“Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world”

That’s from the Psalm (19) for today’s Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. Although the above words are true about all the apostles of Jesus Christ, they are especially true for St. Matthew.

The message delivered is Christ Jesus himself, the Almighty Word of God. Through the Apostles and their successors, Jesus spreads all over the map. Thanks to them, the messengers, we can know The Message and live Him to the full. Some of the apostles were chosen to record the Word on paper. These are called Gospels, or collectively, the Gospel—the Good News.

St. Matthew was chosen by God to be one of the 12 and to record events that would change the course of human history (including the Sermon on the Mount and inauguration of the Kingdom of God–the Church). He heard the voice of Jesus and literally left everything to follow Him. St. Matthew bore much fruit through perseverance and literally shed his blood trusting in the Word who said:

“If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

-The Gospel according to Matthew 16:24-25