Monday of the Sixth week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the day
Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 126, 4-5
"Why does this generation seek a sign?"
Admire God’s wonderful works ; come out of your sleep. Are you only going to admire extraordinary miracles? But are they any greater than those that daily take place before your eyes? Are people astonished because our Lord Jesus Christ satisfied several thousand persons with five loaves (Mt 14,19f) and are not surprised that a few seeds are enough to cover the ground with abundant harvests? They are filled with wonder when they see our Savior change water into wine (Jn 2,19); isn’t it the same thing when rain goes through the roots of the vine? The author of both these miracles is the same…
Our Lord worked miracles and yet many despised him… They said to themselves : « The works are divine but, as for him, he is only a man. » Therefore you see two things: divine works on the one hand and a man on the other. If those divine works can only be carried out by God, could it not be because God is hidden in this man? Yes. Be very attentive to what you see and believe what you do not see. He who calls on you to believe has not abandoned you to yourself; even if he asks you to believe what you cannot see, he has not left you without anything to see to help you believe what is unseen. Isn’t creation itself a faint sign, a faint manifestation of the Creator? In addition, look at him who comes into the world and works miracles. You were unable to see God but you were able to see a man: therefore God became man so that what you see and what you believe should be but one.