August 28, 2014

St. Augustine, bishop

Matthew 24: 42-51

Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved. http://www.usccb.org/bible/approved-translations

God-Moments

“Stay awake!  For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” Growing up, I had a friend teach me about “God-Moments.” He said, “God-Moments are those times in your life when you can unexpectedly see God’s presence. These are the moments when God comes to you.” Within the past couple weeks my family welcomed the first grandchild, my niece.

The celebration of my niece’s birth is one of the greatest God-Moments I have experienced in my life. Despite my awareness of her arrival date, the impact her life has had on mine has been immeasurable and completely unexpected. The love I have for this little girl is unimaginable. Each time I see her and hold her, I can feel God holding me.

At times, my prayer is clouded by my desire to see God’s work in my life on my time.  Like St. Augustine, who speaks about his struggle to understand God’s concept of time in his Confessions, I too struggle and will occasionally forget God. Simply, my time does not equal God’s time. However, reflecting on the God-Moments in my life prepares my heart once again to be ready for the Lord to come. Seeing my niece giggle and smile reminds my heart to be open to receive God wholeheartedly.

—Lisa M. Sroka coordinates retreats and designs marketing materials for Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Barrington, IL. She is a Chicago vocalist and alum of Loyola University Chicago

Prayer

I call upon you, O God, my Mercy, who made me and did not forget me when I forgot you. I call you to come into my soul, for by inspiring it to long for you, you prepare it to receive You.

—from the Confessions of St. Augustine