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PAROQUIA – Nssa Senhora do ROSÁRIO

Residência Nssa. Sra. de Fátima                              9 February, 2024                    LIV:1

Trav. Carlos Pontes, 171                             

62.900-000 Russas, Ceará                           http://www.egfbenya.com    

BRASIL                                                                     e-mail: [email protected]

Dear Friends, Family, Colleagues, Benefactors and Collaborators,

The Promise of The Redeemer was made shortly after our human fall. It remained a promise for centuries. It was confirmed with the arrival of The Redeemer. He led a quiet life for some 30 years and then began a public ministry carefully calling followers, disciples.

That public ministry was intensive from the beginning. Salvation was the goal and time was of the essence. The disciples were being trained, educated and FORMED not as employees and followers but as MINISTERS of Him who would become the Savior. The disciples were in Challenge and the Savior was in Temptation, almost continuously to reject the entire venture.

Temptation was present from the beginning, as a child. It continued into adolescence (in the temple in Jerusalem), in youth and adulthood. Satan knew, at least something of the goal that was in play. At the beginning of His public life, temptation of the Savior was profane (the riches and honors of this world). In the garden of Gethsemane it was violent and mortal (agony and torture). He was tempted to Abandon the entire venture and asked the Father, if possible, that such abandonment be realized. It was NOT possible. He continued.

During the 24-most intensive hours of the Passion, temptation continued. Bearing the cross, He fell three times: manifestations of continued temptation to QUIT (?); quite possibly. Yet He continued and so did the agony, the torture.

The final temptation was to DESPAIR…had he been Forsaken by The Father? NO! However he had been tempted and tempted most brutally. He died the Savior’s death. We received the sinners’ Redemption.

We celebrate those intensive 24 hours and the following Glory of Resurrection as we celebrate the entire Pascal Mystery in the Easter Solemnity.

I invite you and your families to join us in spirit iff you wish for this solemn celebration during the Lenten-Easter Season. In praise and gratitude

in the Love of Jesus Christ,

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

PAROQUIA – Nssa Senhora do ROSÁRIO

Residência Nssa. Sra. de Fátima                                          11 July, 2023              LIII:2

Trav. Carlos Pontes, 171                             

62.900-000 Russas, Ceará                           http://www.egfbenya.com    

BRASIL                                                                     e-mail: [email protected]

Dear, Friends, Collaborators, Family, Benefactors and Colleagues,

The years accumulate. They pass with remarkable rapidity; the decade, quarter century, ruby (40-year count) and half-century. None are highly notable in themselves but in their sequence they mark a life. Finally Almighty God will judge that life.

Steps of passage mark each life. I prepare to enter my fortieth year of ordination to the priesthood and fiftieth year in Religious Life, the half-century mark. In themselves they are not particularly rare, but as a whole they embrace the major part of my life.

Beginning the half-century mark holds a singular meaning; Joy and Gratitude for a Happy life, yet sobriety in the reality of problems and difficulties survived during these 49 years. The point of sobriety draws attention. In August of 1974 a group of 18 of us entered what was then the New Orleans Province of the Society of Jesus. A definite fraternity, a Communion was born.

Our numbers actually began dwindling within a few days after entry as the first of the group discovered that he was not called to this life. Over the 2-year period of novitiate a further 10 departed. Seven of us took vows. Over the next 6 to 10 years, five of us were ordained. During the next 39 years, departures continued. This, in fact, is the projected run of any dynamic in this life. We arrive, discern a Call, try to follow as best we can, our limitations notwithstanding, while in continuous preparation for Eternity.

Yet, that Fraternity remains, continually taking a new form, structure and dynamic. Its maximum was defined at the entry date and remains as such for all time. However its spread or distribution varies; fewer are in this life, more in Eternity. That distribution took a definite tone of Reference this year as the penultimate of that original entry group who actually remained in the Order, Father Stephen Campbell, S.J., passed to Eternity. For better or for worse I find myself the lone member of that original group, still in this life.

I am a sole survivor, not lonely by any means, but a solitary figure. Dynamics of the situation as it has developed in no way guarantees my physical presence for the Golden anniversary. Yet that is secondary to the Original Call.

One way or another, there will be a celebration, and YOU, a most diverse and beloved group of Friends, Collaborators, Family, Benefactors and Colleagues will be included. My parents and many others are already in Eternity. Many of you are fairly recent to the group. Some actually precede the formation of the group. All of you show a SINGULAR dedication to Almighty God through the ministries, apostolates and works in which I am or have been involved. For this I humbly thank God and I thank you as I remain

Gratefully in the Love of Jesus Christ,

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

PAROQUIA – Nssa Senhora do ROSÁRIO

Residência Nssa. Sra. de Fátima                  6 February, 2023                    LIII:1

Trav. Carlos Pontes, 171                             

62.900-000 Russas, Ceará                           http://www.egfbenya.com    

BRASIL                                                                     e-mail: [email protected]

Dear Collaborators, Family, Colleagues, Friends and Benefactors,

Shortcuts are most attractive. In many circumstances they are a legitimate alternative to a prolonged, drudging, tiring venture where time, patience and assets might well be spent in more efficient ways. However, under some circumstances shortcuts are a temptation to avoid application of necessary assets to a project that demands minute attention. Both circumstances merit careful consideration. Wasting time has no merit, neither does wasting resources.

The temptation to apply wasteful shortcuts has been with us since time in memoriam. Consciously or subconsciously we tend to crave things simple, immediate, clear and short; quite laudable in itself. Yet when that craving interferes with sacramental discernment and virtuous procedure, it becomes a temptation and can be most vicious.

A temptation to shortcut the divine hierarchy within creation led our ancestral “first” parents to commit the “original sin”. It took the presence and action of Almighty God Himself as Savior in human-and-divine natures to rectify the effects of that original sin, and that rectification was nowhere near as simple as was the original fall.

Salvation required promise, message, preparation, delivery, discipline, execution and Love in a dynamic that to this day continues its vigor. It met resistance; human and demonic at every step. The realization of Salvation was anything but guaranteed. A false step, presented and executed as a shortcut, anywhere could have sabotaged the entire venture, and there were plenty of temptations to “shortcuts”.

The Savior Himself encountered temptation to shortcut the Passion of Redemption in the garden of Gethsemane. In His dialogue with The Father Jesus asked that if possible “this cup might pass without my partaking of it”. Suffering for the sake of suffering has no merit. Yet that suffering was necessary. He accepted! He won! We won! We are saved.

Resistance to Salvation continues to this day. As a species we are ENTIRE at conception, yet INCOMPLETE in our form. We are continually challenged to transcend (go beyond) ourselves, arriving at COMPLETION in Eternity. That challenge is mysterious and at times frightening. The process is unique for each of us because the sanctity of each of us is unique. The temptation to a shortcut (to “quit”) is ever-present. Yet we are not alone. We hold Communion with the Savior and with each other.

We celebrate that Communion each year at the Lenten-Easter Season. Join us in spirit iff you wish for this celebration as we thank God in universal communion of Praise and Glory. Grateful to you and for your presence, I wish all of you:

 “A Happy and Holy Lenten, Pascal-Easter Season!”

Gratefully in the Love of the Risen Jesus Christ,

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

PAROQUIA – Nssa Senhora do ROSÁRIO

Residência Nssa. Sra. de Fátima                        10 November, 2022                        LII:3

Trav. Carlos Pontes, 171                          fone:              (55 088) 2145 0990

62.900-000 Russas, Ceará                                  http://www.egfbenya.com 

BRASIL                                                                    e-mail: [email protected]        

Dear Family, Benefactors, Friends, Collaborators and Colleagues,

Messages abound! We encounter them in our families, our jobs, our ministries, our works. Messages of calling, of introduction, of advice, of warning, of confirmation, messages of one form or another are continuous in life; messages of matter, messages of spirit, benevolent or vicious. Voice, published or public messages present definite dimensions and are difficult to ignore. Spiritual messages, mostly unnoticed, we seem to perceive subconsciously, respond, forget and continue navigating life.

We are a species that is ENTIRE when conceived, but born INCOMPLETE. We are called for the rest of our worldly lives to develop and thus arrive COMPLETE (The Saintly Dynamic) at Eternity. This is a complicated process. Besides the benevolent messages we receive, many false messages (temptations) are plentiful. These are ideas that can confuse, confound and disorient us. Almighty God cares for us and keeps us close to Himself. Messages (and messengers) are crucial for that care.

The subtlety of messages varies with their gravity of importance. A gentle hint can be enough to inform the wise of a timely error. A startling shock may be necessary to quickly move an individual from the immediate threat of catastrophe to safety. In His benevolence, God keeps us informed of our sacramental progress through gently hints, although at times our density of spirit demands a SHOCK.

The Savior Himself, Jesus Christ, had messengers. The promise of a Redeemer was true and would be realized with time. The prophets announced Christ’s future arrival and the time of that arrival. These were numerous, continuous and coherent in their presentation.

Delivery of that message was specific, exact, but always perilous. People of this world were impatient and not necessarily interested in a Redeemer whose specific being is defined by Almighty God and NOT by the false gods of humanity.

To this day, the world refuses to fully accept the arrival of the Redeemer. However that arrival is confirmed, verified and documented in His continued presence among us. We celebrate His arrival in the Hanukkah-Yuletide-Christmas season. All of you, as most integral parts of my life and vocation, I invite, along with your families and communities to join us in spirit for these celebrations as I wish you a:

Most joyous Hanukkah-Yuletide-Christmas season and Blessed New Year of 2023!

In the Love of Jesus Christ,

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

PAROQUIA – Nssa Senhora do ROSÁRIO

Residência Nssa. Sra. de Fátima                     29 July, 2022              LII:2

Trav. Carlos Pontes, 171                      fone:          (55 088) 2145 0990

62.900-000 Russas, Ceará                   http://www.egfbenya.com  

BRASIL                                                    e-mail: [email protected]      

Dear Colleagues, Family Collaborators, Benefactors and Friends,

Time marks its presence and passage, usually in a slow, profound, pacifying manner, but at times in a brutal, threatening and destructive presence. The benevolence of time is chronicled in the quality of certain foods; cheeses and wines see their quality improving with age of maturity or vintage. Many fermented products in fact gain quality with age as the fermentation process runs its course. Impeding that course of time can, in fact, impede the envisioned quality of the product, desired and planned in and through the fermentation process.

Time can have a brutality of effect. Mariners, miners, navigators, soldiers, police, firefighters, explores and investigators can attest to the harshness of days, hours, moments and even seconds as the intensity of a crisis unfolds. Vengeance and intensity seem to mount as a crisis unfolds “…the waves turn the minutes to hours…”, as Lightfoot put it in his classic dirge on a shipwreck.

In those who are wounded, bruised and injured time can be a healer, a remedy in itself promoting and driving recovery whose possibility at one time seemed impossible.

The effects of time are present in our lives, sometimes recognized but at time not apparent. The beneficial effects are Divine, the malicious are not. Initial effect can be quite misleading. What one initially perceives as injury, over time may actually be virtuous. What at first seems as blessing may in fact be malicious. Time and the Emergence of Truth play their part; PEACE arrives.

Marking and celebrating these 48 years in Religious Life and 38 years in Holy Orders, I have had the experience of time as violence and as virtue. They are distinct although initially they may have been quite confusing. Maturity of vocation has been marked by time.

Your presence in my life, vocation, ministries, works and apostolate has been a support that is distinct to me for each of you. Different times, epochs and eras associate each of you with me, some already in Eternity, others still navigating this life with me.

I continually thank God for YOU, your families and your presence in my life and vocation. That presence is a distinct aspect of the Communion of Saints. I remain most gratefully as I remain

In the Love of Jesus Christ,

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

UNISINOS – RESIDÊNCIA CONCEIÇÃO

Residência Conceição                                              3 March, 2022            LII:1

UNISINOS

Cx. P. 101

93.022-630 São Leopoldo, RS                                 e-mail: [email protected]

BRAZIL                                                                      http://www.egfbenya.com

Dear Friends Benefactors, Family, Colleagues, and Collaborators,

The commemorations are annual events. Each year we remember and celebrate solemnities, feasts and special memorials of our Faith, beliefs and commitment to Almighty God. All legitimate faiths including the Hindu, Moslem and Jewish traditions have similar sequences of celebration, a liturgical calendar. These mark something of the Spirituality of each faith.

However the annual repetition of these celebrations can lead to a habit more than a Spirituality, mere ritual more than a Sacramentality. The Spirit of God must always enliven and direct these celebrations. The spirit of the original event, be it Ashura, Ramadan, Passover, Christmas, Easter, the Ascension, and others, must be preserved. If it is lost, we run the risk of acting more as trained subordinates rather that dedicated disciples.

A collective Mysticism must always mark and enlighten our celebrations. That mysticism has a spirit of its own, specific for each celebration in each faith. It can vary from one culture to another. It can vary from one person to another. Yet, that spirit must always capture something of the original event, It can also add something to the vitality of that event, a continuous progression of meaning and understanding as persons, peoples and the entire people of God continue our navigation of this life in witness to Him and His Call.

That mysticism finds a unique sprit in the Passover-Lenten-Pascal celebration. Some 70 days of fast, abstinence, prayer in preparation each year continuing to the celebration of our Salvation, our Redemption. It happened once and for all-time during an intense period of some 24 hours that were so concentrated in their demand, suffering and power that only the Savior Himself knew it all.

That first Christian Pascal celebration was more mystery than celebration. Christianity really had no formal Lenten season. That only arose some time later as Christians began to perceive what had happened.  Questions and doubts abounded for the apostles and disciples. Fear predominated more that Joy. Only with time did understanding begin. That understanding grows with our commemoration and celebration of the event each year.

 The gift of Salvation is continually bestowed on each generation as it arrives, as its members receive inception, are conceived and are born into this world. The Faith is regenerated with each new generation. Yet, it is for us, the established generations to receive and form the new generations in the Miracle of Mystery that defines our Redemption. We do it through Sacramental celebration. Join us in this celebration of gratitude and renewal, personal and communal. I personally thank God for YOU, your families and your presence in my life and vocation. I remain gratefully

In the Love of the risen Jesus Christ,

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

UNISINOS – RESIDÊNCIA CONCEIÇÃO

Residência Conceição                                      29 November, 2021               LI:3

UNISINOS

Cx. P. 101

93.022-630 São Leopoldo, RS                          e-mail: [email protected]

BRAZIL                                                              http://www.egfbenya.com

Dear Benefactors, Family, Colleagues, Friends and Collaborators,

Preservation, Self-Preservation; these are in-created mechanisms, dynamics of existence. Every species and each creature within a species is born with these mechanisms. They are essential for existence. We have an instinct for them. The natural propensity or drive for existence is an essential drive in all extant creatures. Without existence, they go extinct.

However as transcending creatures we are called to proceed beyond mere existence. We are Called to LIVE and to live life completely, to go beyond ourselves, to transcend ourselves. The openness to that Call is also in-created within us. It is always with us notwithstanding our perception or response to it.

A definite tension exists between the dynamic of Self-preservation and the Call to Transcendence. This also remains with us all our lives. It has its positive and negative aspects. Our development throughout life depends to a high degree on how we handle that tension. Every saint who has navigated creation has had to manage that tension.

No one manages it perfectly. Temptations abound: close one’s self from all that is external to us, or throw one’s self to suicide. Both are extremes. Both are degeneracies because both deny transcendence. Yet both are forces in every life.

It is the “transcendence of one’s self” to which Almighty God calls us. We must learn it one way or another, and the profane world is no help in that learning process. That is why Almighty God Himself had to become one us, a man among us; to show, teach and redeem us. He lowered Himself to our situation,  BUT immortalizing us.

We celebrate the anniversary of His arrival each year at this time in the Hanukkah-Yuletide-Christmas season; the birth of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I pray that you have a most:

Joyous Hanukkah-Yuletide-Christmas season and a Blessed New Year of 2022!

In the grateful Love of Jesus Christ, I remain

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

PAROQUIA – Nssa. Sra. Do Rosário

Residência Nssa. Sra. de Fátima                             12 July, 2021               LI:2

Trav. Carlos Portes, 171

Cx. P. 101

62.900-000 Russas, Ceará                                        e-mail: [email protected]

BRAZIL                                                                                 http://www.egfbenya.com

Dear Benefactors, Colleagues, Family, Collaborators and Friends:

The quest for certitude is legitimate! We encounter a call to perceive, verify and know points of information and data. Reasonable certainty of works, ministries and tasks is necessary for one to develop, progress and grow in life, and vocation.

The word “REASONABLE” is the key. Reasonable certitude is necessary in research, jurisprudence, financial transactions, ethical interchange, investigation, friendship, education and the Hope for the Future epitomized in child-bearing and rearing.

ABSOLUTE certitude is another matter. In most respects it is quite impossible. We simply cannot know ALL aspects of a problem, question or challenge, nor control those aspects. We ourselves, even in cooperative ventures, have LIMITS. Yet the quest for absolute certainty is most attractive. It challenges our in-created capacity of Faith, the “leap of virtue” to the Almighty. That challenge can become a call, an attraction, then degrade to temptation and fixation. The “leap of Faith” is necessary for all of us. Without that leap Assurance substitutes for Faith. We become closed, ever more isolated, calculating in every situation.

The Agnostic is UNSURE of the difference between Assurance and Faith. The Atheist has a religion of Assurance (quite sure that there is NO GOD) but has Faith in nothing. The Miso theist acknowledges that Almighty God exists, but Hates God because of God’s TOTALITY of BEING, Power and Benevolence. Social and financial EQUALITY is the panacea that drives the miso theist but which cannot be attained. Christ said: “You will always have the poor among you…” (Mt. 14:7).

The call to “Reasonable Certitude” is virtuous. The temptation to “Absolute Certitude” is vicious. Discerning between the two can be most difficult. Yet the Guidance of Almighty God is always present. We must use that Guidance as fully as possible in the vocation, works, ministries and apostolates to which God calls us, a most testing way of proceeding. At times it seems impossible. We can feel isolated and lost, yet with perseverance and experience we learn to recognize, accept and implement that Guidance. By the Grace of the same Almighty God we become quite proficient in this way of proceeding. We recognize the Communion we have with others in the same or similar situations. Time and age have their benefits notwithstanding our various failures along the way. Some 47 years in Religious Life and 37 years in Holy Orders I am especially grateful for this Guidance.

I pray that all of you recognize the Reasonable Certitude of every situation to which God calls and that you discern well that Certitude as you persevere in Faith, Hope and Charity. Almighty God Calls! Virtue directs! His Grace Confirms. Navigating this World, we remain

In the Benevolence of Jesus Christ

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

PAROQUIA – Nssa. Sra. Do Rosário

Residência Nssa. Sra. de Fátima                         17 February, 2021                 LI:1

Trav. Carlos Portes, 171

Cx. P. 101

62.900-000 Russas, Ceará                                        e-mail: [email protected]

BRAZIL                                                                              http://www.egfbenya.com

Dear Family, Colleagues, Collaborators, Benefactors and Friends,

The day arrives once each year and as with most celebrations it is a commemoration a single 24-hour period, unique in its meaning and spirit. That meaning and spirit are buried to some degree by the solemnities that immediately precede, accompany and succeed it. Yet  Holy Saturday (Sabbatum Sanctum) is DISTINCT.

It was a most somber day for the disciples of Jesus Christ especially for the Apostles. Their friend and mentor had been captured, tortured and executed. One of the elite members of the group of 12 had betrayed the Master. Their temporal leader, had denied the Master three times. Redemption had been achieved, but they knew precious little about it. They had been informed of these events in advance and at various times, but like most messages of harsh reality, the notices were ignored, forgotten or perhaps guarded in some “closed mental segment” of the human memory. These disciples were marked for a similar treatment and were hiding in fear for their lives.

One of the most intelligent among them (perhaps the most intelligent), the actual traitor was a free man, pursued by no one and wealthier than the rest of them by 30 pieces of silver. Politically and financially he was quite secure.

These disciples had questions and doubts. They had bound themselves to a Leader expelled as a pariah from His own religious roots. Their futures seemed very insecure. They may well have questioned their attraction, dedication and surrender to the teachings of their deceased Leader.

Such crisis marks EVERY disciple who has ever dared to assume the ministry of vocation (Marriage, Holy Orders, Monastic, Anchoret or Virgin). A simple, profane world beckons to each of us. Iff we ignore it, then that world threatens us. If we continue to try to follow the Master, then that world pursues us. Sacramental PEACE can mark us, but calmness of life is difficult.

Slowly approaching the half-century mark in religious life I can attest to the Spirit of Holy Saturday in my life and vocation, more than once. Yet the Virtue of Redemption remains. It dominates clarifies and expels the doubts of a profane world. It did so at the time of the first disciples and it continues to do so now. That Spirit of Holy Saturday MUST mark every legitimate vocation. It presents a Communion that is distinct and specific in itself. It is sobering and can frighten, but one must not be terrified.

Many of you have lived it perhaps without knowing it by name. Many of you constitute the Communion of Holy Saturday that I have lived, a most vibrant Communion. I thank you for your presence and invite you to join us at this season of Lenten Penance, Passover and Easter Celebration as I remain GRATEFULLY

In the love of Jesus Christ

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.