21st Week, Wednesday: St. Augustine
2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18
Do just what we did; We worked day and night.
Fr. Robert Cahill, an American missionary in Bangladesh,
writes of its citizens:
"These people crave work. Mojibur, a young man. whose
only ambition in life is to support his widowed mother and four sisters, has worked
for a week hauling baskets full of fresh earth on his head, under a merciless
sun, for the equivalent of 65 cents a day. The job, though temporary, revives
his spirit and encourages his family. Day labor is a way of life for millions
of Bangladeshis. It provides bread for today only."
National Catholic Reporter
These millions of people carry out Paul's advice with
enthusiasm and gratitude.
***
How do we look upon the opportunity to work? Do we do it
with gratitude? With enthusiasm? "God doesn't want our deeds, but he wants
the work that prompts them." St. Theresa of Avila
****
Saint Augustine
In his famous autobiography Confessions,
Augustine tells of his struggle to find God. He was born in what is now Algiers
in North Africa. His mother, Monica, was a devout Christian. His father,
Patricius, was an ill-tempered pagan. Augustine excelled in school when he
wanted to, but he also went with a bad crowd and got into many worthless
activities. When he was older, he began living with a woman whom he never
married, but who bore him a son. For a while, he also followed a heresy called
Manichaeism.
After he finished school, Augustine was first a speech
teacher in Rome and then a professor in Milan. His mother followed him to these
places, pleading with him to return to the Christian faith. In Milan, Augustine
often listened to the sermons of St. Ambrose, the local bishop. Through them,
he first learned to read Scripture prayerfully. He enrolled as a catechumen but
wavered back and forth about being baptized.
Then one day while Augustine prayed to be free from his
sins, he heard a child’s voice chanting, “Take up and read.” Augustine opened
the Bible and read the first thing his eyes fell upon, Romans 13:13-14,
which told him to give up his life of sin. Augustine was baptized at Easter and
began reforming his life. With his mother he planned to return to Africa, but
Monica died.
Augustine reached home and gave away all he had. Then he
lived a quiet, prayerful life with a group of friends. This changed when
Augustine visited the city of Hippo in 391. Valerius, the local bishop, was
preaching on the shortage of priests. The crowd began shouting, “Let Augustine
be our priest.” Augustine became a priest and then took Valerius’ place when he
died.
As bishop, Augustine worked tirelessly for his people. He
fought false religious teachings, protected the people from corrupt officials
and invaders, and cared for the sick, the poor, and those in prison. His many
sermons, letters, and books reflect the ever-deepening love he felt for God. He
wisely observed: “You have made us, O God, for yourself, and our hearts shall
find no rest until they rest in you.”
He wrote and advised bishops, popes, and councils. His
influence on the Church and his fight against heresy were exceptional. He was
loved by many, for he had struggled much and could help others who were
struggling.
In 430 Vandals invaded the province. For three months Augustine inspired Christian hope in his people. Then he died of a high fever.
****
Augustine's Prayer of Conversion:
Late have I loved you, O Beauty, ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me but I was outside, and there I sought for you, and deformed I ran after those things that you have made. You were with me, and I was not with you, Lord. Those things held me back from you, things whose only being was to be with you. You called, and cried out to me and broke through my deafness; You shone forth upon me and chased away my blindness.
“You became fragrant, and I inhaled and sighed for you. I tasted you, and now I hunger and thirst for you; you touched me, and now I burn for your embrace.
