St. Benedict Church

The weekday Mass schedule with be:
Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 12:05 p.m.
 
 The weekend Mass schedule will be:
Saturday evening (vigil Mass) at 5:30 p.m.
Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m.
 
This schedule will be in effect until further notice.

CONFESSIONS
Saturdays 4:00—5:00pm  Held inside the church vestible area in the Pieta Room, please enter the church through the  south handicapped door.  

The parish office will operate with limited office hours of M-F 10:00am-2:00pm.

Just a reminder about our new weekend Mass schedule. We will have one Mass on Sunday, at 10:00 a.m. The Saturday schedule is as usual: Confessions from 4:00 to 5:00 and Mass at 5:30.
The events of the last few weeks have reminded us that the corona virus remains hidden to a great degree. People may be coming to church who have been infected but don't know it because they are asymptomatic. They can still infect others, though.                              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

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.

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. 

The St. Benedict Soup Kitchen is in operation Monday through Friday 11:30am-12:30pm for To-Go Lunches, all are welcome!
 To inquire about voluteering in the Soup Kitchen please call            812-243-0873. 

Tuesday of the First Day of Advent, December 1, 2020
(Is. 11:1-10; Lk. 10:21-24)
 

Immediately before today's reading, Jesus' 70 emissaries have returned from making preparations in various towns he intends to visit. They are filled with joy over what has happened: "Lord, even the demons are subject to us." Jesus, however, responds by reframing what has happened and how they are to be incorporated into it. The real reason for rejoicing is not that they got the best of demons but that they have been instruments in fulfilling the heavenly Father's will. In that spirit we hear Jesus in today's reading rejoicing. The will of the Father has been accomplished. That's the main thing and reason for rejoicing. The role the disciples played in it will always be one of faithful obedience in humility rather than one that fosters a sense of personal accomplishment.

I'm a big fan of the time-stealer "Words with Friends." That game has a feature that keeps me humble. There is an option, after you've made your play, to see what the best play would have been. Sometimes the best play involves a word I don't even know, and in those cases I don't feel particularly confronted by my choice. But the humbling moment comes when I think I've made a good play only to find out that I was so blind that I missed a play that I could easily have made and which would have counted for scores of points more. Often, we can get caught up in trying to serve the Gospel by "winning the argument" and scoring one for the kingdom of God. But only God knows whether that was the thing he wanted to see happen in that moment. A much better response might have gone a different route altogether.

Jesus praises those recipients of the message of salvation who are childlike enough to refrain from responding to God's initiative with the attitude, "Okay, God, I got it. I'll take it from here" and maintaining enough of the sense of humility to know that God's plan will always remain inscrutable and we can only hope to be used as his instrument. There will be times when we don't even know that's happening. Not to worry, though, if we allow for that possibility and strive to be humbly obedient to the will of the Father, the angels will rejoice even if we've done so without even knowing it.

Dear Friends,
There are many ways of counting the year: calendar year, fiscal year, school year, etc. I believe that the life of the parish is most affected by that third way. The opening of the new school year, even in the best of times, brings many changes: a new location perhaps, new routines, an indication that the seasons are changing once again.
We had many hopes that the beginning of this new school year would be accompanied by progress in confronting the upheaval that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought. We do know more about the disease than we did in March, but the hard-won early progress seems to have dissipated and we are faced with a great deal of uncertainty as the season changes. The parish staff, to a person, is showing the signs of dealing with everything that a prudent response to pandemic requires. Fatigue and anxiety are no strangers to us, and I am sure that is true for everyone. It would be nice to be able to speak with some certainty about what you can expect, regarding religious education, Mass times, seating limitations, the lessening of mask requirements, etc., but so many questions are still up in the air. We do seem to have arrived at a fairly stable way of celebrating the Eucharist, even if on simpler terms, and it has been good to be able to hold first communion, funerals, weddings, and even a few confirmations in church again. What we would normally be doing at this time of year, though, is still largely on hold and it appears that it will remain that way for some time yet. That is discouraging, to say the least. And yet, it is the hand w have been dealt, and we will try to play it out without losing our serenity and sense of humor.
News about the development of a vaccine has been generally positive and that can be a reminder that the current situation will not be permanent. We will try to respond to the needs of the parish as best we can, knowing that significant limitations are still the order of the day. Thank you for your forbearance in such difficult times. I appreciate all the affirmation that has been offered to keep up the good work, and all the efforts staff and volunteers are making to do as much as we can while exercising prudent judgment.
Let's continue to pray for one another, especially for those who are anxious about their health, living situation, economic prospects, or any of the other stressors in life that threaten us. We cannot forget to praise God for all the good He is doing, but we can pray for a speedy development of a good vaccine!
Yours in Christ,

Fr. Martin

Capital Prize 2021 Early Bird Raffle Form

Announcements for the Week of
November 29th - December 5th

Advent Discussion Series
A Reflection on the Advent Sunday readings
Nicole Krasean, one of St. Ben's Global Solidarity Ambassadors,
will facilitate our discussions. Fr. Martin's Advent homilies will
also be a part of our conversations.

This three-week series will approach the Sunday readings through the Advent lens of longing for Christ. In these days of the pandemic, the coming of Christ brings peace, reconciliation, and justice to our lives and to all of creation.

Participants will be invited to read and pray with the Sunday Advent readings, read Fr. Martin's homily, and then respond to three questions in preparation for the Zoom discussion. Readings and questions will be emailed in advance. Discussions will be via Zoom on Mondays, December 7, 14, 21, 7:00-8:00pm.
 

To register for the series, contact Rita, rita@stbenedictth.org <mailto:rita@stbenedictth.org> or 812.232.8421, ext. 112.

Don't Throw Out Those Hymnals!
With the First Sunday of Advent we enter a new liturgical year. That's normally when we change out the hymnals, too. This year, however, we are going to hold off on putting out the new hymnals until things normalized a bit. So, please continue using your current hymnals for the time being. Booklets with the Sunday readings for 2021 will be available in church and in the parish office. These free resources can be used in conjunction with the old hymnals until the new hymnals can be used. The booklets are free.

Religious Ed. Items for December 6th and Advent
Religious Education on Sunday, December 6 has been changed to a virtual only class.
Jesse Tree -Look for the outdoor Jesse Tree near the main doors of church. Please feel free to add your own Jesse Tree ornament-symbol. Read more about the Jesse Tree and there various symbols here <https://">www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/liturgical-year/advent/the-jesse-tree/>

Special Confession Times During Advent
In addition to the usual Saturday confession time, confessions will also be heard on the first three Wednesdays of Advent from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. The confessional has been moved to the Pieta chapel temporarily to allow for the proper safeguards. The confession line will form in the church vestibule, starting near the Pieta chapel and moving back from there toward the restrooms. Please maintain the proper social distancing while awaiting your turn. Entrance to the church will be through the south handicapped door.

Annual Collection for the Retirement Needs of Religious Sisters, Brothers and Priests
Each year on the 2nd Sunday of Advent the Church in the United States takes up a collection to help with the retirement needs of religious communities in our country. The friars of the Province of Our Lady of Consolation are one of the communities that benefit from this collection. Last year our community received over $140,000 from the collection and our needs this year will be even greater.

Those interested in contributing to this collection can pick up an envelope at the doors of the church beginning this weekend or can simply send a check to the parish office with "Retirement Fund for Religious" in the memo line. Thank you!!