Saint Matthew, Apostle And Evangelist

First Point

The most admirable trait in the life of Saint Matthew is that he faithfully followed Jesus Christ as soon as he was called. He lived in Capharnaum, a city of Judea,¹ where he was a collector of the imperial tax. Jesus Christ, who was preaching his Gospel there, one day passed by the gate where Saint Matthew stayed, and the saint immediately left his counting house and all he had and followed Jesus Christ.² To show the joy and gratitude he had toward Jesus Christ because of his conversion, he invited him to a great banquet in his house, where several publicans and sinners were present.³ These, says Saint Jerome, were converted by our Lord. Saint Matthew’s conversion is quite extraordinary and shows the power of grace and the effect it produces in a soul. It is true that the word of Jesus Christ is efficacious⁴ in the calling of his first Apostles, but as most of them were poor fishermen, it is not so surprising that they at once followed Jesus Christ, whereas Saint Matthew had property and lived comfortably. Were you as prompt to follow Jesus Christ as Saint Matthew was: on the spot, at the first word, not taking time to settle his affairs, and without even asking for a delay in order to do so? How many times has Jesus Christ perhaps called you? Have you not, like Saint Augustine, often replied: Tomorrow, tomorrow I will be converted? Do you not still say as much every day? Have you renounced all things from the bottom of your heart? Perhaps some of us had nothing to renounce, like the first Apostles. For them it was quite easy. Still, do we not seek our ease and comfort? That is something unworthy of a servant of God, who is obliged to give up the world and all things.⁵

Second Point

After his conversion, Saint Matthew remained faithfully attached to Jesus Christ until the end of his life, as Saint Jerome tells us. This is why he was chosen to be one of Christ’s Apostles, to preach his Gospel with him and after him and to be the first to write the Gospel, in the same language in which Jesus Christ had preached it, Syriac, which was a corrupt Hebrew. It is inconceivable how much Jesus Christ loves those who give up everything for him and how many graces he gives them both for themselves and for others. Because their hearts are empty of the things of this world, God fills them with his Holy Spirit, as he did the heart of Saint Matthew. For the more we give up exteriorly, the more God gives us interiorly. Be attached only to Jesus Christ, his doctrine, and his holy maxims, because he has done you the honor of choosing you in preference to a great many others to announce these truths to children, whom he loves so especially. Think highly of your work, which is apostolic, and carefully study the Gospel of Saint Matthew, in which we find proposed the holiest maxims of Jesus Christ and the fundamental truths of Christian piety. The more you study this, the more learned you will become in the science of the saints, and the better prepared you will be to instruct others.

Third Point

This holy Apostle set out at the same time as the others to preach the Gospel; his assignment was Ethiopia. There he made great progress, converting to the faith the king and his entire family. When this king died, the prince who succeeded him wished to marry the daughter of his predecessor, named Iphigenia. Because she had made a vow of chastity, she refused him. This king wanted to force Saint Matthew to persuade this princess to marry him despite her vow, but Saint Matthew, on the contrary, urged her to remain firm in her resolve. As a result, this barbarian put him to death, despite the fact that he had converted almost the entire country to the faith of Jesus Christ. This led to the saint’s being called the victim of virginity.When attempts are made to entice your students to do evil, strengthen them in doing good. Do not expect any other rewards when you do the duties of your work well than to suffer persecution, injuries, insults, and curses and to have people accuse you falsely of all sorts of evil, as Saint Matthew wrote and as he put into practice. Rejoice when this happens, adds the same saint, and leap for joy, because a great reward is reserved for you in heaven, for it was in this such persecutions will draw down on you the grace of God in abundance and his blessing on your work.

Historical Context

The only certain facts about Saint Matthew are those found in the Gospel. The details used by De La Salle concerning his mission and martyrdom are not historically certain.

Scripture Citation

1. Capharnaum is in Galilee
2. Lk 5:27–28
3. Lk 5:29
4. Heb 4:12
5. Lk 14:33
6. Mt 5:11–12