Pushing Augustine

Many, many years ago, in a great on line college, I taught some of the works of St. Augustine for beginners. I covered Confessions and the City of God. I had great fun and was sad when the course ended. I had taught Confessions in another course, but this one gave me time to go over the books in greater detail.

Recently, I have dipped into City of God again and I am happily surprised how timely St. Augustine’s message is for us today.

Two points, merely, to show this great Doctor of the Church’s relevance.

One, his discussion on hell is complete and covers Scriptural references in a clear manner. If anyone needs some ammunition in conversations with those who are denying the existence of hell or the fact that there may or may not be people in hell, St. Augustine is your source.  Part Five, The Ends of the Two Cities, would be the source for some information. And, as I pointed out to some dear TAC students many years ago, one is a bit arrogant to argue with St. Augustine, at least on this point.

Two, his discussion on those who live in the flesh and those who live in the spirit may help many readers who are struggling with these hard times to get some perspective.

In Book XIV, one reads a description of the City of Man as if one is watching the news.

Take time to dip into St. Augustine’s Confessions and City of God. Reading the classics and the works of the Doctors of the Church is all we need to do, really, plus the Scriptures and the encyclicals.

Pass wisdom on to your children by knowing the great Doctors. You can also read my mini-series on the Doctors of the Church on this blog.  Follow the tags.