Coffee & Donuts - Join us after the 8am and 10am Masses today for Coffee and Donuts in the Social Hall downstairs.
May Crowning Today - Today we will have May Crowning at 9:30am. All children (ages 6 - 18) can join the procession. We will line up in the alley beside the church at 9:25am.
Ascension Thursday - Holy Day of Obligation - This Thursday, May 10, Mass Times will be:
Mother’s Day Novena of Masses - Mother’s Day cards for the Mother’s Day Novena of Masses are due today. Place your cards into the collection basket.
Chant Camp—This Summer - This summer we will host a chant camp led by Patrick Torsell July 30 - August 3. Its purpose is to teach children (ages 7—18) with unchanged voices to chant. Each day will include sports and games. Registration will open later this week. Direct questions to Patrick Torsell at Music@MaterDeiPA.com
Youth Group — Regatta Night! - Our next Youth Group event will be on Saturday, June 19, 6pm - 9pm. Join us for our annual Regatta Night. The Youth Group is open to people ages 13 - 18. For more information contact youthgroup@materdeipa.com
Modest Dress - As we enter the warmer months of the year, it is a good time for a reminder on modest attire. While at the church, please dress modestly. For both men and women:
These are the rules for dressing at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Please follow them when at St. Lawrence. Remember that we dress at church not for our own comfort, but to present ourselves to Our Lord. Finally: Please do not correct anyone on their attire. If you do not approve of someone’s attire, speak to a priest about it and he will approach the person if necessary.
Pilgrimage to Washington, DC - Join FSSP Seminarians on the Fr. Buckley Pilgrimage to Washington DC as they do penance for their sins, and the sins of the Nation. A group from Mater Dei will leave Wednesday, May 30 and return late on Saturday, June 2. A registration form is online or in the back of church. The deadline for registration is May 20. Email Fr. Franco if you have any questions: fr.franco@materdeipa.com
The Intimate Friendship of Jesus
When Jesus is near, all is well and nothing seems difficult. When He is absent, all is hard. When Jesus does not speak within, all other comfort is empty, but if He says only a word, it brings great consolation. Did not Mary Magdalen rise at once from her weeping when Martha said to her: "The Master is come, and calleth for thee"? Happy is the hour when Jesus calls one from tears to joy of spirit.
How dry and hard you are without Jesus! How foolish and vain if you desire anything but Him! Is it not a greater loss than losing the whole world? For what, without Jesus, can the world give you? Life without Him is a relentless hell, but living with Him is a sweet paradise. If Jesus be with you, no enemy can harm you.
He who finds Jesus finds a rare treasure, indeed, a good above every good, whereas he who loses Him loses more than the whole world. The man who lives without Jesus is the poorest of the poor, whereas no one is so rich as the man who lives in His grace.
It is a great art to know how to converse with Jesus, and great wisdom to know how to keep Him. Be humble and peaceful, and Jesus will be with you. Be devout and calm, and He will remain with you. You may quickly drive Him away and lose His grace, if you turn back to the outside world. And, if you drive Him away and lose Him, to whom will you go and whom will you then seek as a friend? You cannot live well without a friend, and if Jesus be not your friend above all else, you will be very sad and desolate. Thus, you are acting foolishly if you trust or rejoice in any other. Choose the opposition of the whole world rather than offend Jesus. Of all those who are dear to you, let Him be your special love. Let all things be loved for the sake of Jesus, but Jesus for His own sake.
Imitation of Christ Book II, Chapter