Saints Are Ordinary People Driven By Great Love

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This article is from a chapter in Mother Angelica’s Guide to Practical Holiness, which is available from Sophia Institute Press. 

Saints: Ordinary People Driven By Great Love

Mother Angelica

September 11, 2020

https://catholicexchange.com/saints-ordinary-people-driven-by-great-love

The concept of the perfect, faultless saint is unrealistic. We have only to look at the gospels to see how imperfect the Apostles and first Christians were. There was a point in their lives when they changed. We call that point the time of their “conversion,” their encounter with the Sanctifying Spirit. For the Apostles it was Pentecost, for Paul it was a blinding light on the road to Damascus, for Cornelius it was the mere presence of Peter.

However, most of the saints did not have dramatic experiences. As we have seen in the life of Matt Talbot, was pain, disappointment, and a feeling of emptiness that pushed him into the arms of God. No matter what happened, the saints determined at some point to follow Jesus. A vacuum deep in their souls began to be filled, for they found the pearl of great price. They all changed their lives, some their state in life, but they did not get rid of their weaknesses. They fought harder, conquered more often and grew, like Jesus, “in grace and wisdom before God and men” (Luke 2:52).

 

In the Acts we see Peter’s vacillating spirit making him and everyone else miserable as he took so much time deciding the fate of the Gentiles. Paul’s temper flared quickly as he argued his point before the gathering of Apostles. John, called by Jesus a son of thunder, had little patience with those who would not follow Jesus.

In the lives of all the saints we find the following similarities:

          - love for God and neighbor,

               -determination to imitate Jesus,

               -an immediate rising after a fall,

               -a complete breakaway from grievous sin,

               -growth in virtue and prayer,

          -and the accomplishment of God’s Will.

These factors are available to every human being; they do not exclude imperfections and faults. We must make a distinction between faults and sins. A saintly person keeps the Commandments; however, he may possess various human qualities, dispositions that make the imitation of Jesus a sanctifying process. These weaknesses make him choose constantly between himself and God. It is in this emptying of oneself and the “putting on of Jesus” that he becomes holy.

Holiness is a “growth experience” and growth consists in advancing in knowledge, love, self-control and all those other imitable virtues of Jesus. We must not lose sight of holiness as we grow, for holiness only means that Jesus is more to us than anyone or anything else in the world. But this desire to belong entirely to God does not exclude being loving to our neighbor, compassionate, caring, patient and kind. Our desire to belong to God enhances all these virtues in our souls, increases our love for our neighbor and makes us more unselfish.

A housewife becomes holy by being a loving wife and mother, filled with compassion for her family because she is filled with the compassionate Jesus.

A husband and father becomes holy by being a good pro­vider, hardworking, honest and understanding because his model is the provident Jesus.

Both husband and wife become holy together as their love for Jesus grows. Love makes them see themselves and change those frailties that are not like their Model. In doing this, life together is less complicated and more loving and understanding. They are bound together by love and prayer, mutual striving and forgiving.

Children become holy by being obedient, thoughtful, joyful and loving. These qualities are maintained by grace and prayer.

Being faithful to the duties of one’s state in life and faithful to the grace of the moment are not as easy as they appear. Our temperament, weaknesses, society, work and even the weather clamor for our attention. Living a spiritual life in an unspiritual world and maintaining the principles of Jesus over the principles of this world is hard, but within reach of all. The paradox is that if we choose evil over good it is hell all the way to hell and that is harder.

Christianity is a way of life, a way of thought, a way of action that is contrary to the way of the world. This makes the Christian stand alone and it is this aloneness that discourages him from striving for holiness. However, it is this same aloneness that makes him stand out in a crowd. He becomes a beacon for those who do not enjoy the darkness, a light that enlightens the minds of all around him, a fire that warms cold hearts.

He struggles as all men struggle; he works, eats, sleeps, cries and laughs, but the spirit in which he accomplishes ordinary human needs and demands makes him holy. He does not always make the right decisions but he learns from his mistakes. He does not correspond to every grace, but he accepts his failures with humility and tries harder to be like the Master. He does not condone sin, and though he is ever aware of his own sinner condition, he loves his neighbor enough to correct him with gentleness when his soul is in danger.

He is free to have or have not, for his real treasure is Jesus and the invisible realities. He can possess with detachment or be dispossessed without bitterness.

He knows his Father well enough to entrust his past to His mercy. The Spirit is a friend who guides his steps and straight­ens the crooked paths ahead. His time and talents are spent in the imitation of Jesus in the ever present now.

The saint is the person who loves Jesus on a personal level; loves Him enough to want to be like Him in everyday life; loves Him enough to take on some of His loveable character­istics. Like Jesus, he lovingly accomplishes the Father’s Will, knowing that all things are turned to good because he is loved personally by such a great God.

Let us not be confused by the talents and missions of other Saints. Let us be the kind of saints we were created to be. There are no little or great saints — only men and women who struggled and prayed to be like Jesus — doing the Father’s Will from moment to moment wherever they are and whatever they are doing.

Saints are ordinary people with the compassion of the Father in their souls, the humility of Jesus in their minds and the love of the Spirit in their hearts. When these beautiful qualities grow day by day in everyday situations, holiness is born.

The Father gave His Son so we would become His children and heirs of His Kingdom. Jesus was born, lived and died and rose to show us the way to the Father. The Spirit gave us His gifts so we would be clothed with the jewels of virtue, the gold of love, the emeralds of hope and the brilliant diamonds of faith.

Let us not be content with the scotch tape and the aluminum foil of this world.

Be Holy — wherever you are!

Lay Saints: Ascetics and Penitents

In her 2016 book, “Lay Saints: Ascetics and Penitents,” Joan Carroll Cruz includes 58 profiles including Venerable Matt Talbot  (pages 169-173), which can be read in its entirety at https://www.scribd.com/document/335235532/Lay-Saints-Ascetics-and-Penitents-Joan-Carroll-Cruz

A Transformation Story

In her 2016 memoir, “The Prayer Lines Behind the Bylines,” journalist Ann Hauprich shares some inspiring stories including that of Rev. William (Padre Guilherme) Tracy, CSSR:
 

“As a Roman Catholic school student half a century ago, I learned about St. Martin of Tours. In those days, St. Martin was heralded as a “Patron Saint of reformed drunkards.” In today’s vernacular, he is revered as a “Patron Saint of Recovering Alcoholics.”

The ministries of Saint Monica, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Jude and the Venerable Matt Talbot also brought light into the darkness of alcoholics of bygone eras – and continue to inspire those seeking to recover from addictions today. But in no book have I encountered a “Patron Saint of Recovering Alcoholic Clergy.”

Then it dawned on me that whether or not such a title has ever been — or will ever be – bestowed upon a mortal, the Rev. William Tracy has, by word and deed, exemplified what it is to be the latter...”  Continue reading this chapter at http://legaciesunlimited.com/father-william-tracy.htm. (And note there is an expanded PDF version of this chapter.)

“The greatest proof in my life that God really loves me is that

I am sober today and free from the living death of active alcoholism.

I am grateful that what for 20 years had been my greatest shame

has been transformed into the precious gift of helping others.”

                                                       Rev. William Tracy

Twelve Steps to Spiritual Freedom

 

Joanna Thyer, a hospital chaplain, medical educator and counselor in Australia, has authored Twelve Steps to Spiritual Freedom: Understanding the Christian Roots of Twelve Step Programs, Loyola Press (2014).

"This book integrates the emotional and spiritual journeys of the author's and others' personal stories, with the spiritual wisdom of the Twelve Step program of Alcoholics Anonymous, and the inherent wisdom of the Christian mystical tradition, especially that of St Ignatius of Loyola. 

The insights shared will help those seeking spiritual development, whether they are in recovery programs or not; those dealing with life crises such as addiction or depression; and those with or without a faith.  Counselors, therapists, social workers, and family and friends who support their recovery efforts will also benefit from the contents of this book."

Following “My Story: In the Desert” and the Introduction, the author begins with the “Matt Talbot’s Story” in Chapter 1, titled “Moments of Truth,” which can be read at https://www.loyolapress.com/products/books/spirituality-inspiration/twelve-steps-to-spiritual-freedom
or https://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Steps-Spiritual-Freedom-Understanding/dp/0829440526

How Saints Found God’s Will

Regarding the book written by Julie Onderko, titled: Discover Your Next Mission from God: Saints who found God's will--and how you can too, Sophia Institute Press (2015), the publisher states in part the following:

“God created each person for a specific purpose and with a specific mission. How do I find out what that mission is?

Every saint in heaven once asked this question. Their path to discovering God’s will was often frustrating and tedious, but their reward for perseverance is eternity in heaven.

In this book the author uncovers the lives of countless saints to show how they searched for — and ultimately discovered — God’s will for their lives. By reflecting on the decisions, circumstances, and ever-guiding love of God in the saints’ lives, you’ll come to a greater knowledge of how to see and live the plan He has for your life...”

In Chapter 4 titled “Practice Humility, The Essential Ingredient,” Venerable Matt Talbot is the focus on pages 35-40, which can be read at

https://books.google.com/books?id=lBR6CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=matt+talbot++humility&source=bl&ots=_QtGKgjmLr&sig=IUkPFlEzL4JIKQDeA8d1nLdUkR4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjbp_nR-IPeAhXGooMKHWfWCAk4HhDoATAEegQIBRAB

MATT TALBOT, THE COMMON MAN

In 1945 Rev. Thomas J. McCarthy, Ph.D. delivered five addresses for the nationwide Catholic Hour radio program in a series titled, SAINTS FOR THE TIMES, which were then published under the two titles:
Saints for the Times: five addresses delivered in the nationwide Catholic Hour, produced by the National Council of Catholic Men, in cooperation with the National Broadcasting Company, from October 28, 1945 through November 25, 1945. Our Sunday Visitor Press (1946) 

John Henry Newman, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Thomas More, Matt Talbot: Five Catholic hour addresses delivered by the Reverend Thomas J. McCarthy, Ph.D.  Newman Bookshop (1945)

While the three saints in this book have been deceased for centuries,  John Henry Newman (now Blessed) had died 55 years before these presentations and Matt Talbot had been deceased for only two decades and would not be declared “Venerable” for another three decades.

While we are only posting this very meaningful chapter on Matt Talbot, the entire book can be read online at https://archive.org/details/saintsfortimesfi00m.

2019 Update: This link is no longer operational but the second title will appear by posting the book title on Google for a list of universities in USA and UK that have it.

 Twenty years ago Matt Talbot was picked up dead on a Dublin Street. A simple laborer, his passing rated only the summary obituary notice that simple laborers receive — a few lines of agate type tucked away in the daily newspaper: "Matthew Francis Talbot; age, 69; died June 7th; funeral Mass, Jesuit Church, Gardiner Street; burial, Glasnevin Cemetery." That was all the press had to say of Matt Talbot at his death, and that was 20 years ago.

Today we know much more of Matt Talbot than most of the people who read that obituary notice, because today, six full-length books have appeared, not to mention hundreds of essays, articles, and pamphlets, having as their subject this lovable, thoroughly appealing, and warmly human person. The affectionate reference to him as “Matt’' rather than the more formal “Matthew" is at once the key to his hold upon the hearts of so many people. It is as though he lived just down the street from us and we had known him personally for many years.

Thousands of men and women all over the English-speaking world are praying, only 20 years after his death, that Matt Talbot will be canonized by the Catholic Church, that his name one day will be honored at the altar even as the names of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Thomas More are now honored. When we speak of him today, we do in no way wish to anticipate the judgment of the Catholic Church upon his life of prayer and good works. We simply wish to hold out for consideration his life of great sanctity, hard work, and extraordinary discipline, and to indicate its significance. For Matt Talbot's story is bound to inspire, and the more it gets around, the more good it will do. He has significance, today, for two reasons. First, an America that is discouraged and disheartened at its failure to control its habit of drink can learn much from his solution; and secondly, Matt Talbot is desperately needed as a symbol by workingmen not only in America but throughout the whole world.

He was born in Dublin half way through the last century — in 1856. He was one of 12 children, of a good father and a great mother. Poverty knew his family very well. At an early age, at the age of 12 to be exact, Matt left school and went to work as a messenger boy for a wine merchant. He developed in that job a taste for wine which led to the habit of drink. And before he was 14 he was spending his weekly pay, such as it was, in the saloons instead of bringing it home to his mother. At 14 years of age, a drunkard ! Imagine, at an age when a boy should have been worrying about his athletic prowess or his skill at games, this boy was caught fast in drink, and for almost 15 years he was to remain under the tyranny of this habit. So strong was its hold over him that on one occasion he gave the very shoes off his feet in payment for a drink.

One night, though, at the age of 26, he came home to his mother and told her he was going to give up drinking. Like any mother, her heart quickened at this news; and yet she had been subjected to so many disappointments in the past that she must have wondered whether he could persevere. She sent him off to the priest, nonetheless, with the blessing of God upon him. After seeing the priest. Matt promised to abstain from intoxicating liquor for three months. That promise was not easy to keep. His whole system, so long accustomed to the stimulation of liquor, was now shocked by the lack of it. Worse still, there was a loneliness enforced upon him. — he could no longer go to the drinking places he had once frequented, he could no longer spend his evenings in the company of those with whom he had traveled for 14 years. To keep his pledge, he had to endure the bleakness of his hall bedroom during the evening hours when his day’s work was done. So desperately did he feel this sense of isolation that he grew testy, even with his mother, and threatened to go back to his drink. But she, wonderful  psychologist, sensing that no man can live in a vacuum, understanding that no man can turn from a life of sin or dissipation and have any success living virtuously unless he embrace some positive program of activity, encouraged her boy to fill up that void which the loss of drink had made in his life by taking Jesus Christ as his companion each morning in Holy Communion.

This he began to do, but his progress was discouragingly slow. The fierce temptation to drink persisted — at times agonizing in its intensity — and Matt must have wondered whether he could persevere. He must have wondered whether Christ could ever become so attractive as to counteract a habit made strong by 14 years of exercise. He stayed with his resolution, however, and for his constancy Christ rewarded him. Three months went by and he took no liquor — then a year passed. And now strength and confidence surged in his heart. He pledged himself not to touch any liquor, ever, for the remainder of his life. And he kept that pledge. And because he kept that pledge we say he is significant for America.

There is little use closing our eyes to the paralyzing effect which drink has in this country. Not drink within the limits of reason, but that habit of drink, unreasonable and excessive, which has resulted in the breaking of homes, in scalding many a mother’s, many a wife’s heart, in crushing the promise of so many business and professional careers — that habit which has become, on the testimony of expert medical men, one of America’s outstanding problems.

Now the problem of drink is mainly psychological. It involves the will. All the medical care and institutional cures in the world cannot save a man from drink if he does not sincerely will to give it up. The change has to come from within. It was so in Matt Talbot’s life. It must be so in the life of anyone thus afflicted. See what that change from within did for Matt Talbot. He still went through the simple routine of his daily round but now there was a difference. His long day at work, formally humdrum and unattractive, in itself a strong temptation to drink, was now made wonderfully attractive by the life of prayer accompanying it.

When we say a long day, think of the schedule he followed. Up at two o’clock in the morning after only three or four hours sleep on a plank bed with wooden pillow. Never mind if you can’t understand such discipline, such mortification! Never mind if you do not see the need of it! It was Matt’s way and it was a good way. He would pray for two hours in the early morning, get dressed and go off to 5:30 Mass. There he would receive Holy Communion and return to his room for a sparse breakfast. Then off to work in the lumber yards at 7:30. This was his daily routine for 41 years.

He was never late and he was not lazy — and his work was good because it was also his prayer. Thus, there was no break in his prayer from the time he rose in the morning until he slept at night. At 5:30 when his work was through at the yards, he would return home for an indifferent meal — food and drink now exerted no tyranny over him. He was above their reach, and small wonder, for his thoughts constantly were on Christ, His Blessed Mother, and the Saints. The evening hours, once so lonely and full of temptation to be out drinking, now were short enough and never lonely for Matt because of his prayer and spiritual reading.

We have said that his work was also his prayer and that is me truth. In America we have lost that notion of work as prayer, and we are the poorer for having lost it. We have forgotten that work, all work, has a dignity — and that men must see in their daily tasks, no matter how menial, how governed by routine, wonderful opportunities for improving their spiritual resources. If the American workingman will take Matt Talbot as his model, he can enrich his life immeasurably. This is not to say that he must be meek to the point of tolerating injustice and taking no steps to remedy it. Matt Talbot, for all his subdued way, went out on strike from the lumber yards when the strike was called. He did not, however, take part in recriminations and in expressions of hatred, for in the good common sense which he possessed so abundantly, he knew that nothing would be accomplished that way save the deepening of the rift between the worker and his employer.

One other thing! There is a lot of silly sentiment expressed about the common man today. The press and radio have proclaimed that the century of the common man is here. He has been rhapsodized and made a great deal of and yet very little has come of it all. For to most of us in America, the common man still has no face. We know that we are passing him every day on our streets and yet we cannot point him out. He is for all intents and purposes an abstraction, the subject of articles and talks but never a living person whom we can recognize.

If the 20th century wants an image of the common man, let it look to Matt Talbot. Was ever a man so common — broken shoes, torn trousers, odd coat, five dollars a week for wages, ill-regulated diet, cold, damp hall-bedroom, long hours at work. Why these are all the things that plague and have plagued the laboring man in our society. These are the things the laboring man has been longing to correct, and they find their complete expression in Matt. Yet for all his handicaps. Matt Talbot was patient of his lot and he achieved happiness at his work. He knew a society could have a 40 hour week, a minimum wage law, protection for the aged, good living conditions, and still be miserable and unhappy if it did not have God. He knew that many men would use their new found leisure and increased wages only to lose God and to sin more grievously than ever they had sinned in the past. He knew the weakness of the common man because he knew his own weakness. He realized that commonness is very often mediocrity and that a man cannot save his soul if he is mediocre. He saw that life could only be successful for the common man if he would be uncommonly good, uncommonly faithful in prayer, uncommonly reliant upon God. 

If Matt Talbot ever becomes canonized, it will be not only Matt, but millions of other men who in all countries of the world have chosen to follow Christ without any fanfare or publicity day in and day out at their daily tasks, providing faithfully for their families, seeking no awards or medals, caring not if the world ever sees or hears them, hoping only to merit Christ’s clasp of their hand as they go through life. If Matt Talbot is raised to the altar, the common man will be given a greater recognition in that single gesture than ever he has received since Christ walked along the roads of Judea and chose His first followers from among the ranks of those simple, nameless folk who have never since forgotten the honor He bestowed upon them; who as a consequence have treasured their anonymity, their obscurity, in the hope that He will always feel free to walk in their midst, in the hope that He will always feel free to turn to them at any time for help in accomplishing His work upon this earth.

When Christ touched the heart of Matt Talbot, He indicated once more His identity with the poor and with those whom the world has so grievously sinned against. And having touched the heart of this common man and having given it such wonderful strength, millions of hearts everywhere have begun to beat faster in the knowledge that Christ still does not forget, that He still walks among the little people of the world and in their midst He is most at home and from their midst He receives His greatest homage.

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Matt Talbot included in “Spirited Lives”

Author Connie Clark has just published Spirited Lives: 20 Stories of Saints and Their Amazing Gifts (Twenty-Third Publications), a 64 page paperback  written for teens and young adults. 

 

The first section of seven chapters focuses on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the second section of thirteen focuses on the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Each chapter directs the reader to focus on how a particular saint, blessed, or venerable put a particular gift into action. “Self-control” is illustrated by Venerable Matt Talbot.

 

A selection of the contents of this book can be found at http://www.amazon.com/dp/1627850937/ref=rdr_ext_tmb.

Facing Demons

Dr. Ronda Chervin’s latest book, Avoiding Bitterness in Suffering: How Our Heroes in Faith Found Peace Amid Sorrow, was just published last month by Sophia Institute Press.

 

In the chapter titled “Meeting Christ in Temptation,” Dr. Chervin discusses saints and holy people who were periodically surrounded by “gruesome tormenting demons."

 

She provides two examples in which Matt Talbot suffered from “violent oppression demons,” one occurring while waiting to enter a church and another within church while approaching the alter rail. She also notes Matt’s practices of fasting and penances to help him overcome temptation to drink.

 

These remarks can be read on pages 222-223 at http://www.amazon.com/Avoiding-Bitterness-Suffering-Heroes-Sorrow/dp/1622823036#reader_1622823036

Venerable Matt Talbot included in new Celtic Saints book

In his latest book, The Spirituality of Celtic Saints (2015, New Priory Press), theologian Richard J. Woods, O.P., provides a thorough survey of Celtic saints.

 

Venerable Matt Talbot is included in the section titled “Urban Sanctity,” pages 216-217 (among other pages) at the link:

http://www.amazon.com/reader/1623110319?_encoding=UTF8&query=matt%20talbot#reader_1623110319

Venerable Matt Talbot included in “The Catholic Advantage”

In his latest book, The Catholic Advantage: Why Health, Happiness, and Heaven Await the Faithful (2015),

Dr. William A. Donohue, President and CEO of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Right (USA), states

“Not all Catholic heroes become saints, and not all whose sufferings bring solace to the afflicted achieve sainthood. There are some, however, whose spiritual journey merits them being declared Venerable, a status short of sainthood. One of the most interesting persons to achieve this level of recognition is Matt Talbot, known as the patron of alcoholics.” 

 

The four page section about Matt can be read (within Chapter 4: Coping with Adversity) at

https://books.google.com/books?id=NJFoBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT94&dq=bill+donohue++matt+talbot&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2TQkVe-eFszuoASoy4CICQ&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%20matt%20talbot&f=false. Other sections of this book can also be previewed.

Matt Talbot essay included in “The Catholic Collection”

 

 

“Matt Talbot” by Eily MacAdam has been included in The Catholic Collection: 734 Catholic Essays and Novels on Authentic Catholic Teaching (2013) by Catholic Way

Publishing. It can be read at http://books.google.com/books?id=a6t1AgAAQBAJ&dq=editions%3AINVLNDoQQFoC&q=matt+talbot#v=snippet&q=matt%20talbot&f=false  or the entire book can be purchased in a Kindle format for $1.99 at http://www.amazon.com/The-Catholic-Collection-Authentic-Teaching-ebook/dp/B00BNMX7AY.

 

The content of “Matt Talbot” by Eily MacAdam has previously been been published in various formats, editions, and with different titles, including "Matt Talbot (2000)

http://www.ecatholic2000.com/cts/untitled-279.shtml and “The Holy Man of Dublin: The Wonder of Matt Talbot, 1856-1925” (1938) http://pamphlets.org.au/docs/cts/ireland/pdf/ctsibh242a.pdf.

An archbishop's meditation about Venerable Matt Talbot

Our Sunday Visitor will be publishing on 31 March 2014 a collection of meditations titled, A Journey to the Heart of Jesus: Guideposts Along the Way by J. Peter Sartain, Archbishop of Seattle.
 

Within Chapter 5, pages 140-143,  titled, “Handing Ourselves Over to God,” Archbishop Sartain shares some experiences of his family and friends regarding Matt Talbot as a family patron of loss causes, as a patron for alcoholics working the A.A. program of recovery, and as a model of Christian life and holiness for all. This and other meditations can be read at http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Heart-Jesus-Guideposts-Along/dp/1612787681#reader_1612787681


The original meditation that was published earlier can be read at http://venerablematttalbotresourcecenter.blogspot.com/2007/12/christian-witnesses-encourage-us-to.html

Venerable Matt Talbot included in SAINTS ALIVE!

Saints Alive! the Gospel Witnessed, authored by Sr. Marie Paul Curley and Sr. Mary Lea Hill, has just been published by Pauline Books & Media. This collection of stories features 31 saints from different eras, continents, and walks of life. Each brief story highlights a particular aspect of or challenge in the saint's life and connects it to a Gospel verse. Themes include: conversion, discipleship, bearing witness, ministering to Christ, love, suffering, union with God, living the Word, and faith.

 

A detailed description of this book is available at http://store.pauline.org/english/books/list/0/productid/4248.aspx?txtsearch=%22saints+alive%22&sortfield=productname%2cproductname and a slightly different book preview is available at http://www.amazon.com/Saints-Alive-Gospel-Witnessed-Curley/dp/0819872903.

 

The companion book, Saints Alive! The Faith Proclaimed, featuring different saints and themes is described at http://www.amazon.com/Saints-Alive-Marie-Paul-Curley/dp/0819872865/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384566724&sr=1-2&keywords=saints+alive!

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Also note that online resources on the saints from Saints Alive! is available at http://www.pauline.org/Strength-for-Your-Day/Abide-in-Gods-Love/Abide-in-His-Love-Blog/ArticleID/192

Striving for Christian Virtue

 

In his 2010 book, Young Men Rise Up, Australian Roman Catholic priest Fr. Ken Barker addresses faith, prudence, temperance, love, justice and mercy, fortitude, and hope.

 

Within the topic of temperance, Fr. Barker discusses sobriety beginning on page 57 and devotes pages 63-65 to Venerable Matt Talbot. To access the content, type “Matt Talbot” in the “search inside” box at Young Men Rise Up - Father Ken Barker - Google Books

“I am an Alcoholic, Lord”

This is the title of one chapter from the book,  It's me again, Lord: Heart-to-heart chats between God and myself,” by the late popular Irish author and speaker, Fr. Jack McArdle. It was originally published in 1998 by Columba Press and can be read (and prayed) by anyone with an interest in alcoholism and other addictions at http://www.holyspiritinteractive.org/library/476, May, 2013.  We sincerely appreciate the content being available online. Other chapters that may be of interested are also listed. 

Before reading this chapter, however, it is worthwhile to read the introductory chapter regarding prayer and the book’s format at  http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/columns/jackmcardle/itsmeagainlord/introduction.asp.

The Cause for Matt Talbot (in Fiction)

Irish writer and poet Gerry McDonnell has just published Martin Incidentally. While a novella, each chapter can also be read as a short story. 
 

One chapter is titled, “The Cause for Matt Talbot,” which begins on page 32 at  http://books.google.com/books?id=8LXZO_HuWpsC&dq=matt+talbot++sainthood&q=matt+talbot#v=snippet&q=matt%20talbot&f=false. The entire chapter, however, is not available for preview.


Update:  Upon request a complete copy of this chapter can be emailed to you from gerrypoet@gmail.com or us at http://venerablematttalbotresourcecenter.blogspot.com


Another post related to a Matt Talbot radio play by Gerry is available at  http://venerablematttalbotresourcecenter.blogspot.com/2014/12/an-opportunity-to-produce-venerable.html

A different perspective of Matt Talbot

In this his latest book, Sharing God's Good Company: A Theology of the Communion of Saints (2012), David Matzko McCarthy explores the role and significance of the saints in Christians' lives today. He views Venerable Matt Talbot as an anti-hero or anti-saint and as a holy fool. It can be read on pages 52, 73-76 at http://books.google.com/books?id=jLg6s3ayrlcC&q=matt+talbot#v=snippet&q=matt%20talbot&f=false

Matt Talbot: Facing Adversity with Grace

In her latest book, Facing Adversity With Grace: Lessons From The Saints (2012), Koenig-Bricker includes a chapter on some lessons from Venerable Matt Talbot’s life as an example of using his addiction as a means of growth rather than just something to be endured. Whether struggling with this particular adversity or seeking to support a loved one who is suffering, the author provides questions for reflection.

By clinking this link, http://bookstore.wau.org/productdetails.cfm?SKU=BSUFE9&utm_source=wau-org&utm_medium=ad-sidebar&utm_campaign=meditations and

clicking Read a chapter from this book, you should be able to read the introduction and 10 page Matt Talbot chapter.

To read more about this book, click Interview with Woodeene Koenig-Bricker on Facing Adversity with Grace: Lessons from the Saints.

Matt Talbot included in "Treasures of Irish Christianity"

A book description of Treasures of Irish Christianity: People and Places, Images and Texts, a newly published book by Veritas Publications, states: “In almost eighty short articles, a host of leading scholars from the worlds of history, liturgy, theology, philosophy, art history, and Celtic Studies reflect upon aspects of the history of the Christian tradition in Ireland from the fifth to the twenty-first century. This is a wide-ranging illustrated collection which draws from the major Christian denominations in Ireland and includes entries on significant people, texts, images, and events that have shaped the Irish Christian experience.”

Included in this paperback is the brief article, “Matt Talbot and the Eucharist: The Conquest of Freedom in the Face of Addiction.” To read this article click “look inside,” type in “Matt Talbot,” and sign-in at http://www.amazon.com/Treasures-Irish-Christianity-People-Places/dp/1847303641

Additional information about this book can be found at http://www.catholicbishops.ie/2012/06/27/treasures-irish-christianity-launched-st-patricks-college-maynooth/

Note:The “Time Magazine” reference in the text of the Matt Talbot article can be found at http://venerablematttalbotresourcecenter.blogspot.com/2007/12/matt-talbot-makes-time-magazine-in-1931.html

Venerable Matt Talbot Included in New Anthology

Fr. William J. Bausch, author of more than 25 books and noted by his publisher as “The Pastor of Pastors,” has included Matt Talbot in his new book, An Anthology of Saints: Official, Unofficial, and Should-Be Saints, published by Twenty-Third Publications (February, 2012). Matt’s story can be read on pages 123-125 at

http://books.google.com/books?id=Oejh6f0B_J0C&pg=PA123&dq=matt+talbot&lr=&ei=uQW0T5fkC4SwMsXR7KEM&cd=12&hl=en#v=onepage&q=matt%20talbot&f=false

Note that Matt died at the age of 69, not 65 as stated in the text.