About

Peace be with you! I’m Deacon Matthew, a transitional deacon for the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, studying at St. Patrick’s Seminary & University in Menlo Park, CA.

Previously, I was – in reverse chronological order – a philosophy undergrad at Mount Angel College Seminary in Oregon, a Discalced Carmelite novice in San Jose, an insurance claims rep in a call center, a cynical pagan in a public high school, and a Methodist kid with no idea what designs of mercy and grace the Lord had in store for him. (For more on all of that, you can read my series “Quo Vadis” here.)

My home parish is St. Joseph (Roseburg) in the beautiful Umpqua Valley. Within the Archdiocese of Portland, I have also served at Our Lady of the Mountain (Ashland), St. Mary (Eugene), St. Monica (Coos Bay), St. Stephen (Portland), and St. Mary’s Cathedral. I am currently assigned at Mater Dolorosa Catholic Church in South San Francisco.

Interests include: Carmelite spirituality, Byzantine Catholicism, coffee, classical guitar, Gregorian chant, early and Renaissance polyphony, Shakespeare, Tolkien, Victorian literature (especially Dickens, Hopkins, and the pre-Raphaelites), hiking, philosophy, and the intersection of Catholic anthropology with psychotherapy. And, well, much more.

May God bless you, and may what you read here be edifying. Please pray for me. If I can be of any help to you, please feel free to contact me using the link above.

Sis, Jesu, nostrum gaudium!