This was the second volume I have read about Matt Talbot. After I finished the short volume The Holy Man of Dublin: or the Silence of Matt Talbot by Alice Curtayne I knew I wanted to learn more. The subtitle of this volume is: ‘Fighting addiction, poverty, and the turmoil of Irish life at the turn of the century, Matt leads us humbly to the Mother of God.’. and even after reading this volume I want to read more about this holy man. Both Sir Joseph Glynn and Mary Purcell have written two volumes on Matt, one a shorter booklet, and a longer book version. Reading about the spread of the devotion to this man around the world in short order in the days before internet, and social media is fascinating. And it is incredible to read about a man humble and unassuming who changed his life and after his death was discovered to be an extremely holy and devote man is deeply moving. The version of this book I read is marked as a second edition. But there is not an indication of the changes, additions or subtractions from the previous version. The description of this volume is:
““On a pitiful dry day, in the city of Dublin, Ireland, in the year 1884, a seedy young workman with a hang-over decided to quit drinking...There was nothing remarkable about Matt—not then. And there was nothing remarkable in his taking the pledge. Nothing is easier to take—nor harder to keep. But, one thing leading to another, a sinner can call on a priest, and a sot can become a saint.
It was only after Matt quit drinking that he became remarkable in any way. It was only after his death that he became, not only remarkable and famous all over the world, but even an object of veneration.
Some day, in your parish church, you may see a strange statue—maybe standing near that of the Little Flower or St. Anthony or even St. Patrick himself. And then again maybe you won’t. The Church hasn’t canonized Matt yet, and may never do so. But it permits him to be called “the holy servant of God”; and that is tantamount to calling him the ‘Venerable Matt Talbot.’”
– Excerpt from the beginning of Matt Talbot
Though Matt Talbot’s life is an encouraging success story particularly for addicts, his meaning in the modern world extends far beyond being the patron of recovering alcoholics. There is something in his story for everyone—worker, sinner, Christian, skeptic, apostle—a glimmer of greatness, humility, and charity that cannot fail to inspire and amaze.”
I myself come from a long line of Irish Catholics with a fondness for the drink, and my youngest brother and I have commend on the family history of addictions, we had one brother overdose, my youngest brother is addicted to board games, and for me it is books. But Matt’s story gives home for those who struggle with substance addictions, and for all of us who would grow to become ‘the best version of ourselves’ to strive to become saints. I highlighted several passages while reading this volume, some of them are:
“On a pitiful dry day, in the city of Dublin, Ireland, in the year 1884, a seedy young workman with a hang-over decided to quit drinking. His flesh was crawling with the need for alcohol. His throat was as parched as a long-neglected desert. His eyes were blood-shot and weary through searching the streets for the sight of a friend with a bob or a bottle. And his hands were shaking—even in the depths of his coat pockets. Yet he took the pledge. And if things all over the world haven’t been the same from that day to this, maybe Matt Talbot’s decision had something to do with it. Who can deny that?”
“It was only after Matt quit drinking that he became remarkable in any way. It was only after his death that he became, not only remarkable and famous all over the world, but even an object of veneration.”
“Matt never spilled a drink nor skipped a day’s work on the job. He took the pledge for three months, even though he felt he couldn’t keep it for three hours. He kept it forty-one years.”
“Some of the links in those chains were found embedded in his flesh the day he dropped dead on his way to Mass. Some of them had rusted. It was the links binding him to Mary and her Son that freed him from the chains of alcoholism. It was those links that gave him to Christendom as a possible patron of all helpless drunks.”
“He was the average man. The average—God help us—Catholic. Why God chose him especially, and no one else, to lead thousands of people into sobriety, and perhaps from sobriety into sanctity, is another mystery.”
“What a fool a man was to waste his God-given time in a barroom when he could spend it in prayer before the altar of God! What a fool a man was to sell his soul and his body to the demon of drink when he could drive a much better bargain with the one who would come to judge the living and the dead!”
“Matt Talbot undoubtedly learned something of the Catholic religion, the religion of love, in the Christian Brothers’ school in Dublin. He undoubtedly learned, also, that Britannia ruled the waves, that there was little hope in life for any boy who was both Catholic and Irish, that there was nothing ahead of such a lad but unending work, unending poverty, unending drink.”
“The habitual drinker does not contribute much, if anything, to the family’s support. It was only after he quit drinking that Matt was of any help to his father and mother—or to anybody else.”
“Matt must have missed the companionship of his fellow drinkers almost as much as the drink itself, after he took the pledge. He must often have been tempted to return to his pet oasis just to hear the voices of his friends, the stories, the arguments, the songs.”
“Sir Joseph Glynn, in his matter-of-fact way, states that Matt went to confession before he took the pledge, and that afterward he returned home “and on Sunday morning attended the 5 a.m. Mass at St. Francis Xavier’s church,” and went to Communion.”
“It was a Saturday evening in June. The air was chill, and an ill-natured sky was trying to make up its mind to drench the Irish with cold rain. It was about seven o’clock, and still light outside. But it was dark and gloomy inside, despite all the candles and electric lights. This church is one of the grimmest in Europe, one of the most bleak, and perhaps the most drafty. It is a big bare structure containing a lot of altars, and a lot of fat, round, tall, dark pillars that shut out most of the altars from one’s vision. Its floor is stone, cold and relentless. Its wooden pews are old fashioned, uncomfortable, and ungracious. Its doors keep opening and closing constantly, letting people in or letting them out, and giving the drafts a chance to rush madly everywhere. There are many confessionals, and on this evening there were long lines of men and women stretching toward each of them. Most of the people were on their knees. They moved slowly, up a dark aisle, around a pillar, toward a narrow bench. They moved a few inches at a time, not more than the width of the penitent who had moved first. There was a patience in these Irish men and women the visitor thought remarkable. They were so still! There was so little fidgeting among them! There was so much reverence in them!”
“It was not in the Pro-Cathedral that Matt had gone to confession that day in 1884. He went to the chapel of Holy Cross College—where a relic of the True Cross was kept. But in any church or chapel in Ireland, a visitor will see much the same thing on a Saturday night—great lines of penitents moving with the slowness and inevitableness of glaciers toward the wide warm Sea of Mercy.”
This was a fascinating read. I doubt the taking of the chains would be approved today, and a different discipline would be encouraged. But Matt’s life of prayer, fasting, and giving is an incredible example.
The book begins with the Prayer for the canonization of Matthew Talbot:
“O Jesus, true friend of the humble worker, Who hast given us in Thy servant, Matthew, a wonderful example of Victory over vice, a model of penance and of love for Thy Holy Eucharist, grant, we beseech Thee, that we Thy servants may overcome all our wicked passions and sanctify our lives with penance and love like his. And if it be in accordance with Thine adorable designs that Thy pious servant should be glorified by the Church, deign to manifest by Thy heavenly favors the power he enjoys in Thy sight, Who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.
100 days’ Indulgence each time. Permissu Ordinarii Dioec. Dublinen., die 15 Junii, anno 1931.”
I added this prayer to my daily prayers as soon as I read it. This volume was hard to put down once I started. I kept trying to sneak in a little more reading time. Devouring the book on my coffee breaks, lunch, and in the evening once the kids were in bed. Matt’s story is one that as the end of the description of the book states:
“…Matt Talbot’s life is an encouraging success story particularly for addicts, his meaning in the modern world extends far beyond being the patron of recovering alcoholics. There is something in his story for everyone—worker, sinner, Christian, skeptic, apostle—a glimmer of greatness, humility, and charity that cannot fail to inspire and amaze.”
This is a book any Catholic could benefit from read. It will inspire and challenge readers of all ages. I can easily recommend this volume. And I have a few other books about Matt I plan on reading. An excellent biography and story of faith, overcoming addiction, and living for God.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2023 Catholic Reading Plan!
Books about Matt Talbot:
Matt Talbot: His Struggle, His Victory over Alcoholism - Susan Helen Wallace
Matt Talbot - Xavier Carty
Spotlight on Matt Talbot - Edward O'Connor, S.J.
Matt Talbot - Simon O'Brynne
The quest for Matt Talbot - Philip Rooney
We knew Matt Talbot - Albert H Dolan
Matt Talbot - James F. Cassidy.
An address to Pope John Paul II from the Parish of Matt Talbot, The Worker.
Matt Talbot : the Irish worker's glory - James Francis Cassidy
Matt Talbot - Albon White
The Story of Matt Talbot - Malachy Gerard Carroll
Books by Eddie Doherty:
A Cricket in my Heart: An Autobiography
A Nun with a Gun, Sister Stanislaus
Desert Windows
Gall and Honey: The Story of a Newspaperman
Getting to Know God
Hermit without a Permit
I Cover God
King of Sinners
Lambs in Wolfskins: The Conquering March of Don John Bosco
Matt Talbot
My Hay Ain't In
Our Lady of Combermere
Psalms of a sinner
Splendor of Sorrow: The Seven Sorrows of the Mother of God
The Life of Eddie Doherty
The Little Christmas Angel O'Ryan
Tumbleweed
Wisdom's Fool: A Biography of St. Louis De Montfort
…
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