“Numbers mean something to me. My dad would say that, growing up, he had certain feelings, certain associations with numbers, and I do too, I think. So, it’s something that is meaningful to me,” he says.

He says he started counting the Masses sort of by accident but now sees it as a way of expressing his gratitude to God and to God’s people for making his priestly vocation possible. He says being able to celebrate Mass means everything to him.

“Celebrating Mass is participating in the eternal celebration that is happening in heaven, and He has given me the opportunity to do it 612 times,” he says. “It’s a way to appreciate the meaning behind this, namely that God provides. I can do this with people, for people, and for God. I just find, for myself, that keeping track fosters a sense of gratitude because each day of my life here and each day as a priest is a very special day and a very grateful day.”

He describes celebrating Mass as both his greatest joy and his greatest challenge.

“Being able to celebrate Mass has been amazing. I don’t know how else to say it. I love it! But I think that’s probably been my biggest challenge, too. It’s just facing up to the fact that I’m not worthy to be doing this, but the Lord shares Himself with me so that I am able to do it,” he says. “It’s awesome.”

Father Valles says he gets as excited now as he did the first time he celebrated Mass as a priest, although he says his confidence has grown over time.

“In the beginning, there were a lot more nerves, I think, especially trying to figure out what to do and how to do it. And then, for preaching, what to say and how to say it and which direction to go. That was terrifying for me in the beginning. I was so nervous. I still get nervous, but it’s helpful to have the experience of doing this,” he says. “Sometimes I’m wondering how this is going to go, but I am amazed at how the Lord provides.”    

He says he is grateful for the support he has received from his parish community, saying that during his first year as a priest, he has really appreciated all the conversations he has had and all the people he has had a chance to meet. He says that he hopes people realize how important they are to priests and to the celebration of Mass.

“We really appreciate all the sacrifices that you make, and God appreciates it very much, too. I know it’s not easy. Living a Christian life can be difficult sometimes, but God really does share Himself with us in the Mass so that we can share ourselves with others,” he says. “There is a lot of despair and suffering, and it’s hard to make sense of things, but God enters into this time and again. He enters into our world and remains with us to help us through all of these times. He doesn’t provide a challenge for us without also providing a way through it.”

Father Valles says he has seen evidence of that in his own life as well as in the lives of others.

“He really does provide for people in a way that I’ve been able to see, and that makes me happy,” he says. “It helps me to trust that He’s going to work even in situations that seem so impossible. He really does come through.”

He says it’s amazing to see how the Lord works in simple ways through simple things.

“I can’t help but laugh because the majority of the time I feel like I don’t have what I need or I don’t feel like I can really do the things that I want to do or do everything that I’m hoping to do, but when I see the Lord at work with what I offer, with what other people offer, even though it may feel like it’s small or it’s not going to be the grandeur that we’re hoping for in the moment, what He does with it is amazing. I am having so much fun. It’s amazing to see how it unfolds.”

Father Valles says one of the great gifts of the priesthood is the fraternity that is found there.

“I know, for myself, I’m still learning how to do this, how to be a priest, how to live this out, so sometimes seeing the example of other priests or sharing how things are going, it’s really been special,” he says. “I really am interested in helping to foster the brotherhood, the fraternity because other priests have done so much for me.”

He points especially to Msgr. Andrew Dubois and Father Nyohnunfon Kilian, his fellow priests serving at St. Paul the Apostle Parish, and to Msgr. Frank Murray, who is retired from active ministry but is a mentor to him. He remembers turning to Msgr. Murray for guidance when he had two upcoming funerals, one for a beloved parishioner who died at age 96 and the other for a baby who died in the womb.

“What I found out was that he was a chaplain in the [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit], so he had to do a lot of funerals in his early priesthood for babies who died prematurely, and talking with him, I was amazed at how we could talk about those things and just the wisdom that he shared. I really appreciated it,” says Father Valles. “Then, he even called me on the night of the day when I offered the funeral for the baby who died prematurely just to ask how things went.”

“There are still more things to learn, but it’s been the best year of my life.” —Father Matthew Valles

He experienced that fraternity again when his mother died in November 2024. Priests from the Diocese of Portland, the Diocese of Providence, St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts, and Bishop Emeritus Robert Deeley attended her funeral Mass in Barrington, Rhode Island.

“I felt very supported,” he says. “I felt that I was really held and carried through that time.”

Father Valles delivered the homily at the funeral Mass, something he found difficult but says, “I wanted to share with people how I encountered Jesus through my mother. I was hoping that people could see for themselves how they encounter Jesus through other people.”

Father Valles says during this past year, his faith has continued to be enriched through the experiences he has had as a priest and through the time he dedicates to prayer.

“I’ve learned a lot about God and His saints and His holy ones. I’ve learned a lot about people. I’ve learned a lot about myself,” he says. “The more you know, the more you can love, the more you can believe, the more you can hope.”

He says he loves his life as a priest, and there is nothing else he would rather be doing.

“There are still more things to learn, but it’s been the best year of my life,” he says. “It’s a really beautiful adventure.”

Asked what advice he would give to those discerning vocations, Father Valles says it would be to have a good time and to embrace the present without becoming overly concerned about the future.

“Just enjoy it,” he says. “Sometimes we can fixate on the future, and we can think so much about it. That is something that happens to me. Sometimes I can focus so much on what may happen that I lose track of the present and the beauty of it. So, I would encourage people to enjoy the moment.”