Pastor’s Message – Church of Saint Benedict

September 4, 2026

Friday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time

O God, by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption, look graciously upon your beloved sons and daughters, that those who believe in Christ may receive true freedom and an everlasting inheritance. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

Collect for the Mass on the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Brothers and Sisters,

Next weekend our parish will begin a new prayer initiative focused on Eucharistic Adoration. For more than 30 years the Church of Saint Benedict has offered regular times of prayer before Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. The blessings that we have received from this devotion have been countless.

The goal of this initiative is to offer Adoration of Our Lord in the St. Scholastica Chapel from some 90 hours per week to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To make this goal a reality we will need to increase the current number of those committed to being adorers from over 200 to 500.

The Adoration Campaign that starts next week will continue through the rest of this year. It will include many points. Among these will be offering a prayer at the conclusion of Sunday Mass. Located in the hymnals, it will temporarily replace the St. Michael the Archangel Prayer. The text of the Adoration Campaign Prayer is,

Heavenly Father, I ask You to lead me to a personal encounter with Your Son by increasing my faith in His Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus, who suffered and died to free me from the power of death through His resurrection, and now reigns in Heaven, humbly longs for me to spend time with Him in Eucharistic Adoration. Please send Your Holy Spirit upon each member of our parish, that we might respond to your invitation to meet Your Son in Eucharistic Adoration. May our commitment bring the peace that only You can provide, in Your Son’s name, we pray. Amen.

Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us!

I ask that every parishioner be committed to praying for the success of this initiative.

Labor Day

The national holiday of Labor Day is a reminder of Catholic teaching on the dignity of work, basic human rights, and a well-ordered society. This teaching is rooted in the Scriptures, as well as in Tradition on the God given dignity of each person. This teaching includes the rights of workers as well as the right of employers. It includes the right to a living wage and safe working conditions. It includes the right to own private property and business owners to make a profit. It also includes that the family is the foundation of a healthy society. Civil laws should reflect these values.

Our Parish

First Saturday Mass will be tomorrow at 8:30am. A Rosary will be offered afterwards. All are welcome.

Congratulations to Timothy Orr and Kellie Parnell, who will be married tomorrow at our parish.

Congratulations to the DeSousa and Aquino families who are presenting children for baptism this weekend.

The St. Scholastica Chapel will be closed on Saturday, September 5 and Monday, September 7 for the Labor Day Holiday. It will reopen on Tuesday, September 8.

The parish office will be closed on Monday, September 7.

That Man is You (TMIY), a parish-based men’s ministry, is expanding to a weekly morning and evening session. The first of the 9-week sessions starts on Wednesday, September 9, with the morning group meeting from 6:00am to 7:15am in Room 101. The evening group will meet from 6:30pm to 7:45pm in Room 102. All the men of the parish are invited.

She Will be Called Woman (SHE), a parish-based women’s ministry, is beginning a 9-week session starting on Monday, September 14 from 9:00am to 10:30am in Room 101. More information is available in the church commons this weekend.

Beatification of Venerable Fulton Sheen Watch Party

On Thursday, September 24, the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895 – 1979) will be beatified, the first U.S. born bishop to be so honored. As with Blessed Stanley Rother, he can then be revered as a saint in his native country. Fr. Williams and several of our parishioners will be participating in the Beatification Mass in St. Louis, Missouri.

For those not able to attend in person, our parish is hosting a Watch Party that same day. We will begin with daily Mass at 8:30am, followed by a Rosary and light refreshments. From 10:00am to 2:00pm there will be presentations about Fulton Sheen in McGuire Hall. The Beatification Mass will begin at 2:00pm, which will be shown on the view screen in McGuire Hall. All are welcome!

Banns of Marriage

Timothy Orr and Kellie Parnell are to enter the Sacrament of Marriage at the Church of Saint Benedict on Saturday, September 5, 2026.

Jonathan Fairchild and Nichole Swain are to enter the Sacrament of Marriage at St. Anne Parish on Saturday, September 12, 2026.

Bryan Jimenez and Victoria Zambrano are to enter the Sacrament of Marriage at the Church of Saint Benedict on Saturday, September 26, 2026.

Please keep these couples in your prayers.

God bless and keep safe.

Fr. Bryan