Registration for Mass on January 1

 Registration for Mass on Friday, January 1 will open on Tuesday, the 29th at 6pm. Registration for Mass on Sunday will open Saturday, January 2 at 7am.

Cleaners and Decorators — Thank You

Thank you to all who helped with cleaning and decorating the church for Christmas this year.

No Confessions—January 1

There will be no confessions on Friday, January 1.

No First Friday Devotions

We will not be doing First Friday devotion prayers this Friday.

Sunday January 10— Evening Mass Time Change

On Sunday, January 10, our usual 6pm Mass will be moved to 3pm. There will be no Vespers. This change is only for this one week.

No Sung Vespers Next Sunday

We will not have Sung Vespers before the 6pm Mass next Sunday, January 27.

 New Music Director

We are happy to announce that Paul May will be joining Mater Dei as our new Music Director beginning the first week of January.

Mater Dei Email List

If you are not on our parish wide email list and wish to be, email ChaplainsSecretary@MaterDeiPA.com to be added.

Legion of Mary

If you are interested in joining the Mater Dei Legion of Mary, please contact the office.

Holy Name Society - New Membership Opportunity

Catholic men 18 years of age and older are invited to join the Mater Dei Holy Name Society.  Information about this traditional confraternity can be found at www.nahns.com. There will be a new member induction ceremony on January 3, and all eligible males are encouraged to consider this spiritual and social opportunity. To seek enrollment or for additional information about the specific activities of the Holy Name Society at Mater Dei, please contact Anthony Patterson at anthonypattersonmd@yahoo.com or call/text 717-377-1035.

Holy Name Society Reception

All are invited to a reception following the Holy Name Society induction ceremony on January 3. If you are interested in attending  contact Patricia Gabig at patriciagabig@comcast.net for location information and to RSVP. More information is also on the announcement posted in the vestibule.

Registration at Mater Dei

The Chaplain and Assistant Chaplain have the special grace to guide those who are registered parishioners and are hence assigned to their care. The Mass offered for the people every Sunday, Pro Populo, is offered for those who are registered members. Anyone seeking the Sacraments of Baptism, 1st Communion, Confirmation and Matrimony here must be registered and active parishioners for 6 months. Registration forms are available on our website.

Epiphany Water Blessing

On Tuesday, January 5, at 7pm, we will bless Epiphany Water. Feel free to bring your own containers of water to be blessed. But only containers of one gallon or larger will be blessed individually. We will also bless an additional 25 gallons that smaller bottles can be filled from.

Blessing of Epiphany Chalk

Chalk is traditionally blessed on Epiphany for the faithful to take home and use to bless their homes. The top of the door frames entering the house are marked with “20 + C + M + B + 21”. The letters “C” “M” and “B” are the initials of the three kings, Casper, Melchior and Balthazar, who arrived at Bethlehem to worship the baby Jesus on Epiphany. The crosses are placed between the letters and the numbers to remind us of the suffering that Jesus was to undergo for us. Finally, the “20” and “21” are for the 2021 years since the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Traditionally, the marking is left on the door frame until the next year when it is replaced by another year’s blessing. Chalk from previous years can be reused. New chalk blessed on the feast of the Epiphany is also available in the back of the Church.