St. Matthew Parish Directory

St. Matthew Parish is partnering with
Lifetouch photography to publish a
St. Matthew Parish Directory
which includes individual and family portraits.

All parishioners are urged to be a part of the new directory!

Parishioners may check appointment availbility
and set up their appointments by clicking below! 
 

The parish is the place where Jesus touches our lives through the sacraments, especially through the Eucharist which we receive weekly, while some receive daily. Jesus is the center of our life and in the Sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation we meet the loving and forgiving God. 

As you will see, our parish is involved with the activities of many people and we try to share the responsibility of stewardship by committing our time, talents and treasure.  Please consider one or two areas of service in which you will be able to serve.  In this way, you will be serving the Church and making this parish your own.  Remember the familiar saying, "Many hands make light work."

Thank you for visiting our parish and I hope you have many years as a member of our special community.

Sincerely in Christ,

The parish community of St. Matthew

Our Mission

St. Matthew Mission Statement:    
We, the members of the St. Matthew Parish community being many parts but one sacramental body, are sent by the love of God to make Christ present in the world. 

Declaración de la Misión de la Parroquia San Mateo:  
 Nosotros, los miembros de la comunidad parroquial de San Mateo, siendo muchas partes, pero un solo cuerpo sacramental, somos enviados por el amor de Dios para hacer presente a Cristo en el mundo.




From Our Pastor:

A brand new pastor was filled with enthusiasm. It was his first Lent at the parish, and the parishioners had just purchased a new outdoor sign. He couldn’t wait to post some uplifting words, spreading the gospel to all who drove by the church. So on Saturday night, he put up his first message: “If you are tired of sin, come in.” Sunday morning, he rose early for the first Mass and walked over to church. During the night someone had written below his message in bright red lipstick, “If you’re not tired of sin, call 555-6347.”
 
That’s the truth, isn’t it? There are very few of us who are tired of our sins. Secretly we wish there were some way we could love God and our sins at the same time. Why is he so demanding? Or maybe we give up. We convince ourselves that we haven’t changed and so what’s the point in trying to follow God more closely. Or maybe we even feel our sins aren’t that bad or that we have no sins at all. Brace yourself for St. John’s response to that, “If we say we are without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us…If we say we have not sinned, we make [God] a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8,10)
 
Think of the good thief, crucified next to Jesus. He begins reviling Jesus, along with his partner in crime on the other side of the Lord. But the guilty thief realized that he stood next to the Innocent One; he confessed his guilt and begged to be remembered. How does Jesus, Divine Mercy in the flesh, answer him? “Remember you, how could I forget you? I am here, dying for your forgiveness. I see and accept your repentance. I wash away your sins in my blood. Today, you will be with me in paradise.” Here we see expressed the rest of St. John’s words, “the blood of [God’s] Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin…. If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. (1 John 1:7,9)” A thief condemned to the depths of hell was welcomed as a friend to the joys of heaven. We should be amazed at the power of the mercy of Jesus.
 
Is that kind of mercy still available today, to us? We sure need it. Fr. Charles Smith tried to bring it to the Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh. On their first encounter in prison, McVeigh reached into the toilet and threw what was there on the priest. But Fr. Smith kept coming back and eventually the convicted murderer went to confession. You might ask if someone like that can get to heaven. McVeigh asked the same question, “Father Charles, can I still get to heaven?” The priest answered, “I am not your judge. You must submit your will to God and ask for true forgiveness…You knew there were a lot of innocent people and children in that building.” McVeigh asked Father Smith to walk with him to his June 11, 2001, execution. Fr. Smith tells us, "And the tears came running down. He was crying, I was crying because he did something that changed my life, too.” (adapted from a Catholic News Service article) Let us pray that our Confessions will be a time of true repentance, a time of true meeting with Jesus our merciful judge.
 
Because there is the heart of our Lenten season: each one of us absolutely needs the mercy of God. Jesus calls each one of us to “Repent and believe in the gospel.” On Ash Wednesday, everyone who came forward, even the smallest child, was marked with the dusty sign of the cross on our foreheads. Each one of us has come from the dust of the earth and will return to the dust of the earth. It is only by God’s mercy that we will be able to rise again to the heights of heaven. My thoughts are not the thoughts of Christ. My heart does not love like the heart of Christ. My life is not the life of Christ. Left to ourselves, this would be bad news, depressing news. But with the coming of Jesus, it becomes gospel, good news—the greatest news the world has ever heard. Christ has brought mercy within our reach, his merciful kingdom is at hand, within my grasp. He can be held by me. Let us, each one of us, and all of us together, open our arms wide to the mercy of Jesus.
 
With my prayers and begging for your prayers that I am a faithful minister of the mercy of Jesus,
 
Fr. Jerome