St. Matthew

Christ said, "Follow me," and Matthew rose from the tax office and followed Him. The despised publican left his old life at once, became one of the Twelve, and gave the Church a lasting witness to the mercy that had found him.

The Gospels also call him Levi and St. Mark names him as the son of Alpheus. Tax collectors served Roman authority and were commonly hated for greed and extortion. Matthew never hid that former condition. In his own list of the Apostles, he called himself "the publican," preserving the memory of the grace that had changed him.

Matthew followed Christ through His public life and is honored as an Apostle and Evangelist. Tradition says that he later preached in the East and died a martyr, but the place and circumstances are not known with certainty. His clearest lesson needs no later embellishment. Christ called, grace moved his heart, and Matthew answered without delay.