Dear friends in Christ,
On Treasure Trove of “what matters to God”
Amazing August is here! Welcome to this exceptionally awesome and inspiring month of my birth and other birthing. A couple of years back I did a piece on array of life transforming solemnity, feasts and memorials listed for August in the general Roman calendar, and I boasted (shall I say tongue-in-cheek, not unlike the Pauline boasts in his Corinthian epistles) about how my being born in August adds to what makes the month a very special one! Speaking spiritually, some of the saints and feasts offered for our celebration in August birthed me into new life in Christ, life emptied of “vanity of vanities” (Ecc. 1:2). For example, St. John Vianney whose relic was recently venerated in our diocese renewed my priesthood at a retreat for priests in Ars, France in 2005; St. Dominic, the founder of the religious order I belong to inspired my love for scriptures, prayers and preaching; St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe taught me the act of selfless giving; St. Bernard of Clairvaux, my patron saint (thanks to my dad for choosing to name me after him) showed me how to love deeply Jesus, Mary and the Church; St. Monica illustrated for me the possibilities of persistence in prayers of petition; St. Augustine, the playboy turned priest re-assured me that God is rich in mercy; and the solemnity of Assumption clarified for me St. Paul’s admonition in Colossians 3:1 to “seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” Just take a look at the treasure trove the month of August offers us to become “rich in what matters to God” (Lk. 12:21):
1. Alphonsus Ligouri, bishop & doctor
2. Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop
4. John Vianney, priest
5. Dedication of St. Mary Major
6. TRANSFIGURATION
7. Sixtus II, Pope and martyr, and companions, martyrs Cajetan, priest
8. St. Dominic, priest
10. Lawrence, deacon and martyr
11. Clare, virgin
13. Pontiac, pope and martyr, and Hippolytus, priest and martyr
14. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr
15. ASSUMPTION
16. Stephen of Hungary
19. John Eudes, priest
20. Bernard, abbot and doctor
21. Pio X, pope
22. Queenship of Mary
23. Rose of Lima, virgin
24. Bartholomew, Apostle
25. Louis; Joseph Calasanz, priest
27. Monica
28. Augustine, bishop and doctor
29. Beheading of John the Baptist, martyr
In what ways do the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints turn your focus away from vanities to what “matters to God”?
In Christ’s love and joy,
Fr. Bernard Ayo Oniwe, OP
On Treasure Trove of “what matters to God”
Amazing August is here! Welcome to this exceptionally awesome and inspiring month of my birth and other birthing. A couple of years back I did a piece on array of life transforming solemnity, feasts and memorials listed for August in the general Roman calendar, and I boasted (shall I say tongue-in-cheek, not unlike the Pauline boasts in his Corinthian epistles) about how my being born in August adds to what makes the month a very special one! Speaking spiritually, some of the saints and feasts offered for our celebration in August birthed me into new life in Christ, life emptied of “vanity of vanities” (Ecc. 1:2). For example, St. John Vianney whose relic was recently venerated in our diocese renewed my priesthood at a retreat for priests in Ars, France in 2005; St. Dominic, the founder of the religious order I belong to inspired my love for scriptures, prayers and preaching; St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe taught me the act of selfless giving; St. Bernard of Clairvaux, my patron saint (thanks to my dad for choosing to name me after him) showed me how to love deeply Jesus, Mary and the Church; St. Monica illustrated for me the possibilities of persistence in prayers of petition; St. Augustine, the playboy turned priest re-assured me that God is rich in mercy; and the solemnity of Assumption clarified for me St. Paul’s admonition in Colossians 3:1 to “seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” Just take a look at the treasure trove the month of August offers us to become “rich in what matters to God” (Lk. 12:21):
1. Alphonsus Ligouri, bishop & doctor
2. Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop
4. John Vianney, priest
5. Dedication of St. Mary Major
6. TRANSFIGURATION
7. Sixtus II, Pope and martyr, and companions, martyrs Cajetan, priest
8. St. Dominic, priest
10. Lawrence, deacon and martyr
11. Clare, virgin
13. Pontiac, pope and martyr, and Hippolytus, priest and martyr
14. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr
15. ASSUMPTION
16. Stephen of Hungary
19. John Eudes, priest
20. Bernard, abbot and doctor
21. Pio X, pope
22. Queenship of Mary
23. Rose of Lima, virgin
24. Bartholomew, Apostle
25. Louis; Joseph Calasanz, priest
27. Monica
28. Augustine, bishop and doctor
29. Beheading of John the Baptist, martyr
In what ways do the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints turn your focus away from vanities to what “matters to God”?
In Christ’s love and joy,
Fr. Bernard Ayo Oniwe, OP
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