Category: upcoming

Parish Social This Sunday After Mass

Published March 28, 2019 / by St. Lawrence Hamilton

Posted In Liturgical Celebrations | upcoming

Let’s Talk About our Faith: Baptism

Published February 08, 2019 / by St. Lawrence Hamilton

The next workshop in our ‘Let’s Talk about Our Faith’ series is on Friday, Feb 22nd, at 7pm

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word.” (1213)
Let us reflect on the great meaning of Baptism! – Everyone is welcome

Posted In Formation and Education | upcoming

Advent Celebration

Published December 14, 2018 / by St. Lawrence Hamilton

You are invited!
As we enter the 3rd week of Advent, it is a time to reflect and a time to prepare ourselves, for the coming of Jesus.
Please join us at St. Lawrence Church for a very special Advent Celebration; as we gather as one community, to share in the hope, love, joy and peace that this season brings.

Thursday Dec. 20^th – Evening Mass will be celebrated at 7:00 pm, followed by a community social in the parish hall, with food and refreshments. All are welcome! We hope that you can join us.

Posted In upcoming

From the Pastor’s Desk : The Second Sunday of Advent

Published December 09, 2018 / by St. Lawrence Hamilton

The Liturgy of the Second Sunday of Advent introduces to us to Saint John the Baptist. He is identified as the “Voice in the wilderness” mentioned in the prophesies of Isaiah. Isaiah has been called the evangelist of The Old Testament because he wrote a lot about the coming Saviour. However it is only St. John the Baptist who points us to The Saviour. He was sent to prepare the way to the Lord, appearing in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins as the Prophet Isaiah had foretold. The prophecies of St. John the Baptist and of the Prophet Isaiah are not out-of-date but encourage us to come back to the Lord and make room for Him in our hearts.

Next Sunday, December 16th, there will be an Advent Retreat Day in our church. Its topic is ‘Friendship & Solitude’. We will begin with the 11 o’clock Mass, then there will be lunch, a reflection and discussion time, the Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament with an opportunity for Confession, the Eucharistic Benediction and a social time to follow. The retreat will be finished by 5 pm. Please, register with our parish office if you wish to attend. You may find the details on our website and Facebook page.

On Wednesday, December 12th we observe a feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. There is a beautiful story about Juan Diego to whom the Blessed Virgin appeared in 1531 in Mexico. He was a simple farmer and labourer. While he was making his way to Mass in the early morning of December 9th Our Lady became visible to him as a native princess and her words sounded more beautiful than the sweetest music ever made. She wanted him to bring a message to the local bishop, so that a church dedicated to her might be built. A miraculous sign was given to the bishop: on Juan Diego’s tilma (outer garment) was made an exquisite image of Our Lady. This picture is still venerated in the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The image to this date cannot be explained by science. It contains many miraculous details. According to Kodak of Mexico, the image is smooth and feels like a modern day photograph (produced 300 years before the invention of photography). The image shows no sign of deterioration after 450 years! In the eyes of the Blessed Virgin in this picture we can see with a zoom lens another image… I encourage everyone to read more about this miraculous picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Pope Pius XII in 1945 decreed Our Lady of Guadalupe to be the Patroness of the Americas.
Our Lady of Guadalupe pray for us!

God bless,
Fr. Peter

Posted In From the Pastor's Desk | Pastoral Notes | upcoming

Advent Retreat – Friendship and Solitude

Published November 30, 2018 / by St. Lawrence Hamilton

Solitude and time alone can sometimes seem at odds with our need for connections through friendship. As both human and Divine, Jesus provides us with many examples of the connection between solitude and friendship and what God teaches us about the need to seek out the solitary to prepare for friendship.

December 16th, 2018 – Beginning with 11:00 a.m. Mass

This day retreat led by Fr. Peter will reflect on this idea, beginning with 11:00 a.m. Mass followed by a shared meal. The afternoon will include discussion & prayer, concluding with Adoration, Confession, and Benediction. There is no cost for the retreat, please register through the parish office, through our facebook event page or email stlawrencehamilton@hamiltondiocese.com

Posted In upcoming

From the Pastor’s Desk

Published November 12, 2018 / by St. Lawrence Hamilton

Today we celebrate with the Universal Church the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Additionally today, along with the Commonwealth of Nations we celebrate Remembrance Day. This year to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of The First World War, the royal Canadian Legion has requested that all churches and places of worship across Canada ring their bells on Sunday, November 11th at sunset as an outpouring of relief that four years of war came to an end. St. Lawrence is pleased to participate in this expression of remembrance.

Today’s first reading and Gospel tell us about two poor widows. In their poverty they both did not hesitate to help others. Those biblical accounts not only emphasize their material support but also remind us of the charity that is of greater importance than temporary goods. The significance of what we offer the Lord and our neighbour is measured not by the amount of coins but is valued by how much love we include in our offering.

This Friday, November 16th, at 7 pm in the church hall there will be the next presentation of the series ‘Let’s Talk About Our Faith’. This session is dedicated to the Sacrament of Matrimony. We are going to talk about the beauty of this sacrament and how we may benefit from it. As every sacrament, the Sacrament of Matrimony is a visible sign of invisible grace offered by the Lord to us in order to achieve blessings and to serve our brothers and sisters. In the present, there are many incorrect statements and misunderstandings regarding the teaching of the Catholic Church about marriage. So, I would like to invite everyone to attend this meeting regardless of one’s marital status.

St. Lawrence, our Patron Saint, pray for us!