Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Matthew, the apostle credited with giving the gospel that is placed first in the New Testament. How appropriate that we celebrate him at the same time of year our Jewish brothers and sisters mark Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Of the four gospels, Matthew most of all aims to show that the message of Jesus was not something disconnected from Judaism but was in fact the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. Some scholars even see in his gospel a five part division the mimics the five books of the Torah.
Perhaps today we pray for a deeper sense of unity between ourselves and Jewish brothers and sisters.
