1 Cor 1:17-25, Ps 33:1-2,4-5,10-11, Mt 25:1-13
The memorial of St. Monica happens this week. Usually, I talk just about the readings and not a particular saints memorial. But today Monica is a perfect example of what our readings are trying to tell us.
St. Monica, as you all probably know, was the mother of St. Augustine who is one of the most influential Bishops and Doctors of the Church. He lived from 354 to 430. His mother Monica is important because Augustine was a real playboy of his time. He drank, partied, carried on with women and wouldn’t have anything to do with the religious faith of his mother. All of which shows life hasn’t changed so much in 1,600 years. Augustine even had a son but was never married.
I point all this out because like most mothers Monica never gave up on her son. She was deeply wounded but for all Augustine’s bad behavior she continued to pray and fast and appeal to God that her son would mend his ways and be converted to Christianity. She stayed with him as he moved from Algiers in North Africa to Rome and Milan. Finally, with the influence of St. Ambrose, Augustine was converted and returned to North Africa giving away all he had and living a life of prayer and later leadership in the Church. It was his mother Monica who stayed the course and never gave up praying and working for her son’s conversion.
Today’s readings are about that kind of devotion. The kind of connection that doesn’t waver even when it doesn’t seem to make sense. For Matthew, the parable of the ten virgins is that story of perseverance. Will they do what is needed to be ready even though they have no idea when the bridegroom is coming? Monica would have had no way to know if her son, Augustine, would ever change yet her prayer and life of example was consistent. She was there doing what she could do until Augustine was touched by the word of God. We can say she came prepared with enough oil for the long wait. The oil in Matthew is not something the wise virgins could have shared with their foolish companions. The wise virgins were wise because they had the kind of resources to be ready, to keep going while others, we would say, “ran out of gas.” When we use that phrase don’t mean people are actually fueled by gas but rather the source of their energy and willingness to keep going gave out. That’s Matthew’s point too. The question of the gospel is will we “run out of gas” in our practice of faith? Will the energy behind our devotion to Christ sustain us or not?
The reading from Paul isn’t talking about long term readiness, rather Paul is concerned about whether the source of our devotion or commitment is authentic. If we hope to have the kind of perseverance that Monica had, Paul is arguing it can’t be based on some normal rational argument. It is not head knowledge or analysis that convinces people to be Christian. It is devotion to a person. It is the felt experience of a relationship with Jesus. That’s what sustained Monica. It is what converted Augustine. Seeking to be close to Jesus and knowing what it means to have a friend is the kind of experience that brings us to faith, sustains us in difficult times and gives us enough oil for our lamps.
