Life at St. Matthew’s in the Easter Season

The weekend of April 30th - May 1st was a banner weekend at St Matthew's. The new life and energy of Easter was truly enhanced by the young people of our parish in a number of activities.

On Saturday, we hosted all of our First Eucharist children and their parents for a retreat day on the theme of, “Following in the Footsteps of Jesus.” The children and their parents had the chance to interact on the story of The Road to Emmaus, followed by some question-answer games with the kids and the opportunity for the children to rehearse their songs for their first Eucharist celebrations.

At the same time, the parents attended a presentation on the Eucharist, giving them a deeper appreciation of its significance. Parents and children then gathered in Bauer Hall for a “Teaching Liturgy,” so the children could better grasp the meaning of the Eucharist. The energy, joy and enthusiasm of the boys and girls truly lifted all of our Sprite!

On Sunday, I met with our eighth-graders to discuss the social justice issues we hold as Catholics. As part of the program, I invited various people who lead our outreach ministries to speak with the young people to help them understand who we are as a parish community living out these social justice values.

Also on Sunday, Fr Kamil met for a second time with a group of our high school seniors and adults to plan ahead for our confirmation year III “Breathe” retreat, to take place this fall. We are thrilled that more and more of our young people are discovering their call to work along with Fr Kamil to strengthen youth ministry in our parish. We encourage anyone interested to join us!

The 5:00 PM Sunday Mass was a “teaching Mass” for our year II Confirmation Candidates. Their attentiveness and participation were excellent. The music was joyfully uplifting! Mass was followed by pizza and deserts, and then a Q&A session with myself and Deacon Larry.

At the same time, the year I Confirmation candidates participated in a “Hunger Banquet” led by their catechists to help them better understand the way our world is in its inequality of wealth and resources. In a fun project, the young people came to take seriously the call to Christian Stewardship.

By the time I left the church Sunday evening, I was exhausted, but joyfully so, to have witnessed the spirit of the Risen Christ so alive in our young people. They are not just the future of our church, but very much the present as they model for us an openness to new life.

Please keep our young people in your prayers as they prepare to celebrate the sacraments of First Holy Eucharist and Confirmation and as they continue on their faith journey!