Will the real Matt Talbot please stand up?
Last sunday, at the Annual Luncheon for us Legion of Mary Auxiliaries, my Godmother asked if I knew of Matt Talbot. I said no. She suggested that I might want to look him up as an early example of a reformed alcoholic before AA came along?
“Reformed”?
Never mind, I went on the Internet, and found at least three versions of Matt Talbot.
The first version can be seen in the Matt Talbot Retreat Groups, here in the USA. Matt is regarded as a recovered alcoholic working a version of the 12 steps before they were formalized by Bill W. in 1939. Matt Talbot retreats are just 12 step retreats under a different name, open to all regardless of religion
No problem there, AA has always insisted that there is nothing new about the 12 steps, other then the way they are presented to the alcoholic. Instead of “this is what you must do”, they are infomed that “this is what we did”. But the basic spiritual concepts of AA have been around for at least 2,000 years.
The second version is best seen in the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association in Ireland. Matt is a REFORMED Alcoholic. You can look it up if you want, but the required pledge mentions the sin of intemperence. “Sin”?
The Catholic Church in the USA no longer accepts that. We alcoholics are not sinners trying to become saints, nor bad people trying to become good, but sick people trying to become well. Ask for help from a Priest, and he will refer you to AA. You may also ask for, and receive, The Annointing Of The Sick.
Which brings us to the book TO SLACK A THIRST, by Philip Maynard. This is a book about getting sober that does not use AA, but does use the spiritual principles used by Matt, and it is fascinating reading for someone like me. Of course I am one of those who sobered up in AA, but now maintain that sobriety in the Catholic Church AS WELL AS IN AA.
Sub-titled THE MATT TALBOT WAY TO SOBRIETY, it involves a simple prayer program, very much like what I am already doing. Philip claims that he sobered up this way without AA, and others can also. And I can believe it.
Unlike the regular 12 step programs, you start with step 11 and work from there. It is assumed you have a belief in Christ as True God and True man. You forgo alcohol (or whatever) as an expression of your love for Jesus.
Obviously, this would never have worked for me 23 years ago. But I note his suggested prayers are very much along the lines of what I am doing now as a Franciscan 1221 penitent. Indeed, later on Matt became a Franciscan Tertiary. Maynard tends to play down Matt’s later adventures into mortifications, as not what is needed for staying sober. Probably true, although a lot of critics tend to concentrate on the mortifications themselves rather then Matt’s sobriety and Christian living.
All in all, a lot to think about. Matt Talbot is now a Venerable. Sainthood is a long way off. You need two authentic miracles. Thousands and thousands of Catholic alcoholic have prayed to Matt for help in getting sober and staying sober. It works. It really does. But that is not the kind of miracle the Church wants.
Really glad that I spotted your post as this has been a question in my mind for quite some time. According to one of the web sites you mentioned he has single handedly intervened in many many alcoholic’s illnesses and has literally turned lives around. In my (simple way) of thinking, if those aren’t miracles, I don’t know what miracles are! Let’s look at it another way; if the Church classify’s alcoholism as an illness, and he has intervened to cure these people (or even stop the progression of the illness if they want to be picky) , why is that not a miracle? I guess I just don’t get it.
