THE WORD AND THE SAINT
August 27, 2021: Celebrating Monica, the Saintly Mother
1 Thessalonians 4: 1-8; Matthew 25: 1-13
St. Monica, was a saintly mother - to begin with, a lay person; a mother, and a simple mother and not some queen or foundress of a religious congregation! She was a simple, household woman, who not only remained a holy person, but brought her straying son to the path of holiness. What a powerful conviction it should have been, to have led the person to holiness and made her lead her son too, to the same path divine!
The generation today is like the 'foolish' maids who were so blissfully unaware of the problem that was coming their way...they were all there for the wedding, the very wedding they will be missing out on. They took obvious things for granted...they thought their lamps will go on burning endlessly: what a foolish thinking. How will it go on burning if you don't feed the fire. The generation today, is doing the minimum with regard to spiritual life and faith life - thinking that it will go on endlessly, that it will automatically become deeper as days go by! How can it, unless you feed the fire?
Just like Saint Monica, the generation that is taking care of the younger generation, are called to make them aware of the need to feed the fire, and not remain clueless about the fire of faith, the fire of spiritual union with God, the fire of true striving towards holiness which can dwindle off anytime! For that, the elder generation first of all, have to keep their fire burning bright, and then instruct the following generation to make efforts to keep theirs burning and to constantly feed the fire!