This Sunday, August 23, 2020, we celebrate the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time. Our Gospel is actually divided into two parts. The first part deals with Jesus asking his disciples: "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They tell Jesus that the people think he is a prophet, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah." Jesus asks them "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." That's the first part of the reading. Peter tells us that Jesus is the Son of God. In the second part of the Gospel Jesus tells us about Peter. He says Peter is the rock upon which he will build his church and says "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven." That is why in images of Peter, we often see him with a set of large keys. It is also popular that when talking about entering heaven, we usually see the Peter sitting at the gates of heaven checking people in. Of course as Catholics we also believe the Pope is the successor of Peter and so is the head of the church today. We should all pray for Pope Francis as he leads the church on our pilgrim journey.
Later this week on the 28th, we celebrate the Patron of our church, St. Augustine. He was born in Tagaste, Africa. His mother was St. Monica and his father was a pagan. But after thirty years of prayer, she obtained the conversion of her husband and under the guidance of St. Ambrose, she won the conversion of her eldest son, St. Augustine. She is the patroness of mothers. Augustine led a dissolute life, but at 33 he received baptism from St. Ambrose. Later he was elected bishop of Hippo. Many of his writings are still available today. He is most noted for his "Confessions" and "City of God." He is considered a founder of monastic life in the West, his Rule is observed by 100 religious communities today. He is one of the four great doctors of the Latin Church and is called "Doctor of Grace." His heart was restless until he found rest in God. Let's thank God for this great patron. Truer words were never spoken: Our hearts are restless until they find rest in God. Remember St. Monica on Thursday and St. Augustine on Friday.
We still have our two Masses on Sundays at 8:15 and 10:30 AM, with about 15 people at each Mass. All are well spaced and masked. If you are sick or have someone at home with the virus, we ask you to stay home and pray there. Please pray for an end to the virus. Pray that Notre Dame will get the virus under control. Pray for the sick of the parish. Pray for all our students and teachers.
I want to thank all of you who miss coming to church for your prayers. I also want to thank all who are still sending in their envelopes by mail or through the Diocesan Webpage. If you use the diocesan webpage, please remember to mark your donation to go to St. Augustine's.
This Sunday there will be a Zoom Prayer at 1 PM for going back to school. Join us if you can.