AUGUST 16, 2020

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
 
With the Lord, there are always surprises and gifts. I can say my appointment here was a complete surprise that I am still accepting as reality. However, as my spiritual director reminded me, my last assignment at St. Elizabeth in Paincourtville and St. Jules in Belle Rose was a gift. I know this assignment will be a gift as well. This has been part of my prayer these past two weeks. I look forward to seeing how this gift will unfold as we begin this new journey together.
 
For those of you who might not remember me, I was assigned as a summer seminarian to Immaculate Conception in 2012. I  had just finished 1^st  Theology at Notre Dame Seminary and my third year of priestly formation. I still remember the day when I received an email from Fr. Frank Uter welcoming me to Denham Springs. It was a wonderful summer which truly affirmed that this was the vocation the Lord was calling me towards. It is hard to believe eight years later that I am now the pastor here. Therefore, I see this as part of the gift that I am already familiar with the campus, most of the staff, and some of the layout of the area. However, I know there is so much more to discover and learn!
 
Another gift in my life is my family and my background. I am the son of Rick and Pat Graham who have been married for 41 years. I am the oldest of three kids. I have a younger sister, Danielle, who is married and has three girls, and a younger brother, Ryan, who currently lives in Texas. Baton Rouge is my home;  I attended St. Jude Church and School as well as Catholic High School. After graduating from Catholic High in 1999, I attended LSU where I graduated in 2004 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. Jacobs Engineering hired me that fall to work as a Process Engineer where I stayed until I discerned my call and entered the seminary in August 2009. I was ordained a deacon on June 14, 2014 and served as an intern at Our Lady of Mercy in Baton Rouge. Then, on May 30, 2015, Bishop Muench ordained me a priest at St. Joseph Cathedral. My first assignment was at Christ the King Parish and Student Center on the campus of LSU from July 2015 to June 2016. For the last four years, I have been at St. Elizabeth in Paincourtville and St. Jules in Belle Rose where I served as administrator for two years and then pastor for two years.
 
On a personal note, I really enjoy the outdoors as some might have seen on my social media accounts. This was definitely influenced by my time in the Boy Scouts where I earned Eagle Scout. When the weather is cool, I enjoy sitting around a fire. I am also a tech geek so I like working on computers, trying new programs, solving tech issues, and whatever I can get my hands on. I am also an introvert and tend to be on the more quiet side until I get to know people.
 
I think this is a good start as an introduction;  you will learn more about me as we begin this new journey together. Please pray for me as I transition into this assignment. Pray as well for Fr. Tomi Thomas I.M.S, who is replacing me at my previous assignment, and for the staff and parishioners at St. Elizabeth and St. Jules.  The past few weeks have been emotional and tough but grace-filled.
 
Through the Alliance of the Two Hearts,

Fr. Matthew J. Graham 

JULY 25, 2021

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
 
Having had the joy of being here a few weeks and having more or less settled into my new home, I would like to more formally introduce myself. Twenty-nine years ago, I was born to  Melinda and John Sanford. I have one younger brother, Connor. We were both raised in Baton Rouge in a Catholic home, attending St. George School and Church. In high school, I was an avid runner and proud member of the “orange wave” of Catholic High under the legendary Coach Pete Boudreaux. I first felt the Lord calling me to the priesthood in my senior year during a time of Eucharistic Adoration on a summer mission trip in Vacherie. But lacking the necessary trust and relationship with Jesus to do something about it, I just pushed the thought to the back of my mind and went on to LSU to study chemical engineering. It was at the Catholic Student Center on campus (Christ the King) that I truly fell in love with Jesus Christ and desired to lay down my life for His Bride, the Church. But it was not that easy of a decision. It was accompanied with much prayer, discernment, and typical millennial angst, until my heart finally found peace in entering seminary after graduation. 

I am incredibly grateful for my time in seminary. The first two years of formation were spent in Covington at St. Joseph Seminary College (affectionately known as St. Ben’s because of the Benedictine Monastery it is attached to). Outside of prayer, study, and various formation events, I spent most of my time running the wooded trails and playing ultimate frisbee with the other guys. Upon graduating from St. Ben’s, I went across the lake to attend Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. It was quite an adjustment going from the slow, peaceful atmosphere of the monastery grounds to the busy city of New Orleans. But the city eventually grew on me. On my runs I  exchanged dirt trails for streetcar rails and the pine tree for the Mississippi. On August 1 of last year, I was ordained a transition deacon and was blessed to be assigned to Ascension of Our Lord and St. Francis of Assisi in Donaldsonville. This past Spring I finally finished my seminary formation and was ordained a priest of Jesus Christ on May 22. The priesthood has been an absolute gift. Frequently throughout my journey to the priesthood, the words of David were on my lips as I sat before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament: “Who am I, O Lord, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes” (2 Sam 7:18). Now I cannot help but similarly reflect and marvel at this gift of the Lord’s friendship. I am so unworthy. There is nothing I have done to deserve this gift of Christ’s friendship. And yet, He continues to draw me deeper into His love and friendship. 

The priesthood is a gift in itself and for several weeks after my ordination I was able to enjoy this new found intimacy with Christ without any real responsibilities. But now that I have been exercising Christ’s priesthood here at Immaculate Conception and the Mission of the Sacred Heart, my priesthood has been contextualized. Even in this short period of time, I have experienced concretely the spiritual power of the priesthood and the gift of fatherhood. I look forward to  continuing to grow with you and getting to know and serve you for the next few years. Please pray that I remain faithful to the Lord and that many more men and women will hear the voice of the Bridegroom calling them to leave all else to follow Him. He is worth it and He is never outdone in generosity. 

In Christ,
Fr. Taylor Sanford