I <3 Augustine

I threatened a friend that I was going to make a shirt that had the title of this post on it. All I need is a t-shirt and some fabric paint, and I'm on my way.

In the interest of no longer being the only person who hasn't read it, I picked up a copy of Augustine's Confessions at Borders the other day. I only wish that I had more time to read!! I've sat down with it a couple times and devoured as much as I could before other obligations called me away from my reading. I'm only about thirty pages into the work right now, but I'm just amazed at Augustine's description of his childhood and adolescence.

He claims, among other things, to not have enjoyed learning in his youth. His parents and teachers had to beat him so that he would do his work. Augustine, great Doctor of the Church . . . had to be beaten for not studying. He is an encouragement to all scholars who sometimes find themselves less than truly engaged in their work.

Augustine knew the pathetic state of lukewarmness as a youth, too, before his descent into plain depravity. He was raised with a basic understanding of God, and even sought Baptism when he was deathly ill in his pre-teen years. Yet when his health was restored, this was forgotten, and he went on to "enjoy" himself as he saw fit.

Evil for the evil's sake was among the thrills he found. Among things, as a boy, Augustine would steal things for the sheer thrill of doing something that he wasn't supposed to. He didn't particular enjoy what he stole; it was the sin itself that enticed him. Later, as he advanced into adolesence, it was the flesh that enticed him more than anything, and he willingly gave himself over to its bidding.

Is it awful that I love him all the more for his flaws? Not for the flaws themselves, but for the fact that he overcame them. He failed, he fell--yet he he repented. Granted, I haven't gotten that far in the Confessions, but I know that's the end result. Augustine wasn't a golden boy; he was a human being who made serious mistakes, wandered off in search of truth, and finally found it and embraced it. Who wouldn't love that?