The Mission of Saint Matthew Catholic Church

is to announce the Good News of the Kingdom of God, celebrate the Sacraments, and foster a family-friendly environment that will serve the needs of the community in the name of Jesus the Lord.

The moral pathway for the followers of Jesus

The great British intellectual, G.K. Chesterton, once said “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.” In other words, there are many people who call themselves Christian. After all, it is a fairly easy thing to become baptized either as a Catholic or in any other denomination. What is difficult is to live the Christian ideal. But just what is the Christian ideal? One sure place to find it is in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as given to us in Matthew’s Gospel, chapters 5 through 7.

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Christian spirituality has always revolvedAlmsgiving and the practice of tithing
around the three pillars of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Prayer’s purpose is to grow in intimacy with God through honest conversation, much as we would do with a friend. Fasting is a way of being in solidarity with those who go hungry each day, reminding us to appreciate the blessings that we have. But why give alms?

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Why does God give us freedom to choose?freedomToChoose

freedomToChoose

On a water safari in Africa, you can see how a mama hippo is surrounded by her babies which she keeps in a separate group in the river, away from a marauding male who might try to harm one of them. The mother sparrow brings worms to the nest to feed her young.

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When Jesus ascended the Galilean hilltop in imitation of Moses, he didn’t need to remind his followers of the Ten Commandments. He just expected them to live those! Instead, he came to fulfill, to complete, and to expand upon those ten rules of “Thou shalt not”. His expansion begins with the Beatitudes (Mt 5). “Blessed are the poor in spirit” – the Christian ideal is to be humble enough to be always open to new wisdom, from other believers and from non-believers. “Blessed are those who mourn” – real love hurts, and we must allow ourselves to be vulnerable enough to feel the suffering not only of those who are known to us but also to those who are unknown, such as the victims of mass shootings, of homelessness, or food insecurity. “Blessed are the meek” – real disciples are those who have tamed the wild passions within them, who have control over their own anger and lusts and compulsions. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”, that is the righteousness of God. We are blest when we acknowledge our restlessness before the awesomeness of God and it brings us to our knees in prayer. There is so much more to learn about the Christian ideal from the Great Teacher in Matthew’s Gospel. Let us be alert and listen to Him closely. - - - Fr. Jim

El camino moral para los seguidores de Jesús

El gran intelectual británico, G.K. Chesterton, una vez dijo que "El ideal cristiano no ha sido juzgado y encontrado con ganas; Se ha encontrado difícil y no se haado ". En otras palabras, hay muchas personas que se hacen llamar cristianas. Después de todo, es bastante fácil ser bautizado como católico o en cualquier otra denominación. Lo que es difícil es vivir el ideal cristiano. Pero, ¿cuál es el ideal cristiano? Un lugar seguro para encontrarlo es en el sermón de Jesús en el monte como se nos dio en el Evangelio de Mateo, capítulos 5 a 7. Cuando Jesús ascendió a la colina galileana al imitación de Moisés, no necesitaba recordar a sus seguidores a los Diez Mandamientos. ¡Solo esperaba que vivieran esos! En cambio, llegó a cumplir, a completar y expandir esas diez reglas de "no lo harás". Su expansión comienza con las Bienaventuranzas (Mt 5). "Dichosos los pobres de espíritu": el ideal cristiano es ser lo suficientemente humilde como para estar siempre abierto a la nueva sabiduría, de otros creyentes y de los no creyentes. "Dichosos los que lloran": el verdadero amor duele, y debemos permitirnos ser lo suficientemente vulnerables como para sentir el sufrimiento no solo de aquellos que son conocidos por nosotros sino también para aquellos que son desconocidos, como las víctimas de tiroteos masivos, de personas sin hogar, o inseguridad alimentaria. "Dichosos los mansos": los verdaderos discípulos son aquellos que han domesticado las pasiones salvajes dentro de ellas, que tienen control sobre su propia ira, lujurias y compulsiones. "Dichosos los que tienen hambre y sed de justicia", esa es la justicia de Dios. Somos bendecidos cuando reconocemos nuestra inquietud ante la genialidad de Dios y nos pone de rodillas en oración. Hay mucho más para aprender sobre el ideal cristiano del Gran Maestro en el Evangelio de Mateo. Estemos alerta y escúchalo de cerca. - - - Fr. Jim