The SMP 2022 Year Long Lottery Calendars are going very quickly. If you are still interested in purchasing a calendar, please do so as soon as possible. The cost is $25 and can be ordered using the form found in the document section of this website. The Holidays are fast approaching and these will make wonderful gifts that keep giving the entire year.

The SMP ladies of Charity will meet on Saturday October 2 at 9am in the All Saints activity Hall Building. All members of the SMP LOC are encouraged to attend. Please bring a non-perishable item for the Bread of Life Food Bank in Etna. A light breakfast will be served at 8:30

There will be a meeting of ALL Christian Mothers from our parish on Tuesday October 5th at 6:30pm at the All Saints Activity Building. All are welcome including current and new members who would like to participate.

Saint Matthew Parish live streams the 9am Mass each Sunday on our Facebook page. You can watch it here on our website by clicking on the title above.

The St. Matthew Parish High School Youth Group meets every Wednesday at St. Bonaventure's Church in Newmeyer Hall from 7:00-9:00 pm. A pizza dinner is provided. Come join in the fun games and discipleship with other teenagers. Bring a friend! Contact Jonah Soucy for more in- formation.

St. Matthew Parish has available low-gluten hosts for those who have difficulties with Celiac Disease and other similar disorders. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, products containing less than 20 ppm (parts per million) may be labeled as "gluten free." An article in the magazine Gluten-Free Living states that the equivalent of 27,000 ppm (10 milligrams) per day is usually safe, though this number may well vary from person to person. The low-gluten hosts from our provider are 100ppm and are approved for use by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. If you are in need of a low-gluten host, please come to the sacristy (where the Priest and Deacon vest). There the Priest will discuss with you how you will be able to receive safely.

Fall Registration for the Children's Faith Formation program is now underway. Register by going to the Religious Ed page. For more information, please call Louis Bosco (PK-6th Grade) at 412-923-3413; or Jonah Soucy (7th-8th Grades) at 412-923-3415.

Hallow is a Catholic prayer and meditation app that helps you deepen your relationship with God through audio-guided contemplative prayer, meditation, Bible studies, and spiritual music. Hallow - Blog: This module shares engaging blog-style articles on prayer. It is updated year-round with new content, from basic "how-to" techniques on prayers such as the Examen, the Rosary, and Lectio Divina, to helpful guides and tips on cultivating a vibrant prayer life. Hallow - Video: This module provides 5-20 minute guided meditations that help your flock build daily prayer habits. New, premium video content that is usually reserved for Hallow's paid subscribers will be featured every week through this module. CLICK ON THE TITLE TO BE REDIRECTED TO THE RESOURCES PAGE

As this pandemic starts to slow down and things start to open back up, we are looking to run an Alpha evangelization series in our parish. Our goal is to have Alpha running at all four of our Churches. In order to make this happen, we are in great need of people willing to lead small group discussions. This is not a teaching roll, but one of facilitating conversation. Training will be provided. We are looking to kick off the training in early February, so please reach out to Jonah at youthministry@stbonaventureparish.org or ext. 415, ASAP if you would be interested in helping out!

Your Bulletin can now be found under the Resource tab at the top of the website.

Epiphany is a day to make our homes glitter with the exuberance of gold, frankincense and myrrh. It's the customary day to bless the home for the New Year, although this blessing is fitting whenever you can gather the household in January. There are many variations of the Epiphany Home Blessing, one of the simpler ones is quoted below. It can be prayed as part of mealtime grace, and it can be embellished by writing with chalk above the front door "21 + C + M + B + 21" (the initials of the three holy kings, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, or the first letters of the Latin inscription: Christus mansionem benedicat—May Christ bless this home.). Then everyone walks from room-to-room sprinkling the home with holy water, a sign of the River Jordan. A twig from the Christmas tree makes a fine sprinkler. You can pray: God of Bethlehem and of Cana, God of Jordan's leaping waters in baptism you bring us into your family. You wed us, embracing us as your beloved. May we fill this home we have made with kindness to one another, with hospitality to guests, and with abundant care for every stranger. By the gentle light of a star, guide home all who seek you on paths of faith, hope and love, where we will join the angels in proclaiming your praise: Glory in heaven and peace on earth, now and forever. Amen.

A candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. This candymaker incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promise of God. The Candymaker made the candy in the form of a “J” to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the Good Shepherd, with which He reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lamb’s who like all sheep, have gone astray. Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candymaker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received, by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life. Unfortunately, the candy became known as the Candy Cane a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas. But the meaning remains for those who “have eyes to see and ears to hear.” May this symbol again be used to witness to the Wonder of Jesus and His Great Love that came down at Christmas and remains the ultimate and dominant force in the universe today.

The Meaning of the Advent Candles 1st Candle - The Prophecy Candle or Candle of Hope - We can have hope because God is Faithful and will keep the promises made to us.  Our hope comes from God. (Romans 15:12-13) To read more click on the title above.

The Music Department is hoping to reinstate a cantor rotation program at all weekend Masses at our four churches as safely as possible. Cantors help support the peoples singing. Indeed, where there is no choir, it is up to the cantor to direct the different chants (songs) . It is our hope that the cantors work in rotation at all the churches. If you are interested in being involved in this important ministry, or have previous experience as a cantor please contact Terry, Alyssa or Jon. Training will be provided.

There is a new Mass intention form for your use when requesting a Mass for your Loved ones. The form can be found under documents on the left hand side of this page.

As on January 4, 2021 there will be a new procedure for scheduling Masses. We will have just ONE Mass Book for scheduling all Mass Intentions for our four buildings. We are in the process of finalizing that procedure. PLEASE NOTE that due to a change in accounts, ALL MASS STIPEND CHECKS are to be made payable to “St. Matthew Parish”

Please visit this site to register the date for your child to receive Confirmation: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0c45aeaf2fa5fd0-grouping1 You are welcome to participate in any of the four sessions, first come, first served. When you register, please use your child’s name and the quantity of guests is “1”. Using a family email address is acceptable. CLICK ON THE TITLE TO ACTIVATE THE LINK...Thank you

It is that time of year again where we do our big recruiting push for our youth ministry programs! I am once more looking to grow our roster of adult volunteers for the upcoming year, as we continue to grow our ministry and reach more teens in our four parishes and community. There are various volunteer "roles" that we need filled this up coming year. Please pray about potentially joining our ministry in one of these capacities. To continue reading click on the title above

The regular schedule of confessions has resumed. Due to COVID restrictions, Confessions will be heard in the church proper. Please wear a mask and keep six (6) feet of separation as you wait in line. Click on the tab for Mass times to view the confession times.

On the left hand side of this page under Documents you will find the reopening letter and seat chart from Fr. Gretz. Please review and if you can, join us in person for Sunday Mass. Grouping 101 is preparing to reopen for weekend Masses on June 6-7, with daily Mass beginning June 8, 2020.