Father Mathew

“ There are persons still living who remember Father Mathew. An old and respected neighbour, Francis Draper by name, is one of the youngest men of eighty-seven one could possibly meet. Although born in 1832, he still possesses a wonderfully clear memory.
In 1842, when Father Mathew paid his visit to London, Mr. Draper—then a boy of ten years—was introduced to him at the Riding School. In an anteroom upstairs, to which Father Mathew retired between the times when he administered the pledge, he saw an artist modelling his face in clay, which he was told was for Madame Tussaud’s Exhibition. ”

“ Trall! the doctors are good fellows; but their affair is to cure disease, not to preserve health.
One man, it seems, and only one, has had much success in dissuading people from drinking, and that was Father Mathew. A considerable proportion of his converts in Ireland, it is said, remain faithful to their pledge; and most of the Catholic parishes in the United States have a Father Mathew Society connected with them, which is both a teetotal and a mutual-benefit organization. In New York and adjacent cities the number of persons belonging to such societies is about twenty-seven thousand. ”

“ This is largely due to the work of Bishop O’Callahan and the priests of his diocese and the influence of Father Mathew, the great apostle of temperance, who led a movement that reached every corner of the world about fifty years ago. There are monuments to Father Mathew in many of the cities of Ireland. There is one in Dublin on the principal street, between that of Daniel O’Connell and that now being erected to Parnell, while in Cork the statue of Father Mathew on St. Patrick’s Street is the center and focus of all activity. ”

“ Perhaps the strangest thing of all was the clergyman who preached against it as being irreligious, taking as the text of his sermon, 'Wine, that maketh glad the heart of man.'
I like a man who is disinterested, therefore I wish to remind the present generation that Father Mathew came of a stock of distillers, and his family was among the first to suffer by his preaching. ”

“ The Saturday before Christmas, which fell on Tuesday that year, was the time set for going for the tree, and by that time Mathew had quite settled in his mind that it should be his silver fir. He did not know how otherwise he could bring the tree to share in his new delight, nor what else he had worth giving, for he quite believed what he had been told, that it is only through giving the best beloved that one comes to the heart’s desire. With all his heart Mathew wished never to live in any place where he might not hear about God. ”

“ Mathew, imprisoned for religion, he says, "I pray God, who understandeth us all better than we understand one another, contain you, even as I hope he will, at the least, within the bounds of loyalty to his majesty, and natural piety towards your country." In the decline of his life, in his letter to the Bishop of Winchester, he says, "Amongst consolations, it is not the least to represent to a man's self like examples of calamity in others. ”

“ Theobald Mathew’s life, from first to last, was in full keeping and harmony with his profession as a priest of the church in which his lot was cast. We have been, of late years, by far too much familiarized with such warlike spirits as Dr. ”

“ The apostles all died without knowing that Matthew was their benefactor to such an extent that, when he went forth to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom after the beginning of the persecutions, he was practically penniless.
When these persecutions caused the believers to forsake Jerusalem, Matthew journeyed north, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and baptizing believers. He was lost to the knowledge of his former apostolic associates, but on he went, preaching and baptizing, through Syria, Cappadocia, Galatia, Bithynia, and Thrace. ”

“ The name of Mathew and Matthews is the same in Welsh, English, American and family history. In the old days "Ap" signified "Son of"—and surnames were not adopted until 1440, when Sir John Ap Mathew, son of David, adopted Matthew, as spelt by St. ”

“ Then Paul went on:
"I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision; but I told those in Damascus and in Jerusalem and in all Judæa, aye! and the foreign nations also, that they should repent and turn to God.
"Later on," said Paul, "I fell into a trance, and Jesus came again to me and said, 'Go, I will send you afar to the Nations.' That (Paul would say to Luke) is why I walk among perils in the city; in perils in the wilderness; in perils in the sea; in labour and work; in hunger and thirst and cold, to tell people everywhere of the love of God shown in Jesus Christ." ”

“ Of being is practised that strength,
Zealous, beneficent, firm.'
Another appreciation of the father by the son is interesting. 'He was the first English clergyman who could speak as freely on religious subjects as if he had been a layman.'
Of Matthew himself there needs little to be said. From whom did he inherit his strange temperament? His poetry lacks the warmth of feeling his father would have put into it. His muse is cold, classical, joyless. His criticisms are keen, incisive, [218] often just, more often marred by foolish prejudices, almost brutally expressed. ”

“ Dr. Mathews’ name so prominently before the denomination of which he is a minister. At length, in 1868, while on a visit to the United States, the U. P. minister at Stranraer received a call to one of the city charges in New York. In the following year he reluctantly gave up his charge in Scotland, and to the universal regret of his people and fellow townsmen, set sail for America. Nor did the feeling in his favour fail to show itself in a tangible form. A beautiful testimonial was presented by the community to the retiring pastor with many and valuable accompanying presents. ”

“ Mathews, and their clever son, have arrived at Paris and dined here yesterday. Mr. Matthews is as entertaining as ever, and his wife as amiable and spirituelle. They are excellent as well as clever people, and their society is very agreeable. Charles Mathews, the son, is full of talent, possesses all his father's powers of imitation, and sings comic songs of his own composition that James Smith himself might be proud to have written. ”

“ I say, looking forward with dismay to that dreadful engaged period of "pecking" that I have until now successfully evaded.
"Your governor and mine get on splendidly," says George, in a hopeful voice. "That would surely go for something?"
"That is one of those things no one can understand," I say, shaking my head. "My father has known your father for four years, and they have not quarrelled yet! Mr. Tempest must have the temper of an angel, or papa has never kicked him, because he thought he was so little, and old, and frail!" ”

“ That which is true of the divine paternity in the sense of Jesus, is not true of the divine paternity in the larger sense. Promises made to those who in this deeper sense pray to their father are not to be transferred to those who will not so pray, but prefer hatred to love, wickedness to purity. A bad man cannot honestly desire that the father's kingdom should come and that his will should be done on earth as in heaven. A man full of selfishness and licentiousness cannot seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness in firm trust that a heavenly father will provide for his necessities. ”

“ Joseph's cemetery at Cork.
In many respects Mathew was a typical representative of the south of Ireland. Ready and facile of speech, he was gifted with a delightful flow of humour and a strong appreciation of the lighter side of life. An ardent radical and a devout Roman catholic, he maintained the happiest relations with many who were vehemently opposed to him in religion and politics; on circuit he was always a welcome visitor at the houses of the dignitaries of the Church of England. A man of wide reading and culture, he was a warm-hearted and faithful friend. ”

“ MATHEWS, CHARLES (1776–1835) , English actor, was born in London on the 28th of June 1776. His father was “a serious bookseller,” who also officiated as minister in one of Lady Huntingdon’s chapels. Mathews was educated at Merchant Taylors’ School. His love for the stage was formed in his boyhood, when he was apprentice to his father, and the latter in 1794 unwillingly permitted him to enter on a theatrical engagement in Dublin. ”

“ Splendid!" cried one of the white men, a bearded giant whose flashing eyes and mass of brown hair gave him the look of a lion. "We will make it the white woman's peace. Bravo!" And he turned to Mrs. Abel, whose face lit up with pleasure at his happy excitement.
"No white man has even seen the people of Iala," [38] said Tamate—for that was the native name given to James Chalmers, the Scottish boy who had now gone out to far-off Papua as a missionary. [39] "Iko there"—and he pointed to a stalwart Papuan who stood by the funnel—"is the only one of us who has seen them and can speak their tongue. ”

“ It is something, indeed, that I should have to take the hand of a woman who has done you such horrible injury!"
"She won't come here, mother dear," I say, kneeling down by her side; "and you need only leave cards."
"It is such a pity," goes on mother, "that your father liked the Vashers always: if he were quarrelling with them, as he does with everybody else, there would be no trouble. ”

“ Matthew. I am not aware that he is the patron saint of any country, trade, or profession, unless it be that of tax-gatherer or exciseman; and this is perhaps the reason that, except where he figures as one of the series of evangelists or apostles, he is so seldom represented alone, or in devotional pictures. In a large altar-piece, the ‘San Matteo’ of Annibal Caracci, [105] he is standing before the throne of the Madonna, as a pendant to John the Baptist, and gives his name to the picture: but such examples are uncommon. When he is portrayed as an evangelist, he holds a book or a pen ”

“ Matthews was preaching so mightily did the power of the Lord descend upon the little congregation that several began to weep and cry aloud for mercy, some in Mohawk, some in English, and others in Chippeway. The Great Spirit who understands all languages heard and answered the poor Indian's cry, and many were made to rejoice under a sense of the pardoning love of God. My heart was made very thankful to see some of my own relations turn to the Lord. ”

“ And on that night [9] in which the king intended to lay hands on Matthew, Matthew saw Jesus saying to him: I am with thee always to save thee, Matthew; be strong, and be a man.
And the blessed Matthew, having awoke, and sealed himself over all the body, rose up at dawn, and proceeded into the church; and having bent his knees, prayed earnestly. Then the bishop having come, and the clergy, they stood in common in prayer, glorifying God. And after they had ended the prayer, the bishop Plato said: Peace to thee, Matthew, apostle of Christ! And the blessed Matthew said to him: Peace to you! ”

“ Another psalm and a longer supplication succeeded, and judging from his book on prayer, he must have excelled in that form of spiritual exercise. Then followed a sermon full of useful practical thought, arranged in singular devices, after Puritan precedents; for Matthew had great reverence for the ways of his father Philip, and of his father’s friends. What is said of the sire may be said of the son: “Many a good thought has perished because it was not portable, and many a sermon is forgotten, because it is not memorable ”

“ To them, heaven is on the right hand, hell on the left, and church in the middle; to go to church is to be safe for the former, to stay away from church is to go to the latter sharp and sure. Church is church, and it does not much signify to them what they hear there—there's always the Bible and the Prayer-book to fall back upon. They do not make any very strenuous efforts to unlock the gate that leads into the kingdom of heaven: they walk decorously and slowly according to their lights. There are certain well-known landmarks in sin that they steer clear of ”

“ If there is one thing more characteristic of the apostles in their after life than any other, it is their self-forgetfulness—their self-effacement, we may say. Where does Matthew ever say a word about the sayings or doings of Matthew? Even John, who was nearest of all to the heart of the Saviour, and with Him in all His most trying hours, can write a whole gospel without ever mentioning his own name; and when he has occasion to speak of John the Baptist does it as if there were no other John in existence. ”

“ All the people wondered, as they saw one of the hated publicans among the disciples, with Peter, and John, and the rest. But Jesus believed that there is good in all kinds of people. Most of the men who followed him were poor fishermen. None of them, so far as we know, was rich. And when he called Matthew he saw a man with a true and loving heart, whose rising up to follow Jesus just as soon as he was called showed what a brave and faithful friend he would be. The first of the four books about Jesus bears Matthew's name. ”

“ Luke omits the incident; Matthew puts the burden of the ambitious request upon the mother instead of upon the sons; tho he betrays the fact that he is remaking Mark, by making Jesus direct his reply to the men.
In the healing of Bartimaeus (Mk x, 46-52; Mt xx, 29-34; Lk xviii, 35-43) Mark says “the son of Timaeus,” perhaps in explanation of the Aramaic name. Matthew specifies two men instead of one, giving no names; it has been suggested that he may have been misled by Mark’s “Bartimaeus” and “the son of Timaeus,” tho the Jewish affinity of Matthew’s Gospel makes this unlikely. ”