We look forward to sharing Coffee & Donuts with you in the Fall. Freewill offerings always greatly appreciated and support our Donut Ministry.

Child safety experts consider grooming a core component of sexual abuse. Grooming is a manipulative process in which a person who intends harm gains access to a child, often through behaviors that seem innocent, and builds up a relationship that will ultimately allow the predator to abuse the child. Children who are groomed are slowly taught to accept and excuse any behaviors by the predator, because of the relationship that has been built up over time. A predator relies on manipulation to reduce a child's resistance and to maintain secrecy. For more information on grooming, read the VIRTUS® article "Behind the Smile: Uncovering the Warning Signs of Grooming, Part 1" at lacatholics.org/did-you-know.

Forgot your envelope? Are you visiting us today and want to make a ONE TIME GIFT? Want to give to a special collection? Follow these easy and secure steps to Text-to-Give: - Text GIVE to 424-414-STLM. - Follow the text instructions to complete your donation. - Save the number as a contact in your phone to make future giving faster and easier. You may also give by scanning this QR Code with the camera app on your cellphone or visit STLM.ORG/GIVING We thank you for your generosity and support of our St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic Community.

Dear God, Bless this land that we love, a land You created, in love. We are at our best when we're close to You. Please inspire, guide, and govern our leaders and our vision, that our greatness may be founded in and defined in You. Amen.

First Reading: See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9) Psalm: I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God. (Psalm 145) Second Reading: For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13) Gospel: Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. (Matthew 11:29) Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass ©2001, 1998, 1970 CCD. The English translation of Psalm Responses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved. ©LPi

Sunday: Zechariah 9:9-10, Romans 8:9, 11-13, Matthew 11:25-30 Monday: Hosea 2:16, 17c-18, 21-22, Matthew 9:18-26 Tuesday: Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13, Matthew 9:32-38 Wednesday: Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12, Matthew 10:1-7 Thursday: Hosea 11:1-4, 8e-9, Matthew 10:7-15 Friday: Hosea 14:2-10, Matthew 10:16-23 Saturday: Isaiah 6:1-8, Matthew 10:24-33 Next Sunday: Isaiah 55:10-11, Romans 8:18-23, Matthew 13:1-23 or 13:1-9

The Smallness of Great Faith My children attend Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) for their faith formation. Because of its Montessori basis, CGS atriums, which are something like classrooms, contain lots of objects made from real materials — authentic glass, wood, and ceramic. This is a polite way of saying there are lots of breakable things in there. So when my four-year-old entered the atrium on her first day of CGS, my whole body tensed, wondering what she would shatter first. I had to restrain myself from crying out, "Don't touch anything!" She spotted the prayer table — the low, wooden stand which holds an open Bible, candles, a vase with flowers and a statue of the Good Shepherd. It's the centerpiece of every atrium. She knelt before the table. She made the sign of the cross. And she sat there, still and silent. I stopped dead in my tracks. How had she known to come here? And where did she learn to make the sign of the cross? (Obviously we've tried to teach her, but she does it wrong every time!) And why was she sitting there so quietly, so expectantly, in front of a book she can't read? A thought came to me so clearly: Well, Colleen, you can read that book. But can you understand it? It is so easy for us to forget that great faith does not require great intelligence. It does not require great knowledge of the world and its workings. Great faith does not require the believer to possess any answers. Great faith only requires the believer to know his own smallness. - Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman . @LPi

Families experiencing the loss of a loved one may call 424-458-7861 at any time to begin funeral arrangements at St. Lawrence Martyr. This dedicated line is checked three times a day, and a minister will return your call within 24 hours.