Garden Cleanup THURS 6-8pm

THAT'S THIS THURSDAY (7 June) from 6 to 8 pm!

Feeding the Hungry - THANKSGIVING DAY

Families, members of Generations of Faith & St. Vincent de Paul, gather in the St. Benedict's Parking lot at 7:30 AM to receive donations of breakfast food to take down to Little Portion Friary, a homeless shelter on Main Street.  Dozens of people baked, purchased food, or volunteered to serve a delicious meal to Christ in the distressing disguise of the poor.  Special thanks to Denise Levy and her family for coordinating this wonderful activity which embodies the spirit of this day.

Outreach to the Hungry - a story

During mass today, Father Joe Porpiglia called up the children who were going to make their first Penance this year, along with any other children in attendance.

Upon dismissal of them, he asked them to process down the aisle, carrying the food donations from the congregation to the altar. Along with the Generations of Faith children, there was an extraordinary number of kids who were bringing up the food. It really was a sight to behold.

As the procession continued, I heard a small child behind me, Ashlynn, who was talking in her sweet voice to her mother: "Where are they going? What are they carrying?" Her mother whispered back, "they are carrying bags of food to children and families who do not have enough food to eat."

Her small voice persisted, "do we have enough food?" to which her mom replied, "yes, honey, we have enough food."

I thought this was so telling that even the smallest of the small in our parish was gathering the significance of this wonderful gesture of feeding those who hunger. And, at this small, tender age, she was questioning and wondering why.

We are so grateful to all who donate to those in need in our community and we thank you.

Agnes Smith
VP St. Vincent de Paul Conference at St. Benedict's http://bit.ly/f7egIy

Feed HIs Flock - Bishop Kmiec

FEED HIS FLOCK

Please help us help the hungry. In the spirit of Bishop Kmiec’s motto of charity and service, we invite you to collect non-perishable canned goods for donation to Saint Francis of Assisi Food Pantry.

Simply bring your canned goods to Saint Benedict Church or School.

Feed His Flock is a Diocesan initiative of the Division of Catholic Education to collect Non-Perishable Canned Goods from now until October 21, 2011 to honor our Bishop, The Most Reverend Edward U. Kmiec, D.D., S.T.L., on the occasion of his Jubilee Celebration for his many years of service to the Church.

The Division of Catholic Education will present Bishop Kmiec with a certificate showing the total number of items collected throughout the Diocese to commemorate this charitable effort undertaken in his honor.

Our thanks to Bishop Kmiec for his decades of service to Christ and His Church.

And thank you for your generosity to the needy..

Harvesting Love - Isidore's Garden

In the Gospels, Jesus often uses agricultural imagery. We hear about water, seeds, soil conditions, roots, sun, thorns, plants that grow well and yield a rich harvest, and plants that wither and die. Both our individual role as Christians and our collective mission as Church are compared to plant life in parables by Jesus. Here are some biblical passages to meditate upon: Mt 13:1-23, Mt 13:24-43, Is 55:10-11, Ps 65:10, 11, 12-13,14, Rom 8:18-23.

The parish Salt & Light group and the St. Vincent de Paul Society invite you to join us in an ongoing meditation on these teachings of Sacred Scripture through a project we are calling “Isidore's Garden: Harvesting Love”

St. Isidore is the patron saint of farmers. He embodied the Benedictine spirituality of work and prayer, and shared food he grew with the poor. St. Isidore's garden need not be limited to a patch of land in Madrid, Spain in the twelfth century, "Isidore's Garden" could spread to backyards, gardens, window boxes, orchards and farms around the world.

We invite all parishioners of St. Benedict's, and all people of goodwill, to follow St. Isidore’s beautiful example and dedicate a small patch of garden to grow fresh produce for those in need.

We invite you to bring the fruits of your labor to Mass on Sunday (bring your tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, etc.) to be presented with the gifts during our liturgy and then the St. Vincent de Paul Conference, our Salt & Light group and our deacon will ensure that this fresh produce reaches people in need.

Simply bring the food you grow to the back vestibule of the church, where canned goods are dropped off for our monthly food drive.

If you join our effort, please email us and let us know (write to Deacon Bill at deaconhynes@gmail.com). We would like to post pictures and share stories on our blog in order to support one another, learn from one another and encourage others to join us.

Won't you help? Turn you garden into holy ground!
Together, let us reap a harvest of love!
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Take the St. Francis Pledge here.

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