| Minute Meditations
St. Augustine of Canterbury In the year 596, some 40 monks set out from Rome to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons in England. Leading the group was Augustine, the prior of their monastery in Rome. Hardly had he and his men reached Gaul (France) when they heard stories of the ferocity of the Anglo-Saxons and of the treacherous waters of the English Channel. Augustine returned to Rome and to the pope who had sent them—St. Gregory the Great (September 3 )—only to be assured by him that their fears were groundless. Augustine again set out. This time the group crossed the English Channel and landed in the territory of Kent, ruled by King Ethelbert, a pagan married to a Christian, Bertha. Ethelbert received them kindly, set up a residence for them in Canterbury and within the year, on Pentecost Sunday, 597, was himself baptized. After being consecrated a bishop in France, Augustine returned to Canterbury, where he founded his see. He constructed a church and monastery near where the present cathedral, begun in 1070, now stands. As the faith spread, additional sees were established at London and Rochester. Work was sometimes slow and Augustine did not always meet with success. Attempts to reconcile the Anglo-Saxon Christians with the original Briton Christians (who had been driven into western England by Anglo-Saxon invaders) ended in dismal failure. Augustine failed to convince the Britons to give up certain Celtic customs at variance with Rome and to forget their bitterness, helping him evangelize their Anglo-Saxon conquerors Laboring patiently, Augustine wisely heeded the missionary principles—quite enlightened for the times—suggested by Pope Gregory the Great: purify rather than destroy pagan temples and customs; let pagan rites and festivals be transformed into Christian feasts; retain local customs as far as possible. The limited success Augustine achieved in England before his death in 605, a short eight years after he arrived in England, would eventually bear fruit long after in the conversion of England. Augustine of Canterbury can truly be called the "Apostle of England." "Come to me all you who are burdened If God were trying to tell me something, would I know? If God were reassuring me or challenging me, would I notice? I ask for the grace to be free of my own preoccupations and open to what God may be saying to me. My soul longs for your presence, Lord. Remembering that I am still in God's presence, I imagine Jesus himself standing or sitting beside me, and say whatever is on my mind, whatever is in my heart, speaking as one friend to another. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Saint Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop You do not know what you are asking. (Mark 10:38) The old woman was gravely ill. The family had gathered round the bedside where, ashen and comatose, she breathed shallowly and irregularly. Off to the side, a mother explained gently to her four-year-old daughter that grandma would probably die very soon. After a brief pause, the little girl raised a sober-looking face and asked, "Mom?" Taking a deep breath, the mother steeled herself to answer the difficult question that was sure to follow. "May I have the last popsicle?" Today's Gospel reading describes a similarly off-topic response to a grave situation. Jesus had just outlined what awaited him in Jerusalem: arrest, beating, humiliation, torture, and an excruciating death—followed by a resurrection three days later. Alarming, unnerving, and puzzling as his words should have seemed, James and John were focused on one thing: sitting beside Jesus one day in heaven. Everything else Jesus had said was just background noise to them. Or perhaps they simply could not comprehend Jesus' words just yet. Sometimes we just don't get it. Or we are so focused on what we are thinking about that we fail to grasp what Jesus is saying to us. But see how Jesus responds to these two disciples. He shifts his attention to what they are focused on and begins teaching, encouraging, and moving forward from there. He gives no criticism, no condemnation, no sharp words. Because he loves them so much, he is patient as he seeks to propel them toward the truth and life that he has for them. This is how he deals with you as well. Don't worry about whether you understand everything. Don't worry if there are days when you aren't thinking along the same lines as the Lord. Trust that he will meet you wherever you are. He will lead, guide, and steer you in the direction he wants you to go. He loves you always and wants only that you embrace more of the life he has for you. "Jesus, forgive me for the times you've offered me life, and all I want is a popsicle. Open my ears today to hear you and my heart to extend your grace to the people around me." Sirach 36:1, 4-5, 10-17; Psalm 79:8-9, 11, 13 my2cents: Today's 5 minutos said: "When God is revealed to us in prayer who He is, the beneficiaries are us, because only in Him we find our happiness in its fulness. The manifestation of the Divine Glory is the revelation of Divine Mercy...It was late Saturday afternoon in a parish, the priest waits for the faithful that will come to confess. There arrives a young woman, very perfumed, with provocative clothing and a doubting speech: she is a Magdalene. He invites her to confess but she refuses: "No. I'm only here to satisfy my mother. She wants me to convert, the poor old woman...", and he insists. She leaves rapidly, but he says "You'll be back. If it is necessary, I will wait the whole night. Yes, the whole night, before the Blessed Sacrament", but the woman didn't understand much of that. Confessions began. He asked for a particular intention. After everyone left, he told the sacristan not to close the door, and he went to kneel before the Blessed Sacrament. The hours passed by; at about 3 in the morning, he heard footsteps. It was her. She changed her tone and the topic of prayer: "Thank you sir" she said haltingly, and she told him her story, sufferings, oppressions, and social abandonment. Outside, little by little the darkness diminished. It was the dawn that rose joyfully, full of hope and beautiful. More beautiful than all the mornings was that born in her heart by the power of prayer." Today's 1st Holy Scripture ended with "Thus it will be known to the very ends of the earth that you are the eternal God." And the Psalms pray "Show us O Lord, the Light of your Kindness". Jesus enters in the Holy Gospel. And the Gospel ends today with the words of our most precious Lord and Savior showing the Way, the "Light" with, "whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Somehow, in our world, we live off of appreciation/love. Somehow we have to feel appreciated/loved. Apparently, we are designed in God's image. Apparently, then, our Lord loves to be loved/appreciated. So many of our prayers are like rakes, we just want to pull stuff in, never pushing stuff out. What if I told you that those that are going to Heaven are not all those taking the Eucharist? What if I told you that the ones going to Heaven are the ones in Confession? There is a small line to confession, maybe if we are lucky, one out of a 100. This scary line is not meant to dissuade you or make you feel bad, because I'm speaking of myself. How much do I really put out for the Lord? Because the sons of Thunder in the Gospel today had the wrong idea of glory. Jesus would turn backwards His flesh for them and for the world to convert. Will I turn myself inside out for Him? This guts is glory. The strongest men I know in my life are those who live holy lives or at the least are trying hard. The others? Simply those that are in need of God's mercy. I read a quote today ""Treat sinners as a good mother treats her sick child; she lavishes more caresses on him than when he is well." -St. Ignatius of Loyola We are in a world that needs appreciation and love. True love is one way...outwards. We have to find an eternal spring to quench the thirst of a dry world. It is Jesus. Our only source for everything we need...  adrian
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