August 28--St. Augustine of Hippo, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

      

Sinner, heretic, gambler, playboy, philosopher, teacher, penitent, monk, priest, bishop, saint.  All these describe the same person, St. Augustine.  St. Augustine was the most influential person in developing and explaining Church doctrine in the first millennia after the first century.  He helped make clear the doctrines of Original Sin, the Trinity, grace, free will, Baptism, and more.  He was one of the four original Doctors of the Latin Church along with St. Ambrose, St. Gregory, and St. Jerome.

However, before he converted he was an opponent of the Catholic Church, belonging to a heretical group that said we have two wills, one good and one evil.  He had a mistress and an illegitimate son.  He was ambitious for fame and glory.  But he was also a searcher for truth.  That commitment to the truth eventually led him back to the faith of his mother, St. Monica.  All this is recorded in his great autobiography, The Confessions, which tells of his sinful youth and eventual conversion.

One of his famous lines from The Confessions is, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O God."  God plants in our hearts the desire for God.  If we are faithful to that desire; if we are honestly searching for truth, we will find God already in our hearts.

August 21--St. Pius X, Pope

The first pope to be declared a saint in the 20th century was also the first pope elected in the 20th century, Pope St. Pius X.  He came from peasant stock, which was unusual among papal candidates.  He accomplished many things as pope:  he lowered the age for first reception of Communion and Penance to the age of reason; began Catholic Action, an organization for the laity to be involved in service to the community; condemned the heresy of Modernism, which asserted that dogma could evolve over time; codified canon (Church) law; encouraged frequent reception of the sacraments; and led a holy life worthy of example.

What can we hope to follow from such a saint?  Undoubtedly, his humility.  He knew who he was and was respectful of his origins from poor peasant parents.  That did not limit his abilities or his responsibilities to respond to the opportunities that God set before him.  He led the People of God to live lives of greater holiness by the frequent reception of the sacraments.  He changed the practice of receiving Communion from about the age of 13 or 14 to about seven so we could receive Jesus earlier and more often.  Attendance at daily Mass became more common.  

Humility is knowing who we are.  We are children of God and the way we grow in our identity as children of God is by coming closer to God, especially in the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion.  So let us humbly follow the example of Pope St. Pius X by frequently going to Confession and receiving the Eucharist.

August 11--St. Clare of Assisi, Virgin

According to some, the Catholic Church oppresses women.  Their arguments are based on the principles of the world: power, autonomy, absolute equality, etc.  In their minds, if the Church does not support women's "reproductive rights" or women priests or the ability to choose which gender one wishes to be and so forth, the Church is thus against women.

However, that flies in the face of all the Church has done for women throughout the last two millennia and as embodied by today's saint, St. Clare of Assisi.  St. Clare was a follower of St. Francis of Assisi and founder of the Second Order, the Poor Clares.  She also completely accepted the gift of poverty as Francis had. She set up a convent in Assisi with a Rule that she wrote, allowing them to be free from property, surviving by means of the alms given to them by the Franciscan brothers.  This was completely different from every other women's religious order and it was due to her courage and perseverance.

Women have been at the heart of the Church going back to the Virgin Mary and continuing with the first person to whom the risen Jesus revealed himself, Mary Magdalene, to great martyrs like Sts. Perpetua and Felicity to great teachers of the Church like St. Macrina and St. Hildegard, to great leaders and founders of convents and religious orders like St. Bridget, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Clare, Bl. Teresa of Calcutta, to great doctors of the Church like St. Teresa of Avila and St. Therese of Liseux, to mothers like St. Gianna Beretta Molla, who gave her life instead of taking her baby's.  Mary is our mother and the Mother of the Church.  Women have influenced us throughout our lives.  Let us follow St. Clare's courageous example and leadership to help us live lives of holiness and virtue.