Perseverance and Patience: Our Extra Fuel

Reflection on Today's Readings and the Memorial of St. Augustine, 21st Week in Ordinary Time Year II, Friday 28th August, 2020
Texts: 1Cor. 1:17-25; Ps. 33:11-2.4-5,10-11; Matt. 25:1-13
Today's gospel reading takes further the issue of waiting for the Lord. It tells us to be ever ready.  We need extra fuel to take us through. Patience and perseverance are the extra fuel that we need; they are the virtues we need to stay till the end. We need patience to bear the disappointment and difficulties; we need perseverance to continue in good work.
We also need perseverance to continue speaking about Christ and patience to bear the challenges. The first reading reminds us that what we all need is to speak about Christ. We need knowledge of Christ, not eloquence, to speak about Christ. We need loving personal relationship with him, not art of motivation, to speak about him. If we know him and love him we are good to speak about him. have lived in delusion for so long thinking that we need art of motivation, eloquence, philosophy, etc before we can speak about Christ. As we wait for him we need to persevere in speaking about him to people; we are to keep spreading the faith.
St. Augustine, whose memorial is today knew Christ and spoke about him to people. He was a ward child in his early life, but when he got converted, he thrived to know Christ and to love him with his whole heart. He became priest and later bisbop. In his confession he says, "Late have I loved you, O Beauty so ancient and so new; late have I loved you!" He knew Christ and loved him, and he committed his whole life speaking about him. His knowledge of Christ earned him the title, 'Doctor of Grace'. He is a doctor of the Church. He was a teacher of the true faith.
Today we are reminded to imbibe the virtues of patience and perseverance in seeking to know Christ and to love him. If we know him and love him we will  do nothing but to speak of him, his name will always be on our lips and in our hearts.

Lord our God, enlighten our intellect to know you that we might speak about you and keep spreading the faith. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke