28th AUGUST. FRIDAY, WEEK 21

1.1Thessalonians 4:1-8

2.Matthew 25:1-13

Saint Augustine, Bishop and doctor of the Church.      

Augustine of Hippo, in Modern Tunisia,( 354-430), was converted to Christianity and baptized in 387. A lawyer by training, he developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and perspectives. Believing that the grace of Christ was indispensable to authentic freedom, he formulated the doctrine of original sin and made seminal contributions to theology, including just war theory. When the western Roman Empire begun to disintegrate , Augustine developed the concept of the Catholic Church as a spiritual City of God in a 20- Volume work that profoundly influenced the medieval world view and the scholastic theology of Thomas Aquinas.

MEDITATIONS AND REFLECTIONS

In our daily life procrastination has become part and parcel of our lives. Some people want to enjoy life now, but promise to change later. Even St. Augustine admitted that he " wanted to be good but not yet." Wasting time is wasting ourselves.

Jesus reminds us several times in the gospel to be always prepared ready for both the end of the world and one's own death. As William Barclay in his analysis of the parable of ten virgins, he comments and reminds us of two important truths.

1.Some things cannot be gotten instantaneously but take time. For instance, studying for exams or expressing thanks to those who helped us take time. In case of an accident, there may not be enough time to receiving the last rites or even to make an act of contrition.

2.Certain things cannot be borrowed. You cannot borrow from others a relationship with God. He may say: " I do not know you." Having a pious mother or spouse, even a priest or nun in the family, is not enough. What we do or how we ourselves related to God and to others is what counts. Everybody in this context is invited to play his/her part.  It should not be taken for granted that others will play our part meanwhile we are relaxing.

Those who were prepared were wise, those unprepared were foolish. God's ways sometimes seen foolish to people in this world. St. Paul says: " God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom." It is always wise to be ready. The moral lesson of the gospel is, " keep awake, for you know not the day nor the hour."As Christians being baptized is not a guarantee of being ready to welcome Jesus on his return. No matter how many excuses may explain the failure, nonetheless, we let go an important opportunity that will never come back in our lives. We need the repeated reminder, " watch, for you know not the day nor the hour."

Let us have a lesson from today's gospel that there are certain things that cannot be done without preparations. There are certain things that cannot be done at the last moment. For example it is impossible for a student to prepare for exams at the last most minute of the examination day. In all our walks of life nothing can be accomplished or done well without having the recourse of various exercises and experiences.  For example, a person cannot get the right kind of character, strength and skill required for a task at hand  unless they already possess it, such as those pursuing medicine, they cannot do it well unless they undergo training, and medicinal practice. As we await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we need always to be spiritually prepared.