Spiritual Reflection

Today is the feast of St. Augustine, one of the great saints in our history.  He is famous for so many things but one fact stands out and that is the persistence of his mother, St. Monica.  Augustine was basically a pagan and his mother prayed continually for his conversion.  She finally got her prayers answered and Agustine became not only a Bishop but one of our greatest writers.

Two things have always stood out for me when St. Augustine is referred to.  The first is that he is quoted to have said that “We are Easter people and Alleluia is our song.”  He thought there was too much attention on the Good Friday story without the Easter, the Resurrection story getting much attention.  Perhaps he was way ahead of his time.  Too much focus on the misery, suffering and our weaknesses keeps us form the JOY of the Easter reality.  The second was that he was quoted saying he didn’t know how to define LOVE.  He wrote that he knew what it looked like; eyes that see the plight of others, ears that hear their cry for help and hearts always open to love.  So, even though he never really defined it, he knew it.  He left the definition to St. Thomas Aquinas who said to love is to bring out the best in the other.  Both saints inspire us and help us get ready to love.