THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
FROM ST. AUGUSTINE SPIRITUALITY CENTER
August 23-29, 2020
Today we hear Peter declaring about Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Matthew 16: 13-20 The Holy Spirit confirmed in him the belief in the divinity of Jesus. We certainly recognize the passage as such, because of years of teaching and tradition of the Church. We often think that the apostles and disciples were so lucky to have lived, when Jesus was humanly present on this earth. They could see him, body and blood. They could touch him, hug him and hear his words. We think, “How much easier it would be to believe in him, if we could see him body and blood.” However, the apostles and disciples had their struggle. They had to exercise faith in looking at this human Jesus and believing, that he was divine, God. We exercise our faith in believing that the small piece of bread is the Body and Blood of Jesus, because he said so. Perhaps, we are luckier than the apostles, since we have several thousands of years of belief in the Eucharist to support our faith.
Sometimes we wonder why we have to go to confession. Besides externalizing our sinfulness being good for us for healing, the sacrament of reconciliation was given to us by Jesus, when he gave “the keys to the Kingdom of heaven” to Peter, as the first pope. Jesus told him, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Included in this mandate,
is the power to forgive sin. What a great sign of the mercy of God. Through the priest we can be assured of the forgiveness of God. God only asks that we acknowledge our sin for his saving grace to descend upon us. God is ever waiting, loving us, extending his mercy and forgiving us countless times. Let us be grateful for this gift of eternal and extravagant love.
This week is chuck full of holy men and women to honor. On Monday is the memorial of St. Bartholomew or Nathanael, apostle. Little is known of him. He may be the one that Jesus said, “Here is a true Israelite; there is no duplicity in him.” John 1:47 He is part of the foundation of the Church in proclaiming the divinity of Jesus and the mercy of God. He was martyred in Armenia.
St. Louis IX is the only king of France to be canonized. He was an excellent diplomate and had great compassion for the poor. He ruled from1226-70. He built many monasteries, convents, hospitals and schools. To his six daughters and five sons he imparted the great love of Jesus. On his death bed at 56 he told his son, as king, to be a savior to the people, as Jesus was. He was a secular Franciscan.
The Feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa falls on Wednesday. Tradition holds that this is the painting that
St. Luke painted on a piece of wood cut from the table of Last Supper. It fell into the hands of St. Helena, Emperor Constantine’s mother, who cherished it for many years. In time it traveled across Europe, being repeatedly rescued until it landed in Jasna Gora in Poland in a monastery in the 14th century. When the heretics attacked the monastery, they broke the picture into threes and tried to cart it off. The cart refused to move, so in anger one of heretics struck it with a sword twice. On the third strike the man fell dead. The others fled in terror. She is called the Black Madonna, perhaps due to all the soot accumulated over the centuries of candles burned in her honor. She is the patron of Poland and very special to the Felician Franciscan Sisters, of which I am a member.
St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, is a great example of all mothers, who unceasing pray for their children. Because her son was radically wayward, she constantly prayed for his conversion. What a mother’s prayer can accomplish is astounding.
St. Augustine, the wayward son, is a good example of one who has been far from God, but finds his way back to a loving and merciful God. From 396 to 430 he was bishop of Hippo, present day Algeria. He became a famous theologian and prolific writer. He was skilled at preaching and considered a Doctor of
the Church. He is patron saint of the Diocese of Laredo, Texas. Of course, he is the patron of St. Augustine High school from which this “Thought for the Week…” originates.
Saturday remembers the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. This cousin of Jesus prepared the way for the Messiah by his preaching “the baptism of repentance, which would led to the forgiveness of sin.” Luke 3: 3 At Jesus’ request John baptized him and the great proclamation of Jesus as the Son of God was heard from the heavens. Unfortunately, John’s preaching offended Herod Antipas, so he was arrested. Eventually the dancing of the Salome, daughter of Herodias, the revengeful, illegal wife, brought about John’s death. When Herod promised anything to Salome, Herodias told her to ask for the head of John on a platter. Jesus wept, when he heard of John’s death.
As we continue in this strange time of the pandemic, we can only bow our heads in humility and ask God to bring a quick end to this scourge. In the meantime we can use the time to identify with the passion of Christ on the cross and identify with the reality of suffering. This, too, shall pass and hopefully a bright future of resurrection from this dark night will shine brightly with unexpected riches of God’s grace.
As in Matthew’s Gospel today, we need to ask ourselves, “Who do we believe Jesus is? Perhaps we have become a little blasé and need to renew our profession of faith. In St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans 11: 33-36, we can say, “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
Sister Rosemarie Goins
FelicianSisters