This is just a reminder that First Saturday Devotions is this coming Saturday, September 1st. What better way is there to spend Labor Day weekend than with the Lord! I invite you to come this Saturday and experience God's endless beauty. I hope to see you there!

For more information, go to St. Joseph's Holy Family website at www.stjosephsholyfamily.org.

"You have made us for Yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in You."

These are the words of Saint Augustine, whose feast we celebrate today. If you read yesterday's post, you would already know much about this interesting saint - that he had a wonderful mother who cared deeply for him and that he didn't start out as a saintly man.

Though he was raised a Christian, he fell away from the faith, becoming prideful and believing in other teachings. Impurity was the major thing he struggled with. A famous prayer of his was, "Give me chastity and continence, but not yet."

Augustine converted in his early thirties. Even when he finally believed that Christianity is the true religion, he still found difficulty in living the faith.

One day, Augustine flung himself out into the garden and cried out to God, "How long more, O Lord? Why does not this hour put an end to my sins?" Just then he heard a child singing, "Take up and read!" Thinking that God wanted him to hear those words, he picked up the book of the Letters of Saint Paul, and read the first passage he glanced at. It was just what Augustine needed, for in it, Saint Paul says to put away all impurity and to live in imitation of Jesus. From that day on, Augustine began living only for Christ.

Augustine was baptized and became a priest and then a magnificent bishop. He wrote a book (Confessions of Saint Augustine) and many other writings concerning the faith. A friend of his described him as one who ate sparingly, worked tirelessly, despised gossip, and shunned the temptations of the flesh.

 

"Do what you can and pray for what you cannot, and so God will grant you the ability to do it."

So even though Augustine didn't begin his life as a very holy man, he still became a saint and someone of true greatness. He inspires us even now and gives hope to those who have turned away from God. May his example remind us that we should never give up on anyone and that God's forgiveness is always true and there for us.

"Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. For it was pride that changed angels into devils. And it is humility that makes men as angels."

Prayer by Saint Augustine to the Holy Spirit

 

 

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen.

Today we celebrate the life of Saint Monica. She is well-known for her immense perseverance in prayer. She lived with a husband who had a violent temper and was licentious. Her son, who we know as Saint Augustine, lived a very immoral and unchristian life. But Monica prayed daily for the conversion of her family. Inspired by Monica's saintly example and through her abundant prayers, her husband was baptized a year before his death. Augustine was seventeen at the time. Monica prayed earnestly and fasted for the conversion of her son, who accepted the Manichean heresy and lived with a mistress for many years. 

Monica banned Augustine from her house for a time, and she grew hopeless about the conversion of her beloved son. In her sorrow, a bishop comforted her, saying, "Don't worry, it is impossible that a son of so many tears should be lost."

When Augustine was about thirty-three, Monica had the joy of witnessing her prayers being fulfilled. Augustine converted and was baptized on Easter with several of his friends.  Not long after, Monica fell ill and suffered severely for nine days before her death. But she lived to see her son find peace with God.

Monica is a perfect model of patience and persistence. She is the patron saint of mothers, grandmothers, and alcoholics. Let us pray through the intercession of Saint Monica for our family members and loved ones who have fallen away from the practice of our faith, so that they may return to God with open hearts.

Prayer to Saint Monica

Exemplary Mother of the great Augustine,
you perseveringly pursued your wayward son
not with wild threats but with prayerful cries to heaven.
Intercede for all mothers in our day
so that they may learn to draw their children to God.
Teach them how to remain close to their children,
even the prodigal sons and daughters
who have sadly gone astray.
Amen.

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today is the Memorial in honor of the Queenship of Mary. This memorial is placed an octave (eight days) after we celebrated Mary's Assumption into Heaven.
During Pope Benedict XVI's weekly general audience, he said that Mary’s queenship is a “consequence of her being united with her son, her being in heaven, in communion with God."
From heaven, she participates in God’s love for the world, the Holy Father said. She “watches over us, her children; children who turn to her in prayer to thank her or to ask for her maternal protection and her heavenly assistance, perhaps after losing the way, oppressed by suffering or anguish."
“Devotion to Mary is an important element of the spiritual life,” the pope said. “Gazing upon her, let us imitate her faith, her full openness to God’s plan of love, her generous welcoming of Jesus. Let us learn to live from Mary.”

Mary being crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth.

Welcome to St. Joseph's Holy Family, Inc.'s first blog post ever! Today is the feast of St. Edith Stein or Teresa Benedicta of the Cross as was her Carmelite name.

Above is a picture from Auschwitz. I cannot even describe the experience. One surely needed superhuman strength to brave the exposure, starvation, and mostly the lack of hope in these concentration camps. What a champion for women, for Christianity, for Judaism, for love was Edith Stein!