Feast of St. Matthew the Evangelist

Happy name day to Matthew! (and his Uncle Matthew, too!)

As Mass began this morning, our pastor said, "Today is the Feast of St. Matthew, the Evangelist," and Matthew called out, "It's my name day!" Thank goodness Father is very understanding of little ones.

Matthew has been excited all day. I hope he won't be let down that his baseball cake, which he requested weeks ago and hasn't forgotten about, is going to wait until Sunday, when Daddy and Patrick are home from Tokyo. The name-day blessing will have to wait until then, too.

But tonight, we will have macaroni and cheese and grapes and steamed carrots, his favorite meal. And Katie is in the kitchen right now baking peanut butter-chocolate chip muffins. She couldn't stand to see her little brother go without a treat on his name day.

What a blessing Katie is! An added bonus is that while she baked, Joseph got to have an art lesson.

A Prayer to St. Matthew
(from the back of Matthew's holy card)

God of Mercy,
You chose a tax collector, Saint Matthew,
to share the dignity of the Apostles,
By his example and prayers,
help us to follow Christ and remain faithful in your service.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.