Reflect prayerfully on the Scripture reading:

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Matthew 9:9-13

Lord Jesus, you showed your great love and mercy toward sinners by calling St. Matthew to be one of your closest friends. Help us to come to a deeper knowledge of your love for all sinners, including ourselves, and by encountering you in the Gospel may we grow in friendship with you. We ask this through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary as we pray together...

Hail Mary...

The Gospels are the heart of the Scriptures “because they are our principal source for the life and teachings of the Incarnate Word, our Savior.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 125

In Scripture, and in a very special way in the Gospels, we encounter not just words on a page, but the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus became incarnate for us, which means that the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, took on human flesh and became man. In Jesus, we meet God Himself. Since the Bible is the Word of God “enfleshed” in human words, help your students understand that the Church venerates Scripture as she venerates the body of the Lord.

In the next couple of lessons, they will be studying the first of the Gospels we find in Scripture, the Gospel of Matthew. St. Matthew, also called Levi, was a disciple and Apostle who followed Christ. He was one of the witnesses of the resurrected Lord. He also witnessed the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven and, as one of the Apostles, was given by Christ the commission to make disciples of all nations. He was present in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost and was with the other Apostles and Mary when they received the Holy Spirit. St. Matthew is the traditional author of the Gospel of Matthew (although some scholars believe the author was an anonymous person writing under Matthew’s name), which most scholars believe was written between AD 50 and 100.

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.

Luke 5:27-28 

The call of Levi, Matthew’s original name, before being called by Jesus.

A vocation is a calling by God to holiness. Everyone has a permanent vocation in life, to either priesthood or religious life, marriage, or consecrated single life. We are all called to pursue holiness in every situation in which we find ourselves in life.