... I will know. • Pride goes before a fall. • You are my family and that means self-discipline. • The real joy of life is what you give away and share with others. • Love those who persecute you. • Love your enemies and you will be blessed. St. Augustine would condemn any practice of faith which simply endorses what the masses want. He would want to talk to Christians who join the church and fail to experience a real change in their lives, except for that certain respectability they feel because they ...
... are at home with the voice of God, the more completely things work out for good. For some of us, we find ourselves at home with listening and seeing. For some of us we hear the word clearly spoken only in crisis moments. "He loves each of us," said St. Augustine, "as if there were but one of us to love." We can’t even get lost from God in the crowded conditions of today. If you doubt it, read once more the story of Jesus and the sick woman. She touched Jesus in a thronging crowd. Immediately Jesus asked ...
... to others. This he is unable or unwilling to do. Thus, the king has the servant thrown into prison until all the debt is paid. Each of us knows people who have been given a second chance on life. There are the dramatic stories of people like St. Augustine; there are the simple tales of ordinary people. Each of us in our lives as well have received numerous chances from God. God is true to today's Gospel and has forgiven us seventy times seven times. The question remains for us, have we been as forgiving ...
... spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." In the calendar of the Church Year, one day is set aside to cornmeinorate St. Augustine. There is much that could be said about him; but of greater significance today is his mother, Monica, who for years had hoped and prayed that her son would become a Christian. His mother kept on hoping, praying, believing; until one day ...
... power in both heaven and earth has been given to me." Paul in his letter to Philippi says that all heavenly and earthly powers must bow the knee before Christ. These passages do seem to suggest that the road to salvation is narrow indeed. One can begin to see how St. Augustine could say of the unbeliever: Compel him to come into the Church. How do we make sense of this apparent conflict? Let us be quick to affirm that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. But then let us go on to ask if we are ...
... . From a sinner to a saint--simply and solely because of the prayers and the influence of his mother. (2) Do mothers play an important role in society? Tell me who else is more important than a mother? St. Augustine was one of millions of people who have come to know Christ through their mother’s never-failing love and prayers. Some of us are here today because we had that kind of mother. And so it is appropriate that we honor our moms this day, whether they are still ...
... , a husband, a nephew, etc. One man but many roles. Those are not perfect analogies, but they are the best we can do with the minds God has given us. . One of the most prominent Christians who ever lived was a man we know as St. Augustine. Augustine was converted to Christianity in A.D. 386 by the writings and sermons of Ambrose, the bishop of Milan. Ten years later Augustine became a bishop himself and served at Hippo on the coast of northern Africa, in the area we now call Algeria. It is said that one day ...
... the rivers up along the Pacific Coast of Oregon. He is called Gus, but his real name is Augustine. He is named for St. Augustine, the famous saint of the Church who wrote perhaps one of the most famous books in all western civilization, The Confessions of St. Augustine. In The Confessions he tells of his wandering, his searching, until he met a man named Ambrose. Ambrose's testimony changed Augustine's life. Augustine summarized our life as a journey. He said, "We are made restless until we rest in Thee ...
9. Not Always A Saint
Luke 24:13-35
Illustration
Brett Blair
One of the greatest voices of the church was St. Augustine. He lived between the 4th and 5th centuries in Rome and was a Bishop. After Rome fell and faded into dust it was largely Augustine's writings that kept Christianity alive and made it ... in public speaking and preaching classes not to read long quotes but I'm going to do it anyway and read something that Augustine wrote. These two paragraphs shaped the hearts and minds of hundreds of thousands of people throughout history. He is looking back on his ...
... a concerted effort to recognize and celebrate “For all the saints/who from their labors rest. . .” These are the “saints” who have been gone for centuries, whose legacy of love continues on – saints like St. Paul, St. Augustine, St. Francis, St. Theresa, St. Jerome - all those saints appropriately identified and honored by the big “capital C” Church. But there are also our local saints. The “sainting process” that the Roman Catholic Church runs all potential “saint candidates” through ...
... the transformed lives of some of his people. Saul of Tarsus was a mean-spirited bounty hunter of Christians, whom God knocked down and made over into his champion of love and faith, the Apostle Paul. Aurelius Augustine was a self-described liar, thief, and playboy, melted down and remolded by God as the brilliant theologian, St. Augustine. Giovanni Francesco Bernadone was a rich Italian soldier of fortune dubbed by his friends, "King of the Revellers," whom God transformed into the gentle and compassionate ...
... in today's gospel lesson, when a crucified body is entered, life and health are found. When the body is broken, when blood is poured out, community is born and healing is begun. Pain and suffering open to birth and resurrection. In the words of St. Augustine: "The greater the joy, the greater is the pain which precedes it." Or in the lesson Jesus sought to teach his disciples in Mark, before he could reach "the joy set before him," Jesus had to pass through the pain of many "dark nights" and "shadowed ...
... to the power of intercessory prayer. There are times when God says "NO" to the form of our prayer, but "YES" to the substance of our prayers. Let me explain it this way as I share the story of St. Augustine, long before he became a saint. St. Monica''s Falls in California is named after Augustine''s mother, Monica, who cried great tears over her son. She flooded her soul with anguish because her son was not a Christian. Monica prayed that her son would not leave North Africa and go to Italy because she ...
... her heart and just because the disciples tried to get rid of her and even Jesus ignored her, she wasn't going to quit trying. And neither should we. One of the most influential Christians who ever lived was a philosopher whom we know as St. Augustine. If you know Augustine's story, then you also know that for many years he ran from the faith, following after heretical groups like the Manichaeans, who twisted the truth of the Scriptures. What you may not know is that it was his mother's love and faith that ...
15. Fake Augustine Story
Illustration
Michael P. Green
Augustine was in Milan when God touched his heart and changed his life. He then left his former life of license (he even had an illegitimate son). When he returned home, his former girl friend called to him: “Augustine, Augustine, it is I.” He turned and said: “Yes, but it is not I.” Note: This story has been retold and published many times but it is wrongly connected with Augustine. Go here for more. It is a conflation of a fable (which Ambrose retells) and Augustine's conversion story. Here's the fable ...
... thee is the fountain of life, in thy light, do we see light." As someone has said, "We are a God-shaped hole." And as St. Augustine has said, "O God, thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in Thee." The only thing that ... love of God in Christ Jesus Our Lord." A Life that is ever with us, His life, both now, and forever. Amen. PRAYER OF ST. AUGUSTINE You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised: great is your power and to your wisdom there is no limit ... For you ...
... grace are unlimited, but our desire for his grace must at least be honest and sincere. We can’t pass over our sinning so lightly. This attitude is reminiscent of St. Augustine who prayed, "Lord, forgive my sins - but not yet!" It is said that another time he prayed, "Lord, forgive my sins" - and after a pause - "except one." The anguish in St. Augustine’s soul is revealed in his confession, "How often have I lashed at my will and cried, ‘Leap now! Leap now!’ - and even as I said it, crouched for the ...
... to church.” “Oh, that’s easy to explain,” the man said. “I like to come on this day so I can hear the preacher get all tangled up trying to explain the Trinity!” St. Augustine came to a similar conclusion in the Fourth Century, after writing 800 pages on the Trinity. He declared that he did not understand it. This is St. Augustine’s story. As he walked along the seashore one day, he saw a small boy playing with a seashell. The boy scooped a hole in the sand, filled his shell with water and ...
... his deeds were in miracles. In his book, Gravity and Grace, Joseph Sittler said, "The parables are spoken miracles; the miracles are spoken parables." In each miracle there is a truth portrayed. These truths are "signs" pointing to a truth. The truth points to Christ as St. Augustine explains: "Let us ask of the miracles themselves what they will tell us about Christ; for if they be understood, they have a tongue of their own. He was the Word of God; and all the acts of the Word are themselves words for us ...
... his deeds were in miracles. In his book, Gravity and Grace, Joseph Sittler said, "The parables are spoken miracles; the miracles are spoken parables." In each miracle there is a truth portrayed. These truths are "signs" pointing to a truth. The truth points to Christ as St. Augustine explains: "Let us ask of the miracles themselves what they will tell us about Christ; for if they be understood, they have a tongue of their own. He was the Word of God; and all the acts of the Word are themselves words for us ...
... . The second thing to recognize is that this thirst was put there by God. When you feel an emptiness in your spirit, it is a warning that you are dry and parched when it comes to the things that really matter. Nothing else can slake this thirst but God. Remember St. Augustine. He tried all that this world could offer him as a young man in a futile attempt to satisfy a yearning of his soul. It was one trivial pursuit after another. It was out of that experience that ...
... words can quickly become a formula and lose their meaning. I’m convinced that we need to think more broadly about God, in fact, we need to think about God in Christ as broadly as we possibly can. Augustine said, “If you can imagine it, then it’s not God.” (St. Augustine Quotes, St. Augustine R.C. Church, staugny.org/quotes) Knowing that words will always fall short of describing the reality of God should spur us to be more creative and more imaginative. I try to begin prayers spoken in worship in ...
... don’t understand what is happening to us until we change. Then we look back and we see the conviction of our hearts. One of the greatest voices of the church was St. Augustine. He lived between the 4th and 5th centuries in Rome and was a Bishop. After Rome fell and faded into dust it was largely Augustine’s writings that kept Christianity alive and made it the most influential movement the world had ever known. It is remarkable that between the 8th and 12th centuries his writings were more widely ...
... ." (C. S. Lewis, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, New York: The MacMillian Company, 1943, p. 29.) We do not pray when we feel like it. We pray because we need to have communication and relationship with our God. It does not depend on our emotions or feelings. St. Augustine, who certainly is one of the most colorful characters in God''s redemptive work, shared with a widow named, "Proba," who asked the famous Bishop for instructions on how to pray: "If you were to run over all the words of Holy Prayers, you would ...
... a fellow at the party who was not wearing the proper attire, and kicked him out. You probably are thinking: if the king was tolerant enough to let anyone come to his party, why would he get pushed out of shape over what they are wearing? St. Augustine, a great church leader of the Fourth Century, has helped us at this point. He explained that each person who accepted the king’s invitation was given proper attire for the banquet. The king was aware that poor people would not have proper clothing for such ...