Sunday, August 31, 2025

Homilies

Live Each Moment for God
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M.
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Live Each Moment for God

Homily for Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Today the church celebrates the life of St. Augustine, a Doctor of the Church and the Bishop of Hippo (now Annaba, Algeria). As a young man, he lived a life of hedonism, rejecting the Christian faith of his mother. In his autobiography, St. Augustine describes his journey to conversion, saying that although he wanted to follow Jesus, he was not ready to give up his sinful ways. Famously, he prayed, “Lord, make me chaste, but not yet.” After many years of searching for truth, he experienced a radical conversion and changed his life.

The Gospel text for today reminds us that we do not know when Jesus will return, or when our lives will end. Each moment, we are presented with the choice of how to live; namely, in a way that leads to God or away from Him. Some days it is difficult to make that choice. Based with temptations or doubts or the consequences of sin, we turn to prayer to help us overcome them. Augustine’s words are helpful as are the words of a father who asked Jesus for help. “Lord, I believe, help me in my unbelief.”

Every moment of our life counts. The story of the unfaithful servant underscores that truth. St. Augustine’s life after his conversion was marked with many temptations and persecutions, yet he still chose to follow Jesus by living a life of radical love. Like him, we can prepare ourselves to meet Jesus by living a life of prayer, listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist. Through God’s grace, we can stand firm in the faith and live each moment for God.

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