Today we honour the memory of Saint Monica whom the Church sets before us as a model of patience. Her long years of prayer, coupled with a strong, well-disciplined character, finally led to the conversion of her hot-tempered husband, her cantankerous mother-in-law, and her brilliant but wayward son, Augustine who would also become a saint and one of the leading philosophers and theologians of the 4th century. Let us imitate Saint Monica in praying for the things that really matter.
One aspect of the Christian life is that we should never become completely satisfied with ourselves. Complacency means the end of progress. On the other hand, humility allows us to recognise our need for ongoing conversion and growth in our spiritual and religious lives.
Saint Paul complimented his converts on the way in which they were pleasing God by their holiness of life, but in the same breath he urges them to make still greater progress. This is a message for us today, but the question is how do we make this progress in holiness?
Humility teaches us that we must continue to grow. Humility also makes us realise that we don’t have the means within ourselves to make this progress in holiness. We just can’t lift ourselves up by our own bootstraps. Yes, we have to make some effort, and we have to make many sacrifices, but God is the one who makes us holy.
What we do every day at Mass helps us. Here we receive Our Lord himself, who gives himself to us as our spiritual nourishment. Just as a child cannot grow properly without a healthy well-balanced diet, especially fresh fish and vegetables, nor can the Christian. We are all children of God, and without the nourishment of the Eucharist we cannot expect to grow spiritually, and we will never reach our full potential. Good, natural, wholesome food is needed to regenerate ourselves, and especially after an illness or injury. In the same way, we need the Eucharist to repair damage caused by sin, and sin is the real obstacle to growth in holiness.
One big difference between ordinary nourishment and the Eucharist is that ordinary nourishment works automatically without any conscious effort on our part. We eat our meals each day and our bodies do the rest. The Eucharist doesn’t work automatically. We must always approach Holy Communion trusting that Our Lord will accomplish his work within us. Only with a proper disposition will the Eucharist work wonders in our lives; for the Body of Christ is real food: a true means to holiness.
Dum Tacet Clamat 