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Chances are, you know Matthew’s Gospel better than you know the other three. It contains the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer. It highlights the ministry of Peter. In it, Jesus urges the disciple to works of mercy because “what you do to the least you do to me.” It records stories about the birth of Jesus, the coming of the magi, the flight into Egypt, and the slaughter of the innocents. Its account of the death of Christ thunders with an earthquake. For centuries, Matthew’s popular Gospel dominated the Scripture readings Catholics heard at Mass. But when the lectionary was revised in 1969, it became associated with the first of a three-year cycle of readings. During ordinary time of year A, we expect to hear Matthew when we attend Sunday Mass.

Most people assume that the author of this Gospel was the tax collector who decided to follow Jesus. However, this is not likely. Many Scripture scholars believe the Gospel was written late in the first century by an anonymous Jewish Christian who lived at Antioch in Syria. The author borrowed much of Mark’s Gospel– a pointless method if the writer had been an eyewitness to the events. The Gospel circulated long before the name “Matthew” became attached to it.

Matthew’s Gospel seems intended for an audience of Christians very familiar with the Jewish way of life: believers who came from a prosperous area, but who were threatened by persecution. Its central message is embedded in the title associated with Jesus at his birth, “Emmanuel,” “God is with us.” In Jesus, God is with us. To Jesus, we respond as disciples. The writer of Matthew’s Gospel is sometimes symbolized as a man or an angel, recalling the genealogy that opens the book. Even though this Gospel was probably written after Mark’s, it appears first in the New Testament and first in the lectionary cycle.

-Fr. Paul Turner

“On Sunday, our participation in the Eucharist has special importance. Sunday, like the Jewish Sabbath, is meant to be a day which heals our relationship with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world. Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, the ‘first day’ of the new creation,whose first fruits are the Lord’s risen humanity, the pledge of the final transfiguration of all created reality. It also proclaims ‘man’s eternal rest in God.’  In this way, Christian spirituality incorporates the value of relaxation and festivity.

We tend to demean contemplative rest as something unproductive and unnecessary, but this is to do away with the very thing which is most important about work: its meaning. We are called to include in our work a dimension of receptivity and gratuity, which is quite different from mere inactivity. Rather, it is another way of working, which forms part of our very essence. It protects human action from becoming empty activism; it also prevents that unfettered greed and sense of isolation which make us seek personal gain to the detriment of all else.”

What is our value or importance as Christians? St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians says: “God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise…and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong…” In our day-to-day lives, the way that we are to do this is shown in the Beatitudes, which we hear in today’s Gospel (Matthew 5:-12). Read through this list and you immediately recognize that they are not qualities that many people would choose, but they are at the heart of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Aren’t these characteristics of Jesus?  We see him showing these publically throughout the Gospels. The Beatitudes present to us a way of life that has changed the world and continues to do so. Spend some time this week reading slowly this Gospel.

The Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship Appeal has begun. Many of you may have received a letter from Cardinal Dolan asking for your support in this year’s appeal. Our church’s goal was set at $98,500 by the Archdiocese. Last year, you contributed nearly $67,000 and I am grateful to all of you who helped reach this amount. While we did not reach our goal of $100,000, I am happy that this much was contributed through your generosity. Thank you! You will be hearing more about this year’s appeal and will be receiving a letter from me soon.

-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.

“It is in the Eucharist that all that has been created finds its greatest exaltation. Grace, which tends to manifest itself tangibly, found unsurpassable expression when God became man and gave himself as food for his creatures. The Lord, in the culmination of the mystery of the Incarnation, chose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment of matter. He comes not from above, but from within, he comes that we might find him in this world of ours.

In the Eucharist, fullness is already achieved; it is the living center of the universe, the overflowing core of love and of inexhaustible life. Joined to the incarnate Son, present in the Eucharist, the whole cosmos gives thanks to God. Indeed the Eucharist is itself an act of cosmic love: ‘Yes, cosmic! Because even when it is celebrated on the humble altar of a country church, the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world.’”

We know that today many people don’t carry too much cash.  Many of us pay for our coffee or our cab with our cell phone!  The is the electronic world we live in.

Now you can TEXT your donation to St. Francis.

It’s easy, quick, secure and uses your credit or debit card.

Here’s how:

1) Type this number into your text app: 917-983-3911

2) Type the amount of your donation in the text field.

3) Hit “SEND”

4) You will receive a text confirming your donation

It’s that easy!

The first time you use the system, it will ask you to enter your credit card information.  But after the first time, you will be in the system and you can simply type the amount and save the number.

You can even add this phone number as a contact as “St. Francis Donation Number” so you will have it saved on your phone.

Give it a shot!

Hope in a Time of Anxiety, a prayerful encounter of one other’s experiences, voices, anxieties, hopes and dreams, took place in San Damiano Hall on Monday, January 16, the holiday honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Provincial Minister Fr. Kevin Mullen, O.F.M., began the evening by framing the event on the three essential reasons why the Catholic Church engages with the social order: respect for human dignity, the defense and protection of human rights, and the responsibility to make human activity meaningful.

With ample time and well-designed group instructions provided by Joseph Nuzzi, participants engaged with each other by listening to the concerns and hopes of their table mates as well as sharing their own anxieties and sources of hope as they confront the difficulties that have arisen in our country during the past eighteen months.

At the end of the discussion period, Fr. Kevin responded to questions posed by the participants. A prayer service concluded the evening during which readings were proclaimed from the prophet Micah and St. Paul. Fr. Tim Shreenan, O.F.M. read an excerpt from Pope Francis’ address to the United States Congress. Prayers were offered for those in government, for those who serve, and for the citizens of our nations, especially the poor and disenfranchised.

Meredith Augustin led the assembly in song, and Fr. Andrew Reitz,O.F.M. gave the final blessing to conclude the evening.

Thank you to everyone who participated.