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On Jesus’ Merciful Call of St. Matthew, a Great Sinner Msgr. Charles Pope • September 21, 2016 • On the Feast Day of St. Matthew (celebrated Wednesday of this week), we must acknowledge a great mercy in Jesus’ call. As a tax collector, Matthew was considered a great sinner. In fact, the term “tax collector” was a biblical euphemism for great sinner. Yet despite this, Jesus called him to be an Apostle.In our times many set mercy and the fact that we are sinners in in opposition to each other. But the Lord Jesus unites these realities together. For...

Beware of Fake Mercy - Behold True Mercy in the Call of St. Matthew Msgr. Charles Pope • July 3, 2016 • This year in particular (the year of mercy), we are summoned to reflect on the concept of mercy. Many think of mercy as an overlooking of sin rather than as a remedy for it. To some, the fact of God’s mercy is a sign that He doesn’t care about sin and is content to leave us in it. Those who speak to the reality of mercy are often called harsh, mean-spirited, etc. Many set mercy and sin...

Siberian scientists make discovery of 2,500 year old Saka settlement in up to 23 metres of water in Kyrgyzstan. The new find at the lake is separate from the discovery in 2007 of the ruins of an ancient metropolis of roughly the same age and Scythian burial mounds under its waters... A piece of a large ceramic pot found in the lake has a stamp on it written in Armenian and Syrian scripts, which, if confirmed, gives credence to the theory that an Armenian monastery was on this site in Medieval times, it is claimed. An intriguing version is that...

“Following Jesus with St. Matthew” (Matthew 9:9-13)On the church year calendar, September 21 is the day for commemorating St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. And since this year September 21 falls on a Sunday, today we are celebrating the Festival of St. Matthew. Who exactly was this St. Matthew, you ask, and why should we remember him? Well, first of all, as to who he is, as I mentioned, we refer to him as St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. Each of those terms, apostle and evangelist, puts Matthew in pretty select company. St. Matthew is an apostle, and there were only...

September 21, 2006 Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist Psalm: Thursday 39 Reading 1Eph 4:1-7, 11-13 Brothers and sisters:I, a prisoner for the Lord,urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,with all humility and gentleness, with patience,bearing with one another through love,striving to preserve the unity of the Spiritthrough the bond of peace:one Body and one Spirit,as you were also called to the one hope of your call;one Lord, one faith, one baptism;one God and Father of all,who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each...

On St. Matthew "A Model of Acceptance of God's Mercy" VATICAN CITY, AUG. 30, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave at today's general audience, held in Paul VI Hall, which he dedicated to the figure of St. Matthew. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters: Continuing with the series of portraits of the Twelve Apostles, which we began a few weeks ago, today we reflect on Matthew. To tell the truth, it is almost impossible to delineate his figure completely, as information on him is scarce and incomplete. What we can do is sketch...

September 21, 2005Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist Psalm: Wednesday 41 Reading IEph 4:1-7, 11-13 Brothers and sisters:I, a prisoner for the Lord,urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,with all humility and gentleness, with patience,bearing with one another through love,striving to preserve the unity of the Spiritthrough the bond of peace:one Body and one Spirit,as you were also called to the one hope of your call;one Lord, one faith, one baptism;one God and Father of all,who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of...

September 21, 2004 Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist Psalm: Tuesday 41 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel Reading IEph 4:1-7, 11-13 Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace: one Body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of...