You alone I have chosen for my whole inheritance.

God is the ultimate source of fulfillment, joy, and security. 

Trust in God, prioritizing Him above all else.

 

St. Augustine of Canterbury, bishop, religious

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

 

 

Acts 16:22-34

So they set the crowd

Against them; and the officials tore the clothes off Paul and Silas and ordered them to be flogged.

And after inflicting many blows on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to guard them safely.

Upon receiving these instructions, he threw them into the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

 

About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

Suddenly, a severe earthquake shook the place, rocking the prison to its foundations. Immediately,

all the doors flew open and the chains of all the prisoners fell off. The jailer woke up to see the prison gates wide open.

 

Thinking that the prisoners had escaped, he drew his sword to kill himself, but Paul shouted to him, "Do not harm yourself! We are all still here."

The jailer asked for a light, then rushed in, and fell at the feet of Paul and Silas.

After he had secured the other prisoners, he led them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊       

John 16:5-11

But now I am going to the One who sent me, and none of you asks me where I am going;

instead you are overcome with grief, because of what I have said.

Believe me, it is better for you that I go away, because as long as I do not go away,

the Helper will not come to you. But if I go away, I will send him to you,

and when he comes, he will vindicate the truth before a sinful world;

 

and he will vindicate the paths of righteousness and justice.

What is the world's sin in regard to me? Disbelief. What is the path of righteousness?

It is the path I walk, by which I go to the Father; and you shall see me no more.

What is the path of justice? It is the path on which the prince of this world will always stand condemned,

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Plant the seeds of God's Word of love."

Saint Augustine and his fellow missionary monks were not the first to bring the Gospel to British shores.

His, rather, was a reviving and expansion of what had gone before. Pope Gregory the Great had great missionary zeal as Pope,

and so he chose Augustine, a fellow monk from his community to lead a small group to the Kingdom of Kent. However,

they almost didn't reach their destination, as the monks took fright at the enormity of the task.

 

The example of Saint Augustine of Canterbury teaches us that we overcome our missionary fear through confidence in Christ.

Moreover, just as Pope Francis has called the Church to reach out to the margins,

so did Gregory the Great in sending Augustine to a land where Christianity had dwindled. Mission is not only about breaking new ground,

but is also about turning over and refreshing soil that has been left fallow.

We are to reach out to those who are on the margins of society, and plant the seeds of God's Word of love,

so that they might flourish. May our love of Christ also rekindle the flame of faith in others who have lost heart through the challenges of life.