DEACON MATTHEW SHELTON: COMMITTED

Deacon Matthew Shelton: Committed
Deacon Matthew Shelton believes in commitment to God and to family.
He knew at age 8 he wanted to be a priest, but his commitment to his family kept the Niles native from entering the seminary until he was past 40. At 45, he has one more year of seminary and, if all goes as planned, will be ordained next May.
He tells people he's been a "seminary student" for 37 years because all the time he was helping his family, he was preparing for his commitment to the priesthood.
"Everything I have done has been in preparation for this moment," he said.
"I wanted to [go to seminary]," Shelton said, but he said the Lord wanted him to do other things. He stepped up to be the primary caregiver for his parents until his father's death in 1983 and his mother's death in 1998.
His parents supported his dream and felt they were keeping him from it. But, he said he felt committed to the people who taught him about the importance of family and God. He said he learned about commitment by seeing his parents love and respect each other. His father, uncle and he used to attend church together. His uncle Pat became a priest at age 45. Another uncle became a priest at age 67. His sister still lives in the area.
Shelton said his father also taught him to not let other people make decisions for him, but, at the same time, to let his decisions be informed ones.
An easy choice
His choice to join the priesthood was easy.
"It just seemed like it naturally flowed for me," he said. That includes giving up material things and the prospect of marriage.
"It's very easy to give these things up, when you look and realize you can't take it with you," he said.
His parents' deaths showed him that family, friends and physical bonds are temporary.
"The one thing that nobody can take away from you is your faith and the love of God," he said. "Bonds of faith are what last."
The one thing that did not influence his decision was the cases of priest abuse reported in the past few years.
He noted that 98 percent of priests have lived up to the Gospel message, and that should be the focus.
Shelton grew up attending St. Stephen Church and School in Niles and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Warren. He earned a bachelor's degree in history and Latin and a master's degree in history from Youngstown State University. He worked part time at the Language, Learning and Resource Center in YSU's language department as a Latin tutor and a student supervisor.
He began attending Queen of the Holy Rosary Church in Vienna and said he has been very active there, especially in the past few years.
During his first three years of post-graduate seminary studies at Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Shelton noticed that some of the students were just like him -- nontraditional -- meaning they didn't enter seminary right out of high school.
"Maybe that brings a maturity to the priesthood," he said. "You see things slightly different and better."
Interned at St. Rose
Last May, he was ordained a deacon and spent the past year as an intern at St. Rose Church in Girard.
"It strengthened what I already felt in my heart," he said of the experience.
"You have to be in many ways the messenger of Christ," he said, "You have to bring his peace and love to those who are hurting."
As a deacon, he can perform baptisms, burials and weddings. Deacons can speak at Mass and serve communion, but only ordained priests can perform the sacrament of the Eucharist, which is the blessing during which Catholics believe the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. A deacon cannot hear confessions nor can he anoint the sick and dying.
This summer, Shelton has officiated at a few funerals and his first wedding just last month.
"The wedding was overwhelming in a sense for me," he said noting that he was witnessing the couple's vows in the name of the church.
The last two funerals he officiated at were for people he knew and it really had an impact, he said.
"You realize how much you impact [them]" and "how much they impact on your life."
Shelton also was the chaplain of the CCD program for children and adults who were not baptized as infants. He baptized several of them.
In his spare time, he researches his family's genealogy, a hobby he finds enjoyable and relaxing. Perhaps, it's another reflection of his commitment to his family.