On the feast of St Matthew the Apostle, the liturgy presents the Gospel passage bearing his name, recounting his conversion and his following of Jesus.
Jesus responds to the malice of the leaders by saying:
«It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick» (Mt 9:12).
He emphasises their distance from Mercy; they are slaves to their own legalism.
When the divine Light made him realise that the Lord was calling him to follow in his footsteps, Francis left everything behind immediately and devoted himself to finding the best way to live out the Gospel.
Jesus had made him understand that Mercy must always prevail in all circumstances.
In the Sources we read:
“Oil and wine, the rod and the staff, zeal and indulgence […] everything has its time.
All this is required by the God of vengeance and the Father of mercies: yet He prefers mercy to sacrifice” (FF 763).
One day, whilst he was praying, he heard a voice say to him:
«Francis, if you wish to know my will, you must despise and hate everything that you loved in this world and longed to possess.
When you have begun to do this, what was once attractive to you will seem unbearable and bitter» (FF 1407).
Hence his love for the lepers:
“A few days later, he took a great deal of money with him and went to the lepers’ hospice; he gathered them together and distributed alms to each one, kissing their hands.
On his return, the contact that had previously been repulsive to him—that is, seeing and touching the lepers—was truly transformed into sweetness for him” (FF 1408).
Indeed, the divine Master feasts with the sick and does not abhor them, for it is they who need the healer, and it was by them that Francis was healed in his soul.
September 21, St Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist (Mt 9:9–13)
