St Augustine

The love of worldly possessions is a sort of bird line, which entangles the soul, and prevents it flying to God." -Saint AugustineSt. Augustine was born on November 13, 354, in Tagaste, North Africa. He was the eldest son of St. Monica and Patricius (a pagan Roman official). he devoted himself to literary pursuits. It was in these pursuits that he abandoned the Christian faith. One of the first heresies Augustine was involved with was Manichaeanism. Manichaeans believed that evil was caused by an outside force, thus making people relieved of guilt for their sins. A turning point came in St. Augustine's life when at Milan, he attended the mass celebrated by St. Ambrose. The sermon of St. Ambrose impressed St. Augustine very much. This experience, plus the incessant and sacrificing prayers of St. Monica, brought Augustine back to Christianity. He was baptized, together with his son, in the Easter Vigil of year 387.
Of the two great teachers in the Catholic Catechism, St. Augustine and St. Thomas of Aquinas are the most popularly quoted. St. Augustine is quoted 85 times, while St. Thomas quoted is 58 times. Three writings which bear much of his teaching and spirituality are "The Confessions of St. Augustine", "The City of God", and "On the Trinity".
Two texts in scripture are good sources of St. Augustine's spirituality: the "eyes of your heart being enlightened" (Eph 1:18) and "blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Mt 5:8). From these two scriptural texts we see that for St. Augustine, the heart seems to be the inner person, the soul. And for us to see God, the eyes of the heart, i.e., the soul, need to be healed and they need light. At first, Augustine thought that this vision of God comes only after death. He eventually realized that even on earth, God may be seen by one who has been unified by a single longing for God. This single longing for God and the healing of the soul by faith though is not, according to St. Augustine, enough to see God. There is need of light to see God. And this light, according to him, comes from loving our neighbor.
Many of us are like Augustine who described it as the time when God was with us, but we were not with God. When we were younger, we were busy with our minute quests, as the Pharisees who focused on the details of the law. We were busy pursuing our academic careers, or running after our dreams. We were tracking events and chasing our crushes. Augustine said that we “go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and [we] pass by [our]selves without wondering.”
Late do we actually come to love God. Only after all these pursuits and this restless running, when we find ourselves tired and empty, searching our identities and our place in the sun, do we finally stop, look and wonder. The God we were looking for, we find in our hearts, closer to us than we to ourselves.
We conclude remembering the psalm for today:Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know the whole of it. Behind me and before, you hem me in and rest your hand upon me.

Assumption Of Mother Mary

Happy Feast Day my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,

This feast celebrates our Catholic belief that Mary, when her earthly life was ended, was taken body and soul into heaven.
When someone announced to Jesus that his mother and brothers were there to see him; He said, “Who are my mother and my brothers and sisters? They are those who hear the word of God and keep it.
In other words, what is important is not the biological ties of family. What is important is the spiritual relationship with Jesus. Mary brought Jesus into the world. And so must we. “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!
Late Pope John Paul II said, "It is easy to be consistent for a day or two. It is difficult and important to be consistent for one's whole life. It is easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm; it is difficult to be so in the hour of tribulation. And only a consistency that lasts throughout the whole of life can be called faithfulness. Mary's 'fiat' in the Annunciation finds its fullness in the silent 'fiat' that she repeats at the foot of the Cross".
Even before the Angel Gabriel appeared with the glory of God calling her to be the Mother of God she was a woman of faith and hope. Before the Son was born she was a woman of faith and hope.
What does the Assumption of Mary mean? This is a Feast of Resurrection and the promise of salvation to all faithful believers who do the will of God on earth. today, we have the woman of hope raised up before us to assure us that our hope is not in vain- cast your care upon the Lord, hope in the Lord and He will raise you up.
When looking for Hope, walk with the Mother of Hope, when needing rest against the horrors of life, accept the consolation of the woman of Sorrows who is crowned the Queen of Heaven and Earth. She testifies to the Mercy of God from Age to Age, a mercy whose Name is Jesus.
Mary is in Heaven. However, she is also still among us, singing the praises of God with us... Could a mother forget her children? Mary is the Mother of God, the Mother of Jesus, but she is also the Mother of us all! She intercedes for us to the Son and pleads to us to love the Son. While Jesus has told John the Disciple, “Behold the Mother,” and we are to contemplate her vocation and her holiness, she is constantly pointing to the Son- “Do whatever He tells you.”
When Elizabeth saw Mary, through the Spirit of the living God, she recognized Mary, this unmarried teenage girl, as "the mother of my Lord," and began to prophesy.
When that happened, Mary also began to sing in the Spirit, exalting and worshiping God. It is this song that is recorded as the Magnificat. Although Mary was just a poor peasant girl, she had been brought up in a godly home, where Mary was thoroughly versed in the Holy Scriptures. Like Zechariah, Simeon, Anna, and others, Mary was looking forward to God’s redemption of Israel. So when she heard Elizabeth’s greeting, she was filled with the Holy Spirit and Scripture came pouring out of her heart.
Listen, then, to Mary’s knowledge of the Lord as she magnifies the Lord. Psalm 103:1 tells us, "Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name," and elsewhere we are told that out of the abundance of the heart, our mouths will speak. Mary was filled with God and his grace; thus, she sang about God and his attributes. Let us take just one attribute of God.
The first attribute Mary speaks of is the might and power of God. He is the mighty God, ho dunatos, and in Luke 1:49 she sings, "For the Mighty One has done great things for me." Mary’s God was God Almighty, the Creator of the ends of the earth. There is no one mightier than her God. He alone is able, and with him alone nothing is impossible.
God himself spoke of this aspect of his character to Abraham in Genesis 18:14, asking, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" In Psalm 115:3 the psalmist says, "Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him." In Matthew 19:26 the Lord Jesus Christ himself said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." The apostle Paul recognized this and wrote in this manner in Ephesians 3:20, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. . . ."
He alone is almighty, and Mary knew it.
Let me ask you: Are you weak? The answer, of course, is yes. But that is not the end. He is strong, and it is in him that we trust. What about the devil and his demons—are they strong? Yes. Martin Luther recognized that in his great hymn, "A Mighty Fortress," and all of us must recognize it. But our God is stronger than all the forces of this world. Remember what Luther said? "One little Word shall fell him." That Word is the name of Jesus.
Knowing who God is, Mary realized that she had nothing to fear. We too have nothing to fear as well. The gates of hell shall not prevail against us, because our God is mighty. Thus, we can say with Paul, "We are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).
Let us end our reflection by saying the most beautiful prayer: Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

St. Lawrence

St. Lawrence, one of the deacons of the Roman Church, was one of the victims of the persecution of Valerian in 258, like Pope Sixtus II and many other members of the Roman clergy. During the persecution of Emperor Valerian, in a valiant attempt to continue the support of the poor, Pope Sixtus handed over the wealth of the Church of Rome to his Archdeacon, Lawrence, as he was taken to his own martyr’s death.
On 10 August Lawrence was commanded to appear for his execution, and to bring along the treasure with which he had been entrusted by the pope. When he arrived, the archdeacon was accompanied by a multitude of Rome's crippled, blind, sick, and indigent. He announced that these were the true treasures of the Church. “God do I worship, him alone do I serve and I do not fear your torturing.” Lawrence was tied on top of an iron grill over a slow fire that roasted his flesh little by little, but Lawrence was burning with so much love of God that he almost did not feel the flames. In fact, God gave him so much strength and joy that he even joked. "Turn me over.”I'm done on this side!" And just prior to his death, he said, "It's cooked enough now." Then he prayed that the city of Rome might be converted to Jesus and that the Catholic Faith might spread all over the world. With that, he went to His heavenly reward.
It is through the ambassadors of Christ, believers who have been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and empowered by the Holy Spirit, spread the Kingdom of God. IT is through them the Kingdom of God grows. It is not just the heroic saints and Martyrs who build the church. We all are part of the building process. If we sleep from our duties as Christian then the Kingdom of God will not grow. We have a duty and we are all called to be the ambassadors of Christ by our baptism and confirmation. Yes dear brothers and sisters as we celebrate the feast of St Lawrence the Face of Christ to someone in need today. They may be your family members, your neighbors, your friends. Show the world that the Christian life really is the most life giving and meaningful way to live.

Feast of Transfiguration
The transfiguration of Jesus in our Gospel was not just about Jesus. It is a vision of the glorious future to which we are all called. In his first letter John writes,
“we are already children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; all we know is that when it is revealed we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is.” (1 John 3:2)
We need to eradicate selfishness from our lives if we really want to be transformed into real Christians. The ultimate goal of the Christian way of life is transformation into Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life. Selfishness has to be dealt with very seriously. We need to die to our egotism so that we may become more and more like the Risen Lord. What are some practical ways in which we can remove selfishness from our lives? We can start with a short list of actions that will certainly change our lives if we really put these things into practice.
First of all, we can try to always be in a good mood. We all wake up at times in a bad mood. Smile; be of good cheer; break the cycle of bad moods with self-control. Secondly, we can always make an effort to anticipate the needs of others. Each of us can start by being attentive to the needs of others while eating meals and perhaps begin offering to help wash the dishes. Thirdly, we can focus on others and try to avoid always talking about ourselves. We can begin by really listening to others. By our manner we could show our interest in what others have to say. Fourthly, we can try to always make a point of greeting everybody, even strangers. Fifth, we might volunteer time in our parish and other charitable organizations. There is always something that needs to be done. Another way to break the cycle of personal egotism is to be generous with our money. We need to practice tithing. How can we expect God to be generous with us, if we are not generous with him?
There are three transfigurations or transformations that take place in our journey towards eternity.
The first change begins at Baptism. The immersion into the baptismal waters symbolizes death and rebirth. The sacrament of Baptism washes away original sin and we are re-created. We are transformed into new creatures. The old self dies, and the new person in Christ Jesus is born.
The second transformation takes place by our victory over the trials and tribulations of life. Every challenge, every difficulty, every moment of suffering, is an opportunity to grow. Transformation only takes place through suffering.
The third transformation takes place at death. The suffering that the final moment brings upon us, makes way for an amazing transformation. Eternal life in heaven, perhaps after a period of further transformation in purgatory, is granted to those who have been found worthy. The last transformation or transfiguration takes place at the Second Coming when our body is reunited with our soul. What awaits us is beyond anything that we can imagine. "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8: 18).
Every time we gather for the Eucharist we experience a moment of transfiguration where our divine Lord is transfigured before our eyes in the forms of bread and wine.