Venerable Matt Talbot Feast Day: June 19 Born: May 2, 1856 Died: June 7, 1925 Declared Venerable: by Pope Paul VI in 1975 Patron of those who struggle with addictions Matt Talbot was born in Dublin, Ireland, the second of 12 children. His family lived in extreme poverty. His father was an alcoholic who could not hold down a job and support his family. His mother, a devout Catholic, took in work to feed her family. Matt did not have a formal education. He could not read or write. At age 12, Matt worked as a delivery boy for a liquor company to help support his struggling family. He began sampling the beer that was left in the bottles. As he began helping himself to more and more alcohol, he became addicted. By the time he was 16, he and his two brothers were alcoholics. Their mother persevered in prayer. One day, he and his brothers stole a fiddle from a blind street performer. They sold it and instead of helping their poverty-stricken family, they used it for alcohol. Matt considered this the lowest point in his life. For 16 years, he could not control his addiction. At age 28, Matt walked into Dublin Seminary, confessed to a priest and received the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The priest helped Matt take “the pledge,” a temperance movement that challenged people to renounce alcohol. The difficulty to give up drinking was so intense that Matt remarked, “Never be too hard on the man who can’t give up drink. It’s as hard to give up drink as it is to raise the dead to life again. Both are possible and even easy for Our Lord. We have only to depend on Him.” Matt turned his passion to learning to read. He read the Bible, books on theology, and the lives of the saints. When asked how he went from being illiterate to being able to understand the works of Augustine and Cardinal Newman, Matt answered, “The Holy Spirit enlightened me.” To help him stay sober, he went to Mass daily, read Scripture, and devoted himself to Mary and Jesus in the Eucharist. Matt was able to procure a job doing manual labor. He repaid those from whom he stole or borrowed. Though he earned very little, he gave generously to the poor. He moved in with his mother after his father passed away and was able to provide for her the last twelve years of her life. Matt joined the Secular Franciscan Order. Most of his time was spent in prayer. Every morning he would kneel outside the church at 5am, waiting for the doors to open. After Mass, he went to work, and prayed during breaks. He invited others to join him in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Matt also practiced mortification which means “death to the flesh.” Mortification is to go without material comforts in order to more effectively turn the heart to God. Matt did this by fasting and sleeping on a wooden plank. He also wore a chain wrapped around his body to signify that he was no longer a slave to the world, but rather chained to the Blessed Mother who brought him out of darkness. At age 69, Matt’s health was failing. Walking to church on Trinity Sunday, Matt collapsed and died. His tomb is enshrined in the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Dublin, Ireland. Many pilgrims have visited his tomb to seek his intercession. Pope Paul VI declared Matt Talbot to be Venerable in 1975 and the cause for canonization is being investigated. “Three things I cannot escape: the eye of God, the voice of conscience, the stroke of death. In company, guard your tongue; in your family, guard your temper. When alone, guard your thoughts.” ~Matt Talbot