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When Jesus appeared to the disciples, his greeting was,
"Peace be with you." The Hebrew word shalom – for peace – is
a most comprehensive word, covering the full realm of
relationships in daily life and expressing an ideal state of
life. Shalom is a Hebrew and Jewish word meaning peace,
nothing missing, nothing broken, well-being and complete. It
is used to mean hello and goodbye. Shalom can refer to
either peace between two entities, such as God and humankind
or between two nations. It can refer to the well-being,
welfare or safety of an individual or a group of
individuals. The word suggests the fullness of well-being
and harmony untouched by ill fortune. The word as a blessing
is a prayer for the best that God can give to enable a
person to complete one's life with happiness and a natural
death. If the concept of shalom became all too casual and
light-hearted with no more significance than a passing
greeting, Jesus came to give it new meaning. God announced
at Bethlehem that peace would come through the gift of God's
unique Son. The mission and ministry of our Lord made it
quite clear that Jesus had come to introduce the rule of God
and to order peace for the world.
When Jesus presents Himself to the disciples in the Upper
Room, He finds them scared, afraid, apprehensive and unsure
of their future. The doors are locked for fear of
retribution by those who killed Jesus. And so to calm their
fears and anxieties, Jesus greets them with “Peace be with
you”, or in Hebrew, shalom aleichem. Not only once, but
twice He offers them this gift of well-being and the
fullness of God’s blessing upon them. Knowing their need for
strength, courage and His Presence, He invites them to
receive the Holy Spirit. As we celebrate the conclusion of
our 50 days of this Easter season with the Solemnity of
Pentecost, we ask our God for His peace for each of our own
lives. “Shalom aleichem” to all!
- - -
Msgr. Mike
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MSGR MIKE'S QUESTION OF
THE WEEK
The
encouragement is for everyone to ponder that question or to dialogue in
your family prayer time, over this particular question. Begin with
prayer and then have someone pose the question. Listen with respect to
those who respond and close with another short prayer, perhaps the
Lord’s Prayer. Here is this week’s question of the week:
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SOME Good Things to Know...
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Parish
and School
Festival
Winners
Celebrate
One
Community,
One
Parish,
One
Family |
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Prize |
Winner |
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Grand
Prize
Choice
2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
or
2009 LEXUS RC 350 |
Cindy Domostoy |
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1st Prize:
$500 American Express Gift
Card |
Cori Davila |
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2nd Prize:
$500 American Express Gift
Card |
Beverly Donathen |
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3rd Prize:
$500 American Express Gift
Card |
Greg Jenschke |
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Congratulations to our
winners and special thanks
to all who purchased the
raffle tickets.
Our sincere gratitude and
thanks to the Festival
Committee and all
Organizations and Workers
who made this years festival
a Great Success! God’s
Blessings to all |
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PARISH
DIRECTORY
Olan Mills
Parish Directory 2008
Sign up
has begun for the 2008 Saint Matthew Parish
Directory under the guidance of Drs.
Michael and Danet Bluhm. You may sign up
on-line at
www.signup.olanmills.com or
contact an Olan Mills rep at 1-800-866-2263
to schedule your photography sitting. Additional
questions can be sent via email to:
stmattolanmills@yahoo.com.
Each
family who sits for a photo will receive a free
8x10 photograph, a copy of the parish directory,
and the option to purchase or deny additional
photo packages from your photo session.
Click here to download the instructions
for the on-line sign up. |
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PICTURES – 40TH
ANNIVERSARY
The Parish Pastoral Council is
gearing up to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of St.
Matthew Church. It will be held on Sunday,
November 23, 2008 at 3PM, with Archbishop Gomez
presiding. A
committee is being formed under the leadership of
Deirdre Murphy
and Teresa Rivera. We want to have a collage of
pictures that will help enjoy the history and development of our
parish. If you have “pictures of the past” on St. Matthew,
please mark them with your name and phone number. We will return
them once we have put our collage together. Mark your calendar
for the 40th Anniversary of St. Matthew in 2008!
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St. Matthew Habitat for Humanity Update
“I will show you my
faith by what I do.” James 2:18 |
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We started building the 6th
St. Matthew sponsored Habitat House on February 29th.
Everything is going well and there's still a lot that
needs to be done. Volunteers are always needed so
if you have some time to spare, we would love to have
you. Click on one of the links below for more
information.
Click here to see the latest
Habitat schedule
(Updated 5/4/08)
Please click on the below
link to read this week's articles for St. Matthew
Habitat for Humanity.
Weekly Habitat articles
from the beginning:
Chapter One:
What is Habitat for Humanity?
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St. Matthew Senior Center
Open Monday
through Friday from 7AM until Noon
Anyone who is 60
years of age or over is welcome to join in the various
activities that are held Monday thru Friday. The Senior Center
is located in the Parish Hall. A nutritional lunch is served
daily at 11:15AM.
To register,
please come to the Parish Hall between 9 AM and 11 AM on
weekdays, or call Georgia Wall at 478-5017.
Please click here for more information.
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UPCOMING EVENTS:
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MIDDLE SCHOOL (TAG) YOUTH RETREAT
Come and join us during
the weekend of 6 and 7 June at John
Newcombe’s Tennis Ranch in New
Braunfels for our second annual Middle
School Youth Retreat. Our Theme will be
“Fill Me,
Lord.”
Click here for more information |
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Practice for the May 12th
celebration will be May 11th at 7:15
p.m. in the church.
(Yes, we know this is Mother’s Day, but
it will only be for about one hour).
These practices are mandatory,
if the candidate does not attend,
they will not be able to be confirmed. |
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TEEN OF THE MONTH
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Congratulations to Nicholas
“Hammie” Hamilton for being
named as our first “Teen of
the Month” for April. This
is an award presented by the
Holy Name Society/Men’s Club
of St. Matthew. Through
their dedication to
acknowledge the
accomplishments of the youth
in our St. Matthew
Community, they are
recognizing one or more of
our Parish teens every month
for some good and positive
accomplishments that he
and/or she has done here at
St. Matthew. To be
nominated for this award the
teen or teens must be
actively involved in the St.
Matthew Parish. Nominations
can be made through Michelle
Weekley at the Admin
Building. The “Teen of the
Month” will be presented a
certificate of appreciation
and awarded $25.00. |
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For more information
come to the
the
Youth Ministry
webpage.
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The Miter and the Minaret
Reflections of a Catholic Deacon in a Muslim Country
If you missed
reading Deacon Norman Kutschenreuter's series "The Miter
and the Minaret - Reflections of a Catholic Deacon in a Muslim
Country"
- it's now available online. Click the below links and begin
reading the series now or save the files to your computer for
later reading.
The Miter
and the Minaret:
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JOIN MSGR. MIKE ON A CRUISE
FUND RAISER FOR ST. MATTHEW
Our St. Matthew Western Caribbean
Cruise was so well liked that we decided to
Cruise Alaska's Inside Passage for 2008. Our 7-day cruise
departs San Antonio on June 18, 2008. $2,059 Interior
Stateroom, $2,359 Ocean view Stateroom, $2,659 Balcony
Stateroom. Prices are per person based on double occupancy.
Triple and Quad pricing are available on request. Prices
include: Round-Trip air from San Antonio, the Cruise, all
Government Fees/taxes, Cancellation Insurance, Pre-Paid
Gratuities and a $35 donation to St. Matthew Parish. Pricing
from other cities is available on request. Call your Family and
Friends to join you for this trip of a Lifetime. Click
here to see a few pictures from
the
July 2007 Fund Raising Cruise to the
Western Caribbean.
For more information about the
2008 Alaskan Cruise call or e-mail Esther or Roger Rubio
at 210-691-8936 or
rogerrubio@sbcglobal.net.
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HAS YOUR STATUS
CHANGED?
A new name? A
change of address, home phone or work number? Maybe a new
addition or deletion to the family? If so, be sure
to let the Church Office know. A Call
478-5014.
It’s important to keep our records current.
ATTENTION YOUNG ADULTS
Did you grow up in St. Matthew’s
Parish? Have you moved away from home? Gotten married? Perhaps
have a family of your own now? Many of our young adults are
still registered with their parents. If you do have a change of
status, please contact the Administration Office, 478-5014. Our
priests and staff can serve you better if our parish records are
up-to-date. Thank you.
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THIS IS NOT US!
Again people in the
parish are receiving a solicitation from a community in Tulsa OK
with a prayer rug. THIS IS NOT US! Msgr. Mike has
received numerous phone calls from both parishioners and
non-parishioners in regards to requests from “St. Matthew’s
Churches, Tulsa OK”. This group is NOT AFFILIATED with
our own parish and it is not a Catholic group. There is no
connection between this solicitation and our own St. Matthew.
A suggestion:
Utilize an Elvis Presley song – Return To Sender!
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