raising money to support the missions, but we were also being challenged to respond by becoming missionaries.  I remember that my best friend’s great-uncle was a member of an order called the White Fathers of Africa. He spent decades in Africa running parishes, teaching in schools, digging wells and building homes for the people to live in. Only once did Father Joe get home from Africa during our childhood to visit his family, and it all seemed so exotic. 

Now, frankly, the tides have shifted. There are now over 35,000 seminarians in Africa, and the US and Europe are becoming missionary territory. When I was ordained a priest in 2013 my three classmates were from Colombia. Our parish has been served in the past decade by three parochial vicars; two from the Philippines and one from Poland. This is the future of the church. At the same time, we support the missions as we have the financial resources to do so. The financial resources of the US help to educate priests and religious; operate schools and orphanages, manage hospitals and clinics, and build parishes.  

Although we do not have a separate envelope for the collection, please place any donations into the box so marked in the narthex. Contributions will also be accepted next weekend. Thank you.

Again, I would like to thank you all for your generous response to the appeal for increased giving. Your kindness and generosity will definitely be impactful here for our work and the ministry of St. Benedict’s parish.

I hope everyone has a blessed and safe week ahead. 
Fr. Garry