Saint Matthew's Church A Roman Catholic Community

Saint Matthew's Church
A Roman Catholic Community

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Weekend Mass Schedule
Saturday Vigil at 5:00 PM
Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30 AM
Full Schedule of Services
Weekly Bulletins
Ministry Schedule

Pastor's Weekly Message

On this fifteenth Sunday in ordinary time the Church gives us the beginning of Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus (in current Turkey) as our second reading. In his extended opening greeting (our reading today) Paul states the major themes he wants to convey to the believers in Ephesus. Paul tells them (and us) that God (the) Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ...has blessed us in Christ. Paul goes on to say that Christ chose us...to be holy and without blemish and destined us for adoption...through Jesus Christ. Paul wants us to know that we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions and that he has made known to us the mystery...(the) plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.

In November of 1980 the Bishop's of the United States wrote an encyclical entitled "Called and Gifted, the American Catholic Laity". It was and remains a remarkable document. In it the Bishop's affirm the principles that Paul tries to convey to the believers in Ephesus, i.e., that, by our baptism, all the followers of Christ are called and all are gifted by God. We have been chosen by God through Jesus to "preach" the message of Jesus in all the small and large ways that our lives allow. The Bishop's document speaks about four calls for every believer, 1) the call to adulthood, 2) the call to holiness, 3) the call to ministry (both in the world and in the church), and 4) the call to community.

In the section on our call to holiness, the Bishop's write: The Second Vatican Council clearly proclaimed the universal call to holiness. Not only are lay people included in God’s call to holiness, but theirs is a unique call requiring a unique response, which itself is a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is characteristic that lay men and women hear the call to holiness in the very web of their existence (Lumen Gentium, 31), in and through the events of the world, the pluralism of modern living, the complex decisions and conflicting values they must struggle with, the richness and fragility of sexual relationships, the delicate balance between activity and stillness, presence and privacy, love and loss. In other words, the Bishop's are realizing that too often in our church we have treated the laity as if they were only to receive God's grace and not practice or give it to others. Now, this document argues, is the time to return to the experience of the early churches like the one at Ephesus, each of us realizing our individual call to ministry and responding.

Paul exhorted the community at Ephesus to recognize their call and to use their gifts in their own time. We are charged to do the same in our time. We were all called to this charge by our baptism. St. Paul and our Bishops remind us that all are called, all are gifted.

Fr. Chris

Seasonal Messages

www.itickets.com/events/400464.htmlMatt Maher and his "Echoes of Worship Tour" is coming to Voorheesville! Please see our Parish Events Page for information about this exciting event. Tickets may be purchased on-line at itickets.com