Meeting Matthew

Scripture references

• Zephaniah 3:14-18
• Phillipians 4:4-7
• Luke 3:10-18

Reflection

Since this is the first weekend that the newest member of our team is spending with us, I've asked him to introduce himself to the community.  Here, therefore is the text of his introduction as well as a brief reflection based on today's scripture readings:

My name is Matthew Furgiuele, and, thanks to your generosity, and that of our wonderful Pastor, Fr. Tony, I am here to complete my training, and, God willing in a few months to be ordained for service in this wonderful Diocese.  In case you had any doubts about how strong a community you have, or how wise a Pastor, know that, when it came time to place a seminarian born and raised in Toronto into a Parish in this Diocese, your Parish, Christ the King was chosen, and I am already thanking God constantly in my prayers for this.

I am an only child, and my mother is Ukrainian, and my father was Italian, from Calabria, since I know how important regions are for we Italians. For as long as I can remember, I have thought about becoming a priest.  Mass was always for me a great event, and, even as a young child, I could sense the mystery of it all, and I desired to go deeper.  I was baptized and had my first communion at our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Toronto, and I had my Confirmation at St. Gregory’s. I also was an Altar Server for many years, and taught a confirmation class as well. I did my BA at the University of Toronto and was quite involved in various ministries around campus, but I was not yet ready to receive the call.

I went on to Montreal, and, there I did a Master’s degree, but, I was still not ready to correspond.  Day by day I sensed God’s love, but, I was too worried about other things.  I ended up in Ottawa, working for the Federal Government in bioethics, and, from there I even managed to get to Rome to work for six months doing research and translation at the Vatican for the Pontifical Academy for Life.  I even had the opportunity to meet personally with our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II.  Even still, I did not yet heed the call.  I was thinking about my things, my life, my salary, my career, and, hopefully, some day my family.

Eventually, I left my job in Ottawa and moved back to Rome to begin a PhD in Philosophy from the Angelicum, which is the Dominican University.  While in Rome, I was extremely blessed. I had a wonderful spiritual director, one who works in the Vatican examining the lives of potential saints to see if they merit canonization.  A word of advice:  don’t ever get spiritual direction from someone who makes saints for a living, as, you have pretty tough expectations to live up to.

This past year has not been an easy one for me.  Last November 2008, I received some very unexpected and disappointing news, and, a few days after that, I found my father dead in his apartment.  You may be wondering how I have come to be here in Sudbury.  A number of years ago, I was working for the pro-life movement, and I was responsible for a hospitality suite at a large political convention, which as it turned out was right next door, at the then Holiday Inn.  Perhaps one of you praying for vocations at that time has brought me here.  One of my assistants at that convention is now a Sister of Life, living in the convent in Toronto.  Aside from that, given my background in Bioethics, I have known Bishop Simard for many years, and, when we were both in Ottawa, and also in Rome, we worked together.  As I am sure you know, he is a very kind and generous father, and he has been very supportive of me, throughout this past year.  It was only natural that, when he spoke to me of the possibility of serving God’s people in the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie that I accept and so, it is with great joy and much hope that I find myself here in your midst.  You know, the other day, soon after I arrived someone asked me in the sacristy if I was the new guy, and, when I said yes, he asked me ‘are you here to make us holy, or for us to make you holy?’  My answer was ‘both, I hope.’  It is my deepest and most heartfelt prayer that we move forwards towards heaven together, and so, once again I thank you for having me, and I want you to know that I am here to be at your service, and so, feel free to approach me at any time.

You have to love the divine sense of humour.  Here I am in a town with a large Canada Revenue Agency office, and the Gospel with which I introduce myself says ‘even the tax collectors were coming for baptism.’  What can I say?  I worked for the government for many years, so this applies as much to me as it does to you.

There is a constant theme running through all of today’s readings, and it is one of rejoicing or happiness.  You could almost say that, as Christians we have a duty to be happy.  The first reading reminds us of the reason for our joy:  our sins are not counted against us, we have been freed from a terrible burden.  This is the beauty of God’s love for us.  God knows us better than we know ourselves, and God always accepts us exactly the way that we are.  There is no need to pretend, or to try to get noticed.  God created us, and God loves us.  God knows our fears, as well as our hopes and dreams.  God knows our limitations, God even knows our wounds and our scars.  In Advent, we anxiously await the coming of our Saviour.  We have a God whose love is so strong that it even compels our Saviour to become one of us.  God was not content to redeem us from on high; instead, God takes on the human condition, so that we in turn can be raised to the level of the Divine.

St. Paul wrote today’s exhortation from prison, which shows us how important and how fulfilling is our redemption.  The experience of God’s love for us is so strong that even if we find ourselves in chains, whether they be fear of the future, disappointment in our family life, or even our own sins, we can still rejoice because God’s love is ever present.  And, fortunately for us here in Sudbury, even the tax collectors are loved by God.