Dear Parishioners,

This past week, a number of you have asked me to clarify why I commissioned the Campaign Cabinet members during the 9am Mass last weekend, and what the difference was between our St. Benedict “Living Our Faith, Building Our Home” Campaign and the Diocesan “Together Let us Go Forth” (Juntos Sigamos Adelante) Campaign. I am sure we all know what the “Living Our Faith, Building Our Home” Campaign is all about. As for the Diocesan Campaign, I cannot say much about it at this time because we are currently within the fi rst phase of the Campaign, called the Silent Phase. I will give you more information about it when we move to the next stage of the Campaign in September-October. The goal of the commissioning ceremony last weekend was to give a special blessing to the selected Campaign Cabinet members who will be helping to coordinate this first phase of the Diocesan Campaign.

Dear Parishioners,

It’s hard to believe that one year has passed since Fr. Bob left us. We thank God for his healing work in us through this year of grief. I also thank everyone for your continued prayers and support to one another, and especially to the Binta family. As we continue to pray for the repose of the soul of Fr. Bob, we also pray that God will continue to bless us with peace, love and unity as we strive to actualize Fr. Bob’s dream of building our new church. I invite everyone to join us at our First Year Remembrance Mass for Fr. Bob on Tuesday, August 20, of this week. We will begin with a Rosary led by the Knights of Columbus at 6pm, and Mass will follow at 7pm.

Dear Parishioners,

On behalf of the Parish community, I would like to congratulate and thank Lisa Low, Jay Iole and Alex VanVianen for their willingness to serve in new roles in the Parish Pastoral Council beginning this week. Lisa will serve as the President of the Council, Jay will serve as the Vice President, and Alex is joining the Council as a new member. We look forward to their leadership and service to our parish community through the Council.

This week on Thursday, August 15, the Catholic Church all over the world will celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Assumption is one of the mysteries that is difficult for some people to believe. This is mostly because, unlike the account of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ that is recorded in the Bible, the Assumption is not recorded directly in the Bible. However, the Book of Revelation (12) speaks of a woman who is caught up in the battle between good and evil and was taken up by God. We believe this passage refers to the Blessed Mother.

Dear Parishioners,

I send a warm welcome to the students, Staff and the St. John Bosco school community returning for the 2019/2020 academic school year. I especially welcome the new students and their families to our community. The kick-off for the academic year began with a Day of Prayer and an In-House Retreat for the faculty on Friday, August 2. The students return to school on Wednesday, August 7. We missed the children during the summer break and are looking forward to having them back! I am particularly looking forward to visiting with them to hear stories of their summer break, and what the new students think of our SJB Community. Above all, I look forward to celebrating the Liturgy together.