MEMORIAL OF SAINT AMBROSE, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH
Ephesians 3:8–12
REFLECT
The best teachers hope to someday be surpassed by their students. Saint Ambrose’s greatest student, Saint Augustine of Hippo, went on to become the greatest theologian of the early Church. As a young man, Augustine dabbled in different philosophies and theologies. Ultimately, he settled in the Catholic Church because of Ambrose, who was a gifted teacher and extraordinary theologian in his own right. We can apply the words describing Saint Paul’s mission to Ambrose today: “To bring to light [for all] what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things” (Eph 3:9). But Ambrose won Augustine over not only because he was a brilliant mind but because of something more. Augustine says in his famous Confessions, “That man of God received me as a father, and as bishop welcomed my coming.”
PRAY
Heavenly Father, thank you for the teachers and mentors you have put in my life. They have loved me and led me to you. May I courageously honor their legacy and remain faithful to their instruction. Amen.
LIVE
Today, thank a teacher. Call or write — or even visit the cemetery — to pay your respects to a mentor you love.