{"id":6865,"date":"2024-09-20T17:43:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T21:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/?p=6865"},"modified":"2024-09-22T15:49:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-22T19:49:08","slug":"saint-matthew-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-reflections\/saint-matthew-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Saint Matthew"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him:<\/strong>
Follow me. Jesus saw Matthew, not merely in the usual sense,<\/strong>
but more significantly with his merciful understanding of man.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He saw the tax collector and, because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him, he said to him: Follow me. This following meant imitating the pattern of his life \u2013 not just walking after him. St John tells us: Whoever says he abides in Christ ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he rose and followed him. There is no reason for surprise that the tax collector abandoned earthly wealth as soon as the Lord commanded him. Nor should one be amazed that neglecting his wealth, he joined a band of men whose leader had, on Matthew\u2019s assessment, no riches at all. Our Lord summoned Matthew by speaking to him in words. By an invisible, interior impulse flooding his mind with the light of grace, he instructed him to walk in his footsteps. In this way Matthew could understand that Christ, who was summoning him away from earthly possessions, had incorruptible treasures of heaven in his gift.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he sat at table in the house, behold many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. This conversion of one tax collector gave many men, those from his own profession and other sinners, an example of repentance and pardon. Notice also the happy and true anticipation of his future status as apostle and teacher of the nations. No sooner was he converted than Matthew drew after him a whole crowd of sinners along the same road to salvation. He took up his appointed duties while still taking his first steps in the faith, and from that hour he fulfilled his obligation and thus grew in merit. To see a deeper understanding of the great celebration Matthew held at his house, we must realize that he not only gave a banquet for the Lord at his earthly residence, but far more pleasing was the banquet set in his own heart which he provided through faith and love. Our Savior attests to this: Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On hearing Jesus\u2019s voice, we open the door to receive him, as it were, when we freely assent to his promptings and when we give ourselves over to doing what must be done. Christ, since he dwells in the hearts of his chosen ones through the grace of his love, enters so that he might eat with us and we with him. He ever refreshes us by the light of his presence insofar as we progress in our devotion to and longing for the things of heaven. He himself is delighted by such a pleasing banquet.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

St Bede the Venerable<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him:Follow me. Jesus saw Matthew, not merely in the usual sense,but more significantly with his merciful understanding of man. He saw the tax collector and, because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him, he said to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[44,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-saints-and-blesseds","category-spiritual-reflections"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7bfMR-1MJ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8600,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-practices\/saint-matthew-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":6865,"position":0},"title":"Saint Matthew","author":"monks4christ","date":"September 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Calling of Saint Matthew Jesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him:Follow me. Jesus saw Matthew, not merely in the usual sense,but more significantly with his merciful understanding of man. He saw the tax collector and, because he saw him through\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Saints and Blesseds"","block_context":{"text":"Saints and Blesseds","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/saints-and-blesseds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/sept21.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/sept21.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/sept21.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/sept21.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7367,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/pope-benedict-xvi\/the-epiphany-sunday-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":6865,"position":1},"title":"the Epiphany . Sunday","author":"monks4christ","date":"January 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"the Magi find Jesus in Bethlehem On the feast of the Epiphany we read the passage from the Gospel of St Matthew which describes the arrival of some Magi from the East at Bethlehem: \u201cGoing into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pope Benedict XVI"","block_context":{"text":"Pope Benedict XVI","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/pope-benedict-xvi\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Jan3-KINGSs.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5788,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-practices\/the-three-kings\/","url_meta":{"origin":6865,"position":2},"title":"the Three Kings","author":"monks4christ","date":"January 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"the Magi find Jesus in Bethlehem On the feast of the Epiphany we read the passage from the Gospel of St Matthew which describes the arrival of some Magi from the East at Bethlehem: \u201cGoing into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Saints and Blesseds"","block_context":{"text":"Saints and Blesseds","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/saints-and-blesseds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Jan3-KINGS.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Jan3-KINGS.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Jan3-KINGS.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9080,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-practices\/the-three-kings-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":6865,"position":3},"title":"the Three Kings","author":"monks4christ","date":"January 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"the Magi find Jesus in Bethlehem On the feast of the Epiphany we read the passage from the Gospel of St Matthew which describes the arrival of some Magi from the East at Bethlehem: \u201cGoing into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Spiritual Practices"","block_context":{"text":"Spiritual Practices","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/spiritual-practices\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Jan3-KINGS.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Jan3-KINGS.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Jan3-KINGS.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6180,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-practices\/the-bread-of-angels-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":6865,"position":4},"title":"the Temple curtain was torn and the earth shook","author":"monks4christ","date":"April 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Ressurection of the Dead \u201cAnd behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Spiritual Practices"","block_context":{"text":"Spiritual Practices","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/spiritual-practices\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/april27a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/april27a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/april27a.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/april27a.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4248,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/pope-benedict-xvi\/the-epiphany-sunday\/","url_meta":{"origin":6865,"position":5},"title":"the Epiphany . Solemnity","author":"monks4christ","date":"January 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Catechesis on the Epiphany On the feast of the Epiphany we read the passage from the Gospel of St Matthew which describes the arrival of some Magi from the East at Bethlehem: \u201cGoing into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pope Benedict XVI"","block_context":{"text":"Pope Benedict XVI","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/pope-benedict-xvi\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/jan6-3-Kings-a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/jan6-3-Kings-a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/jan6-3-Kings-a.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6865"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6889,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6865\/revisions\/6889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}