Coffee & Donuts - Please join us for Coffee and Donuts in the Social Hall following the 10AM Masses this morning.

New - Sunday Vespers & Adoration - Beginning July 9, we will have Vespers & Exposition from 5:30pm - 6:30pm on every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month.  As part of the Divine Liturgy, Vespers is the public prayer of the Church.  Therefore, aside from the Mass itself, participation in Vespers when  it is being prayed by a priest or deacon is the most efficacious prayer that the faithful can offer to God.  Booklets will be available to follow along with the priests.

Online Giving Now Available - You can now donate to Mater Dei online.  Go to our homepage at MaterDeiPA.com and click on “Donate” or scan the QR Code below.  This is a very  easy and convenient way to make your weekly contributions.  You can make one time gifts or set up recurring gifts.

Father Franco Arrival - Father David Franco FSSP, our new assistant chaplain, will be arriving at the end of June.  His first Sunday with us will be July 2nd.  Father was ordained in 2015 and was assigned to Vancouver, Canada for the past two years. 

Music Director Hired - We have hired Patrick Torsell to fill a new position at Mater Dei as Music Director.  He is being brought on to develop and expand our music program.  We intend to begin a mixed choir of men and women and a chorister program for Children.  He will join Mater Dei later this summer, and we are very excited by the skills, experience and enthusiasm which he will bring with him to Mater Dei.

2018 Fiscal Year Budget - Concerning next year’s budget, the 2018 fiscal year begins on July 1.  On the first Sunday of July our weekly budget will increase to $4,612.  The current  Weekly Budget amount of $3,665.

No Sung Masses During Summer - During the summer, our 10AM Mass will be a Low Mass with hymns.  This period gives choir members a well deserved break from a regular and demanding practice schedule.  Sung Masses will begin again coinciding with the start of the new academic year this fall.

Volunteers Needed to Help Clean the Church - A few volunteers are needed to help clean the church.  The commitment is to help one of our rotating crews of five to six volunteers to clean for approximately two hours, once per month.  If you are willing to help please contact Elaine Rainey at Seabhj3@gmail.com

 Knights of the Altar - Promotions - Today, June 18, after the 10AM Mass twenty-three of our Altar Servers will be receiving promotions as members of the Knights of the Altar.  The ceremony will take place in the church and is open to all; parents  and sisters are encouraged to attend.

Shoes for Africa - The box in the vestibule is for the collection of children’s shoes for Father Bokosi who will carry them back to his 43,000 parishioners at St. Piux X Parish in Malawi, Africa.  Malawi is one of the six poorest countries in the world.  The shoe collection will continue through June 18th, Father’s Day.  Please direct any questions to Elaine Rainey at seabhj3@gmail.com

VESPERS - The Divine Office is, after the Holy Mass, the principal way of praying.  This Office is a prayer for Holy Church, binding upon its priests, monks and nuns, while many others observe the laudible practice of praying at least some part of it every day.  Some Monks and Nuns are even bound by their rule to sing it.  It is composed of psalms, which sound the praise of God, lessons from Holy Scripture, biographies of Saints, short homilies or sermons of the holy fathers and ecclesiastical hymns to glorify God and the Saints.

This Office is composed of eight prayers: Matins or the prayers of the night, Lauds or the morning praises, Prime or the morning prayer, Terce or the prayer of the third hour, Sext, or the prayer of the sixth hour, None or the prayer of the ninth hour, Vespers or the evening Office, Compline or the end of the Office.

Vespers form the evening Office, but they may be read or sung just as well in the afternoon.  Vespers consist of five Psalms, five Antiphons, one Chapter, one Hymn, the Magnificat and one Prayer.  The Psalms are consecrated songs, written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, for the most part by the holy king David.

-From The Daily Missal and Liturgical Manual