Aug 28 – Memorial for St. Augustine, bishop, doctor
After investigating and experimenting with several philosophies, Augustine (354-430) became a Manichaean for several years; it taught of a great struggle between good and evil, and featured a lax moral code. A summation of his thinking at the time comes from his Confessions: “God, give me chastity and continence – but not just now.”
Augustine finally broke with the Manichaeans and was converted by the prayers of his mother and the help of St. Ambrose of Milan, who baptised him. Upon the death of his mother, he returned to Africa, sold his property, gave the proceeds to the poor, and founded a monastery. He founded religious communities and fought heresies. His later thinking can also be summed up in a line from his writings: Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you.
1 Cor 1:17-25
Mt 25:1-13
“Lord, Lord…open the door for us.”
Today’s readings are a not-so-gentle reminder to all of us that those of us who think we know the answers to everything may not actually have what it takes to enter the kingdom of heaven. In the first reading, St Paul reminds the Corinthians that “The language of the cross may be illogical to those who are not on the way to salvation’ for scripture says: ‘I shall destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing all the learning of the learned.’” Then in the gospel, we learn of how the foolish bridesmaids were unable to enter the feast because unlike the sensible ones, they were unprepared.
I was recently reminded of how we need to be prepared all the time – not just to live well, but also to depart well from this earth. I guess that means that as long as we are alive, we need to prepare ourselves for life in heaven. Sounds challenging isn’t it? After all, life on earth is already so hard to figure out; what more eternal life in heaven?
Just over two months ago, I served in a 3-day prayer retreat. And because I stayed in with some of the retreatants, I could start each morning earlier than required and ended up praying (variously sitting and kneeling on the wooden floor) in front of the Blessed Sacrament for a fair bit of time. Now, I do have my fair share of aches, pains and muscle stiffness and regularly need to stretch or go for the occasional sports massage. And since the beginning of the year, I have been managing slight mobility issues, with some pain in my left ankle and right hip.
At the end of the retreat, as the team was packing up, I stood up from my chair (sitting for long hours aggravates the stiffness and aches in my joints) and lo and behold, all my pain had dissipated. For a few seconds, I tried to rationalise it away – that I was imagining it – until I started to jump up and down on the spot and then hop on my weaker leg. I discovered that the pain in my ankle and hip had indeed disappeared and immediately claimed the healing. I have since shared this miracle with my own ministry Core team as well as the retreat director.
Since that day, I have been going for daily morning mass at my former parish. It was not a difficult decision to make…it just…happened; and continues. Because of that, I made the acquaintance of two other priests (the parish priest as well as his assistant) and have made confessions with them.
Brothers and sisters, these ‘doors’ would never have opened for me if I had not been open to His prompting and to His healing graces in the first place. Mind you, I had never asked for the healings in my prayers. They just happened. And as a consequence of that, I now attend daily mass – this was never a desire I had before. I see it as another ‘open door’ which God has afforded to me in this season of life where I am actively preparing for a form of ‘retirement’.
May we all learn to be more aware of His hand in our lives, and may we never forget that we are merely transiting here on earth; because as His beloved sons and daughters, we are destined for an even more fruitful, glorious life with the angels and saints.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Desmond Soon)
Prayer: Dear Lord, we ask for your continued graces to show us the way as we navigate the challenging paths ahead for each one of us. Give us the wisdom to discern your hand in our lives and to always be prepared.
Thanksgiving: Thank You, Abba Father, for always showing us the way.
OXYGEN 
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