The Life of Christ : St Matthew

Three Archangels with Tobias. c.1471 Uffizi, Florence. 

Today, the feast of St Raphael, sees the last posting on the Life of Christ according to the Gospel of St Matthew on The Life of Christ website. I established the Life of Christ site in 2019 to provide a platform for presenting and illustrating the life of Christ. This was in response to an idea which seemed to speak from the last line of the motto I had adopted as a seal in the same year (see below and at the end of each post):

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

It also reflects the emphasis found in the opening lines of The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis:

     He that followeth me, walketh not in darkness, saith Our Lord. (John viii.12). These are the words of Christ, by which we are admonished, that we must imitate His life and manners, if we would be truly enlightened, and delivered from all blindness of heart. Let it then be our chief study to meditate on the life of Jesus Christ. [From The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis (c. 1418–1427); translated by Bishop Richard Challoner (1755)]

     Qui sequitur me non ambulat in tenebris dicit Dominus. Hæc sunt verba Christi, quibus admonemur quatenus vitam eius et mores imitemur, si volumus veraciter illuminari, et ab omni cæcitate cordis liberari. Summum igitur studium nostrum, sit in vita Jesu meditari.

     Celui qui me suit, ne marche point dans les ténèbres, dit le Seigneur. Ce sont les paroles de Jésus-Christ, par lesquelles il nous exhorte à imiter sa conduite et sa vie, si nous voulons être vraiment éclairés et délivrés de tout aveuglement du cœur. Que notre principale étude soit donc de méditer la vie de Jésus-Christ. [L'Imitation de Jésus-Christ, traduction avec des réflections par M l'Abbé F De Lamenais (1859)]

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Here is a summary of the projects completed to date:

1. The first Life followed the format of The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ by the remarkable artist James J. Tissot (1897). The posts began on the 14th of October 2019 and concluded on the feast of the Ascension, the 21st of May 2020.
2. The second Life followed the work of l'Abbé Constant Fouard:  La Vie de N-S Jésus-Christ (1880). The first post was published on the feast of Corpus Christi (11th of June 2020) and the series concluded on the 4th of October 2020.
3. The third Life followed the Gospel of St Mark, making use of a work by Madame Cecilia published in 1904 entitled The Gospel according to St Mark. This Life opened on the Feast of St Mark (25th April 2022) and concluded on the 26th of June 2022.
4. The fourth project featured the Acts of the Apostles and also made use of Madame Cecilia's work published in 1907 entitled The Acts of the Apostles. The series began on the 29th June 2022 and concluded on the 11th of September in the same year.
5. The most recent project featured the Gospel of St Matthew.  Making use of Madame Cecilia's commentaries published in 1906, it began on the 29th of June 2023, the feast of St Peter and St Paul, and concluded today, the 24th of October, on the feast of St Raphael.

I offer this work to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, our gentle Queen and Mother, with a petition that she present it as an act of reparation to her Divine Son's most Sacred Heart so that He, in His mercy, may heal the wounds, repair the damage and undo the scandal caused by sins.

O Lord, graciously send Your holy Archangel Raphael to help us, that he who we know stands ever in the presence of Your Majesty, may present our humble prayers for Your blessing.

Dirigere dignáre, Dómine Deus, in adiutórium nostrum sanctum Raphaélem Archángelum: et, quem tuæ maiestáti semper assístere crédimus, tibi nostras exíguas preces benedicéndas assígnet.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.