St. Augustine of Hippo

I thought it would be a good idea to talk about St. Augustine of Hippo today because he was St. Monica's son, and we talked about St. Monica here yesterday.

St Augustine lived from November 354 to August 430. His mother, Monica was faithful and his father was a pagan, who converted to Christianity before his death in 371. Augustine had two siblings who both went into religious life. He was raised Christian from his mother but at the age of 17, he left the church to follow the Manichaean religion. Augustine led a life filled with pleasure of women, to seek out experiences or make up stories in order to gain acceptance. Throughout this time, her urged a popular prayer, "Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet."

St. Monica & St. Augustine (source)

Augustine's mother wanted him to marry a woman of his class. As a young boy, he began a relationship with a young woman of Carthage who birthed his son, Adeodatus. It is said that his son was very intelligent. When Augustine converted in 389, he left the woman and their son. 

From Catholic Online: "Through the prayers of his holy mother and the marvelous preaching of St. Ambrose, Augustine finally became convinced that Christianity was the one true religion. Yet he did not become a Christian then, because he thought he could never live a pure life."

St. Augustine underwent three years battling with the Christian faith.

From Catholic Encyclopedia: "At first he turned towards the philosophy of the Academics, with its pessimistic scepticism; then neo-Platonic philosophy inspired him with genuine enthusiasm. At Milan he had scarcely read certain works of Plato and, more especially, of Plotinus, before the hope of finding the truth dawned upon him. Once more he began to dream that he and his friends might lead a life dedicated to the search for it, a life purged of all vulgar aspirations after honors, wealth, or pleasure, and with celibacy for its rule (Confessions VI). But it was only a dream; his passions still enslaved him."

Finally, through reading through holy scriptures, light penetrated his mind. Soon, he understood that Jesus Christ was the only way to truth and salvation. A few days later, Augustine went with his mother and friends to devote his life to philosophy of Christianity, which he could no longer deny himself.

More for Catholic Online: "He was baptized, became a priest, a bishop, a famous Catholic writer, Founder of religious priests, and one of the greatest saints that ever lived. He became very devout and charitable, too. On the wall of his room he had the following sentence written in large letters: "Here we do not speak evil of anyone." St. Augustine overcame strong heresies, practiced great poverty and supported the poor, preached very often and prayed with great fervor right up until his death. "Too late have I loved You!" he once cried to God, but with his holy life he certainly made up for the sins he committed before his conversion."

Feast Day: August 28

Patron of brewers

He is the patron of brewers because his early life included many parties, entertainment and worldly ambitions. 

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St. Augustine was such a great saint and so much is known about him that it was pretty difficult to write this post without pulling some paragraphs from other resources. So Thanks to Catholic Online and Catholic Encyclopedia. I would love to read his "Confessions" book that he wrote before he passed away. I might be adding that to my reading list.

St. Augustine, Pray for us.

That's all for today!