Love to Affirm; Courage to Correct; Faith to Praise – Memorial: St Monica
(2 Thes 1:1-5, 11-12; Ps 96; Mt 23:13-22)
**************************************************************
Holy Family Cathedral Orange CA
As worshippers leave Holy Family Cathedral in Orange, CA, they are artistically reminded to be Be Doers of the Wordby a mural done in tiles above the entrance to the church.
In the light of that statement, the readings today encourage us to lovingly affirm others, courageously correct those who stray, and faithfully proclaim the glory of God.
In the first reading, St. Paul exhorts, encourages and especially affirms the Thessalonians. He thanks God for their growing faith and steadfast ever-increasing love for others. He boasts about them to other communities, assures them they are worthy of the kingdom of God, and claims Jesus is glorified in them.
St. Paul is an example for us to do the same – to love others by blessing and affirming them. I felt the power of that love when Archbishop Adam Exner, former professor and spiritual director, blessed me after participating in a retreat I had conducted by writing in the thank you card, “The student has surpassed the teacher – am proud of you!” That powerful blessing filled me with an energy and joy that I will carry to my dying day.
We find just the opposite in the gospel. Jesus takes the fickle people to task and courageously enters into fraternal correction. He makes no bones about telling it like it is – calling out the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy, not really caring for others but rather turning their faith into a self-serving religiosity of externalism – the keeping of rules without compassion and trying to earn their way into heaven.
We may at times also need to correct others around us out of love and caring, to be doers of the word. Often, people are spiritually blind to their faults and failings. I needed others to tell me that I was stubborn and to let me know my tendency to control upset them. My sister-in-law once informed me she sensed I had a sense of entitlement –I seemed to think I was above the law at times. My brother Oblates have pointed out other things I was doing that bothered them, for which I am now grateful, although it is always somewhat painful to hear the truth about ourselves at the time. One husband shared with me his frustration at his wife who in over fifteen years of marriage has never apologized even once for her often hurtful, passive-aggressive behavior.
For its part, the psalm suggests we praise God and proclaim God’s glory to be a doer of the word. Praise is a high form of prayer, because it takes our attention off us and puts it squarely on God, so it is a very selfless form of prayer, and a great antidote for hypocrisy.
Today, the Church offers us St. Monica as a model “doer of the Word.” She was born in North Africa in 332 of Christian parents. At a young age, Monica was given in marriage to Patricius; they had three children. Patricius criticized his wife’s piety and her generosity to the poor, but was always respectful of her person. Monica’s influence was such that both her husband and mother-in-law converted to Christianity. In 371, a year after his baptism, Patricius died. Monica then devoted herself to the conversion of her son Augustine, who had abandoned his Christian faith.
After 17 years of Monica’s persistent prayers Augustine was converted while in Milan, where he met Bishop Ambrose and returned to the faith. Mother and son enjoyed a close faith-based relationship from then on. Monica died during their return trip to Africa. She had said there was nothing left for her to do, all her hopes having been fulfilled. All we know about Monica comes from Augustine’s Confessions. In the tenth chapter of Book IX, he describes a spiritual experience they shared near the end of her life, and he always remembered his mother’s efforts on his behalf. She is patron saint of mothers, and a great model for us of strong faith and great compassion.
The Eucharist is a source of strength to be a doer of the word in all the ways described above. It is also our greatest prayer, and certainly one filled with praise of God.
May our celebration today empower us to lovingly affirm and bless others, practice fraternal correction where needed, and above all, praise God with all our hearts, and be ready to proclaim God’s glory to all who will listen.
We only follow this one true God who send his son Jesus Christ on this earth who does all teachings and showing us how to live out his word. To learn his teachings and follow his ways is up to us . Sometimes his words and lessons can be hard and confusing to understand what he means, but we did our best to perform our task in worshipping him and helping him . There are times when our friends and neighbors tells us about our faults and try to correct us by how we are suppose to act towards people. Maybe our behavior has affected others and there’s always a friend telling us how are suppose to act on this earth. There are many ways people worship the Lord and sometimes people pray to the Lord by going on line to celebrate mass and going confession online. Is this the right way or not? Jesus Christ would resurrect be this Holy Spirit who forgives us and love us for who we are. Amen Many Blessings!
Let us keep on going by praise and worshipping God and may he lead us to eternal life. Enter the kingdom of heaven. Thanks Bishop Lavoie for the inspiring homilies and messages these days. Gracias ! Bravo.