St. Matthew

The tax collector who got up from his booth and followed, then wrote the Gospel of the Kingdom.

The story

Levi son of Alphaeus sat collecting taxes for Rome, despised by his own people, when Jesus said, "Follow me." He rose, left everything, and threw a banquet for his sinner friends. His Gospel, written for Jewish Christians, shows Jesus as the new Moses fulfilling the Law and the Prophets. Tradition says he preached in Ethiopia or Persia and was martyred.

What Matthew teaches

Jesus calls the people everyone else has written off. Caravaggio painted the moment: a finger pointing, a man astonished.

Patronage

accountants, bankers, tax collectors.

Prayer

St. Matthew, you left your counting table at a word from Christ. Pray that we may answer His call as promptly. Amen.