Friday 7 September 2012

The Confessions of St. Augustine (Saveriano Banda)


Name:       Banda, Saveriano Joseph
Registration Number: 12071T
Book: The Confessions of St. Augustine Translated by F.J. Sheed, 1943.
A great literary masterpiece!
St. Augustine, bishop, confessor and doctor of the church was born on 13th November, 354 in North Africa. He was converted in 386 and baptized at the age of 33 during the Easter of 387 AD. He was made a priest in 391and a bishop in 396. He wrote the Confessions in 399, having then been twelve years a catholic and three years a bishop. Primarily, the Confessions are a history of young Augustine’s fierce struggle with the help of her mother and his companions to overcome his reckless ways and achieve a spiritual, moral and intellectual conversion. So his book is not only the 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 philosophers, the theologian, and the church and for others as well. He died in 430 while the Vandals were besieging his episcopal city of Hippo.
The reason why I decide to review the Confessions of St. Augustine is because of its outstanding in both philosophical and theological principles.  I read this ancient book with a contemporary mind and see how most of the famous Theologians and Philosophers of the church depended on this book. Augustine’s work act has the foundation and pillar of the church. The Confessions offer estimable benefits to humanity which must not be lost. The Confessions as a literary masterpiece fulfill the role for which it was designed with distinction and elegance. As a spiritual autobiography it has been meaningful throughout the ages and across many cultures and centuries. I feel his work is still valid and it’s the answer to some of the challenges facing in the contemporary world. Therefore, I will examine the content, the stimulating themes found in the book and criticism if any. Basically this implies how I have perceived Augustine as he is reflected in his confessions.

Reflection: LATE HAVE I LOVED YOU, O MY GOD (3rd November)
At his best Augustine boldly with firm faith confesses, Late have I loved you, O beauty so ancient and so new; late have I loved you.  This discovery is not only an intellectual discovery but it a discovery of underlying reality of comfort and rest, a reality where his heart finds its rest, it is a discovery of the God of mercy and grace who calls and redeems sinners. The culmination of Augustine life and his core message is this discovery in which his heart rests. Augustine’s beneficial relationship with his mother and friends is narrated with clarity. Augustine cannot talk about God without the help of his mother and friends. Therefore, in life no man can live as an island, we all depend on one another for any growth in life.
The type of friendship exhibited by Augustine is a challenge to our contemporary world of which egoistic and relativistic attitude are the order of the day. This shows how genuine friendship should be treasured. In this friendship we are reminded not to treat others as the objects but as subjects. Meaning that in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, we should not treat others as a mean to an end but as an end in themselves. Thereafter, we will deepen our relationship with God.

Summary and Reflection

Introduction
Few books are more often subject to such hopeless mirror-work than St. Augustine’sConfessions. At the end of the fourth century, a middle-aged North African wrote an account of himself that’s self-conscious, questioning, searching and boldly honest; an account that never but thunders with a lively literary voice; an account written after the author gave up a life of persuasive wind and elegant debauchery for a life committed to Jesus Christ. Acknowledge ourselves we are such open-minded people. We can look past Augustine’s getting the conversion experience backward because there is so much else in the Confessions that helps us to reflect upon our life and change for the better.
Summary of the Confessions of St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo
Augustine opens his book with a remark, “[…] for you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee”.[1] In a way the rest of the book testifies to this singular insight. The Confessions is a carefully crafted and intelligent book, Augustine weaves together a number of themes; philosophical, theological, mystical, psychological, scriptural and cosmological themes. All these themes are unified in the thirteen books of the Confessions.
The structure of the Confessions is simple; in books one to nine Augustine narrates the story of his life from infancy up to conversion and the death of his mother on their return journey to Africa. This period covers the first thirty three years of his life. In these books Augustine confesses the sins of his youth, explains the intellectual wanderings errors and moral difficulties which he had. He also narrates the companionship of his mother, friends and finally his conversion. This essentially is a form of a spiritual autobiography.
One of the most thoughtful books is book six. Augustine eloquently and passionately addresses the enduring spiritual and philosophical questions that have stirred the minds and hearts of thoughtful men and women ever since.  Augustine deals with the issue of happiness. He gives an example of a destitute but joyous beggar who is care free and cheerful; he examines also the nature of true joy of which both of them had not achieved. Augustine then abstracts hypothetically that if given a chance to choose he would choose himself despite a bundle of anxieties and fears he has rather than a beggar who has no worries and seems happy. Here, Augustine shows the complexity of human’s in pursuit for happiness. Perhaps, what is most striking in this moving narration is the insight which indicates that there is a clear distinction between temporal pleasures and enduring true happiness. This distinction can be observed in the dying martyr who is tremendous pain yet filled with immense joy and fulfillment. What the author wants to put across is that true happiness is worthy striving for rather than mere temporal pleasure. Augustine sums up his moments of temporal pleasure as, “these winds veered about and tossed my heart hither and thither, the time passed on, but I was slow to turn to the Lord.”(Book six)
The Confessions is a clear illustration of a phrase found in the Pioneer girls leader’s handbook, a friend hears the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails. Augustine’s beneficial relationship with his mother and friends is narrated with clarity.  For example; Augustine guiding his friend Alypius through trying moments (obsession with circus and gladiatorial games) is a clear example that companionship in life is necessary. The type of friendship exhibited by Augustine is a challenge to contemporary world of which egoistic and relativistic attitude are the order of the day.  
In book ten he describes the state of his mind at the time he was writing the reminiscences of   events and situations. Primarily Augustine is concerned with the character and operation of this power within him. In other words Augustine elucidates his Philosophy of Memory.
In books eleven, twelve and thirteen it is quite fascinating to read Augustine’s elaborate exegesis of the opening verses in the book of Genesis. He finely discusses the problems of time and eternity, of form and matter and God as supreme Creator and source of all that is. Augustine’s genius in philosophy is observed in his dealing with time as an inner phenomenon of the mind.
Augustine as a prolific writer, rhetoric and above all a man filled with the spirit of the Lord adopts a style which is in form of a prolonged meditation or prayer addressed directly to God. Augustine confesses to God not only his sins, that is; intellectual, spiritual and moral sins but also he confesses or testifies his faith to God, whom all good belongs and he confesses or testifies praise to God. Briefly, Augustine’s confession is in three fold; confession of sin, of faith and of praise to God. This confession indicates his threefold conversion that is, intellectually, spiritually and morally. During these moments Augustine was in three places; Carthage, Rome, Milan, Where he was a student, civil servant and professor of rhetoric. The common occurrence of threefold remind me of St. Bonaventure who was passionate with Trinitarian threefold system of things. The Lord with his light illuminates Augustine’s intellect and will to embark on a new way. This long Augustinian struggle and dilemma is indicated well in the phrase he uses, “give me continence and chastity but not yet”. His conversion led him to becoming a priest, bishop and prolific writer. Following his death in 430 AD, he was named a saint and a doctor of the church. In the following years he became an influential Church father and major figure in Western civilization due to his enduring ideas.
Personal Reflection
This second part of the paper is not an encomium of Augustine’s confessions rather it is a personal reflection. Therefore, I am entitled to criticism. I am uncomfortable with Augustine’s reason for conversion. According to the text it is the fear of death and judgment which called him to believe in immortality of the soul and turn from his wickedness. In my humble opinion Augustine is a man who should have embraced good for the sake of its intrinsic value and not just out of mere fear. Although I understand fear is a strong force which compels people to action and restrains people to act also.
Despite of this reservation, the Confessions offer estimable benefits to humanity which must not be lost. The Confessions as a literary masterpiece fulfill the role for which it was designed with distinction and elegance. As a spiritual autobiography it has been meaningful throughout the ages and across many cultures. Augustine intended the Confessions to transcend the boundaries of a typical autobiography. He viewed the record of his life as the means to an end and not an end in itself. Since that end held the ultimate rest of his longing, restless heart, Augustine could not resist the celebration in praise and adoration of his merciful and gracious God. Like the Apostle Paul, all of Augustine’s past accomplishments, which he once counted as gain, he considered loss in comparison to the surpassing greatness of gaining and knowing Christ who is the source of all goodness and the fullness of happiness.
I think the Confessions of Augustine, its vocabulary, theme, subject, and flow of thought, point to the fact that Augustine intended for his readers to look beyond the pages to where Augustine was looking all along and praise the great God who saves. Augustine models an important point of Christian character: the concern that one's life and testimony give glory to God and not to oneself. Thus, Augustine can rightly say that his reader’s joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of him. This is the meaning, purpose, and significance of the Confessionsand it constitutes what Augustine confessed. That so many of its commentators have missed this particular design of Augustine’s is not so much surprising as it is lamentable. When one reads and understands the Confessions as only a literary masterpiece, it is to do exactly what its author wanted most to avoid, the praise of human beings. To read the Confessions as it was intended is not merely to fulfill its author's desire but to ascend to our highest and most glorious privilege by sanctification of mankind and the glorification of God.
Conclusion
The fundamental aspect of the Confession is what makes it unique and different from other autobiographies. This key aspect is that the Confessions as whole point to the fact that Augustine intended his readers to look beyond the pages and transcend to where ultimate rest is and praise Him who calls and redeems. The book illustrates that one’s life and testimony should give glory to God and not to one’s self. Unlike other autobiographies and memoirs, the reader’s focus should not be on the praise of human beings achievements but to the praise of God who is the source of all that is good.
To a certain extent I have reviewed the book and shown benefits of reading the Confessions of Augustine.  However, all the excellent reasons for reading this remarkable book have not been recounted and in deed it would be impossible is such circumstances to do so. But, I take consolation in that I have tried to show the meaning, purpose and significance of the Confessions of Augustine. This in a nut shell is; transcending the pages and human praises in order to praise God whom our hearts are restless until they rest in him.

1 comment:

  1. How do you know that the Confessions of Augustine is "outstanding in both philosophical and theological principles" before reading and studying it? What are you seeking in reading the text apart from the literary value of the text itself?

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