Posts in Homepage Featured
 What’s with all the Candles on the altar?

I’ve had a few people ask me about the ‘new’ candles on the altar. There is a two-fold answer as to why we’ve decided to do this. The first part comes from The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, commonly referred to as the “GIRM”. This instruction can be found in the beginning of The Roman Missal, aka that big book that a priest uses to celebrate Mass. In the section where it lists things to be prepared for Mass…

Read More
Christifideles Laici (Part 2)

Last week in my article I had written about the 1988 document Christifideles Laici. This was an exhortation written by Pope John Paul II. It was his follow-up to the 1987 synod of bishops. That synod took place during the whole month of October, and it gathered lay people from around the world to discuss with the bishops the role of lay leadership in the Church. That synod followed the lead of Vatican II, which had occurred 20 years earlier, in encouraging the need for active lay participation. It encouraged people to understand and appreciate their dignity and call to be missionaries for Christ…

Read More
Thank you to all who attended the 2018 St. Benedict’s Oktoberfest!

Thanks to the generous support of our school and parish community and our visiting guests, the fest was a big success and we hope all had a wonderful time!

We’d like to hear your feedback! If you attended Oktoberfest, please CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE A SHORT SURVEY. Your input and suggestions will help us in planning a great Oktoberfest next year. Prost!

Read More
Christifideles Awarded to Kathy Minneci

The Archdiocese of Chicago developed an award that is given each year for one lay member of each parish in the Archdiocese who lives a life focused on building up the Kingdom and serving people in the world who are in need. It is very difficult to choose only one person each year to receive this award and we spend a long time in discussion. This year our award winner was Kathleen Minneci…

Read More
Capital Campaign: New Windows Have Arrived

The new windows for the school building on Leavitt Street have been delivered. Installation began last week. We hope to have all 70 new windows installed over the next three weeks.These new Gerkin windows are energy-efficient. They are insulated with argon. The bronze aluminum trim and hardware will surely enhance the look of our school building both inside and outside. The new awning window will make it easier for teachers and staff to open the windows. Again, thank you for your contributions to Forward in Our Faith used to fund these projects.


Read More
Stumbling Blocks

This week’s Gospel begins with the disciples complaining, as they sometimes did, about someone outside their group performing works in Christ’s name. And, as is often the case, Christ immediately begins to correct them. “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us, is for us.” The disciples are engaging in a finger pointing exercise that back fires on them immediately…

Read More
Sixty Nine Year's of Receiving God's Blessing

This school year we will be graduating our 65th and final senior class. We are not going to phase out the high school quietly and sweep it under a rug. Rather, we have planned a year-long celebration of the gift of our parish high school. For 69 years, the high school has been bringing teenage children to know God’s love for them. Our parish has been serving these young people for almost 7 decades, and that is something for which to be proud. From Father Fasnacht, the founder of the high school, to the School Sisters of St. Francis who dedicated their lives to teaching young people to the current faculty and staff today, we celebrate all those who dedicated themselves to the educational and faith formation of our parish and neighborhood teens...

Read More
Small Changes for a Larger Purpose - Part 2

Our liturgy team has been working diligently, and we are excited to roll out our next set of revisions. You’ll probably notice that we have made some changes to the layout of the church. The server chairs and credence have been moved to the opposite side. This frees up space for the procession to leave the sacristy, and also eliminates the need for the servers to walk up the stairs with a heavy tray…

Read More
Listen with the Ears of Your Heart

Nine years ago, Brian Sieve, a new theology teacher at St. Benedict Prep, thought to revamp how we began our prayer each day in the Secondary School. He added an introductory line before the sign of the cross coming from the opening page of the Rule of St. Benedict: "Listen with the ears of your heart." This short phrase describes the disposition that we need to be in before coming to God in prayer. It is this characteristic of Benedictine spirituality that being receptive or open is emphasized before the mention of being active. For St. Benedict each of us is essentially a "hearer of the Word." Listening, as St. Benedict would later elaborate in his Rule, is the fundamental attitude from which all other attitudes flow...

Read More
Back to School!

As we look at ways to implement our new mission, some of our current spaces in the school got a face lift this summer; we also created a new space in the building.  What previously served as our school’s computer lab and library got a major overhaul this summer to create our STEM lab.  The room, which just two years ago functioned as two different spaces, today form one innovative space for learning…

Read More
Statement of Cardinal Blase J. Cupich on Misleading NBC Chicago Report

As I wrote in my letter responding to the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report: “Whatever words we may use to describe the anguish of reading about these heinous acts, they can never capture the reality of suffering endured by victims of sexual abuse, suffering compounded by the woeful responses of bishops who failed to protect the people they were ordained to serve. … We must resolve to face our failures and hold each other accountable. We must resolve to be clear-eyed about what we have done, what we have failed to do, and what remains to be done. We must resolve to live in the light of humility, of repentance, of honesty — the light of Christ...

Read More
Family Mass Reboot  

Since my dad was up front playing music, my mom was left to keep us kids in line. At this point, all she had to worry about from us teenagers was the odd sarcastic remark, so her focus was almost entirely on keeping my little sister out of trouble. From what I remember, she was actually pretty well behaved, and aside from the odd sprint up and down the aisle, or a loud question about what was going on, she did pretty well. Still, all it took was one little noise or burst of energy for one lady to turn around..

Read More