The Man of Hippo
Augustine (354-430) is one of God’s examples of His great grace for those who struggle in their search for the truth. He was born in North Africa and studied philosophy in Carthage. Much of his young life was a debauched one.
Augustine’s life is summed up in his own words, “Our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.”
He writes of his struggles to find a spiritual life in his Confessions, “You, O Lord turned me toward myself…for I was afraid lest you hear me too soon, and too soon cure me of my disease of lust which I desired….Thus I was sick and tormented, reproaching myself more bitterly than ever, rolling and writhing in my chains.”
On the day of his conversion while in Milan in 387, he was in a state of great distress, “when suddenly I heard the voice of a (child)…chanting ’Pick it up, pick it up.’” He picked up a copy of Romans and read, “Let us walk properly in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.” (13:13-14) “Instantly, there was infused in my heart something like the light of full certainty and all gloom of doubt vanished.”
He was baptized at the Easter vigil in 387. Augustine was ordained four years later. He was made bishop of Hippo, North Africa in 396. He defended the christian faith and argued against the Donatists, that the holiness of the church did not depend on the holiness of its members, particularly the clergy, but that holiness comes from christ, the head of the Church.
Donatists, after their leader, Donatus, were not heretics; however, they caused division in the church. During the severe persecution of Diocletian, begun in 303, many Christians denied their faith under torture. The Donatists thought that the lapsed should not be re-admitted to the Church. Some Bishops had surrendered their copies of the bible to the government officials who burned the books. Donatists believed that such bishops were not worthy to administer the sacraments
On October 31, 1517, an Augustinian monk, Martin Luther, nailed 95 points of debate to the church door of Wittenberg, Germany. Augustine had great influence on Luther. He continues to influence the church to this day.
O Lord, help us so to know You that we may truly love You, and so love You that we may fully serve You, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
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