Saint Augustine (354-430) referred to the beauty of God's divine nature as that which is "ever ancient and ever new" (Confessions, 10, 27). The mystery of the inner life of the most Blessed Trinity is eternal but not static. God has shared with us a knowledge of His interior reality through His creation, through His revealed Word in the Scriptures and, most especially, through His Son, Jesus Christ the Eternal Word made flesh. What has been revealed to us is relevant in every age because it is a sharing in the ever-living and true reality of God Himself. One of the best examples of this is found in the preaching of the Gospel. This mission has been fulfilled for almost two thousand years at this point and yet it is the same Gospel that is preached down through the ages, which guides every person living in every age to eternal salvation.
The Church has always placed the lives of the Saints before us as encouraging models to "cheer us on" as we run the race, heading toward the prize of our eternal salvation (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27). The saints are wonderful and encouraging examples of the living out of the Christian life in the "here and now" of their own lives, reminding us that it is possible for us to do the same in the time and place in which God has called us to live. Since they lived out the eternal message of salvation, "ever ancient and ever new", they often provide models for us as we work out our own salvation. As we approach the end of August, two saints in particular come to our minds because we celebrate their liturgical feasts at this time: Saint Augustine (August 28) and his mother, Saint Monica (August 27). They provide our topic this week because their lives are particularly relevant to the challenges of the Christian life in our own modern society.
Saint Augustine
Saint Augustine was born in the year 354 at Tagaste, a small town in northern Africa. His father had a very violent disposition and worshiped idols but the example of his wife, Augustine's mother Monica, eventually brought about his conversion to Christianity. As a child, Augustine was instructed in the message of Jesus Christ by his mother, who also taught him how to pray and made him conscious of the promise of eternal life. Augustine was a very intelligent and talented young man and his parents, understandably, had great hopes for him. He was provided with a very good education but in receiving that education he was also exposed to influences which weakened his moral life. At age sixteen, he spent an entire year in idleness and saw no clear direction in his life. He then received some financial assistance from a wealthy patron, making it possible for him to study rhetoric at Carthage. During this time, he began living with a young woman whom he never married but who bore him a son. They lived together for many years and only separated after a later conversion in Augustine's life. Just as his moral life was weakened, so also was his intellectual life. He turned his interest from rhetoric to philosophy and, even though he read the Christian writers, he found the message of Christianity too simple for his sophisticated training. His exposure to certain erroneous teachings led him into one of the major errors of his day called Manicheism. Manincheism sought to explain the problem of evil in the world by dividing the material and spiritual world into two realities, the material being evil and the spiritual being good.
At this point in Augustine's life, we have a talented and educated young person who was brought up with the good influence of his mother and introduced to the truth of Jesus Christ but who, through moral weakness and a susceptibility to false opinions, wound up leading an immoral life and embracing a false philosophy. Sound familiar? It is encouraging to know that these problems and challenges are not new! With all his training and intelligence, an immoral life helped to darken the intellect of this very intelligent young man and pride did the rest. Augustine himself later wrote in his Confessions of this time in his life: "I sought with pride what only humility could make me find. Fool that I was, I left the nest, imagining myself able to fly; and I fell to the ground."
Saint Monica
Throughout Augustine's years of searching for the Truth but not yet recognizing it, while also leading an immoral life, his mother Monica never ceased praying for him. For a time, Monica even refused to have Augustine come to her house because she didn't want to hear his blasphemous talk. She was given a vision in which she was told "Your son is with you." When she told Augustine of the vision, he replied to his mother sarcastically, saying that they would be together if she gave up her faith. Monica responded in a firm and wise manner: "He did not say that I was with you; he said that you were with me." Monica approached many priests and the learned people of her time, begging them to speak with her son. A wise bishop whom she consulted encouraged her, telling her: "The heart of the young man is at present too stubborn, but God's time will come." As she persisted, the bishop continued with the words that have become famous: "It is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish." The vision and this wise counsel gave Monica the encouragement she needed at the time because her son seemed very far from God at that point and not approaching any kind of conversion.
The prayers of Saint Monica and the search for Truth that Augustine had been engaged in for so long finally bore their fruit. Augustine had left Africa for Rome and then for Milan, where he met the holy bishop of Milan, Saint Ambrose (340-397). He fell under the influence of Ambrose and was finally led to his final conversion and embrace of the Catholic Faith in Baptism. As he prepared for his Baptism, which took place at Easter of 387, Augustine engaged in many philosophical and theological talks and instructions in which his mother took an active and intelligent part. When he was finally baptized, Augustine and Monica set out to return to Africa, but Monica's life was drawing to an end. In a conversation with her son shortly before her death, she said: "Son, nothing in this world now affords me delight. I do not know what there is now left for me to do or why I am still here, all my hopes in this world being now fulfilled. All I wished to live for was that I might see you a Catholic and a child of Heaven. God has granted me more than this." When Augustine remarked sadly that she might die away from her home in Tagaste and not be buried with her husband there, she responded: "Nothing is far from God."
Words of Encouragement
I was very anxious to share these few aspects of the lives of Saint Monica and Saint Augustine with the faithful of the Archdiocese. I know that many of you who are parents and grandparents are deeply disturbed because your children may have fallen away from the practice of the Faith. Many of you have made great sacrifices so that your children could receive a Catholic education and be exposed to the Truth of God and this seems to add to your anxiety because you think that it may have all been in vain. Like Saint Monica, your words to your children may seem to fall on deaf ears and even bring discord to your home and to your relationship with these sons and daughters you love so much. My brother priests and I are often confronted with this sad dilemma.
On the part of our dear young people, we often see talented and well-intentioned young men and women who are sincerely searching for the Truth but who sometimes seem to not be able to find or recognize it. As we approach the Feasts of Saint Monica and Saint Augustine, who present us with lives and circumstances that seem so similar to ours, what lessons can we take from them for our instruction and encouragement? As the Pastor of this entire local Church of Philadelphia, I would like to join your local pastors and priests in encouraging loving parents and young people who are sincerely seeking the Truth of God, with these conclusions taken from the examples of these two Saints.
Nothing Is Far from God
Even when we or those we love seem to be so far from God, we can never be far from Him. We are made in His image and that very fact draws us to Him from our innermost being, even when we seem to exclude Him.
Free Will
God wishes to have a true relationship with us. We all know, from our human relationships, that love or friendship cannot be forced. Even with all the best influences and proper education, the individual must ultimately make that personal and free choice to have a loving relationship with God, who loves us so much. This relationship is not forced on us, otherwise it would have little value.
The Power of Prayer and Example
Saint Monica is the patron of all loving mothers and fathers and her example gives them the encouragement she was once given when she had become so discouraged.
"Late Have I Loved You"
After his conversion, Augustine lamented that he had loved God too late. He was also wise enough to know that it is never too late. The loving Father who created us, the loving Son who redeemed us and the loving Spirit who makes us holy are always there. They await the free response of the individual, which sometimes has to be strengthened by the loving prayers of others!
