Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

I trust that everyone had a safe and pleasant Thanksgiving holiday. It is always good to get together with our families and friends to celebrate the holidays. For some reason they seem to get busier each year, I am not sure why that is. Still, my Mother at 85 insists on preparing the dinner, not only for Thanksgiving, but Christmas and New Year as well.

Next weekend we begin the Advent Season and this means that the preparation for Christmas is in full swing. Please plan on coming to the Christmas Tree Lighting events on Friday, December 7 after the Immaculate Conception Vigil Mass. We have a very nice concert planned, plus all of the necessary amenities and special guests associated with the holiday.

Advent is the time to think about Christmas – not the secular season so much – but the preparation for entering into the mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus into time and space. This fundamental truth centers our faith. The God who created us, intends our goodness and our salvation, and enters our world, a world he created, in order to draw us more deeply to himself. This does and should give us pause – time to think and to reflect on the meaning of it all.

This does not mean that many of the beautiful traditions and trappings of the secular Christmas are alien to the feasts. Both can be wonderfully incorporated into our family and parish events, without losing the priority of faith-filled celebration over cultural practices.

We will be blessing the candles for your family Advent wreaths at all Masses next weekend, and we will bless an ornament from your Christmas tree at the Christmas Tree lighting on December 7th. We also invite you to bring the Christ child from your manger to Mass on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day for the blessing. As much as we can integrate the traditions the more balanced will our celebrations be.

An important aspect of Advent is the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Penance/Confession in preparation for the season. It is always good to call to mind our sins and to seek healing and wholeness in the face of acknowledging our failing, weakness, and sinfulness. This year we are incorporating a different model of Parish Penance which we hope will serve the parish well.

On Sunday, December 16th, beginning at 4:00 p.m., we will have a parish-wide progressive penance service. We have invited twenty priests to join us and the goal is to hear confessions for as many people as show up for as long as it takes. You don’t have to be here at 4:00 p.m., but we are hoping to be able to wrap up by 6:00 p.m.. There will be more details in the bulletin as time approaches. This model works well in some other parishes, and we hope that it will be so here as well.

Many priests present offer many opportunities, so there should not be very long lines, and the opportunity to go to Confession should be easier.

Also for your calendars is the celebration of Simbang Gabi. This novena of Masses, unique to the Filipino community, is a great way to prepare for Christmas. Bishop O’Connell will celebrate the opening Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Robert Bellarmine (Freehold) on Friday, December 14th. Father JM will celebrate the Mass here on Monday, December 17th, and then the novena closes on December 22nd with Mass at Our of Fatima parish’s St. Joseph Church. There will be more details in the bulletins going forward.

On Tuesday, December 4th the Grief Support group is hosting a prayer service for those who are mourning the loss of a loved one, especially during the season. On December 6th we will have a Holy Hour (Adoration, prayer, Benediction) to help us focus on Jesus making himself present among us.

There are many opportunities for prayer and worship this season, let us take full advantage of the gifts we are being given.

Blessings,
Father Garry