From Father Benn
Welcome
Welcome to Saint Lawrence !
Welcome to the WEB site of St. Lawrence Parish! I am Fr. Walter J. Benn, Pastor of this wonderful parish, located next to the Delaware River among the rolling hills of Upper Bucks County. If you have visited the area, you have discovered that this is unadulterated farm country. Many of the farms in the area have been within the same families for many generations. Historically, the Catholic community here has been small but growing. Initially, the spiritual needs of Catholics in the area were addressed by neighboring parishes, which were themselves small. Eventually, the Catholic population grew to the point where a small church was built as a Mission Church in order to accommodate the growing number of Catholics in the Riegelsville area. That wooden church served the needs of the people until 1958 when the present church was built. St. Lawrence became an independent parish in 1974. While the majority of our parishioners are Pennsylvanians, you’ll find a large number of parishioners who are originally from Northern New Jersey and New York city. In order for you to get a sense of our parish, I would encourage you to visit the various “Tabs” on our WEB site. They will give you a sense of what we are about and what we are striving to become. WEB sites can be helpful in many ways; however, nothing will give you a better sense of St. Lawrence Parish as a personal experience. If you are a person or family, who is looking for a community in which to establish your spiritual roots, I would encourage you to include a few personal experiences of St. Lawrence Parish before making your decision. Come among us and take the time to experience our parish. When you do, you will discover a group of believers who are proud of their parish and proud of their Catholic Faith. Fr. Walter Benn
Saint Lawrence Catholic Church © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | PRIVACY POLICY
Our Pastor, Fr. Walter Benn
Information from Pastor Benn
St. Lawrence Parish
Holy Week in St. Lawrence – 2021
Dear parishioners and visitors to this website; in Saint Lawrence Parish, we are about to enter into the most Sacred time in the Church calendar, namely, Holy Week! We transition from a season of soul-searching and penance, to a season of “Alleluias”. With few exceptions, the focus of the Gospels of both seasons center on Our Lord; however, the target for all of them has been you and me. The theme found in each of them has been of conversion; that dynamic in which a person makes a fundamental decision to turn from one set of priorities to a better set of priorities. It is not easy; it takes courage and requires humility, yet we reach a point in our lives that we know in our guts, that it is healthy.
I hope that these last six weeks of Lent have been a productive time for you in your relationship with Our Lord; that you have grown closer to Him by recognizing some of the baggage that each of us tends to accumulate over the course of a relationship with Him, and decided to place them in Our Lord’s hands. If you have, you will appreciate Easter’s “Alleluias”. If you haven’t, don’t get discouraged; consider yourself a late bloomer. Let Easter’s spirit of celebration inspire you to look inward and begin your own process of conversion. In God’s heart, you are never too late or too lost; but, keep in mind that the greatest gift God gave man and women is their free will. It is we, who choose whom to love and from whom to withhold our love. Being the true lover, God is not going to nag us into loving Him. From the moment he created us, He began loving us unconditionally. The question you and I should always be asking ourselves, is do I love God unconditionally, or do I put conditions on when and how and how much I will love Him back?
The liturgies of Holy Week are not the only way to help us with these questions, but it is the most powerful way. I encourage each of you to consider participating in as many of them as you can. Don’t do it for Our Lord; do it for yourself! Through them, you can place yourself in the presence of the Master. When you do that, you will find it a liberating experience, an experience that will contribute to your own process of conversion.
Your brother in Christ,
Fr. Walter Benn
- Collections: I am so grateful to all of you, who have continued to support the parish in the weekly Collections, including those of you who aren’t attending in person. Keep in mind that you can also make electronic donations through Support Our Parish. This too can be found on our website. 100% of your donations go to St. Lawrence. You might consider this convenience.
Fr. Walter Benn
Easter
Lent/ Holy Week /Easter 2021 Schedule
· 5/13/21 Ascension Thursday {9:00 AM} Not a Holy Day of Obligation!
· 5/23/21 Pentecost Sunday (9:30 AM) The conclusion of the Easter
Season!
Helping People Find Their Way Back to God
Our wonderful parish is located next to the Delaware River, among the rolling hills of Upper Bucks County. If you have visited the area, you have discovered that this is an unadulterated farm country. Many of the farms in the area have been within the same families for many generations. Historically, the Catholic community here has been small but growing. St. Lawrence became an independent parish in 1974.
Come with us and take the time to experience our parish. When you do, you will discover a group of believers who are proud of their parish and proud of their Catholic faith.
St Lawrence Parish: The Year of St. Joseph 2021