For many of years now, Saint Lawrence the Martyr Parish has offered a Novena of Masses for all Mothers in celebration of Mother's Day. This year, our Mother's Day Novena starts on May12th through May 20th.

As a Spiritual Gift to all Mothers, you may have them remembered in the Novena of Masses offered in our Church. This will be an opportunity to show our Mothers how much they care or to remember our Mothers who have passed away. I cannot tell you how pleased Mothers are to know that you are offering them the thoughtful gift of the Mass. How comforting for them to know that they are remembered in a Novena of Masses in celebration of Mother's Day

Mass Offering Envelopes will be available at the front and side entrances to our Church. Please take one, and drop them off at Mass or at the drop boxes located at the entrance to our Church. May the Risen Lord bless all our Mothers with love and happiness on Mother's Day and always.

As we celebrate this feast we pray for fidelity to our vocation. The Church invites us to honor the vocation of all Christians given at baptism. May we who have dedicated our lives to God through the vocation of marriage, priesthood, diaconate, consecrated life and the single life remain faithful to our commitments. May those who are discerning their life vocation listen to the grace of God to guide them. May the Lord send out laborers to His vineyard

At the end of all Masses today, we will have in the Church, a two-minute presentation of the upcoming 8-week Video Course, "The Theology of the Body" here at Saint Lawrence Parish. Men and women, married and single: 18 yrs and older - are invited to discover the true beauty of our sexuality. John Paul II launched Theology of the Body as a catechetical way to explain the Church's teaching on love, sex and the meaning of life. Join us for this course with small group discussion following the Video Presentation, featuring Christopher West, a Professor at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver Co. Theology of the Body reveals how we can experience the love we long for in the depth of our hearts. This is a chance to learn more about how our sexuality is an integral part of our identity and how we live it as Christians in the world today. Class begins Wednesday, April 25, at 7:00pm - 8:45pm until June 13. It will be held at St. Lawrence in the Children's Center.

Registering in a parish is a declaration of your desire to be part of a Catholic community and a commitment to the life of the parish family. To so clearly state your Catholic commitment in all its dimensions brings you advantages, recognition, and responsibilities of many kinds. Being a registered parishioner makes things much easier when it is time for infant baptism, school registration, weddings, when asked to be a baptismal or confirmation sponsor, and even funerals.
We are often asked to provide affidavits for baptismal and confirmation sponsors. We can only do this if a person is a registered, active, and contributing member in our parish. How do you know if you are already registered? A registered parishioner receives all parish mailings. So, are you a registered parishioner? If not, please consider registering. Registration forms are always available at the church entrances. Please complete one today and return it this week if you would like to join our community.

1.  If you receive Sunday envelopes, please use them. If for some reason you are not receiving envelopes, please call the parish office. When you use these envelopes, you will receive an accurate statement for tax purposes.
2.   If you write one check for different funds (Sunday, heating bill, missions), please mark the amount on each envelope, insert the check in one envelope and staple the rest together. This is really helpful to the people who make the entries.
3.  Consider registering with your bank or our service to withdraw funds automatically from your checking account or to charge your credit card. 4.  If you forget your envelope and write a check in church, please indicate in the memo section which fund the check should go into: Sunday Offering, Flowers, School Support, Building Fund, etc.

FYI: Some people think that if they write a check and don't use an envelope, no one will know what they contribute. On the contrary; when we receive a loose check, it has to be recorded manually-which is very time consuming for our counters-before it can be entered into the system. Thus it passes several pairs of eyes before it is finalized.
Thank you for your cooperation!

MARRIED COUPLES, Easter commemorates the renewal of God's love and commitment to us, and the renewal of our commitment to our God, Faith, and Church. Consider making a blessed, joyful recommitment to your Marriage Sacrament by making a Marriage Encounter Weekend. For more information call Ken & Claranne Schirle at (408) 782-1413, or go to www.LoveMoreDeeply.org

The Catholic Professional and Business Club invites you to their next monthly breakfast meeting, to be held on Thursday, April 12th at the Holiday Inn (formerly Hyatt), 1740 N. First Street, San Jose, at 7:30AM (optional Mass at 6:45AM).  Guest speaker will be Pat Dando, President & CEO, San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.  Her topic will be "Ethics in Politics and Business". Cost is $20 Members, $25 Non-Members. Contact: Jessica King at 408-491-9229 or cpbcinfo@gmail.com or www.sjcatholicprofessionals.org

There is a reconciliation service this Tuesday. At the start of Sunday Mass, we typically ask forgiveness for what we have done, and what we have failed to do.

If you are like me, you remember being taught the ten commandments as the basis for "right and wrong". The ones that deal with how we treat others seem particularly negative - a list of "don't do's". If we don't kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet our neighbor's spouse or goods, we are perfect. All we have to do . .. is do nothing!

If the teachings of Jesus show us anything, they show how wrong this interpretation is. Through the beatitudes, He teaches us compassion for the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and those who mourn. We are challenged to be meek and merciful, to be peacemakers and thirst for righteousness with a special place for those who are persecuted for justice's sake. . . for their's is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus summarized this simply as 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself'. As we reflect Tuesday night on this command(ment), let us ask ourselves . . . "who is our neighbor?", and "do we really love our neighbor as much as ourself?" "How?" Our answers will not be trivial and there will be a very large component of Catholic Social Teaching in our answers.

And let us also reflect on what we "do do?" Do we do all that we can do? . . . all that we should do?. . . all that we must do?. . . all that we (implied) agreed to do when we accepted the commitment to be Disciples of Christ?

Have we sinned? That is not the purpose of this column; that is between each member of our community and God. The purpose of this column is to increase our consciousness of these questions, reflect on them, and answer and act on them in a manner such that - next year at this time -we can honestly say we are better now than a year ago . . .and we will be even better the year after.

     By reason of our baptism we are all called to ministry. We are baptized into Christ and share in his ministry as priest prophet and shepherd. What does that mean and how should we respond to that call in our everyday lives? I believe it means exactly what it says we are the People of God with the mandate to bring forth the Kingdom of God by responding to the ministry in which we can best use the gifts God has given us.

     In November 2005 the Bishops of the United States officially accepted a major document on the role and function of lay ecclesial ministry in the church. The document, "Co-workers in the Vineyard of the Lord," was approved by a two-thirds majority of the membership of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

     The document goes on to set out "guidelines for the appropriate human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation of those who are entrusted with such ministries. It also addresses the role of Church authorities in certifying, authorizing and appointing lay ecclesial ministers. It spells out the theology of lay ministry and the differences between ministry arising out of ordination and ministry arising out of the sacraments of initiation" (Valley Catholic, December 2005)

     The document does not describe a new type of ministry in the Church; rather, it is a term for a number and variety of ministerial positions held by lay people who assume leadership roles in a range of ministries. Often these lay ministers work in close collaboration with the clergy and various pastoral staff members. At other times they may work as directors and coordinators of a specific ministry in a parish.

     Here at St. Lawrence, the Martyr Parish we are blessed to have some very dedicated, parishioners who have been active in many ministries. Some of them have assumed leadership roles including but not limited to Sacramental Preparation, Liturgical Ministry, and Pastoral Ministry. This dedication to ministry is called "lay ecclesial ministry"

5:00pm                            -               $2,323.51
8:00am                            -               $1,278.00
10:00am                          -               $1,836.25
12:00noon                       -               $1,610.00
6:00pm                            -               $1,090.00
Collected:                        -               $8,137.76
Auto Debit:                      -               $0
Mailed:                            -               $0
Total Collected:                -               $8,114.49
Needed to meet budget:   -               $8,942.00
Variance:                         -             - $827.51

Thank you for your continued support! Other Offerings: : $865.25