St. Augustine of Canterbury - Patron of England - May 28th
This Italian missionary to England was the Abbot of a monastery in Rome. Pope St. Gregory the Great chose him and forty other monks to go preach the Gospel to the pagans in England. They started out, but when they reached Southern France, people warned them that the English pagans were very fierce. All the monks felt discouraged and asked Augustine to go back to obtain the Pope’s permission to give up the whole idea. The Pope, however, said: “Go on, in God’s name! The greater your hardships, the greater your crown. May the grace of God protect you!”
In England, the missionaries were well received by King Ethelbert, whose wife was a Christian princess from France. They formed a procession when they landed and walked along singing psalms. At their head they carried a cross and a picture of Our Lord. This little army of Christ soon conquered many souls. King Ethelbert himself was baptized, and on Christmas of the same year, ten thousand of his subjects became Christians. Pope St. Gregory was very happy when he heard this news. He sent more priests to England, three of whom became saints.
In his humility, St. Augustine often wrote to ask the Pope the best thing to do in different matters. And St. Gregory gave him much holy advice, too. Speaking about the many miracles St. Augustine worked, the Pope said: “You must rejoice with fear and fear with joy for that gift.” He meant that Augustine should be happy that through the miracles the English were being converted. But he should be careful not to become proud.
At Canterbury, St. Augustine built a church and a monastery, which became the most important in England. It was there that he was buried.
When we are commanded something by our parents or superiors, let us try our best to do it, even if it seems difficult, because God will help us.