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Saint Matthew the Evangelist, Apostle (September 21) mantheycalltom on Sep 20, 2009 September 21 is the feast day of Saint Matthew the Evangelist. This prayer is for Catholics to read the Gospel.More
Saint Matthew the Evangelist, Apostle (September 21)

mantheycalltom on Sep 20, 2009 September 21 is the feast day of Saint Matthew the Evangelist. This prayer is for Catholics to read the Gospel.
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SEPTEMBER 21, 2011
DAILY PRAYER WITH REGNUM CHRISTI
[2]
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WITH THE EYEGLASSES OF FAITH
September 21, 2011
Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist
Father Barry O'Toole, LC
Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at
the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and
followed him. While he was at table in his house,…More
SEPTEMBER 21, 2011
DAILY PRAYER WITH REGNUM CHRISTI
[2]
-------------------------
WITH THE EYEGLASSES OF FAITH
September 21, 2011
Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist
Father Barry O'Toole, LC
Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at
the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and
followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors
and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees
saw this and said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with
tax collectors and sinners?" He heard this and said, "Those who are
well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the
meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I did not come
to call the righteous but sinners."
Introductory Prayer: You are true goodness and life, Lord. Closeness
to you brings peace and joy. You deserve all of my trust and my love.
Thank you for the gift of life, my family and above all of my faith.
I'm grateful too, for the gift of the Church which you founded on the
Apostles.
Petition: Lord, help me to be simple and straightforward in my
faith.
1. Simplicity Is Bliss: The tax collectors were considered traitors
of the Jewish people since they were working for the Romans, the
"oppressors" of God's chosen people. The ordinary Jew would not even
converse with one such as this. But Jesus says to him, "Follow me."
Matthew got up and followed him immediately, no questions asked, no
conditions. What beautiful simplicity! He didn't know that Christ was
going to make him one of the Twelve. In a certain sense we might say
that he signed a blank check and gave it to Jesus. Matthew doesn't
sit down to calculate, he only accepts. He then goes a step further:
He invites Jesus to his house for dinner. A Jew generally invited
only his true and closest friends and relatives to dinner. It was a
sign of intimacy, friendship and love. Matthew goes overboard and
lays out the red carpet for Christ in his life.
2. Complicated Calculations: In contrast to Matthew's
straightforwardness, we see the Pharisees' "righteousness." Jesus'
dining with a sinner like Matthew is a scandal for them. They really
have to confront this Rabbi about his "shameful conduct." The problem
is that they haven't understood the first thing about the Messiah.
Their very point of departure is flawed. They are looking at Christ
(and God) from a very rational perspective when the only valid
outlook is faith and love. This happens frequently in our lives as we
begin to judge events, circumstances and others without faith and
charity. Before we realize it, we may have rejected and possibly even
defamed our neighbor, a civil authority, or a priest or bishop. We
are not looking at things from a supernatural vantage point but
rather from our merely human standards.
3. Back to the Basics: Christ puts everything back into perspective.
"Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and
learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I
did not come to call the righteous but sinners." Once again Jesus
invites us to elevate our thoughts to a supernatural plain. Why did
God become man? We repeat it frequently, at least every Sunday in the
Creed: "For us men and for our salvation he came down from
heaven...." It is important to examine the degree to which I see and
judge everything in my life through the prism of faith. A true
believer, a real apostle, must form this "sixth sense" in all of his
daily dealings. We form this habit through prayer, our frequent and
intimate contact with God. We need to ask God for the gift of faith,
which gives us a new perspective on life.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I want to be a simple person,
one who accepts you and your demands without calculations and
complications. Free me from all impediments and grant me your grace
so that I might become a convinced, faithful and intrepid apostle of
your kingdom, as was St Matthew.
Resolution: In prayerful dialogue with God, I will examine at least
three moments or events of my day. (This I can do even at home, in
the car or waiting in line, etc.)
meditation.regnumchristi.org
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Read online, St. Matthew's Gospel: www.catholic.org/bible/book.php
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Saint Matthew
www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php
Feastday: September 21st
Patron Bankers
St. Matthew, one of the twelve Apostles, is the author of the first Gospel. This has been the constant tradition of the Church and is confirmed by the Gospel itself. He was the son of Alpheus and was called to be an Apostle while sitting in the tax collectors place at Capernaum. Before his conversion he was …More
Saint Matthew
www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php
Feastday: September 21st
Patron Bankers

St. Matthew, one of the twelve Apostles, is the author of the first Gospel. This has been the constant tradition of the Church and is confirmed by the Gospel itself. He was the son of Alpheus and was called to be an Apostle while sitting in the tax collectors place at Capernaum. Before his conversion he was a publican, i.e., a tax collector by profession. He is to be identified with the "Levi" of Mark and Luke.
His apostolic activity was at first restricted to the communities of Palestine. Nothing definite is known about his later life. There is a tradition that points to Ethiopia as his field of labor; other traditions mention of Parthia and Persia. It is uncertain whether he died a natural death or received the crown of martyrdom.
St. Matthew's Gospel was written to fill a sorely-felt want for his fellow countrymen, both believers and unbelievers. For the former, it served as a token of his regard and as an encouragement in the trial to come, especially the danger of falling back to Judaism; for the latter, it was designed to convince them that the Messiah had come in the person of Jesus, our Lord, in Whom all the promises of the Messianic Kingdom embracing all people had been fulfilled in a spiritual rather than in a carnal way: "My Kingdom is not of this world." His Gospel, then, answered the question put by the disciples of St. John the Baptist, "Are You He Who is to come, or shall we look for another?"
Writing for his countrymen of Palestine, St. Matthew composed his Gospel in his native Aramaic, the "Hebrew tongue" mentioned in the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Soon afterward, about the time of the persecution of Herod Agrippa I in 42 AD, he took his departure for other lands. Another tradition places the composition of his Gospel either between the time of this departure and the Council of Jerusalem, i.e., between 42 AD and 50 AD or even later. Definitely, however, the Gospel, depicting the Holy City with its altar and temple as still existing, and without any reference to the fulfillment of our Lord's prophecy, shows that it was written before the destruction of the city by the Romans in 70 AD, and this internal evidence confirms the early traditions.
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Salerno Cathedral postcard, where St. Matthew's final remains are found:Catedral de Salerno, Italia
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✍️ September 21 is the feast day of Saint Matthew the Evangelist. This prayer is for Catholics to read the Gospel.