Take and Read

A Reflection on the Memorial of St. Augustine

August 28, 2015

“God did not call us to impurity but to holiness.” (1 Thes 4: 1-8)

Augustine was born at Tagaste in north Africa on 13th November 354 A.D. His father was a pagan, a non-believer, of Roman origin.He was baptized shortly before his death in 370 A.D., and died in 371 when Augustine was aged seventeen. His mother, Monica, was a dedicated Christian. Monica was of the local Berber stock (Egyptian appearance). He had a brother and a sister. Augustine grew up in a mixed atmosphere of faith and unfaith. He was not baptized in infancy.

At school, he showed intelligence. In adolescence he mixed with unruly friends He liked to brag, to tease, and to be destructive. At the age of seventeen, he fell in love with a woman. He lived with her and they had a son. From Africa he went to Italy. First he went to Rome and then in 383 A.D. to Milan. He joined various religious movements, but he did not found the answer he was seeking.

Monica worried about her son. She prayed continually for Augustine's conversion. She wanted him to find peace with God.

In Milan, he attended the sermons of the bishop, Ambrose. At first he listened simply out of curiosity. Soon he sensed that he had to change his life if he wanted peace of mind and the truth, but he found it difficult to change. He kept saying, "Maybe tomorrow, tomorrow." "Make me chaste, but not yet.” One day in September 386 A.D. he finally made the decision. He was sitting in a garden with his friend, Alypius. He heard a child's sing-song voice saying over and over, "Take and read, take and read."  He read Romans 13:13 in the New Testament, and decided to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.” As Augustine said, "The scales fell off my eyes," and he asked himself, "Why not now? Why not this very hour put an end to my sins?"

"Light dawns for the just; and gladness, for the upright of heart." (Psalm 97:11)

And so at Easter time in Milan the year 387 A.D., Augustine was baptized at the age of 33 years. Afterwards, his mother Monica died in peace, but Augustine was also challenged by the untimely death of his son.

At the age of thirty-six in 391 A.D., only three years after his baptism, Augustine was pressed by the people to become their priest, and five years after that he was pressed into becoming a bishop. As a bishop he was famous for his preaching. Many of his sermons were written down by scribes, and still exist today. Because of his brilliance, he was also asked to write about Christianity. Sometimes he was dictating paragraphs for two different books to two different scribes in the one writing session.

His most famous book is "The Confessions" (about 400 A.D), telling of his own 33-year journey to baptism. “I was looking for you outside myself and I did not find the God of my own heart.” “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

The other is "The City of God”. These certainly apply to this week, just as they did 1615 years ago!

• “What are kingdoms without justice? They're just gangs of bandits.” WE NEED ORDER! 
• “God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them.” WE NEED TO LET SOME THINGS GO AND BE OPEN TO THE LOVE OF GOD! 
• “In this world, in evil days like these, the Church walks onward like a wayfarer stricken by the world's hostility, but comforted by the mercy of God. Nor does this state of affairs date only from the days of Christ's and His Apostles' presence on earth. It was never any different from the days when the first just man, Abel, was slain by his ungodly brother. So shall it be until this world is no more."  JESUS SAID, "WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE POOR.” THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A NEED, AND A REASON FOR US TO GROW AND LEARN, AND LOVE!
• “... the earthly city glories in itself, the Heavenly City glories in the Lord.” WHILE WE ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD, WE ARE CALLED TO LIVE IN IT, AND MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE… A PLACE WHERE WE CAN GLORIFY THE LORD, AND LOVE AND SERVE ONE ANOTHER! 

Augustine wrote about 113 books during his life. Over 6,000,000 words that he wrote still exist today. In 1,600 years not all of his works have been translated into English. He became a Christian teacher for the entire Western world. His writings also greatly influenced Western culture and education.

Love now became the goal of his life. He unified all existence, all feelings, all knowledge and all friendship under the topic of love. "Love God, and then do what you want!" he said.

Augustine died on the 28th of August 430 A.D. at the age of 76. He died in Hippo while it was under siege by barbarians. His writings were safely moved to Europe.

“Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Mt. 25:13)

• It’s fair to apply this to the randomness of life or even the tragedy of this week’s violence. 
• This just doesn’t mean “at the hour of our death.” 
• ”Why not now? Why not this very hour put an end to my sins?” 
• The hour has come for you to change your life, for us to change this world, and for this world to come to know that peace is better than violence! Love is the only goal! 
• When He says, “Love God, and then do what you want,” he is not talking about becoming a gang of bandits. He is talking about the true freedom that comes from putting on Christ! 
• NOW IS THE TIME!

Augustine's Very Brief Life Summary taken from http://www.albatrus.org/english/potpourri/historical/augustine_life_summary.htm