Dear Parishioners,

I would like to thank everyone for the good turnout for the Thanksgiving Day Mass. I was so happy to see so many of us come together to thank God first before other celebrations that day. May God continue to bless us all as we willingly share our time, talent, and treasure during this holiday season.

End of the Liturgical Year

With the celebration of Mass this weekend, we have come to the end of the Liturgical Year B. Next weekend, we will begin the new Liturgical Year C, which also marks the beginning of the season of Advent in preparation for Christmas. The Church dedicates the last Sunday of every liturgical year to the guidance of Jesus Christ, known as "Christ the King." This is a reminder that God has control over the beginning and end of all things in heaven and on earth, the Alpha and Omega. Jesus, himself, chose to identify himself more as a shepherd than a king. This is because the title, King, generally refers to an autocratic leader and a monarchical system where the followers are mostly treated as properties of the king. However, as Jesus explains to Pilate in the Gospel today, his kingship and his kingdom does not belong to this world.

Dear Parishioners,

On behalf of the parish community, I would like to thank the Fall Fiesta committee and all those who helped in different ways to ensure a very successful event last weekend. Special thanks to individuals and business owners for their financial gifts and in-kind donations. What a wonderful night! The fun, the dance and the sharing of a meal together, all made it a very memorable night!

Dear Parishioners,

Congratulations to our parish youth group for a very fruitful and uplifting retreat last weekend. Special thanks to David Rees, our Coordinator of Youth Ministry, the EPIC Core, parents, volunteers and all those who helped with the planning of the retreat. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful, vibrant youth ministry here in our parish.

Happy Veterans Day

I wish all veterans and their families a Happy Veterans' Day. Thank you for your service and the sacrifices you make, and have made, to keep us all safe. Let us remember to pray for the men and women who are in active military service, especially those in very dangerous assignments that God will protect them from harm.

Dear Parishioners,

I would like to thank those who helped with the planning of the parish and school events last weekend. My special thanks to the SJB team for the successful Harvest Fest on Saturday night. Special thanks, also, to the parish staff and volunteers who helped organize Trunk-or-Treat on Sunday night. Thank you, everyone, for your participation and personal sacrifices. For me, that was one of the most beautiful and memorable weekends of the year!

The next big event, our Parish Fall Fiesta FUNdraiser Dinner, is coming up Saturday, November 10. Don't miss out on the fun! Lots of food, fellowship, silent auction items, entertainment and more. Consider inviting your friends and neighbors to join you. Many thanks to the Fall Fiesta committee for all the planning and dedication you have made to ensure that we have a successful celebration. I look forward with excitement to another wonderful and memorable evening next Saturday. Proceeds from the event will be going towards the funding of our new church home.

Dear Parishioners,

The month of November is a period dedicated to praying for the dead. On Thursday, November 1, the Church celebrates the Feast of All Saints when we thank God for the lives of all the dead who have made it to heaven. On Friday, November 2, we celebrate the Memorial of All Souls, when we pray for the repose of the souls of the dead who are still undergoing the period of purification in purgatory before they can be admitted into heaven. Prayer for the dead is one of the greatest acts of charity we can perform. Our prayers help them during their time in purgatory so that they can enter more quickly into the fullness of heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that:

Dear Parishioners,

I am so excited this week, and I imagine you are too, as we look forward to a number of community events and Liturgical celebrations beginning next weekend and into the holiday seasons of November and December. Next weekend, we will have back-to-back community celebrations beginning with Harvest Fest on Saturday the 27th, hosted by St. John Bosco School. This is followed by Trunk-or-Treat hosted by St. Benedict on Sunday the 28th. As you know, St. John Bosco School and St. Benedict Parish are 'one community, one campus!' I have heard so many wonderful stories about these events and am excited, and looking forward to enjoying the fun next weekend. Please invite your family, friends and neighbors to come and join us at these celebrations - all are welcome!

There are three interwoven themes in today’s readings: listening to God, faith vs. good works, and losing our life in order to find it. How are they related?

The Suffering Servant of Isaiah undergoes much distress and ridicule, but is able to bear it because he has listened to the promptings of God day a er day. The psalm tells us that God listens, too. God hears our prayers for help and is always ready to save us. As our faith deepens, so does our desire to do the works of justice and charity that build up the reign of God. God directs our actions in ways we o en cannot see, and we don’t always see the results. We are called upon in faith to trust that what we do is enough, and that willingness to listen to God’s promptings will lead us in the right way.

If you asked me to use one word to summarize the three Scripture readings in our Liturgy today, I would say "ambition". The second closest would be "greed", then "jealousy", and "envy". In the Gospel today, Jesus told his disciples of his passion and death. Instead of being sympathetic, they engaged themselves in arguments about who was the greatest among them, in other words, who would succeed Jesus Christ after his death. Jesus then asked them about their argument and they remained silent. The big mistake they made was that they thought the leadership in the ministry would depend upon their personal intelligence or leadership skills, but they were wrong.

We welcome the children and teachers in our Religious Education Programs back from the summer break. Classes started during the week for all grades. I look forward to your support and participation in the R.E. activities throughout this coming year.

Memorial Mass

I would like to remind everyone that we have scheduled a Memorial Mass for Fr. Bob on Thursday, September 20 at 7 pm here in our church. Please come and join us as we celebrate the life of our beloved pastor. Fr. Bob's body arrived in Uganda on Sunday, September 9th and a Funeral Mass was held for him the following day. The family informed me that everything went well with the funeral. They also sent their appreciation for your prayers and support to Fr. Bob.

For several weeks we have listened to readings that have recounted just how arduous the work of prophets and disciples can be. In today's Gospel, the Lord Jesus listens to the reports of those he had sent out "two by two" to minister to the people. After the apostles reported what they had done, Jesus, recognizing their fatigue, says, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile" (Mark 6:31).

Today's scriptures invite us to listen to two calls. The first is the call issued by the LORD to the prophet Amos, the "shepherd and a dresser of sycamores" (Amos 7:14). The second is the call the Lord Jesus issued to the Twelve, whom he sent out "two by two" (Mark 6:7). These faithful people responded to the call, prophesying and preaching to the people to whom they had been sent. Each of us received a call when we were baptized.

The second reading invites us to ponder that call as we are reminded that we are chosen in Christ and that, in love, God "destined us for adoption" (Ephesians 1:5). As adopted daughters and sons of God we are called to bring the presence of Christ into our marriages, families, schools, and places of work. Let us be inspired today to say yes to the call we hear once again through God's living word.

Dear Parishioners,

On behalf of our Parish community, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to MacGarret Becker for the excellent job he has done as our Campaign Manager for "Living Our Faith, Building Our Home." MacGarret's dedication and hard work successfully guided the Campaign leadership team and our parish community through these beginning months of our capital campaign, and helped us nearly reach our goal of $3.5 million in a very short time. As we thank MacGarret for his time with us, we look forward with excitement to when we will welcome him back for the dedication of our new Church building.