The 2025 workbooks are now available in the usher’s room for all Lectors.

Please pick up your books in the hallway of the Catechetical Center

The Marianites of Holy Cross have gifted the parish with Grief Share© to help you navigate your loss and grief through a grief recovery support group. It is a 13- week cycle to help you discover what to expect in the days ahead and what is “normal” in grief. Since there are no neat, orderly stages of grief, you’ll also learn helpful ways of coping with grief, in all its unpredictability – and gain solid support each step of the way. There is a fee of $25, which includes your Grief Share workbook. Sister Kateri Battaglia, MSC, will facilitate the Grief Share recovery support group. Each session is selfcontained so you can join us at any week, but registration is required. To register, call 504-453-0618 or email at srkaterimsc@yahoo.com for your registration form.

All money collected in the Poor Box for the next three weekends will be dedicated to assist with those suffering losses from Hurricane Helene. Thank you for your generosity in assisting those in need.

Sunday, October 27th will be our annual Parish Picnic after the 10:30 Mass. Food, Family, and Fun is guaranteed. The parish will supply lunch for everyone – we are asking each family to bring drinks for their own family. Our Youth Ministry will be coordinating games and other activities. As a special addition to the Parish Picnic, we will also have Trunk or Treat - a family friendly Halloween event in which children and their families get to enjoy dressing up and receive candy from each of the family friendly themed vehicles that participate. All youth are invited to dress up as their favorite saint or biblical figure on Sunday, October 27th for the 10:30 a.m. Mass. During the picnic we will have our trunk or treat. Everyone is encouraged to decorate their trunks and to bring candy or other goodies to give to those who participate. All are welcome to join in the fun.

Join us on Sunday, October 6th at 2 PM for the Blessing of Pets and Animals! All are welcome!

Sunday, August 25 Confirmation Prep 11:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. Sunday, September 8 Confirmation Prep 11:45 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. Sunday, September 29 Confirmation Retreat 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 8 Confirmation Mass at 7 p.m.

The St. Benedict Ladies Altar Society is hosting a Spaghetti Dinner on Saturday, September 21st. All dinners will include spaghetti, meatballs, green beans, and garlic bread. Tickets will be on sale after all Masses the weekends of September 7th and 8th as well as September 14th and 15th.

The Marianites of Holy Cross have gifted the parish with GriefShare© to help you navigate your loss and grief through a grief recovery support group. It is a 13-week cycle to help you discover what to expect in the days ahead and what is “normal” in grief. Since there are no neat, orderly stages of grief, you’ll also learn helpful ways of coping with grief, in all its unpredictability – and gain solid support each step of the way. There is a fee of $25, which includes your GriefShare workbook. Sister Kateri Battaglia, MSC, will facilitate the GriefShare recovery support group. Each session is self-contained so you can join us at any week, but registration is required. To register, call 504-453-0618 or email at srkaterimsc@yahoo.com for your registration form.

This Thursday, August 15th is the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary and it is a Holy Day of Obligation. Holy Days of Obligation are like Sundays in that Catholics must attend Mass, and if possible, refrain from unnecessary servile work. We will have a Vigil Mass on Wednesday, August 14th at 7 p.m. and a morning Mass on Thursday, August 15th at 8:00 a.m. The parish office will be closed on Thursday, August 15th.

Sunday, August 25 Confirmation Prep 11:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. Sunday, September 8 Confirmation Prep 11:45 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. Sunday, September 29 Confirmation Retreat 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 8 Confirmation Mass at 7 p.m.

Fr. Justin Arockiasamy SVD will be here next weekend to celebrate Masses and to speak about the many ministries of his religious community, Divine Word Missionaries. They are an international religious community of missionary priests and Brothers serving in 79 countries helping to build chapels, celebrate the sacraments and spread the Word of God in remote mission communities. Please be generous with your prayers and contribute to the second collection to help support the missionary work of the Divine Word Missionaries. To meet some of the people Divine Word Missionaries help, please read the stories at https://missionimpact.svdmissions.org/mission-update.

The 2025 Mass Intention book will open on Thursday, August 1st for the upcoming calendar year. Until November 1st we will accept no more than 12 weekday (single intention) requests from a household for the upcoming year (unlimited requests for Sunday or Saturday Masses will be accepted). After November 1st, all intentions will be accepted until the schedule is full. Mass requests will be honored on a first-come, first-serve basis in the office. No Mass request will be taken over the telephone. Mass requests must be made in person in the parish office, mailed to the office, or put into an enveloped and placed in the collection. Forms for requesting a Mass can be obtained from the parish office, in the back of the church, or online on the parish website.

NEXT WEEKEND we will celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Benedict at all Masses. Please join us in the Catechetical Center next Saturday, July 13th, for our annual Potluck Party after the 5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass.

Even when everything goes well, bringing home a new baby is difficult. Between the physical exhaustion, emotional stress, and sleep deprivation, parents can often feel overwhelmed. That’s where our church family can come in. Wouldn’t it be great if you would allow us to deliver meals to your family as you bring your newborn home? Any parishioner parents are eligible, including birth parents, foster parents, and adopting parents of an infant (under 1-year-old) and this applies to all children (the first, second, third…etc.). If you are expecting a new baby or infant, please contact Debra Dwight before your baby is born at 985-966- 0437 or DebraDwight07@gmail.com so that we can prepare to be of assistance once your new baby arrives and you bring him/her home.

Support for such papal efforts is rooted in the scriptural message exhorting us to take care of the poor, and it expresses unity with the Holy Father in two ways: through the ongoing activities of the Holy See and through the charitable works of the Holy Father on behalf of those most in need. Give generously to this collection as a sign of mercy to those who suffer around the globe and of your support for the ongoing work of the Holy See. By doing so, you help build up the Church so that it can minister to all for generations to come.

The Lunch Ministry will be preparing a pasta salad with fresh vegetables and fruit on Wednesday, June 26th. Please bring any extra vegetables or fruit that you can spare to the Catechetical Center by Tuesday, June 25th. Thank you for your generosity.

You will find a book in the back of the church to enroll your loved ones (living or deceased) in the Masses on Father’s Day weekend, June 15/16. This is an excellent way to remember your loved ones on this special day.

The Grief Support Group welcomes anyone who may be looking for comfort and support after losing a loved one or a relationship; wanting to learn ways to cope and deal with the grief in their life; and searching to see where God is in their situation. The Grief Support Group will meet every second and fourth Tuesday of the month, from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm in the Parish Center. Two of our Marianite sisters, Sister Kateri Battaglia and Sister Elvira Brown, will facilitate these meetings. Prayerfully consider accepting this invitation to connect with others who are walking that same journey from grief to healing, to acceptance, to transformation.

The summer is here and so are vacations, if you haven’t already noticed our annual decrease in Mass attendance during June and July. We hope you are enjoying a change of pace and some time away. If you are vacationing, please remember two things. First, we do not take a vacation from God. Please check out www.masstimes.org for a list of churches in the areas you are visiting and their Mass times. Secondly, the needs of the parish and those seeking social assistance do not take a holiday in June through August. In fact, many times we received more requests for financial assistance during the summer months. Our ability as a church to pay our own bills and help those facing the loss of electricity or water due to their inability to pay, or to help one of our parishioners facing a financial crisis, depends on the continued generosity of our congregation. Please don’t forget your offering to St. Benedict’s this summer when you are traveling or away for vacation. The safest and most secure way to make contributions to St. Benedict’s, however, is to use our online giving, which can be accessed at: https://giving.parishsoft.com/app/giving/stbencov