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This weekend we observe Marriage Weekend, and we reflect on the importance of the Sacrament of Marriage in the development of society and the formation of families. The public sharing of vows before a priest or deacon, expressing one’s intention to remain faithful to the marital covenant freely and without reservation, builds up the community, and provides the grace necessary to fulfill those promises. It is not easy, but it is the call that the vast majority of people have in their lives. Lori McCahill, Director of Marriage Ministry, and her “plus-one” Mike, are addressing our ministry and some initiatives of that ministry at all of the Masses this weekend. Anyone who is civilly married should seek the convalidation of their marriage to make it a sacramental marriage. This is generally a very easy and simple process. Please make contact with Lori for more information.

Well that was a snowy weekend like we haven’t seen in a long time. Given my Lehigh Valley roots and college seminary days in Scranton, a good snow storm is always a relaxing and pleasant experience. I know not everyone feels that way.

As I write this letter it is looking like most of you will not be reading it as you will be home watching the snow piling up on your driveways. Nonetheless, there are some important things to address. As you know we are in Catholic Schools Week, and we are excited to celebrate the success of our school; to recognize the hard work and dedication of our faculty and staff, and to support and encourage our students. Certainly we are grateful to all of the families who entrust their children to our care for their formation and education. It is an awesome responsibility, and one that we take very seriously here. Thank you to all those who make this mission possible for our parish family.

The new year seems to be moving along rather quickly, and we are already looking forward to the beginning of the Lenten Season. Ash Wednesday is fairly early this year, coming in on February 18. It would seem that not much happens between now and then, though some of the events are worth noting.

I write this letter from the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican awaiting the audience with Pope Leo XIV. I arrived in Rome on January 2 and by the time you read this letter I will be back at the parish. I have been in Rome with Bishop O’Connell and some fifteen priests. It has been fairly cold and the rain has been very heavy at times, so there were a few things that we intended to do but did not due to the weather. Nonetheless, it has been a nice break and a good experience.

I hope everyone had a safe and blessed New Year. Please be assured of our prayers here for blessings in the year ahead. This past Christmas Season was a good and productive one for us here at St. Benedict, and hopefully the same is true for your families as well.

As much as we anticipate the coming of Christmas, in an instant it seems like it has passed. One of the beauties of our Catholic faith is that as a season, Christmas, what one calls Christmastide, continues for a few more weeks. As we have previously mentioned, the calendar of the old Latin Mass continued Christmas for forty days, as we do Easter, meaning it ends on February 2.

The shopping is done, the presents are wrapped, plans for dinner and the other celebrations are in place and all is ready for the festive season. At St. Benedict parish we are all grateful for the faith-filled enthusiasm that each member, each family brings to our community. Our shared commitment to handing-on the faith, celebrating the Sacraments, and our care for the disenfranchised, the marginalized, and the suffering members of our community is a great witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our Advent Season brought us some good opportunities to prepare ourselves for the coming Christmas celebrations. We are grateful for the dedication and hard work of our broader ministerial team

As Advent is a time of spiritual preparation for the coming Christmas Season, the Sacrament of Penance (or Confession or Reconciliation if you will) should be a part of our journey. This Sunday we are offering Confessions beginning at 3pm. With multiple priests in attendance, it is a good opportunity for the entire family to come together. There is no accompanying prayer service and the lines do move fairly quickly.

This weekend we are lighting the parish Christmas Tree and it is certainly beginning to look like Christmas. I want to acknowledge and thank the recently established Father’s Club, formed under Rich Romero (Director of Buildings and Grounds) who volunteer to assist with various projects around the property. This not only eases some of the burden on the maintenance staff, but also helps us to not have to always hire an outside contractor to do some of the jobs. They have been busy getting us ready for Christmas.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving week with your loved ones, and now the quick rush to the Christmas Season is underway. This weekend we observe the First Sunday of Advent, and the inauguration of the new liturgical year. We are now in Year A of the Sunday readings and Year II of the weekday readings. Our Sunday Gospel readings this year are primarily from Matthew’s Gospel, which means we will hear some more long didactic segments and many of the familiar rhythms upon which the liturgy was built. Matthew’s Gospel has a comfortable home in the Liturgy, and its use of Judaic expressions and images connects us deeply to the practices of Jesus and the early church.

A most blessed Thanksgiving week to all! I hope all travel safely and enjoy time with family and friends during this wonderful holiday. I also remind you to pause and focus on the “why” for this holiday. More than turkey, parades, and football, is we are centered on “giving thanks” to almighty God for life, our freedoms, and the many blessings bestowed upon us, our country, our family, and those whom we love and serve. Mass will be celebrated on Thursday at 9:00 am.

This weekend we celebrate the Diaconal Ordination of Anthony Cullen. A native of Brooklyn, Deacon Anthony, along with his wife Annie and children Brendan and Lily, have been members of St. Benedict Parish for the past decade and Deacon Anthony has been employed by St. Benedict School as Campus Minister and full-time teacher of religion there since April 2024. He has been engaged in numerous ministries of the parish, and has taken on the responsibility of recruiting and training the altar servers and the lectors. He now is entitled to exercise the fullness of the diaconal office: preaching the homily; assisting at the altar; baptizing catechumens; and witnessing marriages. Deacon Anthony will continue to perform the appropriate offices of burial for the faithful outside of Mass. We are happy to have him join the ranks of the clergy here for our diocese and in our parish. Please remember Deacon Anthony in your prayers.

Yet again this weekend we interrupt the cycle of Ordinary Time on Sunday to celebrate a significant feast day, but this one is more confusing to understand, the celebration of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. Officially this church is called Major Papal, Patriarchal and Roman Archbasilica, Metropolitan and Primatial Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of All Churches in Rome and in the world. As the cathedral for the Diocese of Rome, it is the cathedral seat of the Bishop of Rome, Pope Leo XIV.

Today we observe the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, known popularly as All Soul’s Day. Throughout November we remember the poor souls in Purgatory. This is our time to reflect and pray for the members of our parish, our families and other loved ones who have passed away during the past year, and of course, those who have been gone a long time, but whose memory still lives within our minds and hearts. We remember them at the Mass this Sunday, and we have a special commemoration Mass on Thursday at 7pm for those who were buried from here this past year.

The last week of October looms ahead, and next Sunday we observe All Soul’s Day, the annual commemoration of all our departed loved ones and parishioners. The Memorial envelopes will be in front of the altar throughout the month of November. On Thursday, November 6, we are celebrating the Mass for all of those who were buried from our parish since last November. Invitations have been sent to their families, but everyone is invited and welcome to attend this Mass.

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!

Our Faithfully United campaign is off to a great start, and we are all grateful for the generous response to date. Please consider our initiative and do what you can. As I said in my homily last weekend, “we are looking for mustard seeds … It takes a lot of seeds to make a jar of mustard -- but Faithfully United we can build up our parish, enabling us not only to continue our good works, but also to make a greater difference in our community and the families whom we serve.”

Two weeks ago, John DeMuria spoke to the parish concerning our Stewardship Campaign, Faithfully United, and we are grateful for the positive response to date for this initiative. I am addressing this issue in the homily this weekend.