Br. Matthew grew up in the small town of Dixon, California. He studied Philosophy at St. Mary's College in Moraga (near San Francisco) before joining the Western Dominican Province of the United States. During his undergraduate studies he traveled to Italy and visited several Benedictine monasteries. Through praying the Divine office he felt a call to priesthood and contemplative life. Additionally, he felt that the Lord was calling him to the Apostolic mission of the Church. Upon meeting the Dominican Friars in Oakland and San Francisco he saw in them the essence of his vocation as articulated by St. Thomas Aquinas: “To contemplate and hand on to others the fruits of contemplation.” Immediately after earning his undergraduate degree he entered the novitiate of the Western Dominican Province. Br. Matthew is a Deacon and currently in his 8th and final year of priestly formation. God willing, he will be ordained to the priesthood in June of 2022. He looks especially forward to sharing the fruits of his studies through preaching the word of God and in hearing confessions.
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