Two Specials Months for Mattie

July 2020 Mattie Matters News Eltr -- View this email in your browser

Celebrating Mattie's Life & Purpose

" In thanksgiving for our brother in Christ, Mattie Stepanek, and the countless ways he shared his Heartsongs, writing the messages that he believed came from God, we pray to the Lord."
~ Prayer of the Faithful Petition for Anniversary Mass

June and July are special months for the Guild, with Mattie's birthday on July 17 and Mattie's death on June 22. We mourn, remember, celebrate, give thanks and look to the future.

Thanks to the over 600 who participated in Mattie's virtual Mass on June 22. We are so appreciative of the touching, thoughtful Mass celebrated by Fr. Jude DeAngelo, OFM Conv, University Chaplain for The Catholic University of America.

Fr. Jude said of Mattie in his homily, "What nourished and inspired Mattie was his devotion to God, and the daily practice of his Catholic faith. When he was quite young, Mattie began receiving what he called 'messages' from God – messages he shaped into poetry and written works. As he matured, he developed an unstoppable commitment to peacemaking, and this became his life work, or what he would call, his 'Heartsong.' On September 11, 2001, ... Mattie wrote the poem, For Our World. Like the Prayer of St. Francis, it is a prayer for peace. As you listen to the poem, remember, Mattie was eleven years old when he wrote this. The poem has been translated into many languages, and still speaks to us today."

FOR OUR WORLD

We need to stop.
Just stop.
Stop for a moment.
Before anybody
Says or does anything
That may hurt anyone else.
We need to be silent.
Just silent.
Silent for a moment.
Before we forever lose
The blessing of songs
That grow in our hearts.
We need to notice.
Just notice.
Notice for a moment.
Before the future slips away
Into ashes and dust of humility.

Stop, be silent, and notice.
In so many ways, we are the same.
Our differences are unique treasures.
We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts
To nurture, to offer, to accept.
We need to be.
Just be.
Be for a moment.
Kind and gentle, innocent and trusting,
Like children and lambs,
Never judging or vengeful
Like the judging and vengeful.
And now, let us pray,
Differently, yet together,
Before there is no earth, no life,
No chance for peace.

~ Mattie J.T. Stepanek in
Just Peace (AME, 2006)

Happy birthday to Mattie's Mom, Jeni!

Fr. Jude DeAngelo, OFM Conv, celebrating Mattie's Anniversary Mass on June 22, 2020 at
The Catholic University of America.

Mattie celebrates his birthday! (The Mattie J.T. Stepanek Park in Rockville, Maryland)

The Mattie J.T. Stepanek Guild, a not-for-profit corporation, was created to promote the possible Cause for Canonization of Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek. The Guild's mission is to share Mattie’s life of heroic virtue, faith in God, and to inspire others in the Catholic faith. Our primary role is to further awareness and to gather information that assists Mattie's Cause in moving forward. A secondary role of the Guild is to secure funds in support of the Cause to cover the costs of producing materials, including those that will support the canonical requirements.

Won't you prayerfully consider a contribution to Mattie's Guild at this time?
Your gift will assist us in advancing his Cause and his message that
life is worthy, hope is real, peace is possible and prayer is powerful.

Please DONATE today.
Thank you.

Please join us:
     Offer prayers - for Mattie and for all children, for Mattie's mission of peace and for the Guild
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Donate to the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Guild. Your financial gift supports the mission and work of the Guild to advance Mattie's possible Cause of Canonization in the Catholic Church.
The Mattie J.T. Stepanek Guild is an all-volunteer, 501(c)3 non-profit, tax-exempt organization.

All material in this e-letter is owned and copyrighted by Mattie J.T. Stepanek and/or
Jennifer Smith Stepanek, Ph.D., and may not be used without written permission.