Deacon Ward's Daily Message 4/2/20

Mater Dei Parish

St. Mary Star of the Sea / St. Edward the Confessor / St. James the Greater / 
St. Benedict Labre

Deacon Ward’s Daily Message

Thursday April 2, 2020 

Greetings my brothers and sisters in Christ!

"Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good." Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC:) 2288

To all our parishioners and friends...

Every crisis in life is also an opportunity to turn to our beloved Savior in trust and complete abandonment so as to rest in His merciful hands.  To rest in the hands of God means we are secure, despite the uncertainty of life.  It means we are free to love God and others, despite the challenges we face. It means we raise our eyes to Heaven, rather than look down in fear...and in raising our eyes to heaven, let us pray!

Prayer of Pope Francis During the Coronavirus Pandemic

O Mary,
you always shine on our path
as a sign of salvation and of hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,
who at the cross took part in Jesus’ pain, keeping your faith firm.
You, Salvation of the Roman People,
know what we need,
and we are sure you will provide
so that, as in Cana of Galilee,
we may return to joy and to feasting
after this time of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father
and to do as we are told by Jesus,
who has taken upon himself our sufferings
and carried our sorrows
to lead us, through the cross,
to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.

Under your protection, we seek refuge, Holy Mother of God. Do not disdain the entreaties of we who are in trial, but deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.



Hear Ye, Hear Ye...

My dear friends, there are no major announcements today. Fr. Rijo has informed me that there will an update regarding the Holy Week events, which begins this Sunday, Palm Sunday. I will let you know in tomorrow's message...stay tuned!

I will continue to make note of our need to financially support our Mater Parish.

In a briefing today with the diocese it was noted that the falloff in the offertory
contributions, on average, is about half for the Churches statewide; for Mater Dei we are experiencing a drop off of about two thirds.

Our parish needs your support!

 Before I sign off, please let me know if there is anything we can do for you. All the priests...and me, will continue to pray for all of you.

Take care of yourself...and your loved ones!

“Let nothing disturb you,
nothing frighten you,
all things are passing,
God is unchanging.

Patience gains all;
nothing is lacking to those who have God:
God alone is sufficient.”

St. Teresa of Ávila

   Until next time...                                                                                                                                   In His peace.

Deacon Ward