Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Memorial of Saint Monica

LECTIONARY
428

FIRST READING

1 COR 1:1-9

Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Sosthenes our brother,
to the Church of God that is in Corinth,
to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

PSALM

145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Response: I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.

Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous works.

They discourse of the power of your terrible deeds
and declare your greatness.
They publish the fame of your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice.

GOSPEL

MT 24:42-51

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this:
if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant,
whom the master has put in charge of his household
to distribute to them their food at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.
Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’
and begins to beat his fellow servants,
and eat and drink with drunkards,
the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day
and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely
and assign him a place with the hypocrites,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

Daily Reflection

To explain faithfulness, the Gospel of today uses the image of a household servant. Faithful servants diligently administer their duties, they don’t need constant monitoring and they protect the master’s belongings from jealous eyes. Simply put, they work as though the household is their very own and upon his return, the master rewards them by placing them over everything he owns.

Saint Monica fits this profile perfectly. Though married off young to the pagan, Patricius, who, with his mother, belittled Monica’s Christian beliefs, she remained faithful in prayer coupled with intense works of charity, and brought about the conversion of both a year before Patricius’ death.

Monica’s son, the future Saint Augustine, was an even bigger challenge. He was lost in worldly philosophies and pleasures and Monica’s prayers and charity had no effect. Disheartened, she drove away her son. Yet the words of a bishop - “the child of your tears shall never perish” - added to her prayerful vigilance, the grace of pursuit of the sinner. Monica travelled far to get back her son, and finally, with the help of St. Ambrose, succeeded after Augustine’s seventeen-year resistance.

A faithful servant never looks at the time; they focus on faithfulness.