Catholic Schools Week

01-26-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

This week we observe the National Catholic Schools Week (CSW) in all the Dioceses in the United States. Catholic Schools Week is an annual celebration of Catholic education in the US, being observed beginning with the last Sunday in January. The celebration this year, running from January 26 to February 1, will mark the 46th anniversary of the event. The theme for the 2020 Catholic Schools Week is “Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.” This theme embodies the core values found in Catholic schools across the country. Those values are to train the child academically, morally, spiritually and socially so they can become future servant leaders, faith-filled disciples and good citizens. The overall goal of the CSW is to showcase what makes Catholic schools distinctively different from other schools and to help schools connect with prospective families looking to find the right school for their children, donors, educators and other community members.

READ MORE

Living Our Faith, Building Our Home

01-19-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

Dear Parishioners,

You may have noticed we have not made many announcements concerning our new church building campaign (Living Our Faith, Building Our Home) in the past six months. The main reason for the break was to enable us to focus on our participation in the active phase of the Diocesan Capital Campaign (Together Let Us Go Forth~ Juntos Sigamos Adelante) which ran from July to November last year. We also wanted to avoid any confusion of talking about two different campaigns simultaneously. Even so, a number of us have been working diligently, behind the scenes, keeping our building campaign on track.

READ MORE

Recent Events

01-12-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

Dear Parishioners,

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support, especially during my installation as Pastor of the parish last Sunday. I am very grateful. I look forward to your continued prayers and support in this new responsibility. A number of our parishioners have asked me to explain the difference between Parochial Administrator and Pastor, and what is involved in having the Via Christi Society provide the pastoral leadership to the St. Benedict community for the next ten years.

A Parochial Administrator is a Priest who is appointed by the Bishop to take care of the pastoral leadership of a parish when the office of the pastor is vacant. He holds this position on a temporary basis until a new pastor is appointed by the Bishop. The Parochial Administrator has the same rights and responsibilities as any Pastor (Canon 539 & 540, 1).

READ MORE

Epiphany

01-05-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

Dear Parishioners,

On behalf of the parish community, I welcome Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted to St. Benedict. He is here this weekend for my installation as Pastor during the Sunday 11:00 am Mass. I thank the Bishop for his confidence by entrusting me with the responsibility of serving the St. Benedict Parish community. I also want to thank all of our parishioners for their love, care and support throughout this past year. I continue to rely on the grace of God, your prayers, and support as I move on to the next stage of my ministry with you here at St. Benedict.

This weekend we are celebrating Epiphany. This special feast commemorates the visit of the Magi to the Baby Jesus. Epiphany simply means the manifestation of Jesus Christ to the gentile world. One common question many people ask about the celebration of Epiphany is: “If the Magi were called ‘wise men’ because they followed the star to find the child Jesus, is it okay then to believe in ‘horoscope’?” The answer is NO. Horoscope is a form of idolatry - a sin against the First Commandment: “I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3) Horoscope readers need to ask themselves whether it is the stars, or God, in charge of their lives? Believing that the stars control our lives contradicts our belief that God is in charge of our lives. The Church states clearly in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

READ MORE