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| Here is a blurry photograph of the February 2014 edition of Magnificat (pp. 228-229). Today is a good day to revisit it. |
If you don't have your own copy of this terrific magazine, you should subscribe right away by clicking HERE! Okay, okay... in case you don't have this issue and you don't want to squint, here is the complete text in blog format. Happy Saint Augustine's Day!
The story of St. Augustine’s conversion is one of the most
famous in the history of Christianity, and indeed in the history of Western
humanities and literature, thanks to the penetrating account of it that he
gives in his epoch marking autobiographical work, the Confessions.
Augustine was born in Roman North Africa in 354, during a
period of transition and religious instability that saw the rise of the
recently legalized Christianity even as it struggled with the great heresy of
the Arians, various gnostic groups and oriental mystery religions, and the
prevailing decadence of the pagan social milieu.
As a young man, Augustine went to study at the cultural
center of Carthage, where he was introduced to pagan morals. He took a
concubine and embraced the Manichean sect, while also sharpening his mental and
rhetorical skills. Eventually he traveled to Rome and Milan, abandoned the
intellectually weak Manichean system, and dedicated himself to a genuine
pursuit of truth through philosophy. Soon he found himself grappling with the
claims of Christianity as his aesthetic and intellectual objections to it were
overcome. What remained was the need for a conversion of heart, which came
finally in the famous reading of Romans 13 in the garden in Milan (Confessions
VIII.12).
The story of Augustine could be understood as an
intellectual and moral journey, and these are certainly crucial elements. But
its important, also, to emphasize the personal communication that pervades his
whole experience of conversion. The Confessions make this clear by their
genre; they are written as a prayer to God, and this is clearly more than a
literary device. Augustine makes it clear that God’s grace and mercy, given
through the Church, is the profound source and focus of his conversion. He
learns that philosophy is not enough; that truth and salvation are constituted
by a personal relationship with Christ, the Truth in person.
We see this too in the crucial role that the companionship
of particular Christians plays in Augustine’s life. They bring the Church close
to him in a way that opens him up and enables him to overcome his objections of
mind and heart. The key person, of course, is his mother St. Monica. Her
maternal love and her constant, ardent prayers for his conversion were a
continual witness to him through all his wanderings. And she joyfully received
the news moments after grace finally won over her son’s heart.
Also of great importance is St. Ambrose, who received him
with fatherly kindness when he first came to Milan, and by cultivating his
friendship and trust, drew him to attend his sermons. Augustine’s admiration
for the beauty of their style soon grew into an attraction to the radiance of
the truth they imparted. He would eventually be baptized by St. Ambrose on
Easter 387. “To him was I unknowingly led by You, that by him I might knowingly
be led to You“ (Confessions V.13).
