Angel Tree gifts are due back next weekend, Sunday, December 8th. Gifts need to be unwrapped and placed in gift bags. Please make sure the Angels are securely attached to the gift bags. The Angels are the only way we have of identifying the recipients of the gifts. Gifts will be sorted on Monday, December 9th and distributed on Tuesday, December 10th.

A collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious Appeal will be held next weekend, December 7/8. Elderly religious need your help. More than 32,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests live in the United States. Through prayer, love, and sacrifice, they established Catholic schools, hospitals, and more. Yet years of serving for little or no pay have left a shortage in retirement funding. Your gift helps their religious communities furnish necessities such as medications and nursing care. It also helps ensure younger members can continue the good works of their elders. Please be generous.

We will celebrate Mass on Thanksgiving Day at 8:00 a.m. which will include the blessing of bread for use at meals that day—a gift from the Men’s Club to all who attend Mass. The parish office will be closed in observance of Thanksgiving, beginning Wednesday, November 27th through Friday, November 29th. We would like to wish everyone a very Blessed Thanksgiving, and for those who are traveling a safe trip to and from their destinations.

Starting next weekend, November 30/December 1 mail bins will be placed at the entrance of the church to begin collecting your Christmas Cards for those in our community in Long Term Care, Nursing, and Rehabilitation Homes. Place as many Christmas Cards as you like… Please include the “thoughts and prayers from the Parishioners of St. Benedict Parish” in your Christmas greeting/signature. The outside of the envelope can be left blank or you may write, “Merry Christmas”. Please place your Christmas cards in the mail bins no later than Wednesday, December 11th. The Card will be distributed on Friday, December 13th and Saturday, December 14th by the Deacons.

Our Annual Angel Tree will be set up in church Saturday, November 23rd. Please take one or more Angels and complete the attached light green tag with your name and phone number and turn in the tag before leaving church. Team members will be available to assist you and collect your light green tag(s). Purchase one or more gifts from the wish list on the Angel Tree and return to church by Sunday, December 8th. The gift(s) should be unwrapped and placed in a gift bag with your Angel securely attached. Again, we look forward to your generous support of this Christmas tradition.

Come get a taste of what St. Benedict Men’s Club can do. Chicken and sausage gumbo tickets will be sold after all Masses next weekend and the gumbo can be picked up the weekend of November 23/24.

If you are grieving a loved one’s death, our parish GriefShare Ministry invites you to a holiday outreach event, Surviving the Holidays on November 26, 2024, 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm, in the Parish Hall. This holiday ministry program is a 2-hour, video-based event to help you face common challenges that come up during the holiday season. Included in the program are small group sharing, practical exercises, and encouraging devotions/rituals. In addition, A Survival Guide will be provided by St. Benedict’s for registered participants to use during the event and to take home. Sister Kateri Battaglia, MSC will facilitate the program. To register, call Sister Kateri at 504-453-0618 or go online to register at griefshare.org

The Lunch Ministry is collecting canned vegetables, instant mashed potatoes, easy mac and cheese, and stuffing for them to put in the Annual Holiday Baskets for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Please drop your non-perishables off in the Catechetical Center.

Saturday, November 2nd is the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls). We will have a special Mass to pray for all the faithful departed, especially all the members of the parish who have died during the past year at 5:30 p.m.

Friday, November 1st is the Solemnity of All Saints and a Holy Day of Obligation. We will have Mass at 8 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Saturday, November 2nd is the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls). We will have a special Mass to pray for all the faithful departed, especially all the members of the parish who have died during the past year at 5:30 p.m.

The Mass Intention Book will open on November 1st for all intentions to be accepted throughout 2025. Mass requests will be honored on a first- come, first-serve basis in the order in which the request is received at the parish office. No Mass request will be taken over the telephone. Mass request must be made in person in the parish office, or in writing and placed in the collection basket or mailed to the office. Forms for requesting a Mass can be obtained from the parish office, in the back of the church, or available online on the parish website.

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.