Aug
27
St. Monica & St. Augustine
August 27, 2008 |
Today and tomorrow, we remember the lives of St. Monica and her son, St. Augustine.
There are two amazing things about their story. The first is that St. Monica spent her whole married and maternal life praying for the conversion of her pagan husband and her delinquent, wayward son. She kept the faith and hope needed for such a life purpose and she showed them both the love required of a daughter of God. She understood the power of prayer and persistence; and she succeeded.
It makes me wonder if Mary does the same thing for us. We go off on our own without thinking of God or his son. We try to live life our way. And our heavenly Mother is there to pray for us, watch over us, have faith in us and hope for us, and ultimately to just love us; all in the knowledge that we CAN find our way back to Christ, especially when we are faced with the reality that we need him and have to have him at the center of our hearts and lives.
Which leads me to the other amazing thing about the story of these two saints. St. Augustine was like us. He was a frat boy on the loose (think John Belushi with the mind of a philosopher). He was enjoying life to the fullest in every temporal way. But, he finally realized that he was missing something central to his soul. He was missing Christ. And when he found him, he found his path and purpose in life and took off into a life so well lived that we remember him 1,700 years later. And not only do we remember him but his writings are required reading for Christians and non-Christians alike.
It’s never too late. I pray to St. Augustine all the time. As I do, St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis of Assisi. All three discovered their calling later in life. They were all so far off the path that they couldn’t have found it with a GPS system. Yet, Christ led them back. Mary took their arms. The Holy Spirit guided them along the way. They ended up sanctifying their lives and dedicating themselves to the purpose designed for them by our Eternal Father.
They saved their lives; and we can do the same. What is keeping us from living the holy, sanctified, joyful, Christ-centered, selfless, saintly lives expected of each of us? We must ask Christ to help us recognize these obstacles and for the strength and persistence to get rid of them. We must ask for his mercy and forgiveness so we can move beyond our past.
It’s never too late. It’s just a matter of whether we want to cast these obstacles aside, like St. Augustine, St. Ignatius and St. Francis. It’s just a matter of whether we want to become the saints we all can be.
