THEOLOGY 6 REVIEWER

MODULE 5

THE COMMUNITY LIFE IN CASSICIACUM

Acts 4:32 Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things
which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common.

Introduction

The community life experience of Augustine in Cassiciacum was an inspiration coming from the community experience
of the Jerusalem community. Acts 4:34 ff. explains how the first community of disciples live together as brothers and
sisters in following the Lord Jesus—they sold their possessions and put everything in common.
What is a community?
a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or
perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists.
Ecclesiastical.: a group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule.
What is the idea of St. Augustine about community life?
“No friends are true friends unless you, my God, bind them fast to one another through that LOVE which is sown in our
hearts by the Holy Spirit (Confessions IV, 4).

According to the Rule of Augustine, this is "the primary purpose of our coming together."
In fact, this can be held as the only purpose in coming together, and that every other reason is a natural consequence
of understanding what it means to be "of one mind and one heart intent upon God." (Rule, 1.)

The type of community life that reflects Christ's own desire for his church,
"that all may be one, as you, Father, are one in me, and I in you." (John 17:21)

HOW DID HE LIVE IT?

Words of St. Augustine “There were many things associated with my friends which laid great hold of my mind:
 talking and laughing together;
 exchanging acts of kindness with one another,
 reading pleasant books together;
 bantering among ourselves and at the same time engaging in serious talks;
 disagreeing at times without losing our temper, just as a man may have a difference with himself;
 using disagreement when it arose, and it happened very infrequently, to give additional passion to our more
normal state of harmony;
 teaching and learning from one another in turn;
 longing impatiently for the return.
 With these and other such expressions proceeding from the hearts of a group of people who gave and
received love in return – expressions shown by the face, the voices, the eyes,
 and a thousand other delighted gestures – our souls were, so to speak, kindled into flame and, although we
were many we were joined together as one.(Conf. 4, 8)

THE REFUGE IN CASSICIACUM

 In the fall of 386, Augustine wrote to Ambrose announcing his intention to receive baptism. He announced to
the authorities and parents of his pupils to look for another professor, as he was ill and planning to retire to
serve God. Besides, he needed a good rest, for his health was nearly broken under the strain of his work, but
even move by his exhausting mental and moral experiences.
 386 – 387, Augustine resigned from his professorship.
 He settled in a friend’s summer residence in Cassiciacum with his mother, son, bosom friend Alypius, his two
pupils Licentius and Trygetius, Evodius and his brother Navigius.
 This pleasant village in which he was to live for some months was placed at his disposal by his friend
Verecundus.
 Here, far from the madding world, they spent their days attending to chores in the house and in the fields,
sitting and discussing philosophy and reading Cicero and Virgil.
 Monica managed the house and kept an eye on Augustine’s health. “She took care of us as though she had been
mother of us all” (Conf. IX.9)
 In the morning Augustine prayed, studied the Bible, wrote and gave lessons in grammar and rhetoric.
 The afternoons were devoted to free discussions on philosophy - so passionate that in continued into the night.
 Everyone took part in the talks – even Monica and the young Adeodatus.
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The fruits of these dialogues were the books:

1. Against the Academics (Conta Academicos),

2. On Order (De Ordine),
3. On the Happy Life (De Beata Vita), and
4. Soliloquies (Soliloquia).

1. Against the Academics (Conta Academicos)

 Augustine opposes the skepticism of the New Academy which thought that they were wiser than the rests,
because they held that everything should be considered doubtful, and had come to the conclusion that no truth
could be comprehended by man (Conf. 5.10).
 That retreat at Cassiciacum enabled Augustine to refute them and free himself of their influence. In refuting the
Academic skepticism, Augustine proves that happiness lies NOT in the search for truth, but the knowledge of it.
He further claimed that the mind can attain certitude and ought to be contented with simple probability

Coming to know the Skeptics or Academics

 And so, in the manner of the Academics - or as they are reputed to do - doubting about everything and wavering
in the midst of everything, I determined that I should abandon the Manicheans, judging that even in the time of
my doubt, I ought not to continue in that sect to which I now preferred many of the philosophers. Yet, I
absolutely refused to entrust the healing of soul’s languor to those philosophers, for the reason that they lacked
the saving name of Christ. (Conf. V10.14)
2. ON ORDER
 Augustine presented the central problem which is happiness, the possession of a Truth, which directs our hope
towards beatitude.
 In this work, he asserted that God is the only possession that can assure us of our happiness. Wisdom, as he
continued by saying, is the knowledge of God, and this wisdom cannot be attained at one stroke.
 There are charisms needed to attain wisdom: rigorous discipline, regulated mode of life, moral order,
and moral and intellectual studies. Furthermore, there are ways to attain wisdom: one must live rightly, pray
rightly, and study rightly, according to Augustine.
3. In the De Beata Vita, Augustine proves that true happiness lies only in the knowledge of God.

4. The Soliloquia has two parts:

 first part exposes the ardent expression of his passion for the knowledge of God and the lofty virtues which he
demands of the wise men,
 second part, he shows that truth is immortal, therefore, the soul, the abode of truth, cannot die.

The Confessions
In his book on The Confessions, Augustine recorded with pleasure and gratitude the “great blessings” he had received
during the time at Cassiciacum and the ardent prayers he addressed to God there while meditating on the Psalm.
 His day began and ended with prayer.
 He spent half of the night in meditation, often bathed in tears.
 During the day his attention was given to philosophical discussions, household duties, and the instruction of his
disciples Trygentius and Licentius.
 He spent little time at table, eating only what was strictly needed for allaying hunger; he could even joke that
the beginning and end of his meals coincided.
 Confronted with passion that were now overcome but not yet fully mustered interiorly, the new convert found
help in nothing else but in prayer, humility, and trust in God, for he was certain that God would, in his own time,
lead him to the vision of ideal beauty, to which he aspired. (Trape, OSA. p112)
 Delving into the meaning of truth, happiness, providence, evil, God and the soul, Augustine tried to parallel the
teachings of Plato with those of his religion, combining philosophy and faith.
Conclusion:
To live in oneness of mind and heart on the way to God is the charism of the Order of Saint Augustine (O.S.A) - a gift
from the Holy Spirit. In searching for Truth, Augustine decided to retire and live harmoniously with his friends and family
in Cassiciacum before his baptism. He sets us an example of a restless life - splendidly longing and thirsting for God.

Being an Augustinian, we are called to imitate him – to spend time or moment with God and with our loved ones. He
also encourages us to carry on the Augustinian Spirit of searching and finding the way towards God through the good
works we conscientiously and consciously do towards our brothers and sisters in the community where we live. And so,
let us ask the intercession of our Patron Saint, Saint Augustine of Hippo, to grant us the gift of fraternal communion, and
genuine service which we ought to display in the world where we live - be in school, family, and society.
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MODULE 6
SERVICE IN THE CHURCH AS LAY LEADER AND SERVANT, PRIEST, AND BISHOP
Introduction:
By our baptism, we participate in the three-fold mission of Christ as Priest, King, and Prophet. As a Christian,
Augustine responded to this universal call to love, and to serve the Lord as a lay leader and servant. He serves the
Church and eventually dedicates his entire life in the service of the Church as a good shepherd of the flock.
Against the Academics (Conta Academicos)

FROM CONVERSION TO EPISCOPATE

(386-396)
• The span of less than ten years between Augustine’s conversion and the beginning of his episcopate was a
time of exceeding spiritual and theological richness.
• Having taken the decision to give up teaching and to forgo marriage, he retired toward the end of October to
Cassiciacum (probably the modern Cassago in Brianza) in order to prepare for baptism.
• He returned to Milan at the beginning of March, enrolled himself among the catechumens, followed the
catechetical instructions of Ambrose and, together with his friend Alypius and his son Adeodatus, was baptized
by him at the Easter Vigil during the night of April 24-25, 387:
– “And there fled from us all the anxiety of our past life” (Conf.9.6,14)
AS A LAY LEADER (388-391)
• After baptism Augustine believed he was called by God to be a lay leader.
• He founded his first religious community in his hometown Tagaste – (present name Souk Ahras, Algeria) in
autumn of the year 388.
• They lived in common, fasting, praying, performing good works and meditating constantly on the word of God.
• It continued for approximately three years until he was ordained priest on 391. Little is known about this first
Augustinian religious community (If Augustine were Alive p. 5).
• They also debated points of philosophy and theology, rejoicing in their brotherhood and living the evangelical
counsel of perfection (Hernandez, OSA. 43)

Augustine immersed in his literary works explaining the faith and defending the Church through his writings.
1. “On the True Religion” (389-391)
is a gem of apologetics not only against the Manicheans, against whom he particularly directed it, but also
against the infidels.
2. “The Teacher” (389)
which is a dialogue between Augustine and his son, Adeodatus. It delves on the role of language.
Augustine develops his theory of the word as the only interior teacher. He shows that man learns from the interior
teacher who is God.
AS A PRIEST (391-396)
• The one priesthood of Christ is made present in the ministerial priesthood.
• During the time of Augustine it was not common in the early church that people were forced into the
priesthood.
• Now, Augustine was grabbed and pushed forward by the excited crowd until he stood in front of Bishop
Valerius.
• He bowed his head and burst into tears because he did not feel worthy to be a priest but succumbed to the will
of the people and to God Almighty.
• He founded his second monastery in the port city of Hippo. Today it is called Annaba in Algeria near the church
in the garden given to him by Bishop Valerius.
• Possidius remarked that the style of life of the new community was modeled after the early community of
apostolic time.
• AS A PRIEST
(391-396)
• Augustine established a seminary for the training of future priest and bishop with the permission given by
Bishop Valerius; therefore making this as a religious clerical community.
• His monastic organization grew during his life-time into various centers from where emerged many priests,
bishops and ecclesiastical leaders. Augustine is known as the Father of Western Monasticism. (Hernandez, OSA.
46)

His Principal Achievements in his Five Years of Priestly Ministry:

1. The office of preaching was entrusted to him which was reserved only for the Bishop.
2. He fought against heresies with overwhelming success.
3. He participated in the Plenary Council of Africa in October 393 which took place at Hippo.
4. He stamped out the abuse of holding banquets in the chapel of the martyrs. (Portalie, pp 20-21)
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• AS A BISHOP (396-430)
• Bishops exercise their ministry as members of the Episcopal College in communion with the Pope.
• They sanctify the church by dispensing the grace of Christ by their ministry of the word and the sacraments,
especially the Holy Eucharist, and also through the prayers and good examples of their sacred works.
• A bishop to whom a particular diocese has been entrusted governs the church with the authority of his own
sacred power which is ordinary, immediate and which he has to exercise in the name of God.
• Augustine defines a bishop as a “servant of Christ and servant of the servants of Christ “(Eph. 11).
• He worked continuously for the defense of the church against heresies.
• During his time bishops were given legal and religious right to settle civil disputes before their religious
community.
• The Bishops’ tribunals afforded swift and appropriate judgments. Hence, vast number of people preferred
the Episcopal tribunal in settling their problems.
• Augustine exercised evangelical gentleness in seeking to reconcile both parties. He always sought to promote
the moral conversion of the accused.
• He fought unceasingly against every sort of error affecting man’s faith.
• He defeated Manicheism leading into the conversion of some Manicheans.
• He defined the status and role of the bishop not only as administrator but as teacher, interpreter and defender
of pure doctrine.
• A bishop is responsible for determining the orthodoxy, through the use of the pronouncements of the
Councils as well as the scripture, and for eradicating heresies.

PERSONALITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE

• SAINT AUGUSTINE: HIS PERSONALITY
Augustine possessed a complex and profound personality. He was at the same time a
• Great Philosopher,
• Theologian,
• Mystic,
• Poet,
• Orator,
• Polemicist,
• Writer, and
• Pastor.

PERSONALITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE

A. AUGUSTINE: PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN
• He was the greatest philosopher of the patristic era and, without doubt, the most important and influential
theologian of the Church in general. Since his own time, his works have found enthusiastic admirers (Patrolgia,
Italian translation, Turin 1976, p.433).
• He expounded on the themes of being, of truth, and of love, and contributed much to the understanding of
the problems of the search for God and the nature of man, of eternity and time, of liberty and evil, of
providence and history, of beatitude, of justice and of peace.
• He expounded on the Christian mysteries, bringing about the greatest progress in dogma in the history of
theology, not only with regard to the doctrine of grace, but also concerning the Trinity, Redemption, the
Church, the sacraments, and eschatology.
• It could well be said that there is no theological question which Augustine has not illuminated. He explained at
length a moral doctrine centered on love as well as a social and political theory. He defended Christian
asceticism and pointed out the highest summits of mysticism.
B. ORATOR/POLEMICIST
• As an orator (speaker/ debater), Augustine knew how to weave together the profound and dogmatic precision
of the teacher, the lyric exuberance of the poet, the vibrant emotion of the mystic, and the evangelical
simplicity of the pastor who desired to be all things to all men.
• Augustine was a tough polemicist. Profoundly convinced of the truth and freshness of Catholic teaching, he
defended it against all – pagan, Jews, schismatics, heretics – with the weapons of dialectics/clashes and the
resources deriving from faith and reason.
• He always respected his adversaries, however. He studied their works, related their texts which he was refuting
and recognized their merits, yet did not conceal or pass over their errors. He learned from his own painful
experience of error to be gentle with those who were going astray.
C. MASTER OF RHETORIC
• He was a consummate master of rhetoric. He made use of it himself and taught others to do the same (cf. De
doctr. Christ.4), subordinating it always, however, to the content.
– “it is necessary to consider the content over the words just as the soul is over the body” (De cat.rud.9,13).
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• When it was necessary in order to make himself understood, Augustine did not hesitate to make use of
neologisms or irregular grammar.
– “I prefer to be criticized by the grammarians than not to be understood by the people” (In.ps.36: 138, 19;
Serm. 3,6; 37,14).
• If his style in the early works is still marked by the imitation of classical models – “inflated by the usage of
secular writings” (Retract.prol.3) – he draws his inspiration in the other works more and more from the Bible
and ecclesiastical writers, thus making an effective contribution to the formation of Christian Latin.
• Augustine did not have one single style, but rather many; as many, it can be said, as the contents of his works
demanded: the Confessions, the City of God, the Sermons and the Letters.
• Of particular interest of Augustine’s character, for his outstanding moral qualities corresponded to his
extraordinary intellectual abilities.
• He possessed a generous and strong constitution, and was endowed with an insatiable thirst for wisdom, a
profound need for friendship, a vibrant love for Christ, the church and the faithful, and an astonishing devotion
and stamina for work.
• Augustine was further marked by a moderate yet austere asceticism, a sincere humility which did not hesitate
to acknowledge his own errors (cf. the Confessions and the Retractions), and a diligent dedication to the study
of Scripture, to prayer, to the interior life and to contemplation.
D. BISHOP & PASTOR
The Bishop of Hippo was a pastor who considered himself to be and defined himself as “servant of Christ and servant of
the servants of Christ” (Ep.117), and who accepted the full consequences of such a definition:
• complete availability for the needs of the faithful,
• the desire not to be saved without them (“I do not wish to be saved without you” Serm.17,2),
• prayer to God to be ever ready to die for them (MSCA I 404),
• love for those gone astray even if they did not desire love and even if they gave offense (“Let them say against
us whatever they will; we love them even if they do not want us to.” In ps. 36 3,19).
• He was a pastor in the full sense of the word.
• He considered it a great favor to be corrected, even if he did not hide the fact that whoever wished to correct
him must himself be on guard against error (De dono persev.21,55; 24,68).
• Above all, he did not wish to be identified as the church, of which he considered himself to be merely a humble
and devoted son.
– “Am I perhaps the Catholic church?... It is sufficient for me to be found in her” (In ps.36 3,19).
“FOR YOU I AM A BISHOP, WITH YOU I AM A CHRISTIAN.”

E. AUGUSTINE: DISCIPLE AND CO-DISCIPLE

• Augustine was a master who nevertheless considered himself a disciple and desired that l’ll be disciples with him
of the truth which is Christ. In his controversies, he desired but one victory: that, namely, of The City of God, the
victory of truth. “As far as I am concerned, I will not hesitate to search if I find myself in doubt; I will not be
ashamed to learn if I find myself in error.
• He considered it a greater favor to be corrected, even if he did not hide the fact that whoever wished to correct
him must himself be on guard against error. Above all, he did not wish to be identified as the Church, of which
he considered himself to be merely a humble and devoted son. “Am I perhaps the Catholic Church? ... It is
sufficient for me to be found in her.”

F. AUGUSTINE: A “PATER COMMUNIS” OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

• The man who has been the most widely followed teacher in the West, and who can well be called Pater
Communis (common father).
• His influence extends not only to the domains of philosophy, of dogmatics, and moral and mystical theology but
also to social life and welfare, ecclesiastical policy, and public jurisprudence. He was, in a word, the great
craftsman of the Western culture of the Middle Ages” (Patrologia).

G. RECEPTION BY THE MAGISTERIUM

• They have thus demonstrated that these teachings, not merely that of Augustine, but of the Church, which
consequently has acknowledged it to be her own. It is hardly necessary to note that in these cases it is no longer
the Bishop of Hippo who is under discussion but the Church herself.

THE AUTHORITY OF AUGUSTINE

Augustine thus remains a thinker and writer on whom the repeated declaration of the Magisterium and the continued
esteem of subsequent theologians, not least among them Aquinas, have conferred a particular authority. This authority,
while it does not allow anyone to prefer his teaching to that of the Church, likewise does not permit anyone to call
Augustine’s orthodoxy into question or to deny the incomparable service he rendered to the Church and Christian
culture.
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THE PROBLEM OF UNDERSTANDING AUGUSTINE
• The fact that Augustine’s thought has been interpreted through the centuries in widely diverse ways is not a sign
of obscurity. Augustine is not an obscure author, but neither is he an easy one. The difficulties arise from various
sources: the profundity of his thoughts, the multiplicity of his works, the breadth of the questions treated, and
the different ways in which they are approached, the diversity of his language.
• Augustine was one of the most prolific writers ever known, and his output after reaching the episcopacy far
exceeded that which preceded it.
• The total number of works is about 232 books, excluding the 250 odd letters, some of them real treatises, and
hundreds of sermons.
• The number of books, discussions and debates, and His Theology of grace have all won for him the title
posterity bestowed upon him: Doctor of Grace.
 After Augustine’s ordination as priest in 391, his literary interest changes from philosophy into theology
and pastoral activity for the benefit of the church. (Fitzgerald, 227)

The Three Major Works

1. De Confessiones (The Confessions- 400 AD)
2. De Trinitate (The Trinity-Augustine labored over this book for more than fifteen years. This covers from
400 to 416 AD.)
3. De Civitate Dei (The City of God- 413 to 426 with frequent interruptions. (13 yrs)

• The work of Augustine, indeed, was a work of dedication, a work of love.

• “The more you love, the less you work,” he told once his audience. “For either you do not work at all, or you
love the work you do” (SER., 340, 1)
• This was the life of St. Augustine as bishop, a labor of someone who had loved so much.

Conclusion:
After learning the amazing contributions of Saint Augustine to respond to the urgency of the Gospel, we too are
encouraged to do the same. Each of us received the universal call to holiness to be an agent of building the kingdom of
God. God has given each of us a gift to be shared in the community. All of us have something to be shared for the
greater glory of God whether you are a lay, religious, or priest—we all belong to the Body of Christ.

MODULE 7:THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO

Module 7: Activity 2: The Confessions of Saint Augustine: An Overview
Instruction: Please read the script below.
This work of Augustine, The Confessions, had been translated into more languages than
any Latin writings except Virgil’s. Eloquent deeply felt, and beautifully written; this work had been
praised throughout the centuries by men and women of many different faiths and walks of life as
the greatest spiritual autobiography of all time.
This work is autobiographical in character. It is not an attempt to tell the story of all the
years of the writer’s life, least of all of the outward events of those years. But no writer ever went
deeper into his character and deeds, passed keener judgment upon himself, or revealed himself
more fully and more humbly to others. It may be asserted also that no writer of his own life’s
story had such a wealth of thought and feeling to draw upon as had Saint Augustine. For this
reason, his book is not only a most penetrating psychological study and a unique document for
understanding the spiritual and ascetical life, but it is also a storehouse of thought for the
philosopher and the theologian, and others as well.
The thirteen (13) books of Saint Augustine’s The Confessions were written by a man who
had great emotional powers along with great powers of intellect and will, who had lived a life of
conscious depravity as a quasi-pagan and turned to a life of austerity as a Catholic, who had
genius in philosophy, theology, and psychology; who was a pioneer in Scriptural studies, who
was extraordinary as a master of language, and who had a strong personal attraction to others
and marked qualities of leadership.
It is assuredly a great book – great in its authorship, great in its diverse but unified subject
matter, great in the form into which that subject matter has been cast, great at the end for which
it was written, and great in the good effects that it has unfailingly produced. To become familiar
with Saint Augustine’s The Confessions is to make one’s own, to some extent at least, an
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inexhaustible source of intellectual stimulation, of aesthetic delight, of moral help, and spiritual
enlightenment.
In this book, the two great intellectual influences upon Augustine before his conversion
were the Manicheism and the Greek Philosophy, especially as this latter found expression in the
works of Plotinus and other Neo-Platonists. The influence of Manicheism was for evil; that of
Neo-Platonism was for good. Intellectually, and also morally, his conversion involved a complete
break with Manichean influences and advances in and beyond Neo-Platonism. Although this
process of conversion had its beginnings in Africa, its full development took place in Italy.
So prolific, Saint Augustine as a writer that with time, it came to be said: “He lies who says
that he has read all of his works” (Mentitur qui se totumlegissefatetur).

Module 7: Activity 3. The Purpose and Character of The Confessions of Saint Augustine

Instruction: Please read the script below.

The title of Saint Augustine’s autobiographical work indicates its chief purpose and
character: it is a statement of what Augustine has done, and of who he is, as he addresses
himself directly to Almighty God. When he attaches this term to his work, we immediately think
of it as being a confession of sins. So, it is, and so its author meant it to be. Saint Augustine
reveals with complete candor the sins that he had committed against God.
Also, Augustine confesses sins of pride and ambition; of frivolity and vanity, of ingratitude
and damage to others, of conceit and deceit, of lying and dishonesty. So too, under the heading
of wrong deeds, he listed his intellectual errors, his addiction to falsity both in theology and in
philosophy. Augustine was not only a Manichee in religion and one who gave his assent to other
false doctrines, but he was guilty of skepticism and other grave errors in philosophy.
Along with his sins and errors, Augustine confesses temptations that assail him. If he can
resist them, it is because of God’s grace and not of any strength of his own. Augustine’s book is
a three-fold confession. It is a confession of sins, a confession of faith, and a confession of
praise. Everything he sees about him and everything that he finds within him provides evidence
for God’s existence and nature. Everything that he has done, even his sinful deeds, and
everything that he has been done, proclaimed to him the existence and power of God, “maker
and ruler of all things, but of sins only the ruler”. By God’s grace, he finds God, and by God’s
grace, he is united to God. Hence, Augustine rightly confesses not only his evil deeds,
exceedingly great in thought, word, and deed, but also his belief and trust in God, his gratitude
to God, and his praise of God.
In this book, Augustine also presented the three-fold ways that make up the spiritual life.
It is a case history, without parallel in the library of psychology, of a soul as it travels the
PURGATIVE way, the ILLUMINATIVE way, and the UNITED way. These three ways are not to
be thought of as completely separate in time, so to speak, as if the second succeeded entirely
to the first, and the third displaced the second. Saint Augustine illustrates the fact that purgation
entails a lifelong process. For him, the light flooding in this book constantly grows stronger and
his union with God constantly grows closer and deeper.
Augustine’s conversion is in one sense a two-fold conversion: it is a conversion of
the intellect and conversion of the will. In another sense, it is a three-fold conversion
(aspects): philosophical, moral, and religious. It is a purgation of sins against supernatural
truth – the truth revealed by God in His Church, a purgation of sins against natural truth, as found
invalid philosophy, and purgation of sins in the moral order.
From every order of reality, Saint Augustine can show that God exists and that He is self-
existent; that HE is Infinite; that He is One and only One; that He is Supremely Good; that He is
Truth itself; that being One, Good, and True, He is likewise Supremely Beautiful. He puts to work
Aristotle’s doctrine of the Ten Categories, namely: the category of substance, and the nine
categories of accidents. Great and effective use is made of the Aristotelian doctrine of matter
and form for the solution of difficult problems concerning the creation of things.
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Finally, Augustine gives an object lesson on the importance of sound philosophy, the
relation that it bears to theology, and other sciences, the service that it can render in answering
objections, and its ability to detect and state analogies between different orders of thought and
reality. In theology, in addition to the basic doctrines of God’s existence, nature, and activity, and
the mystery of the Trinity, Augustine has important passages on the divinity and humanity of
Christ, the Church as Christ’s Mystical Body, the Sacraments, Divine Grace, and Prayer,
including prayer for the dead. The first translation into English of The Confessions was made by
a Catholic priest and convert to the Church named Fr. Tobie Matthew (1577-1655), son of the
Protestant Archbishop of York, a friend of Lord Bacon, and translator of his Essays into Latin.

Module 7: Activity 4. The Style, Structure, and Summary of The Confessions

Instruction: Please read the script below.

THE STYLE OF THE CONFESSIONS.

In his work, The Confessions, Augustine adopted the form of prolonged meditation,
or prayer addressed directly to God. This is a most difficult kind of writing to sustain at length,
but Augustine never departs from it, beginning with the memorable invocation at the start and
continuing to the words with which it closes. Between these two, there are interspersed many
formal prayers and meditations. There are many types of writing, each one adapted to the
particular subject matter at hand, and yet each kept by Augustine’s art within the basic style of
earnest personal approach to God.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE CONFESSIONS

The Structure of The Confessions is simple.
In Books 1 to IX, Augustine tells the story of his life from Infancy up to his conversion, and
the death of his mother on their return journey to Africa, the period covering the first thirty-three
years of his life
Book X describes his state of mind at the time he was writing these reminiscences of
events that had ended ten years previously. It presents his further examination of conscience,
but with emphasis upon his present difficulties rather than upon his failures. Because he has
completed the prodigious feat of memory that finds expression in Books I-IX, Augustine is
naturally concerned with the character and operation of this power within him. He takes up also
the psychological problem of man’s desire for happiness.
Books XI, XII, and XIII are elaborate exegesis of the opening verses in the Book of
Genesis. Being concerned about his existence, nature, and destiny as a finite being, and wishing
above all to know himself and to know God, it is inevitable that Saint Augustine should take up
the subject of time and eternity and God’s creation of all things. Augustine continually keeps in
view his three-fold confessions: confession of SIN, confession of FAITH, and confession of
PRAISE, and his three-fold ways of purgation, of light, and union with God.

SUMMARY OF THE THIRTEENTH BOOKS OF THE CONFESSIONS

Book I
Book 1 presents Augustine’s childhood. Augustine goes to school at Tagaste
(elementary), and later at Madaura (secondary). He receives some religious instruction, but even
when he is taken gravely ill, his baptism is deferred.
Book II
He spends a year at home before going to Carthage to continue his studies. This presents
the lust of his adolescence. He robs a pear tree.
Book III
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He goes to Carthage where he abandons himself to a life of pleasure.
Cicero’s Hortensius inspires him with a love of philosophy. He joins the Manichees as an
aspirant or hearer but never as an elect. His mother Monica deeply grieves but finds consolation
in a vision.
Book IV
He becomes a teacher of rhetoric at Tagaste and takes a mistress. He got interested in
astrology. Grief at the death of a close friend leads him to look for consolation in the
companionship of other friends at Carthage. He writes a book on Beauty and Proportion.
Book V
Faustus, a bishop of the Manichees comes to Carthage. Augustine was disappointed in
finding that Faustus is unable to settle the discrepancies between the doctrines of the Manichees
and known scientific facts. Against the wishes of his mother, he leaves for Rome, where he still
associates with the Manichees, but no longer has any firm belief in their doctrines. Instead, he
is attracted to the teaching of Neo-Platonism. He obtains an appointment as a professor of
rhetoric in Milan. He listens to the sermons of Saint Ambrose and is impressed but not convinced
at first. His final rejections of the theories of the Manichees appeared in this book.
Book VI
Monica comes to Milan. Augustine listens regularly to the sermons of Saint Ambrose and
realizes that his previous conceptions of Christian doctrine were mistaken. He learns that
Scripture is not always to be understood in a literal sense. His ambition in the world and
difficulties over chastity still prevent him from accepting the faith. He plans to get married and
dismissed his mistress.
Book VII
He still has difficulty in thinking of God as a spiritual Being and in finding an explanation
of the problem of evil. But he is helped by the Platonist books. He realizes that evil is a perversion
of the will, not a substance as the Manichees pretend. In this part of The Confessions, he begins
to read the Epistles of Saint Paul.
Book VIII
He is told of the conversion of Victorinus, the translator of Platonist, and is eager to follow
his example, but worldly ambition and difficulties over chastity hold him back. After hearing how
the two officers of the Emperor’s court were converted by reading the story of Anthony, the
Egyptian monk, he goes into the garden of his house, where he hears a child’s voice chanting
words that he takes to be a divine message to himself. His conversion is complete and his mother
is overjoyed.
Book IX
He resigns from his appointment and goes with his friends to a country house at
Cassiciacum. At Easter, the following year, he returns to Milan where he is baptized. With his
mother and his friends, he sets out to return to Africa. While they were waiting for the ship at
Ostia, Augustine and Monica conversed on the life of the saints in heaven. The death of Monica
and the end of the account of her life had been presented on this part.
Book X
Augustine asks his readers to thank God for his conversion and to pray for him. He
considers the powers of memory. Since all men long for happiness, they must know in some
way what it is, but the only true happiness is in God. He examines his ability to master the various
temptations of the body. If we have the power to resist them, it is by God’s grace. Only through
Christ, the True Mediator, we can hope to be reconciled with God.
Book XI
An explanation of the first verse of Genesis: “in the beginning, God made heaven and
earth”. God created the world in His Word alone, and therefore by the words ‘In the Beginning’,
we must understand the WORD of GOD. The question “What God was doing before He made
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heaven and earth?” is answered by explaining that when there was no creation, there was no
time. It is, therefore, nonsense to ask what God was doing “then”. This then leads to the
discussion of the problem of time.
Book XII
The meaning of Genesis 1:12: “In the beginning, God made heaven and earth. The earth
was invisible and without form, and darkness reigned over the deep”. ‘Heaven’ here means
spiritual creation. The Heaven of Heavens, and ‘earth’ - the formless matter of which the material
world, was to be made. He emphasizes the importance of tolerance where there are plural
options, and confidence where basic Christian faith is concerned.
Book XIII
This book presents the mysteries and allegories of the days of creation. Augustine
undertakes to interpret Genesis 12-31 in a mystical and allegorical fashion to exhibit the
profundities of God’s power, wisdom, and love. He is also interested in developing his theories
of hermeneutics on his favorite topic, Creation. He finds the Trinity in the account of creation and
he ponders the work of the Spirit moving over the waters. In the firmament, he finds the allegory
of the Holy Scripture and in the dry land and bitter sea, he finds the decision between the people
of God and the conspiracy of the unfaithful. He develops the theme of “man’s being” made in the
image and likeness of God. He brings his survey to a climax and his confessions to an end with
a meditation on the goodness of all creation, and the promised rest and blessedness of the
eternal Sabbath, on which God, who is eternal rest, “rested”.

Module 7: Activity 5: The Reading of The Confessions: An Excerpt

Instruction: Please read the texts below taken from The Confessions and reflect on the lessons
or values learned from this famous work or book of Saint Augustine of Hippo.

“You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised: great is your power and to your wisdom, there is no limit. And
man, who is a part of your creation, wishes to praise you, a man who bears within himself his mortality, who
bears about within himself testimony to his sin and testimony that you resist the proud. Yet man, this part of
your creation, wishes to praise you. You arouse him to take joy in praising you, for you have made us for yourself,
and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (The Confessions, Book 1, chapter 1).
“Lord, I will love you, and give thanks to you, and confess to your name, since you have forgiven me so many
evils and so many impious works. To your grace and your mercy, I ascribe it that you have dissolved my sins as
if they were ice. To your grace, I ascribe also whatsoever evils I have not done” (The Confessions, Book 2, chapter
7).
“He who knows the truth knows that light and he who knows it knows eternity. Love knows it, O eternal truth,
and true love, and beloved eternity! You are my God, and I sigh for you day and night” (The Confessions, Book
7, chapter 10).
“With thanksgiving let me remember, O my God, all your mercies to me and let me confess them to you. Let my
bones be filled with your love, and let them say to you: ‘Lord, who is like unto you? You have broken my bonds.
I will sacrifice to you the sacrifice of praise.’ I will relate how you broke them asunder. And when they hear these
things, let all who adore you say: “Blessed be the Lord, in heaven and on earth. Great and wonderful is his name”
(The Confessions, Book 8, chapter 1).
“When I called upon you, you heard me, O God of my justice! When I was in distress, you have enlarged me.
Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer” (The Confessions, Book 9, chapter 4).
“Too late I have loved you, O Beauty so ancient and so new, too late have I loved you! Behold, you were within
me, while I was outside: it was there that I sought you, and, a deformed creature, rushed headlong upon these
things of beauty which you have made. You were with me, but I was not with you” (The Confessions, Book 10,
chapter 27).
“All my hope is found solely in your exceeding great mercy. Give what you command, and command what you
will” (The Confessions, Book 10, chapter 29).
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“O Lord my God, ‘be attentive to my prayer’, and in your mercy graciously hear my desire, for it burns not for
me alone but desires to be for the use of fraternal charity” (The Confessions, Book 11, chapter 2).
“Amid this diversity of true opinions, let truth itself beget concord. ‘May our God have mercy on us’, so that we
may lawfully use the law, according to the end of the commandment, in pure charity” (The Confessions, Book
12, chapter 30).
“I call upon you, my God, my mercy, who made me and did not forget me, although I forgot you. I call you into
my soul, which you prepare to accept you by the longing that you breathe into it. Do not desert me now when
I call upon you, for before I called upon you, you went ahead and helped me” (The Confessions, Book 13, chapter
1).
“Thanks be to you, O Lord! We see heaven and earth, whether the corporeal part, superior and inferior, or
spiritual and corporeal creation. And in the adorning of these parts, whereof consists either the world’s universal
mass or absolutely all creation, we see light made and divided from darkness” (The Confessions, Book 13,
chapter 32).

CONCLUSION:
This splendid work of Saint Augustine of Hippo The Confessions is considered as
the greatest spiritual autobiography at all times. In this work, we are reminded by Saint Augustine
to express our confession to God not only in terms of the sins we had committed but also on the
way we adore him by way of praising, glorifying, and believing or trusting in Him, the Source of
Life and Love.
Module 8: THE RULE OF SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO
Module 8: Activity 2: The Rule of Saint Augustine: An Overview
Instruction: Please read the script below.
This book, The Rule, was written by Augustine around 396-397. Biblical and evangelical
foundations form a permanent structure of The Rule. It guarantees The Rule’s value throughout
changing times and cultures. This book contains 35 Biblical references: 27 books from the New
Testament; and 8 books from the Old Testament. According to TJ Van Bavel, The Rule is
adopted by more than 40 Religious Orders and 30 Clerical Congregations. Augustine wrote The
Rule about ten years after he had been baptized by Bishop Ambrose in Milan. In 397, Augustine
had already been through a certain period of experience of the religious life, for his first
foundation had taken place in 388 at Tagaste. As a priest, he founded a monastery for clerics in
his bishop’s house in Hippo (395-396). It was there that Augustine wrote The Rule.
The Rule of Augustine stems from the early period of religious life. The Egyptian desert can
be considered the cradle of the movement, which later came to be referred to in general as the
“religious life”. It was probably around 370 that the monastic form of life began to appear in the
West, only 30 years before the first extant Western monastic rule, that Augustine was written.
The Rule is the summary of the oral conferences which Augustine held for his monks. The
ideas are not teased out; they are simply rendered in a very concise manner. The fundamental
ideas of The Rule are built up around the ideal of the Jerusalem community from Acts 4:31-35.
Love and community here have a pride of place; a good community life is nothing other than the
practice of love. The way of interiorization is repeatedly applied in The Rule; the external alone
is not sufficient, for it symbolizes what happens inwardly. The final characteristic is the almost
total absence of emphasis on “ascetism” that is leading on an ascetical life in a material sense
by denying oneself food and drink, or by self-chastisement. The ascent shifts more to life in
community as a victory over self-seeking.
Module 8: Activity 2. The Character of The Rule
THE CHARACTER OF THE RULE
 It gives the impression of being a summary of oral conferences which Augustine held for his monks.
 It covers only a few pages and its principal purpose is to offer some important thoughts which can provide
inspiration.
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 Its fundamental ideas are built up around the ideal of the Jerusalem community from Acts 4:32-35.
“Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one
claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common.
With great power, the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and
great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned
lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’
feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need” (NRSV, Catholic Edition).
 It stresses the importance of community life.
Module 8: Activity 3: The Structure of The Rule
THE STRUCTURE OF THE RULE
1. The Basic Ideal: LOVE AND COMMUNITY
The basic ideal: Mutual love is expressed in the community of goods and in humility. Those who
urge to form a religious community have to put the following precepts into practice: live together
in harmony, being of one mind and one heart on the way to God; share everything in common.
There can be a question of personal property. Everything they owned was held in common, and
each one received whatever he had need of.
The first community of Jerusalem is the model community of one’s heart and one mind
on the way to God: honor God in one another ... on the way to God. The members share in one
another’s life of faith. The community of goods is the first realization of community life.
Community life is not blind uniformity but requires the recognition of each person’s nature and
disposition. Humility is considered as the positive factor of community life, and pride is
considered as the negative factor of community life. And so, there are three fundamental
principles of community life: a). Living together in love b). Community of goods c).Humility as the
positive factor, and pride as the negative factor.
Features of Community: being a WAY towards God, and with one another. Free person is
detached from earthly goods in order to follow Christ faithfully and sincerely. “Why is it difficult
for sisters and brothers to be one in Christ?” They are struggling among themselves for the
possessions of the earth. “Do not give the same amount to everyone, but give to each person
what he/she personally needs.” Affluence of the few – cancer of society at that time: few rich,
many poor cause social problems during the time of Augustine.
2. PRAYER AND COMMUNITY
 Fixed times for common prayer
 Opportunity for individual prayer
 Basic law of prayer
 Practical norms for the singing of Psalms and hymns. There must be faithful perseverance in prayer at
appointed one. Place of prayer shall be used for no purpose other than prayer. The basic law of
prayer is the “heart in prayer”. It is suggested by Augustine that when we pray, the words spoken by
our lips should be alive in our hearts. The heart of a true prayer is faith, hope, and love which springs
out as a deep yearning.
3. COMMUNITY AND THE CARE OF THE BODY
1. Moderation/Temperance in eating and drinking
2. Reading during meals
3. Difference in treatment according to the person in question
4. Care of/for the sick
Ascetism is denying one’s self – something which is lawful with the intention of strengthening
one’s self so that one is able to offer resistance to disordered desires and to avoid becoming prey
to longing for the unlawful. Capacity to live simply is a sign of inner grandeur.
Silver and gold represent a call of mercy and humanity, but for a selfish person, they
represent the road to greediness. Greater possessions do not take people’s thirst but increases it.
4. MUTUAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ONE ANOTHER
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1. General norms of irreproachable conduct.
2. Irreproachable conduct and one’s inner attitude towards those of the other sex.
3. Common responsibility for one another’s fault.
4. Responsibility must be expressed in correction.
5. Procedure to be followed in correcting others:
a)First, the person at fault is to be warned by the person who has noticed it;
b). Then, the one in charged with responsibility for the community is to be called in;
c). Later, a number of people should be informed of the situation; d). Finally, the transgressor’s faults are to
be pointed out to him in the presence of the whole community.
6. This manner of acting holds also as the method for the correction of other faults.
The eye is the herald of the heart. “Clothes make not the man, rather our attitude towards life
makes us what we are”. God does not seek a handsome appearance, but a good heart. It is in the
human heart that our actions are formed. If freedom and idealism disappeared, religious life loses
all sense and meaning. Intention of punishment is to help wrongdoer to see the error in his ways.
Fraternal correction is significant in community life. Deeper aim of fraternal correction is to set the
process of healing in motion.
5. SERVICE TO ONE ANOTHER
 Clothing held in common
 Concern for the interests of the community as a criterion for progress
 Public baths and care for the sick
 Looking after one another in all physical needs
 Love is the basic law of community life.
6. LOVE AND CONFLICT
 Do not allow quarrels to grow into hatred
 Mutual forgiveness
 Attitude towards the young in the monastery who have not yet reached adulthood
Whoever hates his brother is a murderer. Hatred is malevolence towards the other, e.g.
wishing death. Love is benevolence towards the other, e.g. wishing fullness of life. Forgive us our
sins as we forgive those who sinned against us. If not fulfilled becomes a life in two counts: what
we say is not true; we do not keep our agreements to God. To forgive is seeing to it that the other
is no longer treated as guilty in one’s regard.

7. LOVE IN AUTHORITY AND OBEDIENCE

 Obey your superior
 Duty of the superior: to serve in love, to guide; and to be an example
 Obedience is an act of compassion
The word “Monk” came from the Greek word “Monos”, which means one. Praepositus is the
term used for the person who is responsible for the community; equivalent to prior.
Monasterium is an open community where there is room for people coming from outside
the circle of friends and relatives. Christ is the only Interior Teacher. Obedience is the way of
showing mercy and compassion, not of slavish fear. Authority means to be of and in service. An
office is never considered as an honor but always a burden, a responsibility. But sometimes, there
are temptations to domination. There are persons in position who are tempted to consolidate their
own power than to use their position as a service for the good of others.
CONCLUDING EXHORTATION
 The desire for spiritual beauty
 Freedom under grace
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 The life aroma of Christ
 As in the mirror
Spiritual beauty is the beauty realized in our way of living the practice of love.
In conclusion, The Rule is intended as a call to a life in joy and freedom made possible by
the abundance of God’s grace. The final sentence of The Rule reveals three-fold structures:
present, past, and future:
If you find that your actions match what you read in this mirror; then give thanks to the Lord (PRESENT).
But if you see that you have failed in the past, then, pray that God will forgive your guilt (PAST).
And as for the future, ask God that you will not be put to the test (FUTURE).
The Rule serves as a guide for those who want to follow Christ in religious life. It ends with a
song of praise to the Lord.