Subj : September 21st - St. Matthew To : All From : rich Date : Thu Sep 20 2018 10:10:34 From: rich September 21st - St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS. I. The holy Apostle and Evangelist, Matthew, greatly praised virginal purity, and vows of chastity made to God; but he also preached that those became guilty of sin who broke these vows. There are heretics, who wish to be called Apostolic or Evangelical Christians, as they pretend, in all things, to conform to the teaching of the Gospel and of the Apostles. But the instructions and acts of St. Matthew prove that their pretence is groundless. Luther and Calvin, the founders of this heresy, taught that marriage was commanded to everyone, and that virginal purity was much less valuable than the married state; that the vow of it was unlawful and null before the Most High; whence it follows that to break the vow was not only allowed, but obligatory, as Luther broke it, and enticed others to do the same. How does this harmonize with what was taught by St. Matthew, a true Apostle and Evangelist of Jesus Christ? How can they call themselves Apostolic and Evangelical, who teach and believe the contrary of what was taught by the holy Apostle and Evangelist, St. Matthew? Further, St. Matthew, an Apostle of the Lord, admonished others to keep their virginity unspotted, and threatened those who tempted them to break their promise, with great punishment. Whose apostles are those who do exactly the contrary, and try to make themselves and others believe that the Almighty is not offended by sins against purity, as much as the priest proclaims from the pulpit? St. Bonaventure says, without the slightest hesitation: "The mouth of him, who entices others to impurity, is the mouth of a devil." The devil, who once spoke and deceived through the serpent, speaks and deceives through such people. They are apostles of the devil. Woe to such apostles! The same hell awaits them in which the unchaste Hirtacus has already suffered a thousand years, and will suffer eternally. But woe also to those who believe such apostles and are deceived by them! Iphigenia believed and followed the apostle of Christ, and now enjoys as a recompense the eternal bliss of heaven. May you also believe the preachers, priests, and confessors, who teach what St. Matthew taught, for through them speaks the same Lord Who spoke through the mouth of St. Matthew. II. Christ, the Saviour, looked with His mild eyes at St. Matthew in his custom-house, and called him. Matthew obeyed, instantly arose, and followed Christ, becoming thus, from a publican, an apostle of the Lord, a great Saint. How comforting an example of divine mercy, even towards the greatest sinner! How wholesome a lesson! The same kind, merciful Saviour, who gazed so mildly upon Matthew, and called him, turns His loving eyes on you also, even if you live in mortal sin. He calls you to repentance; He calls you to follow Him. Obey Him as St. Matthew did, without putting it off. Let neither the greatness, nor the number of your sins detain you. Your Saviour is ready to forgive them, to receive you into His favor and to make you a Saint. "If you are a publican or a sinner," says St. Chrysostom, "you may still become an evangelist. If you are a blasphemer, you may still become an apostle." This means that you may obtain pardon and gain salvation, as St. Matthew and St. Paul did, the former of whom was a publican, a sinner; and the other, according to his own testimony, a blasphemer. St. Augustine says the same in the following words: "Perhaps some may think that the sin they have committed is so great that it cannot obtain pardon from God. Oh! may such thoughts be far from us. Why, O man, regard only the number of thy sins, and not the omnipotence of the heavenly Physician? As God is merciful because He is gracious, and as He can be merciful because He is omnipotent, he who believes that God will not or cannot forforgive him, closes the door of the divine mercy on himself, by denying that God is gracious or omnipotent. Hence let no one doubt the mercy of God, even if he has committed a 100, nay a 1000 crimes. But this belief should incite him to reconcile himself immediately with the Almighty." See more at: http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/St.%20Matthew%20popup.html by Father Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876 =E2=80=9CJesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he s= aid to him: Follow me.=E2=80=9C=E2=80=A6 Matthew 9:9 <><><><> Common of Apostles and Evangelists Hymn: Exultet orbis gaudiis Now let the earth with joy resound, And heaven the chant re-echo round; Nor heaven nor earth too high can raise The great Apostles' glorious praise. O ye who, throned in glory dread, Shall judge the living and the dead, Lights of the world forevermore! To you the suppliant prayer we pour. Ye close the sacred gates on high; At your command apart they fly: Oh! loose for us the guilty chain We strive to break, and strive in vain. Sickness and health your voice obey; At your command they go or stay: From sin's disease our souls restore; In good confirm us more and more. So when the world is at its end, And Christ to judgment shall descend, May we be called those joys to see Prepared form all eternity. Praise to the Father, with the Son, And Holy Spirit, Three in One; As ever was in ages past, And so shall be while ages last. = --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .