Venerable Matt Talbot, S.F.O. Image

SOURCE:  https://www.ourhouseministries.org/secular-franciscans/

Reflections of an Indian Catholic Alcoholic

October 15, 2017
https://indiancatholicmatters.org/reflections-indian-catholic-alcoholic/  


"My name is XXX. I am a Catholic and I am an Alcoholic. This is my story.

1000 days, so far, without touching a drop of alcohol. By the Grace of God. I have come to this milestone this month. Unthinkable for a typical businessman living in one of India’s fastest growing cities, who liked living the high life: Clubs, 5-star events, receptions, etc were a major part of most of my adult life till the past three years. The ostensible reason for my being at all these events, taking up memberships in all the possible Clubs in town and becoming one of the most networked people in the business circles in my City was business networking and the opportunities there-on. The actual reason why I was so regular at these events was alcohol: my poison of choice, whisky.

To cut a long story short, and it is probably, one that you have heard before till this point, is that I became more and more attracted to alcohol. After all, it had been my friend since college days at age of 18 years for almost 30 years. It transformed me from a shy introvert to the life of the party. Through all these years of my relationship with alcohol, I have never been pulled up for drunken driving nor ever had any accidents under the influence, or any problems at work. I was able to give up drinking for the normal Catholic seasons of Lent and Advent.

However, after these seasons were over, I would always make up overtime with alcohol to compensate for the period without! Slowly, a realisation that this unhealthy attraction (drinking alcohol per se is not bad, but only if done in moderation, and some of us just can’t drink in moderation!) was gaining precedence over my behavior, brought on by the pleadings of my better half, to give up this habit, prompted me to try and stop drinking alcohol not for a few days, but for life. Also, helping me make this hard decision was the first hand, experience of the problems that one of my closest college friends was having due to his own love for alcohol: DUI, Divorce, loss of custody of the kids and home – he had to face this all.

I can remember clearly my last drinking day. A Friday evening in October, three years ago. I was at a popular Club in the city and must have had quite a few pegs of India’s finest whisky. Next day, decided to stop. Joining Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) – which in fact has meetings in many churches, seemed not an option for me. In the Indian context, what would people say? There might be someone who might recognise you, etc, etc. So many of these thoughts might not occur to someone in the US or elsewhere.

So, in desperation, I turned to God and my Catholic Faith to bring me out of my love affair with Alcohol. I reasoned that other Catholics and many Saints could have overcome this battle too and I could learn from them and started researching this topic.

On going through the Net, I read the fascinating account of a Catholic Irishman who lived in the last century, and had a dramatic conversion from a life of alcoholism. His name was Matt Talbot, and he holds the status of Venerable in the Catholic Church today. Matt fought off his desire to drink by initially taking a three month sobriety pledge, then extending it to six months, then a year, and finally for life. Matt overcame his temptations by attending Daily Mass, turning to life of prayer and solitude, and avoiding going to bars by frequent prayers in churches. I read that Matt was a Third Order Secular Franciscan and this made me reach out to the Franciscans in my city.


I called the Franciscan Friary and was connected to a kindly Friar who gave me a lot of literature on Franciscan spirituality and in particular on a little man from Assisi, St Francis who renounced a life of decadence and pleasure for one of poverty and penance and living as per God’s Will. Incidentally, the St Francis prayer is an integral part of AA matters even today. You know, the one that goes” “Lord make me a channel of your peace etc..”

Internet search also led me to the Pioneer Temperance Association, where members pledge not to consume alcohol via the pledge (Heroic Offering) to the Sacred Heart for the sake of excessive drinkers. This pledge was modelled on Jesuit spirituality and the devotion to the Sacred Heart made known by St Margaret Mary Alacoque.

I reproduce the Heroic Offering here:

The Heroic Offering
“For thy greater Glory and consolation, O most Sacred Heart of Jesus, for Thy sake, to give good example, to practice self-denial, to make reparation to Thee for the sins of intemperance and for the conversion of excessive drinkers, I will abstain for life from all intoxicating drinks, Amen”.

I found great consolation in saying the Offering everyday during Daily Mass, especially at the time of the Eucharistic Offering, praying especially that this day I would not touch alcohol. I found that visiting the Blessed Sacrament before any party where I knew alcohol would be served, and saying the Pledge, would also help strengthen me get through the occasion.

Researching further, I found that Catholic spirituality had its roots intertwined with AA and has an indelible influence on the AA movement right from the early days. An Catholic Priest Jesuit Fr. Ed Dowling was one of the earliest friends and spiritual advisors of Bill W, the Founder of AA. Sr. Ignatia also started the concept of giving out sobriety medals. A recovering alcoholic catholic priest Fr. Martin was famous for the Chalk Talks series that could be found on the net and explain very simply the causes of alcoholism. Calix – an association of recovering catholic alcoholics is also a useful resource on the internet.

All these resources strengthened me and helped me come to this point of 1000 days. I have weathered parties, receptions, vacations, special events, relative get togethers, where there is free flow of alcohol, without any problems. I cannot deny that it is not easy, but have managed. I am closer to God and my family, as well as am very involved with Church and related faith activities these days, besides being a Secular Franciscan. I have much more free time to spend with my family and my prayer life and health has also improved as well as relationships with others.

Of course, life without alcohol has to be faced head on; there is no numbing anaesthetic to take away your problems temporarily. Realising the opportunities lost when one placed alcohol more important than other things also brings on regret of the past, but all this can be washed away by having a Good Confession , and resolving to make a new beginning.
.
Why am I writing all this down? It is just to document my search on how looking for help in my religion – the beautiful Catholic Faith has helped me overcome my love for alcohol. I hope you might find some of this information helpful, if you have a love affair with alcohol, like I did and you are a Catholic. With God, all things are possible. It does involve a change of lifestyle habits, and sometimes a change in friends too. But if Matt Talbot could do it, let us draw inspiration and follow his example.

In writing this article, I wanted to condense the past three years of my learning of using my Catholic faith to overcome my love for alcohol, with the hope that it might help someone struggling with a similar problem somewhere. By sharing this experience, I am strengthened to continue in this journey for lifetime sobriety.

God Bless and I ask you to keep me in your prayers, as I take it one day a time, With God and Without Alcohol. Because through Him, all things are possible!"


NOTE: Another recent article titled, Helping The Catholic Alcoholic, at http://thewandererpress.com/catholic/news/frontpage/helping-the-catholic-alcoholic/ offers a different author’s recovery reflections about alcoholism and the value of 12 step programs but is not specifically Catholic in content despite its title.He does, however, mention Matt Talbot.

One Unique SAINT of the DAY Website Noting Venerable Matt Talbot

Saint of the Day – 7 June: Venerable Matt Talbot OFS

by Ana StPaul

Breathing Catholic

Posted on 7 June 2017
 

This special website begins on one of the following 4 links about Venerable Matt Talbot OFS:

“Venerable Matt Talbot OFS (1856 – 1925) (born Matthew Talbot) – Layman, Ascetic, Mystic – known as the “Saint in Overalls” and “the Workers’ Saint”, disciple of Eucharistic Adoration and the Blessed Virgin –  Patron of Struggling and Recovering Addicts and Alcoholics and many addiction treatment programs, retreats and centres throughout the world bear his name.  His grave is at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Seán McDermott Street, Dublin.”

Saint of the Day--Venerable Matt Talbot OFS (1856 – 1925) https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/06/07/saint-of-the-day-7-june-venerable-matt-talbot-ofs/

Thought for the Day--https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/06/07/thought-for-the-day-7-june/

Quote/ of the Day – https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/06/07/quote-of-the-day-7-june/

One Minute Reflection – https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/06/07/one-minute-reflection-7-june/

Note one correction in the above content: Anyone who receives a favour through the intercession of Matt Talbot is requested to write to the current Vice Postulator of the Cause for Canonisation of Matt Talbot who is Fr. Brian Lawless at http://www.matttalbot.ie/contact.htm and/or at frbrian@stagathasparish.ie

Venerable Matt Talbot: An Extravagant Lover of God

“Clinging to Onions:  Venerable Matthew Talbot (1856-1925)”
by Rick Becker 

January 28, 2017

http://clingingtoonions.blogspot.com/2017/01/venerable-matthew-talbot-1856-1925.html

True lovers love extravagantly, and Matthew Talbot was an extravagant lover of God. This Franciscan tertiary's penitential practices might come across as excessively severe today, but they were in fact unabashed outpourings of a soul totally abandoned to the Lord.

Talbot was born in Dublin, Ireland, the second of 12 children in a poor working-class family. With only a single year of formal schooling from the Christian Brothers, the 12-year-old Matthew started working to augment his father's meager wages and help support the family. His first job was running messages for a wine merchant, and Matt Proved himself to be a hardy and dependable employee.

Through the influence of his mother, Talbot was initially inclined to moral living, but the bad example of his fellow workers took its toll on the impressionable youth. Talbot's work afforded him easy access to alcohol, and his introduction to strong drink quickly developed into a full-blown addiction. He always managed to keep down a laboring job of one kind or another, but Matt's drinking inevitably disrupted his personal affairs. His wages were increasingly devoted to purchasing liquor instead of helping his family; he once sold his own shoes for another drink.

By the time Matt was 28, his derelict condition had progressed to the point that even his drinking buddies avoided him. Desperate, ashamed, and abandoned, he approached a priest one night for confession and followed it up by taking a three-month pledge of abstinence. Talbot doubted his ability to stay sober for any length of time, but he prayed hard, took one day at a time, and did indeed stay dry. He subsequently pledged to forego alcohol permanently, redirecting his focus toward personal mortification and the interior life.

Talbot took to sleeping no more than four hours a night, and that on a bed of planks with a pine wood block for a pillow. He arose every morning for several hours of prayer on his knees before attending Mass at 6:00 a.m. Then he was off to the lumberyard, where he worked a 10-hour day as he had before his conversion, but now silently communing with his Savior as he labored, and taking every opportunity to exhort his co-workers to sanctity.

Matt fasted often, but even when he didn't, he routinely skipped lunch, spending that time on his knees, and eating only a very light supper after work. He spent his evenings in prayer, or attending a variety of pious gathering, before retiring to bed by 11:00 p.m.

The list of his regular devotional practices is extensive, including 15 decades of the Rosary and the Way of the Cross daily, novenas prior to every feast, substantial spiritual reading, and a variety of popular devotions. On Sundays he would remain in his parish church most of the day to attend every mass. Talbot's was a life wholly given over to the things of God, and he took the greatest joy in lavishing himself on his Creator.

Upon the recommendation of his confessor, Talbot joined the Third Order of St. Francis to add structure to his devotional life and further reinforce his sobriety. It was an ideal match, for Matt had already adopted a Franciscan way of life as if by intuition. Like the Poor Man of Assisi, Talbot embraced poverty and got by on only a fraction of his already meager income. He donated the rest to charity and the missions, and often supplemented the take-home pay of fellow workers who headed large families.

Matt also mirrored St. Francis in sharing Christ's physical agonies. But whereas Francis bore that suffering literally in the stigmata, Talbot took it on by means of heavy chains wound around his body – a mortification that was hidden his whole life and only revealed as nurses prepared his body for burial.

The glow of sanctity attracted many to the simple Talbot, and he gained a reputation as a powerful intercessor, despite his efforts to remain hidden in his life of devotion. So it was that he was sorely missed by many when his penitential lifestyle so strained his health that he had to be hospitalized for lengthy stays on two different occasions. In the end his ill health caught up with him, and he died outside his parish church on the way to a second Mass on Trinity Sunday, 1925. Pope Pius XII introduced Talbot's cause in 1947, and a decree on his virtues was issued in 1975.

Venerable Matt Talbot: A Fool for Christ

In a series of video presentations titled, Fools for Christ: Stories of the Saints, host  Ray Boisvenue, SFO provides an eight minute introduction to the life of Venerable Matt Talbot, which was posted October 2016 at https://vimeo.com/188983314

Matt Talbot: the Chains of Gargle

 

by Rob Buchanan

5th Dec 2014

http://theloosecannonbuchanan.tumblr.com/post/104425453716/matt-talbot-the-chains-of-gargle

 

 

It is the summer of 1925. A crowd surrounds the body man lying motionless on the cobbles of Granby Lane in the grim backstreets of Dublin. He had apparently been running to mass in a nearby church when he dropped dead. A guard arrives on the scene and pushes through the curious onlookers. He rolls the body over to see a gaunt old man’s face. No one present could identify him. As they moved his body to Jervis Street hospital they noted he felt far heavier he looked. When morticians unbuttons his large well-worn coat to look for some form of identification they were shocked at what they found. The frail torso was wrapped in heavy chains and metal cords. He was bound like Marley’s ghost from A Christmas Carol. The largest wound around his waist, others on his arms and legs. The body was later identified as that of Matt Talbot, an unknown Dubliner whose name would soon be on the lips of popes and politicians,and eventually street signs,statues and buildings all over the world.

Dublin in 1856 was a dark time. The day Matt was born a parade celebrating the end of the Crimean War was on in Dublin and it was the first small bit of celebration the city had seen. The Famine had ended and Dublin was bearing the scars both of mass emigration and also the influx of uprooted and desperately poor families from the country. Alcohol was one of the few affordable escapes from the bitter reality of day to day life. The general feeling was that life in Ireland for the working class was the bleakest it had ever been.  The city may have still been in the afterglow of Catholic emancipation but for most average people the new religious freedom meant very little. The industrial revolution never really took hold in Dublin and as a result it was mainly unskilled,casual labourers who swarmed the streets. Guinness and Jameson’s where king when it came to stable employment as well as having a cultural hold on the people via cheap drink and public intoxication. Booze was at the heart of the city and it was being shipped out from the docks and the canals almost as fast as the brewery’s and distilleries could produce it, or Dubliners could drink it. Trams and open top coaches ambled noisily across the city loaded to overflowing with Dubliners. The massive red light zone known as Monto, off O Connell Street (then Sackville Street) was booming with British soldiers and any local with a few shillings in his pocket. This was the hay day for the notorious district which would eventually be brought down by the Legion of Mary and the end of British occupation within a few decades. It was an unlikely breeding ground for religious aesthetic but it was in to this dreary lamp lit port city that Talbot was born to a large poor family of 13 children in Dublin’s North Strand.

When Talbot was still a young boy in 1867 the failed Irish Republican Brotherhood “Fenian” insurrection came to nothing ultimately, despite galvanizing thousands in the city to protest and perhaps consider future possibilities for freedom. But there is no indication that any of this nationalism took root in the Talbot household. They were desperately poor and like most of their class were living in hellishly overcrowded conditions.They were too concerned with their daily bread and their daily pint to look further afield. Alcoholism plagued the men of the family, and when Talbot left school at twelve (which was not uncommon then) his choice of work in a wine merchants proved disastrous. Within a year he was a full blown alcoholic, completely lost in drink. The child was delivering Guinness and getting drunk on the dregs of the returned bottles.The boy then went to work on the Docks near his home and again was drawn to booze by working in the whiskey stores.

 

The drinking culture in Dublin at the time was an endless cycle of poverty and hunger, long miserable working days resulting in wage packets being handed behind the bar. In late 19th century and early 20th century Dublin an appalling procedure of pay for manual labour existed which say workers be required to collect their packet in pubs on Saturday. If it was in cheque form it could only be cashed by the publican himself. Its easy to see how disastrous this was for the families of men waiting at home for food when the father had been all but coerced in to blowing the whole wages in the pub. Like many working class men it was not unusual to pawn the very shirt on his back to fulfill his addiction. He drank regularly in O'Meara’s on the North Strand with his father and brothers. Without a wife or children to provide any framework or motivation to break the cycle, he was still living at home and sinking deeper in to depression. He would literally beg borrow and steal and very quickly became the lowest of the low in a city which was no strangers to mass alcoholism, occasional unemployment and hopelessness. One anecdote, perhaps apocryphal, is that he stole the fiddle of a blind street entertainer to pawn for drink money. At the age of 28 something finally snapped.He had what many addicts call “a moment of clarity” on Newcomen Bridge and decided to take “the pledge.” 

Father Mathew was a famous campaigner in the anti-alcohol abstinence movement in Ireland. A familiar  statue of him stands on O'Connell Street. He popularised the idea of “The Pledge” which was a holy vow taken by lay people to completely stay away from alcohol. Despite of (or perhaps because of)the massive cultural pervasiveness of drunkenness in Irish society at the time, The Pledge became a social phenomenon in the 1840s and 50s. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country began to officially take the pledge. And the results on levels of crime and accidents where dramatic. Everything from robberies to murder rates fell and accidental deaths on roads and workplaces likewise. It was 1884 after the first peak of The Pledge that Matt Talbot decided to commit himself to a teetotal life. He went to Holy Cross College and made the solemn oath and surprisingly to everyone, perhaps himself the most, he stuck to it for the remaining 40 years of his life. To bolster his resolve he began what would today be seen as a fanatic level of commitment to prayer and church attendance. In a project which is still encouraged in the Alcoholics Anonymous movement today, he made a list of all his debtors, people he stole from or hurt and spent his life tracking them down and making amends for what he had done. He fasted and charity work among the homeless and hungry of the city as well as alcoholics like himself. He began to siphon all his earnings beyond his meager diet and rent to pay for food and clothing for an ever increasing circle of dependent families. One description of him from a fellow member of the Third Order of Saint Francis, a secular wing of the Franciscans which he joined “happy little man…who smiled at everything except a dirty joke”. It’s quite telling that this is one of the very few records that we get of the man’s demeanor beyond his austere diet and religious habits. Likewise we only have one confirmed blurred photograph of the man. Many of the interactions he had with others around this tumultuous time in Irish history are unclear. For example his level of involvement in the 1913 lockouts is unconfirmed. Whilst some sources claim he had only a passing though positive role others, mainly church orientated, have him resisting financial pressure and not breaking the strike. He was certainly a member of ITGWU. He became studious reading religious texts about the lives of the saints and Irish monastic traditions which may have informed his severe habits. In addition to his new addiction to Catholicism he continued doing hard labour to make a living. But even his choice of jobs and his new alarming enthusiasm for seeking out difficult and backbreaking  work seemed part of his religious epiphany.

 

Perhaps the single biggest influence on Talbot was Dr. Michael Hickey, who was Professor of Philosophy in Clonliffe College where he had first taken the pledge and turned his life around. It was Hickey who first gave Talbot a penitential chain to wear. This original chain was not like the industrial sized ones he would later adopt, it was more a thin symbolic chain like an item of jewellery which would remind him of his promise to abstain. Arguably Talbot’s biggest personal tragedy was the death of his beloved mother in 1915, who he had lived with all his life. He moved in to a tiny Spartan flat. Like monastic aesthetics he slept on a bare plank without a pillow and woke at 5am very day for hours of mass before work. As his fame grew many of the details of Talbots life have been embellished like some religious urban legend. One of the many disputed facts is the size and weight of the chains he carried daily and whether they were a form of self-mortification or simple a symbol of his “slavery to the virgin Mary.” Although its certain some of the details were exaggerated its highly unlikely that the wearing of a few normal devotional cords and medals would have created the frenzy of interest that those discovered on his body did. By the time of his funeral a few days later huge crowds gathered in Glasnevin cemetery. But this would not be his final resting place as almost 50 years later in 1972 his remains were moved to Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Sean McDermott Street. A glass panel allows visitors to see his coffin. This move was the latest step in a process of veneration which had begun in the 1930s which resulted in the lowly alcoholic dock worker being granted the title Venerable Matt Talbot in 1975.

In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church “Venerable” is basically halfway to saint hood.The steps toward canonization are 1) Servant of God 2) Venerable 3) Blessed 4) Saint.To some it might seem as if Talbot did relatively little beyond small scale charity work and self denial to warrant such a title as Venerable. Its really down to the context and to the sponsorship of sympathetic bishops first declaring you a servant of God. Then a Papal proclamation is required to upgrade that to Venerable.This requires you to be declared as having had a life “heroic in virtue"  and certainly many of these virtues such as charity, fortitude and temperance were clearly displayed in Talbot’s later life.The fact that a mini cult of devotees which quickly spread among the Irish poor and across the water to the US must certainly have made the move seem apt to Rome. But was it really as simple as a man finding God and losing drink? I suppose Talbot is the only one who knows what was going on in his mind and soul.

A life of self-denial and guilt may have not been all that uncommon during the time period, but the addition of such extremes of self-punishment points to larger neurosis or person demons or even fetishes at play. That the man remained celibate his whole life in a city and community where pressures towards marriage and family were huge may perhaps give some insight in to the battles Talbot was fighting in his heart and mind. The idea of self-mortification and sin were two pillars of Catholicism. Psychologically they created a potent cycle of guilt due to inescapable human urges and contemporary realities, resulting in the necessity to purge or atone for these affronts against god. Not only did this keep many uneducated people in a constant state of fear and misery about their immortal souls but it secured the churches position and authority as the gatekeepers to heaven. An obedient and unquestioning mass of working class provided the backbone and a very narrow and austere interpretation of the bible, with the passion and poverty of Christ paramount, offered an example of piety. As did the lurid and grotesque representations of martyrdom by the cavalcade of saints in their wound bleeding, lion dismembered or stake burning forms. Was there any sadomasochistic element to this? It seems unlikely that he derived any erotic pleasure from it, as none of the other indicators of fetishism or masochism are apparent in his relationships with others. Talbot was no hermit nor was he initially a seeker of wisdom. An important thing to remember is that unlike many of his contemporaries , and he had divorced himself entirely from any recognition of his suffering or any fame.

Whatever the intentions of the high ranking clergy who saw a great potential in him as a rallying point for the working class and for the drunk or destitute, it’s clear that Talbot himself never sought any adoration and never communicated any particular need to be recognised. But his example and his legend spread far beyond the backstreets of Dublin. He became an icon for the temperance movement and gained a cult following among the Irish diaspora in the United States. Whether you view him as a pious pawn of the catholic church or an inspirational example of how faith and hard work can turn around a hopeless man , its undeniable that Matt Talbot is a unique individual in the history of Dublin city.

 

Note: Photographs are included in the link above.

MATT TALBOT – TOWARDS FREEDOM FROM ADDICTION

This reflection is from http://www.knocklyonparish.ie/reflection/matt-talbot-towards-freedom/.

 

"From his early teenage years Matt grew increasingly dependent on alcohol. By his mid 20s he was an alcoholic. He was ruled by his passion for alcohol and had even stolen from a blind man to quench what had become an insatiable and uncontrollable appetite.

The curiosity and impulsiveness of teenage years was the context for his experiment with alcohol. He lived in a capital city in which there were so many poor and living in squalid conditions. His father and brothers were in similar difficulties.

Matt’s path to freedom was based on a simple lifestyle and dedication to prayer. He rose early in the morning to pray and went to early morning Mass. 

Our knowledge of his life is based on what others have told us of him. Since he left no writings,  what we know of him is based on the witness of his family, his work colleagues, his friends and the people he encountered. 

He himself was merciful; he told his sister, ”never think harshly of a person because of the drink;  it’s easier to get out of hell than to give up the drink, for me it was only possible with the help of God and our blessed Mother”.

Any person can suffer the consequences of impulsiveness and curiosity. Matt, with the help of God’s grace and love, came to discover a better way."

Matt had someone to listen to him in Holy Cross. Christ gives us the grace to listen. Matt responded to this kindness. His devotion to Mary, to the Mass, to persevering prayer, to reading in the Catholic tradition, to the Franciscan Third Order, gave him grace to conquer.

Matt Talbot: A Model of “Extraordinary Ordinariness”

As previously noted (http://venerablematttalbotresourcecenter. blogspot.com/2008/01/matt-talbot-secular-franciscan.html), many notable people, including St. John XXXIII and Matt Talbot, were members of the Secular Franciscan Order. Matt was laid to rest in his Franciscan habit.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary Region of the National Fraternity USA of the worldwide Secular Franciscan Order

2014/06/18

Source:  http://ourladysfraternity.org/2014/06/18/june-18-venerable-matt-talbot-2/

Today has been set aside by Mother Church to remember another Secular Franciscan, Matt Talbot. Matt strikes me as a model for what it means to be a secular Franciscan.

.

Matt was born on May 2nd, 1856, the second of nine children. His father, Charles, was a Dublin dockworker, and his mother, Elizabeth, a housewife (with nine children, a laborer herself). Like his father and all but his older brother, Matt became a heavy drinker after leaving school at age 12. Working as a laborer in the building trades, he eventually would spend most, if not all, of his pay on alcohol. It got so bad that Matt would beg, borrow, or steal the money necessary to feed his addiction.

Everything changed one evening in 1884; In today’s parlance we would say that Matt “hit bottom.” While standing outside a pub hoping that his friends would invite him in for drinks, those same friends walked past him, no longer willing to tolerate his behavior. He went home and announced to his mother that he would “take the pledge” to abstain from alcohol for three months. He did that, followed by taking a six-month pledge, followed by pledging to remain sober for life.

No doubt all of us know someone who has struggled with alcohol addiction, or that which comes with other drugs. In itself, Matt turning around his life would be noteworthy, but no more so than the many, many others who have faced their demons and emerged better people for having done so. What makes Matt Talbot stand out is that immediately before his abstinence pledge, he went to confession, and the following day he received communion. Matt had not been a devout Catholic during his drinking days, but he evidently knew intuitively that the Sacraments would be a key to turning over his life

.

We can only imagine the struggles that Matt—or any recovering addict, for that matter—faced in embracing sobriety. But in the sacramental life he seems to have found not just the strength to endure but the Grace to become so much more. He attended daily mass and maintained a devout prayer life, becoming a Secular Franciscan (then called “Third Order”) in 1890. He made good on all the debts from his drinking days that he could; he remained a hard-working laborer for the rest of his life, lived simply, and became known for his good-humor, kindness, and generosity. He died of heart failure on his way to mass on Trinity Sunday, 1925.

What makes Matt Talbot a model Secular Franciscan in my eyes is his extraordinary ordinariness. Matt was little different in outward circumstances from countless other men and women of not only his day but also our own. He worked hard, and by the world’s standards never achieved much. He never went to college or trained for a career, never married or raised a family, never made much money or wrapped himself in the imagery of success and status. He even fell victim to the all-too-human weakness of addiction. Yet, Matt found it in himself to open his heart to allow for Our Lord’s healing to touch both his physical and spiritual self. He didn’t simply “turn his life over to Jesus”, he embraced the living Christ in the same way our father Francis did. In doing so, he was radically transformed into something altogether new, an ordinary man made extra-ordinary.

Ordinariness is very much a part of what it means to be a Secular Franciscan. In our ordinariness, though, we work and pray that we, too, may so open our lives to Our Lord that, like Matt Talbot, He will help us to become extra-ordinary.

Venerable Matt Talbot: Patron of Struggling and Recovering Addicts and Alcoholics

[The source of this article by Terry Nelson can be found at https://franciscanaction.org/earthcorps/resources/venerable-matt-talbot, dated 2013-05-14.  We have posted previous articles as well as his increasingly popular icon of Matt Talbot at http://venerablematttalbotresourcecenter.blogspot.com/search?q=terry+nelson. Terry’s blog can be found at http://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/

"Matthew Talbot (1856 - 1925) lived at an incredibly difficult time. He and his 13 siblings were born into poverty in Dublin shortly after the Irish Potato Famine. One million people died from this largely human-made disaster that saw, even while starvation was rampant, the British government's siphoning off of profit from Irish crops and livestock. Another million people emigrated out of the country, and alcoholism was rampant among those who stayed behind.

Matt's father was one man who succumbed to alcoholism and spend much of the family's income on the cheap whiskey that was widely available. Matt and his siblings spent little time in school and worked odd jobs to bring in extra money. Matt's first job, at age 12, was to deliver Guinness stout to pubs. He began drinking the dregs of the returned bottles and, at the age of 13, he too was an alcoholic. Even then he was known as a very hard worker, but as an adult he spent all his wages on alcohol. His friends later testified: “[Matt] only wanted one thing—the drink; he wouldn't go with us to a dance or a party or a school function. But for the drink he'd do anything.”

Already in his 20's Matt incurred large debts and resorted to thievery, even stealing the violin from a blind street entertainer and selling it to pay for rounds of drinks at the bar. But, at the age of 28, he realized his life had become desperate and small and his relationships extremely shallow. He resolved to take 'the pledge' for sobriety organized by Capuchin Franciscans and others in the Catholic Church began to attend Mass daily. More changes were happening inside him and, even though his hard labor as a dockworker paid little, he began quietly giving money to those around him to pay for shoes for their children or overdue rent.

Matt joined the Third Order of Saint Francis of Assisi (now called the “Secular Franciscan Order”) in 1890. His spiritual life centered him in a joyful way of being, earning him the reputation as a "happy little man . . . who smiled at everything except a dirty joke.” He filled his life with prayer, fasting, and service. He gave away most of his wages every week to the poor in Ireland and to international Catholic missions. His commitment to the lay Franciscans was incredible—the attendance records show that in 35 years he only missed a couple of the monthly meetings.

Matt often read the Bible and the lives of saints, and he also began reading papal encyclicals on social justice and books on the labor movement. His faith and his concern for the poor led him to action, and in 1900 he joined a strike from the Dublin Port & Docks Board to demand a modest raise of sixpence to their daily pay of four and sixpence. When management refused, he was one of four workers who held out from returning to work while the rest slowly gave in to the financial pressure.

He became a loyal member of Ireland's Transport and General Workers Union. When the Dublin Lockout of 1913 led to sympathy strikes throughout the city, Matt consulted a trusted priest as he discerned joining the strike. The priest encouraged him, and Matt joined the strike also came to quote a phrase from a book the priest gave him: “No man has the right to starve a worker into submission.” During this strike, he refused the strike pay given by the union to ease financial hardship, saying that he had not earned it. Later he accepted the pay but shared it among the other strikers. Matt was a vocal supporter of James Larkin, a famous union organizer and major figure in Ireland's labor movement. One union leader, Stephen McGonagle, described Matt as “a beacon of light to Irish workers.”

After a life of heroic perseverance, Matt died suddenly while walking to Mass on June 7, 1925. He was declared Venerable by Pope Paul VI in 1975. He is the Patron of Struggling and Recovering Addicts and Alcoholics and many addiction treatment programs, retreats, and centers throughout the world bear his name.

Sources:

• The Franciscan Tradition by Rev. Regis J. Armstrong, OFM Cap. and Sr. Ingrid J. Peterson, OSF
• The Venerable Matt Talbot Resource Center
• Dublin Diocesan Matt Talbot Website

[More information about the book, The Franciscan Tradition, and its chapter on Matt Talbot can be found at http://venerablematttalbotresourcecenter.blogspot.com/2010/10/matt-talbot-and-franciscan-tradition.html

Matt Talbot Day of Remembrance

[For Roman Catholic websites that post a brief biography of a saint or holy person for a particular day of the year, we may find Venerable Matt Talbot listed for June 18 or June 19, such as the one below. (For a comment about these two dates, see Matt Talbot Remembrance Day Discrepancy)


The following narrative about Matt Talbot is from the Ministry with Persons with Disabilities at the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Georgia at http://www.archatl.com/ministries/disabilities/saints/saint_info.php?0=June+19&feast_date=June+19&1=Venerable+Matt+Talbot&full_nam e=Venerable+Matt+Talbot&2=Alcoholics&patronage=Alcoholics. Its writer, Mr, McCoy, states that “a Jesuit Father, Father Edward Dowling helped A.A. to formulate this 12 step program in 1935.” Please note that while Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith and the book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was published in 1939, Bill Wilson, its anonymous author, did not meet Fr. Dowling until 1940 when Bill learned of the similarity between the 12 steps of AA and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. One source, among many, about this meeting can be found at http://www.barefootsworld.net/askbillw.html#24 and http://www.barefootsworld.net/askbillw.html#23]

“Venerable Matt Talbot

Feast day: June 19

(Patron of Struggling and Recovering Addicts and Alcoholics)

 

Matthew Talbot (1856 - 1925) was born in the poverty of Dublin's inner city. He took to drink when still a child, and was considered a hopeless alcoholic by age thirteen. When his wages were spent, he borrowed and scrounged for money. He pawned his clothes and boots to get money for alcohol. He became a thief, once even stealing the violin from a blind street entertainer. The violin was sold to pay for a "Drinks are on me!" pub bill. 

Sixteen years later at age 28, he decided to "kick the habit". His remaining forty-one dry years were lived heroically, attending daily Mass, praying constantly, helping the poor and living the ascetic life-style of Celtic spirituality. A Jesuit priest helped him, giving him a rehabilitation program, which providentially incorporated what was to become the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. This is not really surprising when one remembers that a Jesuit Father, Father Edward Dowling helped A.A. to formulate this program in 1935. The steps have basis in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits. The priest also gave him a chain to wear wrapped around his waist beneath his clothing. It was a very light but somewhat long chain, much like a clock chain. He wore it as a self-reminder of the fact that he was once enslaved by alcohol, and of his pledge to the Sacred Heart to keep on fighting "the demon". 

Matt also became a Third Order Franciscan in 1890. "Never be too hard on the man who can't give up drink." He told his sister. "It's as hard to give up the drink as it is to raise the dead to life again. But... both are possible and even easy for Our Lord. We have only to depend on him."

Matt Talbot worked in the lumber yards on the docks of Dublin. He was always very poor, partly because he was so generous to people in need. To his neighbors and his fellow workers, he was a cheerful, happy friend. He gave away most of his wages every week to the poor at home and in the Catholic missions abroad. He lived a life of prayer, fasting, and service, trying to model himself on the sixth century Irish Monks. He read Scripture, lives of saints, and -considering his meager schooling- an astounding assortment of books: The Confessions of St. Augustine; writings of St. Francis de Sales, St. Teresa of Avila, and Blessed John Cardinal Newman; papal encyclicals, world history, and social policy. Word by word, he deciphered what they said. What he couldn't understand, Matt laboriously copied onto scraps of paper, and then handed it to a sometimes astonished priest for explanation the next time he went to Confession.

After a life of heroic perseverance, Matt died suddenly while walking to Mass, June 7, 1925. Venerable Matt Talbot's remains were moved to Our Lady of Lourdes church on Sean McDermott Street, Dublin, Ireland in 1972. The tomb has glass panels through which the coffin may be seen. He was declared Venerable by Pope Paul VI in 1975. Addiction treatment programs, retreats, and centers throughout the world now bear his name.

Saint's Prayer

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers. Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own. I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the honor of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my Heart. Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour. Gentle Matt, please pray for me. Amen

Special Thanks to: Thanks to The Life of Matt Talbot: A Dublin Laborer by Sir Joseph Glynn and Book of Saints by the Monks of Ramsgate for the basis of this narrative. 

The national Matt Talbot Shrine for the United States is located in Manorville, Long Island.

Data entered by: Ed McCoy on 2011-12-14”

The Alcoholic Who Became a Saint

Venerable Matt Talbot

By: Ann Bottenhorn

June 2011

Source: http://wau.org/resources/article/re_the_alcoholic_who_became_a_saint/

Nothing ever happened to Matt Talbot, an ordinary Irish laborer of no great learning, no riches, no remarkable accomplishments.

He lived in poverty and died, alone and unrecognized on a cold cobblestone lane, in Dublin. He left no family, no followers, no written discourses.

Scarcely anyone knew a thing about him. Yet within six months of his death, a brief biography sold 120,000 copies. Within a year, it had been published in twelve languages. Five years after that, the Catholic Church began investigating Matt Talbot’s life to determine if he warranted consideration for sainthood. A short fifty years after his death, the Church bestowed on him the title, “Venerable,” finding him fit to be commended as a “hero” whose virtues are worthy to be imitated.

No, nothing ever happened to Matt Talbot, but as one biographer noted, “he happened to those about him, as light happens to a dark room.”

Living to Drink. Darkness abounded during Matt’s lifetime. Ireland’s great famine of the 1840s had driven many countryfolk into the city, seeking food and employment. England had garrisoned troops in Dublin, and shortly after Matt was born in 1856, soldiers began returning from the Crimean War. The city teemed with people who were out of work, out of money, and out of hope.

Matt was the second of twelve children born to Charles and Elizabeth Talbot. The family lived on the verge of poverty, for although Charles Talbot worked regularly, he spent most of his wages at the local pub. Eventually Matt and seven of his brothers followed in Charles’ footsteps, drinking their way through life.

After spending just one year in school, Matt went to work at the age of twelve. He started as a messenger for a wine merchant and soon began sampling the products. Before long, he was living to drink. Neither thrashings from his father nor a change of jobs—he became an unskilled laborer for a bricklayer—deterred Matt. Over the next sixteen years, he spent nearly all of his earnings on alcohol.

By nature generous, Matt sometimes paid for his friends’ drinks when they had no money. When he had none, he pawned or sold what he could—right down to his own shoes once—so that he could continue drinking. Thus one Saturday, when twenty-eight-year-old Matt had been out of work for a week, he stood outside his neighborhood pub, broke but optimistic. Surely one of his friends would buy him a drink. Hadn’t he done so for them?

But curt nods and cold shoulders were all that Matt’s friends gave him. Eventually, he returned home, dejected and sober, and announced that he was taking “the pledge”—a euphemism for making a solemn promise not to drink. That evening he met with a priest, made his promise, and went to Confession for the first time in years. And from that day, the grace of God, which Matt hadn’t even thought to ask for yet, began manifesting its work in Matt.

“Don’t Let Me Go Back.” Now he faced an enormous dilemma. Matt had promised, for three months only, not to drink. His family drank. His friends drank. He spent his non-working hours drinking. How was he to avoid the alcohol his body craved, that his mind assured him he could never do without?

He took refuge in the only place his drinking buddies wouldn’t come looking for him: church. Matt began to attend Mass daily, before work, and to spend evenings kneeling in a shadowy corner of a neighborhood church —a neighborhood far from where he lived.

There, he made new friends—Jesus, Mary, and the saints—and cultivated new tastes—for solitude, prayer, and the presence of God. It didn’t come easily, and time and again Matt returned home convinced that he would never stick with sobriety. Back in church the next day, he’d beg God, “Please, don’t let me go back to my old ways. Have mercy on me.”

Years later, Matt told his sister that the first three months were the hardest, declaring that it’s easier to raise someone from the dead than to stop drinking. To help himself, Matt stuck two pins, crossed, in the sleeve of his coat, where he would see them often. They were to remind him to pray and to remind him that Jesus had suffered and died on the cross for him.

Matt was practical about adopting a new life. He established a schedule of Mass and prayer that left no time for visiting pubs. He never carried money in his pockets, lest he be tempted to stop in while walking to or from work. He joined the Franciscan Third Order and numerous sodalities. He spent Saturday afternoons and evenings, and all day Sunday, in church with his “new friends.”

Drunk with the Spirit. Gradually, a new thirst began to replace the old one: a thirst for more of God’s life and love. And God didn’t let him down. The love of Christ began to overwhelm Matt’s indulgence and intemperance. Matt wanted only to become like Christ, so he started fasting, sleeping less and praying more, and giving money to the missions and local poor families.

He read Scripture, lives of saints, and—considering his meager schooling—an astounding assortment of books: The Confessions of St. Augustine; writings of St. Francis de Sales, Teresa of Avila, and John Cardinal Newman; papal encyclicals, world history, and social policy. Word by word, he deciphered what they said. What he couldn’t understand, Matt laboriously copied onto a scrap of paper and handed it to a sometimes astonished priest for explanation the next time he went to Confession.

Prayer, reading, and atonement grew into a way of life that Matt managed to keep hidden. Meanwhile, those around him began to notice his humility, generosity, and self-control. His fellow laborers learned that Matt didn’t abide cursing or lewd stories, so they stopped. His employer suspected that Matt was giving away most of his earnings, but no one guessed the intensity with which he was living this new life. He was inebriated now by the Holy Spirit, “drunk,” as one writer put it, “only with the mercy and the wisdom and the power and the love of God.”

For the last two years of his life, Matt suffered from heart disease. Strict fasting, limited sleep, and hard physical labor had worn him out. On June 7, 1925, he collapsed on the way to Mass. No one recognized the frail little man who died in Granby Lane. He carried no money or identification, just a few odd scraps of paper in his pockets. Curiously, two pins, blackened with age, were pinned to his sleeve in a cross. Four days later, the body of Matt Talbot was identified. The books in his bare tenement room were discovered, along with many scraps of paper on which he had written. On one of those scraps was written the following prayer: “O Virgin, I ask only three things: the grace of God, the presence of God, and the benediction of God.” Among many others, this prayer was surely answered.

Matt Talbot believed God absolutely. He emptied his heart and life of all that encumbered him and waited for the Lord to fill him to overflowing. He remained sober for forty-one years and, in a quiet, unobtrusive way, shed light in the darkness around him. He stands now as a hero for all who struggle with addiction, and a model for all who desire, in the words of Pope Pius XII, “the greatness of Christianity lived in all its fullness.”

*Note: For those unfamiliar with Matt Talbot, he is not officially canonized as a “saint” by the Roman Catholic Church; he is currently recognized as “Venerable.” (See Beatification, Canonization, and Sainthood) The 76th anniversity of Matt’s death was Tuesday, June 7. The brief bibliography referred to in the above article was written by Sir Joseph Glynn and expanded in later editions. (See "The Life of Matt Talbot" by Sir Joseph Glynn )

Matt Talbot and the Franciscan Tradition

In a new book titled, The Franciscan Tradition (Liturgical Press, 2010), Regis J. Armstrong and Ingrid J. Peterson (and Series Editor, Phyllis Zagano) include a chapter on Matt Talbot as a timeless example of his relevancy as a Secular Franciscan.
Besides reading this chapter, it would be worthwhile to read the Preface and Introduction to this tradition, although some pages are not included.

http://books.google.com/books?id=q9lcEYr-UtsC&pg=PA149&dq=%22matt+talbot%22&hl=en&ei=1B-pTL6QM8GqlAeI44iiDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCQQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=%22matt%20talbot%22&f=false

Rosary of the Hours Book Dedicated to Venerable Matt Talbot

In our search for information on Venerable Matt Talbot, we periodically find a book, message, reference or article dedicated to Matt, even though the content may not be specifically related to him. One example is this free eBook, The Rosary of the Hours, published by Our Sunday Visitor Publishers (2008) and compiled by a Brother of Penance of the Secular Franciscan Order. (JB)

The Rosary of the Hours: Introducing a New Way to Pray an Ancient Prayer

"St. Paul exhorted the young Church to pray always. And over the course of centuries, the Church introduced the Rosary, a simple yet profound prayer for praising God and meditating on the holy mysteries of Christ and His Blessed Mother. Now there is a way to pray the Rosary "around the clock," whereby a decade, with its own special theme, may be prayed for each of the twenty-four hours of the day.
Whether for Eucharistic Adoration in your parish, or for private devotion in your home -- or wherever or whatever your circumstances -- the Rosary of the Hours provides a simple and inspirational method of sanctifying every hour. Specially chosen prayers from the Psalms, beautiful meditations gleaned from the Popes, and suggested Scripture passages for further meditation are yours, to inspire and comfort, whatever the time, day or night.
Our Sunday Visitor provides the Rosary of the Hours free-of-charge to all." 

  

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-rosary-of-the-hours/id495581966?mt=8

Click here to download in single pages (PDF format)»
Click to download in booklet form (PDF format)»

Lay Franciscan Heroic Witnesses

"Franciscans on the Edge: Sr. Ingrid J. Peterson speaks on heroic witnesses"

Fr. Chuck Talley, OFM

Posted Monday, September 24, 2007

Sister Ingrid Peterson knows her stuff. A Third Order Franciscan sister of Rochester, Minnesota, she is an internationally recognized scholar and has taught and written extensively in the area of Franciscan history and spirituality. She came to our parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Sacramento this past weekend to share some of the fruit of her lifelong reflection before an audience of more than 100 parishioners and guests.

When I heard the topic of her half-day workshop/seminar, I flinched just a little. Franciscans on the edge? The edge of what? Extinction? A nervous breakdown? What? I know we have our problems, but can things be that desperate? Turns out the ‘edge’ Sister Ingrid is referring to is that marginal space of culture, society, and even the Church itself that has been the real central focus of Franciscan contemplation and action for eight hundred years. Among the marginalized, the dispossessed, the despised, and the ignored is where we have always been at our best and frankly, it’s where we oughta be.

Peterson didn’t parade the usual suspects of Franciscan life (Francis, Clare, Anthony of Padua, etc). Instead, she spoke about Franciscan laypeople— Secular Franciscans/Third Order members mostly—who strove to find Christ and to ‘Spirit’ the edges of our world. In doing so, she opened up Franciscan hagiography to a whole new bunch of halos that haven't always been appreciated for their own special glow, including those of Brother Juniper, Elizabeth of Hungary, the married couple Luchesio and Buonadonna , Francis of Rome, and, closer to our own time, Matt Talbot and Carlo Carretto.

These have all been keepers of the Rule, to be sure, but more importantly, lovers of Jesus and the Gospel. “There are always rules coming out of the Church at various times,” Peterson quipped, “and we have to live between these rules.” She then proceeded to demonstrate the way that Franciscan women and men throughout the centuries have been able to thrive in and through the tensions of their own eras, both “on the edge” and “between the rules.”

Peterson systematically examined the biographies and legends of these holy people in order to dig deeper into the substratum of their real spiritual lives, and then in turn, to try to make these ‘lives of the saints’ accessible and relevant to ourselves. Elizabeth of Hungary, for example, when confronted by her husband about the bread she was sneaking to the poor, opened her food basket only to reveal a bouquet of roses instead. Angela of Foligno, while on pilgrimage to Assisi, received a deeply transforming experience of the love of God “in which she heard the Holy Spirit tell her how much she was loved.”

So why doesn’t that happen to us? “My bread never turned to roses,” someone once complained to Peterson. (We all nodded in silent agreement.) So, in the absence of roses, “How do I know what God wants of me?” Peterson asked. She emphasized that for most of us, our call does not arise through some extraordinary private revelation, but rather in the context of community and in the circumstances of our daily living.

Peterson then spoke about her own vocation. “ How did I know I wanted to be a religious sister? I didn’t want to be one, actually. I went to public schools, and then in college—I was a college student, after all-- I saw the sisters and thought, ‘I don’t want to do that.’ But you know, it was just like the poem 'The Hound of Heaven'. Our God can be a real nag and in my case, just wouldn’t let go of me. Finally, I gave in and became a sister, and as they say (smiling) “I lived happily ever after.”

The real point of our Christian vocation, whether lay or religious, Sister Ingrid reflected, is to look to the example of Jesus and try to live it. “Jesus is the visible sign of the invisible God. Jesus teaches us that the way to God is through the Beatitudes. . . . The saints-- all the saints—have given their lives to follow Jesus in this way,” (no matter where it has led them). . . . And that’s what life at the edge is all about for all of us, isn’t it.

Some reflections questions, courtesy of Sister Ingrid J. Peterson:

What do you do for the love of God that others might consider foolish?

What are some of the ways in which you feel called to bring peace instead of violence?

In what ways has God broken into your life to set things right?

Can you recall times in which service to others has brought you closer to God?

Some further reading by Ingrid J. Peterson:
Clare of Assisi: A Biographical Study
Praying with Clare of Assisi: Companions for the Journey (w/ Ramona Miller).


Source: http://friarsidechats.blogspot.com/2007/09/franciscans-on-edge-sister-ingrid-j.html:

Matt Talbot Remembrance Day Discrepancy

The date for remembering Matt Talbot appears to vary between June 18 and June 19, depending on the source. For example, the website at http://www.queenofpeace.ca/#Saint%20of%20the%20Day and the "Saint of the Day" at the Franciscan website, http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/saintofday/, both list June 18, 2008 for Matt Talbot. Last year, however, the latter website listed Matt Talbot on June 19, 2007 rather than June 18. Other websites that also list Matt for June 19 include the blog

http://whitewave39.blogspot.com/2007/08/ven-matthew-talbot-1856-1925-feastday.html, the Secular Franciscan Order at http://www.franciscan-sfo.org/p1/saintsp.htm, and the Secular Franciscan site at http://www.sfofraternities.org/56130/Saints.html

Also regarding dates, the Vatican's traditional day of choice when designating the feast day of a person beatified or canonized is the day of the person's death. Perhaps when Matt is so recognized, June 7 will be his suggested feast day.

Franciscan Remembrance Day for Matt Talbot

One popular "Saint of the Day" website is that of http://www.americancatholic.org/default.asp, home of St. Anthony Messenger Press and multiple Catholic publications.

June 18, 2008 is their "Franciscan Remembrance Day" for the Venerable Matt Talbot, who joined the Third-Order Franciscans (Secular Franciscan Order) in 1890, six years into his recovery from alcoholism. Upon his death on June 7, 1925, he was buried in their habit.

This remembrance can be found at http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1418

Note, however, this correction: the remembrance states, "For 15 years--until he was 30--Matt was an active alcoholic." In actuality, Matt began drinking at age 12 and took his last drink at age 28, in 1884.

Matt Talbot: Secular Franciscan

Many sketches and books about Matt Talbot note that he became a Secular Franciscan after his conversion and alcoholism recovery began. This article provides some information about the Secular Franciscan and the names of other well-known or famous Secular Franciscans.

Secular Franciscan Q and A

This page was created by the St. Clare Fraternity for those seeking to follow Christ more closely by Living Gospel to Life and Life to Gospel. The Secular Franciscan Order was founded in the early thirteenth century but many Catholics are unaware this order even exists. If fact most Secular Franciscans in my fraternity agree the SFO (Secular Franciscan Order) is one of the best kept secrets in the world. I originally made a home page for our fraternity to let others know that this order does exist. I was elated with the results. People were e-mailing me from all over the country. I soon noticed most people were asking basically the same questions so I decided to make a page answering some of the most often asked questions. The result is this page. This page was created primarily to answer your questions but it is also created for those of you feeling called but not knowing what you are being called to do. I don't believe in luck or coincidence. I do believe in Divine Providence. Maybe that's why you are here. Maybe, just maybe, the SFO is your vocation.

What is a Secular Franciscan?

Secular Franciscans are members of the third order founded by St. Francis of Assisi. Originally we were known as the Brothers and Sisters of Penance. Today, we are called Secular Franciscans.

Do you have to be single or celibate to join the Secular Franciscan Order?

NO! This order, approved and recognized by Rome, is composed of and suitable for any Roman Catholics not bound by religious vows. If you are married, single, young or old, laity or clergy and not bound by religious vows and want to follow Christ as Francis of Assisi did, please contact us.

Is the Secular Franciscan Order really a true order?

Rome has repeatedly stated that the Secular Franciscan Order is a true order. Like all orders we have a rule which is approved by Rome. We also have a novitiate, a formal profession, and a monthly meeting which substitutes for communal living.

Why are you called Secular Franciscans?

The term Secular indicates that we live in the world and although we make a public profession we are not bound by public vows as are religious orders living in community. It also distinguishes the Third Order Secular from the Third Order Regular. The Third Order Regular, which grew out of the Third Order Secular, now comprises numerous Franciscan communities all over the world.

What do Secular Franciscan do?

Did you notice the words Living Gospel to Life and Life to Gospel above? This is what we do. For most of us, it would be more accurate to say it is what we strive to do. Gospel to Life means we are to take the teachings of Jesus Christ and apply them to our every day situations. Not only wondering, what would Jesus do, but demonstrating to our fellow man what Jesus did. This means bringing peace to people and drawing them to God by living the Gospel message. We must be ready to forgive, to comfort and most of all to love. This is only accomplished by dying to ourselves. Life to Gospel means we are to conform our life to Jesus' life. We are to turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, suffer as He suffered, pray as He prayed, forgive as He forgave, love as he loved. To the Secular Franciscan these words are not only a motto or a beautiful ideal. The words signify our mission, our way of life, our vocation. It is supposed to be the mission and way of life for all who call themselves Christians. It isn't easy or accomplished quickly. It is a life long work. That's the purpose of our on going formation program.

Are there any well known or famous Secular Franciscans?

Yes there are many notable people who are and have been members of the Secular Franciscan Order. The list includes members of the clergy, royalty, members of science, authors, artists, and those of us just interested in serving the Lord.

POPES:
Popes Gregory IX, Blessed Gregory X, Innocent Xll, Pius IX, Pius X, Pope Martin V, Clement XII, and all Popes from Pius IX to and including John XXIII

CARDINALS:
Charles Borromeo, Manning, Vaughn


ROYALTY:
St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Elizabeth of Portugal, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain


OTHERS:
St. John Vianney (Le Cure D'Ars) patron saint of Diocesan Priests, St. Joan of Arc, Dante, Giotto, Raphael, Michelangelo, Christopher Columbus, St. Thomas More, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Franz Liszt, Charles Gounod, André and Marie Ampère, Louis Pasteur, John Michael Talbot, parents of St. Theresa (little flower), parents of St. Maximilian Kolbe, mother of St. Maria Goretti , Blessed Peter of Sienna, a comb manufacturer, Blessed LuChesio a merchant, and dock worker Matt Talbot.

SOURCE: http://members.cox.net/sfobro/page1.html

Biographies About Matt Talbot

Perhaps the most readily available biographies about Matt Talbot are listed here. Whereas there is some overlap, each author has a different focus on the life, times, and religious/recovery practices of Matt and provides detailed information not included in the other books. Therefore, all of these titles are recommended.

Matt Talbot and His Times (1977) by Mary Purcell

Remembering Matt Talbot (1954,1990) by Mary Purcell

Matt Talbot: His struggle and His Victory Over Alcoholism (1992) by Susan Helen Wallace

Matt Talbot (Second Edition, 2001), Eddie Doherty

To Slake a Thirst: The Matt Talbot Way to Sobriety (2000) by Philip Maynard

Perhaps the easiest way to purchase these available books (and read the reviews) is to Google "Amazon. com." Some are in print and others are available only as used books. Doing a Google or Catholic search on the internet with the book title in quotation marks will also bring up books and information and links not available through Amazon. Catholic (and secular) bookstores may carry one or more of these titles or can obtain them through their distributors. Catholic colleges and universities may have some titles in their collections. Larger public libraries may have some titles on their shelves or in storage. The publisher of each book above is not listed since it may have changed through the years or is now out of existence.

There are also older MT biographies that are not listed above (but will be listed and discussed in future posts on this site) that are less readily available but some are listed on Amazon. Some of these books and especially rarer copies of older biographies periodically are for sale on eBay.

June 19 Franciscan Remembrance Day

Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint.

June 19 Venerable Matt Talbot (1856-1925) Matt can be considered the patron of men and women struggling with alcoholism. Matt was born in Dublin, where his father worked on the docks and had a difficult time supporting his family. After a few years of schooling, Matt obtained work as a messenger for some liquor merchants; there he began to drink excessively. For 15 years—until he was 30—Matt was an active alcoholic. One day he decided to take "the pledge" for three months, make a general confession and begin to attend daily Mass. There is evidence that Matt’s first seven years after taking the pledge were especially difficult. Avoiding his former drinking places was hard. He began to pray as intensely as he used to drink. He also tried to pay back people from whom he had borrowed or stolen money while he was drinking. Most of his life Matt worked as a builder’s laborer. He joined the Secular Franciscan Order and began a life of strict penance; he abstained from meat nine months a year. Matt spent hours every night avidly reading Scripture and the lives of the saints. He prayed the rosary conscientiously. Though his job did not make him rich, Matt contributed generously to the missions. After 1923 his health failed and Matt was forced to quit work. He died on his way to church on Trinity Sunday. Fifty years later Pope Paul VI gave him the title venerable. Comment: In looking at the life of Matt Talbot, we may easily focus on the later years when he had stopped drinking for some time and was leading a penitential life. Only alcoholic men and women who have stopped drinking can fully appreciate how difficult the earliest years of sobriety were for Matt. He had to take one day at a time. So do the rest of us. Quote: On an otherwise blank page in one of Matt’s books, the following is written: "God console thee and make thee a saint. To arrive at the perfection of humility four things are necessary: to despise the world, to despise no one, to despise self, to despise being despised by others."

(This entry appears in the print edition of Day by Day With Followers of Francis and Clare.)

Listen to “Saint of the Day”:

• Windows Media

• RealAudio

Download and play (Right click, “Save Target As...”) How?

Source: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1418