Scripture

We speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him" these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual . . . Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else's scrutiny. "For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. -- 1 Corinthians 2.7-10, 13, 15-16

Commemoration

Aurelius Augustinus, generally known as St. Augustine, was born in the town of Tagaste, modern Souk Arrhas in Algeria, November 13, 354. His mother Monica was a Christian, and she attempted to raise him as a Christian but without success. He attended school in Carthage, where he was a serious student but was converted to Manichaeism (a dualistic religion of Persian origin that was popular at the time). He had a son by a concubine, whom he named Adeodatus ("gift of God").

Sometime after 383 Augustine went to Rome, where he taught and continued his studies. In 384 he went to Milan to teach, and there he was drawn by stages to Christianity. He came under the influence of St. Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan, and was baptized by him at the Easter Vigil, 387. He lived a kind of monastic life in North Africa for several years with a group of his friends. In 391, on a visit to the city of Hippo, he was against his will chosen by the Christians there to be their pastor. From that time until his death, Hippo was his residence. He was ordained to the priesthood, four years later consecrated a bishop, and shortly afterwards became the Bishop of Hippo (a city which, while at the time was the second most important "church" city in Africa, now no longer exists). Augustine served for 35 years.

St. Augustine was one of the great teachers of the church, and he is universally acknowledged as an important theologian and defender of the Christian faith. Of his many writings, the most famous are his Confessions (ca. 400) and the City of God (after 412). The Confessions tell of his life and conversion; the City of God contains his social and political views, a defense of Christianity, and a vision of the ideal Christian society.   His books, sermons, and letters have been published in many languages and many editions, and there is a vast literature about him.

St. Augustine's latter years were full of turmoil; city after city in North Africa was destroyed by the Vandal tribes, and churches were burned and the clergy scattered. During the Vandals' siege of Hippo in 430, St. Augustine was seized with a fever and died on August 28. His body now rests in a splendid marble monument in the Church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, Italy. -- from Festivals and Commemorations, by Philip Pfatteicher

A Reading

I probed the hidden depth of my soul and drew together and heaped up all my misery in the sight of my heart; there arose a mighty storm, bringing a great deluge of tears. . . And, not indeed in exactly these words, yet after this manner I spoke to you: "How long, O Lord, how long? How long, Lord, will you be angry?" . . . So I was speaking and weeping in the bitter contrition of my heart, when suddenly I heard from a neighboring house a voice, of boy or girl I know not, chanting and often repeating, "Take up and read; take up and read." Instantly my countenance changed. . . . So, checking the torrent of my tears, I arose, interpreting it to be nothing else but a command from God to open the book and read the first chapter I should find.  . . I took (a book of the Apostle's writings) and read that passage on which my eyes first fell: "Not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy; but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires." I did not desire to read further, nor did I need to. Instantly, at the end of this sentence, a light of serenity flooded by heart and all the darkness of doubt vanished away. -- from Confessions

Prayer

Almighty God, your Holy Spirit gives to one the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge, and to another the word of faith. We praise you for the gifts of grace imparted to your servant Augustine, and we pray that by his teaching we may be led to a fuller knowledge of that truth which we have seen in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN