Rev. Mr. Matthew Colle ’22 (Green Bay) rejoices with his family following his ordination to the diaconate at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral (Green Bay, WI).
“On the Lips of Children… You Have Found Perfect Praise” REV. MR. MATTHEW COLLE ‘22, DIOCESE OF GREEN BAY
O
ne week after my ordination to the diaconate on June 20, I began my summer assignment at St. Clare Parish in Askeaton, Greenleaf, and Wrightstown, Wisconsin. I had the opportunity to serve as deacon at every Mass and to preach at half of the daily and weekend Masses over the nine-week assignment. It was both a great blessing and challenge to preach to the faithful of St. Clare. Seeing that the parish was rural farm territory like my home parish, I was able to relate well with the people. Yet, despite the familiar small-town feel, the names were foreign to me. The saying,
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The Pontifical North American College
“People do not care who you are until they know you care,” I believe rings truer in a small farming community than anywhere else. How could I connect with the parishioners in such a short time so that the words I preach from the ambo were taken to heart? Two days after the end of my summer parish assignment, I returned to the parish for the church picnic. Visiting with a young family that I had come to know over the summer, I learned that James, their four-year-old boy, had asked about me earlier that day. “Mom, where is Matt going?” His mom thought that he was talking
about a cousin named Matt, but he said, “No, Matt from Church.” He had missed me already after two days. He was happy to see me, and I was glad to see him. He gave me a high five, too! During the assignment, I spent a significant amount of time crafting my homilies in order to relate the mysteries of Christ’s life and our salvation to the faithful. However, I doubt James caught the main themes of my homilies. Still, in calling me “Matt from Church,” he perhaps saw the mystery of Christ’s life working in my own through the Sacrament of Orders. n
