Augustine was the son of a pagan father, Patricius, and a Christian mother, Monica. Their hometown was Tragaste, in modern Algiers. Monica’s efforts to bring him up as a devout Christian were not too fruitful. Augustine was an intellectual giant and made his mark at Carthage first as a student and later as a teacher of rhetoric. In the meanwhile he abandoned Christian faith, embraced Manichaeism and for 15 years lived with a mistress who bore him a son named Adeodatus in 372. However, this illegitimate offspring died in 389. Augustine’s wayward and dissolute life was resented by his saintly mother Monica whose Spartan discipline was not up to his liking. To escape from her searching eyes and to seek better fortune, in 383 Augustine secretly fled to Rome where he had a prosperous life. The following year he moved to Milan, which was the capital of the Western Empire. In that city he became the chief professor of Rhetoric, a coveted and prestigious post. During those days rhetoric was a skill vital to sway and manipulate large masses, especially when issues had to be voted by public audience. Augustine was at the top of this art. In the meanwhile he came under the spell of St. Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan. The personal integrity, the intellectual acumen and the doctrinal exposition of this Bishop startled him and forced him to have a fresh look into his own beliefs. Eventually he realized that Christianity was a religion that was fit not only for ordinary men but also for philosophers as well.
Then one day, as if from nowhere, Monica came over to Milan to live with Augustine. Her first disciplinary action was to dispatch his mistress back to Africa without more ado. She then arranged a marriage for Augustine with a young local girl, which did not materialize, perhaps due to God’s design over him. Both Mother and son regularly attended Sunday Mass in the Cathedral and were thrilled to hear the sermons of Bishop Ambrose. None-the-less, those were days of spiritual crisis for Augustine to take the last plunge into Christianity. Then one day while sitting in a garden he heard a clear and distinct voice telling him “Take up and read.” Immediately he took the Bible and opened it at random. The verses that glared at him were: “…the night is far spent, and the day draws near…therefore, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provisions for the flesh…” (Romans 13:12-14). This was a turning point in his life. Years of doubt, anxiety and mental acrobatics have been replaced by a period of peace and divine enlightenment. It was an astounding moment of grace. Augustine, along with some companions, was baptized by Bishop Ambrose in 387. A few months after the death of his mother he returned to Africa. Thereafter things moved fast. Augustine was ordained priest in 391 and consecrated Bishop of Hippo in 396. His zeal as a pastor and his writings as a scholar have immortalized him. Augustine has enriched the Church with 113 books, about 200 letters and more than 500 sermons. His major works include CONFESSIONS, CITY OF GOD, and DE TRINITATE (On the Trinity). Though initially Augustine was tainted by Manichaeism, he abandoned it on the ground that the members of that heresy were involved more in attacking the church rather than propounding their own doctrine. His powerful pen exposed the weaknesses of Donatism and Pelagianism, two major heresies of his days. Augustine lived his faith till his very last breath at Hippo in 430. With the possible exception of St. Thomas Aquinas, Augustine is considered the greatest intellect Christendom has ever seen.
Reflection: The faith of St. Monica, the enlightened sermons of St. Ambrose and the reading of the Sacred Scriptures were contributory factors in the conversion of Augustine. He himself stated it with clarity: “Conversions are rarely brought about through an immediate influx of divine grace, but through the agency of events and persons.”
“Too late have I loved you, O beauty of ancient days, yet ever new….You were with me, but I was not with you….You touched me, and I burned for your peace.” (St. Augustine).
“What are we doing? Unlearned people are taking heaven by force. Yet we, with all our knowledge, are so cowardly that we keep rolling around in the mud of our sins.” (St. Augustine to his friend Alpius.)
