Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

[Colin]

" What strikes me about Matt Talbot and the reason the church is considering his cause for sainthood is this: he is a model of Christian life and holiness not because things came easy for him, but precisely because in poverty, addiction, desperation and utter helplessness he gave himself entirely to God; not because he achieved something great, but because he allowed God to achieve something great in him. He could have given up, but instead he gave himself to God. In other words, he is a striking example of what I wrote about last week—that God wants what is best for us and asks that we cooperate with his grace, with what he is lovingly doing for us and in us. The struggle to do so—to let go and let God—can be mighty indeed. "
( By Archbishop J. Peter Sartain , 2007 )

Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me

 

[Colin]

A Prayer of Trust ( Thomas Merton )



“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think that I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this
you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”


Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

Matt Talbot-A Model for All Men and Women ( by Dom Antoine Marie O.S.B of the Abbey of Saint Joseph de Clairval , France ) .

Matt Talbot is a model for all men and women. To victims of alcoholism or drugs, he shows through his example that with the grace of God, recovery is possible. «Alcohol addictions are at times so strong that those closest to the alcoholic are led to believe that he will never overcome his addiction, and the alcoholic himself is tempted to lose all hope. It is good then to remember Jesus' resurrection. This reminds us that failure is never God's last word» (Social Commission of French Bishops, declaration of December 1, 1998). To those who are slaves to other sins (idolatry, blasphemy, abortion, euthanasia, contraception, adultery, debauchery, homosexuality, masturbation, stealing, false witness, slander, etc.), he reminds them that one must «never despair of God's mercy,» in accordance with Saint Benedict's recommendation (Rule, ch. 4). Our Lord promised St. Margaret Mary that sinners would find in His Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy. Just as it is the nature of a ship to sail on the water, it is God's nature to forgive and be merciful, as the Church confirms in one of its prayers. Saint Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church, also was able to write near the end of her manuscripts: «Even if I had on my conscience all the sins that can be committed, I would go, my heart broken with repentance, to throw myself into the arms of Jesus, for I know how much He loves the prodigal child who returns to Him.» She added, in spoken words, «If I had committed all the crimes it is possible to commit, I would still have the same confidence, I would feel that this multitude of offences would be like a drop of water thrown into a raging blaze.» Matt Talbot's life eloquently proves that by turning faithfully to the Lord to ask forgiveness, one may, through the Sacrament of Penance, the normal way of reconciliation with God, begin a new life under Mary's maternal gaze.


Venerable Matt Talbot, obtain for us the grace of turning with confidence to the divine mercy, and of going to the very end of the demands of a passionate love for Jesus and Mary!


Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

Asking for the gift of prayer


The following quotation is from homily notes for 28 July 2013, 17th Sunday of the year .http://www.associationofcatholicpriests.ie/2013/07/28-july-2013-17th-sunday-of-year-c/

“A certain man once asked a Carthusian monk how he should pray, and the reply was, 'Pray in, not up' – just four words. It is indeed true that most of the time we imagine the One we are addressing in prayer as being somewhere above or outside ourselves. But scripture tells us that we are temples of the Holy Spirit, and we should focus on God’s Spirit dwelling within us. Furthermore, the Spirit pleads for us with sighs too deep for words, and intercedes for us according to the will of God. May we never leave off praying, but rather ask God daily for the gift of prayer, as did Matt Talbot, who set for us such an example of a life wholly dedicated to prayer, by day and by night, at home or at work.”

Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

St Marie Louis de Monfort

Matt read a book entitled, True devotion to the Blessed Virgin by St Louis Marie de Montfort. A Spiritual work that would have a profound influence on Matt and would eventually lead to the discovery of his hidden acetic life. In this book St. Louis aim is to lead us to a closer union with Christ through a more faithful observance of our baptismal promises. It is not a question of saying special or extra prayers to Our Lady, but of living a life of total consecration to Jesus and his Mother, and for their glory. St. Louis teaches that, 'we come to Jesus through the hands of Mary. The more one is consecrated to Mary the more one is consecrated to Jesus. That is why perfect consecration to Jesus is but a perfect and complete consecration of oneself to the Blessed Virgin. St Louis continues, this devotion consists in giving oneself entirely to Mary in order to belong entirely to Jesus through her.

Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

From "I Ask Only Three Things . . ." : The Life of Venerable Matt Talbot


Ann Bottenhorn



For the last two years of his life, Matt suffered from heart disease. Strict fasting, limited sleep, and hard physical labor had worn him out. On June 7,1925, he collapsed on the way to Mass. No one recognized the frail little man who died in Granby Lane. He carried no money or identification, just a few odd scraps of paper in his pockets. Curiously, two pins, blackened with age, were pinned to his sleeve in a cross. Four days later, the body of Matt Talbot was identified. The books in his bare tenement room were discovered, along with many scraps of paper on which he had written. On one of those scraps was written the following prayer: "O Virgin, I ask only three things: the grace of God, the presence of God, and the benediction of God." Among many others, this prayer was surely answered.



Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

Lord for tomorrow and it's needs I do not pray .



There is much in the simplicity of this hymn which reflects the spirituality of the Venerable Matt Talbot .


Catholic Hymnal: Lord for tomorrow and it's needs - YouTube



Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

Blessed be Jesus in the most holy sacrament of the altar .

When the Venerable Matt Talbot was feeling deperate his first resort was to get to the Eucharistic presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament . There he would encounter Jesus who met his needs .

Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me . __________________

 

[Colin]

Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

Matt Talbot's rosary beads , a reminder that , even if the rosary may not be part of our prayer life , honouring Mary ought to be .


Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

The Venerable Matt Talbot pray for us .


Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

I was listening to some music this morning and this piece caught my attention . I found a translation , and though it is not a hymn , I thought of how the words could be applied to Matt Talbot when he was in the depths of suffering caused by his addiction , and even applied to any who are almost despairing as they struggle with the many forms of addiction in our world .

Lascia ch'io pianga

Lascia ch'io pianga
mia cruda sorte,
e che sospiri
la libertà.

Il duolo infranga
queste ritorte
de' miei martiri
sol per pietà.

Let me weep
my cruel fate,
and sigh
for liberty.

May sorrow break
these chains
of my sufferings,
for pity's sake.
"Lascia ch'io pianga" - Celtic Woman - YouTube

Venerable Matt Talbot , pray for those who weep and sigh , those chained to a cruel fate , suffering because of addictions .
May they know God's pity , and by His grace attain liberty .

Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

Intense asceticism was a well known feature of Irish life in the early centuries of Christianity. Most Irishmen would say it was a passing phase consistent with the times.
.Matt Talbot showed that this was not the case. He was the modern example of the ancient monks of Ireland. He showed that this kind of example is as relevant today as it was fourteen and fifteen centuries ago.
( from The Catholic Herald)



Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

"Three things I cannot escape: the eye of God, the voice of conscience, the stroke of death. In company, guard your tongue. In your family, guard your temper. When alone guard your thoughts." (Matt Talbot)

Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

In his book, All My Liberty: Theology of the Spiritual Exercises, Fr. John J. Hardon, S.J. wrote : " Matt Talbot had to fight an irrational thirst for drink, which he conquered through concentrated prayer and reached high sanctity in the process. From the standpoint of providence, God permits us to have master passions or weaknesses because He intends them as instruments of our sanctification. They serve to deflate our self-sufficiency and constrain us, as nothing else, to betake ourselves to God in humble and constant prayer which is the touchstone of sanctity. "


Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

The Serenity Prayer


"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can, and
Wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and
Supremely happy with Him forever in the next."
Amen.
Attributed to Rev. Reinhold Niebuhr

Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

The friend of God whose life ended on a Dublin sidewalk on June 7, 1925, was one of those hidden holy. Like the majority of this quiet legion, the neatly but shabbily dressed, old workingman who collapsed and died on his way to hear a second Sunday morning Mass should still be known only to God. Yet, having let him live his sixty-nine years in obscurity, God called attention to Matthew Talbot immediately after his death. Since 1975, in fact, Talbot is one of the Church’s official Venerables (literally, one worthy of veneration on the basis of exhaustively verified heroic virtue) — thus only a miracle away from being beatified and another from being canonized. If either happens, he becomes the Church’s first known alcoholic saint. ( Patricia Treece )


Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

Venerable Matt Talbot shows what God wants of us - to break out of our isolation, our self-enclosure. That requires humility. It means recognizing our need for Him and for each other - the Church, the Body of Christ. If I knew some easy path, I would tell you - and I would take it myself. But humility involves pain. God allows the flesh to have power so that we will realize our weakness and come to him. The suffering involved in humility is labour pain. As St. Paul says, God wants us to "be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God." (Fr Phil Bloom)

Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

Matt sets before us a radical example which demonstrates that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. His life is a witness to the fact that people can by God's grace and their own self acceptance say no to that which leads to addiction or addictive behaviours and that in the meantime our communities must never lose hope and must continue to care for them

Maybe it is because of this that so many have come to love and admire Matt Talbot. Matt's friend Paddy Laird always found it extraordinary that there were only seven people at Matt's funeral, but upon making public his life story hundreds of thousands have come to see him as a hero and a beacon of hope. (Matt Talbot way)

Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .

 

[Colin]

People need heroes, not in the sense of comic book or movie superheroes with superhuman powers, not pop stars or celebrities all art and pizzazz but with little or no moral substance. No what we need are ordinary people who against extraordinary odds do the right thing, like saying no to addiction or compulsion. Matt Talbot understood this and he would say to others, "If I can do it so can you with the grace of God".

Matt example has inspired many institutions, movements and individuals around the world giving hope of recovery to those who are willing to accept their weakness and need. Such people stand as beacons in our world to the truth that we can overcome addiction rise above our weakness and achieve great things even sainthood.

Jesus said, "Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest .Shoulder my yoke and learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls" Matt 11:28-30. (Matt Talbot way)

Official Prayer for the Canonization of Matt Talbot

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord

Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers.
Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own.
I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my heart.
Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me .