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On the life, writings and spirituality of
St. Augustine of Hippo, bishop and doctor
St. Augustine of Hippo, c. 354-430: considered
to be the greatest of the Fathers and Doctors
of the Church
Biographical sketch
St. Augustine was born on November 13, 354, in
Tagaste, Numidia, North Africa. He was the eldest
son of St. Monica and Patricius (a pagan Roman official).
At sixteen, St. Augustine studied at the University
of Carthage (in what is now modern Tunisia) wanting
to be a lawyer. However, he instead devoted himself
to literary pursuits. It was in these pursuits that
he abandoned the Christian faith. One of the first
heresies Augustine was involved with was Manichaeanism.
Manichaeans believed that evil was caused by an
outside force, thus making people relieved of guilt
for their sins. Also, Augustine was tempted to
live with a mistress who bore him a son (whom he
ironically named Adeodatus - meaning, "gift of God").
In this falling away from Christianity, he studied
and taught rhetoric at Tagaste, Carthage, Rome
and Milan.
A turning point came in St. Augustine's life when
at Milan, he attended the mass celebrated by
St. Ambrose. The sermon of St. Ambrose impressed
St. Augustine very much. This experience, plus
the incessant and sacrificing prayers of St. Monica,
brought Augustine back to Christianity. He was
baptized, together with his son, in
the Easter Vigil of year 387.
St. Augustine set out for Tagaste with St. Monica
and his son. On the way, his mother died. That
was November 387. Two years later, his son also
died. It was not long after this that St. Augustine
was ordained a priest at Hippo and after three years
also became its bishop. He was 41 years old when
he became the bishop of Hippo. It was said that
St. Augustine preferred the monastic life; but the
need of the Church at the time was for him to be
a dominant figure in African Church affairs.
St. Augustine was bishop of Hippo for almost 35
years. He established a monastic community for
clergy who all lived simple and frugal lives. He
also founded a community of religious women with
his sister Perpetua as abbess. His rule for
community life became the basis for many
religious orders, most especially, for Augustinian
Canons, Augustinian Friars, the Dominicans, and
the Ursulines. These religious orders followed
a rule of poverty, obedience, celibacy,
and a strict monastic life.
In 426, St. Augustine went into semi-retirement
to concentrate on his writings. On August 28, 430,
after being ill since the summer of that same
year, St. Augustine died peacefully in the grace
of the Lord at age 85.
Teaching and spirituality
St. Augustine wrote voluminously. Attributed
to him are 200+ treatises, 300+ letters, and
400+ sermons. Important in all of these is the
study of theology and philosophy. St. Augustine's
teaching and spirituality is so important, that
much of the quotes in the present edition of
the Catholic Catechism, are sourced from his
writings. Of the two great teachers in the
Catholic Catechism, St. Augustine and St. Thomas
of Aquinas are the most popularly quoted.
St. Augustine is quoted 85 times, while St. Thomas
quoted is 58 times.
Three writings which bear much of his teaching
and spirituality are "The Confessions of
St. Augustine", "The City of God", and "On
the Trinity". The
first writing has a subject matter that has
psychological complexity. It is an autobiography
made by St. Augustine himself. The second writing
on the other hand is very rich in political
insights. The third writing is a theologically
deep treatise.
Two texts in scripture are good sources
of St. Augustine's spirituality: the "eyes
of your heart being enlightened" (Eph 1:18) and
"blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall
see God" (Mt 5:8). From these two scriptural
texts we see that for St. Augustine, the heart
seems to be the inner person, the soul. And
for us to see God, the eyes of the heart, i.e.,
the soul, need to be
healed and they need light. At first, Augustine
thought that this vision of God comes only after death.
He eventually realized that even on earth, God may
be seen by one who has been unified by a single
longing for God. This single longing for God and
the healing of the soul by faith though is not,
according to St. Augustine, enough to see God.
There is need of light to see God. And this light,
according to him, comes from loving our neighbor.
Excerpts from writings
St. Augustine wrote many tracts of teaching based
on his own spirituality.
Listed below are excerpts from his writings.
We can learn about the teaching of St. Augustine
through what he wrote especially about the
vision of God.
Not our merits but God's mercy purifies the
heart that it may see God (Homilies on St. John's
Gospel, 2.16)
Look for the source of your love of your
neighbor - there you will see God (Homilies on
St. John's Gospel, 17.8)
Return to your heart...see there what...you
can perceive of God, for in it is the image
of God...recognize its Author (Homilies on St.
John's Gospel, 18.10)
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St. Augustine was born on November 13, 354, in
Tagaste, Numidia, North Africa. He was the eldest
son of St. Monica and Patricius (a pagan Roman official).
At sixteen, St. Augustine studied at the University
of Carthage (in what is now modern Tunisia) wanting
to be a lawyer. However, he instead devoted himself
to literary pursuits. It was in these pursuits that
he abandoned the Christian faith. One of the first
heresies Augustine was involved with was Manichaeanism.
Manichaeans believed that evil was caused by an
outside force, thus making people relieved of guilt
for their sins. Also, Augustine was tempted to
live with a mistress who bore him a son (whom he
ironically named Adeodatus - meaning, "gift of God").
In this falling away from Christianity, he studied
and taught rhetoric at Tagaste, Carthage, Rome
and Milan.
A turning point came in St. Augustine's life when
at Milan, he attended the mass celebrated by
St. Ambrose. The sermon of St. Ambrose impressed
St. Augustine very much. This experience, plus
the incessant and sacrificing prayers of St. Monica,
brought Augustine back to Christianity. He was
baptized, together with his son, in
the Easter Vigil of year 387.