Homily for Memorial of St. Augustine

Homily for the Memorial of
St. Augustine

Collect
Aug. 28, 2025
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

A statue of St. Augustine stands atop
the facade of the Sacred Heart Basilica in Rome

In the collect we prayed that we might be filled with the “same spirit” Augustine had, to “thirst for” and to “seek” the Lord, “fount of true wisdom” and “author of heavenly love.”

Augustine’s whole life was a thirsting for and a seeking of wisdom and love.  As we know, initially he looked in the wrong places—in sensuality, from stealing pears to living with a mistress; and in false philosophies and human learning.

But his search was sincere, and eventually he found the beginnings of wisdom and love in his Creator and his Redeemer.  His search was facilitated in 3 ways.  1st, as we were reminded yesterday, by the years-long prayers of his mother.  2d, by his reading of the Scriptures, culminating, we might say, in the famous “take and read” episode in which he opened the New Testament randomly to Rom 13:13-14.  3d, by the preaching of St. Ambrose, whose eloquence showed the half-converted teacher of rhetoric that Catholicism embraces the good, the true, and the beautiful (as Dante, Chaucer, Giotto, and Michelangelo, among many others, did later and Bp. Robert Barron tries to do now).

The collect asked God to “renew in” his Church Augustine’s spirit.  Augustine’s pursuit of wisdom wasn’t only for himself but for everyone.  He was no ivory tower theologian.  He was a shepherd:  teaching his clergy and others in his circle how to live as Christians (the roots of the Augustinian monastic rule), engaging in extensive correspondence, offering a liberal hospitality, taking great care of the poor with his personal funds and those of the Church.

We might dare to call Augustine a contemplative in action, a man whose love for God and divine truth led him to practical love of neighbor—the 2 great commandments to which the Gospel calls us.

Learning from Augustine’s experience, we commit ourselves to prayer for our families, confreres, and others, that they be open to God’s grace.  We take up the sacred Scriptures to find God’s truth and wisdom addressed to us.  We use the finest characteristics of culture to assist in the presentation of the Good News of Jesus Christ.