St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist on the 21 September annually.

Matthew was a tax collecter for the Romans before he was call by Jesus to follow him. His Hebrew name was Levi, son of Alpheus, but the name Matthew given by Jesus means "Gift of God". Matthew was the first few early disciples to follow Jesus. St. Matthew is most known to us as an one of the four Evangelist. He wrote the first Gospel about our Lord's teaching and the events of His life. His Gospel in Aramaic, the language that our Lord Himself spoke.



St. Matthew is the patron saint for accountants, bankers, bookkeepers, customs officers, security guards, stock brokers, tax collectors, and town Salerno, Italy.

Matthew 9:9-13

The Calling of Matthew

⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Prayer to Saint Matthew the Apostle

O Glorious Saint Matthew, in your Gospel you portray Jesus as the longed-for Messiah who fulfilled the Prophets of the Old Covenant and as the new Lawgiver who founded a Church of the New Covenant. Obtain for us the grace to see Jesus living in his Church and to follow his teachings in our lives on earth so that we may live forever with him in heaven. Amen.


Reading, Psalm and Gospel for 21 September 2012

Reading
Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13

1	I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
2	with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love,
3	eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4	There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call,
5	one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6	one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.
7	But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.
11	And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,
12	to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
13	until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ;

Psalm 19:2-5

2	Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.
3	There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;
4	yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5	which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

Gospel
Matthew 9:9-13

9	As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.
10	And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples.
11	And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
12	But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
13	Go and learn what this means, `I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."