1856–1925
Venerable Matt Talbot, 1856–1925
Matt Talbot was born in Dublin, Ireland. Many people in his family drank too much. Matt started drinking when he was young. After years of heavy drinking, he decided to stop. He realized that he had hurt many people and done many bad things. He asked for forgiveness from each person. He also received the Sacrament of Penance and asked God to forgive all his sins. For the rest of his life, he never drank again. He gave away much of his money and prayed for all those that he had hurt.
Discuss: Talk about a time when you hurt someone and had to ask forgiveness.
Matt Talbot was born in Dublin, Ireland, and worked as a builder. Many people in his family drank too much. Matt started drinking when he was young. After fifteen years of heavy drinking, he decided to stop. He realized that he had hurt many people and done many bad things. He asked for forgiveness from each person. He also received the Sacrament of Penance and asked God to forgive all his sins. For the rest of his life, he never drank again. He gave away much of his money and prayed for all those that he had hurt.
Matt joined the Secular Franciscan Order and spent much of his time reading Scripture and about the lives of the Saints. He was especially devoted to praying the Rosary, and contributed to the Church’s mission work. It was hard for him to avoid drinking, and he used prayer to help himself stay away from the places where he’d spent so much time drinking before his life changed.
Matt Talbot died on his way to church on Trinity Sunday. He was given the title Venerable by Pope Paul VI in 1975. A statue of him can be seen near a bridge that also bears his name, in Dublin.
Activity
Habits
Intrapersonal
Have the child decide if they have a habit that they need to lose.