St Augustine
The love of worldly possessions is a sort of bird line, which entangles the soul, and prevents it flying to God." -Saint AugustineSt. Augustine was born on November 13, 354, in Tagaste, North Africa. He was the eldest son of St. Monica and Patricius (a pagan Roman official). he devoted himself to literary pursuits. It was in these pursuits that he abandoned the Christian faith. One of the first heresies Augustine was involved with was Manichaeanism. Manichaeans believed that evil was caused by an outside force, thus making people relieved of guilt for their sins. A turning point came in St. Augustine's life when at Milan, he attended the mass celebrated by St. Ambrose. The sermon of St. Ambrose impressed St. Augustine very much. This experience, plus the incessant and sacrificing prayers of St. Monica, brought Augustine back to Christianity. He was baptized, together with his son, in the Easter Vigil of year 387.
Of the two great teachers in the Catholic Catechism, St. Augustine and St. Thomas of Aquinas are the most popularly quoted. St. Augustine is quoted 85 times, while St. Thomas quoted is 58 times. Three writings which bear much of his teaching and spirituality are "The Confessions of St. Augustine", "The City of God", and "On the Trinity".
Two texts in scripture are good sources of St. Augustine's spirituality: the "eyes of your heart being enlightened" (Eph 1:18) and "blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Mt 5:8). From these two scriptural texts we see that for St. Augustine, the heart seems to be the inner person, the soul. And for us to see God, the eyes of the heart, i.e., the soul, need to be healed and they need light. At first, Augustine thought that this vision of God comes only after death. He eventually realized that even on earth, God may be seen by one who has been unified by a single longing for God. This single longing for God and the healing of the soul by faith though is not, according to St. Augustine, enough to see God. There is need of light to see God. And this light, according to him, comes from loving our neighbor.
Many of us are like Augustine who described it as the time when God was with us, but we were not with God. When we were younger, we were busy with our minute quests, as the Pharisees who focused on the details of the law. We were busy pursuing our academic careers, or running after our dreams. We were tracking events and chasing our crushes. Augustine said that we “go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and [we] pass by [our]selves without wondering.”
Late do we actually come to love God. Only after all these pursuits and this restless running, when we find ourselves tired and empty, searching our identities and our place in the sun, do we finally stop, look and wonder. The God we were looking for, we find in our hearts, closer to us than we to ourselves.
We conclude remembering the psalm for today:Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know the whole of it. Behind me and before, you hem me in and rest your hand upon me.
The love of worldly possessions is a sort of bird line, which entangles the soul, and prevents it flying to God." -Saint AugustineSt. Augustine was born on November 13, 354, in Tagaste, North Africa. He was the eldest son of St. Monica and Patricius (a pagan Roman official). he devoted himself to literary pursuits. It was in these pursuits that he abandoned the Christian faith. One of the first heresies Augustine was involved with was Manichaeanism. Manichaeans believed that evil was caused by an outside force, thus making people relieved of guilt for their sins. A turning point came in St. Augustine's life when at Milan, he attended the mass celebrated by St. Ambrose. The sermon of St. Ambrose impressed St. Augustine very much. This experience, plus the incessant and sacrificing prayers of St. Monica, brought Augustine back to Christianity. He was baptized, together with his son, in the Easter Vigil of year 387.
Of the two great teachers in the Catholic Catechism, St. Augustine and St. Thomas of Aquinas are the most popularly quoted. St. Augustine is quoted 85 times, while St. Thomas quoted is 58 times. Three writings which bear much of his teaching and spirituality are "The Confessions of St. Augustine", "The City of God", and "On the Trinity".
Two texts in scripture are good sources of St. Augustine's spirituality: the "eyes of your heart being enlightened" (Eph 1:18) and "blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Mt 5:8). From these two scriptural texts we see that for St. Augustine, the heart seems to be the inner person, the soul. And for us to see God, the eyes of the heart, i.e., the soul, need to be healed and they need light. At first, Augustine thought that this vision of God comes only after death. He eventually realized that even on earth, God may be seen by one who has been unified by a single longing for God. This single longing for God and the healing of the soul by faith though is not, according to St. Augustine, enough to see God. There is need of light to see God. And this light, according to him, comes from loving our neighbor.
Many of us are like Augustine who described it as the time when God was with us, but we were not with God. When we were younger, we were busy with our minute quests, as the Pharisees who focused on the details of the law. We were busy pursuing our academic careers, or running after our dreams. We were tracking events and chasing our crushes. Augustine said that we “go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and [we] pass by [our]selves without wondering.”
Late do we actually come to love God. Only after all these pursuits and this restless running, when we find ourselves tired and empty, searching our identities and our place in the sun, do we finally stop, look and wonder. The God we were looking for, we find in our hearts, closer to us than we to ourselves.
We conclude remembering the psalm for today:Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know the whole of it. Behind me and before, you hem me in and rest your hand upon me.
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