30th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

October 23, 2016 Saturday, October 22 4:30PM Bernard J. Murray III Sunday, October 23

7:30AM James M. Williams 9:30AM Edward Duff 11:30AM Lois Fenerty Mary Miller Monday, October 24 8:15AM Daniel Vuotto Tuesday, October 25 8:15AM Lorraine Charlesworth Wednesday, October 26 8:15AM Marcy Wolfington Thursday, October 27 8:15AM Daniel Vuotto Friday, October 28 8:15AM Marie Golas Saturday, October 29 4:30PM John & Mary Kilgallon Elizabeth B. Pettine Sunday, October 30

7:30AM Christopher Mastrocola (50th Birthday) 9:30AM Michael Zadroga 11:30AM Bernard Murray Sr, Dorothy Murray & Bernard Murray Jr. Pray for the sick: Tom Tone, David Talone, JoAnn LaSorsa, Marie

Carney, Greg Atkinson, Sophie Grabowski, Msgr. Robert Grudowski,

Anthony Bonanno, Joanne Toth, Theresa Lenczewski, Luke Birkhead,

Erik Kozlowski, Marlene Salkowski, Roselie Partenheimer, John Walski,

Carl Reiff, Joseph Blaszczak, Patrick Kelly, Sean McGonagle, Mary

Pierce, Brian Dunlevy, Sr. Jean Streibig, Stephanie Hathaway, Charles

Streibig, Theresa McGrath, Kylie Reiff, Nikki Dolan, Joseph Rozecki,

Betty DiCola, Shawn Gallen, Eduardo Gloria, Molly Glick, Deb Smith,

Ann Campbell, Francina Capolingua, Cathy Pierlott, Lynn Bowman,

James Sousa, James Gauger, Emilia Bello Jones, Rita VanBuskirk,

Caroline Smerecki, Joan Pierce, Kevin Miller, Mike Ancin, Rylan Borys,

Susan Minnick, Ann Greco, Jessica Jara, Leanne Purcell, Joe Lotito,

Matt McNamee, Kendall Soltys, Concezio Lelii, William McGrath, Carl

Pierce, Ursula Kozlowski, Benedetto McDaniels, Kevin Kelly, Emily

Armstrong, Charles Lare, Joanne Kalacinski, Mary DiMedio, Sue

Stephan, Anna Marie Ferrier, Mary Stoffel, Jeri McClennen, John

Boccella, Felicia Rzeznik, Jim Bokoski, Hans Pawling, Margie Burghart,

Jack Susskind, Kristen Lafferty, Claudia Geppert, Thomas Waszena,

Debbie Miller Hannon, Barbara Laranko, Robert Berk, Irene Barnes,

Anna Marie Berry, Emma Forlini, Paul & Family, John Dalton, Edward

Clinton, Dennis Frattore, Tommy Ruddy, Joseph Januzelli

Joanne Mascio

Staff Sgt Daniel Furtak, Lt. Michelle R. McNally, SSKC Terence J. McNally Jr., Sgt. Robert Bonneau, Andrew Midgett, Jonathan Staats, Col. Shawn McGinley, Lt. Col Evah McGinley, The 108

th Wing McGuire AFB,

Matthew Horning, 1st Lt. Stanley J. Reimer III, SR Brett Pellicciotti, LCPL Thomas Mazzochetti, Robert Catapano U.S. Army 101

st Airborne, Michael Bondra,

Senior Airman Jacob Shoemaker.

CELEBRANTS MASS SCHEDULE 10/22 4:30 Fr. Heron 10/23 7:30 Fr. Heron 9:30 Fr. Ryan 11:30 Fr. McGuinn 10/29 4:30 Fr. McGuinn 10/30 7:30 Msgr. Owens 9:30 Fr. Heron 11:30 Fr. Ryan

Pre-Jordan Instructions: The Sacrament of Baptism is administered in church on the first three Sundays of each month following the 11:30 A.M. Mass. In preparation for having a child Baptized, parents are required to attend “Pre-Jordan Instructions.”

Classes are the 1st Tuesday of each month. The next

class is Tuesday, November 8 at 7PM in church. You will be required to attend a class if this is the Baptism of your first child. To schedule your Baptism go to www.stmatthewparish.com

All Souls Day Service of RemembranceAll Souls Day Service of RemembranceAll Souls Day Service of RemembranceAll Souls Day Service of Remembrance ““““Remember, Reflect, RejoiceRemember, Reflect, RejoiceRemember, Reflect, RejoiceRemember, Reflect, Rejoice”””” Saint MatthewSaint MatthewSaint MatthewSaint Matthew ChurchChurchChurchChurch

Wednesday, November 2, 2016Wednesday, November 2, 2016Wednesday, November 2, 2016Wednesday, November 2, 2016 Mass 7:00pmMass 7:00pmMass 7:00pmMass 7:00pm

AnAnAnAn Evening of Prayer to give thanks for allEvening of Prayer to give thanks for allEvening of Prayer to give thanks for allEvening of Prayer to give thanks for all who havewho havewho havewho have

gone before us…gone before us…gone before us…gone before us…

“We loved them during life. “We loved them during life. “We loved them during life. “We loved them during life.

May our prayers accompany them now into May our prayers accompany them now into May our prayers accompany them now into May our prayers accompany them now into the House of God.” the House of God.” the House of God.” the House of God.”

Holy Day Mass Schedule – All Saints Day November 1st - 8:15 AM – 12 Noon – 7PM NO VIGIL MASS ON MONDAY OCT 31st.

CCD

First Penance will be on March 13, 2017 at 6:30PM in church First Holy Communion will be on Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 11AM Confirmation will be on Sunday, April 2, 2017 AT 3PM

Notice Class Change for CCD

Nov. 27th will be class #12

December 4 is cancelled ...all invited to Breakfast with Santa after 9:30 Mass. Thank you

takes place every Sunday at the 9:30AM Mass. All children are invited from the altar to the sacristy to share in a child-like

presentation of the Readings of the Day. They return after the Prayer of the Faithful. Parents and older siblings are encouraged to accompany younger children.

ALTAR SERVERS: Are you 10 years old or older? Do you want to help in the parish? Join the St. Matthew’s Altar Servers. If you are interested email stmatthewrectory@verizon.net.

PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY: We most ‘warmly’ invite you to be a part of this Ministry by meeting with us in the St. Vincent DePaul room Tuesday, November 8 at 7PM. If you know of someone who might like to receive a shawl,

please let us know-or make one yourself for someone special to you. Contact Alice O’Connor acaoc@verizon.net St. Matthew Book Club:

We will discuss 2 books of a spiritual nature; St. Francis of Assisi by GK Chesterton (October 26) and He Leadeth

Me by Father Walter Cizek (November 30). Meetings are held in the new Parish Center at 7 PM, ending at 8:15 PM. Enter

the Parish Center by way of the door nearest the front door of the Rectory. Come to listen to see if such a gathering is for you. We will return to our menu of fiction in January. Reading lovers unite!

WOMEN’S CATHOLIC BIBLE STUDY Walking with Purpose is a Catholic women’s bible study

that meets once a week to discuss Scripture as it relates to our everyday lives. If you are at all curious or just interested in meeting an amazing diverse group of women with one thing in common, the love of Christ, please join us for

coffee and lite bites on Wednesday, November 16th

at 6:30 PM in the St. Matthews Parish Center on Fayette Street, Conshohocken. Feel free to come alone or bring a friend, we’re a very welcoming group! Questions, please contact Judy Kukowski at JAKukowski@verizon.net or 610-331-2147. ST. MARY’S GOLDEN AGE CLUB: Meets every Thursday at St. Mary’s Church Hall. Three-dollar fee. Play Cards 9:00 AM Snacks 10 AM Lunch 11 AM Play Bingo 12 – 2:30 PM. Casino Trips: scheduled for the 2

nd Tuesday of each

month: November 8 & December 13. Bus leaves 9:00 AM from 11

th & Fayette, 9:15 AM from 3rd & Fayette, 9:30 AM

from St. Mary’s. Call Joe (610-825-4596). St. Matthew Senior Group: We will resume our monthly

meeting on November 16 at 12:30PM. We will meet in our new location at the St Matthew Parish Center. Any questions or concerns, or any new

member who would like to join, please call Pat Hanna@ 610-272-3610 or Kitty McNally @ 610-306-5575.

legacyoflifefoundation.org

For information about our

Matching Gift Program,

Legacy Alive Tours, or

Volunteering

please call

215-788-4051 25 S. Main Street #217

Yardley, PA 19067

October 16, 2016 WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR OFFERTORY

GIFTS LAST WEEKEND:

$13,942.00 Electronic giving $1,900.00 + $12,042.00 = $13,942.00 Second Collection: The 2

nd collection is for the

Missions.

Block Collection and Parish Census The Annual Block Collection has been mailed. The Collection is an integral part of our commitment to God and our Parish which is accomplished through Stewardship. The Census allows you to tell the Parish about your family, what

changes may have taken place and update the records of the Parish. Many, Many thanks to our parishioners who have generously contributed to this appeal. The total amount to date is $40,372.00.

ELECTRONIC GIVING: Parish Giving is convenient

for you and there is NO COST for you to participate.

Contact Deacon Mike Kubiak at

deacon.mike.kubiak@comcast.net to register www.parishgiving.org or

www.stmatthewparish.com

Dear Father Heron: We are very grateful to you, Diane Simonetti and your parishioners for the donations made through Respect Life activities at St. Matthew. Your great people donated $1,375. We are so blessed by our

partnership with Guiding Star Ministries our maternity home in Germantown. We continue to make improvements to the building so that we can accommodate the women and children who need our help. We rely fully on the generosity of our pro-life community, so please know how thankful we are to you for allowing us to raise funds through pro-life activities at St. Matthew. Gratefully, Edel Finnegan

The Knights of Columbus JFK Council 4153 invites you to an open

House at our home association quarters on Sunday, October 30 from

2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Meet members of the Knights, and find out about our

fraternal organization and some of the good works we are doing for the

local community. Our council home is located at 1019 Germantown

Pike, Plymouth Meeting (behind Plymouth Opticians). Refreshments

(beer, wine and soda) and snacks will be served; we’ll have a TV with

football games, too. For further info, call or email Mike McGuire @ 267-

524-2371 – michael.mcguire@regeneron.com

Please note the Parish Center Office has an entrance on Fayette St. Enter through the iron gate before you get to Tony & Joe’s Pizza.

This month St. Matthew Parish

will support mothers and babies

through the Baby Bottles for Life Fundraiser for the Legacy

of Life Foundation. On the

weekend of October 15/16,

every parishioner had the

opportunity to help fill a bottle

with cash, checks, and spare change and help change a life! Please

take one home, fill it with coins, cash, or checks, and return it to church

when you come to mass

on October 29 & 30th. Legacy of Life

Foundation funds two

crisis pregnancy centers

in Bucks County and

Philadelphia that serve

over 500 families who

cannot provide for simple

baby supplies. Many of the women who come through our doors believe they have no choice but abortion. They may feel scared, alone, and totally overwhelmed, not sure what to do, and may have no one to talk to.

The centers provide free services such as pregnancy testing,

counseling, ultrasounds, and advocacy, as well as material and financial

support for women so that they are able to receive the truth about their

choice and be freed from fear. Our support does not stop there! We provide support and advocacy for women for the 9 months of pregnancy, and for at least three years after their babies are born! In 2015 alone, with God’s grace, 386 women were saved from abortion at our centers, and over 334, and counting, have chosen life this year! We are asking that you help us fill the bottles with checks, coins

or bills. Volunteers will be available to collect your gifts. Any checks should be made payable to Legacy of Life Foundation

with a memo “St. Matthew Bottles”.

Thank you for your support!

WARM HEARTS-WARM BODIES: Coldwell Banker Preferred, 1207 Fayette St. is a drop off point for "Warm Hearts. Warm Bodies" sponsored by the Montgomery County Assoc of Realtors. ALL size gently used or new coats are appreciated. Please clean out your closets & help the less fortunate"

St. Matthew Cemetery: The new lots in the “St. Patrick Section" of the cemetery are selling fast. Not many remain. For any information on securing one of these lots please contact: Deacon Mike Kubiak at 610-828-0424 or email deacon.mike.kubiak@comcast.net

NEW HOURS FOR FOOD CUPBOARD: The food Cupboard will be open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.

Fr. Tom Heron’s Weekly Reflection Sirach 35:12-14.16-18 Psalm 34 2 Timothy 4:6-8.16-18 Luke 18: 9-14

Two men went to the same Temple. They went for the same reason to pray. Yet they experienced very different results. Let’s focus on how these two men prayed. The Pharisee expects God’s favor and attention. Why? He tells us he is not grasping, crooked, adulterous. He pays tithes. He fasts twice a week. He wasn’t lying. He was simply patting himself on the back. He didn’t go to the Temple to enter into a real communion with God. He went to parade his piety. He didn’t go to the Temple to listen but to expound. He offers praise, but not to God, only to himself. He asks for nothing because he figures he needs nothing. The tax collector, too, expects God’s favor and attention. Why? He tells us why. AAAAI am a sinner!@@@@ The tax collector recognizes that he does not have the power to save himself but only God does. He knew he had fallen under the wrong power and influence. He wants to change all that. His ultimate loyalty could no longer be to the Roman government but to God. There is probably a little of the Pharisee in all of us. Here we are in church. We all know of many in our family, among our friends and neighbors, who are home in bed and have not been on speaking terms with God for a long time. Chalk one up for us, right? It is very easy for the Pharisee in us to begin to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. We always find someone who doesn’t live up to our standards, someone who isn’t doing things the way we think they should be done. The tax collector’s prayer came from his heart. It was genuine. It echoes Psalm 145, verse 18: “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him in truth.” The tax collector was honest with regards to his needs before God. That is why God heard his prayer. It was an honest admission of guilt. He called upon God in truth and begged to be forgiven. He went home justified in God’s eyes. The Pharisee did not, despite all his good works, because he did not recognize that it was God Who gave him the grace to do good. He focused on himself, not on God. Saint Paul boasts, too. But Paul’s boasting is about the Lord: “The Lord stood by my side, gave me strength, saved me from the lion’s jaw, continues to rescue me...to Him be glory for ever and ever.” The Book of Sirach lists those who have a special claim on God’s favor: the weak, the oppressed, the orphans, the widows. These are the ones no one paid any attention to. They had no one else to turn to for help. They were without power and could rely only on the power of God.

Reflections from my Rocking Chair Dear Friends,

Be alert! Commercial Christmas would once more want to

crush Thanksgiving Day and the Advent season in favor of buying “stuff”

for Christmas. I am writing my plea to celebrate Advent and Christmas

in a spiritual way a bit earlier than usual: my first glimpse of commercial

Christmas was on September 24 at Lowe’s and, then, on October 3, I

saw a Christmas tree decorated and lit in the window of a home in town.

Liturgically, the church celebrates four weeks of the Advent

season to quiet our senses and grow hungry spiritually for the coming of

the Christ child.

Consider some spiritual Advent strategies:

Be sure to send Christmas cards that picture the coming of

Christ or some aspect of his Nativity. A recent family photo with

Seasons Greetings, or chestnuts roasting on an open fire just don’t cut

it. A real Christmas card is a way of evangelizing -reminding folks of the

true meaning of the season.

Somewhere in your decorations should be an honored place

for the crèche – the birth scene in Bethlehem. An Advent wreath can be

placed on the dinner table, one candle for each Sunday of Advent. Light

one candle each week.

At least on the inside of your home wait until December 17 to

put out Christmas decorations. On that day the readings from Scripture

at Mass turn toward contemplating the events leading up to his birth.

Having a quiet atmosphere inside the home during the 1st phase of

Advent sets the stage for the festive nature of Christmas. If the

decorations come up too early, we tire of them by Christmas Day and

take them down before the feast of the Epiphany.

The birth of the Christ child awakens in us a deeper

sensitivity to the needs of the poor. Perhaps your family could shop

together for a toy to donate or a gift of food be sent to the Missionaries

of Charity hospice in Norristown. Given the tragic plight of those fleeing

war, make a donation to Catholic Relief Services to assist them in their

work for families in places far away- in Syria, Iraq and sadly in too many

other parts of the world. “Peace on earth” should not become a vacant

catchphrase.

While I recommend decorating inside only after December 17,

I encourage outdoor lights as soon as possible in Advent. The lights

symbolize the light of Christ and are a sign of hopefulness. Take time

for spiritual reading and plan to attend Mass during the week wherever

and whenever possible. Peace on earth might well cause us to look

within – at the restlessness, at our sins. The child to be born is the very

reconciliation of God. Be sure to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance

that God’s peace might reign in your heart. Jesus is the most exquisite

gift you will ever receive. Our gift giving at Christmas is inspired by the

gift of Jesus. The Christmas mystery should be awe-inspiring. It is that

for those who are spiritually prepared.

Blessings, Msgr. Owens

END OF BULLETIN