Matt’s Story
“I want to go home and serve the Lord in my own city.”
As Matt was traveling across Ireland with NET Ministries, putting on retreats for the youth, he wasn’t thinking about Vagabond Missions. But, when his time on the road came to an end, he began to ask God, “What do I do next?”
“Will I return to Franciscan to finish grad school? Will I continue serving with NET? Or, should I do something totally new and different?”
Matt’s discernment received an answer through the recurring image of a lighthouse. “God often speaks to me through signs and symbols. After researching ‘Catholic lighthouse ministries’ on a whim, I came across a job listing for Vagabond and applied.”
Matt is originally from the Pittsburgh area. When he realized he could be on mission in his hometown he thought, “I want to go home and serve the Lord in my own city.” After that realization, he said “yes.”
For Matt, full-time mission with Vagabond has been rewarding and humbling. “You think mission is for others, but then you show up and Christ shares Himself with you through the people you serve. There’s something really special about working with young people because of their childlikeness. I’m here to love them, but I also feel loved by them.” He loves simply spending time with the young people.
“We’ve been taking them to the local YMCA every Tuesday to play basketball. Just having fun with the kids through simple and small interactions that show them I care is one of the best parts of serving.”
Darryl invited his younger brother, Shawneal, to join them at the YMCA one evening. Since then, Shawneal has come back every week and even expressed some interest in learning more about the Mass. “We ended up taking him to a teaching Mass. It was long, but he was actually engaged the whole time. Afterwards, we explained to him why we genuflect to the tabernacle, and taught Shawneal how.” It’s encouraging for Matt to share Jesus in this way, and sometimes sharing Christ with love happens in unexpected ways -
“Neko has been joining us this semester. He recently walked up to us with his girlfriend when we were at the bus stop and she thanked us for what we were doing for the community. She said that ever since Neko started coming around the youth center, he's been talking about God, and he never used to do that.”
Matt is grateful for how Christ-centered the Vagabond way of life is. “Christ is at the forefront of everything we do. The most important thing I do every single day is receiving Christ in prayer and in the Eucharist.”
If we aren’t rooted in Christ, mission is impossible. We can easily lose our way if our eyes are not fixed on Jesus. Matt often relates the call to mission to the story of Jonah. “This mission is hard for many reasons. There can be a temptation to get on a ship heading in the opposite direction. We can try to run from His call — and He’ll even let us — but, we can never really avoid His plan for our lives. He will never stop pursuing.”
When asking Matt what he wants people to know about Vagabond, he says, “Vagabond is out of the ordinary. When we’re out there on the streets, people look at us and see that we’re different, and they ask us, ‘Why are you doing here?’ and we say, ‘Because you matter.’”
