“I am sorry, Matt, but the board cannot accept your contract renewal for next school year.” A few days earlier, Matt had told the board of his private Protestant school that he was converting to Catholicism, and he had a pretty good idea that this would be the result. He had come to the point, though, where he could not deny the truth of the Catholic faith, even if it meant he had to lose his job. Now, he is passionate about sharing that beautiful truth with others by relating the series of revelations that brought him to conversion and the depth, reasonability, and elegance of the faith he continues to fall in love with.
Matt was reunited with the Catholic faith of his childhood in 2008 after trying to disprove it. His wife joined him a few years later. They have 9 children, 4 adopted and 5 biological, and they live on a hobby farm in New Jersey (yes, there is farmland in New Jersey). As a child, he toured Europe for a year with his family since his father was a member of the cast of a touring musical comedy. He earned a BS in physics before studying for a BA in philosophy. He has also completed Master’s degrees in education and philosophy. The philosophy degree, completed in 2021, had a concentration in Christian Wisdom from Holy Apostles in Cromwell, CT. Matt graduated Summa cum Laude and gave the Salutatorian address at the graduation ceremony. He is currently at work on a PhD in philosophy. Matt spent his first year out of college with his wife on staff with a Protestant ministry. He then taught math at a private Christian school before losing that job as a result of his conversion to Catholicism. Since then he has been teaching physics in a public school. Matt also works as a Great Books discussion moderator for the Angelicum Academy, an online high school. He has recently taken on the challenge of teaching CCD at his parish, and he is an associate of the Community of the Friars of the Renewal at their friary in Newark, NJ.
Matt has told his conversion story on EWTN’s The Journey Home with Marcus Grodi, and he has appeared on many radio shows. He blogs regularly for the National Catholic Register on topics related to education, philosophy, spirituality, and science. He is the author of several books, including A Fool’s Errand: A Brief, Informal Introduction to Philosophy for Young Catholics, Philosophy Fridays, and The Wise Guy and the Fool. Matt maintains his YouTube Channel, Donecrequiescat, as well as his children’s channel of the weekly Sunday Gospel readings, MisterD418. On Facebook, you can find him @FoolOnAnErrand.
Prepared Talks:
“How I became Catholic after trying to disprove Catholicism.” - This talk is my conversion story beginning with my childhood, through my days as a Protestant, and to the present day.
“Physics, Beauty, and God” - Physicists often write and speak about the beauty of physics, but this talk is designed to explain what beauty is and how it points to the existence of Beauty Itself, which is nothing less than God.
“How do I defend my faith: apologetics in the modern world” - This talk is a guide to having conversations with nonCatholics about what we believe. It is important to be aware of some general and some more specific skills and attitudes when addressing questions about our faith.
"Excellence: a talk to middle school boys about virtue" - Virtue is nothing less than human excellence. What is it? What does it look like? How do we achieve it? Jesus, that's what, and that's how.
Matt is also open to preparing new talks on other topics upon request, and as a high school physics teacher, he has years of experience working with youth.
