In this very informative and timely article, Cathal Barry presents the life, influence, and road to sainthood of Venerable Matt Talbot.
Following his introduction, reproduced below, Mr.
Cathal divides his article into three sections: “Matt story,” a biographical
sketch of his life, “The ultimate layman,” based on an interview with Fr. Brian Lawless, Vice Postulator of the Cause for the Canonisation of Matt
Talbot, and “Matt Talbot changed my life,” an interview with addiction
counsellor, Michael Murphy.
Matt Talbot - Urban ascetic
by Cathal Barry,
Columnist
The Irish
Catholic
May 8, 2014
“We live in an
age of addictions more sophisticated than ever before. Addictions to substances
such as alcohol and other drugs soft and hard, prescription and illegal,
addictions to gambling, the internet, work, money and power. All these have the
ability to destroy our lives and often end up eating away at our very souls as
well.
Matt Talbot
gradually came to this awareness and from the time of his conversion as a young
man of 28, he spent the rest of his life living to a heroic extent the Christian
virtues through prayer, spiritual reading, work and acts of charity.
His life is a
witness to the fact that people can, by God's grace and their own self
acceptance, say no to that which leads to addiction or addictive
behaviours...”
Note: A
companion article by the author can be read at http://www.irishcatholic.ie/article/lobby-pope-matt-talbot-sainthood-%E2%80%93-call