My name is April Lucey and I am a parishioner at St. Benedict’s in Amherst. I am a mom, wife, sister, friend, & neighbor….and I work full time. My days consist of changing diapers, meeting with clients and spending time with friends and family (not to mention house cleaning and laundry). It sometimes seems like there isn’t enough time in the day to accomplish everything on my list.
Then I stop and think about those who have no home, no clothing, no shelter and I am reminded of my duty to be an active member of my community. I have made a commitment to spend a few hours a month volunteering. Where? I’ve got lots of choices. I’m asking YOU to make the same commitment!
I am inviting all moms, wives, daughters, sisters, & friends to join me and the Ladies of Charity in developing a new generation of volunteers. The current members have built a solid platform for change. Let’s join together and help them to carry out the mission of inspiring and encouraging each other to help create change in our community. Please contact me if you are interested in joining me and other young women in changing our community. Who knows, you might even make some new friends! lovinkeelin@msn.com or 837-1559
I'm Deacon Bill. I'd like to welcome you to St. Benedict's. Whether you've been away from Church for weeks or decades, please know that you are always a beloved daughter or son of God. Welcome home.
Bill and Debbie Hynes
Please let me know if I can assist your spiritual journey in any way. I love teaching about Christ and the Catholic Church so please don't be shy about asking questions.
If you're not Catholic but have an interest in the Catholic Church, please know that we can arrange learning sessions around your busy schedule. No strings attached EVER!
Likewise, we can easily set up sessions for Catholics in need of the Sacraments of Confirmation, First Eucharist or Holy Matrimony.
Of course, you don't even need a reason to talk about Jesus, the Bible, Catholicism or the spiritual life...just send an email my way. We at St. Benedict's want to help your faith in Jesus Christ grow deeper. That's what we do here!
The parish website is http://www.saintbenedicts.com/ There you will find links to our Blog, Facebook, Twitter and our RSS feed.
There are dozens of ways you can become involved in our community too. God gave you your gifts for a reason. Please share them with us.
Our weekend Masses are: Saturday at 5PM, and Sundays at 8AM, 10AM and 11:30AM.
I hope you will introduce yourself to me in person someday soon.
Return to the Lord!
Please join us at any time from 6:00 am right through 9:00 pm on Ash Wednesday, March 9th.
We have masses at 7 am, 8:15 am and 7pm. There is a prayer service at 12 noon. We highly encourage your participation in our liturgies and prayer service. Ashes will be distributed during Mass and at the prayer service.
Additionally, between 6am and 9pm, we will also be distributing ashes to those who wish to turn back to the Lord. Whether you have been away for one day, one year, or haven't set foot in a Catholic Church in decades, we invite you to receive ashes as a sign of repentance and continual conversion. You are welcome here! And you are welcome to receive ashes at anytime between 6am and 9pm at St. Benedict's.
Ashes are a biblical sign of penance. Here are some Biblical verses mentioning ashes - Jeremiah 6:26, Isaiah 58:5, Daniel 9:3, Matthew 11:21 and Luke 10:15. Ashes in the Catholic Church are the burnt remains of last year's palms used on Palm Sunday. Ashes are placed on your forehead as a sign to others of your change of heart. You may hear either of these prayers as the minister puts ashes on your forehead: "Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return," OR "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel."
At Mass on Ash Wednesday, we hear the prophet Joel exclaim "rend your hearts, not your garments and return to the LORD, your God." Can you hear God's call within you?
Perhaps the most amazing result of keeping St. Benedict's Church open all day, as we have the past three years, is seeing the hundreds of people, from all walks of life, truly striving to reform their lives. Three of our four priests (how blessed we are as a parish to have FOUR priests!) are kept busy all day hearing confessions of people who want a fresh spiritual start. [Say a prayer for our Pastor, Fr. Joseph Porpiglia, who is in Rome on sabbatical.]
Will you repent with us this year? Don't worry if you forgot how to go to confession; we have information about the sacrament ready for you.
Please invite all your friends and family members to join us Ash Wednesday. Directions are available under our Visitor tab on our website http://www.saintbenedicts.com/.
We are here to be the welcoming hands of Christ.
Return to the Lord!
*****
Share this blog post - http://bit.ly/gflWQF
Meet Daniel Serbicki We are so pleased to announce that Mr. Daniel Serbicki, a seminarian of the Diocese of Buffalo, will be joining us Monday (24 May 2010). You will meet Dan at liturgies and parish activities. Welcome Dan!
We are looking forward to ministering with Dan. Here is a little about him in his own words:
I am one of the younger seminarians in the Buffalo diocese, though not the youngest, at 25 years old. I first started thinking about priesthood at a young age, certainly before High School. I'm sure I'll tell that story when I get there. I was Homeschooled and raised mostly in the country, and am the oldest of five siblings. I have always had an interest in reading, but also Philosophy and Theology. We have a picture of me working on a computer at a pretty young age (probably before 2?) so I've always been pretty techy too.
After several High school youth retreats, including Steubenville, I decided to take discernment seriously and joined their pretheology program in 2002, but hadn't decided if I was called to the Franciscans or the diocese. I spent a semester in Austria in 2004. I was accepted as a seminarian for Buffalo I believe in 2005, and graduated in 2006 convinced that God was calling me to come to my home diocese.
Since that time, I have served a summer assignment at St. Andrew's Kenmore with Fr. John Mack in 2007, and a pastoral year with Fr. Greg Dobson at St. Mary of the Angels in 2008-2009.
I have also done a variety of immersion programs, often focusing in urban areas. Most recently this was through the seminary, and we spent time in Buffalo's central city, but while in college I also spent a week in urban Chicago with the needy and a week in North Dakota at an Indian reservation, mostly doing catechesis.
That's me in a nutshell, I look forward to getting to know all of you soon!
Welcome to the latest idea from the St. Benedict Tech Committee. We hope to bring you new venue for understanding your Catholic faith and the opportunities available at St. Benedict. Bear with us as we find our way. If you have any suggestions, please email us at rectory@saintbenedicts.com.
