My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, may the peace of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Saint Augustine of Canterbury is the saint that we honour today, and that we allow to speak to our own lives so that we too can do amazing things for the Lord. But most of all, so that we can love him more profoundly.
Saint Augustine was a Benedictine monk sent by Pope Gregory the Great in the year 597 — not to be mistaken for Saint Augustine of Hippo, who came 200 years earlier. But this Saint Augustine of Canterbury was sent by the Pope to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons in England.
The Pope was hoping that this man, a man of great wisdom and of great piety and holiness, could break through. In such a time, much of England had fallen back into paganism after the collapse of Roman Christianity there.
And so Augustine arrived with only a small group of monks, really uncertain of what awaited them, and initially even wanted to turn back because the mission seemed impossible.
We’ve heard that before, right? Mission impossible.
But nothing will be impossible to God.
Gregory encouraged them to persevere.
What is extraordinary about Augustine’s story is not simply that he became the first Archbishop of Canterbury, but that he succeeded in bringing Christianity back into an entire land that appeared spiritually lost.
He ended up baptizing King Æthelberht of Kent and established churches and monasteries, and laid the foundations of English Christianity that would shape saints, scholars, and missionaries for centuries afterward.
The readings that we have for his Mass today fit him beautifully.
In the first reading, Saint Paul speaks of preaching the Gospel not for praise, greed, power, or monetary gain, but with the tenderness of a mother sharing, and I quote, “not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well” (1 Thessalonians 2:8).
My brothers and sisters, what will it profit us if we speak wonderfully about the goodness of God and everything that he’s done and everything that he wishes us to do, and yet we ourselves do not embrace his words wholeheartedly?
And it is a work in progress. It’s a lifelong process in which the Holy Spirit chisels away at our souls so that we can embrace the Word of God more and more in our lives.
Saint Augustine did exactly this. He collaborated with the Holy Spirit.
We just celebrated Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and our Blessed Mother, but also the descent of the Holy Spirit upon each and every one of us.
Saint Augustine allowed the Holy Spirit to work within him, to speak to him, and also to love him.
You know, sometimes we think of the Holy Spirit as this abstract wind, or of course, the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that he isn’t a person, that he’s just an energy. But how wrong they are.
Jesus spoke about him as an Advocate, a Consoler, the one who would give us the truth, the one who accompanies us, who loves us. And energy cannot simply become a person. A person loves.
And so Saint Augustine allowed himself to be loved by the Holy Spirit so that he did not conquer England politically or militarily, but he won hearts patiently, gently, and pastorally, imbued with the Spirit of God.
And then in the Gospel, Jesus sees the crowds as, and I quote, “troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36), and he calls for labourers for the harvest.
Saint Augustine of Canterbury is one of the great answers to that prayer of Jesus.
He crossed seas into an unknown culture because Christ’s heart was moved with pity for souls who had no shepherd. Just as Jesus traversed the waters and came to that crowd, so too Saint Augustine made these journeys for the sake of the Kingdom of God, for his glory, for his people.
What makes his story extraordinary is that he reminds us that one fearful monk, if obedient to God, can change the spiritual destiny of an entire nation.
Be of good heart, my brother and sister. The Lord is working something wonderful and great and amazing — even incredible and impossible — through you, if you continue clinging to his hand as he walks with you through the valley of darkness.
“We shall fear no evil, for you are at our side” (Psalm 23:4).
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lectionary: 571
Below are the readings suggested for today's Memorial. However, readings for the Memorial may also be taken from the Common of Pastors: For Missionaries, #719-724.
Reading 1
Brothers and sisters:
We drew courage through our God
to speak to you the Gospel of God with much struggle.
Our exhortation was not from delusion or impure motives,
nor did it work through deception.
But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the Gospel,
that is how we speak,
not as trying to please men,
but rather God, who judges our hearts.
Nor, indeed, did we ever appear with flattering speech, as you know,
or with a pretext for greed–God is witness–
nor did we seek praise from men,
either from you or from others,
although we were able to impose our weight as Apostles of Christ.
Rather, we were gentle among you,
as a nursing mother cares for her children.
With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you
not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well,
so dearly beloved had you become to us.
Responsorial Psalm
- (3) Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Alleluia
- Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest."
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