Pope Benedict XVI on St. Augustine

31-08-2008

(28 Aug 08 - RV) August 28th is the Liturgical Memory of St. Augustine of Hippo. Chris Altieri looks at the life and legacy of the great Bishop and Doctor of the Church...

A great saint, who left a lasting mark on Western Civilization, profoundly influencing theology, philosophy, politics and literature down to the present, St. Augustine was born in Tagaste in the Roman Province of Numidia, Africa, on 13 November 354 to Patricius, a pagan who later became a catechumen, and Monica, a fervent Christian, whom the Church also venerates as a saint.

Though he was given a Christian upbringing as a small child, Augustine only received baptism as an adult, after a long and tortuous intellectual and spiritual journey.

Augustine's spiritual autobiography - The Confessions - tells the story of his Christian upbringing, his secular education, his decision to devote his life to the pursuit of truth, and his eventual abandonment of the faith.

During his weekly General Audiences this past January, Pope Benedict XVI dedicated a series of 3 catecheses to Augustine's life and legacy, explaining how Augustine gradually recovered the faith of his childhood, thanks to the prayers of his mother, St. Monica, and the brilliant teaching of St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan...

The Confessions recount the tormented interior journey which led to his moral and intellectual conversion, culminating in his baptism by Ambrose. Returning to Africa to lead a monastic life, Augustine became a priest and then the Bishop of Hippo. In his thirty years as Bishop, he proved himself an exemplary pastor, an assiduous preacher and an influential champion of the Catholic faith.

During his catechesis, Pope Benedict said Augustine was a passionate believer, who recognized the importance of bringing together faith and reason, teaching that we should believe in order to understand, and understand in order to believe...

If we ask what particular message Saint Augustine has for the men and women of today, it is perhaps his emphasis on our need for truth. Listen to the way he describes his own search for God's truth: "You were within me and I sought you outside, in the beautiful things that you had made. You were with me, but I was not with you. You called me, you cried out and broke open my deafness. I tasted you, and now I hunger and thirst for you." Let us pray that we too may discover the joy of knowing God's truth.

Throughout his more than 30 years as bishop of Hippo, Augustine worked tirelessly to reconcile divided Christians and to bring peace to the troubled African provinces of the Empire.

During the Vandal invasion of Africa, Augustine found solace in reflection on the mystery of God's providence. The world, he said, is growing old and failing, yet Christ remains eternally young and brings renewed youth to those who put their faith in him. Amid the calamities of the time, he encouraged the clergy not to abandon their flock, but to offer the supreme witness of Christian charity.

Augustine Died on Augustine died in 431, during the siege of Hippo, having devoted his last days to penance and prayer.

The example of Augustine's life, together with his literary legacy, continues to be a source of instruction, inspiration and strength for the Church and an indispensable civilizational resource.

http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=227185