Sunday’s processional hymn reminds us of our first priority; not only in the church, but also during our lifetime. We are to give glory and praise to the Lord! As St. Ignatius of Loyola stated in his Spiritual Exercises, we are created to praise, reverence, and serve God, Our Lord, and by this means save our souls. A new pastoral year, which we begin at the end of November, is a good opportunity to refresh our eagerness for serving the Lord hic et nunc (here and now). This Latin expression hic et nunc tells us about how we can really and practically serve the Lord: “here’ – wherever the Providence of God puts us; and ‘now’ – at the present time. Today not later. We should not search for either a better place or a more suitable time since the best opportunity has already been given to us. Let us pick up what the Lord has set for us: to serve Him at St. Lawrence’s! After summer holidays the time for making our parish prosper again has come. May everybody find his or her role according to their gifts. Please, mark your calendar and come for our pastoral gathering on Monday, September 19th at 6 pm.

This week the priests serving within the Diocese of Hamilton along with our bishops come together for an annual priest seminar from Tuesday to Thursday.

This Thursday, September 8th, we observe the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Church has been celebrating Mary’s birth since at least the sixth century. The Bible does not give an account about Mary’s birth and childhood. According to tradition, Joachim and Anna kept praying for a child and received the promise of a child who will advance God’s plan of salvation for the world.