“Are we too saying 'Not yet’?”

The Catholic Church accords a salutary position to Saint Augustine, setting aside a day on the Church Calendar to commemorate the Saint, an esteemed Bishop and Doctor of the Church. The Readings are so arranged that Sundays and feast days present the more important biblical passages. The Readings at Mass are not accidental:

“In general, following the Vatican II call for a ‘ressourcement’ or taking people back to the scriptural sources of our faith, the framers of the Lectionary wished to impart to the faithful a richer fare of readings from the various books of the Bible,” he said. “There is therefore a greater selection of readings than with the selection for the Mass before 1969.” The Vatican II Constitution on the Liturgy ordered that “in sacred celebrations there is to be more reading from holy Scripture and it is to be more varied and apposite”. (n.35.1) “The treasures of the Bible are to be opened up more lavishly, so that a richer share in God’s word may be provided for the faithful”. (n.51)

For the Memorial of Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, the following Readings have been chosen: 1 Corinthians 1:17-25 - ‘Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom’; the Responsorial Psalm 33:1-2,4-5,10-11; Luke 21:36 for the ‘Alleluia’; and the Gospel Reading Matthew 25:1-13

The reflection that follows shows why that would be the case.

There appear to be parallels between 1 Corinthians 1:17-25 (written in 53-54 AD in the 1^st Century) and St. Augustine's Life. St. Augustine of Hippo was born nearly 300 years later in 354 AD and lived into the 5^th century (died 430 AD). St. Paul was addressing immediate divisions within the local church at Corinth, contrasting worldly philosophy and rhetorical human wisdom with the "folly" of the Cross and the power of God.  While Paul was not speaking of Augustine, Augustine’s life is one of the most vivid historical realisations of Paul's message in 1 Corinthians 1:17-25:

1. Human Eloquence vs. The Power of the Cross (v. 17): Augustine was a master of Roman rhetoric and prized worldly eloquence. In his youth, he found Scripture crude compared to Cicero. However, his intellect and rhetorical mastery could not heal his heart—only the simple grace of the Gospel transformed him.
2. "Where is the Wise Person? Where is the Teacher of the Law?" (v. 20): Augustine spent over nine years adhering to Manichaeism and studying Neoplatonism, seeking truth through human wisdom. Yet, secular philosophy and elite systems failed to bring him inner peace or moral liberation.
3. The Folly and Power of God (v. 23-25): God's grace humbled Augustine's pride, proving that human wisdom is foolishness compared to God's wisdom.

Summary of Saint Augustine of Hippo: Why Could Nothing Satisfy His Restless Heart?

Augustine was born in 354 AD in Tagaste, Roman North Africa. His mother, St. Monica, was a devout Christian who prayed unceasingly for him and taught him about Christ. His father, Patricius, was a pagan who cared primarily for Augustine's career and worldly advancement. Augustine was extremely gifted in rhetoric, literature, and persuasion. He pursued worldly pleasures, ambition, and intellectual status in Carthage. He took a concubine with whom he had a son, Adeodatus. He joined the Manichaean sect for nine years searching for truth, but grew disillusioned.

Then he moved to Milan as a rhetoric professor, where he heard Bishop Ambrose preach. Ambrose showed him the intellectual and spiritual depth of Scripture. Augustine struggled with a divided will and sensuality, praying his famous phrase: "Give me chastity and continence, but not yet." In a Milan Garden, weeping under a fig tree, he heard a child’s voice chanting "Tolle, lege" ("Take up and read").  Opening St. Paul's letters to Romans 13:13-14, the light of certainty filled his heart, ending his hesitation.

He was called to Sainthood and to Vocation. Augustine was baptised by Bishop Ambrose during the Easter Vigil in 387 AD alongside his son Adeodatus and friend Alypius. After his mother, Monica, died in Ostia, he returned to Africa to live a monastic life of prayer and study, was ordained a priest and later became the Bishop of Hippo. Augustine authored monumental works including Confessions and The City of God. He died on August 28, 430 AD, leaving a legacy as one of the Catholic Church’s greatest Doctors of the Church.

We also see parallels to Matthew 25:1-13 (The Parable of the Ten Virgins): The Parable of the Ten Virgins warns of spiritual readiness, lifelong vigilance, and keeping the "oil" of faith, grace, and good deeds in our lamps for the bridegroom’s arrival. For much of his early life, Augustine lived like the foolish virgins—unprepared, wasting time, and delaying his spiritual commitment ("not yet"). His conversion was a shift from squandering grace to filling his lamp with prayer, penance, and total devotion to God. And the ultimate reckoning: Augustine learned that human ambition and physical life are fleeting, and only a heart prepared with divine love is ready when the Lord calls.

Where are we on the journey to spiritual maturity? Do we feel the ‘restlessness’ that St. Augustine felt? He had achieved so much and was slated for greater renown. Yet he was not happy, confronted, as he was, by two conflicting wills:

1.     The Will of Habit (The Old Will): The pull of past sinful attachments, sensual desires, worldly ambition, and comfort. It resisted surrendering control and kept pulling him backwards, saying "Not yet" to God.

2. The Will of Grace (The New Will): The desire for divine truth, holiness, purity, and spiritual obedience. It called him forward to surrender completely to Christ

Augustine experienced this conflict as a divided heart—his intellect recognised God's truth, his ingrained habits and fears of losing pleasure kept him bound until grace broke the impasse in the garden.

We too must examine our hearts and ask the hard question, “Are we too saying 'Not yet’?” Are we fearful of losing what gives us gratification, but not fulfilment, necessarily? Do we shy away from prayer because we feel prayer only brings a life of abstinence? Have we experienced what it is to abstain and be free from what holds us shackled to ingrained habits that persist? For those who have broken free, life is truly divine.

-        Mathew Anthony

Reflections - Blood and Water

Blood and Water

Eucharist and Baptism

Jesus and ‘few’ of his disciples were invited to the wedding at Cana in Galilee. It was only a few weeks since Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. His ministry had just about begun. All twelve were yet to be chosen. The hosts were very close to Jesus’ mother Mary.

Mary, told Jesus, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” (Jn 2:4).  

Running out of wine or food at a wedding did not augur well for the host’s family. It had the potential to forever damage their reputation in a highly hierarchical society, with implications for the bridal couple going forward. 

If there is one event that keeps a busybody busy it’s a proposal of marriage and until its aftermath. A marriage, generally, brings two unknowns together – families, their extended families, and the bridal couple. It also involves the ‘touchy’ subject of ‘dowry’.  

Any slip-up on the part of the host is ‘grist to the mill’. The busybody will go to town with it. And, for decades it will be spoken off with each broadcaster adding his own spice to make it spicier to the listening ears. Propagation is the test of its ‘meatiness’. Today it is called ‘going viral’.  

The issue was serious enough for Jesus’ mother Mary to goad Jesus into action. Jesus obliged. It was going to be His first ‘public miracle’.

His first ‘private’ miracle, the miraculous catch of fish (Lk 5:1-11), if it had failed none would have known of it. But, at the wedding feast of Cana, there were several eyes trained on Him. Jesus had confidence that His Father in heaven would not let Him down. His Father had sent Him to earth for this purpose. ‘Be human, do divine’. Until the water turned to wine it was touch and go. It did. Jesus’ public ministry was born. Also, his death knell. His call to Gethsemane, Calvary and the Cross. 

The ‘red’ of the wine signifying ‘blood’ and the ‘water’ that turned into wine would be a recurring theme in the Word of God.

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool. (Isaiah 1:18)

David’s cried to God after Nathan the prophet indicts him for adultery with Bathsheba, and murder of her husband, Uriah (2 Samuel 11:5-27), “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (Ps 51:7)

The most striking is John 19:34, “But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.”

It is reckoned that the thrust of the spear between the ribs on the right side, pierced Jesus’ lung which had accumulated water due to asphyxiation as Jesus hung on the cross; the spear also pierced the pericardial sac surrounding the heart containing fluid. Hence, the water with the blood, when only blood should have spurted out on piercing.  

St Thomas Aquinas, one of the Doctors of the Church, who along with St Augustine influenced the thinking of the Catholic Church significantly, commenting on John 19:34, had the following to say on the water and blood that came out of Jesus pierced side:

“Another reason why this happened was to show that by the passion of Christ, we acquire a complete cleansing from our sins and stains. We are cleansed from our sins by his blood, which is the price of our redemption:

“You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things, such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or sport” (1 Pet 1:18).

“And we are cleansed from our stains by the water, which is the bath of our rebirth: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanliness” (Ezra 36:25);

“On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanliness” (Zach 13:1). And so, it is these two things which are especially associated with the two sacraments: water with the sacrament of baptism, and blood with the Eucharist.”

Jesus hesitated to perform His public ministry at the wedding feast of Cana. He would have hesitated ever after if not for the nonchalance of Mary to Jesus’ protestation. “Do whatever he tells you”, Mary told the servants. (Jn 2:5).

Was it indeed nonchalance on Mary’s part? Mary too knew what was to come. For the words of Simeon was indelibly marked on her heart since Jesus was an infant. “And a sword will pierce your very soul.” (Lk 2:35)

The ‘Bias for Action’ is so important in our life. If we hesitate, we vegetate. ‘A Stitch in Time Saves Nine’. Was it from Aesop’s Fables?

Momentum is very important to life. Once you have it more can be achieved, faster. When you lose it, to start again, takes immense effort.

All actions revolve around having a positive mindset. The positive mindset basically says: do it and it will happen. It stands to reason that if our mind says, ‘it will not happen’, we are hardly likely to do. “So as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverb 23:7)

Jesus said, ‘faith the size of a mustard can move mountain’. (Mt 17:20). St Paul built in a qualifier of sorts, a very important one, to inculcate the ‘Bias for Action’.

“If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Co 13:2)

Love is purposeful and fulfilling; and a driver that propels human being to achieve the impossible. Scale the peaks; Scrape the bottom.

Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, climbed the highest peak on earth, Mount Everest, on 29 May 1953 – the first time ever. 

Sister Mary (Mother) Teresa at age 38, December 1948 ‘waded into the Calcutta slums’ - for the first time ever - giving roots and the core essence to the Missionaries of Charity (MC), ‘tending to the sick and those dying in poverty.’

All action that succeeds come from a purpose. Without purpose and meaning that is ‘larger than ourselves’ it is difficult to persist in the face of difficulties and opposition. All of which is par for the course when the purpose is big, meaningful, and capable of creating significant impact.

For Jesus man’s salvation from sin and unity with God the Father on earth and in eternity, was all important, even if meant bearing insufferable insults and beatings, exhaustion to the point of falling down with the heavy cross nearly crushing Him, and shedding his innocent blood on the Cross. To rise again to “bruise your head” (Gen 3:15); the head of Satan.

Internationally renowned psychiatrist, Victor E Frankl, who wrote the best seller, Man’s Search for Meaning, endured years of unspeakable horror in Nazi death camps (at Auschwitz).

He writes about Father Maximillian Kolbe, who was at Auschwitz too, “was starved and finally murdered by an injection of carbolic acid… and who in 1983 was canonized.” Father Kolbe had stood in for another prisoner chosen for execution. I recall the presenter saying during our visit to the Auschwitz camp in April 2019, that the prisoner pleaded he had family back home prompting Father Kolbe to offer himself in his place.

Victor Frankl admonishes his students, and we may well be the students deserving of the admonishment:

“Don’t aim at success – the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.

“Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring for it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see in the long run – in the long run, I say! – success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think of it.”

Victor Frankl survived the horror of the camp by thinking of his unfinished manuscript which he had carried in his pocket when he was arrested and taken to Auschwitz. When he arrived at the camp, his coat was taken away and he was given another coat of a prisoner who was executed.

In the pocket, he found a single page torn containing the words: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” As a Jew. it was a source of great strength for him entering the ‘death’ camp.

He kept the hopes of his fellow prisoners alive by telling them to think of the loved one’s waiting for them back home or whatever unfinished but meaningful agenda that they had left behind.

He also writes in “tragic optimism” that many who survived just thinking of their loved ones or unfinished projects never found them when they returned home. They had to find another meaningful anchor to continue with their life.   

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” - Viktor E. Frankl

In all things, to be successful, ‘Bias for Action’ is important. This characteristic was embodied by Mother Mary goading Jesus to turn 'water into wine' to protect the reputation of the host at the wedding feast of Cana, from which we have drawn the theme of Blood and Water representing the Eucharist and Baptism.

Victor Frankl was also a 'driven' man, keeping the hopes of his fellow prisoners alive by being positive and affirmative of the future. 

The impetus for 'Bias for Action' is believing it can be done. Mother Mary's trust in Jesus' divine power. Victor Frankl trust in his theory of finding an anchor to hang on, to survive the worst brutality and the pervasive 'shadow of death' in the Nazi concentration camp. 

Loving what you do, helps to see it through.

Wednesday, 06 May 2020