S he prayed.  She waited.  She watched for the opportunity to present itself. She stayed awake!

Memorial of Saint Monica

1 Thessalonians 3:7-13

Psalm 90:3-5a, 12-13, 14 and 17

M atthew 24:42-51 Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. (43) But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. (44) Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (45) "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? (46) Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. (47) Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. (48) But if that wicked servant says to himself, `My master is delayed,' (49) and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken, (50) the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, (51) and will punish him, and put him with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.

* Meditation by Brian Kokensparger 

I recently attended the funeral service for Rev. Robert Berry, III, a great man who had been one of my co-workers at Creighton University and an active Daily Reflection writer. He passed away at the young age of 54, after a brief and unexpected illness.

Bob had been a highly effective laborer in Jesus’ vineyard, fully engaged as a programmer/analyst at Creighton and as an associate minister at his home church.  One day he was at work, living his active life.  The next day he was in the hospital, with only a few more days to live.

Throughout the service, a common theme rang true:  We do not know when our hour will come.  We all hope to live a “full” life, whatever that means for our personal temperament and culture.  For some of us, our lives will be shorter than we expect.

“Stay awake!”

There it is, in today’s Gospel, standing emphatically on its own.  One of the few direct orders we get from Jesus.

“Stay awake!”

Luckily, the Reverend Berry was at his post, fighting the good fight, when his time came.  I have no doubt that the Master was pleased with him in all aspects of his life.

Yet, it’s difficult not to put myself into his shoes.  If my hour comes today, will I be ready?  Will I be awake?  What exactly does Jesus mean about staying awake?  Does he mean to not sleep?  That doesn’t sound healthy.

Saint Monica, whom we memorialize today, had the type of life one would not expect to produce a saint.  She lived with a tyrannical husband, who did not believe in Christianity.  It’s not clear what the limits of his abuse were, but suffice it to say that Saint Monica was able to speak with conviction to the other women of her day, many of whom were in the same perilous situation.

One of the primary issues for Monica was the baptism of her children, the oldest of whom was Saint Augustine (who will be memorialized tomorrow).  As her husband was a non-believer, it was a constant battle for Monica to get his permission to have their children baptized (especially Augustine, who had left home and had become a Manichæist). Yet, after several years, they were eventually baptized Christian.  How?

She prayed.  She waited.  She watched for the opportunity to present itself.

She stayed awake!

We cannot dictate the hour we are called back to the Lord, but we can decide what to do with the hours we have until that appointed time.   Should we spend them groggily staggering through the humdrum of our daily lives, or join Saint Monica in watching and waiting for the opportunity to do our assigned Christian duties?

* Supplementary Reading

THE PoWER of THE lITTlE THINGS

. . . it becomes a large bush…. – Matthew 13:32

Many times in my life, I have been like a John the Baptist.

I experienced doing many pioneering tasks that I felt the Lord was calling me to do. He inspired me and another friend to organize a community for special children in our parish. He also called me, a single woman, to form the family and life ministry there. He asked me to organize a small prayer group among sales ladies in our village commercial center. Even in the workplaces He sent me to, I often was a pioneering employee, someone who started a work unit, set up systems and so on.

Sometimes, I wonder, how could He trust me with such things when I am the quiet and shy type who’d rather work silently in the background? Yet, He continues to call me to more ground-breaking tasks. So I, too, continue to heed His soft whispers in my heart, knowing that He uses mightily the little things that I do to bless His people. Tess Atienza

REFLECTION:

How comfortable are you in doing small, unnoticeable acts for the Lord?

Use me, Lord, like a writer uses his pen. It remains hidden in his pocket when not in use, but when put to use, its power becomes limitless.