In his quest to sieve out meaning in life, Qoheleth, the author of the book of Ecclesiastes mentally interrogated pleasure, wealth, knowledge, labor and other noble endeavors, and came to the sad conclusion that all these were temporary, fleeting and ultimately unsatisfying. He therefore decided that all earthly appendages amount to vanity. This conclusion renders the primitive accumulation and senseless hoarding of earthly possessions, presumed earthly guarantees of security, a complete exercise in futility. True happiness and peace can never be obtained from what we have or achieve.

The rebar is being installed for the south transept, the north restrooms, the elevator shaft area and the back of the new Sanctuary. The block is scheduled to arrive on Friday. Footings to be completed by Monday, concrete to be poured starting Tuesday, mason is scheduled to start on Wednesday, and the catch basin for the east drain is scheduled to arrive on August 6th.

As we were in our construction meeting, a heavy rain storm hit St. Benedict. The footing trenches had 3 feet of water in them. This could impact the above schedule. The footings will need to be inspected prior to the concrete being poured.

Last Sunday, we heard in the fi rst reading how Abraham showed kindness to three mysterious travelers and was rewarded for his goodness. In the fi rst reading today, which is a continuation of that same story from Genesis, the destination and mission of the travelers was revealed to Abraham. They were Angels of the Lord, sent to destroy the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah. We are told the sin of immorality of the people was so bad that God decided to destroy the cities by fire. The sin of sodomy is named after this town of Sodom. The Book of Genesis 19:1-29 gives accounts of the nature of the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Currently, the footings are being dug for the new restrooms and the elevator on the northeast side of the building. Rebar is being installed to be followed by city inspection. We are anticipating concrete to be poured by Thursday, July 28. At the same time, work is occurring inside the building. The concrete flooring has been removed to allow for the foundational support for the stairs to the choir loft on the southeast corner and the elevated cry room on the northeast corner. Working with the HVAC subcontractor, the GC team has been able to update our HVAC solution to reduce costs for St Benedict. We still do not have a delivery date for the drainage supplies that are needed. This could impact our scheduled plumbing start-date. We will continue to work with the plumbing subcontractor to get the product in.

The theme of hospitality runs through the first reading and the Gospel today. In the first reading, Abraham showed hospitality to strangers not knowing that they were messengers of God. It turned out that the visitors were angels of God who came in human form. They were happy with Abraham and assured him that God would bless him and his wife, Sarah, with a son. In the Gospel, we heard that Jesus visited the family of Mary and Martha. We are told that the two sisters used two different approaches in expressing their hospitality to Jesus. While Martha was very busy trying to prepare food for Jesus, Mary was sittng at the feet of Jesus, listening to him.

Great news! The concrete work began ahead of schedule! Last Monday for the layout of the footings, Tuesday for the digging of the footings, and for the next three weeks will be the work on the footings for the extensions. We now have a tentative date for the underground items that we have been waiting for. On Monday, July 25 the construction crew will begin on the drainage work that will impact the road between the main building and the Annex buildings. The goal is to complete this work prior to the start of school on Wednesday, August 10. If there is a chance of impacting this date there is a plan to develop a roadway around (behind) the Annex buildings, so the school traffic flow will not be impacted.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan that we heard in the Gospel today is one of the most popular stories in the Bible. I read that the United States and many countries in the world have some form of a law called “The Good Samaritan Law.” These laws are focused on the obligation to help someone in urgent need while legally protecting the helper, or “good samaritan.”

The necessary surveying of the extensions and the internal rooms has been completed. The underground utility work is delayed while waiting for the materials to come in. The general contractor is working to expedite the installation of the customized manhole needed for the extension of the drainage work. This will require the driveway in front of the Annex buildings to be excavated. The goal is to complete this prior to the start of school. The general contractor met with the HVAC sub to investigate moving an air handler which would simplify the duct work necessary for the choir loft. This change will provide St Benedict some additional savings. A week ago on Saturday the grading company hit the power and communication lines which go to the Annex buildings. Power was temporarily restored within 2 hours. The permanent power line repair was installed Wednesday morning. We were asked to contact our A/V sub to pull the communication cables into the Annex which restored all internet and telephones. The general contractor provided a Verizon HotSpot so the staff could access the internet during repairs. Next the construction work will focus on laying out the choir loft, identifying the location of the required footings and saw cutting the existing concrete.

In the Gospel, we heard how Jesus sent his 72 disciples to go out and preach the Good News to everyone, to cure the sick and cast out evil spirits. In preparing them for the mission, Jesus told them that he is sending them out like sheep among wolves and told them not to worry about their personal needs for protection and support but to rely on the generosity of the people they will visit and the protection from God.

The grading and extension pads are completed. We are scheduling the surveyor next week to lay out the external building lines and internal walls. The general contractor is trying to get the concrete sub to come before his August planned date to do the footings of the extensions. We requested to move the storm drain extension segment to July, ahead of the start of school, as this work will impact the area in front of the Annex building and the traffic flow for school pick up.

Our scripture readings today are centered on our call to a total commitment to discipleship. Jesus warns His followers that following Him would require a total commitment that involves sacrificing everything else and putting God first as the highest priority in our lives.

Work continues on the grading and the preparation of the pads for the extensions of the building. The west side extension will be for the Sanctuary, the priest Sacristy and the Minister Sacristy. The north side extension will be for the additional restrooms and the elevator to the chair loft. The south side extension will be for the bell tower and gift store. Photos show the wall and ceiling support of the building. The north side, the south side, and west side of the building showing the progress of the grading.

Growing up, one of the traditions I found very interesting in the Catholic Church, which I believe is true for most converts to the Church, is the use of different symbols to represent Christ, the Church, and the Eucharist. Symbols such as grapes, wheat, fish, Chi Rho, etc., may be found mostly on stained glass windows, vestments, and sacred vessels. One of the oldest symbols for Jesus Christ in Christian art is the pelican. It may not be a pretty bird, but it’s known as a symbol of self-sacrifice. Pelicans feed on fish but when a mother pelican cannot find fish to feed her broods, it bites deep into its own flesh and feeds its brood with her blood until the next food can be found. This is precisely what Christ does for us. Jesus did not wait for an emergency like the pelican. Rather, He gives Himself to us every day in the Eucharist. Jesus promised He would not leave us orphans (John 14:18). He has kept His word by giving himself to us as the Bread of Life.

Demolition clean-up continues, while the grading begins. Some of the current plumbing that is underground needs to be removed as it is in the way of the building extension. This work has begun, impacting the current restrooms which has forced us to shut down the restrooms in the building. The ground is being compacted at the northeast side of the building for the new restrooms and elevator. Next week, the southeast corner will be compacted for the bell tower.

Central to Catholic Theology is the Doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity: the union of God the Father (Creator), God the Son (the Redeemer) and God the Holy Spirit (the Sanctifier), three persons in One God. The Father pre-existed everything and created all things out of love, the Son is begotten and not made, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the love of the Father and the Son. In the Most Holy Trinity, God the Father is what God the Son is and what God the Holy Spirit is; yet, God the Father is neither God the Son nor is He God the Holy Spirit. The same is true of the Son and the Holy Spirit, they are three distinct persons united in love as one God.

First, I would like to acknowledge the support this project is receiving from our Priests and the staff. They were requested to move to the Annex building with little notice. They all handled this challenge with extreme professionalism, while continuing to conduct the day to day business of our Parish.

The demo continues with significant movement this week: The trees and bushes around the building have been removed. The roof and interior walls have been fortified in preparation for the west wall removal The west wall was removed.

Before He ascended into heaven, Jesus had directed His Apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit. He assured them that His going to the Father would produce a pleasant consequence as He would send to them the Advocate, who would reveal to them the mysteries of the kingdom, empower them and guide His nascent Church to witness faithfully to the reign of God on earth. This promise was fully fulfilled on Pentecost, fifty days after Easter and ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven. We celebrate this outpouring of the Spirit on the Apostles on Pentecost Sunday this weekend.

Here is a quick construction update for the week. Demolition started last week on the inside of the building. The first photo below is the front of the building. The canopy has been removed. The old Sanctuary has been removed. The Sacristy and conference room areas have been demoed. The west exterior wall has a temporary opening to allow demo material to be removed. The interior ceiling will be supported before the west wall is entirely removed. The plant, tree removal and grading will begin shortly.

This weekend, we have some printed materials with construction information for you at the doors during all the weekend Masses. Beginning this weekend, we will also resume our prayer for the success of the building during our weekend Masses. You will also notice that we now have big banners on 48th Street to direct visitors to our Weekend Mass location in the St. John Bosco School multipurpose room.

The contractors and our Building Committee meet every Thursday to review the construction plan for the week. I will be giving you more construction updates in the next few weeks.