April 24, 387: On this day, Augustine of Hippo writes in his autobiographical Confessions, We were baptized and all anxiety for our past life vanished away. The 33-year-old had been a teacher of rhetoric and pagan philosophies at some of the Roman Empires finest schools, but after great influence by his mother, Monica, and the famous bishop Ambrose, he turned to Christianity. His baptism by Ambrose, on Easter Sunday , marked his entrance into the church. Augustine quotes: Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe. It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels. What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like. The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you dont like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself. Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you. Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering. Love is the beauty of the soul. Forgiveness is the remission of sins. For it is by this that what has been lost, and was found, is saved from being lost again. Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul. Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility. He that is jealous is not in love. Patience is the companion of wisdom. God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. O Lord, help me to be pure, but not yet. O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams. Thou hast created us for Thyself, and our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee. If two friends ask you to judge a dispute, dont accept, because you will lose one friend; on the other hand, if two strangers come with the same request, accept because you will gain one friend. Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance. Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others. Give me chastity and continence, but not yet. Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation. God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering. What I needed most was to love and to be loved, eager to be caught. Happily I wrapped those painful bonds around me; and sure enough, I would be lashed with the red-hot pokers or jealousy, by suspicions and fear, by burst of anger and quarrels. I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 00:20:04 +0000