When looking at the lives of those called saints by the
Catholic Church, we can only be amazed at their great diversity. The amazing
power of conversion is only too real when studying certain saints who weren’t
always exactly ‘holy.’ St. Augustine of Hippo is just such a saint. Augustine
was a brilliant mind who hungered for the truth. His early life is given a
rather harsh treatment by his own autobiography, Confessions, but was certainly one of worldly ideas and dreams. An
old adage says: ‘If you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans. Such is true for Augustine,
who despite his best efforts to form the world ‘imago mei,’ was drawn toward the
Lord who had different plans for this Roman. Now he is one of the most quoted
Church Fathers in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and one of the most
influential Catholics—not only of his own age—but of all time.
Modern day Algeria (South across the Mediterranean from
Spain) was a territory of the Roman Empire in the fourth century. Unlike the culture
that we see today, Northern Africans considered themselves to be a part of the ‘western
world’ as we would call it today. In Augustine’s time, the prevailing religion
was Christianity as it was the newly appointed state religion (Edict of Milan
313 AD). But in the fringes of the empire, many heretical groups lingered,
including many groups that were in open schism with the Church. One such sect (self-proclaiming
to be Christian) followed the teachings of the prophet Mani. This religion,
called Manichaeism, lured the young Augustine in for a time before becoming a Catholic
Christian.
Augustine grew up in the town of Thagaste, where he would
have spoken Latin both at home and at school, although much of his studies were
on the Greeks: their mythology, legends, and philosophers. In book one of Confessions, Augustine admits that he
found his study of the Greek language to be difficult, and that he found the
study of Greek culture to be frivolous and unnecessary. It seems evident by his
explanations that these two ideas fed off of each other. Later Augustine admits
that he hated these studies precisely because they were hard, and that the
Greek philosophers challenged his world view. It would be these studies that
Augustine would come to appreciate the most in his adult life and his serious
discernment of God and truth.
In his youth, Augustine had big aspirations of rising into
the Roman aristocracy as a lawyer or rhetorician. It would be this desire of
worldly fame and success that would prove most inhibiting in his conversion to
Catholicism. (Christianity was far too demanding upon one’s moral convictions
and lifestyle to be well suited to the upper class of Roman society. To be a
Christian (and especially a serious one) was a major strike against you.
Perhaps the best analogy that one could use is to picture modern day American
celebrities who practice this or that religion, mostly as a passing fancy and
as an image booster rather than a deliberate searching for truth.)
Augustine lived a very secular life and is very forthcoming
about his sins (proving the appropriateness of his autobiography’s title), most
especially his struggle with sexual passion. During his life Augustine lived,
studied, and taught in his hometown, Carthage, Rome, and Milan, becoming a
highly sought after professor of rhetoric. His childhood dreams were coming true!
Yet all the while his conscience nagged him, calling him always back to
something greater than himself. This back-and-forth story is chronicled well in
Confessions, and brings him from
paganism to Manichaeism, through Neoplatonism before ultimately finding peace
in the Catholic Church which he recognized as the true revelation of God. He
sums up this sentiment in his famous line: “Our hearts are restless Lord, until
they rest in you.”1
Confessions is a
diverse work: it is part autobiography, part poetry, part theological
dissertation, all in the context of confessing his past life and recounting his
conversion. It is written in such a style as to be addressed directly to God,
although it is keenly aware throughout that others will be readers of the work.
It was written during his appointment as Bishop of Hippo, and it could well be
argued that, given his past and recent conversion, it was written as a defense
of himself as well as the true Church. The autobiographical context always
leads the reader to a higher philosophical or theological point, making Confessions equally a dissertation on
Christian Theology. It is this combination of intimacy with Augustine’s life
experiences, always brought back to the context of his search for God (and
finding His omnipotence), that make this work applicable to Christians of all
ages and an invaluable theological resource.
The first nine books
of Confessions chronicle Augustine’s
life leading up to his conversion experience in the garden of his Milan home,
and his moving back to Thagaste to form a religious community (his ‘order’ was
an informal one, not like an officially recognized religious order today). The
remaining four books depart from the narrative of his life to focus on a more apologetic
discourse which nuances the Christian philosophical views on memory and time
and eternity, before closing with a discourse on the book of Genesis. Despite
this change in course, the work is still coherent because of Augustine’s
infusion of philosophy and theology throughout the work. The entire narrative
of the book focuses on all of God’s creation in its search for—and return to—it’s
Creator. By describing his own failures, Augustine shows the struggle between
his pride and the humbling power of finding God. His journey is one which
chronicles man’s struggles between his own will and God’s will. And lastly, his
story is so relevant to readers of every age because he describes the struggle
between man’s knowledge of the world around him, and how we can reconcile this
with the unexplainable. Augustine is a powerful writer who manages to
encapsulate the Christian experience in his own story, with the greater story
of mankind’s salvation.
One of Augustine’s keenest observations in Confessions is the fact that man wants
happiness. Even without hearing the rest of the argument, Augustine says, men
will agree with this simple premise.2 Building upon this premise and
a keen awareness that man also wants to be validated in his life choices,
Augustine recognizes the basis by which men are drawn to goodness and truth. By
chronicling his search for the truth and recounting each ‘conversion’ in his journey,
Augustine illustrates the typical experience of growing in knowledge and how
this opens our eyes to greater truths. When this happens, we recognize that
what had previously made us happy becomes fleeting, and we are forced in our
pursuit of ultimate happiness (God’s peace) to continue searching for the Truth
himself. The other underlying theme that forms Augustine’s narrative is his
realization of God’s great mercy, no doubt understood in a unique way because
of his own arduous journey to The Truth. It was this comprehensive
understanding of Catholicism that formed a very powerful champion of Christianity,
and a oneness of faith. He would later employ the whole of his story in helping
to dispel the Donatist heresy that was prevalent in Hippo, helping to prove
that God’s mercy was greater than sin, and had the power to sanctify even the
most wayward sinner.
Confessions is an
intimate glimpse into the life of one of the most famous saints in the Church’s
history. But it is also an intimate look inward at ourselves in our own
pilgrimage toward God. This beautiful story is our story, the story of creation
returning to its Creator. A compelling read start to finish, and worthy of the
praise it has been given throughout the ages.
1 St. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Book 1
2 St. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Book 9
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