THEO 1 [AUGUSTINE, SCRIPTURE, AND

PRAYER]
LESSON 3
ST. AUGUSTINE works like ‘Confessions’ and ‘City of God’
 Aug. 28 is the memorial of St. are widely read even today
Augustine CHILDHOOD AND EARLY LIFE
 Birthday: November 13, 354 - Augustine was born at Tagaste, in
 Died At Age: 75 the Roman Province of Africa, to
 Also Known As: Augustine of Hippo Patricius and Monica. His father
 Born Country: Roman Empire was a pagan while his mother was
 Born In: Thagaste, Numidia (now a Christian, and they belonged to
Souk Ahras, Algeria) an honourable upper class family.
 Famous As: Bishop and Doctor of - His parents sent him to attend
the Church. He’s one of the most school at Madaurus when he was
influential Church 11 years old. There he learned
 Father of the Church, Theologians Latin literature and gained
Philosopher knowledge about pagan beliefs
and practices.
FAMILY - He went to Carthage at the age of
- Father: Patricius Aurelius - was a 17 to continue his education in
pagan, though he converted to rhetoric
Christianity on his deathbed.
- Mother: Saint Monica - was a LATER LIFE
Christian and raised Augustine in - He took a teaching job at Tagaste
the faith, though he was not where he taught grammar during
baptized until he was an adult. 373-374. Later on he moved to
- Place Of Death: Hippo Regius, Carthage to teach rhetoric, and
Numidia (Now Modern-Day held this position for nine years.
Annaba, Algeria) - In 383, he went to Rome to
establish a school there, but was
WHO IS ST. AUGUSTINE disappointed with the apathy of the
- Saint Augustine, also known as Roman schools.
Augustine of Hippo, was a bishop - He accepted the position of a
of Hippo Regius in Northern Africa. professor of rhetoric at the imperial
He was an ancient Christian court at Milan in late 384. This was
theologian who played a significant a very prestigious post that
role in the development of early enabled the holders to easily enter
Western philosophy marked by the a political career.
merging of Greek philosophy and - In Milan, he met Saint Ambrose
Judeo-Christian religious traditions. who deeply influenced his thinking
He had an intellectual bent of mind and philosophy. By this time,
and was fascinated by Augustine was disillusioned with
philosophical enquiries, and spent the Manichaean religion and was
his early life exploring various moving towards Christianity
philosophical and religious - He formally converted to
theories. Christianity in 386 and was
baptized by Saint Ambrose in 387.
RECOGNITION - He completed his Christian
His contribution to the Christian doctrine, Apology, ‘On the Holiness of the
he was given the title of Doctor of the Catholic Church’ in 388.
Church. He is considered a saint by the - He was ordained a priest in Hippo
Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Regius in Algeria in 391, where he
Church, and is the patron saint of brewers, gained much respect and fame as
printers, and theologians. Such is his a preacher. Several of his original
impact on the Western religion that his sermons have been carefully
preserved.
THEO 1 [AUGUSTINE, SCRIPTURE, AND
PRAYER]
LESSON 3
- In 395, he was appointed the - He became very ill in early 430 and
coadjutor Bishop of Hippo and was spent his last days in prayer and
soon promoted to the position of repentance. He died on 28 August
full Bishop, hence gaining the 430.
name ‘Augustine of Hippo’. He - He was declared to be a saint and
held this position till 430. canonized after his death. Pope
- A devout Christian, he passionately Boniface VIII later named him as a
defended the religion from its Doctor of the Church in 1298
detractors and involved himself in
convincing people to convert to ETC
Christianity - The name Augustine is a form of
the title Augustus, which was given
MAJOR WORKS to Roman emperors to indicate
- He was a prolific writer who had their greatness and venerableness.
authored more than a hundred (That’s what “Augustus” means.)
books. His works which have - The name of Augustine’s diocese
greatly influenced the development — Hippo — also has interesting
of Christian theology include resonances. To English speakers,
apologies, works on Christian it sounds like a contraction of
doctrine, and exegetical works. “hippopotamus,” but in Greek it
- Saint Augustine is mainly revered called to mind a very different
for his contribution to Western animal. “Hippo” comes from the
religion and philosophy through his Greek word for horse. “Augustine
teachings and various sermons. A of Hippo” thus can be read as “Gus
man of high intellect, his works from Horse.
have covered various religious
fields such as Christian AUGUSTINIAN VALUES
anthropology, astrology, The spirituality of our Order
ecclesiology, etc. proceeds from the following of Christ
- He wrote ‘Confessions’, a set of 13 according to the wisdom of the Gospel
books in Latin in which he gave an and the action of the Holy Spirit. Its
account of his conversion to principal point of reference is the teaching
Christianity. The books are and example of Saint Augustine,
presumed to be written during 397 complemented by the tradition of the
and 398. His other major works Order. The principal document of our
include: ‘The city of God’, ‘The spirituality is Augustine's Rule, which
Enchiridion’ and ‘On the Trinity’ directs our lives and actions and informs
- Augustine's other major works our characteristic values of unity, truth and
includes the following: charity.
o Enarrationes in Psalmos
(Explanations of the Humility and poverty are the
Psalms), 392-422 foundation of our common life and spiritual
o De doctrina Christiana (On life and are so closely related that no one
Christian Doctrine), 396 can be called a “poor man of God” as was
o De trinitate (On the Trinity), Augustine, without being humble. By
399-422 reason of poverty and humility we
o De Genesi ad litteram consider all of our possessions, both
(Literal Interpretation of material and spiritual, as the possessions
Genesis), 401-415 of all, for we do not hold them as personal
property, but as given to us by God to be
administered. We are all beggars before
PERSONAL LIFE AND LEGACY God.
THEO 1 [AUGUSTINE, SCRIPTURE, AND
PRAYER]
LESSON 3
CORE VALUES  Shared common
- UNITAS (UNITY AND experiences in
COMMUNITY) short, studies, and
o Union with God and Others service
in the School Faith - VERITAS (TRUTH)
Community o The Search for God
o The Christian through the Pursuit of Truth
understanding of being one We are rooted in the truth
with one another is based about ourselves, we are
on our common origin in aware that God is the
creation by God and re- source of all truth. With
creation in Christ. faith and reason, like two
o In the words of Paul, we great wings, we fly to Truth
are one body. With the o Augustine insists that we
Church, we attempt to are to “teach the truth in
renew the experience of the love.”
early Christian community o “Veritas” must…
where “the community of  To tell the truth
believers was of one heart  To search for truth
and mind, and no one in friendships
claimed that any of his  To be serious about
possessions was his own, the hard work, self
but they had everything in discipline, and self-
common.” (Acts 5:32) awareness that
o The relationships within the honest study
community are nourished requires
by the oneness of Christ  To know Him who is
with each of us and His Truth Incarnate,
presence in the community. Jesus Christ, and
o “Unitas” speaks… His saving message
 Eagerness to serve  To know one’s worth
the common good as a child of God
 Respect for one and the
another, our transcendent dignity
diversity, and our of every human
talents person
 Shared identity and  To explore
membership energetically the
 Welcoming and physical world and
lasting friendships the world of ideas
 Expressions of unity with an openness to
in community the goodness of
gatherings (e.g. beauty and reality
Mass, assemblies,  To be able to think
rallies) in an orderly and
 Realization of the critical fashion and
universality of the to express one’s
Church and thoughts clearly and
awareness of being with grace
members of a global - CARITAS (LOVE)
community o Union with God through
Love
THEO 1 [AUGUSTINE, SCRIPTURE, AND
PRAYER]
LESSON 3
o The great commandment of
Christ is to love God and to
love neighbor. God is love.
The school community and
relationships within it are a
special place where this
love finds expression.
o More than any one word
can express (be it love,
concern devotion,
compassion, caring),
“caritas” is that impulse of
the Spirit of Jesus that is
expressed in hundreds of
kind and gracious ways.
o It is “active friendship” that
encompasses both love of
God and neighbor. It is
when the head and heart
move into action, often with
sacrifice, for the good of
another or a community
o “Caritas” possess in…
 Being a friend.
 Loving deeds.
 Service to the
community.
 Care for the
common good.
 Sharing of goods,
information,
resources, talents.
 Personal interest
and support of one
another.
 Bearing shared
burdens and
responsibilities

We can see that these three values

supports and express one another. Truth
acquired through both faith and reason is
the basis for our understanding of reality.
Truth about God as creator and source of
life along with the coming of Jesus to be
one with us supports our love for one
another. This union with God and one
another is evidenced in Christian
community