Together on the Journey: A Weekly Word from Archbishop Hebda
I was privileged this weekend to bless the new school building at Divine Mercy in Faribault. It is an amazing education facility, but an even more extraordinary testimony to the desire of parents to pass on the faith to their children. I hope that you will all have the opportunity to see the new school and what can happen when Catholics collaborate to carry out the mandate that Christ has given to us at the end of St. Matthew’s Gospel: Go and Teach!
It should not be surprising that Catholic parents would want nothing more than to make sure that their families would have a transformative encounter with Jesus. When we recognize what Jesus has done in our lives, it’s natural that we would want to share that with those we love.
This week, the Church celebrates the feasts of a wonderful mother and son team: St. Monica is liturgically remembered tomorrow, August 27, while her son, St. Augustine, the great theologian and pastor, is celebrated on the following day, August 28.
In many ways, St. Monica is a saint of our times, bringing great comfort to modern parents who are so concerned about children and grandchildren who have yet to encounter Christ or have drifted from the practice of the faith. We know from St. Augustine’s great autobiographical masterpiece, the Confessions, that St. Monica fervently prayed for the conversion of her son to the Christian faith. As a young adult, St. Augustine lived a life of sin, seeking only secular honors and sowing his proverbial wild oats. Though he lived a life without hope, his mother never lost hope that the Lord could and would change Augustine’s heart. Her great faith and constant prayers eventually aided in her son’s conversion.
Listen to what Augustine wrote about his mom: “For my mother, your faithful servant, wept for me before you more than mothers weep when lamenting their dead children” (Confessions, III.xi). He continues, thanking God for hearing her prayers, outlining a vision she had where “God told her to have no anxiety and exhorted her to direct her attention and to see that where she was, there I was also” (Confessions, III.xi). She understood that the Lord was assuring her that her son would one day hold the faith as she did. One bishop even told her, “As you live, it cannot be that the son of these tears should perish” (Confessions, III.xii).
I am sure that we all know someone—whether it be a child, another family member or a friend—who has fallen away from the Church or who never seemed to have a real encounter with Christ. Let’s pray that St. Monica’s example of constant prayer and trust in God’s love and power will remind us to always seek the conversion of those we love.
Through the intercession of this week’s great saints, let’s learn from the wisdom of St. James who noticed, “You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” Let’s make sure that we, like St. Monica, are asking for what’s right, for what’s really important, and what is in harmony with what the Lord always wants: the hearts of his people!
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