A few parishes are planning to host a Mental Health Self Care Fair
SPRING Into MENTAL HEALTH – March 9th & 10th, 2024 at St. Matthias – 168 JFK Blvd, Somerset, NJ
We need your assistance to help make this a worthwhile event for people of all ages.
Please take a few minutes to answer these questions.
Thank you for your time & interest!
The Giving Tree is at the front of the Church and will remain there until this Sunday, December 17th. There are still some tags on the tree and the remaining tags are for specific individuals, primarily children. If you are able, please consider grabbing another tag, purchase a gift, and bring joy to those less fortunate.
We will be collecting and sorting gifts this weekend December 16th /17th.
Please note this will be the final weekend we will be collecting gifts. ALL GIFTS ARE DUE BACK NO LATER THAN 2:00 PM ON DECEMBER 17th!
Please SECURE THE ORNAMENTS TO THE PACKAGES, otherwise, we have no way of knowing where the gifts are to be delivered. These gifts should be placed under the tree and they will be distributed where needed.
St. Matthias parishioners and friends have always been generous in the past. Please keep up our tradition going – it means a lot to so many people in need. Thank you!
Should you have any questions and/or would like to volunteer to help, please contact:
Joanne Diana at (732)322-6270 or j-diana@comcast.net
The Knights of Columbus along with the St Matthias Home School Association will sponsor a blood drive on Saturday, December 9th in the school cafeteria between 8:30 am and 2:30 pm. We are asking you all to roll up your sweater sleeves and donate.
The Giving Tree is at the front of the Church and will remain there until Sunday, December 17th.
During this time you will have the opportunity to take ornaments and purchase some or all of the items listed. Once again in conjunction with Catholic Charities, we will distribute gifts to Elijah’s Promise, Great Expectations, Naomi’s Way, Ozanam Family Shelter, Ozanam Men’s Shelter, PACT, YES Early Learning Centers (Sacred Heart & St. Ladislaus), as well as Pregnancy Aid and Local Families.
We will be collecting and sorting gifts on the weekends of December 9th/10th and December 16th /17th .
Please note we will be collecting gifts on these weekends only. ALL GIFTS ARE DUE BACK NO LATER THAN 2:00 PM ON DECEMBER 17th!
Please SECURE THE ORNAMENTS TO THE PACKAGES, otherwise, we have no way of knowing where the gifts are to be delivered.
As in the past few years, Great Expectations is requesting gifts through the Amazon Wish List. To access the list, please click here.
In addition to the gifts listed on the ornaments and on the Amazon Wish List, there is a need for:
These gifts should be placed under the tree and they will be distributed where needed.
This year over 500 ornaments have been placed on the tree. There is still a great need in our community so please, if you have not done so already, grab a tag, purchase a gift, and bring joy to those less fortunate. St. Matthias parishioners and friends have always been generous in the past. Please keep up our tradition going – it means a lot to so many people in need. Thank you!
With the many gifts to sort and deliver, we can use more elves and drivers for deliveries on the mornings of December 11th and 18th , after the 8:00 AM Mass.
Should you have any questions and/or would like to volunteer to help, please contact:
Joanne Diana at (732)322-6270 or j-diana@comcast.net
On Saturday,December 9th, and Sunday, December 10th all SMYLE members are asked to volunteer to help with the collection of the following items for Unity Square after all the Masses:
Thank you!!!
Good News!!! The deadline for Our Christmas Tree Campaign has been extended!!! The donation to sponsor one of these beautiful trees is $200. If you would like to sponsor a tree, please complete the Christmas Tree Form 2023 and return it, with a check made payable to “St. Matthias Church”, to the Parish Office. If you would prefer to make an online payment via ParishGiving, please click here. (Note: Families or groups may join together to sponsor a tree.)
If you are able and would like to help, volunteers are needed on SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25th to move the trees to the field and light them up. We need at least 25 to 30 people to light the trees. This is an excellent opportunity to earn service hours for our high school students! We need at least 25 to 30 people to assist. Please bring scissors and wear gardening gloves. We work in pairs so bring a friend if you can. Work begins at 9 AM, with a good group, we will be finished by noon! Call the parish office if you have any questions.
We will bless and light the trees on SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2023, following the 5:00 PM Mass. The trees will remain lit every night from 4:30 PM until 11:00 PM, through the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6, 2024. People are welcome to come to visit the trees and read the plaques throughout this time. Everyone driving by on JFK Boulevard will be reminded of the hope and peace that breaks into our darkness at Christmas time.
Be part of this beautiful Christmas celebration and “Spread the Light!”
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!! Our annual Christmas Tree “Spread the Light” campaign is in full swing! We would like to thank all of the parishioners and friends of the parish who have already arranged for their trees. If you have not sponsored a tree yet —GOOD NEWS!! The deadline has been extended!!! There are both Personal and Business forms in the back of the church and on the website. You can either pay at the parish office, through Parish Giving, or by placing a sealed envelope marked ‘Trees’ in the collection basket during mass. Don’t miss out on honoring a loved one, friend,
business, or group! Join in this wonderfully moving tradition that helps support our church and brings joy to so many.
Help us to ‘Light the Night’ here in Somerset! But, don’t wait, numbers are limited, get your request in now!
Join in this wonderfully moving tradition that helps support our church and brings joy to so many. For more information on how to order a tree, click here. Flyers are also available in church.
Dear Friends,
The World Youth Day celebrations (August 1-6, 2023) are concluding today. More than 28,600 young adults from 1,300 U.S. groups travelled to Lisbon, Portugal, to participate in this global event for young people that takes place about every three years, offering a deeper encounter with Jesus Christ through liturgical celebrations, networking, faith sharing, catechetical sessions, and prayer with the Holy Father. We are happy that our parishioners Emily Chavez, Mary-Frances Chavez and Jasmine DeLeon are there attending this spectacular event. I hope you have been watching some of the exciting and inspiring WYD programs.
“Mary arose and went with haste” (Luke 1:39) is the theme chosen by Pope Francis for the World Youth Day. This quote from the Gospel of St. Luke opens the account of the Visitation (Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth), a biblical episode following the Annunciation (the angel’s announcement to Mary that she would be the mother of the Son of God). During their conversation of the Annunciation, the angel also tells Mary that her older cousin, thought to be sterile, is pregnant. It is then that Mary sets out for Ain Karim, a village near Jerusalem, where Elizabeth lived and was awaiting the birth of John, who would become St John the Baptist.
This week we keep the feast of St. Lawrence (August 10th ). The esteem in which the Church holds Lawrence is seen in the fact that his memorial day ranks as a feast. He is one of those whose martyrdom made a deep and lasting impression on the early Church. Celebration of his feast day spread rapidly. He was a Roman deacon under Pope Saint Sixtus II. Four days after this pope was put to death, Deacon Lawrence and four clerics suffered martyrdom, probably during the persecution of the Emperor Valerian. The church built over his tomb became one of the seven principal churches in Rome and a favorite place for Roman pilgrimages.
The feast of Deacon Lawrence naturally reminds us of our own wonderful deacons – John Radvanski, Russ Demkovitz and Ron Caimi – who have been ministering us for years.
The word deacon derives from the Greek diakonia, meaning “service,” thereby indicating that a deacon is called like Christ to be a servant. The Church teaching clearly states that the Order of Deacon has three essential functions: the proclamation of the Gospel, the service of the liturgy, and the administration of charitable works. Deacons may baptize, witness the exchange of vows and bless marriages, distribute Holy Communion, impart benediction with the Blessed Sacrament, bring Viaticum to the dying, read Sacred Scripture to the faithful and especially proclaim the Gospel, preach, officiate at funerals and burials, and administer the sacramentals. Besides, they should dedicate themselves to other charitable works, particularly within the parish community. (Confer the Catechism, No. 1569-70, and the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, No 29).
This feast is a wonderful opportunity for our community to thank our beloved deacons for their selfless ministry to us all. Their life should be an inspiration for the men of our parish to consider taking their place as deacons. I invite our men to pray about it and speak with one of our deacons.
Your brother in Christ,
Fr. Abraham Orapankal
ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP MEETS IN PERSON, ON 7/12 AT 2 PM! LET’S CELEBRATE SUMMER AND ENJOY EACH OTHER’S COMPANY AND SOME FOOD!
The Alzheimer’s Association and Saint Matthias Catholic Church are co-hosting a monthly Support Group for people living with Alzheimer’s and Dementia and their care partners. Our next meeting will be Wednesday, July 12th, from 2 pm-3:30 pm in the dePorres room in the Parish Office building at St. Matthias Church in Somerset. Registration is required. To register, call 800-272-3900 and mention the St. Matthias group.
The Group provides a safe and supportive environment and offers dementia-related education, emotional support, and connections with resources so that the group members may enhance their lives in the midst of the journey. For more information, visit alz.org/NJ.