Retreat 2 Nov. - save the date and plan to join us!

The Psalms:
appreciating the prayer book of the Jewish people, Jesus, and the Church

Annual Parish Fall Retreat sponsored by our

St. Vincent de Paul Society

Please join us!  All are welcome.

date: Saturday, 2 November 2013

time: 9:30am through 5:30pm Mass

place: St. Benedict Parish, Main Street & Eggert Road, Amherst, NY

cost: $10 includes lunch and beverages

RSVP/contact: Mr. Matthew Smith at msmith@saintbenedicts.com
or 836-6444

Deacon William Hynes will lead us in:
     The Psalms through History
      Psalm Types and Themes
     The Psalms and Jesus
     The Psalms in Contemporary Culture
     Praying the Psalms today - individually and liturgically.

St. Joseph's Table 10 March 2013

Good afternoon! Sunday, March 10th, will be the return of the Annual St. Joseph's Table at St. Benedict's! This is a longstanding tradition in our parish and is one of the major fundraisers for our St. Vincent de Paul Conference (assisting those in need in our community). Please see below for details and ways in which we can use your help!

#1. The St. Vincent de Paul Society is sponsoring a St. Joseph's Table on Sunday, March 10th at 1:00 PM at St. Benedict's Church (in the cafeteria). There will only be one seating. Tickets are $20/adults and $5/child (12 and under). Advance reservations can be made by emailing Kathy Michalski at kmichals@niagaracc.suny.edu. Tickets will also be on sale after all masses beginning in February. Please contact the rectory for more information. PLEASE NOTE: PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS EARLY SINCE ONLY A LIMITED NUMBER WILL BE AVAILABLE AND WE HAVE SOLD OUT THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS!

#2. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE ST. JOSEPH'S TABLE ON MARCH 10TH!: Please contact Agnes Smith (@ mattandag@mac.com) or contact Agnes @ 832-2086 if you are able to help with set up, serving, and/or clean up. **

** NOTE: This will count for service hours for our religious ed students--you must be a Freshman in High School (or older) to volunteer.

#3. BASKETS NEEDED FOR THE ST. JOSEPH'S TABLE: Back by popular demand will be our basket raffle at the St. Joseph's Table! Please contact Megan Andrews @ meganlandrews@aol.com if you would like to donate a basket! Advance raffle tickets will be available for sale prior to the Table. More details to come!

 

 

Vincentian News

Vincentian News

St. Vincent de Paul
transept window, St. Benedicts Church
Amherst, New York

Please make note of the following dates! We would love to see you at each of them.  If you are interested in joining our St. Vincent de Paul Conference or our Ladies of Charity simply attend a meeting or call the rectory anytime.  These are our major outreach groups at St. Benedict's.  They humbly do tremendous work for Christ's poor.

1. Annual Retreat--Saturday, November 3rd from 9:30-5 (followed by Mass) at St. Benedict's: Deacon Bill Hynes KeyNote. Please RSVP your attendance to msmith@saintbenedicts.com. Cost $10/person includes lunch and refreshments.

2. SVDP Northern District Meeting, Wednesday, November 7th at 7:30: Gathering Room #1, St. Gregory the Great Parish. One of the agenda items will be nominations for a new Northern District president. Please RSVP by 2 November to njm128@aol.com or by calling 551-1898 or 631-0238.Barb Flynn has offered to be the designated driver to the Northern District meeting if anyone wants to attend. Contact msmith@saintbenedicts.com to make arrangements. In light of the retreat, there will be no monthly meeting for our St. Ben's SVDP, HOWEVER, all members are invited and encouraged to attend this meeting as highlighted below.

3. We Are the Voice of the Poor: Saturday, November 17th from 11:30 4 (followed by Mass) @ 75 Caldwell Place, Lackawanna (a Catholic Charities facility): A collaborative gathering of Vincentians (SVDP, Ladies of Charity, Daughters of Charity, Congregation of the Mission). For more information, please contact Ladies of Charity at 895-4001 or SVDP @ 882-3360 x-4. Cost $15/person includes lunch.   Our own Kathy Sieracki asked Sheila Gilbert to address this gathering. Sheila is the national president of SVDP. Not only is she the first female president of the Society, she is the first to visit WNY. The best way to show our gratitude to Kathy is by our presence. It will be worth the effort!!!!
 

 

Please pass this information along to anyone you feel would be interested.

Year of Faith RETREAT

The St. Vincent de Paul Conference at St. Benedict’s Parish

cordially invites you to take one day to reflect upon a

Year of Faith

Pope Benedict XVI declared a “Year of Faith” in his Apostolic Letter entitled, Porta Fidei.

 

This special year of prayer and devotion will begin on October 11, 2012

to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council

and the 20th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

 

During the Year of Faith, Catholics are asked to study

and reflect on the documents of Vatican II

and the Catechism to deepen their knowledge

and understanding of the faith.

Please join Deacon Bill Hynes for a one day retreat

devoted to helping us make the most out of this special year!

   DATE:  Saturday, November 3, 2012

    TIME:  9:30 AM – 5:00 PM

PLACE:  St. Benedicts Parish, Office of Faith Formation

  COST:  Ten Dollars (Retreat includes lunch and beverages).

For more information or to make a reservation

write to Matt Smith at msmith@saintbenedicts.com or call 836-6444.

Retreat Director: Mr. William Hynes, Permanent Deacon, serves at St. Benedict Parish, teaches religion to eleventh graders at St. Joseph Collegiate Institute, and taught for many years in the Diaconal Formation Program for the Diocese of Buffalo.  Deacon Bill was ordained in St. Joseph’s Cathedral by Bishop Mansell in June 1998.  This will be the fourth year Deacon Bill has lead our annual retreat!

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

Parish Retreat - 19 Nov. 2011

The St. Vincent de Paul Conference at St. Benedict’s Parish cordially invites you to join us on a one-day retreat called
Following Jesus in Mark’s Gospel

Did you know that every year the church focuses on one Gospel?

In a few weeks another liturgical year will begin. This year most of the Gospel readings we will hear on Sunday will come from Mark.

How is Mark’s Gospel different from the other evangelists?

What lessons does Mark give us in our quest to follow the way of Jesus?

Come join Deacon Bill for a full day retreat as we dig deep into scriptures. Let us reflect together how we might follow Jesus more closely through Mark’s Gospel.

DATE: Saturday, November 19, 2011
TIME: 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM
PLACE: St. Benedicts Parish, School Gym
COST: Ten Dollars (Retreat includes lunch and beverages).
For more information or to make a reservation write to Matt Smith at msmith@saintbenedicts.com or call 836-6444.

RETREAT DIRECTOR: Mr. William Hynes, Permanent Deacon. Deacon Bill serves at St. Benedict’s Parish, teaches religion to eleventh graders at St. Joseph Collegiate Institute, and taught for many years in the Diaconal Formation Program for the Diocese of Buffalo. For the last three summers Bill has had meaningful experiences teaching in third world countries. Bill was ordained in St. Joseph’s Cathedral by Bishop Mansell in June 1998

Friends of the Poor Walk - 24 September

Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Friends of the Poor Walk

On Saturday, September 24, the annual Friends of the Poor Walk will be held on Goat Island in Niagara Falls State Park  The length of the walk is about 1.3 miles around the periphery of the island, and walkers and sponsors can register on the Walk’s local website, www.svdpwnywalk.info, or on the National website, www.svdpusa.org.  In addition, Society members from our Parish will be available in the vestibule of the church after all Masses on the weekends of Sept. 10-11, and Sept. 17-18, to register  walkers and sponsors.  The walk is a great fund-raising opportunity, and monies raised will go to directly assist the poor in our community.

For information on St. Benedict's St. Vincent de Paul Society visit - http://bit.ly/f7egIy

St. Joseph's Day Table March 20

The St. Joseph's Day Table was a huge success!

Thank you for joining us.

Please make plans to join us again next year.

A special "thank you" to all our volunteers!

The photos are in...

The St. Vincent de Paul Society (http://bit.ly/f7egIy) is sponsoring a St. Joseph Table on March 20th 2011 at 4:00 pm at Saint Benedict Church, 1317 Eggert Rd. Amherst, NY. There will only be one seating at 4:00 pm. Tickets are $20.00 for adults and $5.00 for children who are having spaghetti only. There will be only 200 tickets sold, but we will offer take out service for families of 4. Tickets will be on sale after all Masses and in the rectory.

For information or tickets please call Agnes at 832-2086 or email mattandag@mac.com

Here's the menu:
*Zuppe- Lentils and Rice
    (A time honored St. Joseph's Day tradition to start the meal)
*An Intermezzo of Hard-boiled Egg, Orange, and a Relish Tray.
*Pasta Consardi
    (A full flavored red sauce with sardine over spaghetti - red sauce available)
*Insalata-
   (A fresh, Italian fully dressed salad.)
*Entree
   (A Loin of Cod, Stuffed Hot Peppers & Fritattas of Spinach/Artichoke)
*Desserts of Cannoli, Cookies and Coffee

THANK YOU and Viva San Giuseppe!
*****
Share this Blog post - http://bit.ly/gyhPha

St. Vincent de Paul Society - St. Benedict's

ST. VINCENT De PAUL SOCIETY:
Bringing help to the Needy in Body and Spirit

The St Vincent de Paul (SVDP) Conference at St Benedict's is an active group of individuals whose mission is to seek out those in the Parish who may be in need and combine their efforts to answer those needs in whatever way it can. Some of the group's activities include a Spring and Fall clothing drive, monthly contributions to the food pantry at Blessed Trinity, sponsoring children at the SVDP Summer Camp and responding to referrals of individuals in need.

Referrals may come from the SVDP Main Office, our Parish office and, sometimes from social workers at our area schools, but, regardless of the source, the members of SVDP are always there, ready to lend a helping hand.

Meetings of the Society are held at 7 pm once every month in the Faith Formation Office, located on the first floor of the School, Room 13. (Use the Westfield Lot School door for easist access.)

Some of our SVDP members at the Friends of the Poor Walk, 2012

If you are interested in joining or learning more about the Saint Vincent de Paul Society and how you can help in its efforts to minister to others, call the Rectory at 834-1041 or email Rectory@saintbenedicts.com.

New members are always welcome, as well as your ideas and enthusiasm!

Windows of St. Benedict's, Part III

St. Scholastica (sister of St. Benedict)

sacristy window, detail

St. Dominic (with Rosary) & St. Augustine (with book/crozier)

chancel window

St. Paul (with sword) & St. Peter (with keys)

chancel window

St. Vincent de Paul with child

transept window

St. Patrick

transept window

St. John the Baptist with Jesus

sacristy window

St. Francis Xavier, priest & missionary

transept window

St. Scholastica (sister of St. Benedict)

St. John Baptist de La Salle (patron of teachers)

St. Columban (missionary to Ireland)

sacristy window

St. Mark

choir window

St. John

choir window

St. Matthew

choir window

St. Luke

choir window

*****

Other window Blog posts:

http://bit.ly/cX3uqc

http://bit.ly/9Ejvva

Share this Blog Post - http://bit.ly/9ZHXB3