Devotions from August 23 to 29, 2021
“Choose what to love and the rest will follow,” Saint Augustine used to say. His invitation is to put first the things that truly matter. Let us welcome it.
“Choose: do you want to love temporal things and be swept away by time along with them? Or is it not better to hate the world and live forever with God? […] Are you being violently dragged along by the force of the current? Cling to the wood. Is the love of the world sweeping you away? Hold fast to Christ. For you, he descended into time so that you might become eternal.” More fiery words from Augustine, the great saint whom we remember on Saturday the 28th, which encourage our reflection and challenge us with a question: what do we want to give priority to in our lives? Let us seriously question ourselves about this and ask for the intercession of the saints, especially those whom we remember this week. May their example guide us in establishing our scale of values and priorities. Let us choose what to love, give Christ lordship in our lives, and the rest will follow.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 24
Saint Bartholomew the Apostle
The Synoptic Gospels call him Bartholomew, while John identifies him as Nathanael. These are two names, the first understood as a patronymic (son of Talmai) and the second as a personal name, “gift of God.” When Philip announces that he has met Jesus, he objects: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (Jn 1:46). But Philip replies by inviting him to find out before passing judgment. “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit” (Jn 1:47), Jesus says, showing that he already knows him (“Before Philip called you, I saw you when you were under the fig tree”; Jn 1:48); Bartholomew’s response is a true profession of faith: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel!” (Jn 1:49). May this also be our profession of faith. During the day, let us repeat to Jesus: “You are the Son of God; you are the king.”
For further study:
• “On Your Word” daily missal, July-August 2021
• With living water. Liturgy of the Hours - July August
FRIDAY, 27 AUGUST
Santa Monica
She could not have had a more attentive and devoted biographer than Augustine, whom Monica (331-387) gave birth to twice, in the flesh and in the spirit: “She gave birth to me both through her flesh, so that I might come into the light of time, and through her heart, so that I might be born into the light of eternity.” Through prayer and goodness, she managed to convert her husband, who, although he loved her deeply, did not spare her bitterness. After becoming a widow, she devoted her care to Augustine, who was rebellious toward grace. She prayed and wept for him; she was constantly at his side, gentle and discreet, and, so as not to lose sight of him, followed him on his various journeys in Italy, to Rome and Milan. “It cannot be that the son of these tears should be lost,” a mysterious vision told her in a dream. And so it was.
Let us look to her example when we are worried about our children or grandchildren. Let us persevere in prayer, trusting that sooner or later God’s light will flood their hearts.
For further study:
• Saint Monica. A mother strong in piety
FRIDAY, 27 AUGUST
Beginning of the novena to Saint Teresa of Calcutta
“Mother Teresa found her greatest fulfillment and lived the noblest qualities of her femininity. She wished to be a ‘sign of God’s love, God’s presence, God’s compassion’ and, in this way, to remind everyone of the value and dignity of every child of God, ‘created to love and be loved.’ That was how Mother Teresa ‘brought souls to God and God to souls,’ quenching Christ’s thirst, especially that of the most needy, whose vision of God had been obscured by suffering and pain” (Saint John Paul II).
Let us invoke her intercession; may she also help us to “bring souls to God and God to souls,” she who reminds us that “holiness is not a luxury for the few, but a simple duty for you and me.”
For further study:
• Novenas to Mother Teresa of Calcutta
FRIDAY, 27 AUGUST
Beginning of the novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague of Arenzano
Today begins the novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague of Arenzano, whose devotion has its most vibrant center of propagation in Italy precisely at the sanctuary of Arenzano. Let us invoke the Child Jesus, welcoming him into our hearts so that, by imitating him in his simplicity and sustained by his divinity, we may enjoy the fruits of holiness.
For further study:
• Prayers to the Child Jesus
SATURDAY, 28 AUGUST
Saint Augustine
“Late have I loved you, beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved you. And behold, you were within me, and I was outside, and there I sought you…”; Augustine’s life is divided into two phases: first, the restless anxiety of one who, searching for the way, makes many mistakes, and then, having found the path, feels the ardent desire to reach the destination and embrace the beloved. In addition to the influence of his mother Monica, his encounter with Bishop Ambrose, from whom he received Baptism, was decisive. Elected Bishop of Hippo in 395, Augustine authored a monastic rule that influenced all subsequent rules of the Christian West. His writings remain an extraordinary expression of wisdom, establishing him as the greatest among the Fathers and Doctors of the Latin Church. Let us deepen our knowledge of his life and writings. Let us make his words resound in our hearts: “Choose what to love and the rest will follow”; may each of us undertake a serious journey of authentic conversion.
For further study:
• My Confessions
• The Christian life
Sunday, August 29
The Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist
John, “the greatest among those born of women,” according to Jesus’ praise, died as a victim for his faith in the values of messianic conversion that he had preached. Jesus heard the account of his martyrdom by beheading, which took place in the fortress of Machaerus on the Dead Sea, from the firsthand testimony of the Baptist’s disciples, including John the Evangelist and Andrew. John sealed his mission as forerunner with martyrdom. Herod Antipas, after imprisoning him, had him beheaded (Mark 6:17-29). The Baptist is the friend who rejoices with joy at the bridegroom’s voice and withdraws before Christ, the Sun of Justice (John 3:29-30). Since the fifth century, Jerusalem has celebrated the memorial of the Lord’s Forerunner on August 29. Let us turn to his intercession.
For further study:
• “On Your Word” daily missal, July-August 2021
“God, who created you without you, cannot save you without you,” Saint Augustine tells us. It is up to us to choose whether or not to embrace God’s plan for our lives. Let us repeat to ourselves these days: “Choose what to love and the rest will follow.”
