August 28, 2025
Memorial of Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the
Church
Lectionary: 428
Reading 1
We have been reassured about you, brothers and sisters,
in our every distress and affliction, through your faith.
For we now live, if you stand firm in the Lord.
What thanksgiving, then, can we render to God for you,
for all the joy we feel on your account before our God?
Night and day we pray beyond measure to see you in person
and to remedy the deficiencies of your faith.
Now may God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus
direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase
and abound in love for one another and for all,
just as we have for you,
so as to strengthen your hearts,
to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm
90:3-5a, 12-13, 14 and 17
R. (14) Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will
sing for joy!
You turn man back to dust,
saying, "Return, O children of men."
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake!
For you do not know when the Son of Man will come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant,
whom the master has put in charge of his household
to distribute to them their food at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.
Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,'
and begins to beat his fellow servants,
and eat and drink with drunkards,
the servant's master will come on an unexpected day
and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely
and assign him a place with the hypocrites,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082825.cfm
Commentary on 1
Thessalonians 3:7-13
Troubled by the lack of news concerning the Thessalonians,
Paul had sent Timothy to Thessalonica as his representative to see how things
were going in the new community. Timothy had come back with a very
encouraging report, except for certain possible shortcomings in their
faith.
Paul is probably dealing with these defects in the last two
chapters of the letter. Today’s reading reflects Paul’s reaction to the
report he had been given. Paul tells the Thessalonians that their faith has
been a great encouragement in the middle of the distress and hardship endured
by him and his companions. He feels he can now relax because they are
remaining firm in their faith:
How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the
joy that we feel before our God because of you?
Paul is grateful that his work of evangelisation in
Thessalonica has been so effective.
He might have congratulated himself on work well done, but
instead he thanks God for the joy he gets from what God had done:
Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you
face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.
He concludes with a lovely triple prayer. The theme of
the prayer is solidarity: between Paul and the Thessalonian Christians; among
themselves; between them and people everywhere (Christian love); and between
them and God (holiness).
Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus
direct our way to you.
In other words, may there not be too many obstacles in their
coming face to face again soon.
And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for
one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you.
In Paul’s writings ‘Lord’ usually refers to Jesus and not to
the Father. And he urges an all-inclusive love. Brotherly love of
one another in the Christian community is only the beginning of charity;
ultimately, it has to spread to love for every single person everywhere.
And, once again, Paul asserts his deep affection for the
Christians of Thessalonica:
And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you
may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with
all his saints
The word ‘holy’ (hagios) means ‘set apart (for
God)’. It is used regularly in the New Testament for members of the Christian
communities who, by their calling in Christ, are set apart from other
people. But here ‘holy ones’ may refer to those already with God, those
who have completed the work of becoming ‘holy’ and who will return with Jesus
at the Parousia. Or it may also refer to the angels.
Paul’s prayer is that when the Lord comes (a constant theme
in these two letters) the Thessalonians will be ready, holy and blameless in
God’s sight. Let us, too, remain firm in our service of Jesus Christ that we,
too, may be ready to welcome the Lord however and whenever he comes to call us.
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Commentary on
Matthew 24:42-51
We enter the final phase of our readings from Matthew, which
will conclude on Saturday of this week. We will see selected readings from
chapters 24 and 25 which form what is called the “Eschatological Discourse”.
This is the fifth and final discourse, each of which is a collection of the
teachings of Jesus and which are a feature of Matthew’s Gospel. This discourse
is concerned with the end of all things, and the second and final coming of
Christ to bring all things together.
The earlier part of chapter 24 includes the foretelling of
the destruction of Jerusalem, an event which for the Jews of the time
(including those who had converted to Christianity) must have seemed like the
end of the world (just as, later on, the collapse of the Roman Empire seemed to
be the end of the world for St Augustine and his contemporaries).
The early Christians had expected to see the Second Coming
in their lifetime and the sacking of Jerusalem and the sacrilegious destruction
of the Temple must have seemed the certain signs of the eschaton (Greek,
meaning “last thing”). But, by the time Matthew’s Gospel came into circulation,
that was already at least 15 years in the past. The end, although certain to
happen, did not seem any more quite so imminent.
Matthew includes as part of the discourse a number of
Parousia (Final Coming) parables. Following a pattern we have seen in other
parts of this Gospel, they are seven in number. We have two short ones in
today’s reading. Both consist of an exhortation for readiness to welcome the
final coming of the Lord.
In the first we should be as alert in watching for the
coming of the Lord as a householder would be to prevent his house being broken
into and robbed. Like a thief, Jesus will come when we least expect him.
In the second parable, Jesus compares us to a servant who
has been put in charge of the house while the master is away. This may refer to
the community leaders in Matthew’s church and, by extension, to leaders of
communities everywhere. It will be well for that servant when the master
unexpectedly returns and finds his servant diligently doing his job. Readiness
is measured by people consistently carrying out their responsibilities. On the
other hand, the servant may think that there is no sign of the master (who had
been expected to come earlier) and goes about beating up the other servants and
leading a debauched life. It will be too bad for that servant when the master
does suddenly appear on the scene.
The lesson is clear. Many of the Christians, who had
expected the Lord to come soon, now see no sign of him and begin to backslide
in the living of their Christian faith. We can be tempted to do the same thing.
“Let’s have a good (i.e. morally bad) time now and we can convert later.” It is
not a very wise policy. In the long run, the really good life, that is, a life
based on truth and integrity, on love and compassion and sharing, will always
be better than one based on phoniness, on selfishness, greed, hedonism and
immediate gratification of every pleasure.
And the “Final Coming” may never come for some of us (in our
lifetime), along with the chance to turn back to him who is the Way, Truth and
Life—but our individual lives will come to an end. The wisest people are those
who consistently try to seek and serve their Lord at every moment of every day.
They experience both happiness now, and also find that Jesus will not be a
stranger when he comes to call them to himself. They are the ones who are both
faithful and prudent.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o1215g/
Thursday,
August 28, 2025
Ordinary
Time
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.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 24: 42-51
Jesus said to his disciples: 'So stay awake,
because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite
sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the
burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed
anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand
ready because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
'Who, then, is the wise and trustworthy
servant whom the master placed over his household to give them their food at
the proper time? Blessed that servant if his master's arrival finds him doing
exactly that. In truth I tell you, he will put him in charge of everything he
owns. But if the servant is dishonest and says to himself, "My master is
taking his time," and sets about beating his fellowservants and eating and
drinking with drunkards, his master will come on a day he does not expect and
at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the
same fate as the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of
teeth.'
Reflection
The Gospel today speaks about the coming of
the Lord at the end of time and exhorts us to be watchful, to watch. At the
time of the first Christians, many persons thought that the end of this world
was close at hand and that Jesus would have returned afterwards. Today many
persons think that the end of the world is close at hand. And therefore, it is
well to reflect on the meaning of vigilance, of watching.
•
Matthew 24: 42: Watch. “So stay awake! Watch,
because you do not know the day when your master is coming.” Concerning the day
and the hour of the end of the world, Jesus had said: “But as for that day or
hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, no one but
the Father!" (Mk 13: 32). Today, many people live concerned thinking about
the end of the world. Have you seen when walking through the streets of the
city that it is written on the walls: “Jesus will return!” And how will this
coming be? After the year 1000, basing themselves on the Gospel of John, people
began to say (Rev 20: 7): “1000 years have gone by, but 2000 will not pas by!”
This is why, as the year 2000 approached, many were worried. There were even
some people who were anguished because of the proximity of the end of the
world, so much so that they committed suicide. Others, reading the Apocalypse
of John, even were able to foretell the exact hour of the end. But the year
2000 came and nothing happened. The end of the world does not arrive! Many
times, the affirmation “Jesus will return” is used to frighten people and
oblige them to belong to a given church! Others, because they have waited so
long and have speculated so much concerning the coming of Jesus, are not aware
of his presence among us, in the most common things of life, in the facts of
every day.
•
The same problems existed in the Christian
communities of the first centuries. Many persons of the communities said that
the end of this world was close at hand and that Jesus would have returned.
Some of the community of Thessalonica in Greece, basing themselves on the
preaching of Paul said: “Jesus will return!” (1 Th 4: 13-18; 2 Th 2: 2). And
this is why, there were even persons who no longer worked because they thought
that the coming of the end was so close at hand, within a few days or a few
weeks so, “Why work, if Jesus will return afterwards?” (cf. 2 Th 3: 11). Paul
responds that it was not so simple as they imagined. And to those who had
stopped working he would say: “Anyone who does not want to work, has no right
to eat!” Others remained looking up at the sky, waiting for the return of Jesus
in the clouds (cf. Ac 1: 11). Others rebelled because he delayed coming back (2
P 3: 4-9). In general, the Christians lived with the expectation of the
imminent coming of Jesus. Jesus was coming to realize or carry out the Final
Judgement to end with the unjust history of this world and to inaugurate the
new phase of history, the definitive phase of the New Heaven and the New Earth.
They believed that this would have taken place within one or two generations.
Many persons would still be alive when Jesus would have appeared again,
glorious in Heaven (1Th 4: 16-17; Mc 9: 1). Others, tired of waiting would say:
“He will never come back!” (2 P 3).
•
Up until now the coming of Jesus has not
arrived! How can this delay be understood? It is because they are not aware
that Jesus has already returned and lives in our midst: “I am with you always,
till the end of time.” (Mt 28: 20). He is already at our side, in the struggle
for justice, for peace, for life. The fullness has not as yet been attained,
but a guarantee of the Kingdom is already in our midst. This is why, we expect
with a firm hope the full liberation of humanity and of nature (Rm 8: 22-25).
And while we wait and struggle, we say with certainty: “He is already in our
midst” (Mt 25: 40).
•
Matthew 24: 43-51: The example of the
householder and of his servants. “Consider this: if the householder had known
at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake
and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house.”
Jesus says this very clearly. Nobody knows anything regarding the hour:
"Concerning this day and this hour, nobody knows anything, neither the
angels, or the Son, but only the Father What is important is not to know the
hour of the end of this world, but rather to be capable to perceive the coming
of Jesus who is already present in our midst in the person of the poor (cf. Mt
25: 40) and in so many other ways and events of our daily life. What is important
is to open the eyes and to keep
in mind the commitment of the good servant of whom Jesus
speaks about in the parable.
Personal Questions
•
On which signs do people base themselves to say
that the end of the world is close at hand? Do you believe that the end of the
world is close at hand?
•
What can we respond to those who say that the
end of the world is close at hand? Which is the force which impels you to
resist and to have hope?
Concluding Prayer
Day after day I shall bless you, Lord,
I shall praise your name for ever and
ever. Great is Yahweh and worthy of all praise, his greatness beyond all
reckoning. (Ps 145: 2-3)
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