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.
Category: Uncategorized
The Giving Tree is Back! Please Consider Donating.
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:
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- 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!
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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
A Note of Thanks…
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
SMYLE Youth Group Project – Please DONATE.
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:
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- Men’s-hats,
- scarves,
- gloves,
- toiletry items such as small deodorant, soap, and washcloths.
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Thank you!!!
Alzheimer’s Support Group Meets in Person on December 13th at 2 PM
The Alzheimer’s Association and St. Matthias Catholic Church are co-hosting a monthly Support Group for individuals living with Alzheimer’s or Dementia, their care partners, and others dealing with the disease. Our next meeting will be Wednesday, December 13th, from 2:00 PM -3:00 PM in the Parish Office at St. Matthias. 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.
Time to Volunteer for our “Tree-mendous” Spread the Light Event! SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25th at 9 AM
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!”
Join SMYLE on Sunday for a Halloween Extravaganza!
SMYLE Middle School & High School Teens have planned an exciting Halloween Extravaganza!
Join us this SUNDAY- October 29th – from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
in the SMS cafeteria for Fun & Food & Games & Prizes!
Halloween conjures up lots of spooky thoughts and fears…….
But have no fear …. when you come to hear …
our Teen guest speaker!
Come as you are or wear a costume & maybe win a prize!
(no toy weapons!)
You’ll leave with candy in your tummy
& Inspirational thoughts in your head
& Maybe even a prize too!
RSVP is encouraged – especially if you want to bring a friend – so we can prepare for food and games.
However, walk-ins are welcome!
Costumes are optional (no toy weapons!)
Letter From the Present Synod to All the People of God
Letter of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to the People of God
World Mission Sunday: Bishop Checchio’s Letter
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.
The St. Matthias 2024 Mass Book is Open!
There are NEW Mass Intentions Guidelines this year.
Mass Intentions: It is an ancient and noble practice to pray for the living and the dead during Mass. The greatest and most powerful prayer we have is the Mass, since the fruits of the Mass are the very fruits of Jesus’ redemption made present to us. Therefore, so many of us seek to book a Mass intention for our loved ones, living or deceased.
A Mass intention may be requested for: a deceased loved one; a living person who is sick or suffering; a living person who is celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or other special moment in their life; in thanksgiving to God (including the Lord Jesus or the Holy Spirit); in thanksgiving for a favor received through the intercession of a Blessed or a Saint; or for a prayer intention (so long as the intention does not contradict Church teaching).
In our parish, there are many requests for scheduling Mass intentions. Our 2024 Book of Mass Intentions will be opened on Monday, October 16, 2023, at 8:30 AM in the Parish Office. To accommodate our parishioners, we will continue the limit of four (4) Masses – two (2) weekday Masses and a maximum of two (2) Weekend Masses. You can return on or after November 15 for additional Mass requests. Here are the details of the different kinds of Mass intentions:
Announced Weekday Mass Intentions: The suggested stipend for weekday Mass remains the same: $10.00. The intention will be printed in the bulletin and announced during Mass. Please be sure to indicate if the person for whom the Mass requested is living (L) or deceased (D).
Announced Weekend Mass Intentions: The suggested stipend for Weekend Mass is $15.00. The intention will be printed in the bulletin and announced at Mass. Please be sure to indicate if the person for whom the Mass requested is living (L) or deceased (D).
Multiple Intentions: With increasing requests for additional Mass intentions during unforeseen special occasions such as death, month’s mind, etc., it is a pastoral practice to better accommodate such needs of our parishioners by allowing additional intentions with the existing intention for the Mass. In such cases, we will be accepting only two (2) additional intentions, which will be announced in the Universal Prayers (Prayers of the Faithful) but not in the bulletin. Please know that the stipend for these additional intentions ($10 for weekdays and $15 for Weekends) will be sent to the Mission Office of our Diocese.
Unannounced Mass Intentions: There will be no limit on unannounced Mass requests. These Masses are available at any time and are sent either to the Office of Missions of the Diocese of Metuchen or to missionary priests. The suggested stipend remains the same: $10.00.
Mass for the People (Missa Pro Populo): One Sunday Mass per weekend is offered for the intention of the living and deceased parishioners of St. Matthias.