{"id":4954,"date":"2012-10-18T00:12:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-18T00:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/2012\/10\/18\/st-matthews-surprise\/"},"modified":"2023-05-10T02:35:13","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T02:35:13","slug":"st-matthews-surprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/2012\/10\/18\/st-matthews-surprise\/","title":{"rendered":"St Matthew’s surprise"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/a>St. Matthew is one of those saints                                     who becomes a dear friend
\n                                               once you get acquainted.                                                       <\/span>Let’s get to
\nknow him a bit better!          <\/span><\/div>\n
\nSt. Matthew:  <\/span>I am
\nalways happy to make new friends.  <\/span>You
\nknow, I didn’t have very many to begin with.                            <\/span><\/div>\n
\n                                                                      <\/span><\/div>\n
\nInmate of Rosary Convent: 
\n<\/span>Really?  <\/span>Why is that, St. Matthew?             <\/span><\/div>\n
\nSt. M.: Well, I was a tax collector before I received my
\nvocation.  <\/span>And being a Jewish tax
\ncollector meant at that your people considered you a traitor to them for
\nworking on behalf of the Romans, and also that you were more than likely a
\ncheat.                      <\/span><\/div>\n
\n I<\/span>. R. C.:  <\/span>But surely
\nall the tax collectors weren’t cheats?<\/span><\/div>\n
\nSt. M.:  <\/span>I wouldn’t
\nsay all; but since anything they collected over and above the set amount was
\ntheirs, and since man is prone to laziness and avarice, there was a fair bit of
\nfraud going on.  <\/span>But even if a tax
\ncollector didn’t cheat, he was still seen as a bad lot.  <\/span>He was working for the Romans, and the Romans
\nmeant no good to my people.  <\/span>Remember
\nthat at that time, the Romans were the masters of the world, and with the
\nfiercely independent spirit of the Jews, coupled with the promise of a Messiah
\nWho would rule the world, the Jews were simply itching for the time when they
\ncould draw swords and follow a bold captain against those cocky young Italian centurions.  <\/span>But the tax collector – well, to put it
\nmildly, he was seen as lacking in national sentiment.  <\/span>However, it was an appealing profession to
\nbroadminded people.  <\/span>If you didn’t mind a
\ngenerous amount of sneers from your countrymen, all you had to do was set up
\nyour booth, fold your hands, and wait for the money to pour in.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n <\/div>\n
\n<\/a>I. R. C.:  <\/span>Were you<\/i>
\nlacking in national sentiment, St. Matthew?                                                                                                                                 <\/span>S<\/span>t. M.:  <\/span>Commentators
\non my Gospel are always careful to point out that I was writing specifically
\nfor my own people.  <\/span>If you have a look at
\nit, you will notice that I have put in a lot of prophecies from the Old
\nTestament relating to the Messiah, and I point out that these prophecies were
\nfulfilled in Our Lord.  <\/span>And I may say,
\nthat once I began to understand the mission of Our Lord, the more I appreciated
\nmy own peoples’ history.  <\/span>Remember all
\nthe holy prophets the Israelites had, all the battles that we won thanks to
\nGod’s help, and as to literary achievements, well, you simply can’t get much
\nbetter that our own Royal Poet, King David!<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\nI. R. C.:  <\/span>St.
\nMatthew, why do you think that people always mention you when they are talking
\nabout how important a Vocation is?       <\/span><\/div>\n
\nSt. M.:  <\/span>That is a
\nvery good question.  <\/span>I think that St.
\nPeter, or even St. John sort of made a bigger show of sacrifice when they left
\ntheir trusty fishing boats and all their nets and hooks and things behind and
\nfollowed Our Lord.  <\/span>I was only leaving an
\nold desk in a dusky, noisy custom house! 
\n<\/span>Perhaps because of my particular situation at that time – that of a
\nmoney-grubber.  <\/span>What with so many young
\npeople today worried about getting a good job and making as much as they can,
\nthey run the risk of ignoring or simply not hearing the Master calling them to
\nHis service.  <\/span>My story is perhaps
\nparticularly relevant to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

I.R.C.:  <\/span>Could you
\ntell me your story, about when Our Lord called you, St. Matthew?<\/span>
\n <\/div>\n

\nSt. M.:  <\/span>Well, it was
\na day like any other.  <\/span>There I was sitting
\nin the Custom house, bent over my piles of coins – I think I was in the very
\nmiddle of adding up my morning’s collection. 
\n<\/span>I had done rather well that day, I remember, and I was just trying to
\nadd up a whole pile of small change – you know how fiddly that is!<\/span><\/p>\n

I. R. C.:  <\/span>Yes, I
\ndo.  <\/span>Fortunately I don’t need to worry
\nabout money at the Convent!  <\/span>That is the
\njob of the Sister Bursar.<\/span><\/p>\n

St. M.:  <\/span>She has a responsible
\njob – one which can try the patience sometimes. 
\n<\/span>Well, I think that I had mislaid a piece of silver and miscalculated,
\nand was trying to figure out where I had gone wrong.  <\/span>I was a bit warm under the collar – it was a
\nhot day in any events – when all of a sudden, a shadow fell across my
\ntable.  <\/span>That bothered me more still,
\nbecause one likes to have as much light as possible when one is working at a
\ndesk.<\/span>
\n <\/div>\n

\n<\/span> I. R. C.:  <\/span>I have had
\nthe same feeling, studying tiny print out of a history textbook at 8:30pm when
\na blackout happens.<\/span><\/div>\n
\nSt. M.:  <\/span>It’s not
\ncalming to the nerves.  <\/span>Anyhow, I tried
\nto command a pleasant manner, because I sour faces are never good for business,
\nand I looked up to see Jesus of Nazareth standing at my bench.  <\/span>He had such an expression on His Face!  <\/span>It was almost as though He felt sorry that I
\nwas getting so bothered over such a trifling thing as a miscalculation in small
\nchange, and He just said:  <\/span>“Follow
\nMe.”<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/span> <\/div>\n
\n<\/a>I.R.C:  <\/span>And what did
\nyou do, St. Matthew?          <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/span> <\/div>\n
\nSt. M.:  <\/span>The only
\nsensible thing – I followed Him.    <\/span> <\/div>\n
\n<\/span> <\/div>\n
\nI.R.C:  <\/span>Weren’t you
\nsorry to leave your money there?  <\/span>I mean,
\ndidn’t it worry you that the other tax collectors would grab all your
\nearnings?  <\/span>Didn’t you even snatch up a bit
\nof cash so that you’d at least know that your next meal would be taken care of?<\/span><\/div>\n
\nSt. M.:  <\/span>No – have you
\nforgotten how many times Our Lord multiplied bread?  <\/span>Meals were not going to be an issue!  <\/span>But really, food was far from my thoughts at
\nthat moment.  <\/span>I was simply overcome at
\nthe thought that here was the one Treasure worth having, and to leave all of
\none’s possessions in order to secure it was no sacrifice at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

I.R.C.:  <\/span>You mean like
\nthe parable of the treasure hidden in the field?<\/span>
\n <\/div>\n

\nSt. M.:  <\/span>Yes – only my
\ncase was rather different.  <\/span>I wasn’t
\nactually digging for the Treasure at the time – I was trying to find it in my
\nreceipt book.  <\/span>The Treasure came looking
\nfor ME.  <\/span><\/p>\n

I.R.C.:  <\/span>What did you
\ndo after Our Lord ascended into Heaven, St. Matthew?  <\/span>Besides writing your Gospel, I mean.<\/span>
\n <\/div>\n

\nSt. M.:  <\/span>You may
\nremember from your study of History that due to the bad feelings of the Jews
\ntowards the Infant Church, we Apostles dispersed into various far
\ncountries.  <\/span>I went to Ethiopia, a region
\non the Horn of Africa.  <\/span>It was ruled by a
\nking whose daughter, the Princess Iphigenia, had recently died.  <\/span>By the grace of God, the princess came back
\nto life again, and consecrated herself to Our Lord as a virgin.  <\/span>The king was converted to the Faith, and so
\nwas his whole kingdom. <\/span><\/p>\n

I.R.C:  <\/span>How
\nsplendid!  <\/span>Then what happened?<\/span>
\n <\/div>\n

\nSt. M.  <\/span>The king died
\nsome time after that, and he was succeeded by a young man called Hirtacus.  <\/span>He wanted to marry Princess Iphigenia.  <\/span>However, Iphigenia refused him, since she was
\nthe spouse of Our Lord already, so he got rather upset about that, and barged
\ninto the chapel one day when I was saying Mass – <\/span><\/div>\n

                                                           <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nContarelli Chapel and Works of Caravaggio: St Matthew’s call, inspiration and martyrdom<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/div>\n
\n<\/a>                    <\/div>\n
\nI.R.C:  <\/span>Why did he
\nwant to go and bother you?<\/span><\/div>\n

\nSt. M.:  <\/span>Well, I had
\ngiven Iphigenia the idea of consecrating herself to God in the first place, so
\nhe held me responsible for his disappointment. 
\n<\/span>Anyhow, Hirtacus drew his sword, and after a few nasty moments, I heard
\na Voice was greeting me with the words: 
\n<\/span>“Well done, good and faithful servant!”<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/a>I.R.C:  <\/span>That happened
\non the 21st of September, didn’t it?  <\/span>I
\nseem to remember that was what the Matins readings said.                                                                                                                                                     St. M.: <\/span>Yes, and the 21st of September is also my feast  day.                                                                                                                                I.R.C.: <\/span><\/span>I know – we
\ncelebrated it!  <\/span>We even included berries in
\nthe dinner menu because the Matins readings said that that was mostly what you
\n ate.                                                     <\/span><\/div>\n
\nS<\/span>t. M.:  <\/span>Very fitting
\n– but you also had chocolate and things like that, I noticed!<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/span> <\/div>\n
\nI.R.C.:  <\/span>Well, we
\nfigured chocolate was symbolic too, because cocoa beans grow in places like
\nEthiopia.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nSt. M.:  <\/span>Oh yes, any
\nexcuse will do.  <\/span>How did you like the surprise
\nI sent you?<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nI.R.C.:  <\/span>You mean all
\nthose boxes?  <\/span>Oh, they were simply the
\nbest!  <\/span>This car zoomed up our drive, and
\na man came and politely asked if he could have some help unloading stuff for
\nthe sisters.  <\/span>There were about 8 enormous
\ncardboard boxes – I don’t know how he managed to fit them all into his
\nboot.  <\/span>We staggered into the Barn with
\nthem, and unpacked them on our table tennis table.  <\/span>Some of the sisters were afraid that the
\ntable would collapse under their weight. 
\n<\/span>And inside . . .<\/span><\/div>\n
\nSt. M.:  <\/span>Your shouts
\nof excitement echoed right up into heaven, I do assure you.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/a>I.R.C.:  <\/span>Books!  <\/span>More books than I’d ever seen outside of a
\nbookshop!  <\/span>Lovely old ones, on just about
\nall the religious topics you’d care to mention, from piles of saints
\nbiographies, to works on the spiritual life, plus over a hundred of those
\nA.C.T.S. pamphlets.  <\/span>There was even a
\nbook on stenography!<\/span><\/div>\n
\nSt. M.:  <\/span>I thought
\nthat it would be a rather fitting thing for the cargo from the kindly Brisbane
\nparish to arrive at your convent on my feast day, seeing that I am a writer
\nmyself.  <\/span>I hope that you remembered to
\nsay a prayer for your benefactors from there, especially Mr. Gary Wilson?<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/span> <\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nI.R.C.:  <\/span>Yes, we did;
\nand I’m sure we do every time we see the books neatly arranged in our
\nlibrary.  <\/span>People are very generous to us
\nhere at Rosary Convent, St. Matthew. 
\n<\/span>Won’t you say a prayer for the Brisbane parish, and all our other
\nbenefactors, too?<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

St. Matthew is one of those saints                                     who becomes a dear friend                                                once you get acquainted.                                                       Let’s get to know him a bit better!           St. Matthew:  I am always happy to make new friends.  You know, I didn’t have very many to begin with.                                                                                                   Inmate of Rosary Convent:  Really?  Why is … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-convent-life","infinite-scroll-item","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4954"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5234,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4954\/revisions\/5234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}