Sunday, August 24, 2014

8/27/2014 – Wednesday of 21st week in Ordinary Time - St Monica – Psalm 128

     The words of the psalm refrains have really been calling out to me in recent days.  Perhaps it is because I am paying more attention to them.  “Blessed are those who fear the Lord.”  I don’t think we appreciate the way the Jewish people would have perceived fear.  It was not as much being afraid of punishment or retribution from God, but rather having a healthy respect for him and standing in his presence with awe and wonder.
      St Monica certainly respected God, so much so that she prayed unceasingly that her son Augustine truly would accept the faith.  We celebrate St Monica’s feast day today.  We celebrate the feast day of her son St Augustine tomorrow. Perhaps it is through learning about Monica and her journey that we are able to appreciate St Augustine all the more.  In seminary, it seems like St Augustine and Thomas Aquinas are the two philosophers and theologians that stand out amongst all the rest.  Many mothers can relate to Monica in that they pray that their children return to the faith that they hold dear.  Let our prayers join with Monica’s today in praying for all those who have strayed from the Church to hear her beckoning them back.  May Monica’s devotion and faith, both to the Church and to her children, be a witness to us all. 

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