Friday, August 28, 2026

 

Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

(I Corinthians 1:17-25; Matthew 25:1-13)

Today’s reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians illustrates one of St. Augustine’s most salient teachings.  Paul tells the Corinthians that they have not been brought to Christ by either eloquence or wisdom.  Rather it is through the cross of Christ that they are being saved.  His sacrifice is more than an act of heroism; it is a humbling of self to nothing before God's will so that others may receive something of eternal efficacy.

St. Augustine knew from experience that being praised by other humans only makes one’s inevitable fall more calamitous.  He advised that if you want to rise you must first descend.  Humility, he taught, is the first, second, and third principle of faith.  Augustine achieved success as a lawyer and teacher. However, earthly glory did not bring him fulfilment.  Only when he surrendered himself to the Lord's will was he able to rest secure.

So, are we to stop trying to succeed?  Are we to give up our work live on prayers and alms?  No, that would be wasting our talents and ignoring the Lord’s call to make the world better.  However, we are to give up our illusion that the world’s salvation rests on our efforts alone and to ask God daily that His kingdom come.

Thursday, August 27, 2026

 

Memorial of Saint Monica

(I Corinthians 1:1-9; Matthew 24:42-51

“’Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing (his duty),’” Jesus tells his disciples in today’s gospel. He is describing how they should live until his return in glory.  Faithful disciples keep their baptismal promises.  That is, each one in his or her own way becomes priest, prophet, and king in the world.

In his autobiography, Saint Augustine writes of his mother, Saint Monica, as a worthy disciple.  She fulfilled her duty to God and family by encouraging both her sons to live
Christian lives.  This went far beyond telling them to do the right thing.  It included constant prayer and bringing them resources to facilitate practice of the faith.

St. Monica has become one of the more popular saints because of the great number of Catholics who have left the Church.  Their parents are often praying, like St. Monica, that they return to the sacraments.  It is a considerable objective because our society world has largely lost religious sensibility. People consider success having a high-paying job, being well considered in the community, and enjoying parties and pastimes.  God will not disappoint petitioners, but in regard to sons and daughters who no longer consider faith important, the prayer must be assiduous. 

Wednesday. August 25, 2026

 

Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(II Thessalonians 3:6-10.16-18; Matthew 23:27-32)

Pasted on a wall of the convents of the Missionaries of Charity, a statement by the congregation’s found, St. Teresa of Calcutta strikes the observer.  If prayer is simply talking to God, Mother Teresa’s prayer is profound.  The sign says, “I will give you saints and martyrs.” It almost echoes the last words of Jesus in today’s gospel.

Jesus has just excoriated the lay leaders of Judaism for their duplicity.  He calls the scribes and Pharisees “hypocrites” and says that they are no better than their ancestors who murdered the prophets.  Then he invites them to contrive the same evil against him.  “…fill up,” he says, “what your ancestors measured out.”

The scribes and Pharisees had no monopoly on duplicity.  Vile can stain any human heart.  To counter duplicity, we must be honest with ourselves as well as with others.  Like Jesus we have to call a dove, a “dove,” and a snake, a “snake.” Even more, we should ask God to purify our duplicitous hearts.

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

 

Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(I Thessalonians 2:1-8; Matthew 23:23-26)

The man said he was an atheist.  He added his reason.  He said that religion has been at the center of so many wars that he could no longer believe in God.  Of course, he was overlooking the overwhelming amount of assistance that faith has provided people over the ages.  He also might have thought for a moment about the destruction wrought by Communists and Nazis in recent times.  Nonetheless, Jesus in today’s gospel makes a similar criticism of religious opportunists.

 Jesus is disturbed by people who use religion to benefit themselves.  Evidently a considerable number of Pharisees and scribes distort Judaism to this effect.  Rather than emphasize the prophets’ call to compassion, they exploit the Law’s precepts for their own benefit.  Their exploitation especially hurts the poor. 

 We have a double duty in regard to those who profit by religion.  We should resist their solicitations by standing firm with Jesus, the prophet.  He shows little patience with those who burden others for their own benefit.   We also have to avoid a harsh criticism of religion.  People have misused it over the centuries for their material benefit.  But even events like the Crusades must be analyzed in their historical context and include the intentions of those involved.  Much more characteristic of religious belief have been institutions dispensing charity and orienting people to the true God.

Monday, August 24, 2026

 

Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

(Revelation 21:9b-14; John 1:45-51)

Isn’t it the case that when one of the readings at mass is from the Book of Revelation, both preacher and the faithful tend to ignore it?  Seeming impossible to make sense of, we pass it by.  It is our great loss.  As Homer’s Odyssey conveys worldly wisdom, Revelation reveals God’s eternal plan.

Today’s reading from Revelation envisions the Church at the end of time.  Christ, the victorious lamb, has just won victory for her over evil.  Now, cleansed of all perversions, she appears radiant like a bride at her wedding.  In the reading she is a transformed city with twelve gates.  Each gate stands for a tribe of Israel that was dispersed to the four corners of the earth.  Now the people return as the reinvigorated citizens of God’s holy city, the new Jerusalem.

St. Bartholomew would have preached the content of the Book of Revelation even though he was martyred before its composition.  He is the same Nathaniel who appears in today’s gospel.  Jesus tells him that he will have a vision of “the Son of Man” in glory.  The Son of Man, of course, is Christ himself.  His glory is the transformed People of God; that is, us.