I would like to thank everyone for a very successful parish Gala night last weekend. My special thanks to the Gala Committee for their incredible teamwork, commitment, and the many hours they put into the planning for the event. Thanks to all who attended, our sponsors, businesses, and individuals who sent donations to support us. It was a joy-filled evening shared with the St. Benedict community and friends of St. Benedict Church. As I stated last weekend, the Gala this year was more of a “Thank You” parish dinner than a fundraising event. However, I am glad to share with you that we have an estimated net proceeds of $17,652.20  from the Gala. The proceeds will help with our general expenses and additional expenses from the church construction. 

With our new beautiful Chapel, it is quite obvious that we can now afford to explore the possibility of extending our parish Adoration days and times beyond what we currently have. We sent out a flocknote survey to all parishioners on Wednesday this week seeking to find out everyone’s preference.  The options are:  Adoration every Friday from 9am-6pm, every first Friday through the first Saturday of the month from 9am-9am, keep what we currently have on first Friday from 9am-6pm, or have 24/7 Adoration. Please respond to the survey to help us determine how we can increase our participation in the Adoration. It takes less than 1 minute to complete and please give us a call in the parish office (480.961.1610) if you did not get the survey. 

As we prepare to enter the month of May, I would like to remind us that in the Catholic tradition, the month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary commonly known as “May Devotion.” We are encouraged to offer special group or personal prayers through the intercession  of the Blessed Mother within this month. I invite you and your family to come and join us for our daily recitation of the Rosary before Mass at 7:40am (Mon-Thur) in the parish chapel. You are also encouraged to have your personal and family May Devotion in your families. 

I am so glad that we now have the Legion of Mary Praesidium in our parish. I encourage the active and auxiliary members of the Legion and all parishioners to include a prayer for a successful progress in the process for our St. Benedict Senior Living Facility project during your daily recitation of the Rosary through this month. The Legion’s weekly meeting is every Thursday at 4:30pm in the parish meeting room (Annex 1). We are looking for more members to join this new ministry. Joining the Legion will help you to strengthen your spiritual life and give you the opportunity to put your faith into action through the Legion apostolic work such as visiting the sick and reaching out to those in need in the community.