(School Mass): Feast of St. Monica (Fri., Aug. 27, 2004)

In our first reading this morning, St. Paul — the same St. Paul that our church and school are named after! — is writing to the people of Corinth. He tells them that the main reason that Jesus sent him was to preach and teach. And what is he supposed to preach and teach about? The cross.

There’s a wooden cross right over there next to the altar. And on that cross we see the body of Jesus. There’s a crucifix like that in every classroom in our school. Hopefully you’ve even got one in your bedroom at home. What is the lesson that St. Paul is talking about?

He says that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing — but to those of us who are being saved it is the power of God. In other words, somehow, if we believe in the message of the cross, Jesus will make us strong and show us how to get to heaven. But if we think it’s silly or not very important, then it means that we’re perishing. “Perishing” means “dying” or “being destroyed.”

This sounds pretty serious! Let’s see if we can figure out what St. Paul is trying to say.

The crucifix shows us that Jesus Christ was willing to give up his life out of love for all of us. He paid the price for everybody’s sins. God the Father was so pleased with this sacrifice, that he opened the gates to heaven so that everybody who wants to can get in. So the message of the cross is that even when something really bad happens —like having to die on a cross — God will use it for a good purpose: to help us get into heaven. But if we try to run away from the cross, then we’re going to miss out on God’s special help.

Now here’s how we’re supposed to use this lesson in our own life:

Let’s say that someone teases you or picks on you. If you believe in the message of the cross, then you will put up with it just the way Jesus put up with His suffering. So you might ignore the person, or forgive him, or pray for him.

But if you don’t believe in the message of the cross, then maybe you’ll call him a name back, or punch him, or do something else to get even. The thing that’s wrong with this is that instead of relying on God to take care of things for you, you say, “No! I don’t need God. I can take care of it all by myself.”

Or maybe your cross is having to study or do homework instead of going out to play. If you believe in the message of the cross, then you’ll say to yourself, “OK, I’m going to do my work even though it’s not what I’d really rather be doing” — and God will bless you for it. But if you ignore your school work just to have fun, then you know that your grades will go down, your parents won’t be happy with you, and you can have all kinds of trouble in school.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Monica. She lived a long time ago — 1700 years ago. She was the mother of Saint Augustine; tomorrow is his feast day.

St. Monica loved God very much and was a faithful Christian lady. But her husband did not believe in Jesus. And to make matters worse, he had a terrible temper. Monica was very loving and patient. She didn’t yell back at her husband. She put up with him and prayed for him very hard. God was happy with Monica, and before her husband died, he decided to become a Christian and get baptized. So Monica’s willingness to carry her cross saved her husband’s soul!

Was that the end of it for Monica? Oh no. She also found out that her son, Augustine, was living a bad, selfish life. He refused to go to church and committed many sins. Once again, Monica had to pick up her cross. She cried and prayed and offered penances for her son. She talked to priests and asked for advice and prayers. She never gave up on him. Then one day, after many years, Augustine was converted and he became a great priest and bishop and teacher of the Catholic faith — and a very famous saint, too.

It’s wonderful that our Church has saints like Monica who can give us a great example to follow. If you think that something that’s happening to you isn’t fair, or if it’s very painful or difficult, say a little prayer to St. Monica. She understands what you’re going through, and she’ll pray to God for you to make you stronger. And like St. Monica, we shouldn’t get discouraged if our prayers don’t get answered right away; we have to keep praying. Jesus promises us that if we ask, we shall receive.

So think about what St. Paul says about the cross. It’s the power of God in the hands of those who believe. Let’s all be believers! Amen.