May 27 2022 - St. Augustine of Canterbury - Small Steps

 

On Wednesday, we celebrated the venerable Benedictine monk, St. Bede. Today we honor another Benedictine who lived about 100 years earlier, St. Augustine of Canterbury.

Bede put his impressive intellectual gifts in service of the Church, writing histories, biographies, martyrologies, works of science, numerous commentaries on the bible and sacred chant, from within the confines of his monastery, St. Augustine of Canterbury served the Lord in a different way. He didn't stay in his home monastery. Rather, he was a member of a delegation of missionaries to early Anglo-Saxon England.

Early missionary activity amongst the Anglo-Saxons of Brittainy were largely unsuccessful. The Gospel failed to take root in the British Isles initially, except among the small pockets of Celtic peoples. So around the year 595, Pope St. Gregory the Great sent a delegation of forty monks to Brittania, including the Italian Benedictine monk, Augustine.

Though Augustine and his band of monks heard stories about the ferocious Anglo-Saxons and the treacherous waters of the English Channel, they proceeded on their mission with the assurance of the Pope. They constructed a church and monastery at Canterbury, on the site where the famous Canterbury Cathedral now stands presently. Augustine was consecrated its first Bishop.  And by 597, thousands of people were coming to actively seek baptism.  

Most of us do not receive letters from the Pope telling us to go evangelize particular nations and regions, but all of us have received the commission of our Lord to go and make disciples of all nations, all of the baptized have the vocation of laboring for the spread of the Gospel.

We also live in a culture much like that which Augustine found upon his arrival to Britain, small pockets of Christian faith, mingled with pagan elements, with considerable opposition from the culture.

In a letter to Augustine, Pope Gregory the Great wrote: "He who would climb to a lofty height must go by steps, not leaps."  The task of evangelization might seem like a lofty mountain, but we can make great inroads through small steps: conversations with non-Catholics, small acts of charity towards strangers, imitating Christ in all of our attitudes and choices.

Through the prayerful intercession and holy example of St. Augustine of Canterbury may we be faithful to the small steps the Lord calls us to take in the spread of his kingdom for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Saints may inspire us and continue to help us put Christ at the center of our life. 

That the Saints may inspire us to works of charity and caring for the needy.

That the Saints may inspire us to confess our sins, strengthen in virtue, and be devoted to the spread of the Gospel.

That the Saints may inspire us to bear our sufferings in union with Christ, and may help the suffering to know the comforting presence of God, especially the sick, the elderly, those in nursing homes, hospitals, hospice care, addicts and those imprisoned, those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today.

In the wake of the horrific school shooting in Texas this week, we pray for the victims of this shooting and their families, for all the public safety responders and for the southwest Texas communities stunned by this unthinkable incident.

For our beloved dead…

O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

June 22 2020 - Sts. John Fisher and Thomas More - Highest Expression of True Faith

In the course of his ministry, our Lord took up the task of forming his disciples to continue the Gospel mission—sending them out through Galilee to heal and preach. And he was very clear that just as he would be rejected, his truth would be rejected, so they would be rejected. While he came to gather the divided peoples of the earth into one kingdom, through one faith and one baptism, that unity would be rejected. Responses to the Gospel would range from full reception to hostile rejection—so much so that in our passage from Matthew today, we hear how the Gospel’s rejection would cause discord, even hostility, within families.

The stories of the thousands of Christian martyrs throughout the centuries has been a repetition of that dynamic—though the Gospel is meant to unify—the prideful, those unwilling to bend the knee and to change their hearts—will lash out against Christ and seek to silence him.

Such was the case of the two martyrs we honor today, the bishop St. John Fisher, and the statesman, St. Thomas More. When King Henry VIII claimed headship over the Church in England and sought to rewrite the doctrines passed on by Christ to the apostles, he enacted law forcing all bishops and government officials to sign their names to his lies.

Bishop John Fisher was the only bishop in England who had the courage to oppose the king’s lies and usurpation of religious authority, and Sir Thomas More, former chancellor of England and close friend of the King’s was the highest-ranking layman to not take this oath acknowledging the king’s claims. Both were imprisoned in the Tower of London and eventually beheaded.

Yes, there will be pressure, worldly pressure, pressure from coworkers, neighbors, political groups, even members of our families, the Lord warns. You will be tempted to give in, to compromise the Gospel, to become silent when we should speak.

John Fisher and Thomas More experienced tremendous pressure from other bishops, statesman, and family, not to mention the threat of death. But they allowed the courage of Christ to flow within them. Their lives of holiness prepared them, as the Collect says, “to bring the true faith to its highest expression.”

These men are our great heroes, and we do well to honor them, emulate them, and invoke their heavenly intercession, that we like them might have the courage to remain faithful to Christ, to preach and live His Gospel, despite all temptations and pressures, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That our bishops and clergy may be zealous in preaching and teaching the truth of the Gospel, and that our future bishop of the diocese of Cleveland may be a man of true faith and the Holy Spirit.

That through the intercession of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, people of faith may remain vigilant in defending religious liberty and preaching the Gospel courageously.

That our young people on summer vacation may be kept safe from the poisonous errors of our culture, and that their families may be places where the faith is practiced and cherished.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and for Paul Becker for whom this Mass is offered.
Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy. Through Christ our Lord.