[00:00] Praise be Jesus and Mary. We honor the great St. Augustine.

[00:31] We already heard quite a bit about him yesterday as we celebrate the memorial of his holy mother, St. Monica. He was born in Tagaste, modern day Algeria, in the year 354. Again, his mother, St. Monica, was an outstanding Christian wife and mother.

[01:01] Well, his father was a pagan, but converted to Christianity shortly before his death, thanks to St. Monica. Though he wasn't baptized as a child, Augustine learned about the faith from his mother growing up. And as a teenager, he would be a catechumen, but didn't pursue baptism. He kind of delayed that.

[01:33] So Monica was to pray for her son's conversion and his baptism for many years, for nearly three decades or so. Early on, Augustine studied grammar, rhetoric, and philosophy. He had a preference for the pagan classics. He eventually got involved with the heretical group of the Manichaeans and accepted the erroneous vision of the world, the double principle that governs

[02:10] the universe, a good principle governing all that was spiritual, and an evil principle that governs all that is material. And this led Augustine to embrace a somewhat hedonistic lifestyle. He even fathered a child out of wedlock. He moved to Carthage to conduct a school of rhetoric, and he was pretty successful at it, and wanted to be even more successful.

[02:43] So he went to Rome and then to Milan. All the while, Augustine learned of the weaknesses of the Manichaean position, so he abandoned that heresy and became a skeptic. He began to study Neoplatonism, and he was helped also by the

[03:13] good example of counsel, prayers of his mother and some friends, and this brought him closer and closer to the Catholic faith. A particular help was the great bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose. He captivated Augustine because of his mastery of rhetoric, his powerful intellect, and his fatherly charity. But what was it that really finally brought Augustine into the faith?

[03:49] What brought about his conversion? He explains in the Confessions, his autobiography, the moment, the straw that broke the camel's back, what was it? And one day, he describes, he heard the voice of a child repeat tolle, lege, tolle,

[04:20] lege, take up, and read, and so Augustine took up the scriptures that were nearby and read what passages his eyes first landed on. He turned to St. Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 13, which reads, "Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife

[04:52] and envying, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh. And make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof." Finally, Augustine gave in, you could say, to the movements of grace in his soul. His conversion was, you could say, effected. And at age 33, he was baptized by St. Ambrose.

[05:23] Augustine would eventually embrace a monastic form of life, would be ordained to the priesthood, and then as a bishop. That was an office he fulfilled very faithfully for nearly 35 years. He wrote so much, of course, he preached a great deal, but he wrote especially tracts against the various heresies of the time. He touched upon nearly every point of Catholic doctrine, especially grace,

[05:58] the need of grace, as in for one's conversion, for example. And so he's known as the doctor of grace. His works are voluminous and include the Confessions, his autobiography, which is a must read, you could say, for every Catholic. Must read this book and can reread it. Such a beautiful, beautiful autobiography.

[06:32] The City of God, which is considered his masterpiece, on the Trinity, on Christian doctrine, numerous letters, and more numerous sermons. St. Augustine died on this day, in the year 430 at the age of 76. What could we learn from St. Augustine? Be inspired by, I think, is his pursuit of the truth.

[07:04] His whole life, because it was a pursuit of the truth. And he eventually found it, the fullness of truth in the Catholic faith. We, too, have found it. And so we need to embrace it, embrace the truth wholeheartedly, deepen our appreciation and love of it, and dig deeper into the truths of our faith.

[07:36] And ultimately, as we know, truth is a person, Jesus Christ himself. And to know him more, love him more. For as our Lord says, "the truth will set you free." Only the truth will set you free. So maybe cherish that truth and share it, defend it, promote it. Everyone needs it to be set free.

[08:11] Praise be Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Forever. Choir singing.

[08:48] Amen. Amen. Amen.