Imme
diately
after his ordination Fr. Matthew spent two years in his own
parish, for pastoral experience . Then he was assigned a new
parish Karoor dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was
here that his ardent desire..... congregation originated.
Because of his intense desire to spread the devotion to the
Sacred Heart he built a new Church in the place of the shed
and every home in the parish was consecrated to the Sacred
Heart. Transferred in 1906, to Lalam old church in the heart
of Palai, he found a good field for his apostolate,of drawing
more people including hardened sinners to the Heart of Jesus.
In 1910,
back to St.Thomas Church as assistant, at the special request
of the parish priest he put to full use his experience and
expertise as a zealous priest.As vicar in different parishes
he won the love and esteem of the parishio
ners.
As a fervant lover of the S.H. he could not but love his fellowmen.
His words touched by the divine fire of love impressed his
listeners deeply. He was a true follower of the good shpeherd
in search of the lost sheep very much like 'Cure De Ars'.
He spent long hours in the confessional and brought about
changes in the lives of mary sinners. He promoted vocation
to priesthood as well as to religious life. He spent long
hours before the blessed sacrament. As a zealous pastor he
visited families, consoled the sick, helped the poor and needy,
widows and destitute.
To experience
and share the compassionate love of the Sacred Heart to the
poor and the destitute he started a new
religious community on January I, 1911 in a small house with
four members and consecrated it to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Fr. Matthew
was later twice in charge of Lalam new and twice of the filial
church at Kannadiurumpu within Palai itself. Here he bestowed
special attention to the conversion and uplift of a very backward
class called 'Harijens'. They belonged to the lowest class
of the society in every respect and were considered untouchables
by other communities. Their children were uncared and rejected.
Ignoring his deteriorating health he travelled long distances
on foot to visit their houses. With great difficulty he started
a primary school for their children.
Another area he worked
and spent himself for God and his people was education . Meenachil
being a rural area at tha
t
time few educational facilities were available to the people,
especially for girls. He bestowed his fatherly care upon the
primary school and middle school at Kannadiurumpu. Later he
established an english middle school at Lalam facing almost
insurmountable difficulties and hardships. This school later
grew into the great girls High School, which is doing wonderful
service for the higher education and overall progress of women
in the area.
Fr.Mathew Kadalikkattil
had a great devotion to the Sacred passion of our Lord. Disabled
to walk owing to
a serious painful swelling on his thigh and finding medical
help inadequate, he vowed and later fulfilled a pilgrimage
to the hill top at Pampoorampara making the stations of the
cross on the way on seven consecutive Fridays in the next
lent. Subsequently he prepared a route to the hill top erected
along the same the fourteen stations of the cross and built
a chapel dedicated to the mother of sorrows. This has been
a centre of pilgrimage today attracting thousands of faithful
believers from all over Kerala.
He was a man of God who had a never failing trust in the
providence of God. He responded to God's love through his
lifelong selfgiving. He remained a humble and obedient priest
throughout his life. He was keen on knowing God's will and
following it as and when manifested through the guidance of
superiors. He could combine prayer and penance as his lifestyle
and with
utmost attention he offered the Eucharistic Sacrifice. He
could bring about the true conversion of hearts of his people
through the ministry as a preacher and confessor. Conducting
catechism classes for children and preparing them for first
confessi
on
and communion were of great concern to him. He had become
an apostle of devotion to the Sacred Heart to the extend that
he used to sign himself under the title 'The servent of Sacred
Heart'. Many families were inspired by his devotion to the
Sacred Heart to lead a fervant christian life. Thirty four
years of physical strain, continuous attention to difficult
work, frequent rheumatic and diabetic complaints have been
exhausting his energy. After a month of very painful illnesss
he yielded his soul to the loving Heart of Jesus on May 23,
1935.
