Word to the Wise
Thursday, August 27, 2020 - Thursday in the 21th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 1:1-9 and Matt 24:42-51]I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him your were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. [1 Corinthians]
AUGUST 27 ST. MONICA (mother of St. Augustine)
In my years of campus ministry and itinerant preaching of parish missions and retreats around the USA, one of the most frequent concerns I heard was expressed by parents and grandparents for the faith and spiritual welfare of their children and grandchildren It was not unusual to hear words like this, "My kids and grandkids don't go to church!" Occasionally I will hear of grandparents taking matters into their own hands by secretly baptizing grandchildren when the parents, for whatever reason, have not had the children baptized! Similar concerns are expressed by parents who have kids in college: "Twelve years of Catholic school and they're not going to church!" Parents and grandparents with this worry have a patroness in St. Monica! She spent much of her life praying for her pagan son, Augustine. ( I'll have more to say about him tomorrow since August 28th is his feast day.) My own pastoral experience leads me to respond to these concerns with the advice, "Live your own faith. That's the best encouragement."
St. Paul's words to the Corinthian community are an effort to encourage them to remain faithful to their baptismal commitment in the midst of a port city environment where the term "anything goes" would be quite descriptive. (Although we'll come to it soon enough, just check out Chapter 5 in this regard.) I live and minister in a university environment. Students are exposed to a vast "Corinthian" cafeteria of ideas and possibilities. Mistakes should be expected, but one's prayers might best be directed to the mistakes one does not want to make even once!!!
Augustine's conversion was dramatic but his mother's encouragement was influential. Her encouragement, however, goes not just to the children and grandchildren who have become indifferent but also to the parents and grandparents who worry. I'm sure she stays busy!! AMEN