Memorial of Saint Augustine, Bishop and
Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 427
Lectionary: 427
You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery.
Working night and day in order not to burden any of you,
we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God.
You are witnesses, and so is God,
how devoutly and justly and blamelessly
we behaved toward you believers.
As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children,
exhorting and encouraging you and insisting
that you walk in a manner worthy of the God
who calls you into his Kingdom and glory.
And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly,
that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us,
you received it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God,
which is now at work in you who believe.
Working night and day in order not to burden any of you,
we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God.
You are witnesses, and so is God,
how devoutly and justly and blamelessly
we behaved toward you believers.
As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children,
exhorting and encouraging you and insisting
that you walk in a manner worthy of the God
who calls you into his Kingdom and glory.
And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly,
that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us,
you received it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God,
which is now at work in you who believe.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 139:7-8, 9-10, 11-12AB
R.(1) You
have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light"–
For you darkness itself is not dark,
and night shines as the day.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light"–
For you darkness itself is not dark,
and night shines as the day.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Alleluia1 JN 2:5
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 23:27-32
Jesus said,
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,
but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.'
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!"
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,
but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.'
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!"
For the readings of the Memorial of Saint Augustine, please go here.
Meditation:
True
beauty and goodness come from within
How
can you tell if someone is real or fake, genuine or counterfeit? Outward
appearances can be deceptive. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would not
judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with
righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of
the earth (Isaiah 11:3-4). The heart reveals the true intentions and
attitudes that form the way we think of others and treat them. Jesus used
strong language to warn the religious leaders and teachers about the vanity of
outward appearance and pretense - wearing a mask that hides the true intentions
and thoughts of the heart. In Palestine tombs were often placed by the sides of
roads. They were painted white which made them glisten in the midday sun,
especially around the time of the great feasts, so that people would not
accidentally touch them and incur ritual impurity.
True
beauty and goodness come from within
Jesus equates true beauty and goodness with a clean heart and mind that is set on God and his way of love and goodness and sin with a corrupt mind and heart that is set on doing what is wrong and evil. Jesus issued a stern warning to the scribes and Pharisees not to condemn them but to call them to examine their hearts in the light of God's truth and holiness. Jesus called them hypocrites because their hearts were set on pleasing themselves rather than God. A hypocrite is an actor or imposter who says one thing but does the opposite or who puts on an outward appearance of doing good while inwardly clinging to wrong attitudes, selfish desires and ambitions, or bad intentions. Many scribes and Pharisees had made it a regular practice to publicly put on a good show of outward zeal and piety with the intention of winning greater honors, privileges, and favors among the people.
Jesus equates true beauty and goodness with a clean heart and mind that is set on God and his way of love and goodness and sin with a corrupt mind and heart that is set on doing what is wrong and evil. Jesus issued a stern warning to the scribes and Pharisees not to condemn them but to call them to examine their hearts in the light of God's truth and holiness. Jesus called them hypocrites because their hearts were set on pleasing themselves rather than God. A hypocrite is an actor or imposter who says one thing but does the opposite or who puts on an outward appearance of doing good while inwardly clinging to wrong attitudes, selfish desires and ambitions, or bad intentions. Many scribes and Pharisees had made it a regular practice to publicly put on a good show of outward zeal and piety with the intention of winning greater honors, privileges, and favors among the people.
Sin
is ugly because it corrupts heart and mind
Jesus warns that what truly corrupts a person is not external ritual impurity but the impurity of wrong and sinful attitudes that come from within a person's mind and heart - such as pride, greed, sloth, envy, hatred, gluttony, and lust - these are what produce sinful habits (vices) and ways of speaking, acting, judging, and treating others. That is why every good deed is beautiful in God's sight and every wrong or sinful deed is ugly in his sight. The scribes and Pharisees were intensely religious in their outward observances, but their outward show didn't match the inner reality of the state of their minds and hearts. They not only neglected the poor and the weak, but they were intolerant towards anyone who challenged their idea of religion. That is why so many of the prophets in past ages - who warned about tolerating evil desires and unjust behavior towards one's neighbor - were persecuted and even killed by their own rulers and people.
Jesus warns that what truly corrupts a person is not external ritual impurity but the impurity of wrong and sinful attitudes that come from within a person's mind and heart - such as pride, greed, sloth, envy, hatred, gluttony, and lust - these are what produce sinful habits (vices) and ways of speaking, acting, judging, and treating others. That is why every good deed is beautiful in God's sight and every wrong or sinful deed is ugly in his sight. The scribes and Pharisees were intensely religious in their outward observances, but their outward show didn't match the inner reality of the state of their minds and hearts. They not only neglected the poor and the weak, but they were intolerant towards anyone who challenged their idea of religion. That is why so many of the prophets in past ages - who warned about tolerating evil desires and unjust behavior towards one's neighbor - were persecuted and even killed by their own rulers and people.
Jesus
chastised the religious leaders for being double-minded and for demanding from
others standards which they refused to satisfy. They professed admiration for
the prophets who spoke God's word by building tombs in their honor. But their
outward show of respect did not match their inward refusal to heed the
prophets' warning to turn away from sinful attitudes and from neglecting to
lead their people - through teaching and their own example - in God's way of
love and holiness of life. They shut themselves to heaven and they hindered
others from growing in the knowledge of God's truth and goodness. They rejected
Jesus as their Messiah because their hearts were blinded and hardened to the
voice of God.
The
Holy Spirit renews the heart and mind
True beauty, goodness, and piety come from within - from a heart that is set on pleasing God and a mind that is set on hearing and obeying God's word. Jesus came to set us free from slavery to sin and harmful habits and addictions that lead us into wrong and sinful ways of thinking, acting, and relating to others. Only the humble of heart can receive from God true wisdom and understanding, pardon and healing. The Holy Spirit is ever ready to renew our minds and hearts and to lead us in God's way of love and holiness. Ask the Holy Spirit to purify your heart and mind and to fill you with the power of God's love and goodness.
True beauty, goodness, and piety come from within - from a heart that is set on pleasing God and a mind that is set on hearing and obeying God's word. Jesus came to set us free from slavery to sin and harmful habits and addictions that lead us into wrong and sinful ways of thinking, acting, and relating to others. Only the humble of heart can receive from God true wisdom and understanding, pardon and healing. The Holy Spirit is ever ready to renew our minds and hearts and to lead us in God's way of love and holiness. Ask the Holy Spirit to purify your heart and mind and to fill you with the power of God's love and goodness.
"Lord
Jesus, incline my heart to your wisdom and teach me your ways. Fill me with
your Holy Spirit that I may love your ways and obey your word."
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Good
deeds done for God, author unknown, from the 5th century A.D.
"Every good deed that is done for God is universally good
for everything and everyone. Deeds that are not seen to benefit everything and
everyone, however, are done on account of man, as the present matter itself
demonstrates. For example, those who build reliquaries and adorn churches seem
to be doing good. If they imitate the justice of God, if the poor benefit from
their goods and if they do not acquire their goods through violence against
others, it is clear that they are building for the glory of God. If they fail
to observe God’s justice... and if the poor never benefit from their goods and
if they acquire their goods from others by means of violence or fraud, who is
so foolish not to understand that they are building for human respect rather
than for the glory of God? Those who build reliquaries in a just manner ensure
that the poor do not suffer as a result of it. For the martyrs do not rejoice
when they are honored by gifts for which the poor paid with their tears. What
kind of justice is it to give gifts to the dead and to despoil the living or to
drain blood from the poor and offer it to God? To do such things is not to
offer sacrifice to God but to attempt to make God an accomplice in violence,
since whoever knowingly accepts a gift which was acquired by sinful means
participates in the sin." (excerpt from an incomplete Commentary on
the Gospel of Matthew, HOMILY 45)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, MATTHEW 23:27-32
(1 Thessalonians 2:9-13; Psalm 139)
(1 Thessalonians 2:9-13; Psalm 139)
KEY VERSE: "On the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing" (v. 28).
TO KNOW: Jesus reproached the religious leaders for their excessive concern for externals while neglecting interior righteousness. He compared them to whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside, but filled with corruption. Jesus made his most serious indictment of these hypocritical religious leaders when he accused them of being as guilty as those who murdered the prophets. He charged them with making a pretense of honoring God's messengers, boasting that if they had lived in the days of the prophets they would not have participated in their deaths. But these hypocritical religious leaders were no different than their ancestors. By their actions they filled the crucible with the blood of Christ.
TO LOVE: Do I make a pretense at being holy while my thoughts, words and deeds are impure?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, make my inmost being truly holy in your sight.
Memorial of Saint Augustine, bishop and doctor of the Church
Augustine was trained in the Christian faith by his mother Monica, however, he lost his faith and led a wild life. He lived with a Carthaginian woman from age of 15 through 30, and fathered a son whom he named Adeotadus (Gift of God). After experimenting with several philosophies, he became a Manichaean, which taught of a great struggle between good and evil, and featured a lax moral code. Augustine finally broke with the Manichaeans and was converted by the prayers of his mother and the help of St. Ambrose of Milan. In 387 Augustine was baptized at Easter along with his son, who died soon afterwards. After the death of his mother, Augustine returned to Africa, sold his property, gave the proceeds to the poor, and founded a monastery. Augustine oversaw his church as Bishop of Hippo during the fall of the Roman Empire to the Vandals. His later thinking can also be summed up in a line from his writings: "Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you." St. Augustine is a Doctor of the Church.
NOTE: Manichæism, a dualistic heresy founded in Persia in the 3rd century AD, by Mani, purported to be the true synthesis of all the religious systems then known: Zoroastrian, Babylonian, Buddhism, and Christianity. It presented an elaborate description of the conflict between the spiritual world of light and the material world of darkness. A key belief in Manichaeism is that the powerful, though not omnipotent good power (God), was opposed by the eternal evil power (devil). Humanity, the world and the soul are seen as the byproduct of the battle between God's proxy, Primal Man, and the devil.
Wednesday 28 August 2019
St Augustine
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13. Psalm 138(139)7-12. Matthew 23:27-32.
You have searched me and you know me, Lord – Psalm 138(139)7-12.
‘We treated each one of you as a father treats his children.’
Today’s readings offer two conflicting images of parenthood. The
gospel reminds us that misunderstandings can be passed from generation to
generation. There is a type of parent who, perhaps inadvertently, limits and
prejudices the growth of the child. The first reading presents an alternative:
parenthood is not only teaching but also calling. There is a gulf between
calling and demanding. Demands are often insensitive to the point of stifling one
partner in a relationship. Calling always implies freedom, encouragement and
the offer of support.
God parents each one of us by calling us to a fuller, freer
life. Christian vocation is never a matter of being cornered without choice. It
is the challenge to seek God’s gentle guidance between thousands of
possibilities and to be invited perhaps where we would rather not go. Let us
ask for the courage to listen to God’s encouragement today.
Saint Augustine of Hippo
Saint of the Day for August 28
(November 13, 354 – August 28, 430)
 |
| Saint Augustine of Hippo | Line engraving by P. Cool after M. de Vos | Wellcome Images |
Saint Augustine’s Story
A Christian at 33, a priest at 36, a bishop at 41: Many people
are familiar with the biographical sketch of Augustine of Hippo, sinner turned
saint. But really to get to know the man is a rewarding experience.
There quickly surfaces the intensity with which he lived his
life, whether his path led away from or toward God. The tears of his mother,
the instructions of Ambrose and, most of all, God himself speaking to him in
the Scriptures, redirected Augustine’s love of life to a life of love.
Having been so deeply immersed in creature-pride of life in his
early days and having drunk deeply of its bitter dregs, it is not surprising
that Augustine should have turned, with a holy fierceness, against the many
demon-thrusts rampant in his day. His times were truly decadent: politically,
socially, morally. He was both feared and loved, like the Master. The perennial
criticism leveled against him: a fundamental rigorism.
In his day, Augustine providentially fulfilled the office of
prophet. Like Jeremiah and other greats, he was hard-pressed but could not keep
quiet. “I say to myself, I will not mention him/I will speak in his name no
more/But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart/imprisoned in my bones/I
grow weary holding it in/I cannot endure it” (Jeremiah 20:9).
Reflection
Augustine is still acclaimed and condemned in our day. He is a
prophet for today, trumpeting the need to scrap escapisms and stand
face-to-face with personal responsibility and dignity.
Saint Augustine is the Patron Saint of:
Printers
Theologians
Theologians
Lectio Divina: Matthew 23:27-32
Lectio Divina
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
help us to seek the values
that will bring us enduring joy in this changing world.
In our desire for what You promise
make us one in mind and heart.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
help us to seek the values
that will bring us enduring joy in this changing world.
In our desire for what You promise
make us one in mind and heart.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 23:27-32
Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you
hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the
outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth. Even
so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with
hypocrisy and evildoing. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you
hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the
righteous, and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would
not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.' Thus you bear witness
against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the
prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out!"
3) Reflection
• These two last "Alas for you..." which Jesus
pronounced against the doctors of the law and the Pharisees of His time, take
again and strengthen, the same theme of the two "Alas for you..." of
the Gospel of yesterday. Jesus criticizes the lack of coherence between word
and practice, between what is interior and what is exterior.
• Matthew 23:27-28: The seventh, "Alas for you..." against those who are like whitewashed tombs. "You appear upright on the outside, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness”. The image of “whitewashed sepulchers” speaks for itself and needs no commentaries. Jesus condemns those who have the fictitious appearance of upright persons, but who interiorly are the total negation of what they want to appear to be.
• Matthew 23:29-32: The eighth "Alas for you...’" against those who build the sepulchers of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the upright, but do not imitate them. The doctors and the Pharisees said: “We would never have joined in shedding the blood of the prophets, had we lived in our ancestors’ day”. Jesus concludes saying: The people who speak like this “confess that they are children of those who killed the prophets”, then they say “our fathers”. Jesus ends by saying,” Very well then, finish off the work that your ancestors began!” In fact, at that moment they had already decided to kill Jesus. In this way they were finishing off the work of their ancestors.
• Matthew 23:27-28: The seventh, "Alas for you..." against those who are like whitewashed tombs. "You appear upright on the outside, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness”. The image of “whitewashed sepulchers” speaks for itself and needs no commentaries. Jesus condemns those who have the fictitious appearance of upright persons, but who interiorly are the total negation of what they want to appear to be.
• Matthew 23:29-32: The eighth "Alas for you...’" against those who build the sepulchers of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the upright, but do not imitate them. The doctors and the Pharisees said: “We would never have joined in shedding the blood of the prophets, had we lived in our ancestors’ day”. Jesus concludes saying: The people who speak like this “confess that they are children of those who killed the prophets”, then they say “our fathers”. Jesus ends by saying,” Very well then, finish off the work that your ancestors began!” In fact, at that moment they had already decided to kill Jesus. In this way they were finishing off the work of their ancestors.
4) Personal questions
• These two other expressions of "Alas for you..." are
but two reasons for being criticized severely by Jesus. Which of these is in
me?
• Which image of myself do I try to present to others? Does it correspond, in fact, to what I am before God?
• Which image of myself do I try to present to others? Does it correspond, in fact, to what I am before God?
5) Concluding Prayer
How blessed are all who fear Yahweh,
who walk in His ways!
Your own labors will yield you a living,
happy and prosperous will you be. (Ps 128:1-2)
who walk in His ways!
Your own labors will yield you a living,
happy and prosperous will you be. (Ps 128:1-2)
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