Pastor's Letter to Parishioners

May 1, 2020

Dear St. Benedict the Moor Parish Family,
Happy Easter!
During this time of uncertainty and anxiety, I pray that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. This crisis challenges us to act responsibly by following the social isolation guidelines while striving to stay close emotionally and spiritually to our families, our friends and our communities. Please join me in praying for those affected by COVID-19, as well as our first responders, health care workers and individuals who have lost income due to precautionary closures.
I also want to take a moment to thank you for your past generosity to our St. Benedict the Moor Parish. We could not operate without your support. 
With Masses across the Archdiocese canceled, our traditional manner for collecting offertory is not available to us. However, the costs of running the parish continue and planning for renewed activities once we re-unite in person goes on.
I prayerfully ask you to consider continuing your support for our parish and the good works of our faith. Online giving for both the weekly offertory and other important collections is quick and easy by visiting our website.  You can also send checks and/or your weekly envelopes directly to St. Benedict the Moor Church at 320 21st St. NE, Washington, DC 20002 and I want to express my sincere gratitude to those who are already doing.
As a community, we stand together and are there for each other during this time of need. Thank you for your continued generosity to further the mission of our faith!
Please continue to pray for each other, as I continue to pray for you. I live stream my daily mass from Monday to Friday at 12:10PM and my Sunday mass at 10:00AM in St. Vincent. You can participate by going to Facebook https://www.facebook.com/andygonzalo.

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Andy Gonzalo

Happy Easter!

My Dear St. Benedict Family,
Hope you are all doing well.
The social distancing and  restrictions on assembling prevent us from celebrating Easter  together in the church. But we still proclaim with our lives our joy in the renewal of the world, our Easter joy. Many are suffering from Coronavirus and we keep them all in our prayers. One thing is sure, no one is suffering from the loss of our Easter joy. No pandemic can destroy Easter. Christ is Risen and is alive in our hearts.
You are all in my prayers. Happy Easter.--- Fr. Andy

Online Giving is NOW POSSIBLE

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Hope you are all doing well. 

There is now a possibility for our parishioners and friends to donate online. What you only need is to "CLICK"  on the section "Offertory/ Donation" locate don top of our website and then fill up the form to give your donations. This is a very convenient way of giving and supporting the mission of our parish, even if you are not able to come to church as we are exxperiencing now due to this pandemic. You won't need to write a check/ an envelope. All you need to do is click and put the amount you want to donate. It could be a one-time giving or a recurring one, depending on what is convenient for you.

I thank you so much for your generosity and support to our parish.
Know that you are always in my prayers and I think of all of you everyday as I celebrate my mass. If you need any assistance or help, please do not hesitate to call the parish. You can also email me at stbenedict.dc@adw.org

God bless you all and take care and stay safe always.

Fr. Andy

Dear Parishioners and visitors of St Benedict the Moor,

I pray that you are all doing well. As we continueto move prayerfully through these challenging times, I pray that you and your loved ones are taking care of yourselves and one another. Let us strengthen more than ever our unity, solidarity and care for each other and forgetting our self-interestsand "my own safety attitude".
In an effort to continue to connect and communicate with our community, I will be celebrating mass privately and know that you are in my prayers. Please continue to check our website and so with our facebook page regularly for imporatnt updates. I encourage you to join online mass  through:
https://adw.org/parishes-masses/sunday-tv-mass/.
https://www.wordonfire.org/daily-mass.
https://www.ewtn.com/tv/

If you cannot attend Mass or join the mass online, I encourage you to read the Gospels, pray with your families, and join yourself to the Eucharist by making an act of spiritual communion. Refer to the prayer I posted on this home page on this regard.

God bless all.
Fr. Andy

New Message From Fr. Andy

Dear St. Benedict the Moor Family,

I pray that you are all doing well. This has certainly been an unprecedented week in our nation and around the world. It seems that almost every few hours we are receiving updated information and guidance from the Archdiocese as well as local, national and world leaders and global health experts. I know how easy it is for us to feel overwhelmed by it all, but let us not lose hope. The news we hear seems dire and no reprieve seems on the immediate horizon. But this is precisely why it is so important that we get and remain grounded in our faith.

With the cancellations of public masses, I continue to urge you to have your masses on TV and unite each other in our prayers. I will be offering my mass for your intentions. We continue to pray for those who are ill with this virus and for those who care for them, especially in countries that have been most affected. We also pray for health and frontline workers as they face their daily tasks. And we remember those communities, employees and businesses that have been affected as a result of the virus.

While lots of things have been canceled by the coronavirus, but love is not one of them. Most of all, let us remember this- God is in control and we are in His hands.

May I also ask you to continue supporting our parish by sending your envelopes by mail.

You are in my prayers and thoughts.

Fr. Andy

Online Mass Netetiquette

Attending mass online/ on TV, we need to predispose ourselves to enter into a spiritual communion. Dress up as if you are going to church. No texting, no eating. Be attentive. Answer as if you are at mass. Stand up when it’s time to stand up. Kneel whenever you can when it’s time to kneel. Remove all possible distractions. Set the ambiance by putting an altar with a crucifix or an image of a Saint. Light a candle. Act as if you are in the church. During Communion, please pray the "Act of Spiritual communion." It is on the upper right hand corner in our website. Please copy that and make it handy and available as you attend mass online.

I am with you all in my masses and prayers. Stay safe always.

Fr. Andy

Dear Parishioners,

Please follow live Palm Sunday Mass with Fr. Fred at 10:00 am. Please click the facebook link below.
https://www.facebook.com/stbenmoordc/