By: Ivonne J. Hernandez

St. Ambrose spoke these words to a mother begging him to help guide her wayward son. The bishop, realizing the young man was not ready to receive instruction, denied her request but encouraged the woman, whom we now know as St. Monica, to keep praying for her son.

St. Monica is the patron Saint of alcoholics, conversions, mothers, and wives. Her steadfastness in faith is not only an example for us but a great source of grace.

Monica was no stranger to suffering. Before the seventeen years she spent praying for her son, she had already endured years of praying for the conversion of her husband and her mother-in-law. I wish we had her diary, but we don’t. We know parts of her story from what we read in her son’s diary.
​
In his Confessions, St. Augustine of Hippo writes:

From his point of view, he owes his conversion to her prayers. We would not have a Saint Augustine without Saint Monica. But I wonder, would we have a Saint Monica without Augustine? Would we have a Saint Monica without the waywardness of the son? 

As a mother, I often find comfort in the story of Monica and Augustine. When my heart is riven by worry for my children, I hear God speak to me through the words of St. Ambrose, reminding me that my tears, though hidden to most, are always seen by God. These tears not only water the ground my children walk on, but they also soften my heart for the work God is doing in my own soul. For the suffering God allows to come our way will always be for good; it will be for the greater glory of God.

By: Rick Hernandez

​I was talking to a friend who is a construction contractor. He is a finishing carpenter by trade but has become a construction superintendent over the years. He oversees the overall construction of homes. He spoke fondly of when he was just a carpenter; he loved working on the details that make a house into a "home."

When I asked him how this is, he mentioned that now, houses are boxes, made to the minimum specification, with barely anything to make them complete beyond that minimal standard. It used to be that a house was more than the four walls and the roof. Yes, that is enough to make it into a shelter for people, but making it safe, comfortable, memorable, and unique takes much more than the bare minimum. The finishing carpenter would work on the details that made the house into what someone would hope for in a home. From his perspective, we all live in unfinished homes.
This got me thinking, and I soon realized that he was right. If we do not work on the details, on the little things, we are not complete; we are not yet finished.

In our spiritual lives, we tend to be not very different from an unfinished house. We may read from the Bible, at least the well-known passages, and we possibly attend Mass, at least on essential days like Easter or Christmas. And that is equivalent to creating the foundation of a house and maybe building a few walls. It is enough to say that we are building the structure, but not yet enough to call it a house.

Maybe we work some more, and we then start attending Mass every Sunday and on the days of obligation as is our responsibility, perhaps we start reading a little more of the Bible, now some of the chapters that are not well known and from this, we grow. This is equivalent to having the foundation, the four walls, windows, and a roof over our heads. It is enough to keep us out of the weather. We can call this a house, but is it complete? Is it a home?

Maybe in time, we understand that we need more to complete our home. We get down to the details. We can add decorative flair, excellent window shutters, and good doors. We can get appliances that fit our needs. We can get a modern air conditioner and beautiful light fixtures. These details do make the house our own, uniquely ours, and finally our home.

The same way we do it for our home, we can do it for our spiritual life. What are the finishing details we need to work on? Can we make what we learn from reading the Bible and attending Mass a part of our daily lives? Do we incorporate daily prayer? Do we grow in relationship with Christ Eucharistic? Do we attempt to put the Charity, Faith, and Hope we receive into our actions of everyday life? Who can be a better finishing carpenter than Christ? Do we allow Jesus to help finish building us up?
​
Let us pray: Lord, you are the Lord of all; you know every single one of us, every single detail. Help build us up so we may grow into the people You call us to become. Lord, helps us that we may become complete in You. Amen.
​

By: Laura Catherine Worhacz

​Dearest Eucharistic Family,
 
In my travels last week to NY, upon entering the plane, a lady was carrying a toy poodle in a pet carrier. She was in a lengthy conversation with another lady about the cuteness of the pup. It was truly adorable. The lady carrying the dog went on about how much she loved him and deeply expressed how faithful the little toy poodle was. She laughed and said again, “he is the only one faithful to me.” There was a reality there for her and a brokenness I detected.

As I was praying my rosary on the plane, our faithful Lord came to my thoughts. In my mind’s eye, through my prayer, I saw the white horse with its rider from the Book of Revelation.

There is so much unfaithfulness in our world, much more than can be controlled, it seems, yet we are called by our God to be faithful and true.

Perhaps in our faithfulness to God through injustice and pains, the world will see that Our God exists and that He is alive and well and with us.

Perhaps by us sharing the WORD of God and by proclaiming His truth, faithfulness will be aroused in others rather than deceit.

Perhaps in forgiving through Jesus, our faithfulness will never be broken, and truth will shine brightly.
 
Our wholeness is created in love of God and neighbor, the first commitment in our consecration to be made holy. In the Eucharist, we are taken by the rider on a white horse into the heavens now. Inscribed in the heart of God are our names, written in the blood of the lamb of God, Jesus Christ. God has trodden the wine press; His justice will reign forever and ever. HE IS FAITHFUL AND TRUE. We are invited into his banquet of love and called by the heavens to share in his glory. Forgiveness of sins and life in His Spirit, His Holy Spirit is to be found; Gifts beyond the infidelities of this world.
 
Saint Peter Julian names us in this quote a book of love, “Give, therefore, your preference to that beautiful book...” We can begin with ourselves to be faithful and true and keep a steadfast hope in our King of Kings and Lord of Lords and live in the freedom and joy of his coming.

 Who has been an example of faithfulness to you?

Who have you been most faithful to?

What inspiration has accompanied your fortitude?
 
I can only imagine that for Jesus, the most faithful person through his life on earth would be Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The love they shared holds the Divine life for us to long for.
​
The faithful and true life that will be everlasting will be found in our Gift of Self to God Our Father.