May 19, 2013
To Be Clothed with Power
Come Holy Spirit!
Jesus told his disciples “to stay in the city (Jerusalem) until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The Lord was referring to the coming of the Holy Spirit, whom He would send at Pentecost. The disciples and the Blessed Virgin Mary obeyed Jesus and they stayed in the city, locked themselves in a room, waited and prayed. On Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit descended like “tongues of fire” on each of them and they were filled with different gifts. Some were able to speak in strange tongues, some began to preach and some were given the gift of healing. All of these gifts were given for the purpose of bringing people to Jesus Christ and building up His Church. And it worked. There were 5,000 converts that first day!
The Holy Spirit has decreed that the Body of Christ should manifest both unity and diversity. We are all one body in Christ, and this is why we care very much what happens to our brothers and sisters around us and around the world. But we are also conscious that the Holy Spirit gives different gifts to different people. Some people are great teachers, some healers, some have the gift of preaching and evangelization, some of being good mothers and fathers, builders, farmers, youth directors, musicians, etc.
It is wise to evaluate the gifts that God has given to you and the ones that He has not given to you. We should always admire the gifts that God has given to others and commend them for using those gifts for God, but we should not allow this to make us angry, jealous or ungrateful for our own gifts. This comparing ourselves to others can lead to pride. Pride is always about comparing ourselves to others and desiring in a disordered way to be (or to be seen) as superior to others. If every person were equally intelligent, equally musical, equally rich, equally athletic, equally popular, etc., then pride would not exist.
St. Francis said, “Who you are before God is who you are, and nothing more.” St. Teresa of Avila wrote: “Humility is the true appreciation of one’s gifts.” We are all one in Jesus Christ; all part of the human race, made in God’s image and likeness. But we are also different and that is the way God has designed it. Let’s thank the Lord today for the gifts that He has given to us, and for the gifts which He has not! Remember the Providence of God. In Heaven, the greatest person will not be the person who received the most gifts but the one who most used the gifts they received. We have all been clothed with power from on high. Let’s use our gifts well!
Come Holy Spirit!
Fr. Brett Brannen
Pastor
Knights of Columbus Picnic!
May 19 from 4:00 pm - 7:30 pm. All parish men (and their sons / grandsons /nephews) are invited to join us for hot dogs, hamburgers and fixings!Please RSVP with the church (912-681-6726) or Brother JosephJennings at r 912.225.4141)
Fr. Brannen Away
Fr. B will be away for the next seven days. He will be in Miami from Monday to Friday preaching a retreat for the priests of that Archdiocese. He will then fly to Denver to witness the wedding vows of Caitlyn Mulcahy (our former FOCUS missionary) and Jacob Pride ( a former FOCUS missionary and former seminarian!) He will fly back late Sunday evening, May 26th.
Welcome to Seminarian Chris Hassell:
Chris Hassell is a seminarian for our diocese who has just completed his second year of philosophy at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Maryland. He still has five years, four years of studies and one pastoral year, before he will be ordained a priest. He has been assigned to work at St. Matthew’s for the first part of the summer and he will then move to Savannah and be assigned with Fr. B to Blessed Sacrament Church for the last part of the summer. Please welcome Chris warmly when he arrives on May 27thand get to know him quickly. He will leave on June 12th!
Pastor’s Wish List
Our thanks to John Beblowski who has finished installing the cabinets and chair railing in our conference room. The last items needed to finish this space are conference room chairs. We need 16 chairs. Nine of those have already been covered via donations. If you are interested in donating the cost of one of the remaining seven chairs, please contact the parish office. The cost of each chair is $150.
Parish Council Nominations
Nominations are being sought for Parish Council. Any adult, eighteen (18) years old and older shall be eligible to vote, and serve as a voting member on the Parish council. However, only one member of any household may serve as a voting member of the council at any time. Nomination forms are available in the narthex.
Weekly Collection
Weekly Offertory – May 12, 2013 $6707.93
Electronic Giving this week: $635.00
Pray for our Sick
Karl Collins, Helen and Jack Daily, Claire Krissinger, Mel Fortin, Russ Trio, Mary Ann Paul, Liz Sullivan, Charlotte Schlossel, Peggy Garvin, Walt Mitchell, Puncho Bicoy, Kai Owens, Micky Salazar, Kathy Norton, Chantel Considine, Madelynne Girardeau, Bob Brannen, Rebecca Rose, Linda Rangeland Margie Rouse. If someone needs to be added to the list for Communion Ministry to the Homebound, please contact Dr. James Stephens at 489-7025.
For those in the Military
Nicholas Stenftenagel, Sean Sullivan, Brian Sullivan, Matthew Robbins, Clint Mixon, Lance Rewis, Chris Mock, Anthony Mullen, Kevin Tyler, Jeremiah Jones, Trevor Alderman, Sean Limbach, and Sarah Sullivan.
This Week at St. Matthew’s
Date: / Activities / Mass Intention: / ReadingsMay 19
Sun. / Masses
8 am
10:30 am
Baccalaureate
4 – 7:30 pm – K of C Picnic / 8 am – Pro Populo
10:30 am –+Donald Lee Ricketts / Acts 2:1-11; Ps 104:1, 24, 29-31, 34; 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Rom 8:8-17; Jn 20:19-23 or Jn 14:15-16, 23b-26
May 20
Mon. / 12:10 pm Mass
7 pm K of C meeting / Sir 1:1-10; Ps 93:1-2, 5; Mk 9:14-29
May 21
Tues. / 12:10 pm Mass
6 pm Confirmation Practice / +Danilo Ronquillo / Sir 2:1-11; Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40; Mk 9:30-37
May 22
Wed. / 12:10 pm Mass / Sir 4:11-19; Ps 119:165, 168, 171-172, 174-175; Mk 10:38-45
May 23
Thurs. / 12:10 pm Mass / Bapt. Anniv. – Kaylin Berry / Sir 5:1-8; Ps 1:1-4, 6; Mk 9:41-50
May 24
Fri. / 12:10 pm Mass / Bapt. Anniv – Peter Mallary and John Tolliver / Sir 6:5-17; Ps 119:12, 16, 18, 27, 34-35; Mk 10:1-12
May 25
Sat. / 4 pm Confessions
5 pm Spanish Mass / Bapt Anniv. – Jack O’Malley, Catherine Stambuk and Viki Gleissner / Sir 17:1-15; Ps 103:13-18; Mk 10:13-16
Reception for Fr. Brannen
You are invited to join us in the Fr. Robert Girardeau Parish Center on June 2 after the 10:30 am Mass for a farewell reception for Fr. Brannen. Please bring a finger food to share. The parish will provide tea and lemonade. A basket will be available for cards.
K of C Chalice Programfor Priestly Vocations
Please sign up for our Knights of Columbus Chalice Program. Take the chalice home and pray for priestly vocations with your family. TheJohn and Amanda Locke family took the chalice at the 10:30 am Mass today. A family is needed to take the chalice next week.New Church Signs
Very soon, you will see construction begin on two brick, monument style signs which will say “St. Matthew Catholic Church.” The signs will be located on the corners of Gentilly and N. Edgewood, and Gentilly and John Paul Ave. This is the next project in our master landscaping plan and it will make our church much more noticeable while driving down Gentilly. The brick will match our church exactly and the signs will be lit up at night and landscaped beautifully.
VBS Registration Today!
VBS – June 10-14, 2013, for ages Pre-K – 5th grade. Registration after both Masses today, May 19th!
Thank you!
On behalf of our students, parents and parishioners, we would like to thank our CCD teachers and aides for the time and effort they put in to make our program successful! Your many hours of hard work, study and lesson planning are appreciated. Have a great summer!
Catholic Communications
Today our parish will take up the Collection for the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC). This Collection communicates the Good News through Catholic social media activities and enriches our faith through podcasts, television, radio, and print media. Half of all proceeds remain in our diocese, so please be generous in this Collection. CCC is how the Good News gets around to you.
CalltoHolinessSummer VocationsCamp for Girls
Sunday, June 23 – Wednesday, June 26, 2013. For rising 7th graders through youth 18 years of age. Girls thrive at this lively summer camp that helps develop healthy friendships and a Catholic identity. Participants will go to daily Mass, participate in prayer and Eucharistic Adoration, and have fun with sports, games, arts and crafts, skits, and music.Activities are complemented by the joyful spirituality of religious sisters, who will give talks about growing closer to Jesus, being a beautiful daughter of God, and what it means to have a vocation. They will teach the girls to emulate Mary as the “super model” who changed the world by saying “yes” to God.
VocatioDeiSummer Vocations Camp forBoys
Wednesday, June 26 – Saturday, June 29, 2013. Rising 7th graders through youth 18 years of age. This dynamic summer camp is for boys who want to play hard and pray hard! Awesome outdoor activities combined with a strong Catholic spirituality make for a healthy and holy experience. Activities include tug-o-war, slip n’ slides, mud pits, capture the flag, and earth ball. Spiritual activities include Holy Mass, the Rosary, inspiring talks, music, and personal prayer.The camp is run by the seminarians of our diocese, and the emphasis is on listening to God’s voice and courageously following wherever He leads.
To register, or for more information, visit
Knights of Columbus
Please DONATE items for the
Saint Matthews Garage Sale
Furniture – Clothing – Miscellaneous Items
Call Howard Taylor at 912-225-4174 or
Steve Price at 912-687-6291 for pick up.
Please pray for the men who will be ordained priests for our Diocese on June 1: Jacob Almeter, Avery Hanna, and Kevin O’Keefe
Parish Life
Please prayforour engaged couples:
Anthony Rainey & Sarah O’Malley
May 25, 2013
Jacob Pride and Caitlin Mulcahy
May 25, 2013
Kyle Rehm & Lacey Dickey
June 8 2013
Michael Early & Mandy Kadlec
June 28, 2013
Thomas Krause & Laura Healy
September 14, 2013
Joseph Hermann & Allyson Rhodes
October 4, 2014
Confirmation 2013
Congratulations to those who were confirmed last week: Jonathan Balthazar, Michael Chambers, Ruby Flores, Linda Gonzalez, Natalia Gonzalez, Lilliana Guzman, Jordan Keffer, Lorenzo Leonardo, Meredith Nobles, Nnedi Okafor, Brett Thomas, and Tara Thompson.
BAA Update:
St. Matthew’s is getting closer to meeting our goal for the Bishop’s Annual Appeal!So far, $36.362 have been given or pledged towards our target of $41,722. This represents 87% of our target yet this is coming from only 121 of our 390 families. If you have already sent a donation to help Bp. Hartmayer run our diocese, thank you very much! If you have not, please do this as soon as you can. Feel free to give a one time gift of any amount you are able, even if it is only $10. The people of St. Matthew’s have always been most generous both to the parish and to the diocese!
Plan Ahead:
May 19 – Pentecost
May 19 – 2nd Collection – Catholic Communications Campaign
May 19 – Baccalaureate – 10:30 am Mass
May 19 – Last Sunday of Religious Education
May 19 – K of C Picnic, 4-7:30 pm
May 27 –Memorial Day – Office closed
June 2 – Reception for Fr. Brannen 11:30 am
June 10 -14 – VBS 9 am - noon