Mater Dei Picnic Today

All are invited to join us for our annual parish picnic today at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Mechanicsburg, PA beginning at 12pm. The address is 310 Hertzler Rd, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055.

• Take the Cumberland Pkwy exit off of Rt. 15 towards Winding Hill Rd.
• Turn left onto Gettysburg Pike, left onto E Winding Hill Rd, right onto Mount Allen Dr., and left onto Hertzler Rd. The Church will be on your right.

Feast of the Assumption — Mass Schedule

August 15th, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a holy day of obligation.  Masses will be as follows:

• 7:00am—Low Mass
• 7:00pm—Low Mass with organ accompaniment

Thank You Volunteers!

Thank you to everyone who has helped prepare the Church for today and to all who are helping set up, cook, and clean up for our parish picnic. Your time and generosity is greatly appreciated!

Seminary Burse Collection Today

There will be a second collection in support of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, the FSSP seminary in Denton, Nebraska. Thank you for your continuing support of your future priests.

Thank You to Seminarian Matt Kane

We offer our sincere thanks to Matt Kane who has been a great help to us this summer during his summer apostolate for the past two weeks as well as in June. Matt is a seminarian at Our Lady of Guadeloupe Seminary in Nebraska, where he will soon be returning for his third year.

Rosary for the Unborn

This Saturday, July 20th, we will pray our monthly 15 mystery Rosary and Litany to the Sacred Heart for the protection of the unborn. This will take place immediately following the 9am Mass in the church.

Adult Convert/Catechism Classes Beginning

If  you or someone you know is interested in converting to the Catholic faith, Fr. Killackey will be offering an adult catechism class on Monday evenings at 7pm, beginning on  September 2nd. Contact fr.killackey@materdeipa.com with questions.

New Wednesday Mass

Beginning the first week of September, we will be offering Mass each Wednesday at 6:15am, in addition to the 7pm evening Mass.

August Youth Group Event

Please join us for 6:30 pm Mass at St. Lawrence followed by a Senators game at City Island with post-game fireworks on Friday, August 30th. The Youth Group is open to people ages 13-18. For more info or to reserve your $11 ticket, contact Mrs. Forbeck at forbecks@comcast.net

Vespers Canceled Tonight

We will NOT be having Vespers tonight at 5:30pm. The next Sung Vespers will be on Sunday, August 25th.

Congratulations Hermits!

Congratulations to the Hermits of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on the Ordination of Brother Thomas Mary.

Friday Morning Religious Education — Registration Currently Open

Registration for our Friday morning Religious Education is currently open.  Classes in the program include Catholic Morality for high schoolers, Bible History for elementary level students, sacred music and an hour of gym.  For more information contact Dawn Forbeck at forbecks@comcast.net

Catechism Classes

Registration for our Catechism program will be open after Masses on September 1st. A mandatory parent meeting will be held on Sunday, September 29th at 9:15AM.  The first day of classes will be on October 6th.  All students must be  registered parishioners of Mater Dei.

Legion of Mary — Feasibility Study

“The Legion of Mary is an Association of Catholics who with the sanction of the Church and under the powerful leadership of Mary Immaculate, Mediatrix of all Graces have formed themselves into a Legion for the service in the warfare which is perpetually waged by the Church against the world and its evil powers” (Legion of Mary Handbook- pg. 9)

“The object of the Legion of Mary is the glory of God through the holiness of its members, developed by prayer and active co-operation, under ecclesiastical guidance in Mary’s and the Church’s work of crushing the head of the serpent and advancing the reign of Christ” (Legion of Mary handbook- pg. 11)

We are planning an information meeting about the Legion of Mary to assess if there is interest among Mater Dei parishioners in starting our own praesidium (parish group).

The commitment would involve attending a weekly meeting (45 minutes), praying daily the LOM prayers (30 minutes, including your daily Rosary that you already pray!) and up to 2 hours of charitable works a week. Anyone interested please Email Jane kakalecz at janekakalecz@gmail.com and you will be notified when we hold the information meeting.

Mater Dei Sunday Mass Attendance Growth

Our Heavenly Father is continuing to bless Mater Dei with a steady influx of new parishioners. Our year to date average Sunday Mass attendance has grown by 12% over last year at the end of July. For the past five years, Sunday Mass attendance has grown an average of 12% per year (see graph below).

Sacramentals for Expectant Mothers

There are certain Sacramentals in the Roman Ritual through which we request God’s blessing that an expecting mother can have a safe delivery and also the grace of having her child baptized.  The priests would be happy to provide the following to any expecting lady at her request.  Please do not hesitate to ask.

• Blessing of Expectant Mother - Can be given at any time during pregnancy.
• Candle in Honor of St. Raymond Nonnatus - To be taken home and burned, and especially when the time of delivery approaches.
• St. Torellus Water - Special Holy Water which can be sprinkled, used to bless oneself, drunk, or used in small amounts in cooking.

Church Office Closed Tuesday

The Church Office will be closed on Tuesday of this week.