ST. AUGUSTINE, TRUE —
THROUGH AND THROUGH!
Today
is the feast of a great saint, St. Augustine. His life was not holy
from the very beginning. He was a true sinner, but he went through a lot
of purification. Like Philip, he had no guile within himself. He never denied it.
He loved women especially — their bodies, beauty and youth. He was
intelligent but used it for his own popularity. He lived an extremely
immoral life from the Christian point of view. His mother, St. Monica,
spent a lot of time on her knees, begging the Lord for his
enlightenment. One day, her prayers were answered, but not without
difficulty.
While in Milan, St. Augustine heard St. Ambrose preaching. St.
Augustine heard of the technique and power of the latter’s preaching.
Wanting to learn those qualities, he listened to him and got caught in
the faith, and later converted and was baptized by St. Ambrose. In his
Confessions, he recalled his struggles. He was honest enough to say to
God that it was hard for him to let go of his carnal and other desires.
He begged for compromise, but God would not let him. St. Augustine decided to make a 180-degree turn
from his evil ways. After his conversion, he used
his intelligence and speaking prowess to proclaim the Gospel and defend
the faith. He became one of the Catholic Church’s greatest apologists.
He was a true convert.
God leaves us free to use our talents and qualities. In the Gospel, the
Pharisees elected to use their positions and qualities in hypocrisy.
They said one thing but did another. The Lord Jesus was against it.
Christians should be perfect as their Father is perfect. Lukewarmness
has no place in Christianity. Let us be true through and through.
St. Augustine was true in his evil life. He used the same attitude in
his new life of grace. We have the same challenge. We have hope no
matter how sinful we are. We can be true to our faith. We were borne out
of truth in the first place. St. Augustine, pray for us! Fr. Benny Tuazon
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Are you true to what you believe in? Does your life reflect it?
Lord Jesus, grant me the courage to accept my sinfulness but also have hope that I can change and be holy through Your grace.
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