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Homily for the Memorial of Saint Augustine

 Dear friends,

Saint Augustine is one of the greatest saints of the Church. Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of his mother Saint Monica, whose prayers obtained for him the grace of conversion.

Augustine was a restless and intelligent young man, who escaped from his home and his prayerful mother in search of what he thought was a “better life”. Religion to him at that time was something boring. While Augustine rose through his career and became a skilled orator who followed what he thought was the most fashionable form of wisdom and knowledge, he had to go through a lot of inner struggles to discover that this wisdom could not satisfy the longings of his soul.

The unfailing prayers of his mother led him to Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, and Augustine became a catechumen. Even in this state, he had to go through several humiliations before finally he acknowledged his emptiness in front of the Lord. The long-awaited encounter with Jesus Christ came one day when, under a fig tree, Augustine flung himself down in despair, weeping in front of the Lord: “Tomorrow and tomorrow! Why not today? Why not today put an end to my unclean life?” That very moment, the Lord heard his prayer. He heard the voice of a child, singing: “Take and read, take and read.” Augustine got up and, following what seemed to him a divine command, opened and read from the Letters of Saint Paul which were lying nearby: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and stop worrying about how to satisfy the desires of the flesh.” As Augustine read these words under the divine command, immediately a powerful light was infused within his soul.

He got up a changed man. Augustine's life is a testimony to the power of the Holy Scripture and the loving heart of God, who hears every man, every woman, when they call to Him from the heart.

Gradually God revealed to Augustine the greatness of the wisdom in Jesus Christ, which far surpassed any knowledge he ever had before. This wisdom he describes as a Divine Light which illumined all things for him. Today on his feast, let us also thirst and pray for a Divine Encounter which can transform our lives.

Let us pray in the beautiful words of Saint Augustine: “Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you!”

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