The weekday Mass schedule:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 12:05 p.m. in the church
 
 The weekend Mass schedule:
Saturday evening (vigil Mass) at 5:30 p.m.
Sunday Masses at 8:30am & 11:00am

CONFESSIONS
Saturdays 4:00—5:00pm in the church confessionals beginning      

The parish office hours of M-F 10:00am-2:00pm.

Do not come to Mass is you are particularly vulnerable! There is only so much we can do to alleviate the risk. Please wear a mask if you are coming. You may be the one who is asymptomatic!

PUBLIC MASSES RETURN TO SAINT BENEDICT PARISH

Thursday of the 24^th Week in Ordinary Time

Sts. Cyprian and Cornelius, martyrs
(1 Tm 4:12-26; Lk. 7:36-50)

We might be inclined to overlook the awkwardness of the situation in which Jesus finds himself in today’s gospel.  He’s invited to dinner at the home of a Pharisee, probably a closed event where, along with the food shared, there would be a time to delve more deeply into Jesus’ teaching.  He was not associated with any rabbinical school and so there was a good deal of skepticism about his approach. That in itself would have been enough for a lively evening of give and take.  And then, uninvited, a woman crashes the party.  That a woman would have attended such an event would have been unheard of in such a patriarchal society as ancient Israel.  It’s not just any woman, though, but one known to be a sinner.  And she does not enter the room to sit quietly in the corner and listen to the conversation.  She makes a scene!  And Jesus lets her!  In the Pharisee’s view all propriety has been thrown out the window, and Jesus is at fault.  He could have simply sent her away.

Jesus’ response to the Pharisee, who was diligent in so many matters of the Law, was to fault him for missing the demands of simple hospitality:  no kiss, no washing of the feet, not even a welcome, really.  The Gospel says that, upon arrival, Jesus simply “entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.”  How interested was the Pharisee in having Jesus there in the first place?  He doesn’t show him much respect.  And so, Jesus presents a parable to shed light on what is going on.  A lack of awareness of his own need for forgiveness seems to be at the root of the Pharisee’s haughty attitude.

Haughty attitudes are still quite prevalent.  We can be convinced that, if we are sinners, at least our sins are minor, hardly worth mentioning, and inevitably that seems to lead to the attitude that we can pass judgment on others’ sins which are obviously much greater.  The spiritual writer Scott Peck, known best for his book The Road Less Traveled, followed up on that bestseller with one called People of the Lie, in which he draws out how pernicious this everyday evil can become if not checked.  So much damage can be done by simply ignoring our need for forgiveness and the judgmental attitude that follows from that.  A daily examination of conscience, honestly conducted, does a lot to keep us from falling into that trap.  It makes us aware of our need, opens us to the divine medicine of God’s forgiveness, and makes us more willing to be merciful to those around us.

The St. Benedict Soup Kitchen is in operation Monday through Friday 11:30am-12:30pm at the corner of 9th & Walnut Streets. All are welcome!
 To inquire about voluteering in the Soup Kitchen please call            812-232-8421. 

Masses for St. Benedict Church are on the YouTube Channel (search St Benedict Catholic Church Terre Haute, IN OR click on the YouTube icon below.

"Houston, we have a problem." Do you remember that phrase? It comes from the story about Apollo 13, launched in 1970, which suffered an explosion while on the way to the moon that crippled it and set off an unprecedented effort to bring its three astronauts back to earth safely. The drama that unfolded was captured in the 1995 movie that starred Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton as the astronauts Lovell, Swigert, and Haise.
I'm a little sketchy on the original event, but I did see the movie and remember one scene to this day. Mission Control was working on how to restart the systems so that re-entry into the earth's atmosphere would not end up with the space capsule simply disintegrating in the heat caused by contact with earth's atmosphere. One of the engineers on the ground stopped everyone in their tracks when he proclaimed that they had to switch on systems in such a way that the strength of the electric current did not exceed 12 amps. That took a lot of thought and figuring before they came up with an order of switching things on that would work
I see us in a similar situation. Clearly, we are moving toward a post-pandemic reality, but there are still dangers lurking which can scuttle the whole project if we are not careful. For one thing, as of Thursday, two-thirds of the residents of Vigo county over the age of 18 had not been fully vaccinated. As much as those of us who have been are grateful, it would be folly for us to project our experience on the population as a whole. We are not that far along yet. So, due care needs to be given which acknowledges the actual state of the question and resists the temptation to jump ahead to what will be the case in a few months.
At the meeting of the pastoral leaders of the Archdiocese which took place this past week, Archbishop Thompson counseled us priests and parish life coordinators to encourage our parishioners to attentively practice two virtues, patience and charity: Patience because we are not there yet, even though we are moving in a positive direction; and charity because not everyone moves at the same pace. Some members of the parish are by nature more hesitant and will need more time to accommodate themselves to whatever changes are being made. Some parishioners may ultimately opt out of getting vaccinated altogether, but they will still need to feel comfortable coming to Mass by not being placed in a position which takes away the option not to participate in some aspect of the liturgy or another. For the time being, for example, we will continue to offer one another a sign of peace that does not involve making physical contact.
At that meeting of the pastoral leaders the Archdiocesan Office of Worship distributed an updated list of Liturgical Considerations which I and the parish staff will work on adapting to St. Ben's circumstances. Some changes will likely be put into place before the end of the Easter season. Others will take a bit more time. We want to do things right, and not end up with unintended consequences that could be detrimental to some of our members.
For the time being, Archbishop Thompson has emphasized the impor-tance of wearing a mask while in church. That's job #1, as he calls it. He does allow for an exception to be made when reading or leading prayer. Also, the general dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days remains in place until further notice.
To be honest with you, it seems to me that the increased attendance at our Masses over the course of the last several weeks would indicate that people are operating on the basis of an interior obligation, and a desire to be at Mass, more than being compelled to by the church's legal structures. That's a good thing! We want to accommodate that interest as much as possible and build on it going forward.
So, stay tuned! Changes are afoot. But be patient, too. The situation is a bit more complex than you may realize. We will try to manage it well without dragging our feet, but without violating people's need to feel safe when they come to church. We don't want to lose anybody, for any reason.

Province of Indianapolis
Extension of Dispensation
19 October 2020
While commending our pastors and pastoral life coordinators who have gone to great lengths to assure safe worship spaces in our churches, given the continued increase of Covid-19 cases in our state, the Indiana bishops hereby extend the dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation beyond 1 November 2020 until further notice.  The Indiana bishops will continue to monitor the situation to determine when it might be advisable to modify or lift the dispensation. 

Announcements for the Week of
September 12th - 18th

Fall Stewardship Campaign Ramping Up
Next weekend Fr. Martin will be preaching at all the Masses as a part of this year's stewardship campaign. On the weekend of the 25th-26th Lay Witness Speakers will speak at each Mass, sharing their experience about the rewards they've gained from practicing a spirituality of stewardship.

Theology Uncorked - An Event for Young Adults
Young Adults 21-39: Next Saturday, September 18th St. Ben's will host a conversation with liturgical scholar, Rita Ferrone directly after 5:30 Mass. Dinner and drinks will be served outside on the parish grounds. We will then meet inside Hellmann Hall for fellowship and discussion. Masks are required indoors. Post cards with more information are available on the tables next to the doors.

JPIC Meeting Open to All Parishioners
The next meeting of the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee (JPIC) is scheduled for next Wednesday, September 15th at 7:00PM in Hellmann Hall. This month's meeting will center around immigration/refugee concerns and will, among other things, discuss ways St. Benedict Parish can help the Afghan refugee effort. Please join us.

Painting in Church to Begin
As predicted, our painting project did not get finished in 3-4 days. We did not get any further than the delivery of the scaffolding which, it appears, is not enough to reach the areas in question. The contractor is attempting to resolve the issue.