AUGUSTINE, Bishop, Doctor
Introduction
Some need half of a lifetime to discover that they were wrong – or perhaps to have the courage to be honest enough with themselves and to face God and themselves. Like Augustine (354-430). His was a restless heart, he was a seeker. Once he had found this courage and his rest in God, he reflected deeply on his faith. He became a brilliant theologian, yet a simple man accessible to the simple people and a model of love to those around him.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
St. Augustine experienced
that he was not only trying to find you
but that you were looking for him.
Lord, make us see how much you love us
and how you want us to find happiness.
May the prayers of this great saint help us
to be clear-eyed to your love and care
and to respond to your search for us
with an unconditional answer of deep love.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Reading 1: 1 Thes 1:1-5, 8b-10
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Church of the Thessalonians
in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for all of you,
remembering you in our prayers,
unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love
and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,
before our God and Father,
knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen.
For our Gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.
You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake.
In every place your faith in God has gone forth,
so that we have no need to say anything.
For they themselves openly declare about us
what sort of reception we had among you,
and how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead, Jesus,
who delivers us from the coming wrath.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia!
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia:Jn 10:27
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Mt 23:13-22
Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men.
You do not enter yourselves,
nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You traverse sea and land to make one convert,
and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna
twice as much as yourselves.
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say,
‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’
Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,
or the temple that made the gold sacred?
And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’
You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,
or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;
one who swears by the temple swears by it
and by him who dwells in it;
one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God
and by him who is seated on it.”
Intentions
– For the community of the Church, that our leaders may inspire us by their faith and that we may bring God’s joy and peace to a world in dire need of hope and love, we pray:
– For our national community, that there may be reconciliation where we are divided, and that both our leaders and people may believe in a future based on justice and peace, we pray:
– For our communities of religious men and women, that their members may accept, respect and enrich one another, we pray:
– For the community of our parish, that we may be concerned about the poor and the sick among us and that we may strengthen their faith as they recognize your goodness in us, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
you come to satisfy our hunger
for your Son, Jesus Christ, and his Good News
at the table of the Eucharist.
Let Jesus quench our hunger and thirst
for all that is good and true and beautiful
with the gift of himself and his Spirit.
Let us become new in him
and love him deeply
as our Lord and Savior for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
we ask you on this feast of St. Augustine,
that you may become to us as to him
our light deeper and brighter
than any other light,
our truth that gives us some of your vision,
our strength that sustains us.
Make us capable of loving you
with all that is in us.
We ask you this through Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
It is good to hear the joyful praise Paul gives about a fervent Church, a good Christian community. Would that our community deserves such praise also! May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Reflection :
Aug 28
Matthew 23:13-22
Identify the Pharisee within
The Pharisees and the scribes were not always bad examples. After all, they were responsible for keeping the faith alive during times of persecution. They were God sent! This is why they were successful. They were lay people who loved God above all things and had sacrificed everything in order to ensure that the next generations would know and love the one true God. Pharisees did many very good acts. But as time went on, they lost their identity and with that, their God given mission. The problem, says the Evangelist, not what they did, but why they did them – to look righteous before people and it made them hypocrites. It was, for Jesus, an outward expression of empty lives. That vacuum tried to inflate itself with ego, desire for admiration, and praise by people.
So Jesus uses harsh language to address the scribes and the Pharisees. He is accusing them of being hypocrites. They act holy but often take advantage of those who have so much less than they do! Their actions do not always exemplify what they preach.
It is possible that all of us have a “Pharisee” within us. It would be wonderful if we always “practiced what we preached.” However, the reality is that, at times, we fail to do this. At the same time, it can be of a help to recognize how we fail and so to be more understanding and compassionate when others fail.
Today’s Gospel forcefully reminds us that we must be careful about falling into conformity, mediocrity, and illusions with ourselves and with our world. Success is the result of fidelity. Success is great, “you will know them by their fruits”, but if you compromise on your principles or morals trying to achieve it then it will be as fleeting as a shooting star. “The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment.” (Job 20:5) We are all called, by the Lord, to move from “Good to Great”; from looking good to being good. We have to be what we claim to be. Otherwise, we will fall and fail.
The life of St. Augustine, whom we recall today, who succeeded to move from fleeting joys to true values through a transformation of life. We can be inspired by the inner transformation he went through to match his faith and life.