It seems there is a
saint for every ill in our society and one who is called the patron of
alcoholics will next year in Ireland celebrate the 100 anniversary of his
death.
VENERABLE MATT TALBOTwas born in 1856 in Dublin, Ireland into a poor working-class family. He was the second
of 12 children, nine of whom survived beyond infancy. He grew up surrounded by poverty and
alcohol abuse during Ireland’s Great Famine.He left school when still a child and began
working for a wine seller. It was there that he began drinking excessively, becoming
an alcoholic at the age of about 13.
His
life spiraled and revolved around his next drink. He was often found in the bar, fighting, cursing, swearing, stealing, anything for a drink.
One
incident that caused him shame for the rest of his life, was during his days on
the drink he stole the fiddle of a street musician. He sold the instrument and
used the money to buy the drink. After achieving sobriety, Matt tried to find the
man from whom he stole the fiddle to pay him for the instrument. Unsuccessful
in locating the victim of this theft, Matt donated the money to have a Mass
said for the fiddler.
After
hitting rock bottom, Matt went to his mother, who had prayed unceasingly
for her son’s conversion. He told his mother that he was going to take a pledge
to stop drinking. She told him not to take it if he was not going to keep it. He responded. "I will keep it by the grace of God”. He then went to Confession, making the pledge, and the next day received the Eucharist. He never drank again for the rest
of his life.
He
was guided for most of his life by Michael Hickey, Professor of Philosophy in Clonliffe College. Under the professor's guidance, Mattt's
reading became wider, studing Scripture and the
lives of the saints.
After his conversion, Matt tried his best to make amends to the
people he had hurt during his fifteen years as an active alcoholic. He paid
back money to those he had borrowed or stolen from.
Matt
never married but cared for his widowed mother until her death. He became a secular Franciscan, frequented the
sacraments, and prayed the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross. He worked hard
at his jobs to earn money to give to needy friends and neighbors and to
charitable institutions and the missions. He lived
simply, patterning himself on early Irish monks. He even became a mystic and practiced harsh penances. After
1923, Matt’s health began to fail and on Trinity Sunday, 1925, in the midst of
a heat wave, he collapsed on his way to the 10:30 am Mass at the Dominican
church in Dublin. It was only after his death, when penitential chains were
discovered on his body, that attention was drawn to his life journey. The
archdiocese opened an inquiry into Matt's holiness in 1931, and he was declared
Venerable in 1975 by Pope (St.) Paul VI.
He never forgot his
struggle though. He once said to his sister, “Never think harshly of a person
because of the drink. It is easier to get out of hell then it is to give up the
drink.” He then continued, “For me, it was only possible with the help of God
and our Blessed Mother”.Even
after 100 years, Venerable Matt Talbot’s life continues to inspire those who
battle addictions, showing the possibility of recovery, redemption, and the capacity to change, regardless of past mistakes.
Art:
Top:
Terry Nelson
Middle:
Noreen Flynn. Cathedral of SS Peter & Paul, Ennis, Ireland
Bottom:
Terry Nelson- 2019
