A Message from Father Nathan
My dearest people closest to my heart!
God bless you and your generous heart.
St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo in
North Africa (354 to 430 AD)
This week we are going to celebrate one of my favorite saints. I love to read, talk, and quote about him
and from him.
He is one of the great intellectuals of the church. St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo in North Africa (354 to 430 AD), was one of the great minds of the early Christian Church, a theologian
whose ideas forever influenced the Roman Catholics. However Augustine did not come to Christianity by a straightforward path. At an early age, he began searching for the truth in the popular pagan philosophies and cults of his day. His young life was also
scarred by immorality. The story of his conversion told in his book Confessions, is one of the greatest
Christian testimonies of all time.
Humble Beginnings | Pagan Father & a Christian Mother
Augustine was born in 354 in Thagaste, in the North African province of Numidia, now Algeria. His father, Patricius, was a pagan who worked and saved so his son could receive a good education, Monica, his mother, was a committed Christian who prayed constantly for her son.
From a basic education in his home city, Augustine progressed to studying classical literature, then went to Carthage for training in rhetoric, sponsored by a benefactor named Romanianus.
Bad company leads to bad behavior
Bad company leads to bad behavior. Augustine took a mistress and fathered a son, Adeodatus who died in 390 A.D. Led by his hunger for wisdom, Augustine became a Manichean. Manicheism was founded by the Persian philosopher Mani (216 to 274 A.D.). taught dualism, a rigid division between good and evil. Like Gnosticism, this religion claimed secret knowledge is the route to salvation. It attempted to combine
the teachings of Buddha, Zoroaster, and Jesus Christ.
Monica, His Mother Prays
All the while, Monica had been praying for her son’s conversion. That finally happened in 387, when Augustine was baptized by Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, Italy. Augustine returned to his birthplace of Thagaste and was ordained a priest. A few years later he was made bishop of the city of Hippo. Augustine possessed a brilliant intellect yet maintained a simple life, much like a monk. He encouraged monasteries and hermits within his bishoporic in Africa and always welcomed visitors who could
engage in learned conversation. He functioned more as a parish priest than an aloof bishop, but throughout his life he was always writing. Augustine’s two Confessions, tells the story of his sexual
immorality and his mother’s unrelenting concern for his soul. He sums up his life for Christ, saying,
“So I may cease to be wretched in myself and may find happiness in you.”
City of God, written near the end of Augustine’s life, was partly a defense of Christianity in the Roman Empire. The emperor Theodosius had made trinitarian Christianity the official religion of the empire in 390. Twenty years later, the barbarian Visigoths, led by Alaric I, sacked Rome. Many Romans blamed
Christianity, claiming that turning away from the ancient Roman gods had caused their defeat. The remainder of the City of God contrasts the earthly and heavenly cities
May God bless you all.
Ever wanting to be faithful to your service,
— Fr. Sahayanathan Nathan
Set up Online Giving.
You can make a one-time donation or set up recurring gifts.
Join our Parish Family
Register in the parish, so that it’s easy to become a confirmation sponsor or Godparent.
Want to Lend a Helping Hand?
Find volunteer opportunities and share your talents.
Need a Helping Hand?
We are here to help. Request home visits, send a prayer request. For urgent needs call 954.943.3684
Past Messages from Father Nathan
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | August 7, 2022
August 15th is an important and memorable day for all Catholics. It is the Feast celebrating the Assumption of our Blessed Mother. Learn More about the the theology and the catechism of the Assumption of our Blessed Mother
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | July 31, 2022
St. John Vianney feast day is celebrated annually on August 4th St. John Marie Vianney was a priest who Pope Pius X proposed as a model and patron saint of all the priests because of his extraordinary devotion and life. A life which he committed to the church ministry. St. John Marie Vianney was born on May 8, 1786 …
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | July 24, 2022
Mass is God’s Food for Our Soul, come and partake. I am glad and delighted to witness many coming back to the church in person, which is great! I am looking forward to witnessing all our people back at the church. I thought maybe it would be good to do a little catechism as my thankfulness.
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | July 17, 2022
A second collection for the Parish Projects will be the last weekend of July. Some of you were proposing to me to have a second collection for the Parish Project that we are undertaking. There are very many of you already supporting it. I thank each one of you for your love and support. No matter how big or small…
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | July 10, 2022
Thank You for Your Continued Support of our church. I really want to thank each and everyone for your financial support. God bless you all! Thank you also to all those who are praying toward the completion of this project. Please continue to do so. I do understand that it’s a most trying of times now…
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | July , 2022 | Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Overturning an unjust law “For nearly fifty years,” says the US Bishops’ statement, “America has enforced an unjust law that has permitted some to decide whether others can live or die; this policy has resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of preborn children, generations that were denied the right to even be born.”