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On Saturday, June 27, at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Oakland, our own deacon, Matthew Hawkins, will be ordained a priest for the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
This past summer we were privileged to host Deacon Matthew’s diaconate ordination at St. Mary’s Church in Holy Spirit Parish. What an honor and privilege that was for our parish. Now we are looking forward to hosting a day when Fr. Matthew Hawkins will return to celebrate Mass for the first time in our parish. He has chosen the site of St. Mary’s for that Mass as that’s where he was ordained a deacon and will announce the day and time when it is scheduled.
Please join me in congratulating Deacon Matthew on his upcoming ordination and thanking him for his pastoral year of service which he provided for our parish. Deacon Matthew was with us during a very historical time of tremendous change. His priestly ordination and first Mass will be affected by the ravages of coronavirus restrictions. But when he arrived in Lawrence County, there were seven parishes and now as he leaves us to begin his life as a priest there is one parish of Holy Spirit.
For the rest of my article, I would like to invite Deacon Matthew to share a few thoughts of his own. I have also invited him in a later bulletin to elaborate much further on his experience. But for now, I would like to give him this space to say something to all of you in his own words.
God love you,
To everyone at Holy Spirit Parish,
The Prophet Jerimiah said: “The word of the LORD came to me thus: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you…’” (Jer 1:4-5). Life has its strange and unexpected twists and turns. We all have work that God is calling us to do even if it is unclear to us at the outset.
When I first visited Lawrence County to conduct in-depth interviews on behalf of the diocese, back in 2008, I had no idea that one day I would be living here. Now, Lawrence County feels like home.
The LORD is full of surprises. This is reassuring because it means that our lives are not accidental; God has an intention and a plan for all of us. Nothing is ever wasted. This also means that we must be vigilant so that we may respond to the voice of God when we least expect it.
As I prayed in the pew once occupied by Saint John Paul II during my final night at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, I felt an unworldly sense of peace offering me reassurance that God would be with me no matter what might lie ahead. I wish to share that peace with you. Each of us is called. Each of us is chosen. The LORD will accompany us every step along our journey of faith.
May God Bless you. —Deacon C. Matthew Hawkins
