Category: Latest News

On SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2023, following the 5:00 PM Mass, our beautiful Christmas trees will be blessed and lit.   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.

For a directory of the Christmas trees, please click here or visit www.stmatthias.net/treedirectory.

A HUGE Thank You to all of our parishioners who volunteered to set up the 300 trees for our Spread the Light Campaign. Almost 40 people, adults, teens, and kids came out to help. With three men starting at 8 AM, including Fr. Lancelot, lashing trees to poles, joined by many more at 9 AM testing lights and lighting the trees, the work was completed by noon! The old saying, many hands make light work, is certainly true!

So, from all of us on the planning committee to all who came out to help, THANK YOU AND MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Pat and Jo-Ann

 

 

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:

• • • • • • • Men’s-hats,
            • scarves,
            • gloves,
            • toiletry items such as small deodorant, soap, and washcloths.

Thank you!!!

 

 

The Giving Tree is at the front of the Church and will remain there until Sunday, December 17^th.

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 9^th/10^th and December 16^th /17^th .

Please note we will be collecting gifts on these weekends only.  ALL GIFTS ARE DUE BACK NO LATER THAN 2:00 PM ON DECEMBER 17^th!

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:

• • Children’s coats, hats, and gloves
  • Men’s and women’s sturdy/warm winter hats and gloves
  • Underwear – Men’s sizes Med – XL and Ladies sizes 6-8  (There is a great need for these items)

  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 11^th and 18^th , 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

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On October 22, as we observe World Mission Sunday, we stand in solidarity with the Missions of the Church in this annual worldwide Eucharistic celebration.

Pope Francis reflected on this year’s theme: “Hearts on fire, feet on the move.” The Holy Father invites us to kindle the fire of Christ’s love in our hearts and to actively share this warmth with the world around us. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, we go forth and bring the Good News to all corners of the world.

Founded by French laywoman Blessed Pauline Jaricot in 1822, the Society for the Propagation of the Faith is an essential source of aid for the Church’s missionary work. In the United States, we benefited from these donations: up until 1908, we received close to 7 million dollars, the equivalent of over 250 million today. Those dioceses in our country, considered mission territories, continued to receive subsidies. Fairbanks, Alaska, was the last of those dioceses and received its final subsidy payment this year!

The World Mission Sunday collection assists the Holy Father meet his Petrine obligation to build up the Church in over 1,100 dioceses and territories that are too young and/or too poor to sustain themselves. Offerings support the formation of seminarians and religious men and women, assist in the construction of schools and orphanages and enables missionaries to build churches in remote and resource-limited areas, and to meet essential works to proclaim the Gospel and celebrate the Sacraments.

Embodying this year’s theme, I urge you to keep your hearts aflame and your feet moving this World Mission Sunday. Your prayers are invaluable, and your financial support provides life­ giving aid to our brothers and sisters in the world’s most vulnerable communities.

Gratefully in the Lord,

MostReverend James F. Checchio, JCD, MBA
Bishop of Metuchen

For additional resources about World Mission Sunday, please visit onefamilyinmission.org/resources

To download a copy of the letter and the form to donate, please click the link below.

World Mission Sunday 2023.