St. Augustine: Learn How to Become Saints

St. Augustine: Learn How to Become Saints

August 28, 2013 – Feast of St. Augustine – 12:13 p.m.

Saint Augustine: Dear L.,

Today is such a surprise. You have asked God to meet me.

“Saint L.,” I ask for the permission to call you “Saint L.”* I know that on the path that God has chosen for each person, to receive the invitations in the graces of God, we definitely have to become saints, because of the calling in our lives, and from the way He touched our hearts, this is a special calling that He has for you and for me.

The people who are able to receive the messages from God, the people who are able to communicate with the divine world, if without the permission of God, whether it was you or whether it was me, we would not have been able to meet and to have this message, so do not be reluctant when I call you a saint.

Dear L., in my days of living on earth, you probably have heard about the history of my mother and about my history. When I lived on earth, in my youth, I was just like the brothers in that generation, or in past generations.  I was a normal person, a person just like any other, with weaknesses, with my personal preferences, with my traits, with things that I liked in my debauched life – people have used the word “debauched” when a person lived a life in pleasures.

From the life in the family, I had seen the personal life of my family, and to me things were normal, they were not something that I deemed serious, though in other families things were different, which in today’s world, is something that you can see with the people that you meet, and even in your own marriage.

When we faced the world back then, the world had many attractions.

We did not recognize God. We did not know that the ideal life of a person could have such beauty, such holiness, with the blessings that God had for me in particular, and for all of you in general.

I only knew how to satisfy the flesh, looking to find the things that I liked, that I wanted, that I wished for.  I was ready to have everything for my pleasures. I was looking to satisfy my likes, which I considered important.

When I did not yet truly recognize God, I only knew about the things of the world, I only knew to enjoy the things that I liked, and I was determined to find the things to satisfy what I liked.

That was my personal preference.

That was before I was able to recognize God.

That was before I was touched by His Love.

That was before I looked at the things that come from God.

I only knew to do what I wanted. I could be my own master for all the things that I liked, even if they were excessive when compared to the same with the people in my age group at that time.

In everything, God gave me the freedom.

God gave me the things to satisfy my preferences.**

In every way that I encountered, indeed, I liked, I decided, I looked, but nothing could satisfy my heart, nothing could bring the everlasting joy in my soul, and nothing remained, even if those were the things I most liked, there still was no satisfaction in my soul, and there was this longing in my heart.

I did not know what the reason was.

I did not know where the longing came from.

And then I had a decision.

I saw, in the life of my family back then, I saw my mother always praying. She spent her time to go to pray, to go to Mass.  She did all those things that were essential to her spiritual life. She was ever patient, from the time of my father to my own time. She went on with the daily responsibilities in her life, determined, and always allowed me to see her strength, that had something quite attractive to it.

I did not want to acknowledge that attraction, so that I would not have to struggle between the things that I liked, and the things that my mother wanted.

So everything that came into my life was not by chance, but it was a true story, that happened to my life.

Up to one day, when I truly recognized the emptiness of my soul, the failures of my likes, the things that hurt my feelings, with the hopes that I had in life, I saw my mother, with her patience, with her resignation, with her hope, and they were my reminders.

When I started to fail in the things that I liked, in the works that I did, then I began to give myself a chance. I had to go ask for the truth from God, or if it was His Will, then to have it done in me. That searching started to attract me.  From the small works to the sacrifices, indeed I had not returned to God, but in my talking to Him, I was challenging Him, I was testing Him.

I started to make a decision for a life for myself.

I am not going to delve into the matter. If all of you want to understand me and you want to see the testimonies today and this meeting with L., I hope you will look for and read about the history of my life, in the books and the stories that were left.

I want to spend time to talk about the spiritual life and to share with L.

There were moments when I was able to meet God. I was able to see.

First of all, I was touched in my heart by my mother. In times of joy and sadness, in times of success, I did not think about her, but whenever there were failures, whenever there were hardships in life, then I was reminded of my mother and I started to look at my mother. I could see her diligence, her resignation. Her acceptance was something that attracted me, but I still did not fully believe.

I truly challenged God.

I also looked for ways to pray and to meet God.

God did not abandon me.

God gave me the opportunity.

I decided to leave everything that belonged to the pleasures of humans, which were things that people called debauchery.  I looked for the truth, for the ideal, and for the kind of love that would touch me.

For everything that came to my life, I had to surrender to God.

I accepted that.

I knew that the things that I liked, that I wanted, were earthly pleasures for the flesh, for the ego, and though they were the things that I most desired in life, they did not give me the answer, they did not satisfy me, but when God touched my heart, God led me back, to be close to Him.

I made my decision.

No one could have endured me the way that God had endured me.

No one could ever give to me in the way He gave to me.

He gave me love.

He allowed me to think.

He allowed me to make my decision.

Everything was within the guidance that God gave to me.

I agreed to sacrifice and to consecrate my remaining life.

Nothing could be more noble, when I received and recognized the love from God coming to me. Starting from that moment, I recognized the ideal of life. I recognized that what I had been seeking my whole life, it was not seeking God, it was seeking the things that I liked, that I wanted, but God should have been the only One that I should have been seeking from the beginning.

I had to understand Him.

I had to find Him.

This was what I desired, what I longed for, and I waited, though I knew that I was not worthy to receive Him, with all the sins I had committed, with a debauched life and all the sufferings I had caused to my mother, but I knew that the love of God is greater, greater than my sins, greater than all the things that I did, and greater than all of my thinking.

He persevered.

He endured.

He taught me and allowed me to meet Him.

I had the answer in my life by choosing Him, which by far exceeded all the other things I had lived for in the past, in the Love that He had for me, and in my recognition of the precious happiness in having Him, and in living in Him.

I had to do something that had more value, I had to do something to make up for that part of my life that I squandered away, forgetting about the needs of my soul, forgetting about the meaning that my soul needed, forgetting about the meaning that my body needed, and forgetting about the need for my spirit to be lifted up to Him more.

So in everything that happens in the life of each person, there is a plan from God, for each of us to meet Him, one way or another.

Though I belonged to the past generation and I am no longer living on earth, every time I have the opportunity to commemorate the first moment of meeting God, that was indeed the happiest moment and a most magnificent moment.  Though I am no longer living on earth, this memory will never subside, and now in heaven, I still treasure the memories and that happiness, for me to have this day, to see Him in heaven.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today, God gave me the opportunity to meet L., and to share about the things that were forgotten in life.  I have known many eras, but today, I am allowed to share in my own words, to the generation that you live in, in your present lives.

I want to remind you that we can make decisions while we are still alive, regarding the good and the righteous deeds, regarding the passions for our own ego, regarding the things when we cannot see the truth, regarding the harm that is done to our souls and to our bodies, and regarding the pleasures that the young men in each era are always fond of. These are the decisions that people can make and can have, but after all the fun and the success, if you do not have God with you, then you will feel completely empty, lonely, and you cannot have the answer to satisfy your spirits and your hearts, even if you are able to find that ideal lover that you wished for, or that you hoped for, even that will not be to satisfy the emptiness in your souls.

The only thing that will make you happy is to have God.

God is the only thing that you need to look for, and in your life, each of you can believe in Him, each of you can ask Him to guide you.

Consider Him above everything else, once you have found the Love that He has for each of you.

Only He is able to love you like that.

He is very patient.

He gives us the opportunity.

He listens to us when we pray fervently.

He answers the questions we ask, regarding our spiritual life.

God gave many blessings in my time, and I hope that in your time it is the same. We are the children of God. We are from different worlds now, but we have all been chosen. God has allowed for us to meet, and to share with each other.

There are difficulties in a human life, and it is not easy for us to complete our journeys, with the challenges in our lives, and so the way to deal with these difficulties and challenges, is for us to pray.  We have to offer up everything and trust in God, for every phase of our lives, and for everything that we encounter, in our lives, in our families, in our marriages, or in the life of service in the clergy.

We receive God, not for us to simply have God to ourselves, but it is our duty to bring what we have, to bring the first moment of our meeting with God and share it, testify to it, to the brothers who have the same similarities in life, who are suffering, who are facing challenges, who are dealing with trials in their lives, for them to hear our testimonies, to bring them back, to give them hope, for them to recognize God, in every era, whether it be my era or yours.

He always gives us the support.

He always gives us the opportunity.

It is up to us to accept to choose the life that we have recognized from God, to reject all of our wants, to reject all of our desires and the pleasures of life, for the life that we have decided upon, clearly decided upon, to make our decisions to follow God, in the works that we do, in the services that we perform, in the sacrifices that we make, to recognize the truth of God in our lives.

When we are strong enough, then even if people are still jealous, even if they are still hateful, even if they are still scornful, even if they still deceitful, even if they are our brothers and sisters, we only have one decision.  We have chosen Him, and He has chosen us, so then we need to do good with the works that we do. We stand strong, with strength like lions, we stand firm, because we come from the truth, we are giving testimony from the truth, and we live in the truth of God, to share with all the brothers and the sisters in Christ.

Because this is the truth, we have no need for anyone’s support.

Because this is the truth, we have no need to use our own talent.

For everything that God gives to a person, then let that person do his or her duty to expand on the works that God wants and to spread everything in a life of faith, which he or she can testify to.

The difficulties that you meet in a life of service, are caused by your lack of understanding of each other, your lack of living with your heart, with the Love that God is giving to you.

You are still looking at each other, in your capabilities, still looking at each other with your human eyes, still judging each other, still competing with the works that you are doing.  There are certain things we need to make a decision on, because we have received the graces from God, and God has chosen us for our works.  For both the clergy and the laity, when we have been chosen by Him, then we need to recognize the work that corresponds to us, so that we can share with the others.

Share with the brothers that we meet, for it is the work that God has chosen for us to do, so have no fear, have no hesitation, for all of your works to be successful, for God has chosen you in this life.

Dear L., there are many things I would like to confide to you.

I know that you have heard about me, that you have known about me, for you to want to meet me today.

I just want to remind all my brothers and sisters in this world, that when we recognize the life that we know the noble value of it, for our bodies, for our spirits and for our souls, then that is the life that we want to pursue, for our journeys on earth, so that we are able to bring good results to the life of the soul, and to the next life.

I am able to have this day, from the decisions I had made, from my struggles with the earthly world, from the struggles with my ego, from the good works I did, from finding the legitimate ways to help other souls, to help the other brothers who were in the same situation, who have fallen in just the same way we did, in the beginning.

Indeed, for everything that we do, it is not from our own ability but from the grace of God, when we choose Him.  We definitely have to have faith in Him, we definitely have to trust Him with the works that we do, with the words which with we have the opportunity to evangelize.

The goal is for us to conquer ourselves.

In everything, God has to be our priority, and we have to testify to this through the way we live our lives, so that we can show that we are the people of God, with the sole purpose of assisting the truth and testifying to the truth, when we have been chosen by God, and we have been touched in our hearts by God.

We cannot be disheartened with our duties and our responsibilities, we have to go on facing and conquering our actions, and especially regarding our spiritual life, for which we have decided to follow God.

Everything has meaning if each person can recognize it for themselves.

God always gives us the time to make decisions.

God always gives us the freedom to make decisions.

When we choose the right path to travel, and when we make the decision on the right path of the service to do, we will definitely accomplish the works that God has planned for us, so when we have to face difficulties and challenges, we have to persevere and we have to be faithful with the promises we have made to God, truly coming back to God.

That was the experience I had when I lived on earth. I had to face many difficulties in life, I had to face opposition, and so for your present life, I can see the difficulty that L. has.

Continue to trust in God.  Your goal is to do the work for God.  Take a look at the brothers that you are serving and see God in them. Because your goal is God, then step right into the life that God has chosen for you, and look at the difficulties you encounter as a way for you to learn, in your life of faith. Through those experiences, you will see God, and also through the brothers and the sisters in Christ, so that nothing is a misery, so that nothing is a difficulty. Take a look at today’s world, you are able to receive the messages from my world, you are able to receive the messages from God, through you, for the world. For the works that you are able to receive, in a supernatural way, you can understand and recognize them yourself.  When you see difficulties and challenges, they are a sign that you are not fully committed to work for God and to trust in Him.

Have complete faith and entrust everything to God.

He will have a way.

He will allow you to see the moments of happiness and the meaning for which you are making the decision to follow Him in this life.

Through the challenges, if you stay in the position that you have, with sacrifices, with trust in God, then those works have helped give you the opportunity to learn the way to become saints, which God has invited all of His children to become, in this world, for them to learn how to become saints.

Only saints are able to meet God in heaven.

This is the condition that each era needs to know, needs to face, needs to conquer.

The Love of God sanctified us.

The Love of God sanctifies all sinners.

The Love of God conquers all when we truly accept and receive God, for us to be happy with the Love that God gives to each person in every generation.

This is all that I am saying today.

I hope that we will be able to meet again on other occasions. If you pray to God, God will definitely allow us to have the opportunity to meet again. Now, I would like to pray for God to give you health, to give you peace in your soul, for your faith to be strengthened for you to continue to spread the work that God has chosen for you in this life, and as for the challenges in life, have trust in God, and continue to pray for you to meet Him.

This is the greatest happiness that you are able to have on this earth.

If without the permission of God and without the grace of God, then no one can do anything supernatural.  So you need to believe more, and be assured of what you have in this world, in your meeting with God, and in His permission for you to be able to meet with us, who are in the divine world.

This is the greatest happiness that God gives to you in this life.

Continue with your mission for you to also be the consoler of God, in a generation to whom He gives abundantly of His graces. His Presence, as I have seen and I have known that He gives many graces to your world, by His Presence, meeting the world through the Holy Eucharist.

It is indeed a most valuable thing that God is giving to your generation in this period of time. I just want to remind you of this, be with God every day, always be constant in praises, in your private moments, for you to be able to receive and to understand the work that God wants you to do, which is your mission, to do the work that God has chosen for you.

I will pray for you, and I will always pray for you to be able to continue to receive more graces abundantly, so that your faith will be strengthened every time you have the opportunity to share with the other brothers and sisters in Christ, which is also a mission in which God gives you special graces, so that every person living on earth has to practice for their spiritual life, through piety, through holiness, through patience, through sacrifice, to help all the people in the world who have rejected God to be able to come back, through the practice in the life of the people who have been chosen in today’s world.

One more time, I pray for the peace of God to be with you.

Goodbye L.

Saint Augustine

* In her message to L. on the same day, St. Monica calls all the faithful “saints.” L. is in the process of becoming a saint like the rest of the faithful.

** God respects our free will; He will never get in the way. This may also be a way of saying that God gave him the financial means to live a comfortable life. Or, that God may give us inferior goods if they will lead us to see their emptiness, so that we seek higher goods. Augustine tried everything the world and the flesh had to offer and found them wanting, so that he finally came to the point when he let go of all these things, having found the authentic and lasting good, God Himself, and gave us probably his most famous quote: “You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is unquiet until it rests in You” (St. Augustine’s Confessions, Book I, Chapter 1).

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