Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy

Women and Men Seeking Holiness as the Answer to Abortion

  • Welcome
  • Seeking Holiness
  • Membership
    • Directors
    • Special Prayer Partners
  • Sacraments
    • Holy Mass
    • Eucharistic Adoration
    • Frequent Confession
  • Prayer
    • Morning Offering
    • Devotion to Mary
    • The Holy Rosary
    • Lectio Divina
    • Chaplet of Divine Mercy
    • Examination of Conscience
    • Annual Retreat
  • Mercy
  • Patron Saints
    • Our Lady of Mercy
    • St. Augustine
    • St. Margaret of Cortona
  • Resources
    • Articles from other websites
      • Horror of Sin & the Mercy of God
    • Recommended Books
    • Brief Quotes from Saints
  • Contact
  • Prayer Requests
You are here: Home / Spiritual Teaching / St. Matthew and unlikely disciples

St. Matthew and unlikely disciples

September 21, 2020 by Fr. Ben Cameron Leave a Comment

Calling of St. Matthew, by Murillo

Many of us probably wonder, “why has the Lord Jesus chosen me to be His disciple? I have lots of baggage; I have so many wounds.” The truth is that many of the Lord’s disciples were like us: they were men and women with a “history,” with scars from wounds inflicted by self and/or by others.

Think of St. Matthew the tax collector, whose feast day is celebrated today. When the Lord Jesus called him, he was working in one of the most despised professions in all of Israel — he was a tax collector for the hated Roman occupiers. Tax collectors were probably as despised as anyone could be in Israel; maybe more than prostitutes (because they would have been seen as prostituting themselves to the Roman oppressors and gaining wealth by cheating their fellow Jews). But Jesus called Matthew anyway, and he began immediately to draw other “sinners” to follow the Lord Jesus too.

It doesn’t matter where we have been, or how sinful our lives might have been in the past. What matters most is “where am I now, and where am I heading?” Our Blessed Lord doesn’t choose “perfect people” to do His work — in fact, the so-called “perfect people” might get in the way of the great work of God because they might see it as their work, their success, rather than seeing that God can do great things through broken instruments. We are all called to open our hearts and souls, to allow the Lord Jesus to do great things in and through us, to reach other sinners through us. Never forget the words of St. John Chrysostom: “There is nothing colder than a Christian who does not work for the salvation of others.”

Filed Under: Spiritual Teaching Tagged With: Murillo, St. Matthew

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Posts

Can God forgive our gravest sins?

Sometimes people ask if God can really forgive our most grievous sins — He not only can, but He actually does, if we ask for forgiveness. In this video, I share some stories of people who were notorious sinners — some would say “monsters” — who experienced the grace of forgiveness from the Infinite Mercy […]

July: Month of the Precious Blood

Many people know that the month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart. But did you know that the month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus? In Ancient Israel, the People of God were forbidden to ever consume blood. The reason was that the life (soul) of the animal was […]

Men need healing from abortion

Fr. Ben Cameron was on the “Just Ask Janet” show with Kevin Burke from Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries to discuss how men need healing from abortion:

Prayers requested for a new book

Hello Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I would like to request your prayers for a project of mine: a (hopefully short) book about grief, trauma, and abortion, which will be primarily to help priests, ministers, and others in pastoral work. There is some great literature out there from a clinical perspective, and other books which […]

Blogroll

  • Testimony from a Woman Healed from Abortion
  • The Power of God's Mercy to Heal even the Deepest Wounds
  • Women of Grace: Part one of interview with Fr. Ben Cameron

Devotional Links

  • Chaplet of Divine Mercy
  • How to Pray the Rosary
  • Miraculous Medal
  • The Green Scapular

Post-abortion healing

  • Entering Canaan Retreats
  • Hope After Abortion – Project Rachel
  • Rachel's Vineyard – International Site
  • Rachel's Vineyard Kentucky
  • Rachel's Vineyard Kentucky Facebook page

Religious

  • Fathers of Mercy

Posts: Listed by Topics

  • Art in Honor of the Unborn (2)
  • Latest News (32)
  • Liturgical Prayers (3)
  • Prayer requests (1)
  • Radio/TV interviews (4)
  • Reflections from Saints and Holy Persons (34)
  • Spiritual Teaching (83)
  • Testimonies (4)
  • Uncategorized (5)
  • Works of Mercy (18)

Post Archives: By Month

Copyright © 2023 Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy · All Rights Reserved · Website built by Spears Marketing · Admin