Friends, the first person to accompany us on
our journey is one of my heroes, St. Augustine of Hippo.
“Brother Aurelius, could you tell us a little
about yourself?"
-Well Brother Raymond, first let me say I am
flattered that you consider me as your hero.
I was born some time ago in 354, of middle
class parents in the town of Thagaste North Africa. They tell me I had an
inquiring intellect. My life was far different than our Brother Thomas. I
rejected the fervent Christianity of my Mother Monica and immersed myself in
pagan immoralities, this was common among the adolescents of my time.
At the age of seventeen I took a common-law
wife, and with her had a son, Adeodatus (God sent). I was utterly faithful to
her but we parted some sixteen years later. After that, I had much difficulty in
bridling my sexual impulses, even to taking another mistress until my young
intended bride should come of age a few years later.
This difficulty came to an abrupt end as a
result of my conversion in the garden of a villa outside Milan. I was 32 years
of age. Bishop Ambrose, (bishop of Milan) baptized me during the Easter Vigil
of 387. Following the deaths of my Mother Monica and my son Adeodatus, I gave myself over to a
monastic life of contemplation and prayer in the company of some close friends
and followers.
Four deep convictions motivated my life: (1)
that we were made by God for union with God; (2) that only by God's mercy
extended to us in Christ Jesus could that union be accomplished; (3) that only
through Jesus Christ could humanity come to the knowledge of the truth; and (4)
that friendship founded on the love of God is a powerful instrument of God's
grace.
Throughout my thirty-five years as bishop of
Hippo, I never failed to preach my great loves- those of God, Christ, the
Church and his fellow human beings. I left this world in 430 CE,[1]
and my body is venerated today in the Augustinian Basilica at San Pietro in
Ciel D'Oro, Pavia, Italy. And, Brother Raymond, through our writings, Brother
Thomas and I are happy to be with you and our readers today.-
“Thank you Brother Aurelius.
I really am one of your fans. I feel you asked
God the questions our readers and I would have asked had we been with you.
Welcome aboard Brother Aurelius.” [2]
[1]CE is an abbreviation which can have the following
meanings: Common Era,
Current Era, or Christian Era, alternative names for Anno Domini (A.D.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Era.
[2] Volumes of Saint Augustine's work may be found on the www,
“Early
Church Fathers,” http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/