Regular Devotions

Holy Rosary

20 minutes before daily Mass

Divine Mercy Tuesday after the 7 PM Mass

Our Lady of Fatima 3rd Monday of the month 6:30-7 PM

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Saturday after the 9 AM Mass

First Friday After the 8 AM Mass -

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament 12:00 noon Benediction

6:25 PM—Holy Rosary

Sunday, July 12, 2020

PARISH OFFICE

Rev. Tien Tran, Pastor ttran@rcav.org; frtientran9@gmail.com

Rev. Lucio Choi, Asst. Pastor lchoi@rcav.org

604-589-2083 Rectory

Office Hours: Tuesday to Friday 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM

604-589-2448 office@saintmatthews.ca

Parish Admin: Ms. Caroline P. Mrazek Mrs. Stephanie Chessell Mrs. Anna G. De Leon Bookkeeper: Mrs. Melanie A. Narvaez P.R.E.P.: Mrs. Trish Van Vliet prep@saintmatthews.ca Maintenance: Mr. Lorne Ward lorne@saintmatthews.ca

Elementary School: 604-589-7545 www.stmatthewselementary.ca Preschool: 604-589-1222

REGULAR MASS TIMES

SUNDAY: English Masses - 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, 12:30 PM, 7:30 PM; Vietnamese Mass 5 PM; African: Last Sunday 12:30 PM (Mass in English with African Choir)

SATURDAY: 9:00 AM / Anticipated Mass at 5:30 PM

WEEKDAYS: Monday to Friday (except TUESDAY) 8:00 AM Tuesday 7:00 PM Friday Night—Mass at 7:00 PM (Vietnamese) ***except First Friday (in English)

CONFESSIONS Half an hour before mass, pls. advise the usher

for a priest to be called. OR, call or email the office to book an appointment.

OFFICE AND CHURCH CLOSED ON MONDAYS FOR CLEANING

SUNDAY MASS REGISTRATION St. Matthew’s regular Mass schedule will continue to be live streamed on our YouTube channel. The obligation to attend Sunday Mass remains lift-ed by the Archbishop. Parishioners are required to register in advance by clicking https://saintmatthews.ca/pages/mass-registration or by phoning the parish office. Registration for all weekend Masses opens on Tuesdays at 10am and closes each Friday at 7:00 pm. Please do not register for more than one Sunday Mass every two weeks (including Saturday Anticipated Mass) so we can accommodate more people.

(see additional guidelines inside)

St. Matthew’s R.C. Parish 16079 88 Avenue, Surrey, B.C. V4N 1G3 Tel: (604) 589-2448 Fax: (604) 589-2344

Website: www.saintmatthews.ca

APPEAL TO OUR PARISHIONERS:

Please be mindful that the hymn books in the pews are not toys.

Please take a minute to restore them in the right order in the pews.

Garbage should be disposed of in receptacles provided.

ATTENTION NEWCOMERS AND NON-REGISTERED PARISHIONERS: Please take the time to fill out our Parish Registration Form found behind the counter by the Parish Office, if you have not done so yet. Thank you.

By appointment with a minimum of 2 months’ notice (during pregnancy) so that instructions can be given to parents and god-parents about the duties and responsibilities assumed in this Sacrament. A minimum of 6 months’ notice with one of the parties regis-tered in the parish and practicing his/her faith. The Marriage Preparation course is mandatory. Please ask for “Guidelines for the Celebration of Marriage”. Please call the parish office before making arrangements.

BAPTISM:

MARRIAGE:

FUNERALS:

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Stewardship Reflection

Focus on the Good

Some of you may have seen a set of sculp-tures resembling three human heads. One

head had hands over the ears, one had hands over the eyes, and one had hands over

the mouth. Of course, they depicted the phrase, “Hear no evil; see no evil; speak no evil.” These images were repeated many times since then, usually as the monkey

heads from a Japanese proverb. Apparently, there is no consensus about the full meaning

or certain origin of these three images nor the phrase. At the very least, it causes us to reflect on the need to avoid evil and look for

the good in things.

There are more people who live their lives in a contrary manner to these images. It is not that they seek evil, but it is as if they “see no

good, hear no good, and speak no good.” Gossiping is the way they pass the time, and

they always seem to find the negative in people and situations. Being a good steward certainly means that we do not seek evil, but

more than that, it means that we see the abundance of good things all around us.

These gifts of God are big and little, profound and ordinary. By seeing the world in this

way, we begin to change our personalities and our overall disposition. We always need

to follow a new proverb: see all the good, hear all the good, and speak about the good.

Amen.

-Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS

LIVE THE LITURGY Any good farmer will tell you that regardless of how good the quality of the seed, its sprouting and bearing of effective fruit is dependent upon the quality of the soil. Preparing the soil is one of the most essential components of farming. There is no doubt that the seed of God’s Word will eventually achieve its purpose. God cannot and will not fail. When and how that seed bears fruit is, however, dependent upon us. What is the quality and condition of your soil? Life’s concerns and preoccupa-tions can cause us to become inattentive to our inner life. This sometimes unintentional neglect can result in our soil becom-ing hard, overgrown with weeds, rocky, parched, and lifeless. When God’s seed is sown, it doesn’t always take root because it struggles to establish roots and flourish. How can you more attentively attend to the soil of your heart so that it will be a fertile and vital place for the fruit of the Gospel to grow?

Using the best seeds doesn’t always guarantee the best plants. An older Italian gentleman straight from Italy gave me these amazing toma-to seeds that he claimed produced the best tomatoes ever grown. Without doubt, the fruit he shared with me was a testament to that fact. These tomatoes were amazing! I couldn’t wait until the next growing season to plant these seeds and harvest my own tomatoes. The whole experiment ended up a failure. I did everything the gentleman said, but my fruit didn’t even come close. What happened? At first I was per-plexed, then some years later the light dawned. The problem wasn’t the seeds, it was the soil! You cannot sow seeds in any old place and in a haphazard way and expect them to be at their best. It doesn’t work that way. Planting the seeds is the easiest part. Preparing the soil is the challenge. Tilling, mulching, enriching, and build-ing up the nutrients are all required for good

fruit. Then after the seeds are planted, more care is required in order to maintain that healthy, nutrient rich environment for those seeds to sprout, grow, and flourish. God happily sows the seeds of his Word. What do we do with them? If we expect to be a passive bystander and have good fruit magically grow, we are mistaken. Bearing the good fruit of God’s Word requires preparation and work. We have to cultivate the soil of our lives so that those seeds can find a proper home. This one thing alone takes a great deal of patience, time, and effort. What kind of preparation have we put into our lives so that we can be a recipient of God’s seed? It takes a great deal of soul-searching and ego-checking to properly prepare. God is the ever faithful and persistent sower. If the seeds do not bear fruit the first time, God will come back time and time again, giving it another try. If we have created a suitable bed for sowing, then once the seed is sown, we must properly maintain them. What is our maintenance plan for the seeds of God’s Word? We need not only a source for water but a watering schedule. We need to weed, aerate the soil, nurture the young plants, protect them, and provide proper nutrients. What does our spiritual mainte-nance plan look like? If we have done all things well, imagine what the seeds of God’s Word could produce in us!

CONTACT LIST—ST. MATTHEW’S PARISH MINISTRIES African Community Ms. Tina Obiwumma aneledom@hotmail.ca Altar Servers Mrs. Teodora Suzuki teodora.suzuki@gmail.com Altar Women Mrs. Zenaide Teixeira / 604-582-8818 Mrs. Margaret Pereira BLD Community M/M Lito & Lulu Imperial jimperial324@live.com Bible Study Mrs. Gail Estrada bible_study@live.com Catholic Women’s League Mrs. Louise Klaponski klaponsk@telus.net Catholic Young Adults of Surrey (CYAS) Fr. Lucio Choi lchoi@rcav.org Choirs: Fri 7 PM Mr. Hahn Nguyen henryq.nguyen@yahoo.ca Sat 5:30 PM Mr. Danilo Bernabe dannybernabe9@gmail.com Sun 8:30 AM Mrs. Kathleen Grosjean grosjean@shaw.ca 10:30 AM Mr. Peter Luongo sluongo@telus.net 12:30 PM Mr. Homer Garcia-Reyes askmymusic@rocketmail.com (last Sunday) 12:30 PM Ms. Tina Obiwuma aneledom@hotmail.ca 5 PM Mr. Vincent Nguyen vien4cdsurrey@gmail.com 7:30 PM Ms. Nannette Lenoue-Guze nannettelg@gmail.com Couples for Christ M/M Cris & Ophel Quidasol cris_quidasol@icloud.com Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion Mrs. Deborah Joel djoel@positec.com Fifty Plus Group Mr. Andre Maris anne_andre_maris@telus.net Greeters & Gift Bearers Mrs. Stella Lemos stella.lemos15@gmail.com Hospitality Committee Mrs. Maureen Fadum mgfadum@gmail.com Knights of Columbus Mr. Richard Thompson grandknight@shaw.ca Lectors Mr. Jon Javier jon2ejavier@yahoo.com Legion of Mary Mrs. Carmen Caballero 604-589-2448 Liturgy of the Word for Children Mrs. Nenita Capili capilin@shaw.ca Our Lady of Fatima Mrs. Germana Brotto grbrotto@gmail.com Pro Life Ministry Mrs. Teresa Gares tgares@live.com Parish Education Committee Mrs. Katrina Bellosillo katrina.amurao@gmail.com Parish Pastoral Council Mr. Bill Bouwman bouwbill@gmail.com R.C.I.A. Fr. Lucio Choi lchoi@rcav.org St. Matthew’s Prayer Group Ms. Christie Castro christie1225@hotmail.com St. Matthew’s Soup Kitchen Mrs. Belle Carson bellecarson@hotmail.com St. Vincent de Paul Society Mr. Eric Andres 604-589-2448 Sports Ministry (Basketball) Mr. Marlowe Billedo marlowe25@hotmail.com Sports Ministry (Volleyball) Mr. Tot Phan totphan@gmail.com Ushers Mr. Doug Thomas dougjamesthomas@hotmail.com Vietnamese Community Mr. Hoang Minh Nguyen nhoang682@gmail.com

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Civil & Criminal Litigation Needs Last Wills, Agreements and Contracts

Ransiri Fernando

Barrister & Solicitor 604 767 9520

rfernando@kaushallaw.com

Rescheduled for November 20, 2020. Tickets for April 30 will be honored. Tickets are available at St. Matthew’s Parish Office for $35.

PREP (Parish Religious Education Program) Dear PREP Families: I hope you are all doing well and staying safe during this time of uncertainty. A Big THANK YOU to all the catechists and assistants who shared their faith with the young people of our parish. We are so blessed to have such an amazing group of people! PREP Registration will be available in the coming weeks - watch for details on the parish website. We will be offering on-line pay-ment as well for the first time ever! We anticipate classes to begin October 7th. Early bird rates will apply. How classes will be administered is to be determined. Paper registration forms will be available in the folder marked PREP outside the parish office and can be dropped off during office hours or put into the parish mailbox. Sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation will be held in the Fall. Dates and times to be determined as restrictions and guidelines are released. Catechists & Assistants – I will be sending out a survey in the coming weeks with some questions concerning our fall classes. Please do not hesitate to contact the PREP office via email or telephone with any questions or concerns. I look forward to seeing you all again soon, until then....many blessings to you all for a Safe and Healthy Summer.

Trish Van Vliet—prep@saintmatthews.ca or call 604-589-2448 ext. 233

CWL Corner The Catholic Women’s League of Canada presents the Online Summer Speaker Series! August 10-14, 2020. Join members from across Canada as the League presents the Summer Speaker Series—a focus on Care for Our Common Home, Women in the Church and the League of the Future. These are the speakers that would have presented at the 100th National CWL Convention in Montreal this summer. Please note each webinar

requires a separate online registration. There is no charge! See… https://cwl.ca/summer-speaker-series-registration/

St. Matthew’s Prayer Group During this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, the prayer group meets every Mondays (via Zoom) from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm to experience God’s love in a personal way through the power of the Holy Spirit. We invite you to join us, experi-ence the peace and joy in praise and worship through spiritual music and songs. You can also email your prayer re-quests to SPMGPrayerline@hotmail.com and this prayer community will join in praying for your request. Please

send us a note when your prayer is answered. Thank you!

Into the Deep: The Incarnational Nature of the Church with special guest Archbishop Miller COVID-19 deprived many of the faithful of ready access to the Sacraments. In this context, Archbish-op Miller will examine the importance of receiving the Eucharist and gathering physically as a com-munity in our parishes, what the pandemic can teach us about the importance of the sacramental life and the reality of the Incarnational nature of the Church, and why we should invite people to return to the parish family. Join us on Zoom Friday, July 24 from 7 - 8:30 p.m. Register at behold-vancouver.org/events/2981.

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Desiree & Virgilio Pino; Ryker Slaney; Carol Ward; Liz Da Costa; Erwin & Annemarie Belgardt; Tommy Contreras; Walter Slaney; Victor Miller; Gerry Della Mattia; Daisy Rodriguez; Thea Luyten; Nora Bawasanta; Julie Cunning-ham; Helen Stote; Rosa Villarama; Elmer Kachur; Horst & Elsa Seliger;

Romualdo Nicdao; Josefina & Teodulfo Hosain; Nenita Cabilan; Dr. Demetrio Tamparia; Loida Tobias; Angelita Correa; Edgardo Olivares; Alex; Anton Carriedo; Ilse Van Brakel; Madge Vecchio; David Keenan; Alberto Ordonez; Carl Erveen Santa Ana; Colleen Salm-on; Teresita Dimaano; Jean-Pierre Pesch; Marie Petines; Irene Collingwood; Karen Guinto; Felix Djuhari; Bill Cabading; Sueann Zore; Andrew Stephens; Jason De Leon Priority on this list is given to parishioners, as space permits. Names will be removed from time to time. If you submit a name to the Prayer List, it is your responsibility to inform the office should his/her circumstances change.

Were you married outside the Catholic Church? If you are married, but were not married in the Catholic church, we would like to offer you an opportunity to have your marriage regularized with the Church. Please make an appointment with our priest to discuss having your marriage convalidated. Sacrament of the Sick. What was referred to as “Last Rites” is now called “Anointing of the Sick” administered by a priest when one is “in danger” due to sickness or old age. Please call the Parish Office to arrange. Hospital/Care Home Communion Visits. Please remember to let the Parish Office know

whenever you or a loved one is hospitalized or moved into a Fleetwood area care

home. The Parish has a dedicated group of people who will bring Holy Communion

weekly to you or yours. Please phone Deacon Raul Abella 778-512-9163 for a visit and

to receive Holy Communion.

Devotions to Our Lady of Fatima

Please recite the Holy Rosary daily

Legacy Brick Campaign Be a part of building our “Parish Centre” and leave a legacy dona-tion that will live on past your lifetime, in memory of your sup-port. We have a Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze Brick board where your contributions will be placed. Platinum is worth

$2,000 and up, Gold is $1,200.00; Silver is $600.00; and Bronze is $300.00. A donation can be a one-time donation or monthly payments through Pre-Authorized Offering Payment e.g. 12 monthly payments of $25.00 is a $300.00 Bronze Donation. When you make a donation, you will receive a “brick” to go onto one of 4 Brick Legacy boards. When the building is com-plete, these Brick Legacy boards will be placed along the wall so you can see who the builders are. The “brick” can be “in memory of” a loved one or simply a contribution from your family, organization or ministry. All do-nations stay in the Parish. Contact the Parish Office to make your Legacy Brick Donation and be part of the church builders.

GUIDELINES FOR ATTENDING SUNDAY MASS All those attending Mass do so at their own risk. It is important for individuals and families to take responsibility for protecting themselves and others. The following MUST stay home for the sake of the wider community: - People with COVID-19 or who live with someone with COVID-19. - People who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. - The sick, including those with even the slightest symptoms or feelings of sickness, espe-cially if with upper respiratory or flu-like symptoms. - Those who have recently travelled outside of Canada. The following ARE ENCOURAGED to stay home for the sake of the wider community: - People who live with someone with upper respiratory or flu-like symptoms. - People, especially the elderly, with underlying or comprised medical conditions. - Family members who live with elderly people or those who are at risk Because of the need for sanitizing, restrooms will be closed; one may be made available for an emergency. People who show up without registering for Mass will be turned away at the entrance. People who arrive late for Mass will be turned away at the entrance. Except for members of the same household, physical distancing is to be observed every-where on the church property (in the church, on the steps, in the parking lot, etc.); that is, close contact with those outside one’s household must not be within two metres of an-other person. People are not to gather in the vestibule or near the doors of the church before or after Mass. Use of face masks/coverings by parishioners at Mass and around the church is left to indi-vidual discretion, following the recommendations of provincial health authorities.