October 23, 2022 - "St. Augustine of Hippo"

 
“Late have I loved you. Beauty at once so and so new; late have I loved you.  Behold, you were within, and I outside where I was seeking you and was dashing against the beautiful things you made in my unsightly way.  You were with me, and I was not with you” (Confessions 10.27).  This famous quote is by St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), who is considered by many to be the most famous and influential of the western Fathers of the Church and perhaps the most famous theologian in the history of the Church.  He was one of the four original Doctors of the Church proclaimed by Pope Boniface VIII in 1295. 
 
Augustine’s inner life is known from the Confessions (from which the quote at the beginning of the article was taken.  Augustine was born to a pagan father and Catholic mother in Tagaste in North Africa (modern day Souk Ahras, Algeria).  He received an excellent education.  As a young man he left the practice of Christianity for Manicheism and also became the father of a son, Adeodatus.  Through the influence of St. Ambrose of Milan and a circle of Christian philosophers also in Milan who studied the writings of Plato as adapted to the circumstances in the fourth century, Augustine returned to Catholicism and was baptized by St. Ambrose in April, 387.  Augustine’s mother, St. Monica, died the following year in Ostia.  After returning to Africa with some reluctance Augustine was ordained a priest in 391 and a bishop in 395.
 
Besides the Confessions, Augustine’s best-known works are On the Trinity and the City of God. About 127 of his works survive, along with 300 letters and 600 sermons.  Among Augustine’s most important contributions to theology are the psychological model of the Trinity (which led Augustine to affirm the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son), the doctrine of original sin, an emphasis on grace without denying free choice, and his teaching on predestination.  At least until the thirteenth century, western theology was simply an interpretation of Augustine and both the Reformation (both Luther and Calvin) and Jansenism represent revivals of Augustinianism. 
 
Reading Augustine could be a lifetime undertaking.  The best place to start would be the Confessions which is both a literary and theological masterpiece.  It is available in many English translations.  I am going to close the column with this famous quote by Augustine that can be found in the Confessions: “You have made us for yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
 
Until next week,
Fr. John
 
 
“Late have I loved you. Beauty at once so and so new; late have I loved you.  Behold, you were within, and I outside where I was seeking you and was dashing against the beautiful things you made in my unsightly way.  You were with me, and I was not with you” (Confessions 10.27).  This famous quote is by St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), who is considered by many to be the most famous and influential of the western Fathers of the Church and perhaps the most famous theologian in the history of the Church.  He was one of the four original Doctors of the Church proclaimed by Pope Boniface VIII in 1295. 
 
Augustine’s inner life is known from the Confessions (from which the quote at the beginning of the article was taken.  Augustine was born to a pagan father and Catholic mother in Tagaste in North Africa (modern day Souk Ahras, Algeria).  He received an excellent education.  As a young man he left the practice of Christianity for Manicheism and also became the father of a son, Adeodatus.  Through the influence of St. Ambrose of Milan and a circle of Christian philosophers also in Milan who studied the writings of Plato as adapted to the circumstances in the fourth century, Augustine returned to Catholicism and was baptized by St. Ambrose in April, 387.  Augustine’s mother, St. Monica, died the following year in Ostia.  After returning to Africa with some reluctance Augustine was ordained a priest in 391 and a bishop in 395.
 
Besides the Confessions, Augustine’s best-known works are On the Trinity and the City of God. About 127 of his works survive, along with 300 letters and 600 sermons.  Among Augustine’s most important contributions to theology are the psychological model of the Trinity (which led Augustine to affirm the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son), the doctrine of original sin, an emphasis on grace without denying free choice, and his teaching on predestination.  At least until the thirteenth century, western theology was simply an interpretation of Augustine and both the Reformation (both Luther and Calvin) and Jansenism represent revivals of Augustinianism. 
 
Reading Augustine could be a lifetime undertaking.  The best place to start would be the Confessions which is both a literary and theological masterpiece.  It is available in many English translations.  I am going to close the column with this famous quote by Augustine that can be found in the Confessions: “You have made us for yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
 
Until next week,
Fr. John