St. Matthew

St. Matthew (catholic.org)

St. Matthew, apostle and evangelist, was originally a tax collector named Levi. Matthew was living in Capernaum where Jesus was preaching and when Jesus asked him to become an apostle he accepted.

Matthew’s conversion happened when he was collecting taxes for King Herod and Jesus called him to follow Him and become one of the apostles. His followers were surprised to see him with a tax collector, but Jesus said He had come, “not to call the just, but the sinners.” He was also the first of the four gospel writers. Matthew’s feast day is September 21 and he is the patron saint of bankers.

After the death of Jesus, Matthew wrote his Gospel in Aramaic for the Palestinian Jews to show that Jesus was the Messiah. Matthew's Gospel was also written to for his fellow countrymen to inspire them and encourage them that they would get through their upcoming trials. Matthew began preaching his gospel in the east and he was martyred there.

Matthew is a saint because he followed Jesus up until the time of his death. In addition, he preached in the Holy Land for fifteen years after Jesus’ death, he wrote the first book of the Bible, and was a missionary to Ethiopia and Persia. After returning from Ethiopia, he was martyred in Egypt.

St. Matthew was hated by everyone but Jesus accepted him and he was motivated to follow in Jesus' image. He wanted to turn his life around and follow Jesus as an apostle. After Jesus' death he followed the example of Jesus and wrote a gospel on Jesus' life.