Next Steps & Your Help
Next Steps for this Newsletter
Moving Forward
Being a full-time student in my current situation has definitely pushed me to be more creative both in how I share the Gospel and in my work for renewal in the Church. I am considering rebranding this Substack with the aim of exploring what true renewal looks like. Its central purpose would be to empower each of you to be leading from the pews. The Holy Spirit has recently clarified and broadened my understanding of renewal, and I feel compelled to write about it. I haven’t yet determined what form that will take, but I sense a shift is happening. I will keep posting scriptural and spiritual reflections, in addition to whatever else comes. I think my ideas have matured enough to finally start tackling the book on renewal, governance, and spirituality I’ve been wanting to write, so I’ll likely put some of those ideas here as a test balloon. The more concrete feedback you can provide on what connects and what doesn’t, the more it will help me clarify where the Lord is leading.
Ways You Can Help
While the nature of this form of communication is mostly one-directional, there are ways that, even in this venue, we can work together in service of The Great Commission:
Living out of the Dominican charism, study is an important way I continue to spread the Gospel and serve the Church. Beyond that, spiritual direction and writing are the other primary ways I engage the world with a missionary spirit. That’s why I’d like to connect with more people who might find something beneficial in these writings. Please encourage others to sign up for this Substack and share with them messages you think could help or inspire them. Spread the word that I’m writing here and tell people they should sign up. I know there are people in some of my former parishes who would be interested, but simply don’t know this exists. I just activated an easier domain name for the page, so you can simply send them to fathermatthew.net and they will get here.
I’ve added a tab on the main page labeled “Request Mass Intentions.” Most of the daily Masses I celebrate don’t have an assigned intention, and I know some people struggle to find free intentions at their parish. Additionally, as I continue my studies, Mass stipends are a helpful resource. Other methods I’ve tried for requesting intentions were too complicated, but this approach is simple and clear. Please consider making regular Mass intentions and sharing this with others who might want to request them. All the information on how to do so is located on the main page of fathermatthew.net.
When I’m preaching or teaching, it’s fairly easy to gauge how people are responding and adjust the message accordingly. There is much less immediate feedback when writing. So... tell me what you need to hear! What are you struggling with? What is casting a shadow on your heart? What specific things connect with you, and what things have I gotten wrong? Add a comment to any post, and I’ll see it and use that to inform future writing.
A Word of Thanks
I want to again thank each one of you for your support and prayers. Jesus has been increasingly present to me, and I am grateful for the work of renewal that He is doing within my own heart. That, of course, is where real renewal starts - the heart of a disciple.
Those who are more focused on the evils within the Church rather than the evils within their own heart will end up fixing neither. The priority of the interior life is the sine qua non of renewal in the Church. But if I’m being honest, I know I’ve too often made the mistake of pointing outward rather than inward.
In the end, maybe we should shift the focus away from renewing our church and, like the saints who were powerful agents of renewal, prioritize renewing our own hearts.
That’s my goal for myself, and I need God’s grace, and your help, to achieve it.