Homily | 10 September 2025

HOMILY OF THE CONCELEBRATED MASS
Feast of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine – 10th September 2025

Dearest brothers and companions in Saint Augustinian,

Today we celebrate with joy the feast of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, the first Augustinian hermit to be canonized after the juridical establishment of the Order in 1244 through the intervention of the Apostolic See. Saint Nicholas remains a shining model Augustinians across the world. He is the Patron of some circumscriptions of the Order (the Provinces of Italy and Michoacan), of many of our local communities, schools, and apostolic centres, and above all, of the souls in Purgatory, for whom he tirelessly prayed.

In our Gospel reading, Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples in pairs, entrusting them with a mission He Himself intended to carry out. His instructions to them were clear and striking:
• “The harvest is abundant, but the labourers are few” (Lk 10:2).
• “I am sending you like lambs among wolves” (v. 3).
• “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals” (v. 4).
• “Peace to this household” (v. 5).
• “Cure the sick ... and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand to you’” (v. 9).

The mission that Jesus entrusts to his disciples demands absolute trust in God, prayer, vigilance, simplicity and evangelical poverty, peace-making, compassion for and healing of the sick. In addition, Jesus never sent them alone. He sends them out two by two, to support and strengthen one another. Reflecting on this, our Holy Father Augustine affirms: “The fact that he sends them out two by two is a mystical reference to charity, both because there are two commandments of charity and because charity cannot exist unless there are at least two people.” (Questions on the Gospels, II, 14). For us Augustinians, this is deeply significant: we are not called to mission as isolated individuals, but as a fraternity. Our very witness to Christ is expressed through community life lived in harmony, prayer, and shared apostolate.

The mission of our Order has always been to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ through life and word. From this spirit emerged Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, a friar (born in 1245 in Sant’Angelo in Pontano, in the province of Macerata) who embodied Christ’s compassion and mercy in times of suffering and despair.

Nicholas configured himself in Christ and conformed himself wholly to Christ through prayer, penance, humility, fasting, obedience, sacrifice, and pastoral zeal. He was tireless in preaching, merciful in the confessional, and present with the people in their pain. He harmonized what is truly Augustinian: community life, contemplation, and an intense apostolate.

He cared for the sick, comforted the poor, and visited prisoners, carrying to them the consolation of Christ. In this way, Nicholas reminds us that authentic Augustinian mission is not only about preaching with words, but also about sharing life with the people of God which comes from a true community life.

The first reading from the book of Sirach gives us a sober reminder: “My son if you come forward to serve the Lord, remain in justice and in fear, and prepare yourself for temptation. Set your heart right and be steadfast.” (Sirach 2, 1-2). Bearing witness to the Lord has never been easy. Faithfulness and perseverance are necessary.

To follow Christ entails courage, renunciation, and the emptying of self, so that Christ may live in us. Our mission is demanding, but grace sustains us when we remain steadfast.

Today’s feast carries a special joy for Augustine Ugbomah and I. Exactly twenty years ago, together with Anthony Zabbey, we were ordained to the priesthood. Time has passed quickly. Twenty years in this ministry could be a short or long time. But in truth, time belongs to the Lord.

For us, these years have been a time of grace and gratitude, years shared with brothers in community and with the faithful entrusted to us. We journey together with restless hearts united in pilgrimage, always seeking God who is our ultimate goal.

As we honour Saint Nicholas and invoke his intercession, let us renew our trust in God, our love for community life, and our zeal for mission. Let us also pray for abundant vocations to the Augustinian life, so that many young men may answer the call and share in this mission of peace, healing, and hope.
Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, pray for us.

Amen!