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No Sleeping on the Job

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

August 28, 2014. Memorial of Saint Augustine, bishop and doctor of the Church

Matthew 24:42-51

Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore, 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."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I come to you again in prayer. Even though I cannot see you, I know through faith that you are present in my life. I hope in your promise to be with me. I love you, and I know you love me. Accept this prayer as a token of my love.

Petition: Lord, help me to remain alert, keeping the goal of heaven always in mind.

1. Days and Hours: None of us knows how long we have to live, nor did Jesus reveal how long human history would continue before he came again for the Final Judgment. This should make us realize we need to be always ready to meet Our Lord, to have our actions true, and our conscience always clear. We need to be living as if each day were our last, as if our eternal happiness depended on the choices and actions of this very day. Every moment is precious and important in God’s eyes, and the one necessary thing is working to attain our salvation. This is more important than anything else we can accomplish in life.

2. True Prudence: The servant who is constant and steady, who does what he is supposed to do at each moment, is the truly prudent person. God wants us to be faithful and follow his will every single day. This is the path to holiness and union with God; there is no other way we can be close to God except by doing his will, out of love and gratitude. How do my actions today reflect loving obedience to God’s will? Am I putting God at the center of my life, or do I have him and his will relegated to the margins, paying attention to what he wants of me only from time to time?

3. A Long Delay: Often it can seem that God is distant and not involved in our lives. It can seem that he is not coming back anytime soon, and this can lead us to become distracted with many other things. Every day we need to renew our spirit of faith in God and in his constant presence, living each day to please him, no matter how long the delay seems to be. We need to live in his presence through faith in him and his revelation, which guides us along the pathway to eternal life. We need to keep a lively, operative faith in God and in his presence every day.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, teach me to pray with real faith in you and in your word which gives life. Help me believe at every moment so that I can please you, do your will and grow in holiness.

Resolution: I will renew my faith each day, frequently making conscious and fervent acts of faith.

Homily of the Day

August 28, 2014

We hear this gospel every year but we take God’s message for granted. While we are young, we want to enjoy what the secular world offers. We always rationalize that we will turn to God when the right time comes, and usually our notion of the right time is when we are already old. But the Gospel says the Son of Man will come at the hour we least expect. So we must always be ready for anything to happen at any time. We do not know what the future holds but what we can do is to be prepared. We should be good and do good always according to God’s will, so that we will always be ready for any eventuality that calls for our faith response no matter what happens.

In the past two years, four of our closest friends succumbed to cancer. Three of them suffered for almost two years and the most recent one suffered for only three months. They were not in their old age, but they admirably faced their sickness with acceptance. In spite of their sufferings, they were cheerful and grateful for their life. In the midst of their pains, they did not dwell on self-pity, but offered them for others. We look up to them for their courage and their faith.

God promised us eternal life in heaven. Knowing that our earthly lives are temporary, we should be excited to be with God in heaven. This is not easy for us if we are attached to the world, but not if we put Jesus Christ in the center of our life. He will call us and say, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”