Discusses Saint Augustine's ten homilies on the First Epistle of John, which are among his most influential works. This title uses John's epistle as a point of departure for exploring the meaning and implications of love with profundity, passion and analytic rigour.
In the context of what begins as a lengthy critique of classic Roman religion and a defense of Christianity, Augustine touches upon numerous topics, including the role of grace, the original state of humanity, the possibility of waging a just war, the ideal form of government, and the nature of heaven and hell.
Few figures from antiquity are as well known to us as Augustine of Hippo. Thanks to his Confessions, we know a great deal about Augustine's life prior to his conversion to Christianity. Yet, without this little biography written by his intimate friend Possidius, bishop of Calama, we would know comparatively little about Augustine's life after his baptism. In straight-forward, unadorned prose, Possidius shows Augustine as a powerful intellect, voluminous writer, and compelling orator, willing and able to defend the Church against all comers be they pagans, Donatists, Arians or Manichaeans. But he also presents an Augustine who humbly endured the everyday trials and difficulties of life as a bishop in Roman Africa. He shows a man who ate sparingly, worked tirelessly, despised gossip, shunned the temptations of the flesh, and exercised prudence and frugality in the financial stewardship of his see. Possidius also supplies one of the only first-hand descriptions of the great tragedy of Augustine's life-the Vandalic conquest of Roman Africa. He poignantly describes Augustine's final illness as he lay locked inside Hippo Regius with the barbarian host literally at the city gates. More than simply the biography of a great saint, The Life of Saint Augustine provides a tantalizing glimpse into life in late Roman Africa-a prosperous society on the verge of destruction. This edition of Weiskotten's translation has been completely re-typeset for the modern reader. The text has been amended to include several corrections from an errata sheet that accompanied the original publication. It includes an expanded bibliography, updated citations, and a revised map. (Note: this edition does not include Weiskotten's revised Latin text.)
The Confessions of St. Augustine has a special place among the world’s greatest books. As Augustine reflects upon his life in the light of Scripture and the presence of God, he reveals how you can find the way to rest securely in Jesus, discern good from evil, avoid false spiritual pursuits, and know the will of God. He begins with his infancy, pondering the many sins of his life before his conversion, and he confesses not only his sins but even more the greatness of God. Here is the timeless conflict between good and evil, portrayed through the life of one man who found spiritual growth and unshakable faith. Just as Augustine did, you can experience the unspeakable joy of being pure and righteous before God, regardless of your past.
In The Confessions, Saint Augustine addressed himself eloquently and passionately to the enduring spiritual questions that have stirred the minds and hearts of thoughtful men since time began. Written A.D. 397, The Confessions are a history of the young Augustine's fierce struggle to overcome his profligate ways and achieve a life of spiritual grace. The first ten books of the work relate the story of Augustine's childhood in Numidia; his licentious and riotous youth and early manhood in Carthage, Rome, and Milan; his continuous struggle with evil; his attempts to find an anchor for his faith among the Manicheans and the Neoplatonists; the untiring efforts of his mother, Saint Monnica, to save him from self-destruction; and his ultimate conversion to the Christian faith at the age of thirty-two. The last three books of The Confessions, unrelated to the preceding account of Saint Augustine's early life, are an allegorical explanation of the Mosaic account of Creation. Throughout the work, the narrative, addressed to God, is intersperse with prayers, meditations, and instructions, many of which today are to be found in the liturgies of all sects of the Christian Church. The Confessions constitute perhaps the most moving diary ever recorded of a soul's journey to grace. Appearing midway in Saint Augustine's prodigious body of theological writings, they stand among the most persuasive works of the sinner-turned-priest who was to exercise a greater influence on Christian thought than any of the other Church fathers.
The oldest monastic Rule in the West A giant of the faith, St. Augustine is well known as "the restless searcher for truth." His life and the Rule he formulated have had enduring influence on the Christian ideal of the religious life. This is a new, modern English translation of the Rule from the original critical Latin text. An extensive Commentary elucidates its meaning and its relevance to those who follow or study it today. Augustine's concise spiritual directions, based heavily on the Scriptures, cover such subjects as prayer, love and community, mutual responsibility, service, authority and obedience. He outlines the basics for exercising genuine love, the goal of all things -- indeed life itself. This brief but classic guide is as inspiring and applicable to the twentieth century as it was to Augustine's early followers. It clearly reflects his own vision and spiritual depth. As Van Bavel observes in his Introduction: "We could characterize the Rule of Augustine as a call to the evangelical equality of all people. It voices the Christian demand to bring all men and women into full community." The Rule of St. Augustine is, indeed, a Rule for all Christians -- religious and laity alike.
You called and shouted and burst my deafness. You flashed, shone, and scattered my blindness. You breathed odors, and I drew in breath and panted for You. I tasted, and I hunger and thirst. You touched me, and I burned for Your peace." "And men go abroad to admire the heights of mountains, the mighty waves of the sea, the broad tides of rivers, the compass of the ocean, and the circuits of the stars, yet pass over the mystery of themselves without a thought." This autobiography of Saint Augustine outlines his sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity. It is widely seen as the first Western autobiography ever written, and was an influential model for Christian writers throughout the following 1,000 years of the Middle Ages. This large print edition of St Augustine's "Confessions" is printed on high quality paper in an easy-to-read format.
A classic narrative of St. Augustine's life, written by the Church Father himself. Great to read for personal enjoyment or to learn more about St. Augustine and the Early Church. St. Augustine wrote his Confessions, which include both his faults before God and his praises to God, for others to read and God to hear. Deeply personal, this classic work tells the story of St. Augustine's struggles and joys.
Confessions is the name of an autobiographical work, consisting of 13 books, by Saint Augustine of Hippo. The work outlines Saint Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity.
The first collection of Saint Augustine's varied writings on human and divine love—chosen to reflect his lifelong preoccupation with ordo amoris, the principle of rightly directed love. "My weight is my love," Saint Augustine writes in The Confessions. He sees our ability to love as disordered by sin, so that we often choose badly what and how to love. Only by recognizing that we are commanded to love God first can any other object of our love be properly ordered, Late Have I Loved Thee draws on the riches found in Augustine's sermons, letters, treatises, and Scripture commentaries, as well as passages from The Confessions and City of God. Augustine (354-430 A.D.) was the most prolific writer of Christian antiquity and the most influential theologian in Church history. In his first encyclical, God Is Love, current Pope Benedict XVI acknowledges his indebtedness to him. When we read Augustine today, we encounter the same direct, eloquent passions his original listeners experienced, infused with his deep sense of human weakness and burning desire for union with God.
In this work, traditionally translated as On Christian Doctrine, Augustine combines the pedagogical methods he learned from Greek and Roman writings with the content of the Christian faith to help preachers present biblical teachings in an effective manner. This new translation is lively and accessible." Library Journal
Confessions is the name of an autobiographical work, consisting of 13 books, by Saint Augustine of Hippo, written in Latin between 397 and 400 AD. The work outlines Saint Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity.
The Confessions of St. Augustine, Villanova Edition for Students and Faculty e-book is a multi-modal resource designed to supplement deeper reading with highlighting and notation and to engage students through audio, visual, and critical analysis. It includes standard features, such as highlighting, search, and notation, as well as custom elements, like a timeline, map, and art gallery. The audio reader enhances the reading experience, and critical commentaries, written by experts especially for this edition, aid student comprehension of key sections and concepts of the text. The Confessions of Saint Augustine is considered to be the greatest Christian classic. Augustine's notorious life before his baptism raised questions about the genuineness of his conversion. It is his honest struggle with the faith which has given The Confessions such timeless appeal over the last sixteen centuries. Augustine's Confessions is more than mere autobiography, for it is also an impassioned admission of past mistakes (confession at a level most might think of it) and praise of God (confession of another sort, that of love and awe). Given his checkered past, Augustine addressed the concerns of those who doubted the sincerity of his conversion to Christianity and his claim to the post of bishop of Hippo Regius in North Africa. Thus, the text, made up of 13 chapters called ”books,“ serves as an apologia (formal written defense) as well as a hortatory inspiration to others who have not yet converted. Influenced by the Christian approach to reading sacred text as the living Word of God (lectio divina), The Confessions also require a deeper reading than readers may be accustomed to. Lectio divina, rooted in monastic practices of the 4th century AD, is prayerful and approaches a text with a fourfold reading process: read, reflect/meditate, pray and rest in God's presence, and resolve to grow and change in this new understanding. Augustine's great work has impacted not only theology but also philosophy, especially in discussion of time and memory.
The selections gathered in this volume are social and business letters written during the period of St. Augustine's monastic retirement, and reflect his multifaceted obligations and concerns as bishop, counselor, preacher, and judge. Of timeless interest, his ideas have had a lasting impact on theology, philosophy, and Western religion.
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