Sacred Calendar
The Roman year ordered for memory, penance, feasts, saints, and the daily pilgrimage of the faithful.
Calendar standard
Pre-1955 Roman usage
The calendar follows the universal Roman year under the rubrics of Pope St. Pius X, with the Roman Martyrology preserved as a distinct daily witness.
The day is presented for prayer, recollection, study, and perseverance in the City.
Daily observance
Today in the City of God
The Church keeps this day in holy time. The Pilgrim's Companion gathers the feast, daily quote, Martyrology, meditation, prayer, and related chapters into one daily path through the City.
Choose a date
Daily observance
St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Monday, September 21, 2026
Season: Time after Pentecost
The day is set within the Roman year so its feast, Martyrology, daily quote, prayer, and reading path may be received together without blurring their proper sources.
Today's pilgrimage
St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Rank: Double of the Second Class
Color: red
Quote for the day
Our Lord Jesus Christ
“Follow me. And he rose up and followed him.”
Matthew 9:9, Douay-Rheims
Roman Martyrology
Roman Martyrology - September 21
The birthday of St. Matthew, apostle and evan- - gelist, who suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, while engaged in preaching. The Gospel written by him in Hebrew was, by his own revelation, found in the time of the emperor Zeno, together with the relics of the blessed apostle Barnabas. — In the land of Saar, the holy prophet Jonas, who was buried in Geth. — At Rome, St. Pamphilus, martyr. — At twenty miles from Rome, on the Claudian way, the martyrdom of St. Alexander, bishop, in the time of the emperor Antoninus. For the faith of Christ he was loaded with fetters scourged, tortured, burned with torches, torn with iron hooks, exposed to the beasts and cast into the flames, but having overcome all these torments, he was finally beheaded, and so attained the glory of eternal life. His body was afterwards carried into the city by the blessed pope Damasus, on the 26th of November, on which day his feast is to be celebrated by order of the same Pontiff. — In Phoenicia, St. Eusebius, martyr, who, of his own accord, went to the prefect, and declaring himself a Christian, was subjected by him to many torments, and finally beheaded. — In Cyprus, St. Isacius, bishop and martyr. — In the same place, St. Meletius, bishop and confessor. — In Ethiopia, St. Iphigenia, virgin, who being baptized and consecrated to God by the blessed apostle Matthew, ended her holy life in peace.
Highlighted saint
St. Matthew
Apostle, Evangelist, and publican called by mercy.
St. Matthew was called by Christ from the receipt of custom and became an apostle and evangelist.
His feast teaches that mercy does not leave the sinner seated in the old life. Christ calls, and the forgiven soul rises to follow.
Virtue to practice
Prompt obedience to mercy.
Error to resist
The false mercy that consoles the sinner without calling him to rise.
For the pilgrim in exile
Do not negotiate with the old table. When Christ says follow Me, obedience begins before every difficulty is solved.
Imitate today
- Rise promptly from known sin.
- Give thanks for mercy that changes the life.
- Love the Gospel as apostolic witness.
Sources
- Matthew 9:9-13, Douay-Rheims.
- Roman Martyrology, 1916 Baltimore edition, September 21.
Breviary Witness
The publican who rose when mercy called.
Matins - St. Matthew
Breviary witness
- The Breviary honors St. Matthew as apostle and evangelist, called by Christ from the receipt of custom.
- His witness shows mercy as a summons to rise, follow, preach, and preserve the Gospel.
For the pilgrim in exile
Do not accept a mercy that leaves you unchanged. Christ's call is gentle, but it still commands the soul to rise.
Sources
- Roman Breviary, Matins lessons for September 21, St. Matthew.
- Matthew 9:9-13, Douay-Rheims.
Gospel of the day
Follow me.
St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist - Matthew 9:9-13
“Follow me. And he rose up and followed him.”
What Our Lord teaches
- Christ calls the publican away from the receipt of custom into apostolic discipleship.
- Mercy does not deny sin; it calls sinners to rise and follow.
Virtue to practice
Leave promptly whatever keeps you at the old table.
Error to resist
The false mercy that keeps the sinner seated where Christ found him.
For the pilgrim in exile
Rise when He calls. St. Matthew did not become worthy first; he became obedient first.
Sources
- Matthew 9:9-13, Douay-Rheims.
- Traditional Roman Gospel for St. Matthew.
Meditation
Apostolic Fidelity
Today the Church turns the pilgrim toward apostolic order: the faith received, guarded, preached, and suffered for. In exile this is not an abstraction. The faithful must love the visible form Christ gave His Church without confusing office, truth, and fidelity.
Related paths
Walk the day through the City.
Today's chapters
Read with the feast.
Prayer
The day should become prayer.
O Lord, make my charity patient without weakness, firm without harshness, and always ordered toward the salvation of souls.
Thought for the pilgrim
Charity is clearest when it remains joined to truth.
Practice
The day should become obedience.
Perform one hidden act of charity without seeking notice or return.
Source notes
Universal Roman Calendar under the rubrics of Pope St. Pius X
Fasting and abstinence according to the laws observed in 1952
Daily quotations and pilgrimage excerpts should come from Scripture, Fathers, Doctors, saints, traditional popes before 1958, traditional catechisms, approved devotional works, or received liturgical texts.
The Roman Martyrology, Baltimore, 1916, published by John Murphy Company; the local 1916 text is displayed and traceable to its source lines.
- St. Andrew Daily Missal, Liturgical Calendar, pp. xvii–xxviii.