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The Life of Matt Talbot

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The Life of Matt Talbot
by Sir Joseph A Glynn

What did alcoholics do before there was Alcoholics Anonymous?

Let us consider a few parts of this holy man's life: "He was not quarrelsome when drunk, but went quietly home to bed when the public-houses had closed for the night. No matter how much drink he had taken the night before, he was up in time for his work, which started at 6 a.m., and left the house clean and tidy in his person. He acquired the habit of taking the Holy Name in vain and of using strong language when talking with his fellow workers, and he began to neglect the Sacraments, though he went to Mass on Sundays. His prayers consisted of blessing himself when he got out of bed in the morning, as he was, usually, too drunk to say any prayers going to bed. For two, if not three, years before his conversion he had not been to the Sacraments of Penance or the Holy Eucharist. "The picture which Matt Talbot presents to us at this period is that of a young fellow going fast on the road to ruin; the craving' for drink gradually mastering him; the duties of his religion almost completely neglected; and the duties to his parents entirely ignored. The picture is dark, but it is not all black. All his troubles came from the one sin-indulgence in drink. He had no other vice and his moral character was irreproachable."

From his early teens until age 28 Matt's only aim in life had been liquor. But from that point forward, his only aim was God. Matt became increasingly deout. He lived a life of prayer, fasting and service, trying to model himself on the sixth century Irish monks. Though he has not been formally recognized as a saint, Matt Talbot may be considered a patron of men and women struggling with alcoholism.

Paperback, size 9" x 6", 112 pages
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